La Rochelle Yearbook 2022

D I E H O O F G RO E T – M A T R I E K U I T S T A P D A G

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Farewell message - Mrs E. Conradie

Here we are on t he day, Grade 12s , t ha t you t hough t 10 mon t hs ago , was f ar away. Jeanne en Milan, dankie vir die manier waarop julle leiding hierdie jaar geneem het. Ek weet dit het ’n groot rol gespeel waarom ons graad 12’s ingesluit en gekoester gevoel het. Iets wat ek opgelet het van Jeanne hierdie jaar, en ek dink julle sal met my saamstem, is dat niks haar sommer kon ontstel nie. She always seemed to handle a situation calmly. Whenever something happened, Jeanne would simply “smile and wave, girls, smile and wave”. Dankie daarvoor, Jeanne. What a year it has been. At the beginning of the year, I called the “Geeskomitee” to my office and I told them we needed to get some spirit and fun back into the school after two years of COVID, and thát they most certainly did, from the Boishaai Invitational Meeting, all the way through to the 4M and beyond. Dankie aan Dianna, Chernique, Suné, Paris, Karney, Millie, Danielle and Keisha, dat julle die skool bymekaargetrek het as ’n eenheid, en altyd daar was om voor te vat en die spulletjie aan die sing te kry. About two weeks into the year, at the end of January, two little faces appeared at my door, introducing themselves as Deena and Ellie. They had come to ask me how I was doing! And so it happened that I became Deena and Ellie’s project for the year – just to make sure that I made the correct decisions, and I knew exactly what the needs of the learners were and, of course, to eat the sweets from the bowl in my office! In the 80s there was a song by Mike and the Mechanics – The Living Years , with the lyrics, “ Every generation blames the one before ”. Generation gaps are very real, but we can bridge that gap with good communication. Soms sal iemand van ’n ouer geslag iets sê sonder om twee keer daaroor te dink, maar wat op julle ore as onaanvaarbaar of onvanpas val. Deena and Ellie made it their task this year to come and tell me, “M’am what you

did or said was cool”, or something “was not so cool”. Deena and Ellie, thank you for being my trusty advisors and I told you that you now need to hand over this very important task to somebody else and I hope you will. Wat van die 4M-atletiek? Ja, ons het nie gewen nie, maar iemand wat laat gekom het en julle op die pawiljoen gesien het sou dit nooit kon raai nie. Julle het julself geniet. Milan and the Matrics, thank you for setting such a good example of dedication and hard work for our athletes. Met die aanvang van die winterseisoen was dit net so lekker om te sien hoe die graad 12’s ook daar hul bydrae gemaak het. The Netball with Thabisa as the Captain … where do I even begin to tell you how proud you have made us. What I enjoyed most about watching your games is how you believed in yourselves and your teammates. You were ready to take on any team in the country and you did! To the Hockey Team: I think there are still some girls who are not sure on which side Shamira went past them, or who suffered nightmares from Caroline taking shots at goal! And so, I can go on – our fantastic Matric Drama learners, the Debating, the Choir and Con Spirito – everywhere I went, I saw the Matrics taking the lead and setting the pace. And then there was the Matric Farewell. With Skyler Philander walking down the catwalk as if she is the queen – you all looked beautiful! And dancing queens you all certainly were right to the end. Once again setting an example of how it should be done. So, I thank you once again, grade 12’s, for showing respect and gratitude to the people who organised the dance for you by staying and enjoying yourselves right to the end. Ek sal graag vir julle iets wil voorlees uit ’n boek, The Invitation, deur Oriah Mountain Dreamer:

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