MELIORES
SACRED HEART COLLEGE MARIST OBS EDUCATION WITH WITH HEART HEART THAT THAT KNOWS KNOWS NO NO BOUNDS BOUNDS
J U N EJUNE E D IEDITION T I O N 22017 015
Family Spirit | A Passion for Work | Simplicity | Presence | In the Way of Mary
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The Meliores, and our Alumni, now have their own logo! The logo has been designed by Kgomotso 4H\[SVH H :HJYLK /LHY[ *VSSLNL NYHK\H[L ;OL ZPNUPÄJHUJL VM [OL 4 PU [OL SVNV PZ [OL ^VYK 4LSPVYLZ ^OPJO TLHUZ TVYL [OHU ZPTWS` ºIL[[LY» 0[ JHU TLHU ºTVYL M\SS`» VY º[V THRL IL[[LY» 4LSPVYH JHU IL [YHUZSH[LK [V TLHU ºNVVK» ºOVULZ[» ºIYH]L» VY ºRPUK» -\Y[OLYTVYL [OL 4 YLWYLZLU[Z [OL ^VYK 4HYPZ[ ^OPJO JVUULJ[Z \Z HZ H MHTPS` ;OL VWLUPUN NH[LZ ILOPUK [OL 4 [YHJLK MYVT [OL ZJOVVS»Z ILH\[PM\S THPU NH[L PTWS` [OH[ V\Y HS\TUP HYL HS^H`Z ^LSJVTL Kgomotso and his team at Green Robot Design (greenrobot.co.za) created a truly timeless icon, one that shows true insight. ¸;OL TVZ[ L_JP[PUN HUK WYVIHIS` TVZ[ [OYPSSPUN WHY[ VM T` JHYLLY HZ [OL *YLH[P]L +PYLJ[VY H[ .YLLU 9VIV[ +LZPNU PZ [OH[ 0 JYLH[L UL^ ^VYR L]LY` KH` UV VUL KH` PZ [OL ZHTL ;OH[»Z ^OH[ NL[Z TL \W PU [OL TVYUPUN ¹ ZHPK 2NVTV[ZV NP]PUN \Z H NSPTWZL PU[V OPZ Z[\KPV SPML ¸[OL LUKSLZZ VWWVY[\UP[` [V NP]L HY[ SPML HUK [V JYHM[ ^VYR [OH[ WLVWSL ^PSS ZLL HUK OVWLM\SS` LUQV` W\ZOLZ TL [V KV IL[[LY¸ See our November 2014 edition MVY [OL M\SS Z[VY`
Who’s Who ALUMNI COMMUNICATIONS Ellen Howell Alumni Relationship Manager alumni@sacredheart.co.za
Layout and Design Cherry Bullard CJ Graphics
Thanks to
the alumni, parents, learners and staff who contributed to this edition of the Meliores publication.
MELIORES
is owned and published by Sacred Heart College. The authors and contributors reserve their rights in regard to the copyright of their work. No part of this work may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means without the written consent of Sacred Heart College.
Contents A
2 I Messages from Our Team A Note from the Head of College I 2 A Note from the Alumni Manager I 2
3 I Sacred Heart News
2017 Swim-a-thon I 3 Children to become a part of history I 4 New Learners’ Party I 5 High School Gala I 6 MOP Fest 2017 I 8
12 I Connecting with Alumni
Pamela Power– Class of 1985 I 12 Monique Piderit – Class of 2004 I 13 Siphiwe Myesa-Mhlambi – Class of 2011 I 15 Karabo Makhanya – Class of 2016 I 17
Reunions The Class of 1982 celebrating 35 years I 18
The Brothers Marist Observatory Back in the Day’s and Brother Jude Pieterse I 20
received a special award
Contact details Illustrated Map of the School I 10 Pre-Primary and Primary School I 22 High School I 23
messageS from our team A Note from the Head of College
Dear Alumni I am very excited to write this note in the first Melliores in 2017. This is a significant year, we celebrate 200 years of the existence of the Marist movement in the world. As you have, no doubt, seen on your website and social media, we are hoping to bring together alumni of all years to celebrate this fact on the 10th of June. We would also love to see many of you at the Champagnat mass on the 6th of June. This promises to be a wonderful celebration of the Marist movement and of role that Sacred Heart College Marist Observatory has played in Johannesburg and the world. Colin Northmore
A Note from the Alumni Manager
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his year is a very special year in the Marist community as we celebrate the 200th year of Marist mission around the world, and 150 years of Marist presence in Africa. As part of the celebrations we will be hosting a Bicentenary Mass and Bicentenary Marist Alumni Reunion. The school has embraced the celebration by weaving St Marcellin Champagnat’s life story into various activities for the learners/all members of the Marist family. The spirit of this Marist celebration runs through this edition, which celebrates our Alumni and the difference they have made in the world, reflecting the vision of this amazing man. If you have a story to share, please email it to me at Alumni@sacredheart.co.za. We would love to hear from you. Ellen Howell alumni@sacredheart.co.za
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sacred heart news 2017 Swim-a-thon The morning was enjoyed by parents and learners and there was an air of festivity at the food stalls which was hosted by the parents. The aim of this fundraiser was to raise funds for technological upgrades in the Primary School. Sacred Heart College is an Independent, Co-Educational Marist School in Observatory, Johannesburg which provides innovative, values-based Education from Playgroup to Matric.
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n Saturday, 11th March, Sacred Heart College held their 10th Annual Fundraising Swim-a-Thon for Pre-Primary and Primary School learners, parents and educators. Children from as little as 3 years old participated in this annual event which emphasises the College’s position that Physical Education is an integral part of building foundations and skills for life.
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sacred heart news Children to become a part of history Article written by Busi Vilakazi; published by Joburg East Express week ending 10 February 2017
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he City of Joburg is embarking on a journey of naming the Corridors of Freedom and are getting schools involved in the project. The Johannesburg Development Agency in partnership with Grounded Media will be running the Corridors of Freedom project. The project is aligned with the city’s spatial vision, which forms part of their GDS 2040. Sacred Heart College in Observatory is one of the 12 schools chosen to participate in the project. The 13 schools that will be participating are positioned along the Louis Botha Corridor. This is the second of three Corridors to be named.
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“As the school, we are pleased to be involved in the project. It will offer the pupils an opportunity to learn about the history of our area and be part of something historical,” said Lynn Walker, Sacred Heart College marketing coordinator. Five Grade 9s have been chosen from each school. They will be required to conduct research and put together a presentation for judges. The names submitted will be put to an adjudication panel who will shortlist to five names. The five names will be put to the public through a Facebook voting campaign for them to vote. Three names will be shortlisted and presented to the City Council.
sacred heart news New Learners’ Party Article written by Murpry Phiri Grade 12
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long with a whole new bunch of Sacred Heart learners, enthusiasm and excitement were present in abundance at the New Learner’s Party of 2017. Every year, the Learner Leadership Council is tasked with organising this wonderful event, where the new learners get to mingle with other new learners, their buddies and members of the LLC. This year, we decided on an ‘Amazing Race’ themed party and allowed each learner to bring with them a buddy of their choice. We played games, listened to music and busted some moves on the dance floor. When the pizza came in, excitement was at its peak! Everyone lined up to get themselves a slice, sat down and enjoyed their meals, while also enjoying each other’s company.
As everyone was chilling and socialising, you could feel the friendly atmosphere being created amongst the new learners, their buddies and the members of the LLC. It was a truly wonderful afternoon with no shortage of joy and laughs; an excellent start to an equally joyful school career at Sacred Heart. To all the new learners we say once again: Welcome to the Sacred Heart family!
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sacred heart news High School Gala Article written by Skyla Ball Grade 12
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atric is the year of ‘lasts ‘:the last year you have a school locker, the last time you attend an academic mass with your whole grade, and on Friday the 3rd of February it was the last Interhouse Gala I would ever be a part of. I knew what to expect and I knew what was expected of me. Having attended 5 of these already, I have come to learn that the matric traditions don’t change much, but being part of these traditions and seeing everything through the matric perspective was an unexpectedly surreal experience. Starting with the march to the pool with my house, O’Leary, trying to out scream the other houses, everything seemed normal, similar to
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what I had been doing for my entire school life. The feeling of this being the last time I would ever do this didn’t register with me for a long time, and perhaps it has yet to register because some part of me still believes that, of course, I will be doing this same thing next year. But I, of course, will not be returning next year and that is an indescribable feeling. Through all the nerves about races and all the arguing with stubborn students who don’t want to sing, there was a nagging voice in the back of my mind, saying: “Appreciate this, for all that it is, because you will never have this again”. And yes, through it all, the joy of watching my friends win races, the pain in the back of my throat from screaming too loud, the feeling of familiarity, through all the good
sacred heart news School War – Cry and bad, I knew I had to take it all in. Remember it all, because it would never be like that again. The moment at the end of the gala, will always be my favourite moment, as it always has been. The moment when all the Matrics line up in front of the pool, and sing our school war cry, Rammy Rammy Ramson. No one can quite make out the words, other than the starting line of the same name, the rest sounding like a jumble of syllables before everyone screams. Then the Matrics all jump into the water for reasons no one really knows. There is probably some incredibly complex metaphor hidden in that tradition somewhere. I however, have decided to take it for what it is, a bunch of Matrics, with uncertain futures and memories yet to make, jumping into the school pool, enjoying the last moments of their last gala, knowing that we won’t be here next year, but being so thankful that we are here now.
RAMMY, RAMMY,RAMSON Ramson RUTSING CULI RULI RA Ra Ra Ra BULWA BULWA WA WA WA Roger Roger Rika Ra GEE WIZZ Wa Brothers O-B-S-E-R-V-A-T-O-R-Y
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sacred heart news MOP Fest 2017 MOPFest is an original works festival co-ordinated by the Matric Drama Students. The concept is conceived by the Matrics directors and through a collaborative workshop process with their cast they flesh out their ideas to create a cohesive piece of theatre.
The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be is a commentary on the state of the world, the media prisms through which we see it and how we react to the crises unfolding around us. This political satire criticises our complacency and the chaos of leadership in the world. This includes the portrayal of our own laziness and willingness to look the other way in situations that point towards authoritarianism from our own South African situation to the Trump Regime. The future ain’t what it used to be will take its audience on a journey through the current affairs of the world and how we have all been let down by our own inaction. Director Julia Barry
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sacred heart news
#Hashtag is an Epic Theatre and Surrealist play about a girl named K and her brother Ray. These two siblings’ lives are changed forever when K gets raped and the video of her rape ends up being broadcast all over the media. #Hashtag looks at the effects media has on our everyday lives and everyday situations and how we look at things through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or even BBC and CNN. A truly whimsical yet darkly humorous play about how K’s life changes as her most vulnerable and powerless moment is shared all around her. Will she become just another hashtag? Directors Raquelle Brennan & Shari Maluleke
Comatose – when everyone gets complacent we don’t see, hear or do anything. Hope is hard to grasp when our liberators have become our oppressors. We’re becoming desensitised to everything going wrong. A man can have many faces but when we blatantly choose to ignore his misdemeanors, who are we actually doing a favour? Hear no evil, See no evil and Say no evil. Directors Thuwaybah Moses & Tshepang Masuku
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class of 1985
Pamela Power A script writer and editor
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amela Power is a script writer and editor for the popular television show, Muvhango. She has written three novels: Ms Conception, Things Unseen and Delilah Now Trending. She lives in Johannesburg with the Husband, the Teen and the Daughter. She is a self-confessed social media junkie. You can find her on Twitter @ pamelapower or check out her book vlog #BetweenTheSheetsWithPamela. Pamela was a very average student and matriculated from Sacred Heart in 1985. Muse? What muse? A lot of people say, “Oh, I would love to write a book. I just don’t have the time.” The point is
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She is a self-confessed social media junkie. You can find her on Twitter @pamelapower or check out her book vlog #BetweenTheSheetsWithPamela.
that no-one has the time to write a book, you find the time; you squeeze a bit of writing in here and there. I try and write 2 500 words a week, which is very manageable. It means I can finish the first draft of an 80 000 word book in eight months. It doesn’t always work out like that. I wrote 30 000 words of my second novel, Things Unseen in the June of 2014 because I was on a production break. Yes, I don’t only write books, I am also the script writer and script editor for the popular television series, Muvhango. That means that in addition to writing novels, I also write a script and edit six scripts every week, plus I have two children and one husband so I am fairly busy. The sad truth is if you want to write a book, you have to actually sit down and write it. That seems fairly obvious but it’s surprising how many people don’t understand that. Seriously, if you’re planning on waiting for the muse to descend, I wouldn’t bother; I’ve yet to meet mine. The best advice I ever read was “Just finish the damn book.” And it’s so true; you cannot do anything until you finish it. So start writing today. Who knows, in a year you could have written a book.
class of 2004
Monique Piderit Dietitian Monique Piderit RD (SA) Monique is a registered dietitian with a background in corporate wellness and a Masters degree in Dietetics in sports nutrition. Guided by evidence-based nutrition, Monique believes in an integrated approach to wellness where the key to being healthy is to adopt small yet sustainable changes to your lifestyle. Monique is a member of the ADSA (Association of Dietetics of South Africa) Gauteng South branch and registered with the HPCSA (Health Professionals Council of South Africa). She is also a Discovery Wellness Network dietitian and DNAlysis accredited practitioner.
What do you enjoy most about the work you do? What are the most satisfying moments? I love the versatility of our profession. People think dietitians just help with weight loss diets. The truth is almost every medical concern or disease condition can be managed, treated, or even prevented with good food choices. Also, I enjoy how impactful our profession can be. I work mostly in the corporate wellness space. Employees spend 1/3 of their time at work, making the workplace the ideal opportunity to promote and encourage healthy nutrition. I am involved in onsite nutrition consultations, canteen audits, nutrition work-shops and article writing for corporates, all impactful yet undervalued ways to address nutrition. What has been your career highlight?
Why did you become a Registered Dietitian? I heard about dietetics for the first time when I was in 2nd year at Wits doing a BSc. I soon realised that all my subject choices where right in line with the types of subjects done in dietetics. It was one of those “aha” moments where I realised I had just fallen in love with my future profession. If you ask my mother this question, she will tell you I was born to be a dietitian. From an early age, it was natural and easy for me to choose the healthier foods. I disliked fatty meats, chicken skin, and creamy-based foods, and processed meats like polony made me ill. I was quite happy to have milk with my meals, never went overboard on sweets and chocolates, and there was never a struggle as a toddler to eat veggies. It really is just something that is instinctive for me to be healthy and thus it’s easy to lead by example.
There are many dietitians that I look up to and admire in our profession, and when these dietitians express acknowledgement in the work that I do, it is hugely fulfilling. It is gratifying and rewarding when your mentors, dietitians who love and protect the profession as much as you do, recognise and compliment you on your contribution to the profession. What are the most challenging aspects of your career? Everyone eats, so everyone thinks they’re an expert in nutrition. The truth is nutrition is far more complex than calories and not as simple as just being about food. On a daily basis, dietitians, the nutrition experts who study for years to practice, are confronted by people who (unknowingly) cannot discern evidence-based nutrition from sensationalist ‘fact’ found on the internet. It has been a personal challenge to learn how best to address the controversial questions in a friendly manner, remaining true to the science. Regardless, my immense pride
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2004 Monique Piderit - Dietican continued
The answer is I don’t have an opinion, I have a position, a position that, like other health care professionals guided by science, is based on scientificallysound, evidence-based, high quality research.
to be a dietitian always helps me keep my head high. How do you cope after a day of nutrition disaster and bad eating choices? I never let it get to a point of an entire day of poor choices, but rather a cheat window where I allow myself to relax the nutrition strings, thoroughly savouring and enjoying the less healthy choice. It’s so vital to change how you think about food. Food nourishes the body and is not a sentence to a life of unhappiness. There will be meals where you overeat or eat incorrectly. But the power resides in you that at the next meal or even in the very next bite you decide you are in control. Be kind to yourself. No one is perfect (not even your dietitian).
• Can you make me a meal plan quickly? Meal plans take time and effort and require an understanding of your needs, likes, dislikes, medical history, budget, lifestyle, etc. If meal plans were the ultimate answer, then one could simply download one of the thousands on the internet and be healthy, happy, skinny, and fit. A meal plan is a guide to healthy eating, not the ultimate answer. What should clients look out for when deciding which dietitian to work with? Our relationship with food is so very intimate and personal that you need to be comfortable to open up and share that with your dietitian. You need to find a person that you trust in and can connect with. It’s also important to remember that dietitians are the leading experts in nutrition and you should note red flags when the person favours a certain diet, pushes sales of a product that you “have to have”, or “prescribing” weight loss medication. Chances are this person is not a dietitian.
What are the three things that you think people should stop saying when they meet a dietitian?
What is your favourite dish and your favourite treat food?
• Are you really going to eat that? Dietitians are humans and have taste buds and emotions like everyone else. When you’ve eaten well most of the time, your body can certainly tolerate a little cheat here and there, so yes, I’m not only going to eat that but delight in every bite along the way.
My family is Portuguese and I am the first generation to be born in SA. The culture, language, and of course, food, is still a large part of who I am. A freshly baked, hot bread roll with butter or perfectly plump roast potatoes are an all-time comfort and favourite. I am also not inclined to part with my beloved red wine (red grapes count as a serving of fruit, surely?)
• So tell me, what’s your opinion on Banting?
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class of 2011
Siphiwe Myesa-Mhlambi Film director How this film director’s truth became stranger than fiction written by Bernd Fischer
Siphiwe (SJ) Myeza– Mhlambi hasn’t let his tough upbringing prevent him from becoming one of South Africa’s rising media stars. The film director, who boasts two silver and one gold Loerie (all of which were awarded to him by the mere age of 22), is continuing to climb his way to the top. We chat to the film director and co-owner of acclaimed production company 7Films about what it takes to succeed in today’s media landscape, never giving up hope, and how he believes reality is stranger than fiction. How did growing up and living in Vosloorus, raised by your grandmother, shape you as a director? Siphiwe (SJ) Myeza–Mhlambi: I had a very colourful childhood. I grew up in a closeknit family where I was mostly raised by my grandmother. We lived in a four bedroom house in Vosloorus with my cousins while our parents were trying to forge a better life for us in the ‘City of Gold’. Storytelling around the fireplace was our favourite past-time and a way of dealing with the shortcomings and challenges we faced as a family. My biggest challenge was losing my mother and adopting a new family with my biological father who I hardly knew. The challenges in my life made me versatile, they gave me the ability not only to adapt to different circumstances, but also gave me an understanding, tolerance and the ability to love and forgive. Most importantly, I learnt that you can’t live in your own strength or your own understanding, there is a greater vision for our lives that we can’t explain and can’t achieve without divine intervention.
Did you always know you wanted to be a storyteller? SJ: I always knew I was a storyteller, but I didn’t know that it would become my profession. In high school I heard of film schools at career day, which is when the interest sparked as a potential career path. At the time I was studying IT, physics and history because my family wanted to keep ‘my options open’ and my mom had passed on at that time, so my entire family just wanted me to make the best choices and my life was micro – managed in a sense. I remember in Grade 11 my L.O. teacher gave us an assignment where we had to pick any career we wanted if money wasn’t a factor – if the career didn’t exist we had to make one up. I came up with ‘travelling storyteller’. Around the same time I had applied to universities and got accepted at UCT for Law, Wits for Political Science, TUKS for IT and Rhodes for Journalism. Matric came and I was ready to enrol at UCT for Law. I woke up one day after a dream. There was one question that was stuck in my head the whole day and it was, “Who do you want to be?” At that point I realised choosing a career path is not about what you want to do for a living but who you want to be. I snuck behind my family and applied to AFDA (The South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance). My family wasn’t jumping for joy but I’m glad to say they are warming to the idea now. What attracts you to film as a means of storytelling? SJ: I don’t have a passion for film, I have a passion for people and telling their stories. I didn’t know Kubrick or Nolan or 35mm until I reached varsity. The closest thing to film I knew was fixing DVD players and pirating and selling movies as a child (my favourite movie was the Run Down which starred The Rock). What I
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2011 Siphiwe Myesa-Mhlambi – Director continued
did know was people and I enjoyed telling their stories. I was that kid that told other people’s stories as if they were mine – that was my party trick. Story telling is an extension of my personality and the medium of film is just a language I had to learn to show people who I am. How does it make you feel to see audiences respond so positively to the work you create? SJ: I am grateful and humbled, it means that the voice of the characters behind the stories I directed were heard, which is why I do what I do – to serve others and bring their ideas and stories to the forefront of society. It means that I have to work harder to keep to that standard. I have not reached the top at all, I have just set the new bottom for myself. Onwards and upwards from here. Do you have any explanations as to why you’re specifically drawn to depicting ‘real stories’ on film? SJ: I am constantly inspired by ordinary people and ordinary ideas. Every day, I laugh, I cry and am overjoyed by things that people do, sometimes I’m frustrated and vexed by people too, but there is never a dull moment. They say ‘you write what you know’ and I know people. I don’t tell stories for myself – I’d like to think of myself as a mirror to society. People go through the same struggles, but sometimes we just don’t think anyone else will understand because of the façade we wear everyday just to cope with the constant judgment of the world we live in. Telling real stories liberates us from those masks and for those 30min or 30sec we can feel like we are not alone and we are not embarrassed by our quirks, insecurities and struggles, and at that point we share it and we
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relate to it. If we can’t relate – we learn and appreciate. I believe reality is stranger than fiction and I believe in people – I enjoy exploring and learning about them. This is my way of putting up my hand and expressing my views and opinions. What advice do you have for those hoping to follow in your footsteps? SJ: ‘There comes a moment when you have to quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. You have to go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention.’ Decide. There is no space nor time in this world/industry for ‘maybe’ or ‘I’m thinking about it’. Instead, you have to! Have to make the choice and be prepared to bare everything that comes with it. Further, do not let your circumstances define you. You are not a product of your circumstances you are a product of your attitude. No one can take away your ability to choose, so make a choice and don’t be a victim, be a hero. There are more great people that come from rock bottom than there are great people that came from privilege. What can we expect from you next? SJ: I have since done some work for brands such as Johnnie Walker and the re-launch campaign for Hello Moto Lenovo. I am currently working on a Russian Bear campaign and a Safaricom campaign in Kenya. A lot of doors are opening with various agencies and I am excited to attend my first Cannes Lions later this year. I am a new named partner at 7films, so I am also looking forward in that investment and growing the company and helping others like myself through the industry and through the company. Article published by http://gq.co.za/2017/02/sjmyeza-mhlambi/
class of 2016
Karabo Makhanya Stepping into the limelight
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hen “Karabo from Alex”, as this bubbly teen describes herself, arrived at Johannesburg’s Sacred Heart College on a scholarship in 2012, it was the first time she had encountered peers of other races. As a top student at Orchards Primary, Karabo Makhanya was asked by a teacher to sit for a test to see if she could qualify for an Alexandra Education Committee scholarship. Arriving at the private Catholic school, she says, “was a complete blur. I didn’t know anyone, it was a complete shock. I immediately found friends, because everyone was kind and welcoming. For the first time in my life I had friends of other races. It was mind-broadening.” Karabo lives with her mom, stepdad and sevenyear-old sister, although she often stays with her grandmother and two older cousins if she needs to. “My mom is super supportive of my exams,” Karabo says. “She was there with me the whole way. She is so excited. She is so proud. She
says she doesn’t care about my results. She is just proud I got through school and remain respectful.” Karabo’s future lies in the performing arts. “I want to do drama/performing arts at AFDA,” she says. “When I came to SHC I didn’t know what drama was, but when I discovered it, I was hooked. From Grade 9 I worked backstage on productions and by Grade 10, I took part in the major production and house plays where I had the main role. That play was chosen to go to FEDA (Festival of Excellence in the Dramatic Arts). In Grade 11, we did Theatrelink, where two schools, one from SA and one foreign, exchange scripts that the students have written. We had to write a site-specific play, centred on a specific place, and I directed. In Grade 12, I once again participated in every drama activity I could, and I was awarded Best Supporting Actress. Needless to say, drama was one of her matric subject. A special memory for Karabo is the tradition of the matric class leading the new Grade 1s into Mass at the beginning of the school year. “The Matric assembly was amazing,” she says. Of her time at Sacred Heart College, Karabo says: “It’s the best – we are like a family, a place that I can call home, with people that I look up to, and laugh with, and people that take care of me when I’m not feeling well, whether physically or emotionally. We are diverse and proud of it.”
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reunion
Reunion On the 21 January 2017 the class of 1982 had a picnic at Sacred Heart College to share their past memories with friends, old and new.
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the brothers Marist Observatory Back in the Day’s
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owards the middle of January 1961, Br Jude and I – then students who had just completed the first year of B.Sc. at the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg – were sent to Jo’burg (by train in those days) to do three weeks of teaching practice at the College. At that time, the Brothers residence was situated in the top floor of the main building, above the current reception area and current offices of the head and principals of the College. There were well over a dozen Brothers in the community, their bedrooms being on either side of the corridor leading to the left. In those days, this corridor extended right through to the current “Old Chapel Theatre”. There was only one spare room for us when we arrived and so we were lodged in a double bunk in the last room on the eastern side of the corridor. The shared toilets and showers were located at the top of the grand staircase (now the toilets for the teaching staff). One had to be careful when proceeding along the corridor to have a shower with but a towel wrapped round the waist, as people looking up from the lobby might cast an inquisitive look upwards! At that stage in the history of the building, the current “Old Chapel Theatre” served as a lounge and recreation room for the community of Brothers. From 1926 when the Brothers first occupied the building until the completion of the current school chapel in the 1950’s, that room had indeed served as the Brothers’ chapel with the altar placed on the raised platform at the far end. It was then that the Brothers started using it as a space for recreation. In the 60’s, of course, Sacred Heart was still a
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school legally registered for “white” boys only, though it did include many students of Chinese descent who often outshone their classmates in intellectual matters. There was also a significant number of Jewish boys enrolled at the school, the Brothers allowing a rabbi to come weekly to provide religious instruction for them. Another major difference from our times was that the College still had a significant number of boarders, perhaps over a hundred out of a total enrolment of five or six hundred. The boarders were housed in dormitories that extended over the upper floor to the left of the grand staircase as you climb upwards. These lads provided the backbone of the teams that took part in competitive inter-school games of cricket and rugby, typically “U13” (under 13 years of age), U14, U15, Second Team, and First Team. Among the great rivals were St David’s, KES, Jeppe High School, Parktown Boys, and Athlone Boys. I remember enjoying the occasions when I joined the senior boarders on the side field playing “gaining ground” on days when they didn’t have a formal sports practice or interschool match. When the boarding department was closed at the end of 1972, the dormitory spaces were gradually converted into classooms. As for teaching, I recall being given a Standard Five class to teach Afrikaans. On one occasion I asked them to write and “opstel” on “ons onderwysers”. One of the more confident little guys included a sentence which read: “Ons Afrikaans onderwyser is Brother Mario. Hy kan nie Afrikaans te goed praat nie!” The current media centre was then the boarders’ dining room. The Brothers’ dining room occupied what is now the “Habits Coffee Shop”. The Brothers sat around a large set of tables arranged in a U-shape, with the superior sitting in the middle of the central table.
Finally, when the current residence of the Brothers was completed in 1985, the school took over the bedrooms along the corridor as well as the former chapel/common room. Some of the walls of the bedrooms at the far end of the corridor were demolished to create the large room currently used as the staff room. The other rooms were converted into offices. Brother Mario, Johannesburg 4 April 2017
Brother Jude Pieterse received a special award Catholic University acknowledges his contribution to the “Common Good”
training for Catholics in the teaching profession pre-service formation of Catholics in state te Doctorate,training but the BONUM COMMUNE institutions”. That heaward. succeeded in doin This awardwas is the highest that St Augustine is largely due to assistance from Bishop able to bestow; it seeks to honour those who Brenninkmeyer. In 1988, Br Jude had to leave the have made an outstanding contribution to the leaving its further development in other hands common good, or who have made a significant body continues to be a significant resource fo and exceptional contribution to the academic Catholic schools of the country.
endeavour, particularly those who have contributedJude’s in some to the welfare time way as Secretary General and of the SACBC spa improvement society. the oflast five years of apartheid (with its stat
emergency) and the first few years of a demo
The list of South previous recipients includes several Africa. This period of our history was bede well-knownbyinternational figures: on-going acts of violence in many parts o
country. Many crises were being • Most Rev Pius Ncube, Archbishop of referred to the o of the SACBC. Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, Bishop Reg Bulawayo 2005
Orsmond, Archbishop Daniel and Archb • His Eminence Walter Cardinal George Kasper 2006
Ambrose de Paoli (then Nuncio to South Africa) “ at most a phone call away during those years w • Rt Rev saw, Kevin among Dowling,other Bishop of things, the destruction o Rustenburg 2011 office by the Vlakplaas Unit.” The st Secretariat’s the Bishops’ Justice • Rev Fr Albert Nolan OP 2015 and Peace Department “ always ready to lend a hand come what may.” • Rev Prof Gustavo Guiterrez OP 2008
The ceremony took place at a graduation ceremony Within on Friday May 2017. citation the 5Institute of theThe Marist Brothers, Jude se read immediately before Superior the presentation made as Provincial of South Africa for nine reference beginning to the outstanding contributions in January 1975, and then for a further made by Brother Jude Pieterse to the Church years beginning in 1996 (three for the Provin and the wider society in South Africa. South Africa, and six for the newly – formed Pro
of Southern Africa covering six countries).
S
aint Augustine College of South Africa, founded in 1999, the first Catholic university in the country, specialises in theology, philosophy, ethics and education, with an emphasis on studies that promote the common good of society. Three African Marist Brothers (respectively from South Africa, Malawi and Rwanda) have received a Masters degree from this institution. Unlike many universities, the highest honour it bestows on a person is not an Honorary
Another significant st Jude’s life was challenge, in 2005 Peter Derckx and Wennink of Stic Porticus for him to st programme of training. In due course led to the CIE Thabiso Project a support ag for faith-based development centres the great work th ongoing today.
Article published in the 2017 May – June issue of M Brothers Newsletter and written by Brother M Colussi
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