After about 40 years in education and 22 years of leading East Taieri School, retiring from the top role comes with mixed feelings for Jennifer Horgan.
She said she was going to miss teaching and working with the staff at the school, but it was time for someone else to take over as principal and bring new ideas to the table.
She had seen a lot of change in her time, but had always enjoyed the flexibility offered in the education system in New Zealand.
However, that flexibility was slowly disappearing and with the changes coming from the government it was going to be a challenging time ahead in education for teachers.
"It’s really hard, you know. The ground seems to be shifting underneath all the time so it is very hard for teachers to keep up with everything at such a fast pace."
However, she was certain she was leaving the school in a good place and in good hands.
For new teachers, she was hopeful they would have good support systems in place that help them put the children first.
Mrs Horgan said it was amazing for her to see the pupils and staff progress during her tenure at East Taieri.
"You know, some of the kids have done so well.
"I love meeting them out in the community when they’ve achieved amazing things at university and have amazing jobs."
She said there was a lovely, supportive community in East Taieri and the children from there had always been good people.
More recently, they were a lot more focused on what was on their screens rather than what was outside.
Mrs Horgan got her teaching degree at the University of Canterbury before doing some leadership papers at the University of Otago and finishing her masters at the University of Tasmania.
Her first job in Otago was teaching at a school in Waipori Falls before she took over as the sole charge principal there for seven years in 1985.
After the school in Waipori Falls closed, she moved to Lee Stream School and then Outram School.
She then had a year of teaching in London before returning to Dunedin and starting her role as principal at East Taieri.
Last Friday, she was acknowledged for her contribution to education in the region by the Otago Primary Principals’ Association with a lifetime achievement award.
Her daughter, Sarah O’Neill, who was also a teacher at East Taieri, presented her with the honour. She spoke of her mother’s unequalled work ethic and ability to stay calm in challenging situations.
Mrs Horgan said it had been amazing to work alongside her daughter and have her grandsons come through East Taieri while she was principal there.
She was leaving East Taieri at the end of the year with her youngest grandson at the school, Ben O’Neill, who was going to start at John McGlashan College next year.
New principal Garth Powell, who will start the role next year, was employed by Mrs Horgan at East Taieri as a beginning teacher about 20 years ago before he got a job at the Ministry of Education.
It was a full-circle moment as he returned to take the reins.
