Leadership

Years of Teaching Experience: 12+

Degree & Certificates: Bachelor of Education from the University of Otago, New Zealand. 

Kate is an exceptional teacher with over 12 years of invaluable expertise. Her teaching journey has taken her to various corners of the world, including vibrant places like London, Singapore, and New Zealand. This global exposure has enriched her understanding of diverse educational systems, cultures, and teaching methodologies Throughout her career, Kate has had the privilege of teaching students across all year groups, from the early years to upper grades. This comprehensive experience has honed her ability to adapt her teaching strategies to meet the unique needs and developmental stages of each student.

She recognises that every child is an individual with their own strengths, challenges, and learning styles, and she prides herself on tailoring her approach to maximise student engagement and growth. Kate’s leadership skills have also been evident in her roles as a Curriculum Leader and a Team Leader. In these capacities, she has demonstrated her ability to coordinate and guide colleagues in the implementation of curriculum frameworks, ensuring alignment, continuity, and innovation in teaching and learning practices.

When she’s not teaching, Kate enjoys a good book, swimming and she values time spent with her family. Kate has two daughters and a golf-mad husband who are all joining the HAIS family as well.

The role of an Early Years teacher is to encourage children to take ownership of their thoughts and ideas so they know their voices are listened to and respected. Teachers are also meant to foster a love and motivation of learning that will continue through a child’s education journey.

An inquiry-based learning environment encourages development and active participation in exploration, investigation and problem solving. Our classroom environments and activities are carefully planned with natural materials to help children connect with nature inside and outside the classroom. We understand that each child is unique and develops and learns in different ways and at different rates, thus we encourage children to learn in ways that suit their abilities and interests. We have respect for each other and learn to build positive relationships with our peers and teachers.

I believe that an Early Years Teacher’s role in the classroom is to not only teach but to bring balance to their students and to help them in all areas of their learning.

Here at HAIS, we consider a curriculum of play-based learning to be the most effective way of educating our young learners. We recognise that every child learns in a different way so we endeavour to incorporate multi-sensory learning to keep our lessons fun and interesting and our students engaged. Recognising that learning does not only occur in the classroom, our teachers in our Early Years Team utilise all areas of the campus to better enhance their lessons and direct their students to new and fascinating learning opportunities. Communication is key and because of this, we offer a variety of tools for communication so our parents never miss any academic achievements or learning milestones.

Finally, it is our shared opinion that a happy child is a healthy child, which is why we create a student-centred learning environment that ensures that all of our students go home each day with a big smile and come back to school the following day ready and excited to start a new day of learning.

The psychological development and well-being of primary school children are difficult for many people to understand. Primary School marks the transition period from childhood to adolescence; it is an important stage in a child’s physical, intellectual and emotional development. During this time, students experience many new social relationships, emotions and newly formed thought patterns. As a Primary School teacher at HAIS, I improve my teaching skills daily and consistently communicate with the students. When they feel comfortable, and they trust their teacher, they more readily express their feelings and thoughts without hesitation to learn more about the world around them.

This is my first year as the Bilingual Primary Learning Lead and I know it will be a challenge. However, I am very proud of our teaching staff in the Bilingual Primary sector, who all have a lot of teaching experience. We are all here at HAIS because we have the same passion for education and we want our students to excel at this happy school.

My theory of learning is centred on engagement and intrinsic motivation. I strongly believe that students respond favourably to choices where they can take ownership over their work and progress. My guiding aim is to create an environment where students feel moved to learn. Cultivating this intrinsic motivation will make for engaged and passionate learners who can succeed academically.

Alongside this, I believe that education should be grounded in the development of skills. This can be achieved through the integration of interactive, collaborative and project-based learning in the classroom, with an aim to develop critical thinking skills in learners. Connecting curriculum to real-world experiences provides students with a context for their learning; it results in transferable skills and knowledge which can be taken outside of the classroom. It is my aim to build a learning environment which keeps up with the development of our global world and equips students with the skills to achieve their academic potential. Above all, my guiding principle as an educator is to create an environment where learners feel safe, confident and empowered to embrace learning with interest and enthusiasm.

Central to any curriculum, and to the all-round development of a child, is the pursuit of the Arts. Thinking and working artistically develops a child’s confidence, technical skills, creativity and independence. It also offers opportunities for self-expression and to work without the fear of being ‘wrong,’ as art is a personal and subjective pursuit.

My aim is to create an inspiring learning environment so students may explore a range of themes, materials, techniques and artists imaginatively, creatively and through encouragement, with increasing confidence and independence.

Encompassed in this area at HAIS are Art, Music and PE. As the Art Teacher and Learning Lead, I am thrilled with the many exciting opportunities the year holds for our students.