An Interview with Year 9 Deans.... Carolyn Reynolds
Mark Williams
What are your areas of teaching expertise and how long have you been a teacher at Otumoetai College? I have been at Otumoetai College for 3 Years, My area of expertise are Junior Science and Senior Physics.
What are your areas of teaching expertise and how long have you been a teacher at Otumoetai College? This will be my 12th year at the college. I teach Geography and Sociology at the senior level, however, I’m becoming more and more interested in New Zealand history and I really enjoy teaching this in Social Studies.
What were the reasons for you choosing to become a dean? Be more actively involved in this fabulous school, and to get to know the students better, and hopefully shape their high school journeys in positive ways. What are your hopes and aspirations for the 2021 Year 9 cohort? We get through the year, without another lock down! I hope that every year 9 this year feels they have had a successful year, that they have found love and enjoyment in their learning and have found their place at Otumoetai College. If you could share some valuable wisdom to our Year 9 students as they begin their secondary college journey, what would that advice be? Give everything a go, don’t say no, don’t let opportunities pass you by. What is a little known fact about you? I enjoy tramping. And I try to get off grid with my husband most weekends and holidays.
What were the reasons for you choosing to become a dean? Having had previous experience as a dean, one of the most rewarding aspects is being able to help facilitate solutions for all sorts of scenarios that arise in the students’ lives. This is a big motivating factor in choosing to do this role. Seeing students mature and develop over 5 years. What are your hopes and aspirations for the 2021 Year 9 cohort? To see school as more than just a place where one gathers knowledge and becomes ‘educated’. My hope is that our cohort sees Otumoetai College as a community that they have an active role in shaping. I would like for them to come to appreciate that what they do here and how they see their school matters not just to them but to the wider community as well. If you could share some valuable wisdom to our Year 9 students as they begin their secondary college journey, what would that advice be? If you come into college with a positive attitude, focusing on the good things about college life, that will be reflected in your enjoyment of school during these short 5 years. What is a little known fact about you? I support West Ham United (but only for their song)
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