À propos de nous
Ko wai mātou
Constituted in 1988, the NZAFT is affiliated with the New Zealand Association of Language Teachers (NZALT). Our subject association currently has around 180 members throughout New Zealand. Its main roles are:
to actively promote the teaching of French
to provide opportunities to its members to network and to access Professional Development
to communicate information relevant to teachers and the teaching of French
The NZAFT also has an advocacy role with the Ministry of Education and to NZQA. The NZAFT is administered by a National Executive comprising a President, a Vice President, a Communications officer, and a Treasurer. A group of Regional Officers work closely with the executive committee.
If you are interested in joining our team, don't hesitate to get in touch with a member of the National executive or your regional officer.
We are currently seeking Regional Officers for Northland, Wairarapa, Waikato, Manawatu-Taranaki.
The constitution can be found here.
The National Executive
President
Stef Hossbach
Stef is the Head of Languages at St Margaret's College in Christchurch where she teaches French and German. Stef is an accredited DELF examiner. She has been around in the teaching profession for about 30 years and taught in Germany, France, and NZ. When she is not in a classroom or her office you can find her on her bike or somewhere up a mountain.
Vice-President
Guy Mance
Guy is a French teacher and Assistant Principal at Wellington College. He has taught French in the UK, New Zealand and in the Netherlands. He is a accredited DELF examiner. His interest is student engagement in the classroom and in particular gamification. At the moment it is creating Digital Escape Rooms. Check out some examples on Activites Ludiques padlet on the resouces page! In his spare time he enjoys biking and sport - a lot of time is spent supporting his children who all play Ultimate.
Treasurer
Giordana Santosuosso
Giordana has been the treasurer for our association since 2020. She is a French native speaker from Switzerland and is of Italian descent. Giordana is a teacher of French and Spanish. Her friends will tell you how passionnate she is about languages, anything about languages but more about the aspect of anthropological and functional linguistics. Her work on the Lau language in the Solomon Islands is ongoing and when she has time, she goes to collect data and write children's books. Two things she could not do without is living near the water and coffee.
Communications officer
Anne Passmore
Anne is currently the Head of Languages at Avonside Girls' High School in Ōtautahi. She has 30 years classroom experience teaching languages in schools in the UK, and, for the last 19 years, here in New Zealand. She is passionate about languages and currently teaches French and Spanish. In 2021 she received a study award and spent the year learning te reo Māori and has since been incorporating te reo and mana ōrite mō te mātauranga Māori into her practice. When she's not working, Anne loves walking in the hills, biking and relaxing in her garden.
Webmaster
Michelle Pinkney
Michelle is Head of French at Christchurch Girls' High School/Te Kura o Hine Waiora. She is interested in engaging all students in language learning and making the process fun through gamification. With an established relationship with a French school and regular trips to France, it is rewarding to see students putting their language learning into action and establishing long-lasting relationships.
When she is not working, Michelle enjoys walking with her dog and reading.
The Regional Officers
Bay of Plenty
Christchurch-Canterbury
Susan Johnson
Susan is originally from the UK, where she taught French and Italian for 10 years. Prior to moving to New Zealand, she was Head of Languages in Surrey. She currently teaches French and Tourism at Lincoln High where she is also the Year 12 Tutor. Outside of school, her interests are walking (Susan has participated in the Queenstown half-marathon for the last few years), cooking, watching movies and spending time with her four boys and her husband.
Central-South Auckland
Priscilla Lynch
Priscilla is Head of Languages at St. Mary’s College – a Catholic school for girls – in Ponsonby, Auckland. Prior to this, she was the Head of Languages at Manurewa High School. She teaches Years 7-13 French and enjoys her job very much – especially finding new and intriguing ways to engage akonga. When not at school Priscilla marvels at her two daughters and heads to the Far North as often as possible.
Hawkes Bay
Anna Jackson
Anna is Head of French at Napier Girls' High School where she teaches French. Anna is also a committee member with the Association Française de Hawkes Bay. She was Head of Languages and International Lead in the UK prior to moving to New Zealand and has been teaching languages for almost 25 years in the UK, France and New Zealand. Anna teaches French, German, Spanish and ESOL and has taught French from year 3 to year 13. Anna is passionate about languages and always wants to share her love of languages and all things related. Outside of school, Anna enjoys reading, doing puzzles, getting crafty and creative, catching up with family and friends, as well as travelling and exploring new places.
Manawatu-Taranaki
Nelson-Marlborough
Simon is CL Languages at Marlborough Girls’ College and teaches French to all levels. Previously he was HoD Languages at King’s and Sacred Heart Colleges, in Auckland, where he taught French, Latin, and Classical Studies. He also taught in other NZ schools, in the UK and in France. Simon also worked at the University of Auckland and has been involved with NZQA in various roles. Simon's partner is also a teacher. He has three adult children and four grandchildren. He has a lifelong love of water polo and choral singing.
Northshore - Auckland
Saskia Henry
Saskia teaches French at Northcote College, Auckland, teaching Years 9 to 13. Saskia is a second year teacher, who is enjoying the new career challenges, while getting back into a language and culture which she loves. Saskia is looking forward to being a part of the NZAFT team and finding ways of growing French in New Zealand's schools. Outside of school, Saskia enjoys reading, doing puzzles, catching up with family and friends, and is passionate about travelling and exploring new places with her husband and her dog.
Saskia is currently in maternity leave.
Otago
Guillaume Charton
En tant que professeur de français et chef du département de langue depuis deux décennies à Wakatipu High School, Guillaume est passionné par l'enseignement des langues et par la transformation de ses étudiants, les guidant de l'exploration à la passion pour la langue française et sa culture.
En dehors de l'école, quand il n'est pas avec sa petite famille dans les montagnes d'Otago, il consacre son temps à des associations liées aux sports en plein air, tout en écrivant des guides d'escalade et de montagne. Il essaie aussi de convaincre les kiwis que le fromage français est bien plus qu'une version fancy du cheddar!
Southland
Elizabeth Roy
Elizabeth Roy teaches French at Southland Girls' High School in Invercargill. She has been teaching French for the last 9 years to year 7-13. She brings French culture to her classroom with Fun Fridays, the AIM program which features actions to help students learn the language in fun engaging ways. Building a life long relationship with language learning is part of her DNA after having lived in 5 different countries across 2 continents. Elizabeth loves being part of the Southland community and enjoys time with her family and friends.
Waikato
Giordana Santosuosso
Giordana has been the treasurer for our association since 2020 and she is currently also taking the role as a regional officer . She is a French native speaker from Switzerland and is of Italian descent. Giordana is a teacher of French and Spanish. Her friends will tell you how passionnate she is about languages, anything about languages but more about the aspect of anthropological and functional linguistics. Her work on the Lau language in the Solomon Islands is ongoing and when she has time, she goes to collect data and write children's books. Two things she could not do without is living near the water and coffee.
Wellington
James Adlam
Having taught English at the Polytechnic University Hauts-de-France in the north of France and after adding a bit of Kiwi flavour to the cultural office at the Embassy of France in Wellington, James finally bit the bullet and trained as a secondary school teacher in 2020 (what a year!). Now, based at Hutt International Boys’ School (HIBS), he is on a mission to share his passion of the language of love! A lover of languages and fascinated by different cultures, James also teaches Spanish and te reo Māori, all while learning Chinese on the side. Outside of school, James enjoys performing arts, good food, the outdoors and time with friends and whānau.