1 September 2016

The Principal
Mr. Ken Heaphy
Albury School
Queen Street
RD 14
Cave 7984
Re: Scale A Teacher
Dear Ken
I would like to apply for the position of Scale A Teacher, Albury School as advertised in the Education Gazette.
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. My eldest son, Angus, is in Year 8 and has been selected in the Hatch Cup hockey
team for Mid Canterbury so we decided it made sense for the boys and I to remain in Mt Somers until the end
of this year in order for him to play hockey and to allow them both complete their schooling. The boys and I are
living in Mt Somers during the week and returning home at the weekends.
I am an experienced teacher 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.
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 Albury.
Prior to moving to Mt Somers 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.
I have always run a quite formal classroom programme with a big focus on consistency and routine. I also
incorporate other aspects such as handwriting, basic facts, class shared story or novel as part of my normal
daily routine. The handwriting and basic facts part of the programme follows a logical sequence so that
students and parents can see progress and understand where we are heading.
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.
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.
As a family we have always endeavored to be part of the community we live in. At Whareama we were
members of the local Horse Sports Committee, I was on the committee of two of the local playgroups and we
helped out at the annual fishing competitions. We were very active members of the Whareama School
fundraising committee and community. I am currently a member of the Mt Somers Springburn School Home
and School group.
I believe that all of the above coupled with a genuine belief that children should be learning for living, would
make me a valued member of the Albury School staff. I can offer you the same energy and enthusiasm for
teaching as a new graduate but with the added value of experience and a successful, proven teaching 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 a copy of my application form, 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://ginnynealprofessionalportfolio.weebly.com/ into your browser.
I look forward, with enthusiasm, to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely

Ginny Neal