Angela Carson

Hi, my name is Angela. I am the owner and administrator of this wonderful kindergarten. My primary role at The Kids Club is management and administrative duties, but occasionally I’m allowed out of the office to work with the children!

My background is in teaching new entrant school age children and kindergarten, with my professional training in the areas of literacy and gifted education. I have a particular passion for language, literacy and mathematics, hence the emphasis of The Kids Club on these. I believe that with skills in each of these areas children are able to discover the world.

I live in Hamilton with my husband Tony and our wonderful sons – Daniel and Bradley. Tony is our right hand man at kindergarten – completing all maintenance, legal and financial matters. He does this in his spare time as he also has his own business in the financial area!

Daniel is a keen reader, writer and musician. Brad is our sports person, passionate about football and all other sports. As a family we enjoy swimming, going to the beach, bush walks and catching up with friends and family.

Thank you for the opportunity that you have given me to work with your family at The Kids Club. I look forward to getting to know you better.

Angela

Teacher

Talia Evered

Hey there, my name is Talia Evered and I am proud to be the head teacher here at The Kids Club. I have a fun, energetic and outgoing personality and enjoy many things in life. One of my enjoyments in life is going back to the family farm in Waerenga on weekends where I was bought up on with my parents and 3 brothers.

Another enjoyment I found for a few years was in business marking which I did a certificate and diploma in before I found my true passion in teaching. Of course when I found my true calling I followed on with doing a degree in early childhood teaching and once I completed my degree I went straight into my teaching and have been doing that ever since!

I am very fortunate to have found my life career and love teaching children everyday that it hardly seems like a job to me! From this teaching I have also found a hidden talent in writing books for children and have recently self-published ‘I wonder what I can wonder in my wardrobe’ which is a wacky story based around a girl’s wardrobe which is the first book in my Suzie Series of children’s books.

Another side to me is what I enjoy doing outside my teaching and writing which includes deep sea fishing for the biggest snapper, going to the beach with friends, and spending time with my family and friends wherever and whenever. Other parts of my life also include renovating our house with my husband Scott.

So that’s a little about me but I would like to personally welcome you to The Kids Club and thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity. I look forward to getting to your family and being part of your child’s time here!

Teacher

Jo Emerson

I have a Diploma in Early Childhood Education and have been teaching on and off throughout mainly the Waikato for the past 28 years (gosh, the years fly by!) I have three grown daughters, Emma my eldest is 25, is also a Kindergarten Teacher, Emma has three beautiful little ones, Ava, 6yrs, Markie, 2 years, and wee Sarah Rose 4 weeks:) May my middle daughter is 24, and is a Dental Technician in Hamilton East, and my third daughter Jasmine is assistant manager of a retail store in the city.

I feel my responsibility in my teaching role is to provide a positive, happy learning environment where children can become confident learners and communicators, where they feel a sense of “belonging” . I would like to think that when children leave my care they have made valuable learning steps in mind, body and spirit, so that they may head of strongly and positively in the direction of their dreams.

Teacher

Bridget Butterworth

Hi, my name is Bridget and I am one of the qualified teachers at The Kids Club. I have recently retrained to become a qualified teacher, but so far it has been one of the best decisions I have made! I had previously gained a Bachelor of Social Sciences majoring in Psychology and then worked in Human Resources. I grew up in Hamilton, but after finishing University I moved to Wellington (where I met my husband...) then to Auckland (where I had my children...) and we are now back in Hamilton.

I had several years off work while I cared for my children but once they started school I decided I wanted to go back to work, but felt like a change from my previous jobs. So I decided to re-train as an early childhood teacher, and the rest, as they say, is history!

I have two children, my oldest daughter is Jessica and my youngest is Molly and they both currently attend Rototuna Primary School. Prior to school they both came to The Kids Club so I have had quite a long association with this kindergarten, first as a mother and now as a teacher. I’m looking forward to getting to know you and your family and sharing time with your children!

Teacher

Gabi Schneider

Liebe Eltern. Liebe Familie!

Dear parents and family members!

My name is Gabi Schneider. I was born and raised Koblenz, Germany and did my ECE training in the 1980’s! (long time ago) I worked in different kindergartens in Germany for 7 years before coming to New Zealand in 1991. Here I worked in two different childcare centres before starting work at The Kids Club in 2003. I am employed as a teacher aide. At the moment I am in the process of getting my overseas qualification recognized in New Zealand.

I do have two sons, both born in Hamilton, who are at Intermediate and High School. We did go back to Europe (Spain) to live but came back a few months later, because we love living here and enjoy the totally different, more relaxed lifestyle! But I must say I miss the opportunity of just hopping in the car and going to visit another country and experience their culture.

I welcome you to The Kids Club and hope that you and your child/ren will enjoy your time with us!

Gabi Schneider

Teacher

Simon Archard

I joined the Kids Club in 2008 and have enjoyed so many experiences and opportunities to develop my teaching and continue learning during my time here.

I currently work part time at the Kids club 2 and am currently undertaking a post graduate diploma in education. I also have recently been involved in teaching undergraduates in their early childhood studies.

Once upon a time, having studied in London, I embarked upon a career working with people with learning disabilities and mental health issues. This took me on many adventures, working in residential homes and then within a community support team. My last job in the UK was managing a community psychology department in a London borough district and working as a behavioural analyst.

In 2001, my family and I took on a new and big adventure. We moved to New Zealand and straight to Hamilton. In 2005, having enjoyed my time as parent helper in my child’s early childhood setting, I took up training in Early Childhood at the University of Waikato. During my training I also worked with Autism New Zealand as the Waikato field officer.

I have been lucky to experience working in a number of early childhood settings during my training and in relieving positions. My passion is the diverse and rich interactions that contribute to and support reciprocal and responsive relationships. This requires acknowledging each child as a competent person and valuing each child’s thinking and learning which is critical for creating a rich, equitable and exciting learning environment. I just love coming to Kids Club 2!!

Sara, my wife of many years, works at the University of Waikato as a lecturer in Early Childhood. My daughter teenage Abigail and Lucy lead diverse (and expensive!!) lives and as a family we love to plan and undertake adventures and travel.

Teacher

Stacey Robinson

I have been teaching in Early Childhood settings for over 14 years. I have been fortunate to experience working in an array of different centres in different towns and cities in New Zealand and abroad. It has given me the great tools I need to make a great centre for children to be in and be the best educator I can be for the wonderful children I teach.

During my teaching career I spent 7 ½ years working and living in London in the UK. Whilst living there I was fortunate enough to work at an inner city London school. It was such a great experience working with such amazing people and with so many cultures and diverse families under one roof!! I worked in the Early Years Department of my school for 5 years and was lucky enough to run this department successfully for 3 years. I was also whole school Physical Education manager for 4 years which was so much fun. Organising sporting events for the whole school was really great especially the inaugural school mini marathon which was such an amazing success and has carried on in my absence. I was also a teacher in year one for two years which really deepened my passion for working with young children and the transition between early years and school.

Living in the UK gave me many opportunities to travel to many different parts of the world and see the most amazing things and meet some great people. These memories will be with me forever but the pull to come home became too great and this is how I came to be here at the Kids Club 2. I really love working with children and seeing them grow into competent, successful and happy learners. I have a great interest in literacy, phonics and early writing and reading. I am really happy to be part of the team here at Kids Club 2 as these are things we are passionate about here at Kindy too.

I am a real family person so I spend a lot of my time catching up with the people who mean the most to me in life. I love to have adventures and travel and find out about what there is in the world beyond our shores. I enjoy walking and playing netball, being at the beach and catching up with friends and most of all enjoying life!

Teacher

Nikki Gaastra

Kia Ora, Ko Nikki Gaastra Toku Ingoa.

Hello my name is Nikki Gaastra

I have recently completed a Bachelor of Teaching, Early Childhood Education at the University of Waikato. I have been here at the Kids Club 2 before as a student teacher on my final teaching practicum and I loved it so much I had to return as a real teacher!

This past year I moved into Hamilton from Raglan where I worked as a relief teacher at the Kindergarten and a part time teacher at the Childcare Centre while I was studying. I am really enjoying Hamilton and all of the opportunities I have had so far.

As a beginning teacher I am constantly surprised and astounded by the wonderful abilities and strengths shown by children. I firmly believe that all children are competent and capable learners and I am enjoying the challenge of working and learning alongside them- and from them. Akō in action! I really really enjoy and value the way children in this age group show an endless curiosity for the world around them and the way things work. As a teacher here at Kids Club 2 I hope to be able to inspire and stimulate this natural desire for exploration- and hopefully help them learn a few things along the way!

I live with my Brother Michael and my Sister Lauren in Hillcrest- they are my best friends and a constant source of inspiration. My partner Mark lives in Auckland and has a pet Bearded Dragon called Carney!

I really enjoy snowboarding, long boarding, tramping, bike rides in the sun, swimming, music, theatre, singing (even though I’m not the greatest- the children don’t seem to mind!) and reading on the beach. I have been learning how to wakeboard this summer and it’s been a whole lotta fun! In the near future I also hope to learn to play guitar.