CENTER MANGER

Tēnā Koutou, my name is Nicole Sharpe, I am the Centre Manager at Tiny Tuis Early Learning Centre. I have been at Tuis since we opened in 2013. I am married to Luke and we have 3 children, all who have been through Tiny Tuis. I have been an Early Childhood teacher for over 20 years and a hold a Bachelor or Arts in Psychology and Sociology and and Bachelor of Education- Teaching. My passion has always been with early childhood education and I have been lucky to work with and alongside some incredible people in my career. I have trained overseas at the Pikler Institute in Budapest, Hungary. The Pikler philosophy inspires much of our daily practice throughout Tiny Tuis.

I look forward to welcoming you and your family to Tiny Tuis, and hope that you will find yourself as part of an extended family where you and your children may establish many friendships, and where your children will develop a life-long love of learning.

Ko te ahurei o te tamaiti arahia ō tātou māhi - let the uniqueness of the child guide our work.

PEDAGOGICAL LEADER

Kemcho, and Namaste, My name is Nila Patel I have a Bachelor of Education in Early Childhood, and have been teaching for over 20 years within the sector. I have been working for Tiny Tuis since it first opened in April 2013. I started off by working as a teacher in the preschool room (Kiwiroom) then became a team leader within the room and a 2IC for the centre.

In late 2018 my role changed into becoming the pedagogical leader and 2IC of the centre. My role is very diverse day to day and consist mainly of supporting team leaders and individual teachers with age appropriate curriculum delivery, planning, assessment and evaluation programme, mentoring our teacher registration programme, and also supporting all children’s learning development through challenging experiences within their play. My role also consist of building strong reciprocal relationships with parents, children and all teachers within the centre. Though I am not based in any particular room, you will often see me floating between the rooms and around the whole centre.

Throughout my time at Tiny Tuis I have continued to grow and develop a strong passion for teaching and learning, and supporting all children to thrive in an enriched, inclusive learning enviornment, and growing individual teachers in their professional journey here at Tiny Tuis.

I look forward to getting to know you and your child at Tuis.

CENTER ADMINISTRATOR

Hi my name is Kelly and I am the Centre Administrator, I have been part of the Tiny Tuis family since we opened the centre in April 2013. I love seeing the children grow throughout their journey at Tiny Tuis.

My husband, Peter and I have two beautiful girls, Devon born in 2005 and Ashleigh born in 2008 In the weekend we love to spend time with friends and our extended families. I look forward to meeting all the families here at Tiny Tuis.

CENTER CHEF

Mabuhay! Hi my name is Lita, I am the centre chef. I have joined Tiny Tuis since 2013 and I am one of the pioneers.

My role is to create menus and prepare healthy and yummy food for the children that will nourish their mind and body. I also look after the dietary requirements of children with allergy.

I came from the Philippines. My family and I have migrated to New Zealand in 2007. I have 3 grown up children, a 5 years old granddaughter and 2 months old grandson. My granddaughter attended Tiny Tuis in 2018 to 2021. She enjoyed coming to the centre every single day. She is now in primary, year 1.

I have a Bachelor degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management. I have a vast experienced in the hospitality industry in the Philippines and here in New Zealand. I worked as a manager in Pizza Hut Philippines for 11 years and a Section Head in Enchanted Kingdom, a world class theme park for 11 years. I also worked as a manager in Pizza Hut New Zealand for 5 years. I decided to have a changed of career from hospitality industry to a chef in Tiny Tuis because of my passion for cooking. I enjoy creating variety of meals for the children. It gives me a sense of fulfilment when they love eating the meals I prepare for them. Whenever they say “the food is yummy, it’s my favourite” it’s music to my ears and inspire me more.

Ruru Infant Teacher

Hi families! My name is Cristine. I am from Brazil and I moved to New Zealand with my husband and daughter in 2018. I am a mom of two lovely girls, Maria ( who is 6 years old) and Emilia( who is 2 years old, was born here and attend at Tiny Tuis).  

I am a qualified teacher, completed  my Degree and Post Degree of Early Childhood Education in Brazil in 2007. I started to work with children in 2004 there and after I moved to New Zealand I worked as a relief teacher in 2019. 

I joined Tiny Tuis in 2021, working as a relief teacher and then I became a Kea room teacher. I am passionate about building trustful relationships with the children, their families and my colleagues. My priority as a teacher is to promote tamariki’s well being, meeting their needs and facilitating opportunities for them to  be themselves, with all my respect and love. 

I am looking forward to meeting and learning alongside you and your child! 

Ruru Infant Teacher

Ruru Infant Teacher

Tuke Infant Teacher

Sawatdi ka my name is Vasana Khamchana and I'm one of the teachers in the Pukeko Room. I have a diploma of teaching in Early Childhood Education from Ti Tari Puna Ora o Aotearoa/ New Zealand Childcare Association. I'm from the northern part of Thailand called Chiang Mai. I have been living in here since 2001 and am married to my husband Aj. We have a son named Tyson who used to attend Tiny Tuis. I love cooking, and gardening and I'm a DIY type of lady. At Tiny Tuis I enjoy creating and making resources with the children and enjoy having them help me throughout the process. I also love dancing and singing with them. I believe children should be treated with respect and learn and develop at their own pace. I enjoy supporting children to become confident learners and developing their self-esteem. My reward is to see their pride when they can independently achieve their goals.

Tuke Infant Teacher

Tuke Infant Teacher

Infant Team Leader and Kākāpo Teacher

Kākāpō Infant Teacher

Kia ora wonderful whanau, I am Jo or JoJo to all the amazing tamariki at Tiny Tui’s.
Born and raised in windy Wellington. Married to my wonderful husband Liam, who I met in Edinburgh while on my big OE back in 96. We are Mum and Dad to two beautiful children, Isla and Flynn.
My whānau and I moved to Auckland for medical reasons for my son. I was lucky enough that my sister in law (love) -  founder of my first centre - offered me an administrator role and I began my ECE journey back in July 2014.
After attending the wonderful Pennie Brownlee's workshops based on Dr Emmi Pikler's approach, I found my happy place and started working with tamariki and haven't looked back from being kaiako since the beginning of 2017.
I work Monday-Thursday at Tiny Tuis and spend my Friday mornings facilitating infant classes with my wonderful sister-in-law
I am a true believer and massive advocate of building strong relationships, not only with tamariki, but with whānau and kaiako also, whilst giving tamariki time and space to learn and develop through free play and movement. In my opinion these or most important, following these, everything else then falls into place nicely. I look forward to building strong, fun, wonderful relationships with you, your tamariki and whānau

Kākāpō Infant Teacher

Kākāpō Infant Teacher

Weka Team Leader and teacher

Weka Teacher

Weka Teacher

Weka Teacher

Weka Room Teacher

Kākāriki Team Leader and Teacher

Kākāriki Teacher

Kākāriki Teacher

Kākāriki Teacher

Kākāriki Teacher

Kōtare Team Leader and Teacher

Kōtare Teacher

Kōtare Teacher

Kōtare Teacher

Kōtare Teacher

Kōtare Teacher

PERMANENT RELIEVER

Konnichiwa and Hello. My name is Kyoko. I am originally from Japan and have lived in New Zealand for many years now. While I have been working in early childhood, I became a qualified and fully registered teacher. I enjoy working at Tiny Tuis where I have been part of the team since 2014. I am sure my passion for teaching will continue to grow as there is never a day when children don’t bring a smile to my face. I am looking forward to becoming a part of your child’s learning journey. Arigato and Kia ora.

PERMANENT RELIEVER

Kia ora, everyone! My name is Amy and I am one of the relieving teachers in Tiny Tuis. I was born in China and I became a New Zealand citizen in 2007. I used to be a high school politics and history teacher in China. I studied Education degree in the University of Auckland and I now hold a Certificate in Education Support. I love working with children and in 2022, I joined Tiny Tuis. As a new member, I will do my best to support my colleagues, and I will take care of the children with my love and respect. I hope to have a good time with you and your little ones.

RELIEVER

PERMANENT RELIEVER