Stephanie - Team Leader, Qualified Registered Teacher
Kia ora,
I’m Steph and I have been a Qualified/Registered teacher since the beginning of 2013 and working here at The Garden since September 2022.
Throughout my career I have worked with children aged 0-5yrs but predominantly with toddlers 2-3yrs as I love a challenge! I have also been working in leadership and management roles since 2016, mostly in busy Auckland centres licenced for 150 children, so The Garden is a very nice change of pace for me!
My family and I moved to Katikati at the end of 2021 when my son was 7 months old – we were tired of the rat race in Auckland and wanted to be closer to my Mum and Dad. We love hiking, fishing and just being outdoors in general so we figured the Bay of Plenty would be a nice spot to settle with access to all of those things.
I look forward to getting to know you and being a part of your child’s learning journey here at The Garden.
Corina - Qualified Registered Teacher
Kia ora whānau.
Ahakoa he iti he pounamu. Although little it is precious.
Ko Corina tōku ingoa.
I had a fabulous childhood growing up in a large Dutch family with 6 siblings, on dairy farms in the Waikato area. Hence my love of the outdoors and getting dirty!
For the last 25 years I have lived in beautiful Omokoroa with my husband Ross. We have 2 adult children, Theo and Leah who both attended Omokoroa Playcentre and Omokoroa Point School.
I only discovered later in my life how much I love teaching young children when I had my own children and attended playcentre and Mainly Music with them. They went to school and I didn’t want to leave Playcentre so off I went to study for my early childhood degree at Bethlehem Tertiary Institute (BTI).
At my first teaching position in Katikati I was privileged to work with Kim for 7 years, before she came to The Garden as a founding teacher. So I am thrilled to be at the same centre as her again. It is also fabulous to be finally teaching in my local community at such a great centre after working in Tauranga at St Peters Childcare. I so do not miss the traffic!
I love to spend time with my family; attend my church, Bethlehem Baptist; explore Omokoroa; travel; visit wineries; and sample all different types of food.
As a teacher I love to be silly and have fun with your precious children, provide them with challenges, and catch their magical learning moments to share with you.
I am so looking forward to getting to know you all.
Shannon - Qualified Registered Teacher
Kia ora, my name is Shannon and it is a privilege to be a part of The Garden Team.
I am a qualified and registered primary school teacher with experience of 7 years, having previously taught in Auckland and Tauranga.
I moved to beautiful Omokoroa in 2016 with my husband who is also a teacher. I am a mother of twins who are also a part of The Garden family and a large reason I developed the passion to venture on this teaching journey.
As an educator, it is my desire to help tamariki meet their fullest potential in an environment that is safe, supports risk taking and exploration in our natural environment. I believe developing strong relationships with each individual child is key and is proven that students learn best when this need is met.
I look forward to working with a lovely team, alongside whanau as well as contributing to the community.
"Life is a journey to be experienced, not a problem to be solved" - Winnie the Pooh
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Toni - Teacher Support
Hi, my name is Toni. I am doing the role of teacher support here at The Garden Early Childhood Centre.
I have just moved to Omokoroa from Auckland where I have lived my whole life.
I have previously worked as a nanny for 14 years and worked in Early Childhood Centres previous to my move down here.
I have two primary school age children who attend Omokoroa Point School.
I enjoy exploring and learning a lot about our little community here in Omokoroa and look forward to meeting many more families who are existing and new to Omokoroa.
It is an exciting new chapter in my life and cant wait to nurture and help your children grow while they attend their early lives here at The Garden.
Helen - Qualified Registered Teacher
Kia ora. I’m Helen and I am very much a local here in Omokoroa having been based in this beautiful coastal location since 2009. I live here with my husband, our daughter and our various furry and finned family members.
I’ve been teaching for many years now and some of my earlier teaching experiences involved working in a UK primary school. For some part of that time, I was responsible for guiding Reception Class Teachers in the delivery of the UK’s Early Years Foundation Stage framework (comparable to New Zealand’s early childhood curriculum – Te Whāriki). Early in my teacher training, I was introduced to a principle of learning, which identifies that for all of us, teaching and learning is most effective when we feel emotionally safe and secure. This has become a powerful part of my personal teaching philosophy. For me, this is about building respectful, nurturing relationships with our tamariki, which are supportive of their curiosity and their growth……but let’s not underestimate the importance of having fun too!!
I was delighted when the opportunity arose to join The Garden teaching team back in July 2019 and felt immediately at home. It’s been so hugely rewarding building relationships with all our wonderful tamariki and their whanau over the years. I also feel very fortunate to have participated in many of our centre’s additional opportunities, experiences and achievements, such as our excursions to Mainly Music, our Forest Adventures activities and our Centre’s achievement of a Healthy Heart Award. There’s always something going on at The Garden – and I love it!!
Sue - Qualified Registered Teacher
Hi my name is Sue. I have been working in childcare for over 10 years, and recently completed my Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education.
I am originally from the UK, a little village called Wilstead, in Bedfordshire, where I met my husband and had my three daughters.
We came to New Zealand for a holiday and instantly fell in love with the Bay of Plenty, prompting a move here two years later in 2015. We absolutely love living in Omokoroa and being a part of this lovely community.
Children are so inspirational and I feel very lucky to be following my passion; working with infants and toddlers in an environment that understands the positive impact of a ‘home away from home’ setting and the benefits of connecting with the natural world around us.
Building strong relationships with families and ensuring a sense of belonging for our children is important to me as a teacher. I love seeing and sharing the most memorable milestones and watching the confidence of our youngest tamariki grow. Since having my own children, my passion for working with children has grown. Seeing how they develop and the people they become, knowing I have helped them on their journey is why I love what I do.
I enjoy spending time with my family, going on walks, bike rides and swimming.
I love being part of this amazing team of teachers and getting to know all our families.
Jo - Qualified Registered Teacher
Johanna - Unqualified Teacher
Kia ora, I’m Johanna one of the support teachers at The Garden. I have been working in early childhood over the past 5 years, and also worked as a nanny in Australia and Ireland. During this time I worked with children aged 0-5, but enjoy working with infants and toddlers the most as I love the caring and nurturing side of it. Originally I come from Germany and only intended to come to New Zealand as an overseas experience, but then met my partner and moved here for good. We love fishing, surfing, gardening and taking our dog for walks. I am looking forward to being part of your child’s home away from home here at The Garden.
Shona - Teacher Support
Hi, I’m Shona, I live in Omokoroa with my partner Alex and our 2 children, Harper is 9 and attends Omokoroa Point School, Aston is 3, and he’s here at The Garden.
You will often see us out and about walking our dogs or attending local events.
I feel very privileged to be working as the teacher support in the infants room, alongside the most amazing teachers.
I have come into this role after previously working as a preschool chef, which I did enjoy, but I am loving the slower pace that The Garden provides for us to really connect and care for these beautiful children.
I look forward to getting to know all of your families and most of all spending my days learning and exploring with the children here at The Garden.
“Infancy is a vulnerable stage of development, therefore, it is not enough that babies receive good care, the care must be excellent" Magda Gerber