Stoke School

Born and bred in Nelson and grew up in Stoke. I am married to Jackie Mitchener and we have 3 beautiful children Tom, Alice and Harry.

I have taught the majority of my time in Nelson at Victory Primary, Broadgreen Intermediate, Nayland Primary and Appleby School at a variety of levels. I also had 4 years being a Principal up in the Wairarapa at a little place called Tinui. I loved my time away but really enjoy being back in Nelson and being close to family. I love being at Stoke School where I appreciate the warm, caring feeling and the happy, polite children. I am looking forward to an exciting year and one highlight will be putting on a school musical production.

I am English born but spent most of my childhood in the far north in places such as Kaikohe, Okaihau and Kaeo. I have two children, Sian(5) and Aidan(3). My husband, Barry, and I moved back to Nelson, his childhood home, to be closer to family and friends in 2006.

My teaching experiences include a range of schools in NZ and the UK, across Y0-8. I have taught enrichment and extension programmes and learning support, as well as in a non-contact management role. I have a passion for ongoing education, my own and others, and love to see children learn and grasp new skills. It is my privilege to work alongside you and your children. This year we are focusing on developing inquiry learning for our students. Feel free to visit us in Room 5!

Nga mihi nui ki a koutou! I am of Ngati Porou and Pakeha descent and my marae are in Waipiro and Hicks Bay on the East Cape. However, I was raised in Nelson by Artie and Margaret Goad (thanks Dad, thanks Mum) in a multi-ethnic whanau alongside a mixture of Pakeha, Samoan, Rarotongan, Jamaican and Maori siblings, with another three siblings raised in Hicks Bay.

I am married to a Stoke girl, I met my wife Tania while travelling overseas in the late 1980s and we have a daughter, aged 20 years, and two sons, aged 18 and 15 years. I am in my third year of teaching at Stoke School with a total of 16 years teaching experience in Nelson, Tasman District and Northland schools. I love to laugh and I'm serious about students achieving as much as they are able at school.

Born in Hokitika and lived most of my life in Sunny Nelson. I am married to Terry who is Information Technology Manager at the Hospital. Terry & I like to get out on the tandem bike at the weekend and we also like to travel the world. We have two sons; Michael who lives in London and develops web sites, and Craig who is Acting Deputy Principal at Grants Braes School in Dunedin. Both our boys were educated at Stoke School and look at them now ...(Proud Mum)!

I have been teaching for 10 years, all at Stoke School and with New Entrant children (which I absolutely love). I love the way the older children at Stoke School take such good care of the little ones - it makes me feel very proud to be part of this school community.

Kia Ora. My name is Craig Logan and I am teaching in Room 10. I am 37 years of age and this is my sixteenth year teaching. I previously taught at Broadgreen Intermediate for three and a half years, then moved to Seoul, South Korea and taught at Seoul International School for five years. My family and I spent the next two years at Ruamrudee International School, in Bangkok, Thailand. I have held teaching leadership positions in both these overseas settings. We came back to New Zealand four and a half years ago where I returned to work at Broadgreen. This is now my second year at Stoke School where I hold the second Deputy Principal's position and teach year 5 and 6 students. My wife, Kirsten is a teacher as well and I have a daughter named Brooklyn who is seven years old and attends Stoke School, and also a four year old son Zac. My interests include watching and participating in most sports, coaching, fishing, golf, reading and watching movies.

This is my second year teaching after starting my teaching career at Brooklyn School in Motueka. I have grown up in Richmond, finishing at Waimea College in 2006. I studied through Canterbury University, Nelson Campus which was great as I got to study and live at home at the same time. My partner Hamish and I still live in Richmond with our cat Gary! I enjoy reading, walking, socialising with friends and going to our family bach in Okiwi Bay to go fishing and enjoying water sports. I look forward to an exciting time at Stoke School.

My name is Kiri Paterson and I am lucky to be the teacher in Akomanga Toru (Classroom 3). I am married to Bob who is a maritime tutor for NMIT. My oldest son Tane (13) has started his first year at Nelson College and Frano (10) has started his first year at Broadgreen Intermediate. I started my Bachelor of Teaching part-time by correspondence when Frano started school. I then joined the campus group when we moved here to Nelson four years ago. I am of Ngati Porou decent and was born in the capital city, Wellington. If I wasn't a teacher I would like to be a Postie delivering mail and having a chat to the locals along the way (Of course there would be no hills or wind!) My favourite thing about teaching is helping your children believe they can be anything they want to be.

I grew up around the corner in Tainui Street, started at Stoke School when I was 5. I remember making rolled up newspaper swords when I was in Primmer 1 in Room 6. We went running around outside with them. I went eeling in the creek that comes through Orchard Street and Nikau Street reserve. I learnt to swim in the old Stoke School Pool and learnt to read here too. I love to read. I played softball and rugby out on the back field. I spent two years in the old classrooms that are now the hall. I went to Broadgreen Intermediate and then Nayland College.

I went to Christchurch Teachers College for three years and got a job at Richmond Primary School. I taught juniors for 6 years and then worked as a teacher for Volunteer Services Abroad in the kingdom of Bhutan 10,000 feet up in the Himalayan Mountains for 2 years. I met Mary there. We got married in Ireland a year later and came back to Nelson to live and raise a family. We have three boys. Ciaran is 14 years old and finds school work hard. Finn is 12 finds school work easy. Ronan is 8 and goes to Wakefield school. I joined the Wakefield Football Club last season and had a great time so I'm back this year. ( I love eating too.) I came to Stoke School in 2004. I love working at Stoke School, it is a fantastic place