Sandy Woock, Anne Bain, Pam Ambler, Helen Beckinsale and Jill Hinds all retired at the end of the school year.
The group had loved being a part of the Waitaki Girls’ community, Mrs Bain said
"It’s such a privilege to be a part of their lives.
"That connection, that daily connection with teenagers will be finished and I feel really sad about that because I love them.
"Whether they’re mad, sad, angry or grumpy, I just love them."
She and Mrs Woock, both English teachers, had both been at the school for 25 years.
"I was actually going to retire in 2023 but we kept on together," Mrs Bain said.
"And then I was going retire last year and then Anne said no she was going to do another year so I said ‘OK well I’ll do one more’," Mrs Woock said.
For Mrs Beckinsale, this was actually her second time retiring.
The itinerate music teacher retired from full-time teaching 11 years ago to be part-time.
"When I gave up after 20 years in the classroom, I went home and I said to my husband ‘I wish I’d had time to do these things years ago’ and he said ‘just think about all those lovely people you met along the way with your teaching’.
"And that’s what it is, you just meet so many lovely people."
Mrs Hinds was at Waitaki Girls’ for 11 years as a math teacher.
Her retirement aligned perfectly with her husband, Stephen, who also retired from teaching at Waitaki Boys’ High School last week.
Mrs Hinds had also taught at the boys school before moving over to Waitaki Girls’.
"I taught Sandy’s son and I’ve taught the husbands of a couple of staff members too."
Mrs Ambler had been the gateway and careers teacher for 21 years and was excited for the next chapter of her life.
"I’m ready to do lots other things.
"We will still have a vested interest in the school, my granddaughter starts here next year so it’ll be four generations of our family."
She was a past student of Waitaki Girls’ as were Mrs Beckinsale and Mrs Bain.
The students and fellow staff members made the school a great place to work, Mrs Ambler said.
"We’ve met some amazing young women and I still hear from them now."
Mrs Bain hoped that the next generation of teachers would be better supported to stay in the profession moving forward.
"We’ve got wonderful young staff, but we’ve got to do everything we can, like reduce their teaching load, to support them to stay in teaching."
