It is with happiness for Christine’s future plans and sadness in having to say good-bye that we farewell Christine from her permanent position teaching Latin and Gateway at Logan Park High School. Christine came to our school as the Latin teacher in 2002, but her contribution has been much wider than this. She has also given much quality service, as the coordinator, teacher and establisher of the Gateway programme and as a long serving dedicated and very caring Toroa Group teacher.

It is has been a privilege to have taught alongside Christine in the Languages Department. As a colleague she is a splendid team player who as a positive helpful presence and who is always ready to be innovative and responsive to student need. Her organisation has always been fantastic and this has made it a smooth transition for her classes to the new Latin teacher, Ms Maeve Lonie.

It is her ability and passion as a Latin teacher that has arguably made the biggest difference to the lives of all the students who have had the good fortune to be taught by such a committed and kind educator. They will remember her calm and supportive classroom, her Roman feasts, the Classics quizzes, her innovative communicative approach to learning Latin, the insights she has given students into the worlds of Greek and Roman legend and culture and the depth of knowledge they have gained from the Latin they have learned which has so positively impacted on their general learning about language and English.

So while we may be fortunate to see Christine from time to time around the school as a reliever, it is time to say “Vale” to Christine in her permanent roles in our school. We are delighted that she has plans to spend more time with family, to travel more and to be able to spend more time enjoying her hobbies, her friends and her gardens. Love and best wishes to you Christine in this new chapter of your life.