After more than four decades of combined service, Sacred Heart College Napier’s longest-serving teachers, Christine Watson and Kerri van Tuel, will retire at the end of the year.

Christine joined the college in 2001 as a computing and business teacher. Kerri followed in 2005, joining the support staff after first volunteering when her daughter enrolled.

For Christine, who has spent 24 years at the school and 42 years in education overall, Sacred Heart has always felt like the right fit.

“I was on holiday in Australia when I heard about the job,” she said. “You just know when something feels right. I rang the principal and applied from there, and it turned out to be perfect.”

Since then, Christine has taught hundreds of students and led the Business and Technology Department, as well as serving as a dean and acting in senior leadership roles.

Her time at Sacred Heart has spanned major changes in both the school and the classroom, from shorthand and typewriters to coding, gaming and web design.

“It’s hard to believe how much has changed,” she said. “The challenge has always been finding what engages the girls, what keeps them interested and confident.”

She recalls her first year vividly, marked by the fire that destroyed the school’s hostel and the loss of the original chapel.

“It was a traumatic time for the school community, but we came together,” she said. “That sense of family has always been here.”

Christine says the school’s Catholic character has been central to that feeling.

“It doesn’t matter whether you’re Catholic or not. It’s about care, values and community, that extra layer of interest and kindness that runs through everything here.”

Over the years, she has taught the daughters of her former students, which she says is one of the great joys of teaching.

“They come up and say, ‘Do you remember me?’ and then introduce their daughters. It’s lovely to see those connections continue.”

Reflecting on her career, she says teaching has been more than a job. “It’s been a good career. I found my place.”

Although she admits “the brain is full”, Christine, 65, isn’t planning to slow down completely. She and her husband are moving to Foxton Beach to build a house and enjoy more time travelling and relaxing together.

Kerri’s journey with Sacred Heart began through her daughter’s enrolment rather than her own career plans.

When her daughter Natasha enrolled at Sacred Heart, she offered to help wherever she was needed.

“From the moment we stepped into the office, everyone was friendly and welcoming. It just felt right,” she said.

That offer quickly turned into two decades of service. Before taking on wider roles, she also put her book-repair skills to use in the library, mending and restoring school texts between her other jobs.

Since then, Kerri has worked across almost every area of the school, including the office, library, tuck shop, uniform shop and food technology room, before becoming the school archivist in 2014.

“I loved seeing the Year 9 girls come in shy and nervous, then watching them grow through to Year 13. You get to know them and their families. It’s a lovely community.”

Her passion for history made the archives role a perfect fit. Kerri has helped preserve photographs, student diaries and records dating back to the early 1900s and played a key part in producing the college’s 150-year jubilee book in 2017.

“It’s special being able to show the girls where the school has come from and how it’s evolved,” she said.

Like Christine, she has seen the school evolve through rebuilds and renovations but says its sense of warmth and community has never changed.

Kerri, who turns 70 next year, will continue volunteering in the archives after retirement.

“I can’t quite leave,” she said with a smile. “The school has always been good to me. It feels special every time I walk in. And the kids make you feel young.”

Sacred Heart College Principal Maria Neville-Foster thanked Christine and Kerri for their years of service.

“They have both had a pivotal part to play in what makes our community so special, and we will miss them around the kura.”

Article added: Wednesday 26 November 2025