He aha te mea nui?
He tangata. He tangata. He tangata.
What is the most important thing?
It is people, it is people, it is people
Learning online wouldn’t be possible without our wonderful team of eTeachers. Not only will your learners experience new languages and meet new people, our knowledgable experts will support your learners to become confident and connected in the online space.
Tiffany Harkess
Bonjour, hola, kia ora, Je m’appelle Tiffany Harkess, me llamo Tiffany Harkess, my name is Tiffany Harkess. I’m excited to be part of the VLN community and to share my love of language learning with you! I will be teaching French and Spanish through VLN Primary this term. I am a registered primary school teacher… Read More
Lauren Bell
Kia ora whanau! My name is Lauren and I grew up in a small rural part of New Zealand called Reporoa. I teach Spanish and I’m currently teaching Spanish in Tauranga. I’m a registered NZ teacher but I have also taught in other countries – England, Spain, Australia and Norway. I learnt the Spanish language… Read More
Jan Bolton – Songwriting, Music
Kia ora tatou I am Jan, a composer, and music/performing arts educator at both Secondary and Primary levels. Some of you will know me too as a teacher educator at Victoria University for many years. A Wellingtonian, I now live north of the city at Waikanae Beach. I make sure the sea and all its… Read More
Katie Earle
Kia ora, I’m Katie and I’m from Ōtautahi Christchurch. I’m passionate about environmental sustainability, bi-cultural worldviews and civics. I’ve worked in education for the past fifteen years; teaching locally from South Auckland to inner-city London, to the wilds of East Africa. Before having the privilege of designing LEOTC programmes for Local Government, working alongside iwi. … Read More
Renee Coffey
Kia Ora Whanau! My name is Renee. I am a fully registered teacher and also a part time musician. I am currently in my 5th year of teaching after a recent return from travels through South America and Mexico. Prior to this, I was teaching in Taranaki for 3 years and have now made the… Read More
Andrea McLean
Bonjour, je m’appelle Andrea. I’ve been teaching French for 12 years and I absolutely love it. I am a true francophile (lover of all things French). I have lived in France on two separate occasions. Learning a language has been a life-changing experience that has opened up opportunities I would not have had otherwise. I… Read More
Eugene Marshall – Music, Art, Design
Kia ora! My name’s Eugene and I’m a lover of all things creative, from art to design. I’m trained as a classical musician but I also love film and fiction, board games, adventure travel, and fitness. Before moving to Taranaki in February 2020, I was a high school and middle school music teacher in Perth,… Read More
Jo Wilkinson
Kia ora I’m Jo Wilkinson an experienced teacher from Taranaki. I have taught at all levels over the past twenty years and I am currently teaching in a small rural full primary. I enjoy teaching STEM, art and being part of Enviro Schools. I live in New Plymouth with my family and in my spare… Read More
Alana March
Kia ora, bonjour! My name is Alana and I love learning and teaching languages. I am an NZ registered teacher and for the last seventeen years I have taught intermediate, secondary and tertiary students French and Esol. I have enjoyed studying Italian, Spanish and currently, Te reo Māori. I live with my husband, two young children,… Read More
Jen Hammonds
Kia ora koutou, nau mai! I love being in education – it plays a roll in all areas of my life. Whether mountain biking, skiing, fishing or speaking te reo, I find myself learning, growing and sharing. Making the most of where we are and what we’re doing by learning to learn is something I’m… Read More
Carolyn Drahohs – Visual Arts & Literacy
Hi I’m Carolyn, an experienced classroom teacher living in Lower Hutt with my family and three dogs. I am kept extra busy with my two daughters hectic lifestyle, Jorja and Jemma, who love to swim and dance. In my spare time I am a personal taxi service driving the girls to swim training and the… Read More
Lucie Lindsay, e-Learning Support & Digital Technologies
The VLN Primary School welcomes Lucie as our eLearning Support, National Coordinator and Digital Technologies lead teacher. Her areas of expertise include science and digital and collaborative teaching and learning. Lucie is a Primary trained, NZ registered teacher, experienced in teaching and providing professional learning development for teachers. Kia ora te whānau. I value learning… Read More
Alia Malik
Welcome to Alia who will be teaching Mathematics. Kia ora koutou, My name is Alia Malik and I was born and raised in London. I have been in NZ for 6 years and I currently live in Auckland. I have spent time all over the North Island especially in Hawera, Taranaki. Last year I was… Read More
Bonjour et Buenos Dias Gayleen Mackereth
Gayleen Mackereth will be one of the eTeachers for Spanish & French Bonjour- Je m’appelle Madame Gayleen Mackereth Buenos dias- me llamo Senora Gayleen Mackereth Let me introduce myself. My name is Gayleen Mackereth. I have been Head of Languages at a number of Auckland and Waikato secondary schools and I am a very experienced… Read More
Chinese eTeacher: Su Yang
Nĭ Hăo everyone! My name is Su Yang, a Chinese teacher. I came to New Zealand in 2014 working as a Chinese Language Assistant at 3 primary schools in Auckland, which fired my enthusiasm for working with young children and teaching languages. I have loved every minute of my career so far, no two days… Read More
Sunny Yang – Korean Teacher
Sunny, our Korean teacher, is excited to be teaching her native language here in New Zealand with the VLN Primary School. Sunny emigrated to NZ in 2003 and lives in Dunedin with her husband and 2 young children. Sunny loves interacting with children and people from different cultures. “I was born and raised in a… Read More
Learn German online with Frau Michel
Some pretty exciting things have happened in our German classes and there are always spaces for new faces. Was geht ab? “Was geht ab?” is the German equivalent of “What’s up?” It’s used as an informal greeting. If you are a teenager, you might also be able to pull off the even shorter “Was geht?”… Read More
Julie O’Donnell – Te reo Māori & Kapa Haka
Nau Mai, Haere Mai-Welcome, Welcome Te tūranga motuhake o te reo Māori, The importance of learning te reo Māori Kia ora koutou katoa ko Julie O’Donnell toku ingoa Hutia te rito o te harakeke, kei hea rā te kōmako e kō?Kī mai ki ahau, he aha te mea nui o te Ao?Māku e kī atu,… Read More
Lisa Wang – Chinese
Ni hao, my name is Lisa Wang. I was born in Taiwan and moved to NZ with my family more than 20 years ago. I am a NZ registered primary school teacher. I have taught Chinese for the last six years (Years 0 – 9) in both public and private schools. Before I was a… Read More
Olivia Graham- Japanese
Konnichi wa, my name is Olivia Graham and I am a Taupō native and classroom teacher at Wairakei Primary School in Taupō. I studied Japanese throughout college and university, and spent four years living and teaching in Japan. I have taught Japanese to students throughout my teaching career. I am excited to be a part of… Read More