Kelly Saunders
Head of Department, Visual Arts, Arts
Qualified with a Bachelor of Design majoring in Photographic Communication, Kelly planned on being a freelance designer or photographer. But in her final year of university study at Victoria she got involved with some teaching, loved it, and has never looked back.
Going on to complete her Postgraduate Diploma in Secondary Teaching at Waikato University, Kelly was placed on section at St Paul’s. The following year, while teaching at Wanganui High, she was offered a position back at St Paul’s and has been with the school since 2002, working her way up from a second-year teacher to Head of the Visual Arts department, which encompasses general Art, Photography, Design and Painting.
During her time here, Kelly has been involved with a variety of positions within the school including, the Senior Leadership Group, Assistant Housemaster for Harington Day House, Leader of the Arts Curriculum, Stage Challenge Teacher in Charge, Manager of the under-15 Boys’ Hockey; as well as running the annual Arts Week, before taking a year off to have her son in 2015.
For Kelly teaching Art is quite special as she gets to work with the students on their creative talents, as well as providing a welcoming space for students to develop their practical and communication skills while visually expressing their dreams, thoughts or concerns. Something that she is quite passionate about, and pushes within the department, is an individualised style of learning.
