Kia Ora and welcome to Room 2 & 3 at St Francis de Sales School.

It has been wonderful getting to know the children and their families over the last week.
I am Tracy and live in Island Bay with my husband Damond, 11 year old twins Eva and Joseph and my grumpy cat Tilly. I have a degree in
Education as well as a post grad diploma in professional practise; learning and behaviour, as well as being Reading Recovery trained. This
is my fourth year as Assistant Principal at SFDSand I love it, I also have other roles in the school; Junior syndicate leader, SENCO
(special education needs coordinator) and ESOL (English as a second language coordinator). As part of these extra roles I will be
sharing Room 3 with Usha Stewart, I will be teaching Monday to Wednesday and Usha will teach Thursday and Friday -however I am
always at school and will be in class before school starts and at 3pm. Reading books are coming home now and you would have received a
booklet about reading in the junior school, as well as a booklet that has high frequency word flashcards that you can cut out and practice
with your child each night.
Our Junior School blog is currently under construction and we will send home information once this is up and running. Each week on the
classroom door will be a brief rundown of events on that week. If you have questions please come and chat to me!
Mandy and I have worked closely together for the last 3 years; we will be keeping the doors between Rooms 2 & 3 open to allow us to
team teach and cross group according to students needs this also provides much more variety to cater for varied learning
preferences. Mandy and I are both passionate about teaching and learning, and trying new or innovative ideas. We are really excited
about sharing our collaborative modern learning environment with your child. The home base for Room 3 students will be Room 3. We
are very lucky to have Ida working with us this year, she will be supporting our learning programmes.
I have a passion for teaching new entrant students and just love to watch them blossom and grow whilst developing their curiosities. We
have planned a full-on term with lots of exciting learning experiences to be had!! Please feel free to come and chat to me anytime and I
look forward to getting to know you all. Feel free to email me: tracyg@sfds.school.nz
Kindest Regards
Tracy Gundesen
Kia ora to the parents and caregivers of Room 2!
I have enjoyed meeting you all over the last few days and welcoming the children back after the school holidays.
As most of you already know my name is Mandy which is what the class calls me too and this will be my third year teaching at St Francis
de Sales.
I studied a post graduate diploma of teaching here in Wellington and I am a former Otago University student which is where I completed
my undergraduate degree in psychology and geography. I was born and raised in Queenstown and moved to Wellington four years ago
after completing university.
I am lucky enough to know all the children in Room 2 and we have made a great start to the term so far. We have been getting to know
each other and setting up classroom routines and will build up to our regular programme over the next couple weeks.
Tracy and I have worked closely together for the last 3 years; we will be keeping the doors between room 2 and 3 open to allow us to
team teach and cross group according to student needs - this will provide much more variety to cater for varied learning preferences.
Tracy and I are both passionate about teaching and learning, trying new or innovative ideas and we are really excited about sharing our
collaborative modern learning environment.
The homework programme for year 2 children will develop over the second part of the term and early part of term 2. It will include
reading and spelling activities, as well as age appropriate maths.
Any other information will be provided outside Room 2s door. Please feel free to come and see me with any questions you may have or
contact me via email mandyb@sfds.school.nz.
I am looking forward to getting to know you all more and sharing the learning journey with you and your child.
Warm regards
Mandy
I am Usha Stewart and live on the Parade with my family. I have 2 daughters who attend SFDS. I have been a teacher for 15 years and
am excited to be back in the classroom. I relieved last year at SFDS and have got to know a lot of the children.
I am looking forward to an exciting and productive year working along-side the junior team.
Regards
Usha Stewart