Knowledge is Power - Scientia Potestas Est - Mā te Mātauranga te Mana
CURRENT ACHIEVEMENTS
TIMARU GIRLS' HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS THRIVING IN OUR COMMUNITY
First Solo Flight
Rebecca Squire
Completes her first solo flight
Rebecca Squire, the only girl in the Flying NZ Young Eagles programme run through the South Canterbury Aero Club, only took up flying after the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 and funds it by working in a nail salon.
The 17 year-old Year 13 Timaru Girls’ High School student said she just wanted to try something different.
“I had a trial flight last May and loved it. So I started learning.”
Squire was 16 when she purchased a package of 15 lessons through the South Canterbury Aero Club to start her off, she has now completed 17 hours flying and hoped to complete the required 50 to get her pilot’s licence by the end of the year.
Student Finds Her Voice Through Music
Rongomai Unahi
SINGER AND SONGWRITER
A Timaru high school student deeply hurt by racism has found her voice through music inspired by the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.
Rongomai started writing the lyrics and music a week ago as a task for her arts class as other students chose topics such as Covid-19 and relationships.
She has played the piano for three years and sings, and in the past has written about family, her culture and love.
The lyrics of her latest song are emotive and powerful, the first words being, "We didn't choose our colour, now we are".
School to Skies
Kristie Goodsir & Jessica Davidson
ACADEMIC, CREATIVE NEW ZEALAND
Over the school holidays our Head of School, Kristie Goodsir, and our Deputy Head of School, Jessica Davidson were selected out of 200 applicants to participate in the School to Skies programme at the Whenuapai Air Force base above Auckland.
This was a 6 day intensive camp aimed at year 13 girls. 38 girls across the country took part in the course.
Kristie and Jessica’s account of the week is given below:
"We both definitely learnt a huge amount, about what life is actually like in the military and also about ourselves and our future. Both of us plan on joining the Airforce and are super excited for what’s ahead. It’s so crazy because if our careers adviser never told us about School to Skies we would never have thought of it as a possible career path, so we really encourage girls to look at a variety of opportunities they have available to them after high school. School to Skies was the most incredible experience and we are both truly grateful to have been a part of it.”
Lockdown Poetry Competition Winner
Francesca Gould
POETRY COMPETITION WINNER
Poems about the halt to normal life, silence on the streets and spending time with a new kitten were just some themes shared by young South Canterbury people in a writing competition describing lockdown.
The Timaru District Libraries Lockdown Poetry Competition received 61 entries, a social media post by the library says.
The competition invited children and teenagers in the region to to express how they felt and what they experienced during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Timaru Girls' High School student Francesca Gould, 18, won the 16 years to 18 years category of the competition with her piece titled, Peace in Chaos.
MIGHTY OAKS FROM TINY ACORNS GROW
A glimpse at some of our past pupils' successes
From Dux to Distinguished Fellow
Alex Frankpitt
MEDICAL DOCTOR AND ANAESTHETIST
Alex attended TGHS from 2001 to 2005 and was Dux as well as head of the excellent Ngaio House in 2005. She went south to study Medicine at the University of Otago, completing her training at Christchurch Hospital. After graduating with Distinction in 2011, she worked as a junior doctor at Rotorua Hospital for several years, taking a few breaks to travel overseas. She moved back to the South Island in 2015 to commence training in Anaesthesia and has been working in this specialty and Intensive Care at Christchurch and Dunedin Hospitals in recent years. She passed her Part One Fellowship exams in 2017 with Merit, placing her second equal in Australasia. Once her training is complete, she hopes to secure a position as a specialist in the South Island.
High Points for Humanitarian
Christine Jensen-Burke
LAWYER + WORLD CLASS MOUNTAINEER
Christine is the first Australasian woman to reach the summit of K2 (2nd Highest). Lhotse (4th), Makalu (5th), Annapurna (10th) Gasherbrum 1 (11th). Christine’s home base is Sydney Australia. She was born in Timaru and attended Timaru Girls High School. Chris is passionate about helping and raising awareness for the following charitable and community organisations: the Eggtober Foundation, the Australian Himalayan Foundation. She also undertakes and assists with private charitable and educational initiatives in Nepal.
Chris is the 5th NZ and 10th Australian woman to climb Mt Everest. She is also the first Australian or New Zealand woman to complete “Seven Summits” (Cartensz List) and the 1st NZ woman and 4th Australian woman to complete “Seven Summits” (Kozzie List).
In 2013 Chris became one of only a small handful of climbers to reach the summit of 4 x 8,000m peaks in a 12-month period when she reached Lhotse, G1, G2, and Manaslu. She followed these climbs up by climbing 3 x 8,000m peaks in 2014 (Makalu, K2 and Cho-Oyu)
Specialist Lawyer returns home as Senior Associate
Georgina Hamiliton
ENGINEER + LAWYER
Georgina attended Timaru Girls’ High between 1990 and 1994. She went on to study Natural Resources Engineering and Law at the University of Canterbury. She was admitted to the bar and commenced practice as a solicitor specialising in resource management and environmental law at Auckland law firm Chapman Tripp in 2003. After practising law in Auckland for 9 years, Georgina returned to Timaru with her husband and young family. She has been practising in Timaru as a resource management law specialist since 2012 and is currently employed at local law firm Gresson Dorman and Co as a Senior Associate.
Performing Artist’s Dramatic Rise
Laura Bunting
ACTRESS
Laura attended Timaru Girls High between 2001- 2005 and was Head of the Arts in her final year. She was awarded many prizes and cups for her singing ability and contribution to music and drama during her time here. She was the driving force behind her House Choir resulting in this Choir winning the Interhouse Choir competition on more than one occasion. Laura was the Leader of our Chorale for two years and played the lead part of Narrator in our 125-year Jubilee production of Joseph
Laura holds a Bachelor of Performing Arts from NASDA (NZ).
Theatre and TV credits:
Assassins, (Hayes Theatre), Katie Brown in Calamity Jane (One-Eyed Man productions, Hayes Theatre and Australian tour), Daisy in Sideshow (One-Eyed Man productions, Hayes Theatre) Elphaba in Wicked (GFO, Australian tour); Mary Poppins in Mary Poppins (Court Theatre NZ); Maureen in RENT (Highway Run Productions, Hayes Theatre); Maria Elena in Buddy (Australian tour); Mame (Neglected Musicals, Hayes Theatre); Atomic (Australian workshop production) The New Black (The Follies Company); and Cops: LAC (Channel 9). Also, a musician and songwriter, Laura was a finalist on season 1 of The Voice on ‘Team Joel’ (Channel 9).
Cabaret/concerts:
Painted from Memory (Adelaide & QLD Cabaret Festivals/Sydney Recital Hall); Rock Rhapsody: Queen in Concert (Cruise ships). Awards: Nominations for a Sydney Theatre award and a Glug award for Best actress in a musical (Sideshow); Glug nomination for Best Supporting actress
(Calamity Jane).
From Art History to Highest Distinction
Charlotte McKay
ACADEMIC, CREATIVE NEW ZEALAND
Charlotte McKay was the 2012 Head of School and Dux at TGHS. She was accepted into the Robertson Scholars Leadership Program shortly after graduating and completed her degree at Duke University in the United States on a four-year, full scholarship. After picking up Art History late in her TGHS studies, she went on to major in the subject at Duke and graduated with highest distinction. She intends to pursue a career working with museums and cultural institutions and is currently based in Wellington working for Creative New Zealand.
Occupying the Crease culminates in Top Honours
Haidee Tiffen
WHITE FERNS CRICKET COACH
Haidee attended Timaru Girls from 1993-1997 and was Head of School in her final year. She was a member of our Champion cricket team in her time at Timaru Girls’, which won the National Secondary School Girl’s Championships, the Yoplait Cup, in 1996 and 1997. Haidee was also a member of the school’s 1st XI Hockey team, senior A Basketball team and played rugby and softball to mention a few. Haidee graduated with a Bachelor of Physical Education from Canterbury and taught at various high schools in Christchurch and Auckland.
Haidee was selected for the New Zealand White Ferns Women’s Cricket Team and went on to represent New Zealand in 117 One Day Internationals and two Test Matches and captained this team in her later years.
She was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2011 New Year’s Honours for services to Women’s cricket and she was also the Head Coach of the White Fern’s Women’s Cricket team.
