|
 I'm Kathryn Thorne, the Director of Studies here at Alpha Educational Institute, and I am passionate about working alongside people to help them succeed and reach their full potential! This means I have the great pleasure of working with international students from all around the world and teaching them English. I also have the privilege of leading an enthusiastic team of teachers here at Alpha, and heading up teacher training programmes for English language teaching.
I grew up in Papua New Guinea, speaking three languages, and I love working in a multi-cultural environment! I think we have a lot to offer here in New Zealand, and I believe that other cultures have a lot to offer us as well. We can learn so much from each other!
I am very happily married to Wayne and have four adult children. My hobbies are reading, gardening, painting and playing a little bit of guitar! |
|
|
Hi, I am Wayne Thorne, the webmaster and also one of the Directors at Alpha. You won't see me down at the school at Bishopdale very often as I am very much the behind the scenes person. I spend my days working for Telecom New Zealand Limited and some evenings and weekends maintaining the Computer network, keeping the Website up-to-date and also looking after the Alpha accounts.
When the weather is fine during the weekend you may find me in the vegetable garden muttering to the weeds or conversing with the carrots! |
 Hello! I'm Jonathan Carson, the new Manager at Alpha. I am responsible for welcoming and looking after students when they arrive to enrol at Alpha. I also answer the questions people ask us about Alpha and what Alpha has to offer. There are other administrative tasks that I do so that everything runs smoothly and the teachers can get on with their job of teaching students.
I come from 17 years of working at the University of Canterbury in their International Office as their Admissions Manager. Before that I spent 16 years in Pakistan as a missionary. I am interested in reading, gardening, hiking and my three grandsons. I am married to Judy.
|
|
 Teaching English and piano are two of my passions. I have been teaching at Alpha for over 10 years. I find it a privilege to open doors of learning and work alongside people of different cultures, ages and backgrounds.
I also love sport, travelling, reading and playing the piano for musical theatre shows like 'Les Miserables' and 'Jesus Christ Superstar' My very supportive husband, four gorgeous children, two grandchildren and three cats are my other passions! |
|
 Vijay Vijayan is my name and teaching is my passion. I have taught Science and English (ESOL) especially to High School students for over 25 years. I am originally from Malaysia but for the last 17 years, Christchurch has been my home. I speak three languages and have taught in Malaysia, the U.K. and now in New Zealand. I have been a teacher at Alpha since 2003. Besides Science and ESOL I also teach High School Mathematics, Social Studies, Geography, Biology (Years 11, 12 & 13), Academic English and Economics. Together with the director, Mrs Kathryn Thorne, I prepare and run the High School Programme at Alpha. I am proud to say that many of my present and former students have done extremely well in their respective high schools. My desire is to see Alpha students get into good schools in Christchurch and achieve excellent results in their NCEA examinations.
Food is my other obsession although I can’t cook. In the weekends you’d probably find me at a Chinese restaurant or helping my wife cook curries. For transport and fitness, I love biking – rain, hail or snow! |
|
Hello, I am Michele Pizzey and yes, my husband also works at Alpha! My responsibilities differ from those of other staff members and are many-fold. They include being at the front desk as Receptionist/Secretary and in supporting the teaching staff. Along with Kathryn Thorne, I am responsible for the pastoral care of the students. I regard this as a very important role as a number of our teenage students take time to adjust to the NZ way of life and can be quite homesick. I consider it a privilege and enjoy getting to know the various cultures our students represent.
I always find time to garden, do handwork (patchwork/embroidery), walking and spending time with family.
|
|
My name is Glynn Christie. I enjoy teaching students at all levels but usually work with adults helping them to understand, in a practical way, that strange language - English!
I come from a background in environmental policy working with the NZ Government. I have also worked in the private sector helping development projects to be built in environmently sensitive areas within NZ. I bring this experience to the class room, helping students to relax and enjoy themselves.
I also enjoy reading, walking and family history. |
|
|
|
|
|
Staff News
