Charmaine Grace Pountney is a New Zealand educator.

Biography

Pountney attended

Epsom Girls' Grammar School , motto_translation = ''Through difficulties to greatness.'' , coordinates = , type = State Single Sex Girls Secondary (Year 9–13) with Boarding Facilities , established = 12 February 1917 , MOE = 64 , principal = Lorraine Pound , colo ...

in Auckland from 1955 to 1959; in her final year, she was

head girl Head boy and head girl are student leadership roles in schools, representing the school's entire student body. They are normally the most senior prefects in the school. The terms are commonly used in the British education system as well as in Aus ...

and

dux ''Dux'' (; plural: ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, ''dux' ...

. After finishing high school, she trained as a secondary school teacher. In 1978, Pountney was appointed headmistress of

Auckland Girls' Grammar School "Through trials to triumph" , colours = gold, navy blue , type = State single-sex girls' secondary school (Years 9–13) , established = 1878 , address = Howe Street, Newton, Auckland , coordinates = , principal = Ngaire Ashmore ...

, a position she held for 10 years. She then became head of the teachers' college in Hamilton, then founding principal of the School of Education at the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato), is a Public university, public research university in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand established in 1964. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university perfo ...

. In 1992, Pountney moved to the

Āwhitu Peninsula The Āwhitu Peninsula is a long peninsula in the North Island of New Zealand, extending north from the mouth of the Waikato River to the entrance to Manukau Harbour. The Peninsula is bounded in the west by rugged cliffs over the Tasman Sea, but i ...

, where she established an organic farm and orchard, and established the Āwhitu Peninsula Landcare Group. In 2000, she published her autobiography.

Awards and recognition

In 1993, Pountney received the

New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal The New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 was established by Royal Warrant on 1 July 1993. It was created to commemorate Women's suffrage in New Zealand and to recognize those New Zealand and Commonwealth citizens who had made a significant ...

. In the

2002 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supp ...

, she was appointed a

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for those ...

, for services to education.

Publications

* Pountney C. G. (2000). ''Learning our living: a teaching autobiography''. Cape Catley. * Crombie W. Poulson L. & Pountney C. G. (199?). ''The tension between language and English language in national curricula: a critical study''. * Pountney C. G. Brame G. & New Zealand. (1977). ''You and your language''. School Publications Branch Dept. of Education.

References

People educated at Epsom Girls' Grammar School Living people Year of birth missing (living people) New Zealand educators Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit Recipients of the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 New Zealand autobiographers {{NewZealand-bio-stub