The first day at high school can be mixed with lots of emotions.

Here are some of our year 9's felt on their first days at TGHS.

• Rose Schempers

Starting high school was very scary at the start, but after a day or so it got really easy for me. Every girl that starts here at TGHS always thinks they're going to get lost after class, but it’s not actually that bad. It turns out you can just follow your form class around, which is what I did.

The first few days are super simple, you mainly just hangout with your form class and go to check out some classes and get your timetable. On the Friday of my first week we went for a bay day at Caroline Bay. I had so much fun having challenges with my form class and going for paddle board races.

Then after a few days we had the family barbecue at school, and also athletics. All you have to do at athletics is sign up for at least three sports, and just do your best. You also get to dress up in your house colours, some people go all out with their costumes. It’s not very competitive either, most people just tend to have fun. I’ve had a great first few weeks at Timaru Girls High, everyone I’ve met has been super nice to me and I’ve made a bunch of new friends. 

• Lillian Kritzinger

All year nines were a bit afraid or unsure about what may lay ahead or who they will meet and become friends with or even how the year will go. Sharing the same anxiety as some of the year 9´s, I too was afraid about the start of high school, but Timaru Girls High has exceeded all of my exceptions. 

High school only properly started on Monday but for the year 9´s we were able to come to school three days earlier so we can get a feel for the grounds, rules and teachers. And having the year 13´s to hangout with us, guide us or tell us about their time at TGHS. There was also the school BBQ, where we had our lovely Principal Miss Hales welcome us all and explain what the year 9's can achieve this year, lots of delicious kai was served and there were a few rounds of some competitive Volleyball that even had parents interested. It was also a good opportunity where parents can meet teachers, daughters can show their family their new friends and it was a great event to meet anyone you may not have had a chance to talk to yet. And there was also the year 9's beach day where we were able to go down to the beach and have some smashing fun, we had a crack at disc-golf, hunger ball, raft building and stand-up paddle boarding. Most students have never tried the activities before or had little experience and it was great to see many people stepping out of their comfort zone and giving something new a go! The raft building was in form groups with us racing, testing and floating them at the end of the day to see which from class would win. There was lots of support for their teammates with one raft that sank, one floated only just and the other two that made it to shore, but it was all great fun!

Now that proper high school has started we all are settling into our new routines, getting used to the grounds, kids, teachers and classes. Teachers have been a great help for all us new students and the year 13´s have helped us significantly as well by helping the lost, confused or are just fun to talk to. I had such a warm welcome to Girls High, and I have made many new friends that I can see I will have for many years to come. A big thank you to Miss Grant, our year nine dean, for her guidance and advice. I am happy with my choice to come to Girls High and I am looking forward to the year ahead.

• Hollie Weir

About a week before I was about to start highschool I was really excited and nervous at the same time but it would be a big difference coming into a big school compared to my country school. I was excited because it's a new chapter in life for me and a big difference. I'll meet some new friends and annoy my big sister and make her buy some food from the canteen for me. Beach day was a fun day as I wasn't stuck in the classrooms. My form class had some good teamwork for building our raft and sadly our raft sank but we managed to come second with some big cuts up my legs in the end. Paddle boarding was fun, I got stinging eyes from the sea water, frisbee golf was a bit hard as I don't know where I'm aiming the frisbee. The barbeque dinner was good, I caught up with some friends and talked to a few teachers. Finally, I finally know where I'm going around the school, but I certainly knew where the canteen was on the first day of school.

• Hayley Tairua

These last few weeks have been a roller coaster of exciting activities, but week one was definitely the most exhilarating with the Year 9 BBQ, beach day, and the first three days at school. The beach day was by far the best activity we had in week 1. It was filled with raft building, SUP (stand up paddle boarding), hungerball, and frisbee golf. The best activity in my opinion was the raft building, because it was filled with team building, finding equipment, doing riddles, and best of all floating up to four people on them. 

The BBQs were also very fun. We got to meet the other girls in our year, eat kai and enjoy some time on the grounds. 

The first 3 days of school were very nerve wracking, but all the exciting classes we got to try and hanging out with my fellow classmates overpowered the nervousness. Getting to meet some of the teachers we may be having was really good and helped to know that there are so many people around to look after you. We got to go to many classes and try them out. Most classes were really fun and it was so exciting to meet new people.

I would like to thank everyone that helped out on our first few days and made them so smooth running.

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