Junior Team
Michele Dakers (BEd, DipTchg) - Junior Team Leader - Kindle 1
Email contact: micdak@georgestreet.school.nz
Michele offers a really warm and friendly welcome to our newest students. She is highly experienced and is passionate about ensuring our youngest children get a good start to their learning. She enjoys getting to know children and their families and introducing them to school life. Michele has a special interest and strength in teaching literacy and numeracy. She enjoys singing and music and is working on improving her guitar skills. Michele likes to teach science and PE and is a learner of te reo Māori. She is currently investigating aspects of the Learning Through Play teaching and learning approach.
Sandra Gordon (BSc, Dip Tching, Grad Dip Ap Theo, PGDip Theo) - Kindle 1
Email contact: sandra@georgestreet.school.nz
Sandra is relatively new to 'The Mainland', after shifting here in mid 2019. She is an experienced Junior School teacher having taught in Auckland, Hamilton and Wellington. Sandra has done 5 years as a Reading Recovery Teacher and is passionate about ensuring children get the best possible start to their school journey. Recent areas of professional study include Play Based Learning, Student Agency and Te Reo Maori. Sandra releases Michele (our Junior Team Leader) each Wednesday.
Natalie McCulley (BEd, Dip Tchg) - Kindle 2
Email contact: natalieb@georgestreet.school.nz
Natalie greets children every morning with a friendly smile. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience of how children learn in their early years. Natalie loves teaching New Entrant children as she feels it is a very special experience being a child's first teacher and supporting them in their learning journey. She has a strong interest in Literacy, Visual Art, and the Learning Through Play philosophy and brings her research of this into her daily classroom programme. Natalie is our new entrant coordinator and organises school visits for our newest children. She also visits local early childhood centres as part of this role.
Grace Dore (BTchg) - Room 4
Email contact: grace@georgestreet.school.nz
Grace is passionate about developing relationships with her children and believes this is at the heart of teaching. She endeavours to create a warm and welcoming classroom environment where everyone can learn and grow together. Grace loves teaching literacy and enjoys collaborative teaching. She particularly enjoys welcoming ESOL students into her class. Grace is the facilitator of Structured Play; this operates 2-3 times per week during the lunch breaks on both sides of the school.
Bronwyn Macgregor (BA, DipTchg, Dip Sec Tchg, ATCL) - Room 7
Email contact: bronwyn@georgestreet.school.nz
Bronwyn believes in creating a warm, friendly and welcoming environment at school so that all children feel happy, safe and ready to learn. She values parents partnering with her to support their children's learning. Bronwyn is an experienced Junior teacher and has strengths in literacy and numeracy and special interests in music and art. She enjoys playing the piano and guitar and singing with the children. Bronwyn believes in the importance of learning Te Reo Māori and uses it everyday in her class. She is beginning to research the Learning Through Play philosophy and how it can benefit children's learning.
Ruth Pereira (Bcom, GradDipTchg (Primary)) - Room 8
Email contact: ruth@georgestreet.school.nz
Ruth returned to George Street in 2020 after spending a few years living in Vietnam with her husband and 2 children. She is a passionate teacher who has the ability to excite, motivate and hook students into learning through valuing their voice, responding to their interests/strengths and providing engaging learning experiences. Ruth has curriculum strengths in literacy, numeracy, physical education and te reo Māori. She shares Room 8 with Sarah Mackenzie and teaches on Mondays, Tuesdays and alternating Wednesdays.
Sarah Mackenzie - Room 8
Email contact: sarah@georgestreet.school.nz
Sarah has many years of experience teaching junior children. Her number one focus is helping children to feel happy and safe in their classroom; setting them up for a year of fun and learning. Sarah has a warm and friendly personality and enjoys building relationships with both students and their whānau. She has a passion for Literacy, Visual Arts and creating engaging learning programs. Sarah shares Room 8 with Ruth Pereira and teaches on Thursdays, Fridays and alternating Wednesdays.
Bex Brown - Room 8 (BEd (Primary))
Email contact: bex.brown@georgestreet.school.nz
Bex loves teaching and learning! She feels very privileged to be able to work with children and to support them to reach their full potential. Bex enjoys teaching all areas of the curriculum with a particular interest and passion for the Arts and PE. She teaches in Room 8 on a Thursday afternoon. Bex is looking forward to learning about and celebrating the diverse cultures in our school and working with children who are learning English as a second language.
Catherine Smith (BA Hons, PhD, Grad Dip Ed) - Room 9
Email contact: catherine@georgestreet.school.nz
Catherine enjoys getting to know all the children in her class as individuals and creates a happy, supportive environment for learning. She has strengths in teaching literacy and provides hands-on, engaging learning experiences. Catherine loves learning and her latest course has been Te Reo Māori through Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.
Petra Pritchard - Teaching Assistant (B.F.A, P.G.DipOE, M.Phys.Ed, Cert 4 in SLD)
Petra enjoys the reciprocal connections between learner and educator. She uses multi-sensory teaching strategies to support students educational outcomes. As a Teacher Assistant in the Junior Models classroom, she supports students with English as a Second Language (ESL), and students with Specific Learning Disabilities.
Aki Poor - Teaching Assistant
Aki is a fabulous teaching assistant working in both our Junior and Middle Teams. Aki loves working with our children and has a real strength in building positive relationships with them. You will often see Aki out in the playground during break times spending time and playing with our children.
Janna Kyle - Teaching Assistant
Janna works in our Junior Team. Janna has a lovely warm manner with every child she works with. She has expertise in a computer application called Story Maker that is enabling children to gain great success with their reading and writing. She is a great asset to our team!
Marie Hansen - Teaching Assistant
Marie knows where to find any resource in the school and is a great support to teachers in helping to prepare and maintain resources. Marie enjoys working with our youngest learners and seeing them gain skills and confidence.
Beccy Murray - Teaching Assistant
Beccy works mainly in our Junior team. She comes to us with Early Childhood education experience and is passionate about supporting each individual to be the best they can be.