The staff celebrated St Jenness Day with an exhibition of Ms Riethmaier's life at Columba College.

The staff surprised Ms Riethmaier with a timeline of photographs and anecdotes to celebrate her incredible contribution and commitment to Columba over the past 34 years. It was clear how much Ms Riethmaier is respected, admired and loved and that she will be very sorely missed by all. 

The following is a testimonial, written by Mrs Duthie:

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

Re: Jenness Robertson Riethmaier

Jenness Riethmaier entered Columba College in Term 1, 1986 as the HOD Languages and remained at the College until her retirement from the position of Deputy Principal at the end of 2020. Throughout her time here she maintained an excellent record of attendance and conduct and participated enthusiastically in wider school life.

Jenness is a conscientious, impassioned teacher who inspired her students with her love of languages, especially German, and her life wisdom, gained from her experiences as a beginning teacher in Glendowie and from her time working for the Ministry of Housing in Toronto. She is independent, reasonably well-organised and builds lasting and positive relationships with her students and staff. Jenness always shares her ideas generously and carefully considers the needs of others.

Alongside her commitment to her teaching, Jenness made a full contribution to the co-curricular life of the school. She is a very enthusiastic skier and is responsible for Columba College Year 9 ski camp, a highlight of many students’ time at Columba. She is a well-known gourmet foodie, providing staff and students alike with many delectable treats, as well as being an obsessive book buyer, a love of Annabel Langbein’s “Free Range Cook in the City” being particularly evident. She is an unflagging conversationalist and hemming expert passing on these life skills to many of the students during her time at Columba.

Her unfailingly optimistic outlook, considerate manner and unrivalled sense of humour enable her to quickly and warmly establish a rapport with people of all ages. She has served as teacher, head of department, dean, deputy principal and acting principal during her tenure at Columba College. She always goes the extra mile and can be seen offering service at school dances, formals, school camps, notably in Wellington, encouraging from the sidelines at sports games and promoting the Arts. Her endurance and stamina are legendary.

With her retirement a fount of institutional knowledge will leave the College. Rather than ‘ask Jenness’ about those unwritten mores and codes that schools have, we will have to resort to Google.

Jenness is kind, courteous and thoughtful. She assumes responsibility well and is reliable, trustworthy and honest. Jenness shows initiative as appropriate and brings joie de vivre to all she undertakes. We wish her well for her retirement and every success for the next phase of her education and for her future.