I have been in education for twenty-nine years, teaching in Special Character schools both here in Auckland and for a few years in the United Kingdom.

I have been the Kāhui Ako lead principal for two and a half years and am passionate about creating the conditions for all involved in SECKA, to be the very best that they can be. 

My personal character is one of integrity, passion and determination. I am a devoted teacher who has an ambition to succeed in changing the lives of students by helping them discover and explore their potential. I believe teaching is about creativity, imagination and sparking interests within this fast-changing digital world. I am always in search of making learning more innovative and engaging for our ākonga. This enables curiosity to grow within a student, enhancing their willingness to learn.

I value strong, positive relationships between students, parents, colleagues and the wider community, as together we learn as one, with each day bringing new opportunities to learn. This enables me to open my eyes to practice not just within, but beyond Our Lady Star of the Sea school, bringing that expertise back to share with colleagues. I believe in recognising the strengths and leadership qualities in my colleagues and using their strengths to grow the capacity and expertise within our school and wider Kāhui Ako. Being an Across School Teacher allows me to work with colleagues and students from all walks of life, where I can express genuine interest in children and their success. I am a reflective practitioner and consistently seek ways to improve and refine my teaching and the learning programmes in my classroom. I recognise the importance of lifelong learning and value of professional development.

Kia ora koutou, my name is Andrew Bergh. I am passionate about t e a c h i n g. I've done this through my career as a classroom teacher, Bible college lecturer, and church pastor. I'm now in my second teaching stint of teaching in schools and I'm enjoying every moment at Elim Christian College at the Golflands Campus.

My day job involves working at the coal educational face teaching year 10 English and leading our curriculum in the Middle Years. But I am as passionate about the helicopter view of education, that is leading educational change by networking with other educators to build school systems and workflows to organise and accelerate learning.

Over the last five years, a specific focus of mine has been learning about the 'complex notion' of learner agency in my MEd. (eLearning) and in my capacity as a WST / AST in our Kahui Ako. It seems that there is sufficient evidence in the research literature to conclude that students with high levels of self-concept and self-efficacy together with high motivation do better at school and in life after school. For this reason, I am interested in tracking student agency levels and studying how, when and why they fluctuate, and of course - how to foster increased levels of agency. I am currently pursuing a doctorate in Education at the University of Auckland in Technology-Enhanced Feedback and Teacher Feedback Literacy.

Kia ora koutou, my name is Ashleigh D'Cruz. I am enthusiastic about education and have treasured my time as a teacher at Sancta Maria Catholic Primary School for the past eleven years, where I have taught a range of levels from year 1 to 5. I am passionate about improving outcomes for our ākonga by raising achievement and engagement in literacy.

I have been involved with the South East Christian Kāhui Ako since 2019, first as a Within School Teacher and now as an Across School Teacher. I truly see the benefit of collaborating across our community to share teacher capability and expertise, and to support our students to become life-long learners.

I am excited about developing further in teacher inquiry to improve my own practice and to ensure learner success and wellbeing. I am confident that I can support others in their journey to do the same.

Kia ora koutou, my name is Jessica Robinson. I am currently a year 3/4 Teacher at St Mark's Catholic Primary School. I have been blessed to teach students both here in New Zealand and overseas. For me, building connections and relationship with students is the most important thing we can do.

I have been involved with the South East Christian Kāhui Ako since 2021, first as a Within School Teacher and now as an Across School Teacher. I believe in collaboration being the key to success and see Kāhui Ako as an incredibly powerful tool for schools.

I feel very lucky to be given the opportunity to work with a range of amazing teachers, to develop my own practice and help others do the same.