Timaru High School Old Girls’ Association

Christchurch Branch Newsletter 2015

April 2015

Dear Fellow Old Girls

Hello and welcome to the 2015Newsletter and Programme for our Christchurch Branch.

Throughout the last year the Christchurch Branch of Timaru High School Old Girls’ Association continued to enjoy the company of fellow old girls with events that brought us together to celebrate that one thing we will always have in common – our school and the days we spent there.

Our AGM was held in early March at the Mary Potter Community Centre. Our guest speaker was Principal Sarah Davis who updated us on activities at both the School and the Hostel and once again we enjoyed listening to Sarah’s engaging and motivating talk and we know the School is in very good hands.

We celebrated Dessert & Coffee, disguised as “Afternoon Tea”, at Chateau-on-the-Park inMay with members enjoying delicious dessert and cake. Unfortunately we had to cancel our proposed Movie & Social evening in July; however in mid-October we enjoyed our second combined dinner with our brother school at The Cashmere Club. Once again the boys outnumbered us two-to-one but that certainly didn’t dim the pleasure of another successful evening and dinner date with “the boys”. Our final event for the 2014 calendar year was our very popular Christmas Morning Tea at Eliza’s Manor where members once again enjoyed a splendidly catered feast. During this festive event we celebrated our 80th Birthday. According to “Lively Retrospect – 1880-1980” (a book written for the School Centenary) the formation of the Christchurch Branch of Timaru High School Old Girls’ Association took place on the 14th July 1934. It certainly was a great occasion to celebrate.

We are pleased to be in a position to donate funds towards new signage for the Cain/Hassall Street corner which will be a huge asset to the School. The architectural drawings are certainly impressive and our contribution has been both welcomed and appreciated.

I was thrilled to attend a get-together by a group of our Rangiora-based members in June and we hope this group of ladies will continue to catch up with each other as well as attending our Branch events.

In early October I joinedthe Dunedin Branch in celebrating their eightieth anniversary as a Branch and enjoyed a beautiful luncheon to honour the occasion. I also attended the Ashburton AGM and luncheon in November.

As President I represented the Branch at the Senior Prizegiving at the School in November and also the Junior Prizegiving ceremony in December where I was again invited to present the “Cultural, Sports and Special” Awards for Years 9 and10. This included the presentation of our donated cup for the Top Academic Student Year 10; the top of the Junior School. Another proud moment for our Branch!

We continued the practice of also sending a birthday card on behalf of our Branch to members celebrating a significant birthday during the year. According to our records we currently have one lady over the age of 90, another 19 over 80 and others turning 80 this coming year. It is wonderful to see many of our senior ladies attending our meetings and we acknowledge their ongoing support. If you are aware of any significant occasions that should be recognised please do let your committee know as we love to remember and recognise our girls.

Our Programme for 2015 includes a mid-winter Buffet Luncheon, a Garden Walk Afternoon Tea, and another wonderful Christmas Morning Tea/Brunch at Eliza’s Manor, as well as our Afternoon Tea/AGM next March. Please put these dates in your diaries or on your calendars now and keep the Programme in a handy place so you will be ready for the reminder call from your Ringer prior to each event. If you do not want to continue receiving reminder calls, please let your Ringer know. Also, if you are no longer interested in receiving our annual newsletter and programme, please let us know as the cost of postage continues to increase.

Remember to continue saving those gold coins for the raffles at our events - they are so popular and a very helpful way of adding to our Branch finances. And if you need a ride to a function please let your Ringer know – we are here to help you.

We hope this Newsletter and Annual Programme continues to be of interest. With the cost of mailing information to members we rely on the assistance of our team of Ringers to pass additional information as it comes to hand during the year. We encourage all girls to contact their Ringer or a Committee Member for any requests for information.

A reminder to those few members paying annual memberships - these are now due for 2015. The fee is $10 for one year or $50 for a life membership. Even if you are not intending to come to an event we do ask that you please keep your sub up-to-date as the finances help us keep the Branch going and allow us to minimise or subsidise the cost of some functions.

Remember you can pay for an event, or your sub, by direct banking. The Branch bank account details are: Westpac Bank; Account #: 03 1702 0086 296 000. Please remember to identify yourself as the payee so we know who you are. The alternative is sending a cheque to our Treasurer but please remember to allow for the “up-to-three days” mail delivery deadline.

If you have any news, activities or events that you like to share with your fellow girls, let one of our Committee Members know, or contact me directly. And for those who like to know what is going on at the School these days have a look at the school website: or the School’s Facebook page.

Thank you all for your attendance and participation at our functions last year - your ongoing support is valued and appreciated - we wouldn’t be a Branch without you. We look forward to seeing you all again this coming year as we continue to celebrate who we are, who we know, and where we come from.

Kind regards

Helen McCaul

President

Christchurch Branch

Timaru High School Old Girls’ Association