C A R I N A   D U   R A N D T

Carina was born in South Africa and has always stayed close to her family. She has always loved art and studied BA Fine Art in Pretoria with a Post Graduate Certificate in Higher Education and further training from the University of South Africa. Carina has 5 years of teaching experience, teaching secondary Arts and Culture, Visual Art and Design.

In 2019 she went to Russia as part of an academic trip with the school that she worked at at the time - Hoërskool Generaal Hertzog. That broadened her horizons and made her more curious about the wider world. In 2022 she moved to Abu Dhabi, an emirate in the United Arab Emirates and worked there for a few months. June 2023 she made the move to New Zealand and worked at an Early Childhood Centre for two years.

She is very excited to help out this term in the Arts class and to start teaching at primary and secondary level in NZ and is excited to learn more about the New Zealand Curriculum. She is looking forward to supporting all students and hopefully inspire them in their artistic journey. She hopes that she will be able to fill Miss McAlpine's shoes for this term!

In her spare time she loves writing poetry, being artistic, being active, and spending time with her niece and nephew, as her sister's family and brother also reside and work in NZ.  She is loving exploring the beauty NZ has to offer.

T A Y L O R   B I C H A N

After some precious time at home with her second child, baby Ava, we’re excited to have Taylor back at the Catlins! She thoroughly enjoyed spending quality time with her children, but is happy to be back in the classroom. This marks Taylor’s 9th year at TCAS, and she says, “It’s like I’ve never left.”

Taylor has loved catching up with students and staff, and is especially looking forward to working with her awesome Year 7/8 class again.

H O L L Y   L A N D R E T H

Holly Landreth is joining The Catlins Area School for a seven-week teaching placement and is excited to be back in a place that feels like home. Having grown up in the area and attended TCAS for primary school, it’s a special opportunity to return — this time as a student teacher in NCEA English and Social Sciences. Outside of school, Holly spends time focusing on university studies and enjoys playing music. Holly is looking forward to connecting with students and staff, and getting involved in school life during her time here. 

I S A A C   D A V I E S

Isaac is a keen surf lifeguard, surfer, ocean lover, and enjoys raranga weaving. These interests are what brought Isaac south to the Catlins as he loves the landscape and raw beaches that are scattered along the coast line. He has joined The Catlins Area School as a teacher aide and is enjoying the opportunity to use his teaching skill-sets to help engage TCAS learners on their educational pathways.

 J A N E Y   B L A I R

Janey is very happy to be returning back to her Teacher Aide role as she loves working alongside students and staff. Janey also drives senior students to SIT courses on a Friday and is one of our fantastic cleaners. Her interests include Motorsport as a rally co-driver which she has done for 32 years and is also president of the South Otago Car Club. As an ex vet nurse she loves her pets and has quite a few. 

She also loves her houseplants and vege garden, and likes good manners and jandals. She has a dislike of bad manners and vet bills.