TEACHER

NURTURING OURFUTURE GENERATIONS

TEACHING TAMARIKI

writer SARA CARBERY // photographer SARAH MARSHALL

Talk to JESSIE PATCH about her job as kaiako (teacher) at He Puna Ruku Mātauranga o Whangaruru in Northland and her enthusiasm is obvious! Recently turned 23, Jessie is living her dream, teaching at the full immersion primary kura she attended as a child. “I enjoy watching my tamariki grow and feel success in everything they achieve. I love seeing their bright and bubbly faces each morning and all the fun things we do as a school.” As luck would have it, a position at her old kura became available towards the end of Jessie’s final year at the University of Auckland, where she studied for a Bachelor of Education (Teaching) Huarahi Māori specialisation. She started in the role at the beginning of 2020 and is now a second-year beginning teacher in a full immersion classroom teaching years 0–3. “I enjoy teaching te reo Māori and seeing how proud the kids are of our culture.” As well as planning and providing feedback to whānau on the children’s learning, Jessie says her job involves “lots of lightbulb moments”. “Being with younger tamariki, I am preparing them and setting up the foundations for their future.” Jessie attended Bay of Islands College to Year 12, taking te reo Māori all the way through, and was home-schooled for Year 13. After taking part in the Gateway programme in Year 12 and exploring different workplaces, Jessie was drawn to teaching. “I have always loved being around tamariki and growing up in a small community I saw first-hand the need for good education. “As we live rurally, there is a lack of opportunity for lots of our people,” she says, “and I thought it would be awesome to be able to help grow and nurture our future generations, especially whānau within my own community.” If you’re thinking of becoming a teacher, Jessie recommends studying te reo Māori. “I didn’t realise the value of my reo until I reached high school and opportunities started to come my

BEING WITH younger TAMARIKI, I aM PREPARING THEM AND SETTING UP THE FOUNDATIONS FOR THEIR FUTURE.

JESSIE PATCH

way and I realised how much of a taonga it was to be fluent, a taonga that so many of our people are working hard towards.” Jessie loved every moment of her time at university. “I have met lifelong friends and was so lucky to have the support of all the lecturers at the Tai Tokerau campus. “While studying, it was the people around me, as well as my whānau, that got me through.” When she has more experience teaching, Jessie would like to go back to university to study for a masters degree and, eventually, a doctorate. To anyone thinking of becoming a teacher, she says “Do it! “Our country needs strong and passionate kaiako. It is the most rewarding job. It is more work than just 9am–3pm but you definitely find time in the holidays to relax!”

KEY FACTS

■ JESSIE PATCH IS A SECOND-YEAR BEGINNING KAIAKO AT HE PUNA RUKU

MĀTAURANGA O WHANGARURU IN NORTHLAND. ■ SHE HAS A BACHELOR OF EDUCATION (TEACHING) HUARAHI MĀORI

SPECIALISATION FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND. ■ JESSIE RECOMMENDS STUDYING TE REO MĀORI FOR ALL STUDENTS WHO

ARE CONSIDERING A CAREER IN TEACHING. For more information on studying a Bachelor of Education

(Teaching) Huarahi Māori

specialisation at the University of Auckland, visit www.auckland.ac.nz/huarahi-maori You are welcome to get in touch with your questions, email education@auckland.ac.nz

FROM CUSTOMERTO TEAM MEMBER

DISCOVERYOUR OWNFAMILY IN RED

writer SARA CARBERY

photographer LOGAN WEST

It was a basketball hoop chain that set VALERIE WALKER (28) on a career path with Bunnings; a journey that has seen her progress from part-time checkout operator to store manager of Bunnings Pukekohe. “What made me initially apply for a casual job was experiencing first-hand friendly and exceptional service at Bunnings Manukau,” recalls Valerie. “The two team members made me feel like family, and all I wanted was to buy chain for a basketball hoop. I searched up Bunnings jobs that very same night.” Valerie worked part-time at Bunnings Takanini, while she studied for a Bachelor of Science, before signing on fulltime six years ago when misfortune struck her family. “The pivotal moment I realised Bunnings was a career path rather than just any job was when my father was made redundant from his own career of 30 years,” says Valerie. “Bunnings showed me such genuine support and care throughout this rough time in my life and provided me with the means to take care of my father and sister. “This genuine sense of care and family values encouraged me not only to stay, but to give back to my family in red.” Valerie has worked in many different roles and departments since then, including in administration, special orders, goods inwards, and tools and hardware. Bunnings prides itself on providing “genuine opportunities for career and personal growth”, and in 2019 Valerie was nominated for their future leader programme. This programme combines on-job advancement with a Diploma in Leadership and Management from Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne. Valerie clearly loves her job, particularly seeing members of her team fulfil their potential, as she is also doing. “When succession plans come to fruition, I am the happiest and most fulfilled.” As store manager, Valerie’s main role is to ensure her team “are given the tools, training and empowerment they need to deliver the best customer experience possible”. She is also responsible for health and safety, forecasting sales, meeting the store’s key performance indicators and much more. Of the subjects she took in Year 13 at Papakura High School – English, Physics, Biology, Statistics and Chemistry – Valerie says English and Statistics have been the most helpful. “They gave me the social, literacy and computer skills I needed to become a confident all-round adult. In a career where your everyday interaction is with customers, solid social skills are needed to be able to provide the best customer experience.” She says a personal finance course at school would have been useful. “I wish I knew what taxes, debt, student loans and Kiwisaver were before leaving high school. It would have made saving and becoming a homeowner so much easier.” Valerie’s advice to school leavers is to “take risks, make mistakes and learn from them. You are never too old to learn new things in life.”

IN A CAREER WHERE YOUR EVERYDAY INTERACTION IS WITH CUSTOMERS, SOLID SOCIAL SKILLS ARE NEEDED TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THE BEST CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE.

VALERIE WALKER

KEY FACTS

■ VALERIE WALKER IS A STORE MANAGER AT BUNNINGS PUKEKOHE. SHE

INITIALLY STARTED AS A CASUAL WORKER, INSPIRED TO APPLY AFTER

RECEIVING EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE FROM BUNNINGS MANUKAU. ■ SHE WAS NOMINATED FOR BUNNINGS’ FUTURE LEADER PROGRAMME IN 2019. PARTICIPANTS RECEIVE A DIPLOMA IN LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

FROM SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY IN MELBOURNE AND

ON-JOB ADVANCEMENT. For more information on career opportunities with Bunnings, visit

www.bunnings.co.nz/jobs

WHERE 111 AND MEDICINE MEET

PARAMEDICINE: A DREAM JOB

writer PETER WHITE photographer STEVE SELWOOD

it was the COMBINATION of both the medical side AND EMERGENCY SERVICES THAT DREW MY ATTENTION TO PARAMEDICINE AS THE DREAM CAREER FOR me.

JACK WALLACE

Being a frontline paramedic is the perfect career for Christchurch’s JACK WALLACE. The 24-year-old of Ngāti Tūwharetoa descent has quickly moved up the ranks to be a shift supervisor with St John Ambulance Service. In his spare time, he volunteers as a team manager with 40 staff reporting to him. It is busy, hectic and everything he hoped it would be when he first left St Andrew’s College. Jack began working with St John through the youth programme at the age of 12 but at first he wanted to become a Police Officer. “I thought it would be an interesting thing to get into while I was still at school that was linked to the emergency services before I joined the Police. But when you turn 15 with the youth programme, you can go out with the paramedics and do event work as an observer at AMP Shows, fairs and rugby games,” says Jack. “I started doing that religiously every weekend from the age of 15 to 18 and that really changed my mind on what I was going to do. I loved the medical side of what the ambulance service does and it was the combination of both the medical side and emergency services that drew my attention to paramedicine as the dream career for me.” In his senior years at St Andrew’s, Jack ensured he took the key subjects recommended for a degree in paramedicine, English and Chemistry, plus in Year 13 he also studied Statistics and Performing Arts. He gained a New Zealand Diploma in Ambulance Practice in 2015 and became an emergency medical technician at the age of 18, which he says was “pretty rare at the time”. It meant he could work fulltime with the ambulance service while studying for his Bachelor of Health Science majoring in Paramedicine from Whitireia New Zealand, which took him an extra year to complete. “What I love most about the role is the variety of what we do. It is one of the few roles I can imagine where you are always out and about. You are not stuck in an office or a building, you are out and about and every patient that you see is different. Every shift you do, you could end up in a different place. “For students interested in medicine or emergency services, especially if you have an interest in both, this is the perfect mix of all of that. You don’t get stuck in a hospital and you get to learn about the clinical aspects with what happens to people.” Jack says the role of a paramedic is expanding quickly and it is an exciting time to get into the industry for school leavers. He recommends getting in touch with St John to spend time observing what the job is all about. “Definitely try before you buy.”

KEY FACTS

■ JACK WALLACE HAS A BACHELOR OF HEALTH SCIENCE MAJORING

IN PARAMEDICINE FROM WHITIREIA NEW ZEALAND, AND A

NEW ZEALAND DIPLOMA IN AMBULANCE PRACTICE. ■ HE WORKS AS A SHIFT SUPERVISOR WITH ST JOHN AMBULANCE SERVICE. ■ JACK HAS WORKED WITH ST JOHN THROUGH THEIR YOUTH PROGRAMME

SINCE HE WAS 12 YEARS OLD, REGULARLY GOING OUT WITH PARAMEDICS AS

AN OBSERVER THROUGHOUT HIS TEENAGE YEARS. For more information on careers with St John, visit

https://join.stjohn.org.nz/ ambulance-careers/home