Waitaki Girls’ High School staff are holding two Christmas events at Riverstone Cafe to raise funds for the school’s music and drama suite.
Speaking at the events are Federated Farmers North Otago president, Myfanwy Alexander, who recently won the title of Otago Daily Times Rural Farmer of the Year, and award-winning science fiction and fantasy writer, Karen Healey. Both women, alumni of Waitaki Girls’, will talk about their lives and careers.
Waitaki Girls’ High School board of trustees’ member Dagmar Rohrbach and music teacher Sophie Pilbrow are excited to have secured the special guests to help support the revamp of the "important" and "popular" music and drama space.
"We’re very happy . . . The space is not only for the school, it’s for the community," Mrs Rohrbach said.
"We’re so excited. It’s nice to be able to do something that will help us develop this space, which is so cool," Miss Pilbrow said.
The music and drama suite was originally opened in 1991 and houses break-out rooms for concerts, a music room for violin practice and several practice rooms and instrument storage.
As well as school music and drama lessons, the rooms are used for concerts, after-hours music practice and itinerant music lessons.
Mrs Rohrbach said the large and many curtains in the suite’s rooms are now faded and are important to help protect the musical instruments from the sun.
"It is really crucial that they get improved and that’s a huge cost," Mrs Rohrbach said.
Miss Pilbrow hopes to turn a storage room into a sound recording studio and she says the suite is a place that "kids come into and feel safe and valued".
Mrs Rohrbach said the school board wants to support her vision for an even more creative environment for the school and community’s future.
"It’s a treasure, it’s a special place, we have a young teacher, who is a beautiful singer herself," Mrs Rohrbach said.
"We want to acknowledge that and support her with this fundraiser".
Tickets to the special Christmas events next Thursday and Friday, include a castle tour, a two-course lunch and a "special" concert performance.
