At their initial meeting, the Trustees agreed that inaugural grants would be made from the Trust outside of the standard funding framework, with an initial focus on an eligible student from regions/schools where Teresa (Wellington) and Irena (Canterbury) taught during their teaching careers.
After graduating as a teacher, Irena taught in many schools. Her first permanent posting was to a Māori school in Gisborne. In her teaching career, Irena also taught at St. Mary's Catholic School, in central Christchurch (which was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1894), Hagley College (formerly Christchurch West High School) in Addington, and at the University of Canterbury English Language School, (where she is pictured above).
In her teaching career, Teresa became the Senior Teacher of Junior Classes at St. Patrick’s School (founded by the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1954), becoming heavily involved in the CCD programme which was aimed at providing catechism for the children of non-practising Catholic families. Among the other schools she taught on the Kāpiti Coast were Kāpiti School, Kenakena School, Paraparaumu School, Paekakariki School and Raumati South School. She maintained a focus on teaching new entrants in her career, becoming a widely admired and respected “motherly figure” for all new entrants.
(Published : 04/07/21)