KEY POINTS:
At the time, it seemed no good could possibly come from such a brutal crime: A teacher murdered in her classroom, a school closed by police cordons, and a staff and students left to carry on.
After Lois Dear's death, Strathmore School in Tokoroa struggled to cope with
the loss of its beloved teacher of new entrants.
But then, to ease the sorrow, an anonymous donor gave $5500 to set up a trust fund for former pupils.
Donations to the fund have since reached $8500 and the first recipients have received $500 scholarships.
Sara Jansen, Natasha Tare-Jones and Michael Campbell were surprised and overjoyed when they were given the scholarships at their high-school prizegivings.
"I'm gonna find me some good chemistry textbooks and a huge periodic table and other things to do with science," said Michael, 18, who, like the others, plans to study at a Waikato tertiary institution this year.
The Tokoroa High School student said the scholarship had turned the tide on an incident that had shocked the community.
"It was a real dark thing that happened in the town," he said. "The scholarship is sort of making a step to healing."
Michael left Strathmore before Ms Dear arrived. But he met her once and had fond memories of the experience.
"My little cousins had the privilege of being taught by her and she was really nice. She met me at the door and had a little chat about how good my cousins were."
Natasha, 17, knew Ms Dear as a relief teacher in her second-to-last year at Strathmore and said the scholarship was "the most perfect thing" to honour the dedicated teacher.
"She loved teaching kids. It's to further your education and what more could she ask for?"
Planning to do a bachelor of management studies course, Natasha said she would put the money towards her fees.
Sara, 18, plans to follow in Ms Dear's footsteps and obtain a diploma in early childhood education.
"I just love working with children, seeing them smile," she said.
A volunteer kindergarten and Sunday school teacher, she said she still missed Strathmore.
"It was the best school ever, so friendly. Since leaving, I'm still welcome to go back and visit any time."
Strathmore principal Murray Kendrick said the school had planned to award only two scholarships but had been unable to separate Natasha and Sara, both students at Forest View High.
Whetu Te Hiko, 23, has been charged with Ms Dear's murder.
He has entered no plea and is to have a 14-day psychiatric evaluation next month to see whether he is fit to stand trial for the July 16 death.
But despite the violent act perpetrated on Strathmore's grounds, the school's reputation does not appear to have suffered.
Mr Kendrick said the roll at year's end was 40 above predictions, and new children had enrolled from other schools in the final term.
Students had bounced back - "they're resilient" - and staff were also recovering.
"The smiles are all back in the staff room," he said. "The fun's back in the school to a large extent."
