Role of the Board
The structure of the Waimairi School Board of Trustees is as follows:
Six Parent Elected Trustees (including one Presiding Member)
The Principal
One Staff Elected Trustee
The Waimairi School Board of Trustees is empowered by the Education Act to ensure all Waimairi kids achieve to their full potential, develop key life skills, stay safe, and retain their individual cultural identities as New Zealanders. To do the above, the Board is responsible for governance oversight of the school’s operational areas via Board policy and audits. The Board also sets the school’s Charter and Strategic Plan in consultation with staff and the school community, ensuring the Waimairi School community has ownership of its school and its direction.
The Board as an entity does not get involved in the daily running of the school, which is led by the Principal and the senior leadership team.
Parents are welcome to attend Board of Trustee meetings as observers. Meetings are held at school approximately monthly. Check with the school or the school webpage for dates of upcoming meetings (note certain meeting protocols will be in place).
Public attending board meetings
The board of trustees welcomes community presence at board meetings and hopes that members of the school community enjoy their time observing board meetings.
The following procedures are provided so that guests understand the rules that apply and will be followed unless otherwise authorised by the board, a copy will be available at each meeting:
Board meetings are not public meetings but meetings held in public.
If the meeting moves to exclude the public (usually to protect the privacy of individuals), members of the public will be asked to leave the meeting until this aspect of the business has been concluded.
Members of the public may request speaking rights on a particular subject that is on the agenda. Preferably, this request has been made in advance. Public participation is at the discretion of the board.
Speakers shall be restricted to a maximum of 3 minutes each per subject, with a time limit of 15 minutes per interest group.
Speakers are not to question the board and must speak to the topic.
Board members will not address questions or statements to speakers.
Speakers shall not be disrespectful or offensive or make malicious statements or claims.
If the chair believes that any of these have occurred or the speaker has gone over time, they will be asked to finish.
School Policies
School policies can be accessed via this website: https://waimairi.schooldocs.co.nz;
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2025 Board Election Results
Code Of Conduct
Meet the Board Parent Representatives
Jeremy Elrick. Presiding Member.
Tena Koe, I am very excited to represent the school community as part of the Waimairi School Board of Trustees. Our daughters Claire , and Grace currently attend Waimairi School. My wife Jenny and I both consider our journey as part of the Waimairi School community to have been a wonderful experience. We have found the school, staff, parents and students to be warm, welcoming and inclusive. We have developed life long friendships, and the girls are thriving in both their education and social development. In respect to my background, I am the Managing Director of a professional services firm (Elrick and Co Limited – which provides surveying, planning, and engineering services). Elrick and Co for us was a real scale down and ‘reset’, and was born in 2020 (during the first lockdown) following the sale of our larger nationwide business. My knowledge of the education system has grown immensely over my current board tenure, and as a business owner I have a thorough understanding of not only land development, but also construction, finance, human resources, and governance matters. For me personally, this is an exciting and crucial time to be leading the school. The school has faced a variety of significant challenges over the last 3 years including the re-build completion and navigating the Covid19 pandemic. To say it has all been a distraction is probably an understatement, and as a board and school we are extremely excited about moving forward and re-focussing on not only the pedagogy but also rebuilding that unique Waimairi community spirit that we all know and love. It has been an honour to serve as a trustee on the board over the last several. I am very much looking forward to re-setting and getting stuck in to developing the school for this term.
Kylie van der Bel. Deputy Presiding Member.
Kia ora, I feel very privileged to be joining the school board. Our family joined Waimairi in 2020 & currently our eldest, Harrison, is in year 6 and Zack is in year 4.
It has been amazing watching the school community emerge from the covid years, work through a tragic loss and now be gaining the momentum to thrive even more under the leadership of Chris & the team.
I hold a Bachelor of Education & currently own a teacher relief agency. This gives me the flexibility to be present for so many moments in our boys lives, and it allows me to volunteer my time in a variety of ways across the school during the week.
Currently I am part of Connect Waimairi & have enjoyed being part of the team since Harrison started. It is obvious that the children, family & community are at the heart of Waimairi & I look forward to being part of it even more.
Kat Manzana. Finance and Audit Report.
Katherine (Kat) Makanza is Mum to Zahara and Indie-Raea, and wife to Trevor. When not looking after the kids (and husband), Kat is running a business advisory practice, Atlas and Oak, supporting small and medium sized business’ at the governance level, focusing on strategy, planning, organisational structure, and financial aspects. Kat is a fully qualified Chartered Accountant and member of the Institute of Directors. Most importantly, Kat is looking forward to being more involved with the school and its wider community, and being able to use her skills and experience to help shape its future, for our young tamariki and their whānau.
Bernard Del Ray. HR / Personnel.
I'm honoured to join the Waimairi School Board of Trustees in support of our amazing children and teachers. My wife, Hilary, and I have six sons in a blended family, ranging in age from 9 to 19. Two of our sons, now 14, are proud Waimairi graduates, and our youngest is currently in Year 4. Since relocating from New York City, my hometown, to Christchurch in 2013, our children have been embraced by this wonderful community, and our children have thrived in various local schools of their choosing. We've been continually impressed by Waimairi's commitment to fostering a nurturing and responsive learning environment.
Professionally, I am the Founder and CEO of a financial technology SaaS firm based in downtown Christchurch, with team members in Australia and the United States. Our mission is to use behavioural economics-based technology to help individuals make more purposeful decisions with their time and money. Prior to this, I worked in Chicago, New York, and London, holding a range of roles across investing and financial services. These experiences have taught me that working together, we can accomplish so much more than we can alone.
I'm passionate about the education and development of all our children, and in awe of the dedicated teachers, aides, coaches, and staff who support their learning in varied ways. Our children are counting on us, and you have my commitment to use all of my experiences and energy to support Waimairi School as we prepare our children to navigate an ever-evolving world with confidence and kindness. I look forward to collaborating with fellow trustees, staff, and whānau to continue building a vibrant and inclusive school community.
Ed Hadfield. Health and Wellbeing.
Kia ora koutou I feel privileged to hold the Property and Health and Safety portfolios for the Waimairi School Board of Trustees. In my professional life, I am a Regional Manager for a multinational green space and facilities management company. This provides a unique skill set that is great to be able to share with our school. In my personal life, my wife Liana and I have three daughters (Addison, Prudence and Evelyn) who keep us busy. The school has a great community, a proud history, and a bright future that I am excited to be involved in shaping.
Emily Nind. Property.
Our whanau is new to the Waimairi School community, with our eldest Henry starting in Nga Puna in Term 1. We also have a daughter, Alice, who is eager to start school (although has a long 2 year wait ahead of her). I am looking forward to being part of the Board and the wider school community. I am from a legal background, practising in a small property and commercial firm, RVG Law. I am interested in understanding the challenges faced in the education sector at a time of rapid change, and how I can make a contribution to ensure Waimairi is well placed to provide a safe and enjoyable learning environment for our children, families, and staff.
Board Documents
2024-2025 Strategic Plan & Annual (2025) Implementation Plan Click Here
Annual Report of the school year (2024) Click Here
Annual Accounts (2024) Click Here