Katarina Dale

Room 6

Email: [email protected]

Dear Room 6 and whānau,

Welcome back to a new year at Berkley! I hope you are as excited as I am to get underway and to learn all about the class that will make up Room 6 this year. As Year 9’s, you will be the leaders within the school and I look forward to getting to know you all and working together to be the best we can be.

Here is a little about me…

I am a mother of three teenage boys and along with my husband, I spend hours on sports sidelines supporting our sons’ passions and talents in various codes. This is how I love to spend my time - along with tramping, gardening, reading and walking our dog.

I have been a teacher for 27 years. One of those years was spent teaching English in Japan and three years were spent teaching in a range of schools in London, England. I absolutely loved teaching overseas and was able to explore many fascinating countries whilst I was there. (35 to be exact). Upon my return to New Zealand, I was keen on a challenge, keen to improve myself and my teaching. I went back to University and completed a Masters in Educational Leadership degree. I was still able to play netball and row for the University during that time which made my achievement all the more special. The experience was quite a challenge, especially with a 6 week old baby joining the family but I learnt that the harder the challenge, the greater the reward.

My degree did reward me with new challenges and I really enjoyed developing my leadership skills as Assistant and Deputy Principal at two different Hamilton schools. It was then that I learnt that you just “don’t know what you don’t know” and I realised that no matter how much I learned, there was always more to learn and there were so many ways of learning!! I encourage that love of learning in our class, where curiosity and questioning is encouraged, where learners are supported by each other to achieve their goals and where creativity runs free. Berkley is a great place to make this happen as this is what Berkley is all about.

So let’s get excited about the possibilities. What do you want to achieve this year? What will you make happen? I know you’ll TAKE UP THE CHALLENGE and I just can’t wait to see what unfolds. I bet it will put a smile on my face.

I encourage you and your parents/caregivers to keep in touch via email and I am also happy to meet to discuss any issues that may come up. I look forward to working alongside you and your families.

Ngā mihi

Katarina Dale

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Katarina Dale