I am delighted to be part of the team at such an exciting new education venture and I am enjoying doing my part at Te Ao Mārama School.

I am a married mother of three: a daughter and two sons, all now teenagers, I love being part of their busy lives. I have lived in Hamilton for 15 years.

My professional background has been in finance, human resources and administration. I also have experience in schools, ranging from teacher aiding, through to office work, running school fundraising events, and also being a member of a Board of Trustees

I enjoy being around children, watching them grow and fulfil their potential. I feel extremely privileged to be part of the team here at Te Ao Mārama School.

Hi everyone! I’m Melissa & I absolutely love being be part of the Te Ao Mārama team.

I have previously worked in a similar role at Endeavour School & prior to that, I spent 15 years working in the insurance industry.

I particularly enjoy making connections with school families & interacting with the students.

I live close to school with my husband and two young children; Caitlin attends Rototuna Junior High & Harry attends Te Ao Mārama.

I look forward to meeting you in the school office.

Kia Ora, my name is Kelly Oien and I am excited to be joining the Te Ao Mārama family as an Office/Admin Support person.

I grew up on a farm in Morrinsville and now live on a lifestyle block in Taupiri with my husband Alec and two boys Ashton and Benji who are 9 and 7.

As a family we enjoy going to the beach, camping, motocross, anything outdoorsy really!

I am really looking forward to starting my journey at Te Ao Mārama and meeting all of the wonderful families, I have heard so many great things about the school. Come and say Hi!

Tēnā koutou katoa, Ko Buffy Nepia tõku ingoa. Ko Tõngariro te maunga Ko Taupo te moana Ko Tūwharetoa te iwi Ko Te Heuheu te tangata! He uri ano no Te Atihaunui a paparangi

Tēnā koutou katoa, Ko Buffy Nepia tõku ingoa. Ko Tõngariro te maunga Ko Taupo te moana Ko Tūwharetoa te iwi Ko Te Heuheu te tangata! He uri ano no Te Atihaunui a paparangi

I'm very humbled and excited to be part of an amazing learning environment Te Ao Mārama whānau as new inclusive learning assistant.

I am mother of 3 adult children and grandmother of 7 mokopuna, four who were foundation students of Te Ao Mārama community.

I have many years of experience working in Kohanga reo preschool and Kura kaupapa Māori both in Turangi and Whanganui. Other areas of skill health disability advocacy oral health educator whanauora family whānau services also volunteer for cancer society.

I enjoy baking, jewellery making, yoga, holistic healing, and quality time with my whānau.

Kia ora koutou

My name is Shannon and I have 3 children, Maddi (15) at Rototuna Senior High, Jack (14) at Hamilton boys and Sam (7) at Te Ao Marama.

I have been at Te Ao Marama since term 3 2019. While I have been mainly a Learning Assistant in the classroom, just recently I have also been taking Literacy groups to boost some of our learners and help them to learn strategies to assist in their writing which I really enjoy.

I love working at our school and value the relationships I have made with both staff and tamariki.

Kia Ora! Aroha ki te whānau o Te Ao Mārama!

Hello to my family here at Te Ao Mārama school. My name is Deborah Anderson and I am thrilled to be part of an incredible team of learners and staff as an Inclusive Learning Assistant.

My background is in education and I am passionate about learning and language. I look forward to guiding our tamariki with English as a second language and becoming a part of this vibrant community.

My home is Kirikiriroa and I live here with my husband Kris and our two children Eli and Lucy, who are both attending Te Ao Mārama.
As a whānau we are avid gardeners, love exploring nature, enjoy cooking (and eating!) and getting messy with arts and crafts!

I look forward to our journey together. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou!

Kia Ora, my name is Debbie and I am thrilled to be part of the team at Te Ao Mārama.

I have been an Inclusive Learning Assistant for seven years and love being involved in the classroom.

I live in Rototuna with my amazing family. We spend our winters on the sports fields and our summers by the pool. We are also huge Lego fans! In my spare time, I love gardening and knitting.

I love being part of this incredible community!

Hi ! My name is Rainy Lee and I feel very privileged and grateful for the opportunity to be part of the Te Ao Mārama team.
I enjoy working with Children and have been doing so for few years. I am joining the Te Ao Mārama team as an Inclusive learning assistant. I am currently a part of the Te Totara primary school before and after school care programme as well.

I was born in Malaysia but have been in New Zealand for over 30 years. I am happily married and living with my four children in Rototuna. Two of my sons have recently graduated from University and two younger sons are currently in High School. In my spare time, I enjoy attending yoga sessions and exercising regularly.

Looking forward to meeting all the kids and parents in this community.

大家好！我的名字是 Rainy Lee, 我非常的幸运以及高兴有这机会成为Te Ao Mārama 学校的团队成员，我将会是学校其中一位学习助理.
我喜欢小孩、所以喜欢做与小孩相关的工作，曾经也在TeTotara小学当学习助理，以及在课后辅导中心工作.
我出生在马来西亚，定居在这新西兰已经 30 多年，已婚以及有四个孩子，我们住在Rototuna, 两个大儿子最近大学毕业，两个小的儿子目前正在上高中. 业余时间我喜欢参加瑜伽课程以及定期锻炼.
我很期待在学校可以与大家相识.

Hi, I'm excited to be part of the team at Te Ao Mārama as an Inclusive Learning Assistant.

I have previously worked as a Teacher Aide/ Learning Assistant in Hamilton and have a background as a qualified chef. These skills bring a range of experiences and knowledge that I can share with the children and staff here at Te Ao Mārama.

My husband Craig and I have two girls aged 13 and 10, and our favourite family activity is to explore the wonderful towns, cities, and beaches of this beautiful country. We especially look forward to eating out at great restaurants.

We live on a rural property that has plenty of room for our vegetable and herb gardens. I particularly enjoy harvesting our homegrown crops and turning them into chutneys, pickles and delicious meals.

Hi, I'm Hayley. I joined the Te Ao Mārama team in 2021 as an Inclusive Learning Assistant.

I feel so privileged to be a part of the incredible team and community that Te Ao Mārama have created. I have come from Te Totara Primary where I worked part time as a Teacher Aide over the last five years.

I enjoy so many aspects of my role, in particular making special connections with the children under my care and I am so passionate about being a positive part of the growth in these children.

I am married to Dan and we have three children, with my eldest starting Year 7 and youngest starting school this May. Our middle child also attends Te Ao Mārama.
But ... I can’t forget our newest member, our Border Terrier puppy, Ben, who is full of energy and so much love!

In our spare time we love hanging out with our extended family and always look forward to our big camping trip each year at Ōhope!

Te Ao Mārama has a great name in our community and I am so excited to be a part of their amazing future.

I am looking forward to seeing all the smiling children and getting to know the families of Te Ao Mārama.

Hi, my name is Andrea and I'm very excited to be joining the Te Ao Mārama team.

I'm looking forward to working and learning alongside the incredible staff, students and families that make up the Te Ao Mārama community.

I've lived in Hamilton for the last 7 years with my partner Polu and my daughter Madison who also attends and loves Te Ao Mārama.

Our family and friends make up the keystone in our lives so we love spending time with them. Both my partner and I have very happy memories of growing up in Otago and those happy memories and family traditions, like exploring our beautiful country, beach and ski trips are what we want for Madison.

Te Ao Mārama has helped to make all of Madison's school memories, happy ones. I feel privileged to be a part of a team that goes above and beyond to do this for all the families and amazing children that make this school so special. 💙💚

Kia Ora, My name is Josh and I am excited to join the awesome team here at Te Ao Mārama.

I am young and enthusiastic & love anything to do with sport. I have recently graduated from Rototuna Senior High School and am ready to explore my passion for teaching and developing the young people of tomorrow.

I have attended Rototuna Senior High School for the past 3 years, and was briefly at Hamilton Boys High School for 2 years prior to this. I have always loved coaching and giving back my knowledge.

Kia ora, my name is Debra.

I am very excited to join the awesome team here at Te Ao Mārama.

I have lived in Hamilton with my husband Don for the past 10 years. I have four children and we are also very blessed to have 14 grandchildren. I have been an ECE teacher for the past 40 years and I am looking forward to helping the children here grow and succeed in their early years.

I love gardening, travelling and most of all spending time with my family.
I look forward to getting to know you all and your tamariki.

I'm Lucy Pedlar and I'm so excited to be joining such a caring and passionate team.

My family moved from South Africa to Auckland in 2020 and we've lived in Hamilton for the last two years. My husband and I have two chatty daughters and two (less chatty) fur kids.

We love exploring museums, libraries, playgrounds and parks. We're keen crafters, readers, geocachers and fairy garden explorers.

I feel so lucky to have an opportunity to help our beautiful tamariki grow and learn.

Hello Whānau.
I’m Amy. I have had the pleasure of previously being employed at Te Ao Mārama school and am incredibly excited about returning as an Inclusive Learning Assistant. I am looking forward to spending time with the amazing staff and learners at our kura again.

I was born and raised in Hamilton and returned to the Waikato ten years ago to be back closer to my whānau. I am the mother of three kiddos, two of whom attend Te Ao Mārama. We live on a rural lifestyle property by Taupiri mountain, and as a family, we love spending time on the land growing our own fruit and veggies and raising our animals. We currently have a dog, a cat, and ten chickens. Next month, we will be getting some baby lambs to hand raise and bottle feed. At night, we love to make a fire together to toast marshmallows on! We also enjoy going camping and kayaking as a family.

On the weekends, you can find me in my soccer mom role or spending time with my friends and extended family.

I’m super friendly, so if you see me round, come and say hi.

Kia ora koutou katoa!

Ko Lauren toku ingoa. I te taha o tōku mama, no Ngāti Huri ahau. I te taha o tōku papa, ko te Tiriti o Waitangi tōku tūrangawaewae.

Hi, my name is Lauren and I am excited to be part of the Te Ao Mārama team supporting our kapa haka kaupapa.

Although I spent my university years studying English Literature and Anthropology, you’ll now find me carving taonga pounamu in my home workshop and learning Te Reo Māori through Te Atārangi; that is, when I’m not out adventuring with my husband, our daughter and our two dogs.

Hi, my name is Kelly Jenkins. I was born and raised in Hamilton and have lived in Rototuna for the past 15 years where we have raised our two children in this lovely community.

In my spare time I enjoy reading, being creative and supporting my children in their passions.

In my career as a Hairdresser, I have had the privilege of developing meaningful relationships with my clients. A year ago, I decided to begin a new career journey into counselling and I am currently a student studying an Applied Bachelor of Counselling.

I am extremely grateful to be given the opportunity to complete my student counsellor practicum placement at Te Ao Mārama School. I am looking forward to fostering beautiful relationships within the Te Ao Mārama community and working alongside the incredible staff to support students and their families.

I am passionate about student wellbeing and facilitating a safe and welcoming space where children will feel heard, understood, and supported.