As the new Social Sciences’ Leader of Curriculum (LOC), Christina Nicolaas' teaching career spans eight years.
She came to St Paul’s in July from Aquinas College in Tauranga, where she was a Dean for four years, Head of Social Studies, Head of History and held a Kahui Ako role. Prior to Aquinas, Christina taught at Hillcrest High School and Auckland’s McAuley High School.
Born and raised in the Waikato, Christina schooled in Cambridge, going on to complete a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History and a Bachelor of Secondary Teaching at the University of Waikato. She also has Honours in History and a Masters in Education.
With a desire to inspire young people, Christina always wanted to become a teacher. She has written publications on the theory/practice of teaching History, as well as content-specific chapters on History topics studied in the classroom. She has also been involved in various aspects of the NCEA processes at national level.
She describes her teaching style as energetic and passionate. “I believe in full student engagement and making learning relevant to our students," she says.
“In my experiences, students learn best and are most engaged when topics stir their emotions, challenge their values position or disturb their own sense of justice. It is important to me that students are active participants in their own learning.”
As LOC for the Social Sciences department, Christina oversees Economics, Accounting, History, Geography, Social Studies, Tourism and Classics. She teaches Social Studies and History.
An avid reader and beach lover, Christina also likes to keep active through running and walking. Next year she will also be involved with coaching Netball at the school – a challenge she is looking forward to taking on.
