Gabby Frank

Visual Arts Specialist Teacher with a passion for fostering creativity, and a love of student mentoring.

A little about me and my time at Papatoetoe Intermediate School:
I am in my seventh year of teaching and my seventh year at Papatoetoe Intermediate. I started off as a classroom teacher, but this year I have made the exciting move to be in the Technology and Arts team as the Visual Arts Specialist Teacher. I am excited for this new adventure and the opportunities that working in a new role will bring. I have lived and/or worked in Papatoetoe for the majority of my life and love being a part of this community. I love the rich culture and ethnic diversity of Papatoetoe and being able to work alongside these students everyday is so rewarding.

My vision and hopes for our school/my class:
My hope as the Visual Arts teacher is to foster and encourage a love of creativity in all of our students here at Papatoetoe Intermediate. I believe that Visual Arts offers our students a creative and emotional outlet that they may not find anywhere else. The hope I have for the students that visit my class is that they are able to form positive relationships with those that are different from them through their shared creative experiences. Relationship building and positive socialising is incredibly important to me, it is just as important as being academically successful. I hope that our students are able to develop a love for being creative, but that they are also able to recognise what it means and looks like to be a good person.

A bit more about me:
I am the only girl of four children in my family, and I am a very proud aunty to four nieces and a nephew. I love spending my spare time with my family and friends, being outdoors, creating art and playing football for Franklin United. I have spent the majority of my life living in South Auckland and anyone who knows me well knows how proud I am to be a part of this community.