Celebrated teacher wins national award

Mairtown Kindergarten teacher Christine Alford, her daughter Molly at her side, receiving her Crystal Apple, and accolades from colleagues, friends, kindy parents and even grandparents at a surprise party on Saturday. PHOTO/MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM

Mairtown Kindergarten teacher Christine Alford has had the second surprise celebration thrown for her this year to celebrate her skills as a teacher.

Ms Alford was awarded the Crystal Apple, the top National Excellence in Teaching Awards (NEiTA), at a surprise party in Whangarei on Saturday night.

She had won the award's regional equivalent in May, an event that was also cause for a secretly organised celebration.

While she was thrilled to win - one of only 12 teachers from pre-schools to high schools around New Zealand to get one of the prized awards - she said the achievement reflected the "wonderful, supportive community" the Mairtown Kindergarten and her colleagues played a big part in. "It's the community who make you the teacher you are," she said.

Ms Alford became interested in preschool education after being impressed by early childhood teachers when her daughter was a preschooler. She trained in New Zealand after emigrating with her family from the UK 10 years ago and having a second child.

"I'm really, really passionate about early childhood education. Children this age are amazing. They come in here as little kids and they grow and develop very fast. It's a big moment in their lives when they arrive but by the time they leave they've learnt such a lot and have a real idea of who they are.

"They're talking , they're communicating well, they've got a sense of self-worth and an enthusiasm about learning."

Ms Alford began working at Mairtown in 2010. Influenced by nature-based education she took a lead role in establishing the nature programme, and her paper "Making Connections with Nature" was published in Space magazine and The Education Gazette.