OUR STAFF

My full name is Maaka Philip Papuni. My first name means 'Mark' in English. It is my Papa's name - my father's father. My middle name is Philip. This is also a name gifted from a grandfather - My pakeha grandfather Martin Phillip O'Brien. My Papa Maaka was one of eleven children, and one of four sons that served as infantry soldiers in the C Company of the 28th Māori Battalion. My grandfather Martin, was the grandson of an Irish Catholic minister that emigrated to NZ in the 1800's. Grandad Chick as we called him also served in the 2nd NZ Expeditionary Force in WW2 as an engineer. I am proud to carry a part of the names of my two grandfather's, both Māori and Pakeha, that both served our country in a time of great need and tragedy. Email: principal@porritt.school.nz 

Email: marsha.keesom@porritt.school.nz 

Benjamin TAI Martin My middle name Tai (Tah-ee) was gifted to me by my nana to remember my great uncle. Tai was a fisherman who fished from Arorangi, the western district of Rarotonga, the main island of the Cook Islands. Where my fathers’ side of my whānau are from. Before I was born Tai went out fishing as usual but one day he sadly never returned. No trace of him or his fishing boat was ever found. I was the next boy born into our family and it was decided I would carry my uncle’s name. I then passed that name down to my first born son Arlo-Tai Martin.

Email: ben.martin@porritt.school.nz 

Email: janice@porritt.school.nz​​​​​​​

Email: leanne.heaven@porritt.school.nz 

Felicity Scarlett Baker Felicity means happiness. I am named after no one, it was just a name my parents liked. Scarlett is my Mum’s name. She was named after Scarlett O’Hara from Gone With The Wind. It was quite the scandal in the late forties to have been given such a radical name! My maiden name is McKenzie - meaning ‘son of the fair bright one’.

Email: felicity.baker@porritt.school.nz 

Hi my name is Georgia Kate Marie Richardson. My parents had a range of names selected for me which were not Georgia, but once they saw me they couldn’t decide. I spent a little bit of time in the hospital after I was born so the nurses got to know me pretty well – they started calling me Georgia and it stuck! My parents thought Georgia Kate had a ring to it, but wanted to include the family name Marie too, so Georgia Kate Marie it was. Richardson is from my Dad's side of the family, but we don't know much history about it.

Email: georgia.richardson@porritt.school.nz 

My full name is Nicola Louise Grace McGrath. When I was born I was named Louise for the first two weeks of my life (my birth notice in the newspaper has my name as Louise Grace) My mum then decided I needed my own name not a family name ~ Louise was my nana's middle name and my mum's middle name. Grace was my dad's mum's name ~ I never got to meet her unfortunately. Both my mum and my dad liked Nicola which was popular at the time. My mum is about the only person who calls me Nicola otherwise I get called Nicky or most commonly Nic. I always felt special having two middle names and all three of my children have two middle names as well. Nicola is feminine form of Nicholas, from the Greek Nikolaos, a combination of Nike which means victory and Laos meaning people.

Email: nic@porritt.school.nz 

FERGUS Fergus is a Scottish and Irish name derived from Scots Gaelic meaning 'man of force', 'courage' and 'the masculine one'. In Celtic lore Fergus is charming and quirky. If my father had followed the long line of family tradition, my brother and I would have been named James and Alex. If my mother's wishes had come true, I'd be female and my name would be Alexi. ALLAN Allan was my granddad's name on my mother's side, who I never got the chance to meet. NEIL Neil is a masculine name of Irish origin. Neil as a surname means 'champion'. The name 'Nelson' is also derived from Neil, which is a contributing factor to how my dog got his name.

Email: fergus.neil@porritt.school.nz 

My ingoa, Hannah was chosen by both my parents because they simply liked the name. ‘Hannah’ means ‘grace,’ which describes me perfectly! I was given the middle name Tracy after my mother, which again is a good call because we are both two peas in a pod. My last name ‘Jones’ is of Walsh origins and has an interesting story behind it. When my Poppa’s Great Great Grandfather William and Great Great Uncle Richard came over from the United Kingdom, they left the United Kingdom as Dorington and Arrived in New Zealand as Jones. We are unsure as to why the name changed, maybe new country, new life, new name! We are related to very few Jones’s here in New Zealand.

Email: hannah.jones@porritt.school.nz 

Vanessa Marie Wraight I am the fourth child in the whanau but the first girl. My parents had picked the name Rachel for me, but it sounded a bit weird with our last name. So I had no name for a few weeks. My middle name is my mother’s name. Wraight is an English name. When my ancestors arrived in Canterbury aboard one of the four immigrant ships, half the family had their name spelt Wright incorrectly. So half of my early ancestors bore the name Wraight.

Email: vanessa.harlow@porritt.school.nz