Our Team

Northland Community Preschool's caring teaching team is what makes our preschool such a great place to play, learn and grow!  We have high teacher to child ratios. All of our teachers are fully trained and qualified and are dedicated to giving your child's education the best start possible while ensuring they are always having fun.

Maeve O'Neill (Supervisor):

Maeve is originally from Cork in Ireland and moved to New Zealand in 2012. She loves working with children and left a career in Chemistry to follow her passion and earn a degree in Early Childhood Studies. Outside of work, she enjoys taking her two dogs for walks on the beach with her husband, and loves the outdoor life that Wellington has to offer. She joined Preschool in the role of Supervisor in 2021 and feels honoured working with the tamariki and whānau in the calm, nurturing and special high-quality educational environment that Preschool provides.  

Aleca Bukholt (Teacher):

Aleca joined our teaching team at NCP in November 2023, earning her Diploma of Teaching back in 1991.  Aleca has lived in Northland for over 30yrs, working locally and raising her family, with both her children attending Northland Kindergarten and Northland School back in their day.  Relationships are at the heart of Aleca’s teaching practice, and providing a fun, happy and safe environment for children to feel confident to explore, experiment and discover.  Aleca is especially loving the mixed age environment here at NCP, and the special tuakana-teina relationships between our older and younger tamariki. In her spare time Aleca loves spending time with family, getting stuck into some DIY at home, and heading out on adventurous hikes most weekends.

Andrea Cochrane (Teacher):

Andrea holds a Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Early Childhood) from Victoria University of Wellington.  She lives in Thorndon with her family and has a son at Wadestown School.  Working with children has given her an insight into how capable they are and how important relationships with their teachers/kaiako and other children are to their learning. She enjoys following each child’s interests and working alongside them as they discover more about the people, places and things in their lives.

Jane McKinlay (Teacher):

Jane hails from Dunedin, but now calls Wellington home. She lives with her partner and his children within walking distance of NCP, which she loves because she’s committed to being a good kaitiaki for the planet. She loves to sing and is a member of several choirs, and believes supporting cafes is an essential weekend activity! Jane trained as a primary school teacher and taught at schools for 17 years with a particular focus on Te Ao Māori and environmental education. She loves watching the tamariki at NCP explore, create and make sense of their worlds.

Sonja Steinmetz (Teacher):

Born in Singapore, Sonja came to New Zealand (via Germany, Bristol and New York) in 2015 to study a Graduate Diploma in Early Childhood Education at Auckland University, and never left! She has loved getting to know Wellington and enjoys travelling throughout NZ. Sonja lives in Berhampore with her husband, young daughter and three cats. She is passionate about children having creative ways to express themselves as well as being able to take appropriate risks and develop their sense of independence.

Carolyn Southcombe (Financial Administrator; Relief Teacher):

Carolyn has been involved in Early Childhood Education for 25 years as both teacher and administrator.  She has been at Northland Community Preschool in varying roles since 2009, and was Supervisor until 2021. Carolyn values the learning that occurs through children's play and the importance of relationships between children, whanau and the preschool community.