Meet Our Friendly Staff :)

I have been principal of Waitaria Bay School for ten years, having moved from a  principal position of a small school in the North Island. I am also Community of Learning Lead Principal for the Te Wheke Akaronga - Marlborough Sounds. I believe in ensuring, through teaching and learning, that our children today gain a love of learning that leads them to be successful in  all aspects of their lives. I am a strong advocate for student agency - empowering children to take responsibility for their own learning and encourage the use of thinking skills, initiative and independence.

I am a mother, grandmother and partner , these people in my life are paramount to my happiness ..... along with fishing - hence the longevity of my stay in the Sounds - along with my love for the children and their families at our small school.

I live in Waikawa and am almost retired, just coming through to Waitaria on Wednesdays to teach. I enjoy sailing in the Sounds and also my involvement with Picton Dawn Chorus as we work towards eradicating predators in our district. 

My name is Mary Peters I am the BOT staff representative and secretary and I also share the role of Office Manager at Waitaria Bay School.  I have five children and six grandchildren and live in the beautiful Kenepuru Sounds.

My hope for the future of education is that it assists all students in their growth to become happy, independent and well informed individuals and to give them the necessary skills to cope with confidence in our rapidly changing world.

Barb grew up in Tauranga. She has taught in the Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, Waikato, Wellington, Perth Australia, Linkwater and then Tua Marina for the last decade.
She has been a teacher and Deputy Principal.

Hi, my name is Emma Hopkinson. My family are sheep & beef farmers as well as mussel farmers. We have four children, with two attending Waitaria Bay School. I am Board Chair of WBS and I am also on the board of Te Wheke.

I believe that education is very important. Education is the ability to inspire others with knowledge. It is knowing what you can do and how you can do it. Education gives you the skills and knowledge to actively participate and keep up with the changing ways of the world.

My name is Agnes Takacs. I am Office Manager at Waitaria Bay School. My role allows me to interact with many people daily and see happy faces all around my job. My aim is to assist the WBS staff and the community to make the school and its surroundings an even happier and supportive environment for the kids to reach their personal excellence in. My own children came to this wonderful little school and I am proudly able to say that they have all benefited in being a part of this great community that has provided a strong foundation for their later schooling and life skills.

Chris grew up in Marlborough. His grandmother was the first telephone operator at Homeward Bay and his father was born in Maori Bay and from 1931 they lived in Picton.
Chirs has taught in Hawkes Bay, Ruatoria, King Country, Hamilton, Wellington, Perth Australia, Havelock and Blenheim. He has been a teacher through to being a principal of an Intermediate. His last job was Deputy Principal at Redwoodtown School.

My name is Emily Osborne, I live on our family farm at the other end of Kenepuru Sound. We take our son by boat to the school bus stop most of the time it’s a pretty idyllic! The kids at Waitaria Bay School are a small and diverse bunch; they have to learn to get along and work together- just like the rest of us. I love it that Waitaria has all the facilities of a big school but with an unbeatable teacher student ratio, multilevel learning and lots of input from parent and community volunteers.

I think education is all about giving our kids an introduction to the broad range of ideas and skills that make up a small part of the awesomeness of our world. We want them to forge their own unique paths with creativity and respect and I think Waitaria Bay School sets them up perfectly for this.