Rākau

Kia ora koutou. Ko Jimmy toku ingoa. I am absolutely pumped to be joining the Tītahi Bay whānau in 2023, getting to be a part of an awesome team and community. Born and raised in Kirikiriroa (Hamilton), I went on to live in a few different cities and countries before calling Te Whanganui-a-Tara home for the past 5 years, setting up life with my partner, cat and puppy. As a kaiako and leader, I place huge value on whānaungatanga and manaakitanga; creating spaces for ākonga to thrive, where strengths are utilised, mistakes are learnt from and individuality is celebrated. Outside of school, I’m generally planning an adventure, making improvements to our whare or simply enjoying being with friends, whānau and our animals. Noho ora mai!

Tēnā Koutou Katoa, Ko Whetumatarau te maunga, Ko Awatere te awa, Ko Ngāti Porou te iwi, Ko Delwyn Gardner (a.k.a Matua Gardner) tōku ingoa.
2023 will see me teaching in my 9th year at Tītahi Bay School. I proudly grew up in Cannons Creek until meeting my beautiful wife and eventually moving to this paradise we call The Bay. We have one son who went through our kura and currently attends Mana College. I absolutely love living in this wonderful community, and the huge three minute commute to work is also a bonus. We have such amazing teachers at Tītahi Bay School, who always go out of their way to encourage and support our tamariki to thrive. I am an advocate for Te Reo Māori and Kapa Haka as I believe they give our tamariki skills and knowledge that will help them in the future.
When not teaching, you can usually see me outdoors, either walking my dog, riding my bike, playing tennis or golf, or just hanging out with whānau.
“Ko te manu e kai ana i te miro, nōna te ngahere, Ko te manu e kai ana i te mātauranga, nōna te ao The bird who feeds on the miro berry, hers is the forest, the bird who feeds on knowledge, hers is the world”

Ko Allie toku ingoa.
I joined the Tītahi Bay KURA team in 2020 amidst the first lockdown, and feel extremely grateful to have become part of such an amazing team of kaiako and staff in such a wonderful community. I am a hutt girl at heart, born and raised in Petone, which is where I currently live. However, I do admit that Tītahi Bay now has a special place in my heart too, and I love working with the amazing tamariki and whānau in this area. This will be my fourth year of teaching and each year my passion grows! In my spare time you can find me getting outside and going for walks, enjoying food and coffee with friends, and catching up with family. I am passionate about animals and the environment, and love every opportunity to teach the ākonga in my class about caring for our country, world and all things in it, as they are the future!