We have 5 new staff joining us this year. We welcome them to our TGHS Whānau!

MRS PATRICIA MOORE - Teacher of French Yr 9-12 and Social Studies Yr 9

Tēnā koutou, katoa, Ko Ngapuhi, Nga Ruahine me Ngāti Airani oku Iwi

Ko Patricia Moore tōku ingoa

Bonjour! I was born and spent my early years in Rotorua, steeped in a mix of Maori and Irish culture.

At boarding school, in Auckland, I began to learn French, at much the same age as the Year 9 students who sit in my classroom at Timaru Girls’ High School today.

My first teaching job was in Te Taitokerau, North Auckland. At the time, there was a great need for teachers of Te Reo Maori, and that soon became my main teaching subject. For the next 12 years, I taught Te Reo at Wellington Girls’ College, Te Kura Pounamu (Correspondence School) Wellington High School and St Patrick’s College, Wellington, sometimes with French as a supporting subject.

A move to Melbourne in 1998 took me back to teaching French, mainly in girls’ schools. Further study and time spent in France and French Polynesia during those years strengthened my knowledge of the language and culture.

Last year, I returned to South Canterbury, with my husband, to our little slice of paradise on his family farm in Waitohi. We have four sons and one daughter, two grandsons and one granddaughter. Sadly, only the youngest son has seen the light and moved back home to Aotearoa New Zealand.

When I’m not in the classroom, you’ll find me in the garden, at the beach, or writing travel articles, educational resources and young adults’ fiction in French and English. My first few weeks teaching Year 9 to 12 French and Year 9 Social Studies have been busy but most enjoyable and I look forward to the rest of my year at Timaru Girls’ High School.

Merci

Patricia Moore

MS HINEMOA GREENAWAY - 10GA Form teacher, Yr 9-12 Māori and Yr 9 English

Tēnā koutou katoa,

Ko Hinemoa Greenaway tōku ingoa, nō Ngati Tūwharetoa, nō Tainui, nō Ngāti Maniapoto, nō Ngāti Tūtemohuta.

I grew up in Nelson then moved north to Wellington where I studied Education specializing in Te Reo Māori me ōna Tikanga. I am really excited to be part of the team at Timaru Girls High School teaching Te Reo Māori and English.

My fiancé Craig and I have four children between us and have not long moved into our new home on a lifestyle block just out of Pleasant Point. We also have two beautiful Newfoundland dogs who are very much a part of our whānau.

Outside of Kura, I like to keep active, and living with two keen cyclists often gets me out on the bike. Most recently I ran three half-marathons in 3 months and have another one coming up soon. This is a great way to enjoy the beautiful scenery we are so lucky to have here in Aotearoa.

I also really enjoy mountain hiking, one of my favorites would be running the Mt Tongariro Alpine crossing which takes me back to my iwi of Ngāti Tūwharetoa. My Partner Craig and I also recently climbed Big Mount Peel on New Year’s Eve. We were very lucky with the weather and were able to experience the stunning view as well as Aoraki/Mt Cook.

Although I enjoy the outdoors, my main sport is Squash, and you will often find me on the court and more so this season as I will be training for Nationals later in the year.

I have been teaching for nearly a decade in both bi-lingual and primary education. It is a profession where we have the ability to impact young people’s lives and this is a big reason why I am so passionate about teaching. Education is more than what is taught in the classroom. It is about ensuring the students have the much-needed skills required to be successful in life. I am motivated to build positive relationships and to provide a supportive environment where students can learn and grow.

Nō reira, ko au tēnei, ko tēnei au.

MRS SANGEETA NARAYAN - 10 Konini Form teacher and teacher of Maths

Kia ora,

My name is Sangeeta Narayan and I am teaching Mathematics.

I'm originally from Fiji and moved to New Zealand early this year with my partner and two kids who are 6 and 4 years old. I have been teaching in Fiji for past ten years and have taught at five different secondary schools including both rural and urban.

I have settled in well with my family here in Timaru and enjoy being part of Timaru Girls' High School while our kids are in love with their new schools.

Our aim is to explore the South Island as much as we can especially in the weekends and really looking forward to getting to know the traditions and values of the community.

MS SUE SULLIVAN - Teacher of Social Studies Yr 9 & 10, Tourism and ESOL

I was born in Timaru and enjoyed horse riding and music. 

My gentle grandfather who lived with us had come from Ireland at the age of 19 and still paid played a tin flute and bred horses, with a love of animals that he passed on to me. I remember his teaching me how to flick bread crumbs carefully for the seagulls so they didn't get startled.

I was sent to music in my younger years and to elocution, not aware that it was it was as if a higher hand was guiding my pathway even then because they formed a good base for the language life that would shape my life. 

At Waimataitai an extraordinary grammar teacher, Mr Dickson, added to my kete and at Timaru Girls' High, Miss Stark (Latin) and Miss Gibb (English and Music) added to the gifts that enriched my future.

Although I left school and sailed straight to Italy and Perugia where I found a life long love of Italy and Italians, it was after a B.A. at Canterbury University that I went to France and found a 'petit ami' who was to become my closest friend until his passing a year ago. I have to say 'l'amour ' it's one of the best ways of teaching language.

My ten years or so as Lecturer in Germany was followed by a return to NZ and care of my aging mum who passed away in 2017 just short of 100. 

I taught during that time in Christchurch finding a new joy in studying neuroscience for language learning. Now I'm very happy to be back in my home town at my old school. Scientia potestas est!

Mrs ROXANNE ROONEY -  Assistant LAH and Teacher of Mathematics  

Kia Ora,

I have recently moved from working at Geraldine High School where I was the Head of Mathematics and a Physical Education and Health teacher. I have worked in Education for the past 10 years now, with a stint previously here at Timaru Girls' High School. Alongside working in teaching I spent 6 years as a volunteer Ambulance First Responder in Timaru and Temuka on Friday evenings which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I have a charity which I founded in Zimbabwe, Africa where I have supported a remote village since 2016. This has involved raising funds to build, supply and maintain school and community buildings and resources. I have learnt a huge amount about myself through this experience and the support from the South Canterbury community has been incredible along the way. I am very proud of the thousands of children we have supported to get a better education so far. This year, I visited the village and took my two young boys (1 and 3 years old) with me to immerse them into the culture.

I am thoroughly enjoying being back in my old stomping ground and teaching and guiding all of the incredible young women here today.

MRS SARAH JUBB - Receptionist / School Administrator

My family and I are new to Timaru, we moved down from Woodville (Near Palmerston North) in November last year as my husband got a job down here.

We have 2 children - a 10 year old boy and a nearly 4 year old girl and we have spent the summer exploring the wider region. We love camping, bush walks, fishing and bike riding and we have found some incredible spots in South Canterbury to do all these things, and we are looking forward to exploring more.

I have worked in admin and customer service for most of my career, but never at a school before and so far I am loving it.

I look forward to meeting more of the school community over the coming months.

Mrs Roxanne Rooney - Assistant Learning Area Head (LAH) of Maths and 10 Kōnini Form teacher.  More information to come in next newsletter.