2019 Common Election results

Josephine Joan Easingwood
Elected

Hi, I’m Josie Easingwood. Our oldest daughter started at MENPS last year and is thoroughly enjoying Year 1 with Mrs Bailey. Our youngest daughter has just started at Mt Eden Kindergarten and looks forward to joining MENPS at the end of next year. My husband is a teacher at AGS. I stepped down as Chairperson of the Epsom Community Crèche last month. During my tenure as Chairperson I was proud to work with an excellent team of teachers and parents where we rewrote our Strategic Plan, reviewed and drafted multiple policies, set the budget for 2019 and successfully navigated a positive ERO review. (As an aside, please do consider crèche for your 2 year olds – it is wonderful!!) I have worked in Financial Services my entire career (majority of it in London) and currently work 3 days a week in the Regulatory Compliance space, focusing on Privacy. I have extensive program, team and stakeholder management experience. Back in the 90s I attained Law and Finance degrees from Otago. I believe our education system is in crisis. One way we can help insulate our MENPS children from this, is to support our fabulous Principal to continue to attract and retain great teachers. It is only through having awesome, happy, and inspirational teachers, that we can meet our philosophy of having a school filled with children who are wide-eyed and enthusiastic about learning. I attended the MENPS Board of Trustees meeting this month and felt excited about joining it formally. Please vote for me if you think I’d be able to add some value and represent you.

Mathew Grant Gribben
Elected

My name is Mathew Gribben and I am standing for the Mount Eden Normal Primary School Board.

I was born and raised in Auckland and have lived in Mount Eden for most of the past 8 years. My two sons are in Years 1 and 4 at MENPS and so I’ve been part of the school community for a number of years. I’ve seen how much they enjoy MENPS and what a great school it is.

I want every student to have the best opportunity to develop a life-long love of learning along with the resilience and social skills to succeed throughout life. I believe in the philosophy and approach of MENPS and would like to help that direction continue into the future.

I am a lawyer in a large commercial law firm specialising in resource management, planning and environmental law. I primarily work for local councils, government departments and private companies helping them prepare policy documents and gain planning approvals for projects including new roads, commercial buildings and houses. I was part of the team that helped the Auckland Council prepare the Auckland Unitary Plan including the planning rules that apply to schools.

I often work in multidisciplinary teams with a wide range of different people and professions and deal regularly with officers from local government and government departments. I’m used to considering a wide range of views, balancing multiple and sometimes competing factors (including legal risks and principles), reaching solutions and communicating those solutions to stakeholders. I've project managed cases and appear in regularly in court and attend mediations. I believe I have the skills and expertise to help lead the school and could be particularly helpful in in achieving the best outcomes from its master planning and upcoming building programme.

I am concerned that the unique character of MENPS is at risk from the changes proposed in Tomorrow’s Schools and would work to keep local control of our schools. If regulatory and policy changes do happen though I’m well placed to understand the implications and achieve the best outcome for the school within any new framework.

In my spare time I enjoy spending time with my family, reading, watching sport and staying fit at the gym.

Fleur, Catherine Longley
Elected

Who is Fleur Longley? I have had two children attend MENPS, my youngest Ryan is currently in Year 5. For the past seven ½ years we have enjoyed and feel privileged to be part of the MENPS school community. The passion and dedication of our leadership team, the teaching and support staff makes MENPS a fabulous place. My Experience Sales, marketing, account and event management, - Strong relationships and positive outcomes have been fundamentals in my career.

My Current Involvement at MENPS My involvement starting with the PTA, has spanned six years, organising events and fundraisers. This also included chairing the PTA for two years.

In 2016 I was elected onto the Board of Trustees. A rewarding experience working with motivated parents and school leaders ensuring a high-quality primary school experience.

I have enjoyed working with the Board. Over the last three years I have assisted in the strategic direction, recruitment of a new principal and response to Ministry proposed changes, to name a few. One key contribution I have made has been the delivery of communications and community engagement.

My involvement with both the PTA and the Board has enabled me to appreciate the full spectrum of how the school operates.

What I can continue to bring to the Board The school’s future challenges include amongst other things; the Tomorrow’s schools’ proposals, teacher shortages and workloads.

I will continue to bring effective communications, proven team building, problem solving and prioritisation in resolving future issues.

In Summary Driving our unique school culture is a mutual effort involving Board, Leadership, Teaching and Support staff, PTA, parents and pupils.

Our common interest is what motivates me to seek re-election to the Mt Eden Normal Primary school Board. If you have any questions, please feel free to approach me for a chat.

Richard James Pook
Elected

Hello, my name is Richard Pook and I am putting my name forward for nomination onto the MENPS Board of Trustees for the next term. I have been attending board meetings since 2018 and was recently co-opted onto the board. I have been working closely with Michael Hooke on the finance sub-committee and have thoroughly enjoyed my involvement in helping the school achieve its goals. My wife Marjorie and I moved to Mt Eden in 2017 from Geneva. We have three daughters, two of whom attend the school. My eldest daughter Zoe is in Year 6 and my middle daughter Isabelle is in Year 3. Every day we see the positive and supportive environment MENPS provides for our children as well as the passion and commitment shown by its teachers and staff. I am a qualified accountant with over 20 years’ experience working in financial and commercial leadership roles in technology and media businesses in Europe and New Zealand. During my time with the board I have gained an in depth understanding of the significant challenges our school and education system faces and I’ve been able to draw on my knowledge and experience to provide support and guidance. I am passionate about seeing our children and teachers succeed and believe I can continue to make a positive contribution to the strategy and future direction of the school. Our family is thoroughly enjoying being part of life at MENPS; we’ve fostered many friendships and love the supportive nature of the community here. It has been a privilege being a part of the Board of Trustees and I hope to get the chance to be part of it again next term.

James Powell
Elected

My name is James Powell and I am standing for the Mt Eden Normal Primary School Board.

I have one son, Caleb, in year 3 and my other son, Charlie, is due to start MENPS later this year. My wife Jennie is an early childhood teacher.

I have relevant experience to offer the Board concerning the schools property portfolio. I am a chartered professional engineer with 20 years experience in the construction industry working on projects in New Zealand, Europe and Asia/Pacific regions. In my current Project Management role I have both a commercial and technical focus and regularly prepare construction contracts, tender and administer construction contracts. I will therefore be able to support the Board in relation to building and maintenance works undertaken at the school.

Having attended MENPS Board of Trustee meetings I have an understanding of how the Board operates and I admire the strategic direction that the Board has taken the school. With several of the existing Board not standing again this term I believe it’s important for the new Board to maintain and build on this direction.

As a parent I believe it is critical we do what we can to give our children the best start in life through providing an environment where they can thrive. I personally believe the teaching staff have the potential to make the biggest impact on our children’s learning and development. Attracting and retaining skilled teaching staff is one the biggest challenges the school faces given the current climate. As a board member I would treat this as a high priority.

Please feel free to approach me if you have any queries.

Kind Regards

James Powell

Annette Marie Quesado
Elected

My name is Annette Quesado and I’m mum to Catalina (Year 3), Lucia (Year 2) and James, who starts at MENPS next year. I have lived and worked in Australia, France and the UK before settling in Auckland 10 years ago with Rowan and starting our family. I am a lawyer with over 15 years experience, and currently lead the legal team of a large financial services company. In my role I provide legal support for key strategic initiatives, including joint ventures, partnerships and construction projects, as well as managing the team. I am also passionate about education and children’s welfare, having previously served on the Board of Melbourne Girls College in Victoria, Australia, and been a longtime Committee Member for Plunket. In whatever spare time I have, I love being outdoors, spending time with family and friends and trying to keep fit! I have always been passionate about travel, culture and languages and love the diversity of our community.

Murray John Streets
Elected

Since being elected in 2016, I have served as Deputy Chair of the MENPS Board of Trustees. I’d relish the chance to join the new Board and to contribute further to guiding the strategic direction of the school.

I have three daughters at the school - lsla in Year 5 and twins lmogen and lndia in Year 3. I am currently Managing Director of BC&F Dentsu, an integrated communications agency.

A passion for teaching and learning: I have an MA and Post-Graduate Certificate of Education from Cambridge University in the UK. After four years of teaching I moved into marketing communications, first in the UK and then New Zealand, holding a range of strategy and general management roles.

Excited about engaging parents and our community: Part of my role as a Trustee will be to help communicate the strong educational vision and practices of the school to parents; and to represent parents' views from across our diverse community.

Setting up our children for lifelong success: I want to help provide an educational environment that prepares our children to be resilient, confident problem solvers in a rapidly changing world. One that fosters enthusiasm for learning and develops creative thinking skills through a well-balanced curriculum.

Invaluable experience: For me the 2016 – 2019 Board experience has been a highly rewarding one. I was excited to be part of the selection team that appointed Alan Jackson as our new Principal to succeed John Faire upon John’s retirement in 2017. As a member of the previous Board, I offer continuity and experience that will help the incoming members of the new Board to work effectively with Alan and the management team as quickly as possible.

I’d like to hear from you: A key part of a trustee's role is representing the views of parents to the Board and the school's leadership. l would like to know what's important to you. Please do contact me confidentially at germanicus1935@gmail.com if there are any issues you believe the new Board should focus on.