‘Shy’ girl an inspiration
In 12 years of teaching, Kelly Seabourn has inspired numerous students to become the best they can be. Martin van Beynen reports.
As a girl, no-one would have picked Kelly Seabourn as a teacher, let alone an inspirational one.
But the reserved, nervous girl from rural Clarkville near Rangiora, who played the piano and flute, has inspired many young lives in her 12 years of teaching.
The big-hearted 34-year-old, now teaching at St Patrick’s School in Kaiapoi, is everyone’s favourite teacher.
Michaela O’Donoghue, now 14, was a new entrant at St Bernadette’s School in Hornby, where Seabourn had her first teaching job.
Michaela’s mother Ann said Michaela was a troubled youngster and could have slipped into a pattern of under-achieving and low self-confidence.
Ann O’Donoghue said Seabourn discovered a musical ability in Michaela in Year Four or Five.
‘‘It was a gentle prompting that Michaela could do things in music. It’s been the absolute making of my child,’’ she said.
‘‘It wasn’t only music. Gentle persuasion is probably the best way to put it. The children all love and respect her and she just has a way with her that children react to and manages to get the best out of children. ‘‘
Michaela ended up in the lead role in the school production of Cinderella and continues as a champion rock ‘n’ roll dancer and performer in other spheres.
She said she struggled at school but began to improve under Seabourn’s style of teaching and her way of getting the children to I've always been quite a nervous person myself and probably people think it's strange I'm in teaching. be kinder to each other.
‘‘She told me I had a nice voice and I started coming to more choir practices. It was something about her being my teacher that made it way better.’’
The O’Donoghues nominated Seabourn for the Favourite Teacher Awards, in association with Stuff, TVNZ Breakfast and Matilda, The Musical.
Seabourn, a Marion College alumni, said her interest in teaching was sparked when, as a high school student, she attended the Modern School of Music and taught flute and guitar.
‘‘I really loved working with the children and seeing their talents and watching them grow.’’
After an honours year at teacher’s college, she started teaching in 2005 in Year One and Two.
‘‘I try to make the children confident and comfortable to speak up. I’ve always been quite a nervous person myself and probably people think it’s strange I’m in teaching.
‘‘I was always very quiet and shy as a child so I like to encourage children to come out of their shells and take a few risks.
‘‘It does work. I see children who start off quite timid go ahead in leaps and bounds. They find out they can do a lot more than they realise.
‘‘I like to have a lot of laughter in the classroom.’’
Seabourn, now head of religious studies at St Patrick’s, said she was in no hurry to become a principal.
‘‘I just like being in the classroom.’’