Staff Achievement
Congratulations to Mrs Jackie Robertson who was presented her King's Service Medal for services to science education by the Governor General at Government House in Wellington last week.
Mrs Robertson has provided leadership as Head of Science at Kerikeri High School since 2008.
She has held many roles during her 40-year teaching career, including Facilitator for Northland Science Teachers, National Level Moderator and Examination Marker, and contributor to the development of an alternative science course at Year 11 to make science more accessible to all secondary students. At Kerikeri High School, she has promoted bicultural leadership working with local hapū and iwi, to integrate mātauranga Māori into the curriculum. She has been instrumental in improving student outcomes in science, particularly for Māori students whose NCEA results improved substantially between 2009 and 2020. In 2010, she played an integral role in researching best practice laboratory layout for implementation of a new facility for the school after a fire destroyed the existing science laboratories. She has organised the Top Energy Far North Regional Science Fair since 2011, and as Convenor has developed relationships with many science-focused organisations like NIWA, Dairy New Zealand, and Massey University, to organise sponsorship. In 2018 she assisted a colleague to develop a Community Problem Solving team which achieved third place at the 2019 International Future Problem-Solving Conference. In 2021 the Education Review Office recognised Mrs Robertson, highlighting the Science Department at Kerikeri High School as an exemplar for curiosity and engagement.
