My name is Suzanne Newrick and I am the specialist music teacher at school. I began my teaching career 36 years ago and for the last 14 years I have specialised in teaching music. I joined the Te Totara staff in 2009 when I moved from Auckland and since joining the staff I have enjoyed working part time as a music specialist and a support teacher.

I use the Orff Approach to teach music and have completed my level one and level two Orff courses. The Orff method is a way of teaching children about music that engages their mind and body through a mixture of singing, dancing, acting and the use of percussion instruments. The Orff method often uses intruments like xylophones, metallophones, marimbas and glockenspiels but I also like to introduce children to the ukulele and the recorder.