Our People

Ronan relocated from Ireland to New Zealand in 1999 and spent the majority of that year working at the America’s Cup. He has developed, led and driven various school wide initiatives with a pastoral, student leadership, professional development, data analysis and pedagogical-change focus. He is very passionate about engaging with students, staff, whānau and the community, and has high expectations for staff and students. Ronan has a strong passion for social justice and firmly believes that learning, and in particular experiential learning, is for life not just for school, and that all students should be able to achieve personal success while at school. He was amongst the first group of teachers in New Zealand to be trained in Restorative Practices in the early 2000s, has developed models of Teaching and Leadership as Inquiry which have been adopted by multiple schools and holds a Bachelor of Science in Education (Hons) from the University of Limerick, Ireland and a Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Leadership & Management from Unitec, Auckland. 

Prior to accepting Assistant and Deputy Principal positions, Bert spent 20 years as a Pastoral Dean across all year levels. During this time, he further developed his passion for assisting students in a pastoral environment. Bert enjoys working with students and whanau to build respectful relationships. He seeks to develop connections that encourage students to make positive decisions regarding their behaviour, wellbeing and future. 

Bert has a passion for sport and in particular basketball. As a player and coach, he has experienced and enjoyed success locally, nationally and internationally. He represented New Zealand for a number of years as a player and was also a New Zealand Coach at the senior men’s and under 20 men’s levels. 

Bert played for the Canterbury Rams most successful basketball team, winning four national championships. Following his successful playing career, he then became the Head Coach of the Canterbury Rams and of the Canterbury Under 23 Men’s team. These teams were successful in winning a number of national championships. 

Over time, Bert’s significant service and contribution to basketball and youth has resulted in several awards. For example, from Sport Canterbury an award for, ‘Thirty Years of Service to Secondary School Sport.’ Another, is the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award for Basketball’ from the Canterbury Sports Awards. From the community, Bert was nominated for the ‘New Zealander of the Year’ award and received the Canterbury Region ‘Local Hero Award.’ 

Bert has worked in teams throughout his educational and sporting career. He prides himself on being able to develop and establish high levels of teamwork and leadership. He is a skilled mediator and problem solver who has led and participated in a range of professional development programmes that have focused on developing pastoral, wellbeing and leadership skills in students and staff. He brings these skills and strengths to his role of Deputy Principal at Ellesmere College.

Tanya has recently shifted to the South Island, having spent the majority of her own schooling and teaching career in rural high schools in the North Island including Paeroa College, Otorohanga College and Te Awamutu College. Tanya also spent two years living and teaching in the United Kingdom.  These experiences gave Tanya a strong understanding of the nature of rural schools and the way of life that is associated with them.

Prior to Ellesmere College/Te Kāreti o Waihora, Tanya has been part of several middle leadership teams as year level dean of a cohort of 300 students and Head of Department at Te Awamutu College, and most recently as a Team Leader and dean at Paeroa College.  It was in this role that Tanya had the opportunity to explore how teachers can work collaboratively to create an authentic learning environment that is responsive to the needs of individual learners. Drawing on her prior experience and involvement with the University of Waikato’s internationally-recognised Te Kotahitanga programme Tanya was able to develop a successful integrated, team taught Year 9 and 10 learning programme at Paeroa College. 

Tanya also had the opportunity to work for the Ministry of Education for several years as a Special Education Adviser. This role involved supporting schools to develop programmes of learning for students with specialist behavioural needs and students who are part of the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS).

Tanya graduated from Massey University with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Geography and History, and a Postgraduate Certificate in Social Sciences. She gained a Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching from Massey University College of Education.

Antony has been the staff representative on the Board of Trustees, the PPTA branch secretary and subsequently the PPTA branch chairperson,  relief teacher coordinator and led the organising committee for the senior formal as well as a myriad of other roles. Antony coached the 1st XV rugby team for 10 years, has run touch rugby teams, organised or participated in over 50 school camps at year 7,10 and 13 and has coached the EC Clay Target Shooting team for the past 5 years. Having the privilege of coaching a number of students to regional, South Island and National Champion levels is something that he is proud to have achieved. Whilst working in the Senior Leadership Team, Antony has had the opportunity to strengthen his leadership skills and is most proud to be part of a dedicated and professional team who have implemented progressive change designed to gain the best possible outcomes for all of our learners. 

When asked recently by a student what he liked most about teaching he replied, “While I understand that I may not be able to change the world, I know that I have been a part of the lives of many young people who will” 

He joined the PB4L team in 2016 and attended their conferences in 2016 and 2017. The central ideas of PB4L (common values, clear expectations, de-escalation, and restorative practice) have resonated with him and he bases his approach to behaviour management around them. At all times he prioritises the needs and wellbeing of the student while seeking to maintain positive relationships between students and teachers. He considers fairness to be an important aspect of any outcome that is obtained after a disagreement.

Currently Craig is the Head of the Science Learning Area, Principal’s Nominee, and in charge of Timetable, Assessment, Reporting and Kamar.

Craig is a past pupil of Ellesmere College-Te Kāreti o Waihora and is proud to have returned as a staff member. Between leaving and returning he gained a B.Sc and Post Graduate Diploma majoring in Geology from the University of Canterbury. He travelled overseas visiting Europe and North Africa, taught (accidentally) as a relief teacher in Dublin and on his return gained his teaching degree from the Christchurch College of Education.

Upon returning to New Zealand Rebecca moved back to the Ellesmere area and managed a local wine bar/cafe for several years before deciding to change career paths ever so slightly. She returned to study at NZSTT and completed a Diploma in Travel, Tourism and Business Technology. This path took her to the Air New Zealand Airpoints call centre and then into corporate travel working for a subsidiary travel agent for the University of Canterbury.  

Rebecca then took a leave of absence to become a parent and worked part-time in administration for a local taxidermist. Once her children started the local primary school she became heavily involved in the PTA and this ignited her love of working with children and was prompted to delve into the teaching profession. The 3 year Bachelor of Teaching and Learning (Primary) degree beckoned and so Rebecca again returned to tertiary education, this time as a distance learner and completed this in 2016.

Since being at Ellesmere College-Te Kāreti o Waihora Rebecca has used these lifelong learning journeys and skills to be able to move rapidly into middle management where she became the Year 7 Dean in her first year of being fully qualified. In 2020 Rebecca co-led the Year 7 and 8 department and is now the Year 7 Team Leader and Kaitiaki as well as being appointed as the Adjunct Assistant Principal in 2022 to oversee Covid-19 and our ERO review. She is also the staff representative on the Board of Trustees. Rebecca is excited to be a part of the pedagogical change that has been occurring over the past few years and every year looks forward to welcoming new students to Ellesmere College/Te Kāreti o Waihora.