Sharon Holt
“As a children’s author and teacher, I saw children learning te reo Māori words for colours, numbers and animals. But it was harder for them to learn how to use those words in sentences. I dreamed of achieving this goal by creating a new resource that combined singing, actions, listening and looking. That dream has now become a reality with Te Reo Singalong books.” www.thewritingbug.com
Deborah Hinde
“I have always been passionate about art and design. I doodled, sketched and painted my way through primary, intermediate, secondary school and two jobs before gaining employment in the graphic design industry. For the last 15 years, I have been providing illustrations to a variety of clients in the publishing, advertising and tourism industries.” www.debhindeillustrationanddesign.co.nz
Madelize Bekker
“My strong background in language teaching and learning, as well as the fact that I grew up in a culturally rich and diverse country where eleven official languages are spoken, has led me to value the importance and benefits of bilingualism. We immigrated to New Zealand in 1999 and I have always wanted to make a valuable contribution to my newly-adopted country in the area of bilingualism. Facilitating the Te Reo Singalong project has made this possible.” www.edumaxi.com
Graeme Stewart and Stacy Walker
Graeme (Tainui and Ngai Tahu – Pae Ahi marae) and Stacy (Ngapuhi and Ngai Tahu) are second cousins who have been singing together for the last seven years in a band called Kruzemode. Graeme leads a busy life revolving around family, cricket and music. He is assistant coach of the Northern Knights cricket team and is also working on his dream of creating a Northern Māori cricket team. In his spare time he is a professional musician, entertaining the public at sporting fixtures and events such as Hamilton’s Christmas at the Lake. Graeme is passionate about all things Māori and is thrilled to be involved in the Te Reo Singalong project. He can’t wait to get stuck into writing the music for more books in the series.
Stacy has always been a singer and followed in the footsteps of her dad who was always in a band. She studied performing arts and is a qualified ECE teacher as well as being the busy mum of four children under the age of nine. Stacy was thrilled to become involved in this project because she could see how useful the resources will be in schools and early childhood centres.
