Within the Student Support Faculty at Cashmere High School, the counselling department and health centre directly support student wellbeing on a day-to-day basis. The work of our staff in these departments is a crucial element in ensuring our students are equipped with the right skills to make the most of their learning experience.

Health Centre at Cashmere High School

The school clinic is a busy hub within our student office with a registered nurse on duty from 9-4 pm Monday to Friday. It is a self-referral clinic that students can access during school hours for advice or treatment for health problems and medical conditions.

Whanau can contact the clinic by calling the school Health Clinic at ext. 320, or by emailing - nurses@cashmere.school.nz. Whanau are also welcome to drop into the clinic when they are in the student office.

The clinic offers a wide range of services that include:

• Immediate First Aid and assessment of illness at school
• A Physiotherapist from Barrington Physio also provides a free consultation clinic on Wednesday lunchtime.
• ACC referrals including for X-rays
• The Nurses are also registered to provide emergency contraception and give advice. They also give dispensing of regular medications to students who need it

Nurse Profile: Anne Ogivile

Annie has been in her role as a School Registered Nurse for Cashmere High School since 2008. Annie is

an alumnus of Cashmere High School 1975- 1978. She worked closely with the counsellor Enid Hardie to introduce the first Nurse clinics for students here, a new concept at the time. Annie had a specialist role in adolescent health within the PHN service before travel and teaching English led her offshore. A life highlight in 1997, was volunteering at the Missionaries of Charity House in Varanasi, India- founded by Mother Teresa.

A career highlight was employment for 5 years as a Consulate Nurse in the British Consulate General in

Istanbul, Türkiye. In her 16 years at Cashmere High School Annie has developed the busy School Health Clinic to provide a comprehensive nursing service for students, and now job shares the role with her friend and colleague Fay Manning. Serving the Cashmere High School community with ‘never a dull moment’ has been a huge privilege.

Nurse Profile: Fay Manning

Fay has been at Cashmere High School for nearly 3 years sharing the nursing role with Annie, her longtime friend. Fay’s nearly 40-year nursing career has been mainly spent within a hospital environment but she has had many roles within this setting. She was a midwife so worked in maternal health, delivery suite and NNU. Medical and surgical nursing and the last few years within the Stroke ward at Burwood Hospital.

Fay expanded her hospital experience in 2000 and with her husband helped run a hospital in Bolivia, South America for a mission agency. With her 3 young children, this work brought many adventures, babies delivered by torchlight, the family van doubling as an ambulance, learning Spanish and trying to stretch a non-existent budget.

Fay brings with her nursing experience, wisdom, but also “Mum “qualities which often are just as necessary.

Counselling Department at Cashmere High School

Cashmere High School has three full-time counsellors within the department, who work collaboratively with the Heads of School and an extensive range of external agencies to provide comprehensive pastoral support to enhance student wellbeing. The Counsellors are an integral part of the learning process and ensure students are discreetly supported, to allow them to make the most of their learning opportunities.

Most students seen by the Counsellors here at Cashmere are self-referred. Our mission is to keep reducing potential waiting times for students to access the service to a minimum. In time we hope to be able to build some extra guidance capacity and are regularly looking at ways to ensure we operate effectively and more efficiently.

We always endeavour to include parents in our work, but it is a professional counselling service, therefore we respect confidentiality unless the student gives consent to include others or there is a serious risk of harm.

Counsellor Profiles

HOD of Guidance - Dai Williams

Kia Ora tātou. I am Dai (David) Williams and delighted to have been recently appointed Head of Guidance at CHS. I have been an educator since 1990, spending 26 years as a teacher and Dean before moving into Guidance. Born and raised in Wrexham North Wales, I taught in the UK for 20 years before relocating to New Zealand with my Wife and 3 children in 2009. Indeed my eldest daughter attended Cashmere High School and it was an amazing launch pad for her subsequent successful law career. I previously worked at St Bede’s College for 13 years where I taught and held positions of responsibility, including being the Director of Boarding 2017- 2022. Last year I was Head of Guidance at Shirley Boys High School.

I am passionate about my craft, especially supporting young people’s mental health always aim to be relatable to make students feel welcome and well-supported. I aim to keep building up a strong and responsive Guidance faculty at CHS, one that supports and serves its community well. In time, I hope to develop extra capacity and ensure students continue to be supported in a timely, proactive manner. I have both a full teaching practising certificate and I am a full member of NZAC.

Counsellor - Jaime Evans

Jaime is new to the counselling team, having just started this year after completing my Bachelor of Social Work with Honours through the University of Canterbury. I am registered with the Social Workers Registration Board. My passion for working with young people, particularly in the mental health space, comes from a lived understanding of the benefits that providing a safe space can offer during some of the most difficult experiences in adolescence. I ensure to always work in a way that is relaxed, open-minded, and on the young person’s level. sessions are always conducted with a client-led approach, using evidence-based modalities. Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my partner, friends and family, creating art, and enjoying the outdoors. My partner and I have recently bought a house out in Leeston, and the quiet of the countryside is where I feel most at peace. Before entering into social work, I spent some time travelling and working overseas, which is one of my most treasured experiences. I truly believe that every young person I meet holds so much insight and potential, which is reflected in the genuine care that I hold towards them.

Counsellor - Shanna Jenner

Hello, my name is Shanna, I have been working as a counsellor at CHS for two years. I am married to Luke who is a team leader at Te Puna Wai O Tuhinapo Youth Justice Residence. We are proud parents to 3 young people 19 and 17 who have left CHS and a 16-year-old. I am a registered Social Worker who has completed postgraduate study to specialise in mental health and addictions. My interest in mental health stems from my own personal experience and generational trauma. In prior roles, I have worked as a clinical social worker within Specialist Mental Health Services and in the community within an early intervention capacity with families whose socioeconomic and family situations render them vulnerable. I love working with youth. I find them both refreshing and a challenge and I think it is a privilege to be able to support them at such a pivotal time of their lives. I practise using evidence-based modalities which I believe is vital given the growing complexities of our student’s presentations. I pride myself on my skills in building rapport, authenticity, use of humour and most importantly empathy. Connecting, allowing students to feel heard and empowering rangatahi by equipping them with tools that they can utilise now and in the future are key to my approach.