Katrina Sylva
Nau mai, haere mai ki Te Tai Tokerau Association of Assistant and Deputy Principals. Ko Katrina Sylva toku ingoa.
I am currently Tumuaki Tuarua, Deputy Principal, at Whangārei Girls’ High School. Prior to this I was Head of Inclusive Learning at Whangārei Boys’ High School, and prior to that I was at Dargaville High School where I had a number of roles including: Head of Media Studies, Year level Dean, Te Kotahitanga Facilitator, GATE coordinator. I have a particular interest in pastoral care and in removing barriers to enable and empower educational success.
Whilst I have British and (newly discovered) Italian-Jewish heritage, my husband and children whakapapa Māori to Te Rarawa and Ngāti Kuri so I have a personal commitment to Te Ao Māori and ensuring equity of achievement of ākonga Māori. I was fortunate to receive funding to research best practice for identifying and engaging gifted and talented Māori boys between 2016 and 2018, a project in which I worked with Tracey Riley (Massey University) and Melinda Webber (Auckland University). I am a strong advocate for equity, inclusion and strengths-based practice.
Authored Publications:
Gifted and Hypervigilant, published in Tall Poppies Espresso (2020)
The Ruamano Project: Raising expectations, realising community aspirations and recognising gifted potential in Māori boys, co-authored with Dr Melinda Webber, Dr. Tracy Riley and Emma Scobie-Jennings, accepted for publication in The Australian Journal of Indigenous
Education. (2018)