Board Parent Mid-Term Election 2023 - 2 Vacancies results

Heather Irvine
Elected

Hi, I'm Heather. I have two children at Waitakere Primary, they are Nathan in Year 5, and Charlie in Year 8. My eldest son Louis went to Waitakere Primary from Year 1, and is at Waitakere College now.

I have been part of the Waitakere School board since 2020, and was honoured to have the opportunity to support our school and our children's education through what was a difficult and challenging time. I found the experience rewarding, and feel I was able to help.

I am standing again as a parent representative. I would like to continue contributing to to our school community and to be an active part of Waitakere Primary's growth and development now that we are in a more settled time.

Sonja Lister
Elected

My name is Sonja Lister and I am standing for the Waitākere School Board (No. 1557) Kia ora, my whānau has been part of the school for the last five years and my children are Olyvar (Year 6) and Imogen (Year 3). I have the support of my work and whānau to seek this nomination, and to ensure the role is given adequate attention. The reason I am seeking a position on the Board of Trustees is to help in improving the school grounds and resources. This will enable all of our children to have the best educational environment and provide them with the foundations to be resilient and agile, while achieving their potential at Waitākere Primary School. I am an approachable, inclusive and supportive person who works effectively in a team environment. I have grown up in the West and work as a town planner at Auckland Transport on transportation projects (currently Eastern Busway). My work experience covers both local/central government and private consultancies, so I understand processes very well. I am active in the Public Service Union, as the national co-convenor of the Womens Network and advocate to politicians on legislation changes affecting women and children. Locally, I am involved in the PTA as secretary for the past two years, improving the transparency of our meetings/activities by connecting with the community through the WPS PTA Facebook group. I regularly seek sponsorship and funding from companies and agencies to run events and to improve school facilities (currently seeking funds for pool maintenance and work/junior imagination play equipment). As a member of Bethell’s Surf Lifesaving Club Rebuild Committee, I help with navigating the Council and planning processes, and my whānau participate in the Junior Surf programme which is run by some wonderful Waitākere School parents. In my downtime, I take my children on local adventures, and am developing gardening/lifestyle animal skills. Ultimately I seek to be a Board of Trustee member to ensure we are enabled to celebrate all of our children and the community collectively.