Maria Sammons - Head Teacher

Ahoj, volám sa Maria, I am the Head Teacher at Iqra Educare. I have a large family with multiple generations living together. My amazing children are truly a gift from God. Together with the wonderful teaching, team we run an inclusive and caring early childhood centre. I believe the biggest service we can offer our tamariki is love through reciprocal relationships. By including the whole family in the journey of education we can motivate and encourage positive learning outcomes for all. Providing an environment conducive to learning, and equipment that grows imagination will help facilitate a positive path for our children in this busy world. With God guiding us and steadfast faith we can achieve great things. Ďakujem for this great opportunity to learn together.

Leena Noorzai

My name is Leena and I am a mother of three primary school children. I believe preschool children learn best through play and I love incorporating early learning concepts in my every day teaching. I am delighted to be a part of Iqra Educare and to share my skills and learn alongside the children. I hold a Bachelor of Teaching in Early Childhood from the University of Waikato. I have over 10 years of experience in early childhood education and have worked both in the private and public sectors. I am fluent in three other languages other than English and I encourage diversity and inclusiveness. I became an early childhood educator as I love being able to teach younger generations during the most crucial part of their life. I have a passion for working with children and believe that early childhood education is paramount in developing a lifelong love for learning. I am passionate about creating a safe, fun and active environment for children where they can develop, grow and excel in opportunities as confident life-long learners. I strive every day to provide a lasting education in each child that comes through our centre.

Ayesha Sultana

I am Ayesha Sultana, part time teacher at Iqra Educare. I am a Mum of three young children which are my life’s most precious gifts. I have a Bachelor of Pharmacy from India. I have a personal interest and passion for helping young children as they have genuine innocence and simplicity, I love watching them learn and achieve through hands on experiences. It is also wonderful knowing different families in the community, as I believe in honouring culture and diversity for all. I have been inspired by ECE teaching as it is a wonderful forum to share the joys of learning. The environment in ECE can nurture the children’s curiosity and provide them the foundation for lifelong success as learners. Learning alongside young children has a positive effect on our lives and can change our perspective of our own situations.

Fiona Stokes

Kia ora, I’m Fiona 2IC here at Iqra Educare. I’m Mum to 4 children and a couple of stepchildren too. So we have a busy house at home.
I finished my Diploma in Teaching and Bachelor of Education last century, so I have been teaching for 29 years. My love of teaching probably started when my little sister was born and I was 9 years old. Since then I have always been inspired by just how much and how quickly tamariki learn and develop.
I thoroughly enjoy working here at Iqra Educare, the tamariki are an absolute delight, the staff are highly experienced and fun, parents have been so kind and am I really enjoying the challenge of learning all about the Islamic perspective.

Joanne Matthews

Kia ora, my name is Joanne, and I am truly blessed to be part of the team at Iqra Educare.  I am a Mum to three beautiful children.

I found my passion in working with children when I started working in Playcentre with my own children.  I graduated with a Diploma in Early Childhood Education in 2012.

I am a happy, positive person who enjoys reciprocal sharing of skills, knowledge and interests with all ākonga.

I enjoy finding ways to be creative 

Karen Marsh

Hi my name is Karen, I am a mother of two grown boys and a proud grandmother of nine beautiful grandchildren.
I have been in administration for many years (including ECE) and am here to assist you in any way I can. I look forward to helping your journey at Iqra be a smooth one.
I am a fun-loving person who likes to infuse humour into the workday with my colleagues and clients. I’m here to help.

Yasmin Khan

As-salamu Alaykum and my name is Yasmin, I believe that I have a significant role to play helping Tamariki/children develop the self-understanding, self-esteem and self- reliance that will help them become keen and effective learners, and enjoy respectful and productive relationships with their peers, teachers, and others in their lives. At the core of my teaching philosophy is an enthusiasm for exposing tamariki/children to experiences and tools that allow them to test their understanding of information, ideas, and concepts, strengthen existing capabilities and encourage new capabilities to emerge. I am also committed to proactively developing relationships with children, whanau/parents and carers, colleagues and with stakeholders in the wider community.
I hold an image of the child who is rich in potential, connected to adults and children, driven by curiosity and imagination, a capable child who delights in taking responsibility for his own learning, a child who listens and is listened to, a child who is valued. I believe all children have a right to participate and be involved in an inclusive educational setting. Allah has made us all different, but we have come together to offer a safe learning environment for our Tamariki/children where they learn the skills to grow up to be confident and competent.
Very excited to work with the team at Iqra to achieve this learning outcome.