2019 Common Election results

My name is Tom Jackson and I am standing for the Board of Trustees for Northcote Primary School (NPS).

My Connection to Northcote Primary School

I have two granddaughters at NPS, Mollie Jackson in year 5 and her sister Issy in year 3. I was elected to the BOT in 2016 and have decided to stand for another 3 year term. I believe I can provide continuity from the current BOT to the new BOT. I have enjoyed the last 3 years and believe the BOT achieved a great deal in what was a difficult three years.

My Community Involvement and Governance Experience

I bring to the school many years of experience in the areas of community involvement, governance and business.

I am no longer in paid employment (I don't like the word retirement!) so I am in the fortunate position of being able to commit the time that organisations I work with require (and deserve). In my paid working career, I was the Managing Director of Guardian Assurance.

I have been on community committees or boards for the last 58 years. I have been the treasurer, secretary, president or committee member of many organisations (including kindy and school PTAs). Recently I spent 6 years as a director on the Rugby League Northland board. I am currently on the Tennis Northern Region Board and Audit Committee and I am Chairman of the Shore to Shore Fun Run/Walk.

Summary

Over the years I have volunteered a great deal of time to organisations supporting children’s involvement in many aspects of our community. Schools are the most integral part of any community and I am excited by the opportunity to continue my community involvement in this way.

My philosophy is that schools should provide valuable and enjoyable learning experiences, in both the core curriculum and other areas that expose children to the widest possible range of opportunities.

I believe my experience will enable me to contribute to the ongoing development of Northcote Primary School and ensure that it continues to support all our children (and grandchildren). If elected I look forward to working with my fellow BOT members, the principal and teachers to ensure NPS helps our children succeed and enhances its relationships with the wider community.

I am the father of Hugo, a Student Leader from the Kauri team and Lea, a Kereru kid. I work as a Senior Lecturer in the highly successful School of Communication Studies at AUT. I sit on two academic quality boards at the university and am part of the senior leadership team in my school as a Curriculum Leader. In those roles, I am part of team overseeing more than a thousand students and many millions of dollars in budgets. Our family is deeply involved in education, with my wife Reina a secondary teacher for 15 years and currently in the role of Head of Japanese at Mount Albert Grammar. I previously served on the Management Committee of the not-for-profit preschool our kids both attended – Akoranga Childcare Centre - an excellent creche based at AUT Akoranga Campus. I would like to serve on the Board of Trustees at Northcote Primary School to support the critical education all our children are getting and to help ensure governance arrangements are supporting high achievement across the curriculum and in school life. I also want to support the superb teaching and management staff at our school and their aspirations for themselves and our children. The BOT is facing changes in its roles and responsibilities under this government and I want to ensure that we front-foot those changes so our students and staff are getting the maximum benefit from any new developments in the sector. In my current role as a manager, teacher and researcher I am part of an excellent team that is always adapting to the rapidly shifting media environment. This has meant dealing with constant change in what we do and how we deliver it. I want to bring those skills to the BOT at a time of change as well as give back what I can to a school that has done so much for my children, who have both excelled in so many ways at Northcote Primary. I also want to be a strong supporter of our teachers and management as they struggle to get the fair pay and manageable workloads that they deserve as guardians and guides of all our kids. I hope to help Northcote Primary remain the high-achieving, family-focused school that it is and to help ensure that it continues to give our kids the fantastic education that they all deserve.

Nicole Patterson
Elected

Hi! I have two children at NPS in years 1 and 3, and in a couple of years my youngest son will start there, so I have three great reasons for wanting to support NPS by joining the board of trustees.

I also have experience and qualifications that I consider relevant in fulfilling this role. For the past 12 years I have been involved in the bidding, contract development, construction and operational phases of schools that have been developed under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model in New Zealand and the UK. As part of my day job, I am currently a board director on the companies that operate the non-educational aspects of the 11 PPP primary and secondary schools throughout New Zealand, for example Hobsonville Point Primary and Secondary schools. Through these roles I have visibility of the latest design trends that support educational outcomes, school operations and health and safety so hopefully I can apply some of my experience to the benefit of NPS.

I have a bachelor of business (accountancy), a bachelor of laws (honours), a master of laws (taxation) and I am a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. I enjoy time with my family, hiking, skiing and catching up with close friends.

I am passionate about all children in the NPS zone having access to a high quality education that opens their eyes to the exciting world that we live in, that develops their thinking, challenges their expectations of themselves, helps them determine their interests, hobbies and talents and plays its role in giving them the tools and confidence to realise their potential and contribute positively to society. It would be a privilege to be part of the board of trustees and work with the dedicated NPS staff and FONS to achieve these outcomes.

Allysa Smales
Elected

Hi, I’m Allysa and I have been a Northcote school parent for the past six years. I’m married to Hudson and we have three kids, Thea in year 6, Arlo in year 4 and 3 year old Bede.

I would love to be part of the Board team as during the past six years as an active school parent I’ve gained a good understanding of the school, how it operates, where it succeeds and where I see there are areas that require support and opportunities to improve and evolve.

I am a qualitative researcher and owned a market research company before having children. Currently I work alongside Hudson in his company ThoughtFull Design. We work with organisations helping them create strategic change to better meet their customers needs through new products, services, culture or experiences.

I’m currently working with the John Kirwan Foundation to develop a new mental health education programme for primary schools. As part of this project I have engaged with the leadership team at NPS. This has reinforced the passion, dedication and skills Andrew, his leadership team and teachers at our school have and pushed me to consider a role on the Board in order to support this passion for growing great kids.

I bring to the Board skills which include strong communication and interpersonal skills, strategy and marketing skills, common sense and groundedness, plus a natural ability to engage with people and understand what makes them tick.

I believe our NPS community is unique. We have a great group of parents who strongly care about creating a fantastic school. I will advocate greater parent and school engagement to ensure not only buy in and understanding of methodologies in the classroom but also to encourage support of the school’s values by parents to enable a thriving school community.

Kenny Shin Chuan Thein
Elected

Kia ora, my name is Kenny Thein and I am standing for the Board Of Trustees for Northcote Primary School. I am a father of three, two of whom attend Northcote Primary and one currently at Northcote Intermediate. I have lived in the Northcote community for the last 32 years and attended our local schools. I currently work at Air New Zealand where I am a manager in the digital team. I have a passion for technology and how it can help prepare our children to maximise their opportunities in their future careers. I'm known for being eternally positive and like the thrill of adventure and travel in my spare time. I am excited to have the opportunity to work collaboratively with the team at Northcote Primary to help foster a wonderful, growing and encouraging environment for our children.