Wendy Ness

Wendy has been in Education for 25 years. She has a Teaching Diploma (primary) and ¾ of a Bachelor of Education degree. She has a Leadership Certificate from AUT led by Eileen Piggot Irvine. Wendy has attended First Time Principal’s and National Aspiring Principals’ workshops. She has been part of WAPA 20/20 for the last four years whose unrelenting focus has been to raise Student Achievement across a Region. The next stage for Wendy’s lifelong learning journey will be to gain her Masters in Education. Wendy has lived in West Auckland all her life. She is married to Andrew and has two teenage daughters. They live on a lifestyle block in Waitakere Township. Wendy loves animals and the environment; she has many pets, including a breeding flock of sheep, chickens, cats and a dog. Wendy and her family all enjoy being outdoors and frequently visit the beach or walk in the Waitakere Ranges. They have recently started to tackle the “Great Walks” and completed Waikaremoana in the summer of 2017. Wendy has predominantly worked in West Auckland and on the North Shore. She has been Deputy Principal including three terms as Acting Principal at Henderson Primary School for four years. Prior to this, she was Team Leader at Henderson Valley School for five years. Wendy has also held Special Needs Coordinator Roles (SENCo) at Bayview Primary on the Shore and Henderson Primary. She has also completed Reading Recovery Training and has been a Reading Recovery Teacher for around ten years. Wendy feels excited and privileged to be part of the foundation leadership team at Matua Ngaru. She knows the way forward for our tamariki involves collaborative and innovative teaching methods and approaches. Wendy believes in inclusive education and is determined to help every child be the best that they can be. She is passionate about teaching and education in New Zealand and strongly believes that we have a world-class education system that can only get better with innovation and new ways of approaching schooling.