Steph Julian

Who am I?/Ko wai au?

Kia ora Puketapu Whanau,

My name is Steph and I’ve been nominated to serve on the board for Puketapu Kura. I’m the proud Mum of Anika – who is currently in Totara 1, and Amalia (Mali) – who goes to Henwood Kindy and will be joining Puketapu next year. I’m married to Lars and we also have two cute but naughty dogs called Sarge and Eddie.

I was born and raised in Taranaki, my parents are from Manaia, and I whakapapa to Ngati Porou ki Hauraki on Dad’s side, and England and Wales on my Mum’s side.

We joined the Bell Block community about 5 years ago, after a stint overseas in both Norway and Australia. Since we’ve come back I’ve retrained as a secondary school teacher and now teach English and Media Studies at Spotswood College.

Some of my other interests include netball coaching (I coach the Spotswood Junior A team), writing and spending as much time as I can with my family. I’m also working towards getting my Masters from Massey University.

Why do I want to be on the board/He aha te take e tū ai au hei mema mō te poari ?

I am really keen to serve on the board for Puketapu as I am very interested in moving education into the future, and I feel that both Puketapu and Spotswood are schools that are embracing what is best for our students.

Many parents have memories of the ‘bad old days’ of education (School C, being made to fit into a box that wasn’t quite the right shape), and I really want to make sure that our kids have better memories of good times and innovative learning at their school.

I want to help Puketapu teachers and staff ensure that our kids are the focus and that every student is supported to do their very best. I would love to be more closely involved with the big picture planning at Puketapu and I feel like I could offer a unique perspective as both a mum and an educator.