Voting papers have now been sent out, please see below for a  message from your candidates.

Alex McGrath

My husband Nigel and I have been thrilled to count ourselves amongst the warm, supportive and inclusive community that is Weedons School for nearly three years. This year our eldest son Leo is in Kauri Room 4 and our youngest Troy has just started in Rata Room 6. 

There is much to love about our school. That we can all send our precious tamariki off each morning, assured they are each being passionately supported to be their best, while learning to demonstrate genuine respect and whanaungatanga is something to treasure. 

I currently work as an Account Manager at AgResearch, the Crown Research Institute responsible for delivering to the scientific requirements and opportunities for our primary sector. My role is about helping people with diverse skillsets come together to seek new opportunities, and to address gnarly challenges. Doing this well requires a fair bit of out of the box thinking, patience, and an empathy to different skills, views and priorities. I would hope to bring these attributes to our Board of Trustees if elected. 

I grew up a keen Dressage-enthusiast and while competing assisted in event management and sponsorship committee roles, and previously I sat as an executive committee member on the Organic Exporters Association of New Zealand, on behalf of my then employer ANZCO Foods. 

These experiences would see me join our Board of Trustees with some minor experiences of direct relevance, but more importantly I would be calling upon my love of a lifetime of learning! 

All in all, my hope in potentially being nominated onto our Board of Trustees, would be to bring a genuine appreciation for all that embodies our school today and an ability to support it in continuing to flourish into an ever-evolving future. 

Ngā mihi nui, Alex McGrath

Tim Pow

My name is Tim Pow and I’m putting my hand up for parent representative on the Board of Trustees. 

We’re new to the school community; our son Alfie started at the beginning of this year, but we’ve been living and running a small orcharding business in Weedons for almost 5 years now.

I am a qualified horticulturist and project manager. I currently spend my days in the field of Operations Management, managing the relocation, development and tendering side of a building and relocation business operating from Hornby. I work with a mixture of central government agencies and private clients.

Prior to this I’ve worked for Orion and then CERA. Through my current and past roles I’ve got a lot of experience working with Government agencies, including the Ministry of Education, and local councils. I maintain a lot of key connections in most organisations I’ve worked with - I’m a big believer that it’s much easier to solve problems if you know the right people to call.

Overall I’m known as someone who gets stuff done.

I look forward to working with the Board to help provide the best schooling years for Weedons kids.

Tim Pow

Richard Briggs

My wife and I feel so privileged to have been successful in a ballot and be able to send our children to Weedons. Consequently, we are both keen to contribute to the school community. It is logical given my background in business management and governance that seeking a seat on the board of trustees is where I can make a meaningful contribution. 

I was co-opted on to the board a while back to oversee the H&S aspects of the school governance and with your support I am keen to continue my role on the board. 

The region is growing faster than any other part of New Zealand, risks will emerge to the unique nature of Weedons that we appreciate and need to maintain. It is important that the school values and principles are protected for children attending now and in the future. 

Good governance is essential, successful execution is being invisible and providing sound oversight enabling Rob and his team to be able to focus on teaching and developing our children. 

Richard Briggs

Michelle Mehlhopt

Hi, my name is Michelle Mehlhopt and I have been a part of the Weedons School Family for just over 6 years now. My son Leighton is currently in Year 6, and he is looking forward to being a part of the 'Senior' school next year. 

I am a current member of the board, and have enjoyed working alongside Rob and the team to create the environment that our school has today. I have expressed my interest to stand for another term on the board as I feel that there is a lot more I can offer the school over the next few years as we continue to work towards providing the best place we can for our children, school families and wider community.

Michelle Mehlhopt