Senior Leadership Team
Sarah Turner
Deputy Principal, Curriculum & Pedagogy,
I view my role as an educator as someone who will provide an authentic, relevant learning environment and culture that is responsive to the voice and needs of the learner. I want learners to own their learning journey; to become capable, confident, and self-directed so that they can reach their potential and develop their passions. I enjoy working alongside the learners to provide an education that meets their individual needs and supports them to grow and thrive. I believe it is the job of school leadership to support the children, their whānau, and their teachers to create a space where each child feels valued and supported.
Andrew Kingston
Deputy Principal, Senior College
Every learner comes to us with a range of skills and capabilities, and it is our responsibility to inspire them to develop essential learning skills so they are equipped to face challenges and opportunities within and beyond the classroom. My goal is to empower learners to understand that learning is learnable. I'm driven to develop confident, capable, and reflective learners who are intrinsically motivated to go that little bit further in the quest for personal excellence.
I’m passionate about providing learner agency and ownership in the classroom which encourages students’ passions to flourish whilst strengthening foundational knowledge and understanding. Role-modelling is essential for our learners’ development and so I approach challenges with a positive mindset and foster an ethic of excellence in all that I do with the support of colleagues, learners, and whanau.
Our Learning Coaches
Angela Hall
Primary Learning Coach
I believe it is critical to identify individuals' strengths and passions to help them thrive in an educational setting. I am passionate about play-based learning and hope that by fostering a well-being and play-focused learning environment, I will be able to give students a genuine sense of belonging and ownership, as well as a sense of safety and happiness. Experience has taught me that significant effort is needed to develop positive and meaningful relationships with children; it results in significant positive shifts in their learning. I am excited to be working with the AGE team that shares my beliefs and passion for guiding learners to realise their potential.
Jonathan Mulholland
Primary Learning Coach
I believe that every student has something of value to offer and helping them find where they fit is very important to me. The four C’s at AGE of curiosity, compassion, communication, and creativity are perfect ways for students to explore their place in the world. I enjoy using technology to deliver learning in different and engaging ways and I get excited about coaching students through learning experiences that help them reach their potential.
Claire Munford
Junior Learning Coach
With over 30 years of teaching experience, I believe I have a lot to offer and a lot to learn in this wonderful environment and community. I thrive on building children's confidence and bringing out the best in each individual while encouraging and weaving positivity and compassion through all learning. We know that children learn and cope best when they feel loved, safe, heard, engaged, and inspired, and taking ownership of their own learning builds independent work habits and lifelong skills. Growing and fostering relationships aligns naturally with my teaching style, and authentic, open relationships with families are of huge importance to me when seeking to better understand a child's uniqueness and strengths. Let the journey begin!
Matt Ingham
Junior Learning Coach
Learning is fun. Everything we do, whether it's playing video games, playing sports or watching a favourite show, we are learning; how to do better, mastering new skills or seeing how characters change and develop, every activity we enjoy involves us learning more about it. It makes me sad that sometimes the education system makes children think that learning in school is different. School should be the most amazing time we ever experience.
I have a masters degree in inclusive education from Nottingham University in the UK, and I have taught in schools around the world. I have taught classes from newborns through to 18 year olds and at every stage, everywhere in the world, I have consistently found that children learn best when they are happy and feel safe. The foundation of everything I do as a learning coach is to encourage the children to feel safe and protected, whilst also supporting them to take risks and delve deeply into their passions. Learning is amazing, when you feel safe enough to take big risks.
Mel Wallis
Senior Learning Coach
The biggest learner in the classroom…is ME!! I am passionate about reimagining education and helping young people become the best versions of themselves: surfacing their unique strengths, sparking passions and nurturing curiosity. My personal values include wellbeing (encompassing joy, gratitude and connection) and growth (learning, courage and challenge). These underlie my passion for designing innovative, inclusive learning experiences that honour and empower students to become agents of their own learning; encouraging them to question, take risks, think critically and creatively, and embrace failure as an important part of learning.
Nyel Rodger
Senior Learning Coach
‘How boring would this world be if we were all the same?'
I want to see our ākonga learn about their differences, have the tools they require for expressing their unique experiences and perspectives, and for understanding the perspective of others; to be capable of positively shaping the world they encounter, and being shaped positively by it.
I am most interested in the work of quantity, pattern, and structure - what mathematics is built of - but find every aspect of learning and knowledge to be beneficial. I am excited for our learners to discover wider ways of seeing and doing so that they can discover who they are for themselves and make their own path forward.
Eleanor Morfett
Senior Learning Coach
Eleanor is an English and Psychology specialist and joins us this year. Eleanor has a passion for cross-curricular learning and developing the skills our young people need to be successful.
Jenny Freymark
Learning and Literacy Development Coach
One of the joys of working with students is discovering their individual uniqueness and how 'who they are’ shapes their learning journey towards adulthood. I am convinced that best learning outcomes are achieved when the school and parents work in close partnership to support students, and I value the contributions of significant others in decisions that are made about student learning.
My experience over the past 30 years has taught me that all students can learn, so I consider it a privilege to be able to work alongside other caring, passionate educators at AGE School, as we support our students to experience success in Literacy Learning, using researched, evidence-based practises.
Our Support Team
Lisa Tukuniu Lead Learning Support Assistant
Seini Walters Learning Support Assistant
Bula vinaka.
I am excited to be living in a time of great abundance and resources. When I was at university the internet hadn't been invented yet, so I am thrilled by all the amazing opportunities and limitless possibilities we have in this day and age.
I am a mother of seven children and 3 of my sons are Autistic, so I totally celebrate the individuality and uniqueness of each child. I am also very excited to work with and learn from the brilliant team at Age.
Dana Banks
Learning Support Assistant
Hello! My passion in life is children and I’ve spent the last 30 years as a full-time nanny for various families on the North Shore, working alongside the parents in nurturing and caring for their needs. I love watching the children grow and flourish to adulthood and my role at age is to support learners and learning coaches and most importantly filling their tummies with delicious, healthy lunches in the Nourish2Flourish programme.
Tamar Atcheson
Staff and Student Services
Janie Stone
Reception & Admin Support