Our Staff
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Sam Burrows Deputy Principal | Years 6 - 8 TeacherI’ve been teaching for around 7 years now in public and Christian education, interspersed with a bit of pastoral work as well. I love the act of teaching and opening up doors for young people in understanding new things and learning new skills. Relationships are at the heart of teaching and I like my students to feel known by me and safe to try new things in learning contexts.
I love teaching critical thinking and pushing my class to see things from a variety of different perspectives, and this is particularly true in regards to faith. I love seeing students given the tools to take charge of their own learning and to extend themselves as far as they can, so I try to personalise my teaching as much as possible. You’ll often see me running around with the kids in sport lessons, I often forget that I’m not actually young anymore and should probably instruct instead of playing. But I can’t help myself. Outside of teaching I like to play music, read German theology, talk about Star Wars and eat salmon. Sometimes all at the same time. |
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Mary Allen Teacher Year 1/NEI have been involved in education for the past 25 years.
My teaching career began in South Africa, where I trained as a teacher. I later spent time teaching in Botswana private schools, where I gained a much richer experience of cross-cultural teaching. I have been involved in Christian Education in New Zealand for the past 12 years. I am passionate about nurturing children to achieve their full potential in their learning, as well as seeing them grow in their knowledge of who they are in God. My strengths in teaching lie in creativity and incorporating it into the curriculum to make learning exciting and more meaningful. I am presently implementing the Feuerstein pedagogy into my teaching, as I value growing as a learner myself. I am also currently doing undergraduate papers on Education at Massey University. I consider myself privileged to be teaching at Horizon School. I love the family feel, the progressive management of the school and the positive, collaborative learning environment that has been created by the wonderfully committed staff at the school. See Room 1 Blog here |
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Caleb Watkin Years 4 - 5 TeacherI am a beginning teacher in my first year of teaching. I completed my bachelor of teaching in 2015 and spent most of 2016 travelling around Europe, mostly in Germany. On returning to New Zealand in late 2016 I began working at Horizon School.
I love learning new things and it is this 'love of learning' that made me want to become a teacher. Sharing this passion with the students in my class is very important to me. I have a very relational focus when it comes to teaching, this focus helps me develop and enhance the context of lessons and the classroom environment. I enjoy teaching all areas of the curriculum, however, my favourites are Social sciences, Maths and P.E. My hobbies also complement my teaching, I am an avid reader of philosophy and history. I also play rugby league and am a competitive boxer. These passions help influence and shape my teaching style and pedagogy. |
Toni Waddell Teacher AideAfter gaining an HND in Civil Engineering and degree in Ocean Science I was employed in the construction industry for 7 years. My roles included working on some of the largest motorways in the UK including the M1 and M25 and I was also part of a team who constructed the tunnels beneath the terminals at Heathrow Airport.
With family in mind, I retrained as a primary school teacher in Nottingham in 1999/2000. After teaching for 4 years I took a career break to have children and moved to NZ in 2006. With all 3 of my children at school, I returned to work last year and felt a Teacher Aide role would provide the best step back into teaching. I love working with children and have a particular interest in Special Educational Needs. I consider myself to be extremely fortunate to be given the chance to work at Horizon School and have been made to feel a valued team member by all the staff. The school has a caring, supportive and inclusive nature and provides a wonderful environment in which children and adults can learn and grow. |
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Tilda Rabey TeacherMy teaching started over 25 years ago in Auckland. I taught preschool children, primary, homeschooling and adult education. I have been involved with Horizon School since my children attended as students. For the past 15 years I have been a relieving teacher, and part time teacher.
Horizon fosters a family and community spirit. All the children know each other and are supportive of one another. I love fostering a sense of identity and purpose in young people because each child is so unique and different. I enjoy it when children are able to articulate their goals and I love to watch them become so excited when they exceed them. To facilitate children's learning in meaningful, interesting ways is always a challenge for me. I enjoy the Arts, being an expressive and creative person. I encourage my students to express themselves in a safe, friendly and supportive environment. It is a privilege for me to work in a school community where there is a talented staff, where a collaborative spirit is fostered and where great results are aimed for and achieved! |
June Port Reading Recovery , Accounts and
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Allyson Peddle | Office and AdministrationMy family and I moved to New Zealand from South Africa and we have been fortunate enough to have settled on a farm in the Omaha area. I have 2 teenage daughters and my husband is a farm manager.
I am a primary school teacher and have taught in a variety of schools for almost 20 years in South Africa. My passion was to make each pupil feel important and my most rewarding experience was to teach in an Anglican Church School in our village. I was a relief teacher for 6 months in New Zealand before I joined the Horizon School family as the ESOL teacher, a teacher assistant and helping in the office. I feel blessed to be working here at Horizon, as I really enjoy interacting with children, and to be a part of this staff who are so passionate about what they do. |
Greer Bell | Teacher Aide |
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My husband and I recently moved here from Cape Town, South Africa, after he accepted a job offer in Warkworth. It’s been a real curveball but we’re grateful to be here! I’ve been working part-time with Horizon for the past four months.
My background in education is varied and I pursue a wide range of interests, but my key focuses lie in the creative arts, worship and working with children, especially the more sensitive and creative among us. While working at a small Christian school in Cape Town, I obtained a Montessori teaching diploma, following that with a 6 month missions school focused on ‘Children in need’ in the African context. During the outreach phase of this school, I entered into the counter-human trafficking field with a special focus on child protection and victim assistance. I had the privilege of joining forces with two other women to birth a much needed counter-human trafficking network in South Africa, as well as initiating a movement focused on harnessing the power of the arts to raise funds and awareness for initiatives within that network. I went on to obtain a Bachelors degree in Psychology/Criminology, as well as completing short course certificates in counselling, emotional intelligence development, and play therapy, as well as teaching ballet, offering vocal coaching to children, running a songwriting group for young women from my home, and releasing my first album. Jesus is the centre of my life, and the call to ‘bind up the brokenhearted and set the captive free’ runs deep, wherever I am and whatever I’m doing. |
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"As a student teacher at Horizon School, I was privy to the professional activities within the staffroom. Inquiry, reflection and positive support was the norm within this school. I was fully encouraged to participate with the collaborative processes that my fellow peers were involved with on a daily basis. As a student teacher, this small school showed me practically what the Principles of the NZ Curriculum stands for – high expectations, cultural diversity, inclusion and a community of life long learners." Jenny Shires, Student Teacher, Term 3 2015
“Horizon is a wonderful school. It has lovely atmosphere which is loving, kind and not rigid. I love that there is a large cross section of the community at the school. All the teaching staff are wonderful. My daughter loves the challenge and the new ideas she has to think about.”
“Horizon is a wonderful school. It has lovely atmosphere which is loving, kind and not rigid. I love that there is a large cross section of the community at the school. All the teaching staff are wonderful. My daughter loves the challenge and the new ideas she has to think about.”