Reminiscing was the order of the day, peppered with funny anecdotes, as about 40 people - former and current staff and board members, Ministry of Education representatives and health camp staff and supporters, attended a ceremony at the school.
The facility has always formed part of the camp and has been operated as a state school, under the Ministry of Education, but that will change in 2012.
The health camp organisation -Te Puna Whaiora Children's Health Camp, will take over the education contract for five of the country's health camp schools next year, including Roxburgh. The school will close on January 27 in its current form and reopen the same day under the changed governance structure.
Former education minister Anne Tolley told the Otago Daily Times last month the change followed a review of health camps.
The change was opposed by the Roxburgh camp school's board and chairwoman Bernadette Hannagan told yesterday's function the board "tried hard to persuade her [Anne Tolley] it was not a good idea".
"This school is very precious to us."
She said the board had received messages of goodwill from many other schools within Otago and Southland, and from various education groups.
"It's one thing to have dreams and another to make them be realised. We've achieved great things here and leave with our heads held high," Mrs Hannagan said.
The school's final Education Review Office report was an excellent one and she paid tribute to the leadership of Shannon McDougall, who has been principal for the past seven years.
The four-classroom school on the health camp grounds caters for 14 pupils in each camp intake. Nine school staff, including teachers, teacher aides and support staff, have been made redundant.
Staff and people with a long connection to the school were presented with trees yesterday, to mark their contribution.
Camp residential services team leader Dwight McDowell said a good relationship between the school and camp was vital to the success of both.
"The legacy of the work you've done, will remain," he told the school staff and board.
