New Staff Members

Kia ora, my name is Debra. I am very excited to join the awesome team here at Te Ao Mārama.
I have lived in Hamilton with my husband Don for the past 10 years. I have four children and we are also very blessed to have 14 grandchildren.
I have been an ECE teacher for the past 40 years and I am looking forward to helping the children here grow and succeed in their early years. I love gardening, travelling and most of all spending time with my family.
I look forward to getting to know you all and your tamariki.

I'm Lucy Pedlar and I'm so excited to be joining such a caring and passionate team.
My family moved from South Africa to Auckland in 2020 and we've lived in Hamilton for the last two years. My husband and I have two chatty daughters and two (less chatty) fur kids.
We love exploring museums, libraries, playgrounds and parks. We're keen crafters, readers, geocachers and fairy garden explorers.
I feel so lucky to have an opportunity to help our beautiful tamariki grow and learn.

We have also welcomed Kexiang Zhao. Kexiang is a Mandarin Language Assistant, funded by the Confucius Institute and will be providing some wonderful learning and cultural opportunities for our tamariki on Mondays.

Nĭ hăo
My name is Kexiang and I am very excited to be joining Te Ao Mārama School as a Mandarin Language Assistant. I come from Shanghai in China and am completing study at Fudan University in the area of Teaching Chinese Languages. In my role at Te Ao Mārama School I will be working in all of the Learning Communities to provide opportunities to learn about Chinese Culture and the Mandarin Language. In my spare time I enjoy playing Basketball, Volleyball and Badminton. I also love to sing, having had my own rock band, BlackSmith. I can also play the Piano and some guitar and Bass.
I look forward to seeing you around Te Ao Mārama.