It is with a heavy heart that we farewell a long serving and loyal member of the Christchurch Girls’ High teaching staff.

Liz McDowell has appeared in various iterations within our school community – as a former student; as a teacher and middle manager in the Social Sciences learning area; and as a talented and innovative e-learning co-ordinator, and architect of the junior curriculum project.

Liz joined the Social Sciences team in a part-time capacity in 2005, and made an immediate impact. Her deep knowledge and passion for the Classical world captured the imagination of her students. Her use of stunning visual images, art works, and texts complement her richly woven stories of politics and culture in another era. The witty and often scandalous anecdotes of the lives of early Greeks and Romans would leave the girls in stitches, and as colleagues we have relished the opportunity to visit her classroom and be part of the audience.

This determination to bring ancient history to life saw Liz lead school trips to Greece and Italy in 2013 and 2016. As they wove their way through ancient archaeological sites our students immersed themselves in the stories of times long past. They ran the track at Olympia, swam in the Mediterranean and Aegean seas, marvelled at the art in national museums, dined at the home of a pizza master in Naples, and boosted the European retail sales of Zara, Sephora, and MAC cosmetics! But they were doing what Liz had envisioned – living history.

Liz has done an impressive job of balancing her career with family life and interests. Her son Asher spent many of his formative years scootering along the halls of the old Art block, and we have been entertained on many an occasion by the brilliant stories of family adventures at the beach, in the surf, and in the bush. Liz’s energy, brilliant sense of humour and engaging personality are among her most endearing qualities. She has the ability to bring out the best in people, to make them feel valued, respected, and appreciated for their skills, their interests, and even their oddities!

Liz is fiercely intelligent, astute, articulate, and self-motivated. We have all benefitted from her impressive knowledge of and passion for educational pedagogy. Liz has had a spell as Acting Assistant Principal, she has forged the way with numerous professional development initiatives for staff, and has supported the Social Sciences faculty as Assistant HOLA and HOD Classical Studies. She has been a long-time NZQA contractor, a senior member of the Classics Teachers’ Association, and a contributor and presenter at various national conferences. On leave from school this year, Liz has been a Ministry of Education accredited facilitator of digital fluency and digital technologies with Cyclone, working alongside educators in dozens of schools, helping them to make sense of all that lies ahead.

It came as no surprise to those of us who know and work with Liz that she would eventually head into the world of senior school leadership. It is a bittersweet moment for us as we congratulate Liz on her appointment to the role of Deputy Principal at Avonside Girls’ High School, for their gain is our loss.

Liz, we know you will thrive in your new role. We thank you for the tremendous contribution you have made to our learning area and to this school, for your loyalty and your friendship; and we wish you all the very best for the exciting and challenging journey that lies ahead.

Sara Hornsey, HOLA Social Sciences