Manaia View School

Board of Trustees

Emma Watson

Kia Ora, I am the mother of Tyler who is in Transition at Blomfield School and Ethan who attends Pompallier Catholic College in Maunu. I enjoy walking, reading, crafts and cooking and we enjoy spending time as a family being outside at the wonderful beaches and bush New Zealand has to offer. I believe the Blomfield Board of Trustees are focussed on the best for the children and helping them to be as independent as they can be with the help of the staff at Blomfield Special School and their parents and whanau.

Gemma Bradburn

I am Mum to three amazing kids. Caleb 8 attends Blomfield School, Jayden 6 and Aria 4. Caleb has attended Blomfield since he was 5 and has been in classes both at Base and Morningside Satellite. I have a great appreciation for the work done at Blomfield School. I work at One Tree Point School as the Deputy Principal and have been teaching for 18 years. I have previously served as a Trustee for the Angelman Nework NZ where I worked to advocate, network and improve services for families across NZ.

Kristy Kewene

I am a returning member of the Blomfield School Board of Trustees. I was inspired to put myself forward after we experienced the respectful caring holistic and unrelenting drive of the people working with James to help him achieve his full potential. I am a Chartered Accountant working in town with my partner Brett. We have a logging and forestry company. We have two children, Naomi who is at University and James who is at Blomfield Special School and Resource centre at Base school. In my spare time I enjoy Saturday morning garage sales, geocaching and learning about/growing food using biodynamics principles. I am looking forward to raising the profile of our school and through my life experiences support Blomfield to deliver its Charter.

Tracie Mitchell

Staff Representative I am married and have two wonderful adult children. I have worked at Blomfield School for 12 years (the longest I have ever worked anywhere). I am so passionate about our students and truly adore my job. I have worked my way up the ladder to become The Job Coach, which means I take our amazing young people out into the community for work experience. I am honoured to be on The Board and will do my utmost to fulfil my role to its full capacity.

Robert Wallace

I have a wonderful wife and three beautiful children. My youngest child Edin has a rare genetic condition and my wife and I are her full time care and support team. Having involvement with various agencies and schools has brought about personal growth and I feel I can contribute in a positive and uplifting way to the team at Blomfield. I look forward to sharing, caring, learning and contributing to the best of my abilities.

Shirley Harvey

Kia Ora,I am Whangarei born and have been married for 29 years with 2 beautiful adult children. I currently work in the disability sector for Tai Mahi Trust a service new to Whangarei. My Role is Trainee Support Coordinator working with adults with disablities to develop skills and gain employment. I have a varied working background with past roles at Workbridge as a Work Broker, Ministry of Social Development as an Assistant Manager, and NorthAble Disability Services as the Client Service Manager running the Vocational Services. I am excited to be part of the Blomfield team as we look forward to an exciting future.

Huia Toia-Coll- Chairperson

Kia ora, my name is Huia and I have lived in Ruakākā for nearly 14 years, along with my husband Henry and our 13 year old daughter Milly who attends Blomfield School. We are so grateful and truly impressed with the hard work that the teachers and support staff put in to our daughter every day. I am a Deputy Principal at Whangārei Boys' High School. My background in education is varied, having started as a specialist science teacher then moving into a role in Special Education to learn and understand more about the educational world that our then newly diagnosed daughter would be going into. I worked in special education for 7 years before taking on a leadership role at my school. It is such a privilege to serve the Blomfield community by being a BOT member and I am excited about the future direction of this very special place.