AVANTI
Newsletter of La Rochelle Girls' High School, Paarl January - March 2020
Long Walk to La Rochelle Emma Basson For those of you who might still be asleep after the December holidays, our beloved La Rochelle celebrates her 160th birthday in Twenty Plenty! That is just two fifths away from two centuries. My brain feels like it might explode whenever I think about how much the school has accomplished in the past 160 years. The first seed of La Rochelle was planted in 1860 by Mrs Louisa Hugo on the premises where the primary school is located today. That seed consisted of only 40 learners. In the 12 years that she was principal, she nurtured the seed in her own way, allowing it to grow. Her successors followed her example and so the seed grew into the beautiful flower it is today. With every new principal, something new was added to make the flower bloom more
beautifully than ever. During the past 160 years, La Rochelle has grown considerably - from where it started with only 40 learners! Today, La Rochelle has grown into two flowers, a smaller one, nearest to Main Road, and her big sister right next door. Other additions during the last century include a hostel consisting of a main building and two smaller buildings (called Eendract and Navarre) -that, in total, can accommodate up to 200 girls. A new school building, the one we currently use, as well as a swimmingpool, the Larrie
Boutique, the En Avant centre and, last but not least, the Astro for the hockeygirls (scheduled to be finished in the second term), have all been added and all contribute to a stimulating learning environ- ment. The number of learners have grown from 40 to almost 600! The staff has also expanded. The girls are educated in both English and Afrikaans. There is a broad spectrum of subject choices to choose from in grade 10. There is also a wide range of sport and cultural activities to accommodate everyone.