Our People

Elise Dawson , Centre Manager
What inspired you to become an early childhood teacher?
I have always enjoyed being around children - even as a child I loved playing with dolls and acting out care routines with them. It just seemed a natural career path to me for as long as I can remember.
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Stacey Haughey, Head Teacher, Kakapos
Kia Ora, my name is Stacey. I have been part of the Lollipops North Harbour whanau since 2011. I graduated NZTC with a Bachelor of Teaching at the beginning of 2016. My husband and I have a daughter at Marlborough Primary who has come through Lollipops and a son who has recently started at Kiwis. I have always had a passion for supporting children during the first years of their learning journey, working alongside them and their whanau to provide them with rich learning opportunities to support their growth. I have a love for arts and crafts and am always looking for new ways to incorporate the arts into learning opportunities.

Stephanie McMillan, Head Teacher, Fantails
Kia ora, my name is Steph. I was born and raised on the North Shore and have lived here my entire life. I now have a family of my own and live with my partner and our son Oliver. I have a Bachelor of Education in ECE (2014) and began my journey here at Lollipops in February 2017. I have always known I wanted to work with children in whatever career path I chose, I knew I wanted to make a difference in their lives. I chose education as I love that I can work alongside children, gently guiding them in their journey as they learn and grow. I look forward to working alongside all of the children and family/whanau here at Fantails.

Jane Pintucan, Head Teacher, Kiwis
Kia Ora! I have been working in the early childhood sector for a few years now and have a Bachelor of Education in ECE. I truly love working with infants and toddlers, and young children in general. I think they all are fascinating, and as much as I love to facilitate and help them in their own discoveries and learning and as they make sense of their world and their place in it, I also love that I am able to learn so much from them. I love seeing the look of wonder in their eyes with each discovery and their thirst for learning – it’s something I never want to lose. Originally from the Philippines, my family and I moved to New Zealand when I was young. We consider ourselves blessed to be living in this beautiful country. Being an immigrant, I am an advocate for multiculturalism – where children from all cultural backgrounds feel welcome and that they belong; and, at the same time, promote the indigenous culture in the centre as a way to give back to the tangata whenua of this beautiful land!