COLOURFUL CAREER
Long-serving teacher hangs up her whiteboard marker
Milson School teacher Helen Henare is hanging up her whiteboard marker after 51 years in the profession.
Her retirement will be a double loss for the Palmerston North school’s children, as she takes with her tales of her black and white cat Fluffy Bum’s exploits.
That’s unless she decides to write those stories down and share them in a book, of course.
‘‘Everyone knows about my Fluffy Bum,’’ Henare said.
Generations of Milson parents and children know about ‘‘Mrs’’ Henare too. Thirty-six of those 51 teaching years were spent at the school. The veteran teacher was celebrated at a special afternoon tea by staff board members and parents on Monday, where she was presented with an outdoor rocking chair.
Acting principal Tracy Thorn read out a report card on the ‘‘year 36’’ teacher’s progress at the school, revealing that Henare had taught about 1008 students and encountered ‘‘truckloads of parents’’ in that time. She also coached netball and softball and was awarded the equivalent of an A++ for handwriting.
Henare grew up on a farm at Patea and was a foundation pupil of Patea District High School. She wanted to be a vet, however veterinary study at Massey Agricultural College cost the then princely sum of £2000.
‘‘That was what a school principal earned in a year at the time.’’
So Henare went to teacher’s college in Palmerston North instead, and started her teaching career at Monrad Intermediate.
In her time, classrooms had moved from blackboard to whiteboard, though a blackboard was much better for her beautifully crafted handwriting.
‘‘Then we had 37 to 38 pupils in a class. Now I have 20. There’s more talk, discussions and interactions, and there’s a closer relationship with the kids and their families. They don’t sit in rows any more – we learn in variable places and in variable spaces.’’
Now 71, Henare has two children, six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. She didn’t retire at 65 because she didn’t feel ready. Now, the time is right, and her family and garden beckon.