Karen Matthews

Karen is an experienced teacher who has taught across various age groups for eight years. She is a motivated and enthusiastic teacher who nurtures students' self-esteem and supports learners in developing their thinking. Karen believes students should be at the heart of the learning, learning should be relevant, and the range of needs should be catered for. She promotes students' physical, emotional, social and intellectual development and creates a warm and friendly learning environment. Karen is family oriented and loves sports and fitness. She is very excited about joining the Puketaha team in 2023.

Anna-Marie Parkes

Anna- Marie will start her teaching career here at Puketaha School as a beginning teacher. Anna-Marie is a caring, kind-hearted team player with a passion for inclusive education. She has worked as a teacher aide for many years and has been responsible for teaching learners with high needs. She has been engaged in a range of professional learning, focusing on understanding and catering to learners with diverse needs. She is now looking forward to continuing her learning as a teacher. Anna- Marie is creative and enjoys creating fun and meaningful lessons for learners. She is a mother to 3 children, and Anna-Marie is happy to be starting her teaching here at Puketaha School.

Phillip Greig

Phillip completed his Graduate Diploma in Teaching after working in Communications for seven years. As part of his previous career, Phillip worked at Universities, giving career advice to Highschool students. He discovered a passion for teaching there, so he went on to do his Graduate Diploma. Phillip is a highly reflective practitioner and passionate about building learner agency, establishing genuine relationships with learners and helping students develop social and life skills. He has strengths in Literacy, Mathematics, as well as Health and Physical Education. Phillip loved the feel of Puketaha School and is keen to get involved in our school-wide activities next year.

Suzanne Gunn

Suzanne Gunn has been a reliever here at Puketaha School for many years and has proven to be an excellent educator. She is already a valued part of the Puketaha team. Suzanne has over 18 years of experience teaching all ages, from ECE to Highschool. She is a dedicated teacher who enjoys supporting students to be their best and meet their potential. She encourages learners and develops their strengths, gifts and talents. Suzanne has first-hand knowledge and experience of Puketaha's learning pedagogy, programme design and our collaborative teaching spaces. Suzanne is flexible, highly collaborative and has a great sense of humour. Suzanne's children have attended Puketaha School, and she is pleased to step into the classroom teacher role.

Ashlee Walsh

Ashlee Walsh has completed her Graduate Diploma in Teaching after a 12-year career in Advertising and Marketing. Ashlee's vision for her role as a kaiako is to help grow and nurture the development of cognitive skills, social and emotional well-being, and cultural understandings to build a strong foundation for success. She has been inspired by the Reggio Emilia philosophy, which focuses on wondering with tauira about what they experience, think and feel to help them make sense of themselves and the world around them. In addition, Ashlee believes in rich relationships with people and the environment to co-construct curiosity, compassion, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking skills. Ashlee is energetic and highly passionate. She can't wait to start with us next year.