Jos van Beusekom
INTRODUCING
Jos van Beusekom
My name is Jos van Beusekom and I am the Year 5 / 6 Team Leader, teaching in Room 18. I live in Torbay with my wife and some cats. My wife teaches Japanese and Chinese at Orewa College. We have a son, who is in the army, and a daughter who graduated in Sports Science and Nutrition from A.U.T. She works as a personal fitness trainer. I spent time living in London and in Japan, and have many interesting stories to share. I enjoy travelling, running, reading, playing handball with the kids at school, and am a Liverpool F.C. fan.
I have taught at Pinehill long enough to have watched it evolve and grow into a great place for children and teachers. The values which we uphold are key to personal growth. In my classroom, well-being is a core focus since it leads to a more engaged learner, and an engaged learner is a happier one. I will teach your child what they need to do to flourish and become a more resilient person, and therefore a more confident learner.
I like to call our class group “Team 18” in order to build strength, unity and collaborative relationships. It’s important that your child feels safe and comfortable in our space – creating a team culture will help that process. I encourage good manners and respectful behaviour. All team members have a right to learn, and we all have a responsibility to make sure that can happen. We practise humour in our space, since the ability to laugh is a positive emotion, a key to flourishing. I enjoy sharing stories of my travels, to emphasise a learning point and to inspire children to broaden their horizons.
Community support is paramount in my role. Teaching is a shared responsibility between parents and teachers. I don’t claim to have all the answers and I know parenting is a difficult job ( where’s the handbook? ) but between us I think we can do really well for your child. In that regard, I am always happy to talk with you either on site or via email jos@pinehill.school.nz.
Most of the children coming into Team 18 next year will know me better than I know them. I am really looking forward to finding out about them and having a great year together.
