Cesare Pavese said: “We do not remember days, we remember moments.” The Matric Class of 2021 can agree with these words after reflecting on the memories they made at their PRINCIPAL’S PARTY 40 Days celebration on 23 August. The day consisted of invaluable special moments and was thoroughly enjoyed despite all the limitations we had to have due to the present circumstances.
The day started with a “Matric Talk '' in the school hall with the school’s incredible psychologist Miss Nerine Loock sharing her words of encouragement. We were shown two videos of extracts of the Olympic Games. Miss Loock stressed how every student was a runner of her own life, and that with the support of the school, family, and friends, every obstacle could be overcome in the race of our examinations and even life. Following her beautiful words came the “Exam Talk'' with Mrs Gerber explaining the tips, rules and regulations during exams in great depth and with great enthusiasm. This reassured many anxious girls and gave them a sense of control over what to do and what to look out for. After the session came to an end, another exhilarating part of the day’s agenda began on the hockey field.
On the field, there was a decorated photobooth area and a “trip down memory lane” collage made up of memories from when the matrics were in Grade 4 traveling through their entire school career. This was nostalgic and it was heartwarming to see how the Class of 2021 have grown into beautiful and bright young ladies. A big thank you to Mrs Gerber and Wade-Lee for collecting these old archives.
The celebration officially started once the girls received a lovely treat packet from Mrs Stear, which included a note wishing the matrics the best of luck for the upcoming examinations. Kirsten Manasse kindly baked delicious brownies for her fellow matriculants. The girls indulged in their snacks and danced to the music on the field until it was game time.
The matrics were then led onto the other half of the hockey field to participate in a fun competition of spirited games, explained by Sinobom Lupondwana, Elihle Jantjies and Wade-Lee Muller. The first game was an egg race where the participants would have to run from point to point while trying to balance an egg on a spoon. The winners included Oyama Tube, Grace Terblanche and Inganathi Mantewu. This game was followed by the hula hoop and ball game. This game required the competitors to start in a hula hoop and carry a small ball in between their knees to a hula hoop on the other side. The first to carry three balls in total to their other hula hoop, one at a time, would be the winner and this was Mbali Phongoma. Other participants included Isabella Greef, Buhle Ndumo, Silindokuhle Nodongwe and Sitha Kondile. All the winners from these games were rewarded with fizzers and photographed on 1st, 2nd and 3rd podiums. The last game which seems to be a favourite among the matrics was Song Association. In this game, the grade was split into five groups. Othandwayo Gaba came around with a plastic sleeve with numbers in it and one person from each group had to take out a number. This number would determine the word they got based on the list of numbered words. While Kwakho Bissett kept a timer, the group would then have 10 seconds to sing a song with that word in it. This game had the most winners because all the groups won! Whether they were playing in one of the games or cheering on their friends, the grade 12s enjoyed themselves and everyone felt like Olympians.
In the end, lasting memories were created and the day was indeed one for the books! Thankfully Hasti, Mrs Gerber and Mr. Weidemann captured these stunning and spontaneous memories throughout each activity. Even under the circumstances, the matrics showed great enthusiasm and effort with their unforgettable costumes. The enjoyment and success of this event would not have been possible without the contribution of Mrs Stear, Mrs Snyman, Mrs Gerber, Mrs Stroebel, Mr Koekemoer and the support staff, Miss Loock, Mr Calitz, Mr Weidemann, the teachers who supervised the day, the senior prefects and the matrics who eagerly contributed their efforts in assisting with decor, music and who ensured the field was spotless after a day of celebration. It can be said that, ‘teamwork made the dream work’ because the day was truly a dream come true.