2025 - Year 6 teaching team
Lyndsey McGuinniety (Learning Leader)
Lyndsey is originally from Wales and has been in New Zealand for 23 years. She lives here with her husband and two children. Her son is 21 years old and her daughter is 16 years old. In her spare time, Lyndsey loves being active—running, swimming, biking, or climbing a mountain. She enjoys relaxing with a good book or spending time with her family and friends. Lyndsey loves watching rugby. Lyndsey has taught in New Zealand for 21 years, mainly in the senior school, from years 5 to 8. Lyndsey loves teaching and inspiring future generations while exploring New Zealand.
lyndseym@lemonwoodgrove.school.nz
JR Hovell
JR grew up in Auckland before moving to the beautiful city of Ōtautahi, where he attended school in North Canterbury. After an early career in radio, JR traded in his microphone to pursue a new chapter as a teacher.
He is no stranger to LWG, having come full circle in his journey—starting as a reliever, progressing to a release teacher, and finally becoming a full-time teacher in Korimako in 2024. Outside the classroom, JR loves spending time with his fiancée, Nikita. He enjoys watching sports, playing board games with friends, and relaxing at the beach.
JR is passionate about building connections with all the students at LWG. He firmly believes that every child has a unique gift that the world needs to see.jrh@lemonwoodgrove.school.nz
Tyla van den Beuken
Tyla was born and raised in Stratford, Taranaki. She has been teaching for four years, graduating from the University of Waikato in 2020. Tyla is moving to the Rolleston area for an exciting change and to be closer to family. In her spare time, she enjoys playing netball, holidaying near a beach, going to concerts, and spending time with friends and family.
Tyla is passionate about building strong relationships with learners and creating safe and fun learning environments.
Tyla is very excited to join the Lemonwood Grove team and cannot wait to meet everyone!tylav@lemonwoodgrove.school.nz
Chris Goldsack
Chris Goldsack is married to Daz, and has two children, Sammy and Max. She loves the outdoors - walking in the hills, strolling along the beach, and swimming. Her favourite place in New Zealand is Fiordland, and she loves Emperor penguins. At home, you would find Chris tending to the veggie garden, reading, completing puzzles, watching Master Chef, listening to music, playing the piano, or playing games.
Teaching learners is one of her passions, and she has been doing this for a lot of years. Seeing students lead their learning and developing skills to manage this is exciting!chrisg@lemonwoodgrove.school.nz
Nelia McDowall
Nelia grew up in Dunedin and completed her studies at the University of Otago in 2023. She has specialised in tap dancing from a young age, alongside training in various dance areas such as ballet, jazz, contemporary and aerobics. She channelled her passion for dance into mentoring younger dancers at her local Dunedin studio. Beyond her dedication to the art of dance, Nelia finds fulfilment in activities such as running, spending quality time with family and going to the gym. Nelia is passionate about teaching and works to create a space to learn and grow. She can’t wait to get to know all the students and their families in 2025.
neilam@lemonwoodgrove.school.nz