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Meet the Prep Room Kaiako
Kia ora, I’m Tegan, head teacher of the Prep room. I graduated with a Bachelor of Teaching and Learning (ECE) in December 2019 and have been lucky enough to work at BestStart Halswell Road since, starting in a teaching position and then at the beginning of 2023 stepping up into the Head Teacher role. I am very passionate about tamariki and their learning and development. I believe that when tamariki experience an environment which is rich in promoting independence, nurturing their holistic wellbeing and supporting their confidence and mana then we are setting them up to be curious, confident and capable learners, who have strong self belief, perseverance and problem solving skills. I also value whānau contribution, as you know your child the best therefore by working together and sharing information we can connect tamariki home life and centre life together creating cohesion, consistency and support which enhances tamariki learning and development in meaningful ways. My name is Ayanthi and I have been working at BestStart, Halswell road since 2017. I have a Bachelors degree in ECE from the New Zealand Tertiary College. I have been teaching since 2006 and I am passionate about teaching the transition to school tamariki. I enjoy challenging children's thinking skills by providing them with learning experiences with open-ended material that interests them. Watching them grow holistically and seeing them as confident little boys and girls, ready to start their learning journey at school brings great joy to me. I am fortunate to work with a great team who shares the same passion with me. My name is Brynn Tan. I’m a teacher-in-training in the prep room. I have a Bachelor of Commerce qualification and I am currently studying for a Graduate Diploma in Teaching (ECE), and my study will finish at the end of July 2023. I believe that as a teacher, it is important to provide children with positive learning experiences. Each child is an individual and as an educator, I will value children’s voices and develop each child according to their strengths, interests, skills, abilities, and knowledge in order to support their learning. Children are motivated to learn when they have opportunities to show their talents, contribute their ideas or help teachers in completing some artwork. I will encourage children to participate in different activities which could foster their thinking and also their motor skills as a routine of being school ready and it’s also my responsibility to observe the development of children in intrapersonal skills such as self-esteem, motivation, resilience, and concentration. In prep room, we value rules and I will support the teaching of rules, leading them to be respectful and have good behaviour.