Anne-Marie Hanning Teschemakers 1976-77

St Thomas's 1978-79

You may wonder why an old girl from Teschemakers and St Thomas's is appearing in a St Kevin's newsletter. It's because I am 'family'. With the amalgamation of the three schools, starting in 1978, St Kevin's became the Heritage school for Catholic secondary education in North Otago. In essence, our histories merged, the Dominican and Christian brothers' values united, and educational opportunities were enhanced for students. Veritas to you all!

The first time I wore my Teschemakers uniform, green and gold, with hat and gloves, I was so excited for what was ahead of me. As the eldest and only girl in a family of 6 who had grown up reading Pippy Longstocking, Heidi and the Naughtiest Girl in the School series, I just knew it was going to be an adventure. When my parents asked me if I would be willing to go to boarding school in order for the family to shift to Middlemarch for Dad's Principal's job I never hesitated.

Three brothers, John, Justin, and Chris, attended St Kevins while we were in Middlemarch, and Obs (John) is back teaching there, having previously run the hostel. I have had nieces, nephews, and cousins attend St Kevins in later years, and we have even had a marriage bring two SKC families together (Hanning and Fox).

I loved being at Teschemakers, as many of you will have loved your time at St Kevin's and the sense of belonging it gives to you. Being a boarder meant that even 48 years later old girls still meet up regularly. We have celebrated many of life's milestones and supported each other during the tough times. In fact, during the second Covid lockdown, a wee parcel arrived in some of our mailboxes from Jeni Connelly (nee Stowell). In it was a face-mask made from leftover Teschemakers summer uniform fabric. (Photo 2 Marrie McKenzie (nee Davidson) & I meeting up) There is truth in the old saying we frequently wrote into autograph books back then: Make new friends but keep the old. Those are silver, these are gold.

When meeting up at reunions, the first thing often heard is your nickname. Mine happened to be Scruff because try as I might, I seemed to constantly be running from one place to the next and invariably ended up looking slightly tardy. Photo 3, me (Scruff) and Carolyn Bleach (Fluff) looking like we just got pulled through a gorse bush backwards)

Life at Teschemakers was a mixture of routine and freedom. Living out in the country our boundary was naturally restricted so to overcome this participation in EVERYTHING was a given. No one opted out in those days. Sports, Music, Drama, and Speech became vital ways to secure your spot on the bus into town. These trips were pre cellphone or iPods so we sang - all the time.

There was a mixture of rounds, production favourites, Abba, Fleetwood Mac, John Denver, Beach Boys and the rugby and shearing shed songs from Central Otago. I still sing my heart out in the car when driving, and I can recall every word of our old school song.

In those days, we had to clean the school and dorms, and they were all inspected. Punishments (called consequences these days) often involved cleaning tasks and could actually end up being quite fun, e.g., having to oil the floors with rags on your feet and skidding up and down corridors at a pace. The scariest job was having to clean the library solo with the eyes of Mr. and Mrs. Teschemakers' portraits following you everywhere.

Special events were the Eistedfords, Productions (Godspell and It's Cool in the Furnace), Swimming and athletic sports, Danseys Pass picnics, walks to Kakanui, and best of all, St Patrick's Day, which meant special food, mufti, seniors' parade, and the granting of three wishes to each class. Our class only ever used one wish, and it was to go into town to watch Star Wars. One of the senior classes managed to make it to the Kenny Rogers concert.

It might have been small (approximately 120 girls), but Teschemakers provided a sound education devoid of too many choices but a good, solid base. It did, however, only provide for girls in Forms 3-6, after which girls either started work or went home to complete their final year of education elsewhere. It was the times, and the times have changed.

I still recall Mother Constance's arrival from Dunedin to talk to the nuns about the school closure and the consequent amalgamation with St Thomas's - our rival school. It was a very upsetting time for us. Many families opted for their girls to return home and to other schools however a busload of us remained by 1978 to begin the transition. It did not take us long to establish new friendships, overcome our rivalries ( helped by playing on the same team now) and realise the benefits of having friends who were day pupils. I have fond memories of the hospitality provided at the Devlin's, Freeman's, Thomas's, Griffin's and Brady's.

Sr Elizabeth Mackie was the Principal during the first transition stage, and I know she had to deal with a lot of challenges from all angles. One of those challenges came as a result of the after-party for The Orange Blossom Inn production with SKC, St Thomas's and Teschemakers. A clever initiative to get all three schools interacting positively with each other. It worked, but the end result was that the SKC boys who had imbibed at the party were 'gated' until the end of term; however, the same board ordered the expulsion of the girls from Teschemakers who were involved. Sr Elizabeth told us she was having none of that and went in to bat for us. The outcome was that we were not to go to ballroom dancing lessons or the ball. When it came time for the ball, the gender balance was so imbalanced that Cinderella x10 did go to the ball after all! Brilliant.

 

By the end of 1978, we were boarding in town at the Balmoral Street hostel (gone now) and walking daily to and from the hostel to St Thomas's - rain, hail or snow. There were no longer any Dominican sisters running the boarding. No more hot dinner and pudding at lunchtime, but we did get a wholesome packed lunch and plenty of afternoon tea. Does this sound familiar?

My final year of school was at Moreau College, where Aileen Coxon (Echoff aka Cocky) and I both walked in together on the first day of term in 1980. It was huge in our eyes - 400 girls. We quickly made friends again while also plotting ways to get back up to Oamaru to catch up with our school 'family'. Softball and netball interschool matches were organised, and we definitely played.

My life after school, which is now unbelievably 43 years ago, led me down the education path. I graduated from Otago University with a BEd and a Diploma in Teaching from Dunedin Teachers College. I have taught primary and secondary, been a Deputy Principal (Primary) and HOD (Secondary), worked in the Behaviour Team for Group Special Education, and worked as a Resource Teacher in Learning and Behaviour.

My partner, John Fiso, who I had met at university, was a Wellingtonian, and it's where we have made our home. We both taught in various schools, primary and secondary, Catholic and State schools. We now actually own a school, Whitby Collegiate - long story- which is a privately owned non denominational faith based Year 7-13 school. I call myself a project manager, aka "Girl Friday", for our businesses, including hospitality, wellness and property development. We have a 23-year-old son, Ioane, who lives in Christchurch and graduated earlier this year in mechanical engineering and aerospace.

Like many of my school friends, we have raised our children and been involved in our communities. We live all over New Zealand and throughout the world. There are some absolutely remarkable accomplishments, stories, and role models amongst this group of women whom we can be proud of and learn from. For many who married, surnames changed, and with the parting of ways for many girls after Form 4, some have been lost along the way, but they are not forgotten. Class photos are poured over in catch ups and attempts made to reconnect. New stories emerge each time, and reconnections are relished. Without an alumni register or our schools to return to, we have relied on word of mouth, the Old Friends site, Facebook and our own networks. Many of the archives from Teschemakers and St Thomas's are being held at Oamaru Library. I am very grateful to Kara Cox and Jo Walshe for their invitations to join the SKC alumni and for recognising our unique position within the heritage of St Kevins. I look forward to attending the Centennial in 2026 with many of my cohorts.

Wherever the years may find us, whatever the years may bring, we will always cling to our college and her praises ever sing.

For the record:

Teschemakers opened in 1912 and amalgamated with St Thomas's in 1978.

St Thomas's opened in 1913 and, after amalgamating with Teschemakers, began sharing some senior classes with St Kevins in 1980. In 1983, it amalgamated with St Kevins.

St Kevins opened in 1927. In 1983, it became the Heritage School.

Article added: Monday 29 July 2024