De La Salle Holy Cross College matric Class of 2020 recently donated their school shoes during an auspicious school ceremony.
We all know our last year of high school is one that is unlike any other, you cherish every moment; a laugh shared with friends, that inside joke shared amongst the class, school productions, and the all the important matric dance. Everything goes into making your last 12 months of wearing that particular school uniform a memorable one.
So when hit with a global pandemic that makes all these facets of your last year look obsolete, you start to consider, and hold in great esteem, all the things you are still able to do and as such take part in them fully with no inhibitions. The school has a long standing tradition that involves matrics. This year, after the class’s last English paper they were greeted by a guard of honour held by the Grad 11 class. As each one walked down its centre, albeit with bemused faces which still spoke of happiness, shouts of cheers and clapping hands engulfed the school. Debbie Harris, the college principal, said this was a very exciting day for the matrics as this is a year that many, having spent the last 13 years there, have looked forward to.
Had you been there to see the reaction from not only the learners but their parents too, you’d know not to dispute this fact. Along with this special guard of honour, the class also enjoyed a light snack, that included doughnuts and non-alcoholic bubbly. The school prides itself in instilling in their learners, among many key aspects, the importance behind the school motto ‘Be first that you may be of service’ so, it was only fitting that even in their joy the learners knew the importance of giving to the community. So once the last bite of the doughnut was enjoyed and champagne flute emptied the class left school grounds with their shoes in hand and placed them into a container, to be donated to those in need of them for the next year.
In her parting message to them, Harris would love the matrics to live up to the school’s motto, “You have had your many privileges and opportunities along the way, take those with you.” Adding maybe some could consider going into vocational careers like social work, teaching and nursing so they can carrying on reaching out into the community, “By being of service and being aware of your social conscious you can make differences in our country. “
