At the heart of our school are relationships.

For me, relationships are where everything starts. Children learn best when they feel known, supported and connected, and that reaches well beyond the relationship between a teacher and a child.

You see it in the way our tamariki know one another across different ages, in the relationships our kaiako build with children and whānau, and in our connections with hapū and the wider Waihī Beach community.

I think that is a big part of the feeling people tell us they notice when they come here. It isn't created by one programme or one person. It comes from knowing one another, caring about what happens here and feeling that you belong.

Every child brings something.

I don't believe children are all meant to be good at the same things. Every child comes to us with their own strengths, interests and ways of seeing the world, and part of our job is knowing them well enough to recognise those things.

For one child, that strength might emerge through literacy or maths. For another, it might be sport, music, art, te ao Māori, leadership, working with their hands, caring for the environment or simply the way they connect with other people.

Sometimes children already know what lights them up. Sometimes they need the chance to try something completely new before they discover it. That's why I believe in giving our tamariki a wide range of experiences, alongside strong foundations in learning.

Finding your strengths doesn't mean always being the best or finding things easy either. Challenge, disappointment, persistence and success are all part of learning and growing. Where a child is today doesn't define where they can go next.

Explore Learning Experiences

I believe in community education.

I grew up in a small community, and I know how much the people and opportunities around a child can shape where they go. Education is so much bigger than what happens between a teacher and a child in a classroom.

Our tamariki are surrounded by people with an incredible range of knowledge, skills and experience, within our whānau, hapū and the wider Waihī Beach community. When we draw on those connections, we can create opportunities for children that we simply couldn't create on our own.

For me, that's what community education is about. Looking at what we have around us and finding ways to connect our tamariki with the people, places and experiences that can enrich their learning and their experience of growing up here.

Discover Our Community

Everyone brings different strengths.

Our tamariki | children aren't the only people who bring their strengths to our school.
I believe people do their best work when they have opportunities to use the things they're genuinely good at and passionate about. Our kaiako and kaimahi bring different knowledge, interests and experiences, and I want there to be space for those things to become part of what we offer our tamariki.

Part of my role is noticing those strengths and creating opportunities for people to use them. When someone has a particular skill, passion or knowledge they can share with our children, we want to make the most of it. It gives our tamariki access to experiences and ways of learning that no one person could provide on their own.

Meet Our People

We are always learning.

Our commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi needs to be something that is lived within our school, not simply something we talk about.

We have made deliberate choices to strengthen te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and our understanding of te ao Māori, but I don't see this as work that will ever be finished. As a school, we need to keep learning too.

Our relationship with Te Whānau a Tauwhao, and the guidance we receive from hapū and iwi, are an important part of that journey. There is knowledge and understanding that needs to come from the people who hold it, so our role is to listen, build genuine relationships and keep growing our own knowledge and capability.

I want our tamariki to grow up knowing the people, stories, language and tikanga connected to the place they call home.

Explore Te Ao Māori at our school

Our past, present and future are intertwined.

Our centenary gave us an opportunity to look back at the generations of tamariki, whānau, staff and community who have shaped this school. It was a reminder that what we experience here today has been influenced by the people who came before us.

As Tumuaki, I feel a real responsibility in that. We inherit a school with its own history, relationships, stories and sense of place. Our role is to honour what has come before us, while continuing to learn, grow and shape the school around the tamariki who are here now.

I want our children to understand that they are part of that story too. They don't have to wait until they're older to contribute. The way they care for people and places, share their strengths, have a voice and take responsibility all help shape the community they are part of.

What we create together today will become part of what future generations inherit. There is something very special about knowing that we are only one part of a much longer story.

Supporting the direction of our school

As Tumuaki, I work alongside our Poari Kaitiaki | Board, who bring their own knowledge, perspectives and connections to our school.

The Board plays an important role in the governance and future direction of Te Kura Tātahi o Waihī | Waihī Beach School, supporting the school to continue growing in a way that reflects our tamariki, whānau and community.

Our governance also includes permanent hapū representation, ensuring hapū have a voice in the governance and future direction of our school.