A B O U T   U S

The REACH Education team

Rosemary Cathcart   |  Sue Barriball  |  Lynn Williams   |  Susan Jackson  |  Sue Mercer  |

Rosemary Cathcart

Originally a high school teacher, Rosemary has been intensively involved in gifted education since 1981 in a wide variety of roles as both parent and teacher. In the mid 1980's she developed the REACH model for teaching gifted children, then became involved in taking workshops for teachers, and from 1990 to 1994 was tutor for the Auckland College of Education's post-graduate papers in this field. From 1992 to 1995 she served as sole advisor on gifted children for the Special Education Service (now GSE). In 1995, she established New Zealand's first education centre specialising in gifted education, the George Parkyn Centre (now the Gifted Education Centre), led it through its first decade to its present nationally recognised status, and developed its innovative One Day School programme. She lobbied intensively for many years for change in official attitudes toward gifted education, leading to the Minister's Working Party on which she served and which brought about New Zealand’s first official policy statement on gifted education. She has also worked extensively with parents and with parent groups and has served as national president of the NZ Assn for Gifted Children and for many years as advisor to that body's National Council. She was awarded the QSM in 2004 for services to gifted education.

She has a particular interest in professional development in this field. She has travelled regularly throughout New Zealand delivering many hundreds of workshops and seminars for teachers at every level, in schools, universities, colleges of education and to various professional groups ranging from trainee psychologists to ERO, and has worked on various Ministry contracts. In 2006 she established REACH Education Consultancy to allow her to focus on this aspect of gifted education, in particular the development of the semester-length course leading to the Certificate of Effective Practice in Gifted Education.

She has organised a number of national conferences, brought several leading international figures to New Zealand to deliver to New Zealand audiences, and has herself presented in Australia, including as keynote speaker to the 2008 Australian national conference. With Elaine Le Sueur, she has led the successful bid to bring the World Conference to New Zealand in 2013.

Her published work includes a teachers' manual (They’re Not Bringing My Brain Out), now in its third edition, editing the papers of Professor George Parkyn, writing a management guide to implementing the Ministry's policy following the NAG change in 2005, and various articles. In 2010 she published two further books, Differentiation Made Practical and Gifted Programming Made Practical, both selling in the UK and Australia as well as New Zealand.

She is an honorary life member of the NZAGC, foundation Board member of giftEDnz, and is on the editorial board of Apex. She is currently undertaking post-graduate study through the University of Wollongong looking at giftedness in relation to ethical leadership.

Her "other" life has included activities such as working as a postie while studying, editing an arts programme for Concert FM, writing feature material on house design, being a play centre Mum, setting up an annual community fair and being an active political party member. She lives in Rotorua with her husband and a mischievous cat, and maintains her interest in politics as a regional party delegate.

top

Sue Barriball

Sue has had a lifelong interest in gifted children. A teacher at primary school once accused her of ‘swallowing an encyclopaedia’ when she gave an 8-minute speech on Brazil at the age of 9 without cue cards! During her degree studies, Sue completed the only two papers which were available in gifted education at the time. As a young teacher in the early 1980s, she made waves at the secondary school she taught at when she advocated for retention of a disaffected gifted student and the need for the student to be allowed to study at a higher level.

Since then, Sue has taught at Waiuku College and St Mary’s College, Auckland, followed by 8 years as Professional Studies tutor at Manukau Institute of Technology in their Graduate Diploma in Secondary Teaching programme, where her students received a good grounding in gifted education. In 2002, Sue joined the George Parkyn Centre for Gifted Education as a One Day School teacher and was quickly promoted to the role of Deputy-Director for One Day School, mentoring new ODS teachers, and helped to train the Centre’s professional development staff. When Rosemary Cathcart retired from the Director’s role, Sue was her successor.
However, the call of the classroom was too strong and Sue chose to return to her first love, teaching gifted kids, in 2006 and now teaches for the Gifted Kids Programme, where she is the Lead Teacher at the Tamaki GKP Unit.

In addition to the insights gained from years of experience working with gifted children, Sue is blessed with three gifted children of her own, one highly gifted and the others moderately gifted. Negotiating their way through the education system has been a challenge and only now is she beginning to see her own children’s needs being met on a regular basis. Hence her interest in helping educate teachers about gifted children. She is a regular contributor to the Forum pages on the NZAGC site. Sue’s special interests in this field are gifted girls, visual-spatial learners, creativity, and social-emotional needs of gifted adolescents.

When she is not planning and delivering lessons, Sue is an avid reader of history books and thrillers, member of a book group, taxi-driver extraordinaire for her children (not to mention chief cook and bottle-washer, and sounding board), movie-goer, and mosaicist.

top

Lynn Williams

Lynn is an experienced teacher and published author of language texts, who has taught all age levels from kindergarten to University entrance in her teaching career, from general subjects in primary school to the teaching of languages, drama, English and Social Studies in Intermediate and Secondary school. She has always had a special interest in those students who do not find it easy to learn or to be socially comfortable in ordinary classes and those who have special abilities alongside learning difficulties (eg dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, Asperger’s Syndrome or ADD/ADHD ). She is a firm believer in the need to teach thinking skills, the need to strengthen all eight areas of intelligence and the need to identify and delight in the abilities of students with their individual learning styles.

As well as parental experience of gifted children, she has experience gained in many years of classroom teaching and has specialized in gifted education since 1996-as a One Day School teacher for the George Parkyn Centre, experience with a Future Problem Solving project to run a community radio programme, and currently in writing and presenting topic based extension workshops for primary schools in the north of Auckland alongside advocacy for gifted children and their parents.

She has had many years of teacher training experience for New Zealand language teaching and International Baccalaureate language courses and was the director of the Ministry of Education Korean Language Project between 1995 and 2001, training both New Zealand classroom teachers and Korean national teachers to introduce Korean language to New Zealand students in eighteen Auckland Region Intermediate Schools.

Working in several primary schools she is aware of the stresses and demands made upon teachers and keeps abreast of changes and current trends.
Her passion is to provide opportunity for

• gifted students, particularly those who lack practical skills, confidence and self esteem, to recognize and use their strengths and gifts.
• teachers to experience the joy and personal enrichment that comes from working with gifted children
• a reduction of stress in teachers’ lives resulting from provision of appropriate challenge and interest for the gifted children in their classes
  She is particularly interested in identifying those gifted children whose ability is in significant advance of their practical skills.

She has unquenchable curiosity and love of learning, loves studying and researching new workshop material, dabbling in art and craft activities, walking, gardening, exploring New Zealand and spending time with family and friends.

top

Susan Jackson

Susan is a trained and registered primary school teacher, with 22 years teaching experience. She has a Higher Diploma of Teaching and completed Rosemary Cathcart’s postgraduate ‘Identification of Gifted’ course as part of her Advanced Diploma of Teaching. She has also worked extensively as a reliever and has taught specialist groups in drama, art and extension classes.

Susan is in her ninth year as a One Day School teacher at The Gifted Education Centre (formerly known as The George Parkyn Centre). She began teaching there in 2003, when Rosemary Cathcart was the Director. Susan teaches two classes a week, providing a conceptual programme to her gifted students. Her special interests in gifted education include philosophy for children, catering for twice exceptional learners and nurturing creative and critical thinking skills. Susan also provides a GATE programme for top ability students at an Auckland primary school one day each week.

Susan is the parent of two boys, one a highly gifted student. She knows first hand the importance of ongoing advocacy for gifted students, especially relating to correct class placement to meet their special needs.

She worked as a professional actor in a Theatre-in-Education company for three years, performing educational plays throughout New Zealand. Susan teaches private Speech and drama lessons, preparing students for Trinity College London exams. She also works as Front of House attendant at the Aotea Centre, Civic Theatre, Auckland Town Hall and Herald Theatre a couple of evenings each week.

Susan is very busy as a single parent. She enjoys reading and is a member of a book club. She regularly attends the gym and walks for fitness. Susan loves going to movies and live theatre and spending time with family and friends.

top

Sue Mercer

Sue is an experienced primary teacher having taught for many years and at all levels in primary and intermediate schools. Her passion for gifted and talented education developed from her underlying philosophy that all students are entitled to an education that truly matches their needs and abilities. She is currently the gifted and talented coordinator in a Wellington school, a role she has held in several schools previously.

As well as being committed to supporting gifted learners, Sue supports teachers, and conducts professional development sessions on various aspects of gifted education. Her goal is to bridge the gap from theory and research to make gifted education accessible and practical for teachers in their day to day work with gifted students.

Other experiences in the gifted field include setting up and coordinating gifted programmes for a cluster of schools, and several years as the New Zealand Director of Tournament of Minds.

Sue is a graduate of Rosemary’s very first certificate course and is continuing her studies in gifted education through Canterbury University.

Sue is married to a school principal and is the proud mother of four children who range in age from 13 to 23 years. So her life revolves around family, work, study and friends - with a smattering of sport, music, movies and reading thrown in.

top