Our Team

Kia Ora.  My name is Neelika, I am the supervisor and am very proud to be part of the team at AppleSeed. I have a Bachelor of Early Childhood Education in New Zealand and hold a Bachelor of Commerce degree and Post Graduate Diploma in Education in Sri Lanka. I am a fully registered teacher and have been teaching in the early childhood sector in New Zealand since 2007.

I am a mother of one son who is doing his higher education. I live in Remuera, Auckland with my husband and my son. Collecting elephants’ ornaments is one of my interests; wherever I go I look for some ‘elephants’ to increase my collection. I enjoy decorating cakes and playing with our dog ‘Marley’ in my spare time. I also find some time to do meditating.

I have developed a strong passion for teaching young children, and have experience working with all age groups. I strongly believe that children are confident and competent learners, each child is unique and special, and they grow up and develop at their own pace.

Kia Ora. My name is Annika and I am originally from Tauranga. I moved to Auckland when I graduated from the University of Waikato to find the perfect teaching position. I’m a fully registered teacher and love the diversity Auckland has to offer.

I have a passion for travel and enjoy taking a trip somewhere warm each year as well as trips back to Tauranga to spend time with family and friends.

I have always had a passion for teaching since I was at school and loved caring for children of family friends. I enjoy working in our centre as we have smaller numbers of children and families which means we can work together more effectively to help grow confident and competent learners. I have a particular passion for working with children under two.

Kia Ora. My name is Jinah and I am originally from South Korea. I completed my Bachelor of Arts (Major in Education) at University of Auckland, and studied Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Early Childhood Education) at New Zealand Tertiary College. I am a provisionally registered teacher.

I am an open-minded person who loves travelling, trying new things, and meeting new people from all over the world. One of the most exciting things in my life is getting to know people from various cultural backgrounds.

I have a passion for supporting and helping children to grow and learn for their future. What I value the most in teaching and learning as an early childhood teacher, are the relationships that develop. I believe that relationships are fundamental to a child’s life.

I am so excited and proud of myself being a member of the AppleSeed family and working alongside the people here (teachers, children, family and whanau).

Kia Ora. My name is Harna, I’m from Auckland and grew up locally in the Mt Eden area. I am a provisionally registered teacher and have a Bachelor of Teaching (ECE) from AUT University.

In January 2018 I got married. My husband and I enjoy travelling to unique places. We love photography and take lots of photos everywhere we go.

I love seeing children learn new things and gain confidence through their learning. AppleSeed is my second teaching position and I enjoy teaching in our smaller mixed age center as it feels homely and I love the community feel that our centre has.

I am proud to have this opportunity to be part of the AppleSeed family and to be working alongside our amazing team of teachers, children and families.

Kia Ora. Mike and Monique Hollows are the proud owners of AppleSeed Educare, Early Learning Centre and you’ll see us regularly at the Centre. Mike comes from a financial markets background, specializing in Treasury but these days is multitasking as the CEO & maintenance man at AppleSeed and Monique is from an administration and sports education background and is the centre manager.

Born and raised in Auckland we live locally and have been married for 30 years. We have two children, Grace 28, Lewis 26, a dog – Cookie Monster and a cat –  Pretty.

Mike is a keen fisherman, loves most sports and has a passion for live music, Monique loves all sports and has coached school netball at all age group levels for many years.

We are very proud of the AppleSeed Team and are passionate about our community. We are excited to watch your children grow and learn in our nurturing, happy environment.

Hello everyone, my name is Diane (Di) and I am the centre’s in house cook. Early in my career I spent over 12 years in the kitchen professionally so I am very experienced and passionate about all aspects about food and nutrition. My creativity then lead me into the world of interior design where I spent eight years designing and fitting out both commercial and residential spaces.

More recently, though I have been working in retail, specialising in fitting children’s shoes; general foot health from babies through to teen agers.

I am married and have one son who is in year 9 at Mt Albert Grammar. My husband and I have lived locally for 20 years and love Sandringham and the surrounding neighborhoods.

My family and I are passionate about music, travel and other cultures.