Classroom Teacher

Originally from Yorkshire, in the north of England, I have travelled extensively and have previously lived in England , Germany, Scotland, Malaysia and Ireland. In 1998, my husband and I decided to emigrate to New Zealand in search of sunshine and a better lifestyle for ourselves and our three children. We gave up our careers (mine in Orthoptics, a branch of Ophthalmology) to begin a new life. Teaching was something I had always wanted to do. As my children moved through primary school I decided that working in primary education was where I wanted to be. So, just after arriving in New Zealand, I began my Bachelor of Education through Massey University. My first teaching position was at Reignier School and then after four years, I moved all the way round the corner to Greenmeadows in 2006! I have taught in the Middle Syndicate here ever since. Our team is vibrant, enthusiastic and passionate about teaching and we work exceptionally well together. I love teaching. I love Monday mornings and look forward to any fresh new week or new term. The children at Greenmeadow's are eager to learn, polite, hard working and fun to be with. Every day is different and presents new pleasures and challenges. Outside of school I enjoy ski jumping and skiing, tennis and ten pin bowling (on Wii Sport) and cycling (on a real bike). I love socialising with family and friends, live concerts and shows, music, comedy, travelling and reading.

Classroom Teacher

You can find me in Room 2 with a fantastic group of Year 3’s. Greenmeadows School is my first teaching position after returning from studying in Dunedin. My interests include running, spending time with family and friends, trying out the wonderful cafes, watching movies and when time permits, getting into a juicy novel. Teaching in the middle syndicate has been a rewarding and enjoyable experience so far, made more so by all the supportive teachers around me who freely offer advice, share their experiences and whom I can have a laugh with.

Classroom Teacher

Kia ora My name is Monique Cowie and I am married to Garth and have three adult children and two grand children. I have been teaching for 15 years and five of these were in Invercargill and the rest here in Greenmeadows. I have taught children fom New Entrants to Year 4 and have enjoyed all levels. I have a deep interest in understanding children with learning difficulties and have attended courses in Autism to help me become a better teacher and understand what these children are feeling and how I can help them enjoy school and gain success. My favourite subjects are Art, Reading, Writing and Maths. During my time at GMS I have developed an enthusiasm and creative passion for 'The Wearable Arts'. I have a high expectation for the children in my classes despite the differences in levels of children’s abilities. I believe teaching is a shared partnership with parent’s, caregivers and guardians and I enjoy sharing in the growth and development of their child. Like the children in my class I am prepared to learn new skills and set high standards for myself and classroom. When children leave my class they will have gained both knowledge and skills for life. Yours in Education Monique Cowie

Classroom Teacher

Hi. I'm Shona Millner and I'm relatively new at Greenmeadows School having only been here for two years. What a great two years it's been as it's a fantastic school with lovely children. I've taught at all levels and my current class is Year 3. Sprinkled amongst my 20 years of teaching I have got married, had three children played plenty of netball, walked several half marathons, gardened, read heaps, and have fulfilled my motherly duties of taxi driver and all round dogs body! It's all been great and I look forward to the next 20 years.

Classrom Teacher

I loved my primary school days in Ruatoria and this fuelled my desire to be a teacher. I trained at Waikato University and this was followed by teaching positions in Taihape, Gisborne, Ohaupo and Tolaga Bay. Amongst my years of New Zealand experience I lived in London twice and taught the majority of the time in a great multicultural school. My holidays were spent travelling extensively, exploring all those places I’d seen in books as a child. The travel bug had definitely bitten and four years down the track in New Zealand, my Eastern European adventure began. In July 2008, I returned to New Zealand after two and a half years working at an international school in Sofia, Bulgaria. I enjoyed this fantastic opportunity and challenge. Learning a new alphabet and language was a necessity. My Bulgarian was often understood better than English with a New Zealand accent! It is great to be living and working in such a beautiful part of New Zealand. We really are very fortunate. I am enjoying being a short trip away from family and teaching at a fantastic school, with a great team of people and fabulous children. I enjoy catching up with friends and family, reading, writing and doing mosaics for the garden.

Classroom Teacher

Walk along the Gloucester St deck to Room 7 and there you shall find us – a delightful Year 2 group of children, all bubbly and enthusiastic about Greenmeadows and their learning. I began my teaching career in 1984 and have worked at all Primary levels, from a very large intermediate school to a very small sole-charge school! I joined the Greenmeadows team in 2003, initially working part-time. While here I have been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to train in Reading Recovery – an excellent skill for any teacher to have. Greenmeadows is a great place to be. In my spare time I enjoy biking, gardening, cross-stitch, reading lots of books, catching up with family and friends. I am also a mother to two teenage children, a very busy life!

Classroom Teacher

Hi, I’m Wendy. I began my teaching career in Levin where I taught Y1 to Y4 children for 5 years. We moved to Napier then a couple of years later to Wellington before moving back to Hawkes Bay in 1991. While my children were young I relieved at a variety of schools in the Hawkes Bay, teaching at all levels of the primary sector. In 1997 I joined the Junior Syndicate at G.M.S. I love seeing the progress our children make in the first year of school beginning their journey to becoming independent, confident learners.

Classroom Teacher

Hi, I’m Angela Young and I am currently teaching a Year One class in Room 9. I love my job; it is incredibly rewarding! Everyday I see my students growing, learning and laughing. It is a privilege to play a part in their lives by helping them to realise their potential, helping them to grow, helping them to find their talents, skills and abilities. It is vital to show compassion when they are down and to celebrate with them when they are up. I have taught across all Year levels from Year 1 to Year 6 with every level providing many challenges and rewards. I have taught in both the public and the private education sector. After spending several years teaching overseas in London and more recently in Australia, it was time to return home to Hawkes Bay in 2006 and I was very lucky to get a job teaching at Greenmeadows.

Classroom Teacher

You will currently find me teaching an awesome class of Year 5 children in Room 14. I have loved teaching at Greenmeadows which involves being surrounded by a very talented group of people. In the past I have taught in a variety of schools in Hawkes Bay including country, intermediate, and full primary schools. In these places I have had the pleasure of working with and learning from many children. I.C.T (computers and media) has always been an area that I love to be involved in but I also enjoy being part of the many cultural and academic activities that school provides. In my spare time I keep busy in activities that range from jewellery design and metalcraft to cycling and tennis. Please feel free to come and check out what our class is doing as we love to share.

Classroom Teacher

Kia ora, my name is Pixie. My teaching career started 6 years ago at a local school, St Mary's in Hastings. While I was there I taught a year 1 class. You will now find me in the senior end of Greenmeadows School as I currently teach a year 6 class. I am involved with the cultural aspects of the school, Kapa Haka, Te Reo and a variety of sports. My out of school interests include reading, cycling, solving puzzles, watching movies, and taking long walks with my husband. I love having a common interest in reading with many of the children in my class who provide me with fantastic book recommendations. Ka kite

Reading Recovery / Syndicate Leader Release

Advanced Teaching Diploma

I have been teaching part-time at Greenmeadows School since February 2009 – and I love it. My teaching role involves me working with individual children with specific learning needs, as well as releasing the middle and junior team leaders. During these times I take mathematics classes in the team leader’s classes. I find the Greenmeadows children responsive and fun to learn with! I moved to Hawkes Bay from north of Auckland in January 2005. I was Deputy Principal at Dairy Flat Primary School for seven years, where I was also teaching the New Entrant class. We moved to Hawkes Bay to be closer to family. I had decided at this point to give up full-time teaching, and since then have worked in long term relieving positions and undertaken day to day relief teaching at all class levels of the school. In 2008 I travelled overseas with my late husband and ended up living in the United Kingdom. We settled in Maidstone, Kent for six months where I worked as a day ‘supply’ teacher through an agency. During that time I taught in thirteen different schools teaching children from ‘foundation/nursery’ classes to Year 6. This was a great opportunity to work with children of different cultures and experience other ways of teaching – actually not too dissimilar to the New Zealand system. I have two adorable grand-daughters aged 3 ½ and 18 months living nearby who I get so much pleasure from. Living at Clive I enjoy walking the Rotary walkways with my 2 year old Foxy/Jack Russell who is ready to go any time! My other interests include reading, gardening and enjoying cafes with friends.

I have been teaching at Greenmeadows School for over 20 years. I began in the Junior Syndicate and taught the New Entrant class for ten years before moving into the Middle Syndicate.I lead this team for several years and really enjoyed this experience.I was responsible for the school choir for many years,preparing them for music festivals and other occasions.This was very rewarding for me.Since retiring from full time work I have enjoyed relieving and part time work. This year I am working with Nicole Trubshaw who is a first year teacher in the Middle Team. I am finding this to be really satisfying.Greenmeadows School is a great place to work.

Classroom Teacher

I have been very fortunate to enjoy a successful and happy teaching career both back in South Africa for eleven years and now here in New Zealand for the past eleven years. We immigrated to New Zealand at the start of 1998 and I’ve been teaching here at Greenmeadows School ever since… the best little school in town! I was part of the Middle Syndicate team until the end of 2007 before I joined the Senior Syndicate team. I am currently teaching in Room 17 and I have a delightful class of Year 5 students this year. Although I reckon we have to be ‘Jacks and Jills of all trades’ delivering the NZ curriculum, I’m very passionate about the teaching of mathematics, literacy and art. The wonderful support of the staff, parents and students at our school makes teaching at GMS a real pleasure. In my leisure time I enjoy having coffee with my friends, entertaining people, gardening, relaxing with a good magazine, listening to any kind of music and watching my boys participate in their summer and winter sport. The latest addition to our family, our Bischon Frise puppy called Max, has certainly completed our chain of happiness here in New Zealand. Living and teaching here in sunny Hawkes Bay is definitely something to celebrate!

2010 is my first year at Greenmeadows School having previously taught at Puketapu School for two and a half years. Prior to that I taught in Prague in the Czech Republic at a Christian International School. Travelling around Europe and living in Prague for a year was an amazing experience for my wife Ange and myself. Before my Overseas Experience, I taught at Greenpark School in Tauranga and this was my first teaching position. Since starting at GMS, I have been so impressed by the enthusiasm of the children here. They are eager to learn and take any opportunities presented to them. I love organising lunchtime sport for the children here and often get up to 70 eager sportspeople playing a variety of sports with me on our ideal sports field.

New Entrant Teacher - Room 11