5 September 2016

Re: Relieving Principals Position Fairlie School

Dear Terri
My family and I have recently moved to the Albury area after living in Mid Canterbury for the last 5
years. My husband Stu and I are the lessees of Silverhill and my two boys aged 11 years and
12 years old attend Mt Somers/Springburn School.
I am an experienced teacher and Principal and have been employed in a variety of positions that
involved teaching students ranging from new entrants to year 10. I have a Bachelor of Teaching
and Learning degree and coupled with my Diploma of Teaching, Higher Diploma of Teaching and
Advanced Diploma of Teaching gives me a strong base in educational theory, pedagogy and
multi-level teaching experience. I am however a very down to earth classroom teacher who is just
as happy to be down on the mat working with students having two primary aged boys of my own
certainly keeps me fit, active and in touch with whats cool at the time. I have 2 previous
Principalships and have been Head of Junior School at Ashburton College.
In 2015 I was very excited to have my teaching recognised by being awarded an ACET award
(Advanced Classroom Expertise Teacher). The ACET allowance recognises exemplary practice in
the primary classroom. To be awarded this I needed to demonstrate that my practice was
demonstrably higher than the Experienced Teacher professional standards. Evidence was needed
of practice that demonstrated creativity and innovation with ongoing development built on an
evidential base from both research and academic theory, and sound analysis of childrens
learning. Currently there are only 450 New Zealand teachers with this award.
I am currently teaching a junior class of 17 children at Mt Somers Springburn School. The
children in this class are working at level 1 of the curriculum with those high achievers beginning
level 2. When I began at Mt Somers Springburn School in 2013 I taught a class of Year 4
students. Mt Somers Springburn is a 100 child, 5 teacher school in Mid-Canterbury with a
community very much like Fairlie.
Before I won the position at Mt Somers Springburn School I was Head of Junior School at
Ashburton College, Mid Canterbury. This was a challenging but very rewarding position where I
was responsible for the pastoral care of six hundred Year 9 and 10 students. We were heavily
involved in Restorative Practices and I am very experienced and creative when working in this
way. I had been appointed to help staff move on and grieve the loss of a longstanding and much
loved Head of Junior School. I needed to let them grieve but ensure it was also business as
usual. I believe I did this very successfully while also developing a cohesive, high functioning
team.
Prior to moving to Ashburton College I was teaching at Whareama School in the Wairarapa.
Whareama is a 32 student, two teacher rural school with multi-level classes. I taught in both the
senior and junior rooms. I was responsible for the entire planning of the numeracy programme for
the senior room (year 4-8) as well as senior literacy. I was also employed full time in the junior
room for 2 terms when the junior room teacher moved to another teaching position. As my
children were small at the time I was unfortunately not in a position to apply for the full time job. I
also had a real interest in the school writing programme and devised a whole school tracking
system that allowed us to monitor each student individually as they progressed through the writing
stages.
I was fully involved in all school professional development, curriculum development, planning and
evaluation. I was the ICT lead teacher. I taught at Whareama for 4 years and really enjoyed
this multi-level teaching.

Mt Somers Springburn School is using a very successful Inquiry Model for learning. Along with
this, higher order thinking skills underpin many of the activities we undertake. This produces a
well thought out, interesting programme that caters to all of our students and their ability and
interest levels. I am confident in the use of higher order thinking skills in the classroom
programme. We also use the Inquiry Model for staff appraisals.
I have always encouraged open and honest home and school communication. I believe it is as
important to phone home to share students successes, as it is to phone home to discuss
concerns. I run an open door policy and encourage parents to pop in whenever they like.
My teaching programme has a very strong literacy and numeracy base and I keep thorough
records on both. I am a strong advocate of a well-planned writing programme with both feedback
and feed-forward. I run groups for writing just as I do for numeracy and literacy. These groups
may be ability, needs or interest based. I am the Lead Literacy Teacher and drive all professional
development in the school around this.
During my career I have consistently worked in a collegial and co-operative way and always tried
to contribute positively to the schools team culture. I am constantly striving to build effective
learning relationships and to engage students in relevant learning. I would describe myself as a
teaching practitioner with high expectations for every student. I have a positive attitude and an
empathy with, and understanding of young people. I believe that children in my classroom are
positive, confident learners who reflect on their own learning.
My effectiveness as a professional is highlighted in the positive feedback I have received about
my open, consultative management style, including working as a team member and valuing others
while always looking for the best outcomes for all involved.
I have been described by others as approachable, friendly, firm and consistent and believe I have
the respect of my colleagues and the students I work with. I work hard to create meaningful,
authentic relationships with the families and whanau of the students I teach. I have enthusiasm,
drive, energy and most importantly love a challenge. I cope with high stress situations well and
have excellent time management skills. I have a great sense of humour and am very level headed
with good common sense.
I am very IT literate and know my way around both PC and Apple computers. I am a touch typist.
I have used latest technologies as an integral part of my teaching programme during the last few
years. I have been the lead ICT teacher and attended many courses that showcased the latest in
ICT teaching and learning. I have used interactive whiteboards for the last 4 years and am very
proficient in their capability to extend learning experiences for students.
I enjoy taking a pastoral care role with students and find this most satisfying as the students learn
to cope with their own personal, social and educational development I believe I have a very easy
manner when dealing with a wide range of people from all walks of life and cultural backgrounds
and work at creating empathy within these interactions. I consider myself to be a positive, reliable
person, and a great role model. I am also motivated and helpful.
I believe that all of the above coupled with a genuine belief that children should always be on a
pathway to knowledge, would make me a valued member of the Fairlie School staff.
I can offer you the same energy and enthusiasm for teaching and education as a new graduate
but with the added value of experience and a successful, proven teaching and management
career.

My application is electronic and in the form of a website. I truly believe that a picture speaks a thousand
words and hope to give you a better understanding of my teaching and who I am, by presenting it this
way. The site contains my CV, cover letter, referees, references and links to examples of my
professional practice, engagement, peer leadership, professional learning and teaching practice beliefs.
Alternatively you can type http://ginnynealapplication.weebly.com/ into your browser.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely

Ginny Neal