Kaitaia College

KAITAIA COLLEGE SCHOOL BOARD

Our Kura Board is profiled below. They are dedicated to ensuring our Kura is successful in its goal to provide every opportunity for our students, to enable them to reach their individual goals.

Board elections are held every three years. The Board are nominated by school staff and parents of students at the Kura. All parents of students who are enrolled full-time in a state or state-integrated school can and should vote in the elections for parent representatives.

Our new School Board members from 14thSeptember 2022 are: Mrs Diane Laurenson, Ms Tui Baker, Mrs Penelope Cutler, Ms Katene Ericksen, along with our Principal, Louise Anaru. Our Staff Representative is Mr Dennis Waipouri and our Student Representative is Nate Vemoa.

The Board Minutes, School Policies and Annual Reports, together with more information on Board Elections can be found on the blue links below.
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Louise Anaru
PRINCIPAL (Commenced 2020)

Louise affiliates to Ngāpuhi and Te Rarawa and brings with her a wealth of experience, awards and recognitions as an educator and Principal. She joins us from Flaxmere College, where she has been the Principal for over nine years.

Louise was the recipient of a Sir Peter Blake Emerging Leader Award in 2013 and runner up to Māori of the Year in the Education. She has been actively involved in the National Aspiring Principal's programme and First-time Principal's programme, and is currently a Beginning Principal mentor. She has also led the local Kāhui ako - community of learning.

Since 2018, Louise has been on the Professional Advisory Group providing advice to the Minister of Education on the NCEA review, and a member of the New Zealand Curriculum and Assessment Reference Group. In 2019 she was a judge for the 2019 Prime Minister's Education Excellence Awards.

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Diane Laurenson (Elected Board Chair 2022)
PARENT REPRESENTATIVE (New Election 2019)

Diane is a local to Kaitaia, where she is an owner/operator of Laurenson Marine with her husband Phillip. She has previously been a trustee at Paparore School for six years and at Kaitaia Intermediate for six months.

Diane is also involved with the 2020 Far North ICT Trust as Treasurer.

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Jo Murray
IWI REPRESENTATIVE (New Election 2020)

Ngati Haua/ Tāwhiu (Whangape) - Te Rarawa & Te Orewai (Pipiwai) – Ngati Hine

Jo has worked in the kaupapa Maori education sector for over 25 years as a Kaiako Putaiao /Taiao (Science & Enviro Ed Teacher), Tumuaki (Principal) & MoE contractor & facilitator. Is a current Trustee for Te Rarawa Anga Mua and the Iwi Representative at Kaitaia College. Other previous governance roles throughout the years includes BOT staff rep, union regional rep and National Union Rep, has been on a number of other advisory and steering groups for regional and national projects.

Jo is currently self employed as an Independent Education Contractor, carrying out kaupapa Māori Environmental & Science focused support, training, wananga & resource development both regionally and nationally.

She continues to work with iwi, hapu, marae, kura and whanau in a in seamless education approach ‘from the cradle to the grave’ - “connecting people to people and people to place”.

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Nathanial (Nate) Vemoa
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE (New Election 2022)

My name is Nathaniel Vemoa. I am a year 11 student here at Kaitaia College. I was born and raised for a while on the western side of Auckland, attending Rosier Road Kindergarten and Prospect Primary School. At the age of 6, I moved to Upper Hutt in Wellington where I attended Trentham Primary School. Two years later my family and I moved up to Kaitaia where we have been for 8 years. I have attended Kaitaia Primary, Kaitaia Intermediate and now I'm here at Kaitaia College.

The role as Kaitaia College’s Student Representative is extremely important to the school. My position means that I am a member of the Board of Trustees and the Senior Council for Kaitaia College. I represent the students of Kaitaia College at the Board of Trustees meetings, sort out student matters and give my peers a voice. It keeps me on my toes and makes me go above and beyond what is expected.

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Cheree Jolley-Downs
BOARD SECRETARY (Co-pted February 2018)

Cheree was brought up and educated in West Auckland, before spending the next 30 years travelling and living in London. She has now returned to her homeland and settled in Kaimaumau. Cheree joined the College in 2018 as Executive Personal Assistant to the Prinicpal. She met her partner at the College and later married in the Awanui Tavern on the 110th anniversary of her Grandmother's birth in the same tavern in 1911.

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Sean Stratton (Board Chair)
PARENT REPRESENTATIVE (New 2019 Election)

Sean is a Kaitaia College old boy who returned with his Whānau to live in the Far North about three years ago, settling back in his home town of Houhora. He previously served on the College Board of Trustees in the 90's as the Student Representative.

Sean has had a long career as a Banker, starting straight out of school at the ASB in Kaitaia, and progressing to Regional Management roles managing large teams in Auckland. During that time, he was privileged to serve on the Board of St Dominic's College where he held roles on the finance and discipline sub-committes.

He is passionate about the Far North and is proud to say he attended Kaitaia College.

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Georgina Mac Rae
STAFF REPRESENTATIVE

Georgina joined Kaitaia College as a Financial Administrator in 2019. A newcomer to Kaitaia, Georgina and her husband Gordon shifted from Christchurch in early 2019 to enjoy Northland’s warmer climate and a country lifestyle after their youngest child flew the coop. Native to South Africa, the family moved to New Zealand in 2007. She spends her free time in her nascent permaculture garden and renovating her old farm house. She is a collector of old and interesting things and owns two adorable dachshunds.

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Melanie Dalziel
PARENT REPRESENTATIVE (New 2019 Election) (Resigned February 2022)

Melanie brings to our Board various strengths and skills, including twenty years of health management both within a secondary, primary and Maori Health Provider setting; complimented by her experience of contract management, inclusive of social services, education, justice, health and housing.

Melanie's strengths also include project management (being involved in rural community projects under the "Make It Happen umbrella"), Local Government being an elected member on the Te Hiku Community Board (Far North District Council) for the past two trimesters, along with being a board member on a number of local, regional and national boards.

She looks forward to being able to support Kaitaia College in the changing environment of education through strength based community and lwi collaboration.

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Maralize Bamber
CHAIRPERSON (New 2018)

Maralize was born and raised in South Africa where she completed her Bachelor of Science degree, before moving to England to work and travel the world. She decided to immigrate to New Zealand with her family in 2007. They based themselves in Christchurch, but after the earthquakes they decided to move ‘home’ to Kaitaia where her husband was born and raised. Maralize currently works as an office administrator at a local primary school. After moving to Kaitaia, there was little opportunity in the science field. She took up a job at a school and this is where her love for the Far North and the education system began. She is passionate about mental health in young people and wants to place the emphasis on building our young people and their whanau’s resilience, in turn promoting good mental health and wellbeing. ‘The ethos of our schools are changing to support the need for more help around mental health, but we need to keep improving until we find the right answers and the best possible solutions’.

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Agnes Allen
PARENT REPRESENTATIVE (2016 Election)

Agnes was born in Auckland, hailing from Ngati Tautahi, Kaikohe and has lived in Kaitaia for the past 18 years. All four of her children attended Kaitaia College, her youngest two are still here and are in Year 11 and Year 12, while the older two are away at Otago University.

Agnes currently works for the Northland District Health Board as a mental health worker and is in the process of slowly completing her Master of Arts, Psychology with Massey University.

As a mother and aunty with rangatahi at the college, Agnes wanted to make a difference for Māori achievement and greater opportunities for our community, and feels it is a privilege to be in her second term on the Board of Trustees.
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Catherine Murupaenga-Ikenn
PARENT REPRESENTATIVE (2016 Election)

Catherine (Ngāti Kuri and Te Rarawa) is a Kaitaia college old girl with one son (currently in Year 11 at our kura). Her past 15 years includes Trustee positions with Te Rūnanga o Te Rarawa, the Ngāti Kuri Trust Board and Kaitaia Primary School. She’s also worked for Te Puni Kōkiri, law firm Rudd Watts and Stone, as an historical Treaty Claims Negotiator for Ngāti Kuri, and represented her iwi at the United Nations. In addition to the pursuit of lifelong learning, Catherine’s passions lie in the areas of human rights, social justice, environmental advocacy and creating community resilience.
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Iosefa Itieli
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE (2021/2022)

Ko Iosefa Mauri-Ora Itieli toku ingoa. I would like to introduce myself as the Kaitāia College’s BoT Student Representative. As the BoT Representative, it is my duty to instill the ideas of my fellow student peers and take said ideas back to our school board.

I come from a family of Polynesian descent, consisting of Māori, Samoan and Tokelaun. Our whanau tend to take our culture with the utmost importance, and with that colourful culture, comes a huge interest in music. When I finish my time here, my dream and aspiration is to become a music producer.

I have experienced this school single handedly serve and provide for all of our wonderful tamariki, both past and present. I see quite the future for this kura as it molds our youth to become the best that they can. To have the honour to help lead our rangatahi to a brighter future, is an absolute privilege.

Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou
Tēnā rā koutou kātoa
Iosefa

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Jahzara Takimoana
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE (019/2020

Tēnā koutou katoa. My name is Jahzara Takimoana and I have been given the honour and privilege of being the Kaitaia College, Board of Trustees Student Representative for 2019/2020. I have attended Kaitaia College since Year 9 and in the short time I have been here it has opened my eyes up to many different perspectives about the importance of education, and also other areas of schooling. Prior to coming to Kaitaia College, I went to Ahipara Primary School for eight and a half years, where I learnt the values of respect, tikanga, manaakitanga and perseverance. I continue to carry these core values with me, which help me to face any challenges I may encounter. With the knowledge, experience and foresight I have, this will keep me in a good position to be effective in making positive changes which will benefit all the students of our school. This year I want to ensure the students have a voice about decisions made on issues which concern them and strive to create a positive environment and reputation which we can all be proud of. Nga mihi nui, Jahzara (Jahzara transferred to another Kura in Term 3 2020).

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Nabeel Janif
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE (2017/2018)

Nabeel is Fijian Indian and grew up in NSW Australia where he was born, before moving here and starting College at the beginning of his Year 10 level. His aspirations for 2018 are to first fulfill his promise of getting new gardens around the school. He would also like to be a strong advocate for the students of our school on The Board of Trustees. He has other personal aspirations like making it to University, but while he will work hard and study he will also strive to helps this Kura in any way he can.

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Te Amohaere Rudolph
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE ((2014/2015) 2015/2016) (2016/2017)

Te Amohaere is now in her third year of representing the students at Kaitaia College on the Boad of Trustees.

She has brought much experience to the Board.

Our beloved Te Amohaere flew to the angels on Thursday, 16th March 2017. Although, she was a treasure who will be sadly missed, she has left behind a legacy of natural leadership and a zest for life. We will all endeavour to keep these attributes burning brightly within our Kura and our wider community.

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