About
Each year Life Education Auckland West will take around 10,000 children on a journey in our unique, high tech classrooms for them to learn and explore key issues around health and nutrition, mental health, resilience, the human body, how to be a good friend and good and bad substances. Through motivating our younger generation we aim to inspire them to create community and societal change as positive role models and strong advocates for being healthy with Harold!
Life Education has been educating and empowering kids for over 30 years in New Zealand and the Auckland West trust is one of 32 nationwide that delivers on their goals and principles to the benefit of all our families and whanau.
Overwhelmingly our tamariki, their teachers and families tell us this is an extraordinary learning experience that they LOVE.
Ko te manu e kai ana i te miro nōnā te ngahere, ko te manu e kai ana i te mātauranga nōnā te ao
Literally translated, the whakatauki says:
‘The forest belongs to the bird who feasts on the miro berry, the world belongs to the bird who feasts on education’
Our thanks to Te Kawerau A Maki for sharing this whakatauki which has guided us in our choice of new names and imagery for Auckland West mobile classrooms.
Takapu
Vicky McDowall
I grew up on the North Shore and moved out west in 2006. I began my career as a secondary teacher, teaching English and Media Studies for five years. I made the transition to primary teaching in 2015. I have two teenagers and two cats. I enjoy reading, photography, and going for walks at the beach or in the ngāhere. I volunteer at my local library, delivering books to those who are unable to visit.
I have fond memories of Harold visiting my primary school when I was a child. In more recent years I have been able to experience the joy and wonder of Life Education visits through my students’ eyes. I feel very grateful to be working alongside the rest of the Auckland West team, and our local schools to make sure the Healthy Harold programme reaches as many tamariki and rangatahi as possible.
Kuaka
Grace Snell
The Kuaka fly as a group every year from New Zealand to Alaska on a 9 day nonstop flight for breeding and then return to our shores. We thought this was an amazing example of resilience, support and perseverance, all traits that the Healthy Harold programmes teach.
Ko Parihaka te maunga e rū rei taku ngākau
Ko Hātea te awa e mahea nei aku māharahara
Nō Whangarei ahau
Ko Tāmaki Makarau tōku kāinga
Ki te taha o tōku papa ko Ngāi Tahu tōku iwi
Ki te taha o tōku mama ko Ngāpuhi tōku iwi
Ko Kaiako ahau
Ko Grace ahau
My name is Grace. I was born in Whangarei but have lived most of my life in Auckland, with a few years based in Melbourne. I have experience teaching children of all ages, and each year level is my favourite for different reasons!
It is an honour to work alongside fellow educators, Mat and Harold, in the Auckland West Life Education Trust. I love teaching in the mobile classroom as it is such an engaging environment and it’s a joy to see students’ eyes light up in wonder as they discover new things about the brain and body.
Harold and the mobile classroom are great teaching tools we use to support classroom teachers in empowering their students to make the best choices and be the healthiest they can be. He waka eke noa - we are all in this together, and together we can make a difference!
