It has been my privilege to be principal at Bethlehem School for the last fifteen years. I have been a teacher since 1979 and a principal for the past twenty years. I believe that we have a wonderful school, a very supportive parent community and teachers who are talented and dedicated. I enjoy all sport, both playing and watching. I would love to spend more time travelling around our beautiful country as well as overseas.

Mrs Nichols has been at Bethlehem School for many years and she loves working with the great staff and wonderful children that we are so lucky to have at our school.
Mrs Nichols loves meeting all the brand-new five year olds when she does their 5 year checks soon after they start school. She also tests the children as they turn six on their reading and writing so she gets to see how much they have learnt after just one year at school. Mrs Nichols enjoys working with the Bethlehem Kids Student Council helping them with their ideas and organisation of their projects for the school. It is wonderful working with these young leaders in our school. Mrs Nichols teaches in Room 10 and Room 13 on a regular basis releasing Mrs Phillips and Miss McSweeney so they have time to do their Senior Management duties.

 Hi, I am Zenda Johns and I teach the Reception class.  I have been teaching part time at Bethlehem School since 2002 and fulltime from 2009.  My teaching experiences have been varied both in New Zealand and overseas, in state and private schools.  I have two children, Luke and Keeley who have both been through Bethlehem school.  My interests are reading, sports and spending time at the beach.  I enjoy teaching Junior children and seeing the huge progress they make.  It certainly makes teaching very satisfying.

Mrs Field is our teacher for Year 1 students in Room 2.

I’m one of the new ‘Bethlehem Kids’.  I joined the Bethlehem Team at the beginning of Term lll  2009, after spending 19 years in Christchurch with my husband and our two adult children.  Mr Wynyard and I decided it was time for us to leave home, and Tauranga was the place we chose to reside in.  I have been in the education sector for the past 14 years, during which time 8 of those were spent working with special needs children.  The past 6 years have seen me teaching mainly in the NE/Year 1 area, a teaching area I am most passionate about.  Building the foundation stones for school beginners is a specialised and responsible position, one I take very seriously.  My out-of-school interests include: walking on the beach, golf, reading, spending time with friends, shopping and family times.  

After teaching in the UK for the last ten years, Mrs Lines is pleased to be back teaching in New Zealand again. She started teaching at Bethlehem School in 2007 in the New Entrant class and is now teaching a lovely Year 1 class in Room 4. Mrs Lines has particularly enjoyed teaching Literacy, Maths, Art and Information Technology and spends her free time looking after her two young daughters.

Mrs Roach loves teaching Year 2 children. She has been teaching in the Junior School since she started at Bethlehem School, which is a few years now! When she was first here, there were only six class rooms. Now there are 18. She also enjoys gardening, shopping, reading and, of course, her family.

Mrs J teaches Year 2 children in Room 6. She especially enjoyed working with her class on cooperative and thinking activities this year. She loves how her class really wants to learn. Mrs J also coaches hockey and gymnastics at school.

This year Mrs Abbott is teaching an enthusiastic bunch of Year  2 children in the Junior  school. She is really interested in seeing all children succeed and enjoys teaching literacy and being part of enviroschools. Mrs Abbott enjoys seeing children develop new knowledge and skills and becoming independent learners.  In  her  spare time, Mrs Abbott loves to walk, go to the gym, read and spend time with family and friends.

Mrs Dinniss teaches a Year 4 class in Room 8. She says that she really enjoys teaching children of this age.  She is especially enthusiastic about teaching through The Arts and anything that involves learning how to take care of our planet. Outside of school Mrs Dinniss loves to garden, spend time with her grown up children, grandchildren and family pets.

Mr Scarfe teaches a Year 4 class in Room 9. This is his fifth year at Bethlehem School. He enjoys using technology in the classroom and the odd game of soccer on the back field. In his spare time, Mr Scarfe likes to catch up with friends, cycle, run, and spend time tinkering on the computer.

Mrs Phillips has a Year 3 class in Room 10. Learning needs to be fun, so Mrs Phillips  likes to introduce learning activities that appeal directly to the children’s own interests and methods of learning, to help them experience enjoyment and confidence in all academic areas.  Mrs Phillips lives with her family just north of Bethlehem and enjoys time in her garden, reading, at the beach and out in the boat.

Mrs Hill has been teaching Year 3 students at Bethlehem School for four years and has met many wonderful children, families and colleagues in that time. One of her pleasures in classroom teaching, other than her children’s success, is that she has an opportunity to enjoy all curriculum areas and claims that the more she teaches, the more she learns!

Miss Cox is the teacher in Room 12 teaching Year 5 and 6 students.

Sherryl Ellis is the Year 5 teacher in Room 14 at Bethlehem School and is a member of the Board of Trustees. Mrs Ellis and Room 14 are famous for their Freaky Fridays. At a fortnightly class meeting the children decide on their theme. Everyone, even Mrs Ellis, dresses up and it’s a lot of fun.

Tena koutou katoa

Ko Haokitaha te maunga, ko Oruorau te awa, Ko Otenuku te Marae, Ko Ngai Tuhoe te iwi, ko Ngati Koura te hapu, Ko Mataatua te waka.

Kia ora. My name is Emerald Te Kiriaho Hakiaha. The students here at Bethlehem School know me as Whaea Emerald or Whaea Te Kiriaho. I have been in and out of teaching for the past six years in which time I raised our son, Manaaki, also a student at Bethlehem School. I started teaching in the Rumaki Unit with Year 2 & 3 at the beginning of 2009. I enjoy many extra curricular activities including Kapahaka, waka ama, netball, volleyball, rugby and touch.  Naku noa, Whaea Emerald
 

Mrs Andrews teaches in Room 16, a Year 6 and 5 class, at Bethlehem School. She is the lead teacher for PE and enjoy the outdoors in her own time. She thoroughly enjoys working with the wonderful staff and gorgeous kids here at Bethlehem School.

Kia ora, ko Whaea Moana tenei o te "Akomanga Rumaki" o te kura nei. He kaiako ia o Te Ao Hurihuri. Ko nga tamariki o toku akomanga he tamariki mai i te Tau 4-6. He ataahua rawa nga tamariki katoa o toku ruma. He kaiako au, i te Kura o Peterehema nei, mo e 9 nga tau.

Mrs Rauputu teaches the wonderful Year 6 students. You will find her in Room 18, out on the back field. Mrs Rauputu has a passion for art and this can be seen throughout her classroom. She enjoys doing body combat and body pump classes at the gym, waka ama, walking, reading and hanging out with friends and family. 

Mrs Harding has been at Bethlehem School for a number of years! She enjoys working with small groups of children and helping them get hooked into books.