Four teacher trainees from the University of Iowa are making the most of their time at Alexandra’s The Terrace School (TTS), enjoying cultural and travel experiences and inspiring young students. 

The women, all aged 22 or 23, are in their final year of teacher training, and currently in “full control” of the classrooms they are working in. 

It’s the first year the teaching placement has run since 2019, after Covid-19 caused it to be cancelled in 2020 and 2021. The teacher trainees are here for eight weeks and return home on December 13.

Brenna Nelson, who is placed in Karen Begg’s year three and four class, said the experience has taught her to be more relaxed and flexible in her lesson planning.

Michaela Carstens, who is paired with Megan Allan (new entrant - year two class), said she found children in Central to be more well behaved than in the USA.

TTS year five and six teacher Sandy Rose has trainee Olivia Chamberlain to assist her. Olivia said New Zealand children did more creative inventive tasks than schools in the USA.

“Kids here have more opportunities to be creative and do art or inquiry based activities.”

Another difference the teachers noted is that there is more playtime and time outdoors at TTS than in the USA. 

Maddie Sabella, teaching in year one and two with Vicki Curzon (room 15) said if it rains at home no one goes outside, and the day is broken up with one playtime and lunch break (20 minutes long for each).

She said she has liked spending more time learning outdoors, even in light showery conditions, and doing things such as walking to the museum in the rain.

The group said TTS’s environment has an open feel, with no locked gates, or access cards to buildings unlike schools they have worked in previously, where locked doors and thorough security practices are the norm.  

TTS teaching staff all share morning tea in the staff room daily, and this is not done in the USA. 

The trainees said it has been great to meet and feel connected to other teachers and get tips and ideas for the classroom during morning tea. 

Michaela said she wanted to return to New Zealand and bring her family back.

“It’s amazing here, especially the culture… everything just feels cleaner.”

Brenna, Maddie, Michaela and Olivia are bringing stories of bald eagles and bears and other aspects of US culture and history to TTS students

In the weekends they have travelled via a rental car to Dunedin, the Catlins, Queenstown, Glenorchy, Arrowtown, Lake Tekapo, and Mt Cook.

They each had to apply for the placement at TTS; the other options were Norway, Poland, Taiwan and Ecuador. Their lecturer visited last week and observed them in action, and gave them positive feedback on their teaching.

When they return home to graduate they will decide what is next for their teaching careers. It will be the middle of the school year in the USA so it may mean relieving positions initially. 

Along with the group learning about New Zealand and Central’s history, Maddie said her passion for kids was ongoing as “the different viewpoint that kids have, [it] teaches you things”.