Ko Rachael tōku ingoa. He kaiako ahau i te rūma Kererū.

Just a little bit about myself..... I began teaching in 1997 and am now in my 22nd year as a primary school kaiako. I began teaching at Bamford School (Chch east area) and was there for 8 years until I had my first child, Nia. I then taught at Phillipstown and Richmond, before moving into the area of Special Needs Education based at Mairehau Primary. After several years, and another child, Ana, I went back into the classroom full time at Mairehau before moving to Tuahiwi Kura in 2010. Over the last 8 years here at Tuahiwi I have had a third daughter (the last one!!), Atawhai and moved out to Kaiapoi with my husband Paul and the three girls.

This year at kura I am overseeing the area ICT - an area I love to learn about, explore and create with.  Our tamariki are so internet savvy, so I always have to stay one step ahead - but most days I feel like they are one step ahead of me!  Many of our tamariki will go into jobs that have not even been heard of or created yet!  The technological world is changing so fast and as kaiako, it is our job to prepare them for their future while teaching them the safety of digital citizenship.

Innovative learning is a new term to many and you may not have even heard of it.  It is new to some of us kaiako too and this year one of my roles within the kura is to lead our new learning in this area.  Our tamariki get to see kaiako learning new things alongside of them! Here at Tuahwi we are teaching our tamariki to be  self motivated learners, developing "can do" mindsets through holistic learning.  Learning can’t be meaningful if tamariki don’t understand why the knowledge will be useful to them, how it can be applied in life. Understanding the connections between subjects and ideas is essential for the ability to transfer skills and adapt. 

I also oversee the sports. Every Wednesday we have North Canterbury Sports come in and take skills sessions for each class. We also have P.ed sessions on other days. We have our own Miniball team and swimming sports this term was a great way for tamariki to be moving. 

Has your tamaiti told you about "Hautututanga" or "Move it Mondays" -  part of our Innovative learning programme. We began this new kaupapa 3 weeks ago and so far we are LOVING it.  Each kaiako runs an activity and our tamariki get to be explorers, learners and self managers by choosing the activity that suits their learning needs and interest.  Some of the things we have been exploring are ; making playdough, arts and crafts, construction, walking/exploring Tuahiwi, Māori movement, gymnastics, gardening and more to come over the rest of the term including; baking, working in the gardens at Whaea Kate's and bubbles, bubbles, bubbles!

I love working at Tuahiwi Kura and being able to bring my own tamariki here.  It is like one big whānau and I treasure the whanaungatanga that we develop between the kaiako, mātua and tamariki.  I look forward to the exciting new changes that are taking place and watching our tamariki grow and be excited to learn!  

Ngā mihi

Whaea Rach