Staff Profile: Rachel Theobald, Year 1 Teacher

Staff Profile: Rachel Theobald, Year 1 Teacher Each week we will feature a member of staff across all areas of the school including teachers, admin staff, support staff and more, to get to know members of our school family a little better. Our profile this week is Rachel Theobald, Year 1 Teacher. Each week we will feature a member of staff across all areas of the school including teachers, admin staff, support staff and more, to get to know members of our school family a little better. Our profile this week is Rachel Theobald, a teacher from the Year 1 team.

Kia Ora! Ko Rachel Theobald taku ingoa. Hello, my name is Rachel Theobald, and I have had the privilege of teaching year 1 students at BIS Abu Dhabi for the past year and a half.  

For those who don’t know me, I am the ‘Kiwi’ teacher at school, who may sound Australian to the untrained ear, but I am actually from the beautiful New Zealand. I was born and raised in a small town and was brought up in a culture that doesn’t wear shoes often and loves to go exploring in nature.  I am passionate about music and have been slowly making my way towards rock stardom by learning the guitar, piano, drums and flute. Psychology is an area that fascinates me, as it relates to so much we do when working and interacting with students every day.  

My passion for teaching started at an early age, as I played teachers with my friends, and made my younger sister complete homework, before she was allowed to play with me. 

This progressed on over the years, as I gained my Bachelor of Teaching degree through the University of Waikato and begun teaching in a small country school with 300 students. It was a great adventure teaching with cows in the back paddock and wearing gumboots every day, but after 4 years I was ready for a new challenge. 

I started teaching at a school that worked in ‘Hubs’ or ‘Modern Learning Environments’. I taught alongside three other teachers to create learning experiences for the 100 5-7 year olds in our learning space. This new way of thinking and learning was fascinating, and challenged how we used our environment, resources and time. 

During this time, my husband, Martyn Theobald and I got married in the gorgeous island of Rarotonga. It was on our honeymoon that we made a pact to live the best life possible. It was time to go travelling and take on some new adventures. 

Two years later, here we are! 

I am loving spending every day getting to know the children at our school, singing and playing guitar with my class, and finding new and exciting ways to make learning fun.  

Rachel Theobald