Room 18 Teacher Bio

Kia ora. Welcome to Room 18’s website.  

My name is Ross Trafford.  I was born in Gisborne, on the sunny East Coast.  I have four brothers and we grew up on a sheep and cattle farm.  

Some of my childhood interests are still with me today.  I enjoy photography and tramping.  With friends, I’ve tramped most of the scenic Great Walks of New Zealand.  

Travelling is also another interest of mine and I enjoy filming the trips.  Eight years ago, I bought my first drone and this has now expanded to five.  I formed a New Zealand drone operators’ Facebook group and it is now the largest of it's type in N.Z., with over 7,100 members and growing.  I will be teaching interested Te Rapa students drone operating.

Going to the movies is another hobby that I really enjoy.  "Dune" and "Dune 2", both directed by Denis Villeneuve, are my favourite films. One of my favoured foods is…..a nut top ice cream!

Another career I have had was that of a forest ranger in exotic forestry, mainly logging.  

I look forward to meeting you during the school year.

Over the last few months, I have started the tricky journey of learning to operate a drone in fully Acro mode. This involves lots of practice and many crashes. For this reason, I have linked my Goggles 3 to my tiny cine whoop drone that can take the hits! 😀 So far I have broken twelve propellers and two frames. Luckily the replacement parts are not too expensive!

You can contact me at:  rtrafford@terapa.school.nz