Whakamana, Mana Reo. Conference 2025.

Kelburn Normal School

16 Kowhai Road, Kelburn, 6012, Wellington, New Zealand

Primary Drama Collective

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We are Juliet, Ginnie, Judy and Sam from the Primary Drama Collective! We are independent primary drama educators passionate about supporting each other and our peers in drama in the primary classroom, drama in the literacy classroom and drama and wellbeing. Here's a little bit about us:Ginnie Thorner:Ginnie Thorner thoroughly enjoys working in all aspects of drama. For the past 30 years she has been engaged in drama practice of one kind or another as an educator. She is a specialist dance and drama teacher in Christchurch working with students aged 5 - 18yrs and also works with teacher trainees at NZGSE. Ginnie’s work focuses on drama for inquiry - in science, humanities and building hope. She has a real passion for genuine student devised work, and helps students use theatre to express their ideas and thinking about the world.Judy Norton:Judy Norton is Head of Drama at Saint Kentigern Primary schools. She has been a Specialist Primary Drama Teacher at Saint Kentigern Girls’ School for the past 21 years, teaching Year 1 – 8 classes and itinerant Speech and Drama lessons. She also now owns and operates ‘Voice Activated’, a Speech and Drama studio. She has previously held positions on Drama NZ’s National Executive as Primary Liaison and Vice-President. Judy is a trained primary school teacher with a Bachelor of Education and an LTCL in Speech and Drama.Juliet Cottrell:Juliet is an experienced classroom teacher and specialist primary and middle years drama teacher, has produced and performed in a number of theatre in education and Applied Theatre projects and facilitated teacher workshops on integrating drama in the curriculum. She has also been engaged at both Griffith University and QUT, in Australia where she taught pre-service primary and early childhood teachers. In New Zealand Juliet was previously a facilitator for the Drama NZ Networks of Expertise Drama and Literacy project providing professional development for primary teachers across NZ. As well as working part time across schools in Hawke’s Bay as a generalist drama and the arts specialist Juliet and her husband Peter were at the helm of The Drama Workshop performing arts school and the Hawkes Bay Youth Theatre up until 2024.Sam Bates:Sam Bates is based in Christchurch. She is a trained Primary School teacher with 15 years teaching experience. For the last 10 years, Sam has specialised in teaching Performing Arts in Primary Schools. Prior to her teacher training at the New Zealand Graduate School of Education, Sam studied Art History at the University of Canterbury. Sam has been on the Drama NZ National Executive and onboarded with the Drama and Literacy project as a NEX mentor teacher. She is also one of the contributing writers for the Drama NZ Primary and Intermediate Resource Writing Project. Sam is passionate about bringing creativity and the Arts back into the Primary classroom.