NEiTA Awards New Zealand Shine As Two Inspiring Kaiako Are Celebrated For Extraordinary Impact

A joyful moment for education in Aotearoa

Some days in education feel quietly powerful. Others deserve a full, heartfelt celebration. This is one of those moments.

Two outstanding kaiako from Aotearoa New Zealand have taken home prestigious honours at the NEiTA Awards New Zealand, reminding everyone just how much care, creativity and commitment sits at the heart of teaching. It is a proud win not just for the educators themselves, but for the communities, learners and whānau they serve every day.

For more than 30 years, the National Excellence in Teaching Awards have been shining a light on exceptional teaching across Australia and New Zealand. With over 42,000 nominations since 1994, the programme has become a trusted way of saying a simple but powerful thank you to teachers who go above and beyond, often without expecting recognition.

Established by the NEiTA Foundation alongside Futurity, the awards celebrate educators and leaders whose work strengthens education at local, regional and national levels. They also help lift confidence in the profession, encourage ongoing professional learning and provide meaningful grants to support continued growth.

Why The Neita Awards New Zealand Matter

Teaching is built on countless small moments. A quiet word of encouragement. A safe space to try again. A belief in a learner before they believe in themselves. The NEiTA Awards New Zealand exist to recognise those moments and the people behind them.

Deputy Chief Executive of the Teaching Council, Clive Jones, captures this sentiment clearly. Teachers, he says, nurture tamariki, rangatahi and mokopuna every day, creating environments where learners feel safe, valued and inspired. Celebrating kaiako who shape futures across Australasia is not just important, it is essential.

Meet The Winners

Amelia Meertens – NEiTA Apple Award winner

Amelia Meertens of Matangi School has been awarded the NEiTA Apple Award for Primary, along with a $5,000 professional development grant. A team leader, Enviro Leader and production lead, Amelia is known for giving her students opportunities to shine in every possible way. Alongside teaching Year 3 and 4, she leads the school’s musical production, ensuring every child can take part, and drives Matangi’s environmental programme, inspiring meaningful action from both students and staff.

At the heart of Amelia’s approach is learner agency. She believes children should understand not just what they are learning, but why it matters and how they can shape their own success.

Each day ends with reflection, where progress is celebrated in all its forms. Sometimes that success is academic. Other times, it is simply not giving up when things feel hard. In Amelia’s classroom, every win counts.

Lysandra Stuart – Founders’ Principal for Leadership Award winner

Lysandra Stuart, Principal of Glenbrook School, has received the NEiTA Founders’ Principal’s Award for Leadership, along with a $10,000 professional development grant. Lysandra’s leadership reaches far beyond her own school gates. She has revitalised the Franklin Principals’ Association, supporting 49 local schools by creating access to purposeful, future-focused and culturally sustaining professional development for tumuaki across the region.

She is also deeply committed to mentoring emerging leaders and reshaping how schools view failure. At Glenbrook School, failure is reframed as “first attempt at learning”, helping students see mistakes as a natural and valuable part of growth.

For Lysandra, every failure is feedback. If learners leave school understanding that idea, they leave prepared not just for exams, but for life itself. Her leadership is quite sturdy in manaakitanga, pono and whanaungatanga and this shows everything she does.

A Celebration Worth Knowing

The success of these two kaiako at the NEiTA Awards New Zealand is a reminder of the strength, generosity and heart within the teaching profession. It is also a moment to pause and appreciate educators everywhere who quietly change lives, one learner at a time.

This is more than an awards announcement. It is a celebration of what great teaching looks like when it is driven by purpose, compassion and belief in young people.