Horowhenua Chronicle

New head teacher brings wealth of experience

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Rebekah Parker is one of those lucky people that loves going to work each day and is pleased to be part of a likeminded team at Fairfield Educare.

With more than 14 years in the industry since graduating from training college, the vastly experience­d early childhood education teacher from Levin can honestly say her job is her passion.

“I genuinely love what I do and genuinely love kids. I honestly look forward to going to work,” she said.

Rebekah was excited about the latest chapter in her career, with the announceme­nt of her position as new head teacher at Fairfield Educare in Levin.

Fairfield Educare had recently come under the new ownership of experience­d ECE facilitato­r Gaylene Williams, who offered Rebekah the role knowing she was the perfect person to head the new team of passionate teachers.

Gaylene said Fairfield Educare was currently on the lookout for more teachers to join the team, too.

The plush and spacious grounds at Fairfield Educare provide an ideal learning environmen­t for children and establishe­d trees provide natural shade for a sensory playground in which the children thrive.

Rebekah initially trained as a Primary School teacher, but soon realised her passion lay with pre-schoolers. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience as a Montessori trained ECE teacher, and having lead Levin Montessori for the last 10 years was well known in the ECE sector.

“Fairfield is a spacious learning environmen­t with a

holistic natural feel. With space for 30 children aged twoyears-old or more, and 10 children aged less than two, the well-establishe­d gardens have native trees that canopy over the play-ground giving children opportunit­ies to learn about their natural world over three separate play areas,” she said.

Known to the children at Fairfield Educare as Whaea Becks, she has a natural rapport with young children, with an innate ability to communicat­e and engage with youngsters.

It’s a skill she shares with the rest of the team – Mel Hooper, Penny Wesley-Miller-Tonkin and Sarah Johnson.

The team at Fairfield Educare said they never tire of reading stories to children, and of the thousands of books to pick from, everyone has their favourite.

“The Lion In the Meadow is my favourite,” Rebekah said. With so much experience, she was in a unique position to see how the sector had evolved during that time.

“It has evolved, and for the better. It’s more of a respected profession and teachers are more profession­al in their approach,” she said.

Fairfield Educare is offering a curriculum to meet the needs each child and their parents, with a variety of time slots available for new enrolments.

And with the New Year already underway, the smiles on faces of the children in the natural playground say a thousand words.

Join the team as the centre continues to grow. Contact 06 368 6288 for more informatio­n.

 ?? ?? New head teacher Rebekah Parker with children at Fairfield Educare’s spacious grounds.
New head teacher Rebekah Parker with children at Fairfield Educare’s spacious grounds.

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