My name is Michael Garrud, I have lived in the Morrinsville area for over 19 years. I am a husband to Susan Garrud, a primary trained teacher currently working part-time in the Junior team at David Street School. I have three boys, Adam and identical twin boys, Thomas and Ryan who are all students at David Street School.
I completed my Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Waikato and then completed my Post Graduate Diploma in Teaching. I was a secondary school Science and Biology teacher at Matamata College for over ten years. I was also the Assistant Head of Science and the Head of Biology for several years. I was then offered the opportunity to change career and become involved in the family’s Agribusiness, where I currently am the Operations Manager for two Dairy Farms and a Heifer dry stock block.
I am currently on the David Street Board of Trustee’s and a trustee of the Waikato Farmers Trust these roles have developed my governance experience and skills in Finance and Property.
I believe I am an excellent candidate for the role of Board of Trustees at Morrinsville Intermediate as it is a position and a school, I would be proud to be a part of.
I have a genuine interest in governance and feel I have the skills, experience and leadership qualities to make a positive contribution within the school and wider community. I respect and value the cultural diversity of our community and am able to listen and understand different people’s perspectives, while still being respectful to each individuals’ views and opinions.
I am honest, loyal, dependable and thrive on challenges. As a lifelong learner, I continually seek opportunities to further my knowledge. My aim as a Trustee is to ensure that the quality of education at Morrinsville Intermediate School is maintained to the highest standard and the staff have all the resources they need to accomplish this goal.
I believe strongly in the concept of local community schools. They should reflect, and be accessible to their communities; nurturing their students in all aspects of life.

Hello, I am Mark Soffe and have lived in Morrinsville for about 15 years. It was Morrinsville Intermediate that actually brought me to Morrinsville in the first place as my wife got a job here as a teacher and I followed after! I am excited to represent the school community by being on the Board and what is an already very high functioning school with an excellent staff. I hope to contribute as much as I can to assist the community, and learn a lot along the way.

I have been a member of the Tahuna School board over the last 6 years and have chaired the board for the last 3 years and prior to that held the board finance role.
My wife Kathy and I currently have a child enrolled at Morrinsville Intermediate School and another child in secondary school. I believe this is an appropriate time to finish my involvement with the Tahuna School board and offer to contribute to the Morrinsville Intermediate School board.
My approach to a school board role is based on helping to support and progress the development of a high-quality school centered in our community that provides all of our children with the best opportunity to progress their learning. This involves understanding the many different and sometimes diverse views of the parents and whanau of the school’s children, working effectively and constructively with the school senior management to agree on the long-term and annual plans for the school, monitoring the learning progress of the students to ensure they are progressing as expected (or better) while ensuring the school is consistently meeting our requirements from the Ministry of Education.
I am proud of the progress that Tahuna School has made over the last 6 years and feel privileged to have had the opportunity to contribute to that as part of a board and management team that have worked constructively together over this time.
My wife Kathy and I own and operate a dairy farming business at Tahuna, I have a consultancy business that works with commercial boards and shareholders supporting effective governance practices, I have a background in banking / finance and hold a number of board and governance roles for other businesses. This has developed a range of knowledge and skills that could contribute to the effective governance of Morrinsville Intermediate School for the next 3 years. It would be a privilege to contribute to the Morrinsville Intermediate School through it’s board. I feel that I could provide constructive and effective input to our school through the board to ensure our school continues to progress and develop and provide an effective environment for all of our children to learn, grow, develop and progress on their learning journey.

Hi! My name is Rochelle Taylor and I am a proud mother of 3 active boys. My eldest son is attending Morrinsville intermediate. I currently work part time at St Joseph's School. I have been teaching for 10+ years, specialising in the transition to school process.
I’m passionate about student led learning allowing students to follow their interests and as a teacher I enjoy learning about what makes each individual student ‘tick’. I’m excited about the opportunity to be on the board of trustees for MIS and I’m looking forward to learning more about the intermediate and immersing in its culture!

Nga mihi nui kia koutou katoa, Greetings to you all
Kia ora my name is Teresa Higham and I am honoured to represent the Morrinsville community and stand as a Parent Representative on the Morrinsville Intermediate School Board of Trustees. I have served three terms and was Presiding Member up to the start of 2024.
I am of Maori descent, affiliated to both Tainui and Ngapuhi tribes. I am married to Stephen and we have four children - Kingston, Mackenzie, Sterling and Dawson. Family is everything and is a strong core value in our busy household.
I hope, with your support and vote of confidence, that I will be part of a team of like-minded parents and community members to promote our school’s vision ‘Kia U Ki Te Pai’ and guide our students into proud, successful, young adults.
Mauri mahi Mauri ora Work hard to make a difference.

Kia Ora koutou

It is my privilege to have been appointed Principal of Morrinsville Intermediate School from 2016. Part of the role of Principal is being a member of the Board of Trustees. I bring with me a raft of experience working with emerging adolescents, having worked as Assistant Principal of Tauranga Intermediate from 2013 – 2015 and Assistant Principal at Matamata Intermediate for 15 years. I was also very fortunate to have been Principal at Kuranui School, a small rural school south of Matamata for seven years.

I was born in Te Aroha but lived much of my life in the Tirau and Matamata districts. Growing up on a dairy farm, I feel like coming to Morrinsville is a return to my roots and I relish the opportunity to become part of the wider community.

I have two adult children, Kylie and Ryan, who live in Auckland and New York respectively. I am proud of my children and look forward to visiting my son one day soon. I enjoy travelling and two of my highlights include visiting the Great Wall of China, as well as the Empire State Building in New York. I love sports and look forward to watching our students compete in various codes throughout the year.

Learning is life-long. I am passionate about providing opportunities for students to explore and achieve to the best of their ability so that they have a range of choices in life, both at school and beyond. I strongly encourage students to have a vision for their future and aim high - ‘to achieve you have to believe’. I want all our students to have confidence in their ability and be prepared to put in the effort required to achieve their goals and dreams. We have a very dedicated staff at Morrinsville Intermediate School and I look forward to working with you, in partnership, to ensure the best possible outcomes for our students: “Kia U Ki Te Pai – Whatever you do let it be your best”.

Please feel welcome to visit our school at any time. I look forward to meeting you all.

Kind regards

Jenny Clark