Claire Wheeldon: Kopara | Kahikatea - Learning Leader

Claire is originally from the UK where she really enjoyed her years teaching Junior School children before having twin girls of her own. She has lived in Tai Tapu Christchurch for 13 Years now with her husband Adam and growing twins. Claire worked for 3 years at South Hornby Primary and then spent the last 7 Years teaching years 0 to 4 at Tai Tapu School. She is passionate about developing the talents and skills of our young learners. When not at LWG Claire loves exploring New Zealand beaches, hanging out with friends, music and snowboarding in winter with her family.
clairew@lemonwoodgrove.school.nz

Jane Wood: Kopara | Kahikatea - Teacher

Jane is originally from Wales, completing her teaching degree in 1999 at the University of Wales and has many years of teaching experience. She has spent time in various year groups in Junior Schools throughout the UK, Cyprus, Australia and NZ. She has a husband and a daughter and has now settled in the Selwyn area. She is enthusiastic about developing a fun learning environment and building strong caring relationships with her learners. Jane enjoys exploring New Zealand and catching up with family and friends.
janew@lemonwoodgrove.school.nz

Alec Wesney - Kopara / Kahikatea - Teacher

Alec was born and bred in Christchurch. At the end of 2022, she received her Bachelor of Teaching and Learning from the University of Canterbury. Outside of school she enjoys taking walks in the great outdoors, dancing, which she did for 13 years specialising in Jazz, and spending time with her loved ones. Alec is very interested about including a diverse range of learners in her classroom, so she studied Sign Language at Merge New Zealand and learned about the Tikanga of Te Reo Māori at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa in 2020 and 2021. She is very motivated about learning and growing. Alec is excited to create a learning atmosphere where her children feel safe and valued in which they would want to come to school each day and encourage her learners to recognise and work to their strengths.
alecw@lemonwoodgrove.school.nz

Georgia Rees: Kopara | Kahikatea - Teacher

Georgia has been a part of the team at Lemonwood Grove since 2021, after completing her BTchLn (Primary) in 2020. Georgia loves having fun with her little learners and building meaningful relationships with them. She’s stoked to work in the exciting, evolving Rolleston community. When not at school, Georgia enjoys ballet, musical theatre, and exploring Christchurch with her husband and their dogs.
georgiar@lemonwoodgrove.school.nz

Anna Meehan: Kopara | Kahikatea (starting in Term 3)

Anna grew up in Port Chalmers, Dunedin and has spent her time living between here, Christchurch and Wānaka. Being the eldest of five children, whānau relationships play an important role in her life and she enjoys getting to know the students and whānau that make up the school community. Anna has spent time studying te reo Māori at Te Wānanga and is passionate about including Māori reo and tikanga into everyday school life. She enjoys learning about the many cultures within the Rolleston community and likes sharing her learning with others. Anna believes school should be enjoyed and loves helping students learn with positive and can-do attitudes. Outside of school, Anna loves spending time outdoors, reading, playing football and spending time with her two wee dogs, Syd and Bella.
annam@lemonwoodgrove.school.nz

Paige Bowler-Berendt: Kopara | Kahikatea - Teacher

Paige moved to Christchurch from Nelson and has been teaching Primary education for 8 years. Before teaching in primary schools she was an Early Childhood teacher. Paige enjoys spending time with her husband Karl, daughter Maddie and newborn son, Harry. She likes to explore the great outdoors, cooking, traveling, photography, and reading. She loves to motivate and inspire learners to challenge themselves and be their best selves. Paige has a passion for teaching the Arts, in particular dance, drama, and music.
paigeb@lemonwoodgrove.school.nz

Stacey Pearce: Kopara | Kahikatea - Teacher

Stacey was born and raised in Christchurch. She attended University and Teachers College in Christchurch before moving to Wellington to begin her teaching career. In the years since she has taught in London and Auckland before returning to Christchurch. Stacey has a passion for teaching juniors and loves creating a safe, inclusive space in which young minds can thrive. She spends her free time chasing around after an energetic toddler and loves being a Mum.

Hannah Krijnen: Kopara | Kahikatea - Teacher

Hannah grew up in Ōtautahi and completed her Bachelor of Language in Japanese. She then completed her Graduate Diploma in Teaching in 2018. Hannah has taught in various junior school roles, and relieved in many schools around Christchurch, and taught English in Japan for 1 year. She loves learning languages, traveling, yoga, and absolutely anything creative. 

Jeaneen Waterman: Kopara | Kahikatea - Teacher

Jeaneen grew up in Palmerston North and from there she went to Design School in Wellington where she met my husband, David. 
She has three children who are all grown up now. They now live in West Melton as a small family of three, David, Rocket the dog, and Jeaneen. She enjoys dog walking, swimming, gardening, and being with her family. They also have a caravan which is so much fun to take off in for a break.
When my older children started to show signs that they would grow up and get their own lives, she retrained as a teacher at Teachers College at the Karori campus in Wellington.
I taught at a small school in Wainuiomata for twelve years, then in 2017 we moved to Christchurch where I have taught in a range of schools.

Emily Glendenning: Kopara | Kahikatea - Teacher

Emily grew up in North Canterbury. She graduated from the University of Canterbury in 2018 and relocated to Selwyn after being appointed a position at Te Uru Tarata Lemonwood Grove School in 2019. Emily has worked in different age groups throughout her teaching career and enjoys teaching different levels of the New Zealand Curriculum. She is dedicated to building meaningful relationships with learners and encouraging them to celebrate and work to their strengths.
emilyg@lemonwoodgrove.school.nz

Beth Smith: Kopara | Kahikatea - Teacher (Term 4, 2023)

Beth is originally from Wales but calls New Zealand home. She has been teaching for five years and has just returned home from a two-year teaching adventure in Dubai. Beth is passionate about all things literacy and learning through play and enjoys combining the two together. When Beth is not in the classroom you can find her spending time with her Husband Dan, enjoying the outdoors, knitting, or getting lost in a good book.