My name is Melissa Guyan and I have been associated with Te Totara Primary School for over six years. I am currently the presiding member of the Board of Trustees and have enjoyed the role very much. Both my sons have been through the school and my youngest is currently thriving in Year 6. The senior management and staff work so hard to provide excellent education and care for our children and I am honored to be able to support them in this endeavor. I used to be a teacher, but since having children and wanting to be a stay-at-home mum, I have found a new career as a published author. I now run a small publishing business (Forever Love Publishing Ltd) and have published a variety of teen and adult fiction under four pen-names. Having been in education and being surrounded by teachers in my family, I feel I have a good insight into the day-to-day running of a school and can understand things from both a teacher's and a parent's perspective. I have also lived in, and travelled through multiple continents, which has given me a well-rounded international view. I am excited to have the opportunity to serve on the Board of Trustees for a school that has given my children so much.

My family are currently involved in the Te Totara school community so felt my time had come to give something back to the community.
My wife works part time at Te Totara and our oldest boys who are 8 and 6 years old attend here and our youngest child only a couple of years away from attending.
I have spent most of my life being in or around Hamilton with schooling and work.
I am employed in the Construction industry as a site manger for the past 5 years and prior to that I was a self employed carpenter for many years prior.
I will bring my practical skill set to help with decision making to assist the school board and learn about the ins and outs of how a successful school is run.

Born and raised here in Hamilton myself, I'm now (mostly successfully!) raising my own children here. My partner and I have two girls, Niketa who is 16 and Siena who is 5 and started at Te Totara Primary School this year. I am a lawyer who specialises in Criminal Defence. Prior to this I worked in the local government sector as a democracy advisor. I was co-opted onto the Te Totara board in July 2022. I believe I possess some transferable skills that will hopefully be of use to the Board in the coming years.

Currently my elder daughter Kirat is attending the esteemed Te Totara Primary school. Myself and my dear wife are really thankful to the school, Board of Trustee members and its invaluable teachers to help develop our lovely daughter into a confident, promising youth of today. I come from a household full of teachers, both my mother and mother-in-law have been teachers and principal. I understand the sacrifices a teacher and the school have to make to ensure the child achieves their full potential and develops into a great human being. As a board member I will foster the culture of parent’s voices being considered through clear and timely communication. I have worked in the government sector for almost a decade and now I own a small Work Health, Safety and Wellbeing consultancy company. My professional capability includes safety management advisory, consulting and auditing to clients who hold major government contracts. I bring aboard a wealth of experience in business finance, Injury prevention, my health and safety expertise, and an understanding of the education system, legislation, community and youth development. I understand the challenges faced by the school, especially the challenge of lack of resources and funding. To help overcome this challenge, I will apply my business acumen in using current resources optimally along with my ‘can do’ attitude, and a drive to succeed. I will be a catalyst in providing direction and support to our school’s staff and teachers to help them deliver their best. I want to share my experiences, knowledge and support in the development of our Tamariki into the bright stars of tomorrow who are not shy to challenge the status quo and go above and beyond in achieving great successes in life. In my spare time, I like spending time with my family and friends, helping out in the Sikh Temple or at Rototuna Rotary club, or down at the golf course having a laugh with wanna be golfers like me.

Hi my name is Frank Coleman, I am the father of 4 adult children and grandfather to two children at Te Totara School for whom we have guardianship and day to day care. I have now retired after working in a variety of positions from telecommunications technician to pastoral care and from union organizer to bus and limousine driver. We spent 23 years in Brisbane Australia and returned to Hamilton to care for our grandsons now aged 7 and 8. We celebrated our 47th Wedding Anniversary this year with my wife Jocelyn who is Ngapuhi from Waimate North. I look forward to serving the Te Totara school community in my term as a Board of Trustees member.

Hello,
My name is Jo Stewart and I have been a teacher for more years than I care to count so have a range of experiences and a clear understanding of how the Board of Trustees operates in it's governance role.

I have also had experience as a member of both Maungatautari School and Glenview Primary School Boards of Trustees during my teaching career. One as a staff rep and the other as a parent rep. In these roles I attended Board training workshops, attended regular meetings acting as the board secretary at Maungatautari School and supported the direction of the school and Principal.
It will be my pleasure to represent the staff of Te Totara on our Board of Trustees.

James keeps the Board well-informed with thorough curriculum updates, policy proposals, National Standards compliance, learning plan progress and so much more. As a Board, we all appreciate the amount of information James provides so that we can make informed decisions at the strategic level, so that James and Jo can then implement those decisions appropriately.