Wiesje Geldof
Wiesje Geldof (pronounced Vee-sha) was born in the Netherlands and both her mother and father were maths educators and authors. Wiesje immigrated to New Zealand in 1979 and completed a B.Sc. in Mathematics and Computer Science at Canterbury University and then went to Christchurch Teachers College. She began her teaching career at Christchurch Girls’ High School and was later appointed Head of Maths at Oxford Area School.
In 1995 she moved to the Bay of Plenty and taught at Te Puke High School. Wiesje has been involved in writing mathematics resources for over 30 years. In the Netherlands she co-authored a series of books for Intermediate school level and while in Canterbury was part of the writing team for the National Curriculum Mathematics textbook series (K. Catley). This series was also published in Britain. In 1998 Wiesje co-founded her own educational publishing company, Sigma Publications Ltd, and began writing Sigma's first titles, the NZMC Homework Book series.
“Maths is an essential skill and all skills have to be practised to become learned. I try to make my maths books interesting and use everyday situations to illustrate the use of maths. I believe write-on books reduce the tedium of copying out problems and make the practice required to become better at maths easier and more enjoyable for students.”
Susan Battye
English Author
Susan Battye is an Auckland based writer, playwright, and teacher who has worked at both secondary and tertiary levels. She has taught English at secondary school level for more than thirty years in Greymouth and Auckland where she was the former Head of Drama at Epsom Girls' Grammar School. In addition she programme managed the Bachelor of Maori Performing Arts at Te Wananga o Aotearoa.Susan continues to be a key figure in the world of New Zealand theatre and drama, having written and published many plays and books. Her first historical children's novel, The Mines's Afire, co-written with Thelma Eakin, was shortlisted for the New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards in 2010 and her second novel, Cup Magic, was published in 2013. An internationally published author and playwright, Battye has written more than fourteen plays and drama books. In addition she has created and published a number of digital based Media Studies and Drama resources for secondary schools under the umbrella of her own company, Drama Magic Ltd.
Lorraine Davis
Lorraine Davis was born in Northland and trained as a teacher at Auckland Teachers' College. She returned to Northland to teach at Ruawai District High School before moving back to Auckland to take up a position at Glen Innes Intermediate. Lorraine continued her career in education with an appointment as a lecturer at Loretto Hall, the Catholic Teachers' Training College. She then moved to the Bay of Plenty and taught at Tauranga Girls’ College for 15 years before leaving to write for Sigma Publications full time. Lorraine has always taught English, Drama and Art as her specialties and maintained an enthusiasm for teaching and interaction with students during her time in the classroom. Lorraine’s love of art, coupled with her teaching skills in English and Drama, resulted in her producing written teaching resources of the highest standard throughout her career. In 1994 she published a two-book series called ‘Living In New Zealand’ in response to the need for New Zealand-based ESL secondary school resources. Sigma Publications Ltd has published Lorraine’s workbooks since 2000, culminating in her current Action English workbook series (8 books).
“I believe learning should be constructive and enjoyable. I have supported the exercises in my books with comical illustrations for students to enjoy and which illuminate the learning task. I hope students chuckle a little as they learn with my books and I hope I save busy teachers some preparation time which can be put to better use.”
David Wort
David Wort was born in the South Island and grew up in a variety of locations in New Zealand's rural heartland. He completed his first degree, majoring in English, French and History, at the University of Waikato. His Master's degree was taken at the University of Auckland and he trained as a teacher at Auckland Teachers' College. After some years teaching in Auckland and the arrival of the first of his four children, he moved to the Bay of Plenty where he has taught for over thirty years, many of them as a Head of Department. The introduction of NCEA presented new leadership responsibilities in resource creation and assessment which, along with the experience of teaching in the new system at all levels, have developed the practical insights so evident in the Achieving in English series.
"I hope my books encourage students to discover the great truth about learning that Francis of Assisi put like this : Start by doing what's necessary, then do what's possible and suddenly you are doing the impossible."