Teaching students to grab hold of every opportunity that comes their way is one of the things Regan Williams likes most about his job.
Mr Williams is the Year 5 and 6 teacher and deputy principal at Maketu School and has been there since the start of this year.
He is a relatively new teacher, having started his career four years ago at Te Puke Intermediate. "I've got a bit of a sporting background, but then I got a neck injury - a spinal cord injury, so for a couple of years I wasn't really doing much because of that.
"A few of my mates were into teaching and I thought with all my travelling with rugby and stuff, I could get into teaching because of my life experience."
Maketu School was "heaps different" than his previous school as the community was smaller and closer, Mr Williams said. Going to a younger group was also more challenging, he said. "The kids have to be scaffolded a bit more and it takes them a bit longer to get the concept just because of their age. I enjoy watching the kids grow and giving them insight of what they've got to look forward to in future and to take those opportunities when they come. I had a lot of opportunities but didn't take them."