Tawa School Board

Presiding Member / Chairperson's Welcome

Kia ora and welcome to Tawa School.

We are so pleased you have chosen Tawa School as part of your child/ren's journey. It’s important that you, your Tamariki and your whānau feel welcome and safe in our school community.

We are fortunate to have a dedicated and motivated principal and talented staff who care deeply about the children in our school. We have a team of passionate people who aim to cater to each child’s individual needs, supporting them to reach their full potential both during their time at Tawa School and in the future.

Connection and an effective ongoing partnership between the Ministry of Education, the Board, our Principal, staff, our Tamariki, their parents, caregivers and families, and the wider Tawa community are critical for the success of our school.

At Tawa School, we believe the education of our Tamariki is a partnership between home and school. We welcome parents and actively encourage them to participate in their children’s learning. 

Your contribution in terms of time, skills and parent donations are more than just a bonus to the school – they are critical for day to day running and a key ingredient in the delivery of high-quality education to your child/ren. We welcome you to let our team know of any way you would like to contribute to our school community.

We look forward to meeting you and your child/ren and establishing a positive, enjoyable and mutually rewarding relationship with you and your whanau.

The Tawa School Board is an elected group of individuals responsible for providing strategic leadership and direction to the school.

Tatyana Protsenko

Presiding Member / Chairperson

Tawa School Board 

bot@tawa.school.nz

Kia ora, my name is Danielle Calder. My partner and I have lived in the wider Wellington region for many years, but we made the decision to move to Tawa three years ago because of the fantastic educational opportunities it provided. Our son Reuben is at Tawa School, and he has thrived here. In our spare time, you’ll find our whānau reading lots of books (we’re all bookworms), playing with our three cats, listening to music, doing art, getting outside to kick balls and bounce on the trampoline, baking lots of delicious things, playing laser tag, and planning for our favourite holiday – Halloween! I have a long-standing interest in our country’s education system, and passionately believe that a quality education is the most important gift you can give a child. Every child in Aotearoa should have the opportunity to learn and develop in a safe, nurturing environment, so they can go on to be leaders and change-makers. Tawa School delivers this in spades to our tamariki. I bring a valuable perspective to the Tawa School Board. I am a young, queer parent, with experience working with disabled and rainbow communities. One of Tawa School’s best assets is its diversity, and I love its commitment to providing all children with a high-quality, bicultural education. Our tamariki are so lucky to have such passionate, creative, and caring teachers and school staff!

It’s a privilege to be part of the Tawa School Board of Trustees. I have lived in Tawa for the best part of 30 years, other than brief stints living around the Motu. I attended Linden Primary School, Tawa Intermediate and then on to Tawa College. Our son Darcy is at Tawa school, and we have two more preschool boys  to follow after him in the next five years. I also have two older children, 21 and 18, who have been through local schools and are now living and working locally. I look enjoy having the opportunity to contribute as a member of the Tawa community and a parent of a child at Tawa School. I spent nearly 13 years in the New Zealand Police and spent considerable time working in the local community. I’m currently very active with Tawa Rugby Football Club, managing teams with the senior club and coaching a junior rippa rugby team, as well as being a junior club Committee member.  I have a strong background in public service, currently working for Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment as the Head of the Labour Inspectorate. Before that I held senior roles at WorkSafe New Zealand the regulator for workplace health and safety, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Charities Commission. The opportunity to contribute at board level with Tawa School is something I thoroughly enjoy and embrace. My wife and I could not be happier with our choice to choose Tawa School for Darcy and his brothers. 

Hello everyone, my name is Briar Cuming and I am a very proud parent representive on the board of trustees.  I am Mum to Bonnie and Flynn. Two wonderfully spirited children who have been at Tawa school for 2 and 4 years respectively.  We have resided in the Tawa community since 2013 and very much enjoy how diverse and family friendly it is.  During my day to day I work as a business development manager for Bidfresh. I also am a host mum to international students from Wellington Girls College.  Please feel free to come and chat at any school event or school pick up. I look forward to meeting you 😊

Talofa, Mālō e lelei, Ni sa bula vinaka, Namaste, Kia orāna, Fakalofa lahi atu, Mālo ni, Fakatalofa atu, Mauri, Halo ola keta, Ia Orana, Noa’ia e mauri, Mauri and Kia ora. Warm Pacific greeting to you all. 

I am Lemalu Penehuro Tapelu and I am a member of the Board of Trustee for Tawa School. With due respect I will also say that I am proud to be the voice for Pasifika in this space.

I was born and brought up in Samoa and only left the Islands to pursue further education abroad. Me and my wife are both in the medical profession, initially with the Samoa Health Department and now for Te Whatu Ora at the Wellington Regional Hospital. We migrated to NZ in 2016. We have six children, five girls and one boy, all were born in Samoa. Four went through Tawa school, our youngest is in Year Five. I am a Christian (Catholic) and my wife is Baha’i, but despite that we believe in the same God and respect each other and their beliefs.

Our biggest challenges in 2016 on arrival in NZ was the transition to the working environment and culture, the children struggling to settle in to the foreign education environment and English being their second language. Thankfully we manage to get through all this from the great support network we found and got from people most of whom we’ve never met before. This network was not pre-planned but came to us through the kind local community people who offered to help and guide us through. We are forever in debt to them all and therefore never regret our decision to migrate. Because of the support and help from this great community in Tawa, we want to return the favour and give something back. At the same time, help and assist our Pacific families.

Like most Pacific Islanders we left our Island homes to find better opportunities for our whānau especially our “Tamariki”. According to Oprah Winfrey “Education is the key to unlocking the world, a passport to freedom.” To me, “freedom” means equal opportunities and the chance to say what we want with full conviction and confidence, freedom to choose whatever we want and to be whoever we want to be. I am reminded of one of our old saying in Samoan “O le tele o sulu e maua ai figota” which means “More torches or lights bring more catches” or “great outcomes stem from collaboration or many contributions.”

As the Pacific voice in the Tawa School Board of Trustees I would like to ask all our Pasifika whanau to take this opportunity to come together and do the best we can to support our tamariki to enjoy and get the best learning opportunity they deserve. I do appreciate any suggestion or ideas that will help us to engage socially in a more relaxed environment.

My contact:

Pene Tapelu

Mobile – 0223086350 (Please leave a message or txt)

Email – ptapelu@gmail.com

God bless and Happy Pacific language weeks to come

Soifua ma ia Manuia

Information to come.