The Marshland School - Te Rito Harakeke School Board is made up of a high-performing and collaborative team of individuals.

The Marshland Board consists of five elected parents and two staff members, Brendon Cowles, Aaron Stead, Rochelle Foster, Justin Rowlands and Shaun Creek, Maia Smith (Staff Representative), and Leigh Fowler (Principal).

Current Board members have diverse expertise and experience and work well collaboratively in school governance matters related to the four domains of leadership, accountability, being a good employer and representation.  

Brendon Cowles

Role: Presiding Member / Chair and Employment

Email: b.cowles@marshland.school.nz 

Tēnā tātou katoa, I am Brendon Cowles, and I have been extremely privileged to sit on the Marshland Board of Trustees for the last 6 years, including serving as Chairperson for the last 4. This has been an amazing experience, and I am very proud of our achievements as a Board, as a School and as a community. 

During this time, we have grown from almost 200 students to over 530, and I have been fortunate to have overseen the Stage 2 Build (Toroa/Piwakawaka), sat on the Personnel Committee that has successfully recruited 15 new teachers to meet role growth and oversaw the Recruitment Process for our new Principal. 

In terms of experience, my previous roles (Regional Manager, Downer NZ Ltd, Programme Manager, MainPower NZ Ltd) along with my current role (Manager Facilities Operations, CCC) have given me fantastic exposure to the challenges of working in highly Government regulated environments, engaging stakeholders from all sectors and operating within a Governance framework. 

Over the last 6 years I have developed good relationships at the Ministry of Education, and I am comfortable having those difficult conversations. When I reflect over the last 6 years and all the challenges we have faced, one thing has remained front and centre with our decision-making - our focus has always been “Success for Every Child”. 

I am very proud of the work we have done as a team to build a community where our tamariki success is the focus, where parents get to know each other and where we are all encouraged to be involved in our children’s learning and development. 

I am extremely excited about where Marshland School is at the moment, along with the amazing opportunities in front of us, and I would love the opportunity to continue to contribute to a successful future as we continue to grow and develop. 

Rochelle Foster

Role: Property and Deputy Presiding Member

For the past five years, I have had the pleasure of being a Parent Representative of the Marshland School Board. I have three sons, two of who attend Marshland School; Archer in Toroa, Everett in Korimako - and they are idolised by their little brother Landon who is three.

I have a Bachelor of Architectural Studies, I am a current Licensed Building Practitioner and part of Architectural Designs NZ (ADNZ). I deal with all aspects of running an Architectural Studio and producing quality Architecture for my clients.

Additional to my Architecture and together with my Husband, we own Aquapro Plumbing and Drainage - we have been operating in Canterbury for over a decade and employ over 40 local staff. As co-owner of Aquapro, I sit on the Company Board of Advisors. I enjoy the governance side of the business and apply my knowledge within the school Board of Trustees.

On the Marshland School Board, I am Deputy Chair and I am responsible for the School Property Portfolio. As part of the portfolio, I oversee the maintenance of our school assets, and many recent property projects including the new scooter track and landscaping, foyer alteration and the development of Stage 3 build of our school. I certainly look forward to having Stage 3 built soon! I also enjoyed being on the appointment panel that selected our brilliant Principal Mrs Fowler.

I became a member of the Marshland School Board as I want to ensure that my own children, along with all others, have the absolute best education - where they are given purpose and feel safe and secure on their learning journey. I truly believe in success for every child, and I love being a part of our awesome school community.

Aaron Stead

Role: Finance

My name is Aaron Stead, and I have been a parent representative on the school board since 2019. My youngest daughter Gemma is currently in the Korimako Hub. I am a chartered accountant, and partner in a small to medium-sized accountancy firm. When not being a taxi driver for my kids, I enjoy keeping fit, playing golf, and biking.

My primary responsibility on the board is to oversee the finance portfolio, which involves meeting on a monthly basis with other members of the finance committee to review the school's finances.

In the short time, I have been on the board there have been plenty of interesting and varied challenges to be addressed, including the appointment of a new principal, Covid 19 and the ever-growing school roll.

I believe strongly in the school’s values and mission statement “Success for Every Child” and feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to assist in providing our tamariki with a great school experience.

Hayley Wright

Role: Health and Safety

Kia ora, I am Hayley Wright, and I am the most recent member to join the Marshland School Board of Trustees. I am looking forward to being able to make a meaningful contribution through this role and using my skillset to positively impact on our mission of ‘success for every child’.

I have a background in education, having completed my Bachelor of Teaching and Learning (BTchLn) at the University of Canterbury and then working as a primary school teacher. A shift into HR has then seen me build my career over 15 years across both the public and private sectors. Today I am part of a senior leadership team, where I head up the strategic people and culture function for a trans-Tasman medical tech company. My role is focused on building and aligning our teams to deliver against our vision, purpose and set strategic goals.

Outside of work, I am a proud mum to two children, Sophie (7) who is in the Tui Hub as a Year 3 and Isaac (4) who will join Marshland School in 2025. As a family we enjoy spending time on camping holidays and keeping physically active through sports and exploring the great NZ outdoors.

My background in HR lends itself to the Health & Safety portfolio where I am responsible for ensuring we have a strong focus on the emotional and physical safety of everyone at Marshland School. I feel privileged to be a member of the Board and I am looking forward to playing a part in our shared future success.

Shaun Creek

Role: Community Liaison

My name is Shaun Creek and I have been an elected member of the Marshland School Board of Trustees since 2022. I have a long-standing relationship with the School having previously worked as a classroom teacher in the Korimako and Toroa hubs at the old school site. Now having two daughters Olive and Lola who are currently in the Tui hub I am thrilled to re-engage with the school and look forward to playing a small part in the school's continued success moving forward.

Outside of the school, I am heavily invested in the local community being the owner and operator of the local Bayleys Real Estate office a role that sees me engaging with and getting to know local families on a daily basis presenting me with the perfect platform from which to promote the school as well as the quality lifestyle on offer in the wider area.

I have loved seeing Marshland School evolve over recent years and have been extremely proud of how the tight-knit family-led culture of our once small semi-rural school on the outskirts of town has been recreated in the now much larger-scale modern learning environment that our Tamiriki and Staff enjoy today.

I feel very privileged to be a member of the Marshland School BOT and look forward to working alongside you all.