Sarah-Jane Knowles 2025

About Me:

Kia Ora,

Thank you for taking the time to look through my Curriculum Vitae.

My name is Sarah-Jane Knowles (most people call me SJ). I am 39 years old. I am from a small, village in Cornwall in the UK. I have lived in New Zealand and Australia for the last 17 years and I am a NZ Citizen.

I recently moved to Nelson from Wanaka with my partner Gordy, our 6 and 2 year old daughters and our energetic dog, Freo. My partner contracts as a Helicopter Engineer.

I have been teaching for 18 years and during this time I have taught New Entrants to Year 8 in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. In 2024 I took a second year of maternity leave to travel around NZ with my family in our bus! We have since decided to settle in Nelson.

Aside from teaching, I love spending time with family and friends and being outside. I particularly enjoy kite surfing, ski touring, mountain biking, kayaking and hiking. For more peaceful activities; I enjoy reading, puzzles and gardening.

This whakatauki is one that resonates with me in life and especially teaching.

"Ko te pae tawhiti whai kia tata ko te pae tata whakamaua kia tina."

Seek out the distant horizons, cherish those you attain.

I continue to strive, to set goals, to improve myself and recognise and celebrate successes along my journey.

Personal Qualities

Passionate and energetic
Positive and outgoing
Honest, reliable and hard-working team player
Goal setter and growth mindset
Curious and innovative
Artistic and sporty
Keen environmentalist
Sense of humour :)

Professional Strengths and Abilities

Communication and ability to build positive relationships and engagement with students, whanau and colleagues
Effective leader and team player. Collaborative environments are a must for me.
Committed to equity in education.
Inspiring and enthusiastic teacher
Innovative, engaging and supportive
Positive behaviour interactions in a safe, fair and supportive environment
Organised and flexible
Highly motivated and passionate about my responsibilities as a teacher.
Creating opportunities for sustainable practices and awareness

Teaching Philosophy

I believe in being a passionate and innovative teacher. I strive to create an environment that actively engages and supports students in their learning. I motivate students to challenge their thinking, promote constructive discussions and create authentic, diverse learning experiences. I empower students through personalised learning that incorporates a balanced, diverse curriculum.

I believe in an all-inclusive education, where student voice and agency is upheld and where collaborative teaching, learning and reflective practice is firmly embedded.

Establishing and maintaining positive relationships with students, staff and whanau is my priority, as I believe it builds crucial foundations for learning. I feel this is a particular strength. Teaching in accordance to the powerful learning beliefs, values and capacities of the school, means I am contributing to growing great humans, in which I feel privileged to do.

Every day is a new experience, a new challenge and a new learning opportunity for not only the students I teach, but also for myself. I have been fortunate to work with many outstanding professionals and students who continue to inspire me to be more creative and curious, more passionate and innovative and more determined to make a difference.

Professional Reading: In the Moment: Honouring the Teaching and Learning Lived Experience

JOPERD • Volume 78 No. 4 • April 2007

THERESA PURCELL CONE

"As teachers, we are eternal learners. Everyday, we learn something new about ourselves, about our students, and about our teaching. We dread the days when our lessons just do not work. We are bothered when we feel we cannot reach each student, and we are destined to reflect, revise, and reteach until we feel we have made a meaningful connection with them. The unyielding commitment to help students reach their full potential drives us to question what and how we teach, because we want our students to be engaged in their own learning and to cultivate their personal voice. We are filled with the hope for a world that could be, but is not yet. Teaching is embedded as part of our identity. We are works in progress, continuously evolving, seeking, and transforming."

This quote particularly highlights my personal drive and intentions.

Key Personal Achievements

Mum to two wonderful small humans.
Represented Australia in Dragon Boating; Premier Team 2015 -2016; 2 Silver & 1 Bronze Medal at Asian DB Championships 2016
Fight for Life Education Trust Boxing Champion, raising over $50,000 for Harold and The Life Education Trust. May - September 2017
Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Festival VIP Competitor June 2017
Old Ghost Road 85km Mountain Bike single track, October 2016
Kayaked unaided 125km+ over 6 days from Havelock to Picton through the Marlborough Sounds, April 2017
Head of Primary School and Curriculum Leader at age 27.
Anaconda Adventure Race ( 57km ocean paddle, run, ocean swim, and mountain bike) 2012, 2013 and 2015
Race around Rottnest 2015 (32km swim/ride/run/paddle)
Oxfam 100km WALK 2014 – completed in 25 hours, raising $5000
Blackwood Team Marathon Relay 2012 (60km run, kayak, swim, horse race, road ride)
Manager of men's 1st Team Basketball UWIC University 2006-2007
Played for women’s 1st X Basketball Team UWIC 2004-2007
Developed and coached a Somalian Women's Basketball group 10 week course 2005
Level 2 Coaching Basketball 2003
2 Gold Medals at the U19 National Basketball Finals 2003, 2004