Cindy Walsh
Areas of leadership: School Vision and Strategic Direction
Cindy is an experienced school principal. She is passionate about leading Freemans Bay School to engage, empower and enrich students’ learning to prepare them for their journey into the twenty-first century. Through her leadership the school is well placed to deliver quality education outcomes for learners at Freemans Bay School.
Helen Armstrong
Areas of leadership: Professional Learning, Staffing, Partnerships, Literacy
Helen is an experienced leader. She has previously been Deputy Principal, SENCO and Literacy Leader at Oranga School, and prior to that, was a Team Leader, Literacy Leader and acting Deputy Principal at Kohimarama school. She has experience teaching at all levels, from Year 0 – Year 8. She holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Literacy Education (with Distinction), a SPELD certificate, and has recently completed her Master of Education. Helen’s passion is in empowering students to make a positive difference in our world, and developing confident, resilient life-long learners. Helen is a mother to three children, and in her spare time, she loves to garden, read, knit and camp and explore beautiful remote parts of New Zealand with her husband.
Sinead Heckett
Areas of leadership: Learning Support (SENCO), Digital Technology and eLearning, Staffing (Learning Assistants and ESOL), Partnerships, Internationals Students, Health & Safety
Sinead has been teaching in New Zealand for over 10 years. She was the Deputy Principal at Red Beach where she led Maths and Science, Community Engagement and Wellbeing. She is passionate about empowering students to be the best learners that they can be. Sinead thrives on future-focused learning and supporting teachers in being innovative. Sinead has three teenage children and lives on a farm with sheep, goats and a funny dog called Taffy ! She enjoys travel and culture and is excited to be part of such a welcoming and diverse community.
Whaea Loren
Ko Te Rārawa / Ngāti Tūwharetoa ngā iwi . He uri whakatipu nō Panguru Papata.
Loren has a Bachelor degree in Education – specialising in Māori from The University of Auckland. She has taught various levels in Rūmaki Reo and has also lead Te Reo Māori me ōna tikanga in a mainstream environment. She has been a kaiako for 6 years and is excited to be a part of Whānau Ata at Freemans Bay School.
Rebecca Chan
Areas of leadership: Whānau Tahi Team Leader, Te kāhui-ako o Waitematā Within School Leader for wellbeing.
Rebecca is an experienced teacher and team leader and has also had experience as an Acting Deputy Principal at Freemans Bay School. Rebecca has worked in New Zealand and in the United Kingdom. Her passion is for New Entrants, supporting Whānau and students as they begin their primary school education. She works with local Early Childhood centres on transition to school programmes and runs preschool visits at Freemans Bay. Rebecca has a B.A. in Arts, a post graduate diploma in Teaching and is an Accredited Coach in Education. Rebecca has a passion for dance and enjoys tramping, especially in the mountains and ranges of New Zealand. She has 2 teenage children and an anxious cat.
Bonnie Holmes
Bonnie graduated with her Bachelor of Education (Primary) in 2016. Since then she has spent time volunteering in different countries overseas and working with youth in South Auckland. She is passionate about children enjoying learning and finding their place in the world. Bonnie brings her energy and enthusiasm into our New Entrant classrooms.
Rebecca (Becs) Swift
Areas of Leadership – Performing Arts Leader
Prior to traveling to Europe and living and teaching in London for four year, Becs taught for 6 years in schools around Auckland where she completed training in Reading Recovery and spent time as a specialist music teacher. On her return from London, Becs joined FBS where enjoys teaching children from a variety of different cultures and strives to build resilience and empathy in all her students.
Hannah Telford
Hannah has a Post Graduate Diploma in Primary Teaching from Victoria University of Wellington and a Bachelors Degree with Honours in English Studies. She is a passionate educator who believes every child can succeed in education. Hannah is excited to provide a learning environment where differences are celebrated and tamariki can freely express themselves; where they are inspired and motivated to become lifelong learners. Outside of classroom life, Hannah enjoys being active, spending time with friends and most of all enjoying what each day has to offer alongside her two young daughters.
Jo Watson
Areas of leadership: Whānau Rau, Visual Art Leader and BOT Staff Representative
Jo is an experienced teacher who has worked in many levels. She is currently a team leader as well as a classroom teacher in the Year 1 and 2 area. Jo is passionate about children’s learning and strives to help them experience success while also having fun. Jo is the teacher in charge of Art. She plans the annual Freemans Bay School art exhibition which takes place in Term 3. Jo is also the staff representative on the Board of Trustees.
Susan Hong
Susan has experience teaching all levels of children since 2009. Susan is an approachable and open minded person who is passionate about supporting children with diverse backgrounds. The most exciting aspect of working with children for her is their energy and enthusiasm for exploring new things and seeing growth in their learning and confidence.
Caitlin O’Brien
Caitlin graduated in 2016 with a Bachelor of Education and a specialty in Steiner Education. Since then Caitlin has been working as a relief teacher and travelling overseas. Her strengths include literacy, outdoor education and student wellbeing. Caitlin is passionate about educating the whole child and bringing their social and emotional development into their learning journey. She is enjoying her teaching journey and being a part of the school community.
Shital D’Rozario
Shital was a teacher in India for 11 years before she moved to New Zealand 4 years ago. She is a fluent speaker of Hindi and Marathi. Shital completed the Teacher Refresher Course in NZ and was a relief teacher in a number of Early Learning Centers and Primary Schools before she started teaching at our school. The inquisitiveness in children motivates her and keeps her passionate about teaching.
Genevieve (Gen) Clements
Areas of Leadership – (Enviro Schools Leader)
Creating relationships with true purpose, care and understanding is a key way in which Genevieve teaches and interacts with her School community. She has been in Education for over 15 years from in the classroom, to working closely with diverse learners through to varying leadership roles. Genevieve instils a love of learning, is passionate about pastoral care and brings a sense of fun and humour with her daily. She knows Freemans Bay School is a pretty special place and she is thrilled to be here. Outside teachingshe enjoys gardening, keeping active, cooking, reading, being on Waiheke and she loves her dog, friends and family.
Mina Park
Mina has a bachelor degree in Primary Education and a postgraduate certification in Educational Psychology and Digital Technologies.
One of her most memorable experiences was teaching English overseas on her O.E and she is a strong advocate for growth mindset and innovative learning practices. Mina loves experiencing new cultural customs and languages and is excited to join the Rau team.
Wendy Rowley
Wendy is a trained Reading Recovery teacher. She supports Whānau Rau children in small groups developing their literacy skills. She is also a trained teacher and on occasion has relieved in the juniors.
Troy Lunn
Areas of Leadership: Whānau Puna
Troy is a innovative and energetic teacher who enjoys helping children to discover their passions. He has strengths teaching in the Digital Technologies, PE and Mathematics. Troy has a Bachelor of Education (Honours) from the University of Auckland and has been teaching students from a variety of cultural backgrounds for the last 5 years.
Kathleen Davidson
Kathleen is an innovative young teacher. She has a Bachelor of Education (Teaching) (Honours), specialising in Mathematics and Science. She has previously taught in a number of schools on the North Shore, with Year 3-4 being her favourite year level to teach. In her free time, she enjoys bushwalking and art, as well as learning new skills. She is enjoying her teaching journey and being part of the Freemans Bay School community.
Melanie Holly
Melanie is an experienced teacher, having taught throughout N.Z and overseas. She is passionate about teaching in the junior school and setting children up with the skills, knowledge and passion for learning they need to thrive in their learning journeys.
Se Yeon Han
Se Yeon graduated with her Bachelor of Education from the University of Auckland. Previously, she taught keyboard classes at a children’s music centre to share her love for music. Se Yeon believes in the importance of helping children develop confidence in themselves as learners and build a positive self-esteem where they are proud of who they are and where they come from. Se Yeon is dedicated to helping children flourish with the strengths that they have and guiding them through their journey in becoming passionate and lifelong learners. Outside of teaching, Se Yeon enjoys playing the piano, engaging in anything arts & craft, reading, and spending time with her family.
Chander Kumar
Chander is an experienced teacher. She is passionate about literacy and brings a wealth of experience in this area to her students. Chander provides support to our library programme as well.
Kylie Henley
Kylie is an experienced teacher, having taught a variety of year levels in both Auckland and London throughout her teaching career. She is passionate motivating students to reach their full potential and thrive throughout their learning journeys.
Ching Liu
Ching’s greatest strength is her love for learning and dedication towards helping young minds discover the same. She actively seeks to motivate students to be brave and curious in discovering their passions. Ching has a Graduate Diploma in Teaching from the University of Auckland and a Postgraduate Certificate from the University of Nottingham in the U.K. She is multilingual and experienced in working with students from different cultural backgrounds.
Jessica Taylor
Areas of Leadership – Performing Arts Leader
Jessica has a Post Graduate Diploma in Primary Teaching and a Bachelors Degree in Commerce and Administration. She has taught a variety of different primary school year levels and last year was the Team Leader for the Year 4 and 5 Hub at her previous school. She is passionate about building positive relationships with students, staff and the school community and developing safe and happy school environments which maximise learning, engagement and enjoyment. She love all activities related to the beach and being active and enjoys travelling and seeing new places and most of all spending time with her family.
Catherine Minogue
Catherine has a passion for “mindfulness” and how to encourage our learners to strive to achieve their best through persistence and self belief. She brings with her a wealth of experience and knowledge in meeting the diverse needs of our learners.
Larissa Goebel
Areas of leadership: Whānau Wai and Gifted and Talented Education (GATE)
Larissa has a Bachelor of Education and a Postgraduate in Digital and Collaborative Learning.
She has a strength in literacy and is a Microsoft Innovative Educator. She likes to use inclusive technologies to enrich student learning. Larissa focuses on students’ well-being and social outcomes, as well as academic achievements.
Claire Myer
Daniel Merrill
With over 12 years teaching experience at intermediate level, Daniel is looking forward to enriching the year 5 and 6 hub with his skills and knowledge. He believes that engaging with students individually, and creating a safe and caring relationship is essential to learning. Daniel strives to empower his students to be resilient, self-managing and respectful life-long learners. Outside of school Daniel stays active by running, swimming and collecting Geocaches.
Lisa Imm
Areas of Leadership – Peer Mediation
Lisa is a compassionate teacher who understands the diverse learning needs of children from various backgrounds. In her classroom, Lisa incorporates digital technologies into her teaching and engages students in the inquiry learning process. Lisa enjoys working in an ILE, motivating children to become empowered, self-directed learners.
Adele Croucher
Areas of leadership: eLearning and Digital Technology; Mathematics
Adele has worked different roles in various multicultural settings where children have always been the stars of the show. She is passionate about music and dance and loves to see students thrive and express themselves in creative ways. Adele has a vested interest in how technology can be used to enhance the children’s learning, how they can use it share their work and start to make an impact on their community.
Margaret Whittaker
Margaret is a specialist music teacher, who teaches all classes within the school. She organises the orchestra, choir and marimba groups. She also co-ordinates the specialist music teachers from outside the school who take individuals or small groups with a variety of instruments. Margaret is an experienced teacher with over 20 years experience in Primary schools around NZ. Margaret is also the school’s Travel Wise Leader.
Annette Hollis
Areas of leadership: PE and Health
Annette has been teaching since 2008. During this time she has taught both in New Zealand and in North Carolina, USA, where she was based for three years. Outside of school Annette plays hockey at a representative level. She is passionate about travel and likes to bring a broad worldview to the students that she teaches across the school.
Shelley Duncan
Areas of leadership: elearning and Digital Technology
Shelley is skilled in the area of Digital Technologies and elearning and loves to share these skills with her students across the school. Shelley co-leads the school in this area and supports staff and students with their learning. She also enjoys outdoor education and loves to stretch her students with their thinking.
Trina Saxon
Trina is an experienced, innovative, creative teacher who has worked both in New Zealand and Cambodia. She has a Bachelor of Teaching and Learning and has vast experience in creating and working in ‘play-based’ learning environments.
Trina has taught extensively in both Kindergarten and New Entrant settings. Her strength is creating spaces and environments that are safe, inclusive, nurturing for all tamariki and whānau.
Teaching in international settings has accentuated her unwavering belief that all children are individual learners who deserve learning experiences that are adapted to offer support and extension at differentiated levels to reach their full potential.
Susan Maddren
Susan has taught all year levels both in New Zealand and the UK, but most of her experience is with the juniors. Susan loves being a part of the rich diversity here at Freemans Bay School. She gets great enjoyment out of the successes the children make in their learning, and finds it really rewarding watching the ESOL students’ language develop as they become bilingual learners.
Anne Cawley (on Sabbatical until Term 4 2021)
Areas of leadership: ESOL; Enviroschools
Anne is the ESOL team leader for the school. The team deliver ESOL programmes across the school to students who have English as a second language. She is passionate about the environment and is responsible for the school’s Enviroschool commitment. Anne has recently returned from studying to complete her Masters degree.
Fiona Inverarity (Part Time in 2021)
Through working in a variety of childcare settings, Fiona has gained experience in many aspects of child development and learning. During Fiona’s final year at university she participated in studying Maria Montessori’s philosophy of education and taught in Montessori schools as part of her final practicums. From this experience Fiona has developed a passion for developing student agency and independence for learning. In 2021 Fiona is on sabbatical studying, but will remain as a release teacher one day per week.
Suvarna Shawrikar
Suvarna is the school’s ICT and AV Assistant working to support the effective use of digital technology to enhance teaching and learning across the school. She has a bachelor of Engineering degree in Electronics and is passionate about Mathematics.
Priyanka Mathur
Priyanka is a part of the learning support team. She works with small groups and individual children in Rau Rua on specific programmes developed to support their needs. She has a post graduate in Master of Cost Control & Accountancy and loves to play with numbers and maths. Priyanka is also passionate about dancing.
Annie Sharrow
Annie is a part of the learning support team. She works with small groups and individual children on specific programmes developed to support their needs.
Sharon Yap
Sharon is part of the learning support team in Whānau Wai . She is also a fluent mandarin speaker and can be relied on to translate information to children and parents when needed.
Neelam Upadhyay
Neelam is a part of the learning support team. She works with small groups and individual children on specific programmes developed to support their needs. She was a teacher in India before moving to New Zealand. She is Graduate in Economics and Post Graduate in Political science. She also has a Diploma in computer application.
Dale Tifflin
Dale is our trained and experienced librarian from South Africa. She has a wealth of knowledge around books which she shares with our children and staff. She ensures that our children are able to explore, discover and borrow books which are stimulating and exciting from our great collection of fiction & non-fiction books, graphic novels, Maori books, dual language books and easy readers. Arranging and promoting book fairs, authors’ and illustrators’ visits and keeping abreast of new developments are responsibilities that she undertakes enthusiastically.
Poulami Bhandari
Poulami is a part of the learning support team. She works with small groups and individual children on specific programmes developed to support their needs.
Revathi Muthiah
Revathi is a Learning Assistant and has a Bachelors Degree in Biotechnology. She has had over 4 years experience working in preschools overseas and has undergone training in Montessori methodologies, applying these philosophies when working with our children. She is passionate about working with young children, their energy and enthusiasm is what motivates her. She loves to sing, crochet and cook and is so glad to be a part of Freemans Bay School.
Madison Welden
Madison is a part of the learning support team. She works with small groups and individual children in Whānau Wai on specific programmes developed to support their needs. She is passionate about children being healthy and active and assists Annette with the PE and Health portfolio. Madison also runs the school’s Breakfast Club.
Waseem Kousar
Waseem is a part of the learning support team. She works with small groups and individual children on specific programmes developed to support their needs. Waseem is currently studying Education at Auckland University.
