MELIORES
SACRED HEART COLLEGE MARIST OBS EDUCATION WITH WITH HEART HEART THAT THAT KNOWS KNOWS NO NO BOUNDS BOUNDS
J U N E E D IEDITION T I O N 22017 015 NOVEMBER
Family Spirit | A Passion for Work | Simplicity | Presence | In the Way of Mary
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Who’s Who ALUMNI COMMUNICATIONS Ellen Howell Alumni Relationship Manager alumni@sacredheart.co.za
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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
Jump into reading the Australian way I 3 Champagnat Day Mass 6 June 2017 I 4 Overseas Cultural Tour 2017 I 7 We got involved and gave back to others I 11 Kids are all for fun and learning I 12 Marist Mania – Living the Marist Dream I 13 Mindworks ‘Live the Dream’ 2017 I 15 The World Scholars’ Cup I 17
12 I Connecting with Alumni
Matric 2017 I 18 To the matrics of 2017 I 19 Valedictory Speeches 2017 I 20 Victor Anton Raynal (1925 – 2017) I 22 Micky Lill (1936 – 2004) I 24 Lord Joel Joffe – Class of 1948 I 26 Joe Warby – Class of 1948 I 28
Celebrations and Reunions Sacred Heart Festival 2017 I 30 Bicentenary Marist Celebration – Alumni Reunion 2017 I 32
Contact details Pre-Primary and Primary School I 34 High School I 35
messageS from our team A Note from the Head of College
We are approaching the end of an historic year in the life of the Marist Movement, which reaches into every continent with schools in 79 countries worldwide. There is no denying the impact that can be made by someone following a dream to make things better for others. Father Champagnat was not just concerned with teaching for the sake of teaching; he wanted children to know that they were loved. If we examine the history of Sacred Heart College Marist Observatory, there can be no doubt that his vision lives on in the ways in which people interact with one another and the willingness of the community of this school to confront the hard issues, to take on the intractable problems and to never stop believing in the power of children to change the future.
Observatory has played in making you become who you are. As the Head of College I am asking you to renew your efforts to bring about positive change in the world and, further, to consider making an effort to change and provide possibilities for children currently in this school. In the next few months we are going to give some insight into the circumstances of these children and detail the assistance they require. I anticipate being overwhelmed by your support. Colin Northmore Head of Sacred Heart College
A Note from the Alumni Manager
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Taylor Mali, a teacher, created a fantastic YouTube video entitled; “Miracle Worker.” In it he says in the video that when he is asked by a learner if they are going to be tested on what he has taught them, he answers: “every single day of your life”. However it is his final message that resonates with me and with the College; “Education is the miracle, we are just the workers.”
have dedicated this issue to the Marist Old Boys whose experiences and stories have added such richness to the history of the school.
Sacred Heart College occupies a remarkable place in the history of our country and in the history of the Marist movement, but as with every human enterprise today, nothing is certain, and it is only the combined efforts of the Sacred Heart College Community in which you, the alumnus, plays a critical role, that will enable Sacred Heart College to be noteworthy in the future.
This issue is intended to bring back old memories and remind us of old traditions that are still practised today. We should be mindful of the reasons Marcellin Champagnat started the Marist Brothers’ order and why Marist Schools opened up in South Africa. May the original founder’s vision stand firm, as we face the challenges of the future.
We need our past pupils more now than ever. We need your support, your goodwill and your stories but most of all we need you to represent the best of what we have to offer to the world and to loudly proclaim the role that Sacred Heart College Marist
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As the Marist Bothers’ bicentenary year, it seems fitting to share our rich history and the stories from our Marist Old Boys. Although one should not dwell in the past, the past is what shapes us and leads us to embrace or even change our future.
Please enjoy this issue and allow me to share your story someday. God Bless Ellen Howell Alumni Relationship Manager alumni@sacredheart.co.za
sacred heart news Jump into reading the Australian way Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family. – Kofi Annan
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cross the seas, a generous gift is helping in building a bridge from misery to hope, for refugee children. Today, Friday, 5th May 2017, two refugee Education projects and two government-funded schools received mobile libraries, for their learners. These libraries were made possible from a generous donation from the Australian government. The Three2Six projects based at Holy Family and Observatory Girls and statefunded schools – Yeoville Boys Primary and Yeoville Community School were handed the libraries by the Australian High Commissioner, His Excellency, Mr Adam McCarthy. In his address, His Excellency, Mr Adam McCarthy encouraged the learners, “to read to learn; to read for pleasure and to use reading as an escapism.” He said that, “The Australian High Commission is privileged to be a part of the Three2Six project as it is an investment in the future.” In 2008, Sacred Heart College, an independent,
Catholic Marist School in Observatory, Johannesburg, intervened the plight of refugee children in the neighbouring districts. These children, often having fled from war-torn or povertystricken countries, find a safe place in the Three2Six Education project, where they are accepted, loved and educated. The Three2Six Education projects exist on the generosity of international and local donors. “We are indeed indebted to Australian Aid for this generous donation, which has assisted us to continue building a bridge; a bridge from misery to hope for our refugee children. While learners at Sacred Heart College have access to over 18 000 books, their counterparts at the Three2Six Refugee Education projects and state-funded schools, are not so fortunate. Through our fundraising appeals, we had hoped to access funds to build libraries for the projects at Holy Family College and Observatory Girls. The Three2Six project based at Sacred Heart College has a fully-equipped book container, donated by Standard Bank. The grant from Australia Aid gave us the opportunity to share with others in the community and ultimately enabled us to widen our reach and to educate more children” said Mr Colin Northmore, Head of College at Sacred Heart College. Presently, Sacred Heart College is in the process of catalysing a community improvement project and would be interested in engaging with community organisations in this regard.
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sacred heart news Champagnat Day Mass 6 June 2017
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acred Heart College celebrated being in existence for 150 years on 6 June.
Sacred Heart held a mass in the morning which Papal Nuncio, Peter Wells attended.
It was also Founder’s Day, known as Champagnat day named in honour of Marcellin Champagnat. St Marcellin was born in Le Rosey, a village of Marlhes in France. He was the founder of the Marist Brothers, a religious congregation of brothers in the Roman Catholic Church devoted to Mary and dedicated to education.
“We are privileged to celebrate 150 years in South Africa and we hope to grow from strength to strength as Marist Schools.” Said Sacred Heart marketing coordinator, Lynn Walker.
Marist schools and communities across the world celebrate the day, and this year marks the bicentenary of Marist worldwide.
Article written and published by Joburg East Express Week ending 16 June 2017.
The school hosted a variety of activities throughout the day to celebrate.
Marist Bicentenary speech by Mujahid Moses President 2017
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ong ago when Saint Marcellin Champagnat founded the Marist Brothers he made a tryst with destiny and so the task has fallen to us of fulfilling his tryst. The rising sun has heralded a new day, a day in which we will fulfil our ancient promises. Let this day mark the day in which we as Marists zealously attended our duties. We shall emulate Saint Marcellin Champagnat and strive for better things. But our road is beset with many obstacles. After establishing one relationship, another will have broken, after bridging one divide another will have formed and after healing one wound another will have been damaged. When you are tired on our arduous climb, we will be there to comfort you, to hold you and to push you. We must build the strongest bonds of the sort that will never break but only bend. In this way we will establish a great sense of community but, more than that, when we hold one another, we will look at a fellow Marist, a brother and a sister. To do this will demand a massive amount of mental stamina, endurance and perseverance. But we have been striving for better things since the founding of our order. And now, the time has
come to forever be the hidden hand in which some might think a blade rests but is instead a reaching hand that will grasp them and thrust them towards the future - our future which we will work tirelessly to achieve. A future that has only remained a dream but instead of a dream, Saint Marcellin Chamapagnat has given us the tools with which we can carve our dream into a reality. We will be one with the people, we will live amongst them so that we can forever be a part of their community. When they seek council we will be there to whisper soothing words, when they are confused we must speak sweetly. But we must always remember that our future is for all. And so we will give others the necessary tools to shape their own lives. We will live the Marist lifestyle in its fullest and contribute to the unceasing progress that has become internationally renowned. That is famed for its: family spirit; simplicity; presence; a love of work and always in the way of Mary. Let us move now, with the tools that Saint Marcellin Champagnat has given us to seize our future.
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Champagnat Day Mass 6 June 2017 continued
Marist Bicentenary speech by Julia Barry Deputy President 2017
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n light of the Marist bicentenary, the theme given to us was “living in the Marist way.” Now it would have been easy to just speak about the five principles: In Mary’s Way, Love of Work and so on. But I don’t want to. They are important and should not be forgotten but I just don’t feel it would be right when their true meanings have been somewhat lost in recent times. So, instead, I’m going to welcome you all with a plea. Lately I have been feeling a great helplessness. The world is a very different place than what it was even a year ago. It is plagued by war, violence, discrimination and “othering” those that are even slightly different. It isn’t okay. In fact, it’s repulsive. It’s scary. Political injustice is scary. Homophobia is scary. Misogyny is scary. Discrimination is scary. And it isn’t good enough to be complicit or to ignore it because it doesn’t directly affect you. It simply isn’t good enough. But we are young, and fresh, and we need to be brave enough to change these things. We need to stand up and say no. It’s enough. This is what community means – to defend one another, to advocate for the protection and love of one another. We have to stand up now. We have to stand and protect and defend everybody that we can. That is how we can live the Marist
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way. Call your friends out. Call your family out. Maybe most importantly, call your self out. We need to hold everyone accountable if we want change. It’s our duty. We have been called. It’s the Marist way.
Community means – to defend one another, to advocate for the protection and love of one another
sacred heart news Overseas Cultural Tour 2017 “What I remember from Euro tour 2017 was all the walking we did, the unpredictable weather, getting lost in the underground, laughing, tears, a lot of white bread, beautiful architecture and people but most of all being blessed with the opportunity to travel around the world with my friends and creating memories that will last forever.” Thandeka Munnik Grade 11
In London, we visited the Tate Modern Art Gallery. Drama students had their highlights here as we attended a Shakespearean acting workshop at the Globe Theatre (a reconstruction of Shakespeare’s original theatre) and we attended a performance of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night” and the musical “An American in Paris”. We visited the Greenwich Timeline and went stargazing at the Planetarium.
Clockwise: London Underground, St Paul’s Cathedral and Trafalgar Square – London
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Sacred Heart News – Overseas Cultural Tour continued
“My favourite Art experience was the visit to Monet’s garden because Monet is my favourite artist and his garden is enchantingly beautiful, and my favourite History experience was seeing the Topography of Terror Museum because WWII history is one of my favourite aspects of history to study and I saw lots of rare photos in that museum.” Clare Chang Grade 12
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In Paris we visited the Eiffel Tower, Sacre-Coeur (Sacred Heart), a most beautiful basilica and the Sainte Chapelle with its magical interior. We Clockwise: Eiffel Tower, Sacre-Coeur and Monet’s Gardens
enjoyed many art galleries: the Impressionist collection in the Orsay and the Pompidou Centre, which has a major international collection of modern art. We saw Monet’s ground-breaking huge canvases of waterlilies in the Orangerie Museum and we also visited the breath-taking gardens which Monet created at Giverney as his source of inspiration. We were impressed by a backstage tour of the modern Paris Bastille Opera and were awestruck by the opulence of the Paris Garnier Opera. “In general the visits to the art galleries were great. It’s one thing to see an artwork on paper and admire it, but it’s a totally different to see it in real life. You get an extremely different feeling and admiration for the artworks you have learnt about. From gallery to gallery I had a different, enjoyable experience each time.”
Check-Point-Charlie, the Brandenburg Gate, and the Holocaust memorial and went on the chilling but memorable “Walking Wall tour”. We also saw an over the top cabaret performance at Friederichstadt Palias. “The One Grand Show in Berlin was a captivating, enjoyable and breath-taking cabaret, with artists that showed off their incredible skills and talents. I enjoyed every minute of the play as well as the tour.” Nolufefe Maswanganyi Grade 11
Bulelwa Nengudza Grade 12 In Berlin, Germany, there was a strong historical focus as we visited sites related to WWII and the Cold War. We visited
Check point Charlie – Berlin
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Sacred Heart News – Overseas Cultural Tour continued
“Dancing randomly at train stations and complete strangers joining in and having Ros teach us a cheeky dance sequence outside Centre Pompidou.” Kyara Plasket-Govender Grade 11 Overall the students had the opportunity to grow and learn and were a delightful group to take on tour. Ms Le Roux, Ms G Murray and Ms R Wood-Morris
St Paul’s Cathedral – London Brandenburg Gate – Berlin
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sacred heart news We got involved and gave back to others
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s Sacred Heart College celebrates this historic event of 200 years Marist in the world and 150 in Africa; we also got involved by giving back to others. On the 6 June, after the mass, the Grades 3-6 children participated in The Big Walk. Part of The Big Walk was that our children had to have sponsorship forms completed to raise funds for children less fortunate than themselves. The children managed to raise R4 071,60. Well done! Another initiative was to collect 200 pairs of shoes which would be donated to the children in Addo who live in dire poverty. The aim was to get 200 pairs to match our 200 years celebration. We are proud to say that Sacred Heart Community really got involved and donated 512 pairs of shoes. I am sure the Addo children are happy to have warm feet this winter.
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sacred heart news Kids are all for fun and learning
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memorable experience was created for Three2Six and Sacred Heart College Grade R to 2 classes on 2 June when Play Africa visited the school.
said Sacred Heart marketing coordinator Lynn Walker. The Three2Six education project is primarily a project dedicated to the protection and education of refugee children.
The aim of the day was to offer children unrestricted, unlimited play using a range of low – cost, low – impact (non-plastic) interventions and, most importantly, create friendships. “We are happy to have Play Africa here today to facilitate this educational programme because our Three2Six and Sacred Heart pupils never get to meet and they all attend school in the same place. To have them meet and get to know each other in such an environment is wonderful,”
The purpose of the project is to better the lives of those who have sought refuge in South Africa, those who have suffered from the effects of war, political struggles and economic hardship. The children got the opportunity to know each other in a fun environment. Founder and CEO of Play Africa, Gretchen Wilson-Prangley, said the adventure playground allows the children to explore and use their imagination. “You get to understand their world and how they see things differently. The activities also bring the children together and offer them fresh experiences, allowing them to engage with each other.” Article written by Busi Vilakazi and published by Joburg East Express Week ending 16 June 2017.
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sacred heart news Marist Mania – Living the Marist Dream
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he Junior High (Grade 7-9) students of Sacred Heart College spent two days learning more about their Marist roots, exploring the international flavour of Marist worldwide and learning about the Worldwide Mission – how the Marist Brothers, Alumni and Three2Six volunteers live the Marist Dream. Guest speakers included Mike Greeff, director of the Marist School Council and Jason Grieve, St Henry’s alumnus and founder of the youth mission programme, Sharing Our Call. Mike shared his journey from the corporate world, via the NGO sector, to working full time with Marist South Africa. He emphasised the importance of actively engaging with the needs of the world, working with a community and finding depth and meaning through spiritual commitment.
the destitute, with compassion and hands-on care. Amongst the Alumni was Gqibelo Dandala who is currently the CEO of the Future of the African Daughter (FOTAD). She challenged our students with a powerful compassion to find their dream and live it. The learners were inspired by the stories of the Three2Six volunteers – young people from South Africa and abroad who give a year or two
Jason shared some deeply touching stories of the children from the Addo area where the Marist Brothers and Mercy Sisters make a difference to
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Marist Mania – Living the Marist Dream continued of their lives to serve refugee children and help them to find hope through access to education. The mania ended with a celebration in which the Grade 8’s shared their research into St Marcellin’s life, Marist values and the history of Sacred Heart College. The Grade 7 and 9 students prepared food and décor from Marist countries around the world, and we sang the theme song from the Marist International Youth conference – ‘Dare to Dream’ – and with time we believe the young hearts and minds of our students will find the inspiration and courage to do just that – dare to dream.
How the Marist Brothers, Alumni and Three2Six volunteers live the Marist Dream
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sacred heart news Mindworks ‘Live the Dream’ 2017
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indworks started at the school in 1989 for the Intermediate Phase. In 1991 the first Mini-Mindworks for Grades 1-3 was held. It has been run every two years by parents and now includes Grade Rs. The theme of ‘Live the
Dream’ is in honour of the Marist bicentenary in the world and celebrating 150 years of Marist in South Africa. Keeping Marcellin’s dream in mind, parents, along with outside facilitators, offered the children a two week programme which offered the most amazing experiences in which the children renewed their minds, their hearts, their bodies and their souls.
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Children renewed their minds, their hearts, their bodies and their souls
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sacred heart news The World Scholars’ Cup
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n the 19th May six teams from Sacred Heart College competed in something that has recently become an annual event in South Africa – The World Scholars’ Cup. After having been first introduced to South Africa in 2015 with a no more than twenty teams competing in a single event in Johannesburg, the Scholars’ Cup has expanded to include rounds in Durban and Cape Town and this year saw more than forty teams from schools all around Johannesburg competing with one another to win trophies, medals and – most importantly – an invitation to one of the Global Scholars’ Cup rounds. For the first time in the history of Scholars’ Cup one of the global rounds will be held in Cape Town, which makes it both exciting and accessible to the South African teams. All six of Sacred Heart’s teams qualified and been invited to compete in the Global rounds being held in Athens and Cape Town in June and July this year. The Scholars’ Cup competition requires learners to compete in the disciplines of persuasive writing, general knowledge and debating. In the writing sections Sacred Heart had teams that placed 5th and 8th. In general
knowledge (known as the Scholars’ Bowl) the teams placed 2nd, 3rd and 13th, and in the debating the Sacred Heart Senior teams placed 4th and 6th and the junior teams placed 1st and 3rd. Special congratulations must go to Noah Furman who was the top Sacred Heart scholar overall, Kelechi Nwokeyi who came first in the Arts section of the Bowl, and Mikail Metz who won the Special Area section of the Bowl and received 2nd place in the both the Best Individual Debater and Best Overall Junior Scholar sections. Sacred Heart looks forward to competing in Cape Town in July where we hope to achieve even more and of course, have fun doing so.
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Matric 2017
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Matric 2017
To the matrics of 2017 What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
At some point, you have to realize that some people can stay in your
Heart,
But not in your
Life.
My wish for you all is that, regardless of whether you started at Sacred Heart College in Pre-Primary school, Grade 8 or in the past two years, you have started to discover what lies within you, that you realize the limitless potential that is part of your dreams and remember that an education without heart is no education at all. Heather Blanckensee High School Principal
– Anonymous
In Meliora Contende
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valedictory speech 2017
ELIZABETH LEONG Good evening everyone. As some of you may or may not know, I am one of the few people who have been at Sacred Heart College since Red Group in the pre-primary school. That was in 2003. I have been at Sacred Heart for 15 years. As you can imagine, I have seen everything and known everyone who has come and gone and I therefore have a vast selection of memories from my time here. These memories extend from little pink tutus and ballet shoes in preschool, to making a new friend in Grade 1 who, as it would turn out, would squash all those blonde jokes with her list of distinctions, to cleaning blackboards for community service in grade 5, to running for my life straight to Mr Maseko’s technology class in grade 7 and, finally, to standing here before you in matric. I won’t lie. It’s been very hard for students and parents alike. I am 100% sure that there has never been anyone who hasn’t cried over school but I can also guarantee that the best memories will come from the same place. I, for one, was always learning new things every day - like how Afrikaans teachers are the people to go to for life lessons, or how the strictest teacher
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you have ever known would be the one to call a room full of sobbing teenagers “his girls’’. He waited patiently for a record 3 hours, going to every girl in the room, without judgment, asking them what was making their hearts so heavy. This was followed by the most emotional speech about selflove. After that, we all hugged each other and Rafi told us that, on the bright side, rubbing our tears into our faces would moisturize our skin. If that isn’t a bonding session, nothing ever will be! What I love about the people I’ve met is that we also made time for games, now and then. Confirmation Camp is a particular example of one of these times. I don’t think I’ll ever forget playing Bull with Club J.C. For those who aren’t familiar with the rules, it is essentially taking turns to put cards upside-down on a table in a specific order and, if you think someone is lying about the order of their cards, you call bull. If you’re right, they pick up the entire pile; if wrong, you pick up the cards. Zinzi somehow happened to have 20 Queens. Suffice to say we didn’t believe him and he picked up a very big pile. He wasn’t the only one. You see, Jokers are wild cards and you have to lie them in. I have never, in my life, heard anyone say so confidently, “2 Jokers,” like Marie-Ange did.
valedictory speech 2017 As you can guess, she picked up a big pile of cards too. Although those are some good memories, some of the best come from my 2 besties. The first is the girl who has, undoubtedly, fallen down every single staircase possible in this School. I kid you not. Every one of them have had some form of either her blood, sweat, tears or all 3. The second is our resident over-achiever, Astrid. Honestly, I’m surprised she hasn’t gotten a blazer for existing yet. These guys have been with me since day 1 of High School and they have helped me be the best version of myself. I am sure we have all had people like that in our lives and, if not, find them and never let go. Figuratively, of course. We don’t want any restraining orders so young in our lives. We all have precious memories here. We all, in some way, grew up here. I am honoured to have
HOWARD SU This is my 6th year in Sacred Heart. It may not seem long if I compare it to some candidates on the seat but what is in common is that Sacred Heart is the only School in South Africa for us. 6 years ago, a little boy walked through the main entrance, could not speak English and could not do his homework. I had to copy from others. However, I have to admit that copying homework is not good. Slowly, I realized I did not need to copy anymore when I beat Muj by half percent with my 96.5% on a Romeo and Juliet test in grade 9! At that very moment, I knew my hard work has paid off. When I look into my memory, I have walked a long way - not by myself, but with my friends, teachers and parents besides me. All my successes and memories have been wrought
known all of you. I am honoured to have seen the kids playing imaginary games in preschool, grow up to become the phenomenal drama students sitting here today. I am honoured to have witnessed the people who played 6 square on the stage in the Orchard, grow up to become our amazing soccer players. To see the children who doodled in the pages of their textbooks grow to be the art students by whom I am surrounded. And, I will continue to be honoured when I see these same people grow to become actors, artists, teachers, doctors and all number of amazing vocations. We will all be rooted in one place, in one School and, I know, we will all in our own ways, make this world better because this school has ingrained in us to always strive for better things. And remember: Life is a heartbeat. If there are no ups or downs…you’re dead. Thank you.
into this amazing place-Sacred Heart College. At this moment on stage, my past has gone in the blink of an eye. Time flies, it’s just as if everything happened yesterday - the PE project with 3 to 6, the little group projects, the Junior High project… there are too many to mention. Some are sweet and some are devastating. There are no words to describe the pain of losing a friend that has accompanied us for so many years. Nevertheless, I am really grateful to be at this School and to have so many memories with all of you here. It is time to say farewell, even though I really don’t want to do so. But I believe the future for us is bright as the sun and all of us shine like stars, because we all come from this amazing School, and students from Sacred Heart cannot be awful!
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(1925 – 2017)
Victor Anton Raynal PrEng BSc (Electrical Eng) Wits FIEE F(SA)IEE When his father died of malaria when he was 8 years old, he was sent to boarding school at Marists Brothers in Johannesburg
largest electrical engineering distribution equipment manufacturers in the world. He recalled that Ferranti was developing the world’s first commercially available computer and he considered whether he should develop his career along that path. However, Victor was very committed to using his engineering skills to develop the infrastructure in Africa. When he completed this professional attachment he turned down lucrative job offers, in the UK and other Commonwealth countries, to resume working for the JCC.
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ictor was born in Mozambique to become the third generation of a family that had engaged in the electricity supply industry in Southern Africa since 1898. His grandfather and father had worked for the Electricte De France Company in Mauritius and then Mozambique. When his father died of malaria when he was 8 years old, he was sent to boarding school at Marist Brothers in Johannesburg. He completed secondary school at the age of 16 and started a 5 year apprenticeship with the Johannesburg City Council (JCC).
While he was with Ferranti he married Jean Stuttard, who worked as a paymistress in the company. Two years after Jean was tragically killed in a car accident in 1955, he married Margaret Bailey, also from Oldham; Basil de Ferranti, with whom he had become friends, attended this wedding.
Realising that he had potential the JCC awarded Victor a scholarship, which enabled him to do a degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand, where he graduated in 1950. He then had a professional training attachment with Ferranti in Oldham, England, which was at that time one of the
This responsibility involved providing reticulation for a high population density area of about 500 square kilometres, which included Soweto. At that time, it was the largest peri-urban conurbation in Africa, housing an estimated one million inhabitants, whose source of energy came from burning fossil fuels, the effluent
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Returning to continue his career in the JCC in 1955, he held various electrical engineering positions before being appointed as Assistant City Electrical Engineer (Distribution) in 1970.
from which blew over into the then whites’ only Johannesburg. However, Victor saw the electrification of Soweto, not only as a solution to regional air pollution but, also, as a means to provide improved access to development opportunities for inhabitants. Victor developed ultra-high street lighting to provide vandal proof illumination for vast areas economically; although these may have looked like concentration camp illuminations for the endless rows of match box houses, Victor recalled the delight of residents who were not only able to get home more safely but able to sit out on the pavements to read the newspaper and whose children could do their homework at no cost. He recalled many curious events when electricity first became available to a population who had no prior access in the late 20th century.
Victor recalled the delight of residents who were not only able to get home more safely but able to sit out on the pavements to read the newspaper and whose children could do their homework at no cost
Victor achieved many academic and professional qualifications. He became a member of the Council of the South African and UK Royal Institutes of Electrical Engineers in 1970 and was appointed to the National Coordinating Commission (Niemand) setting standards for new residential townships. He authored three major papers for which he received awards entitled: “Cable Fault Location”, “Insulating Oil in Relation to the Maintenance of Power Transformers” and “A Modern Approach to Reticulation of Residential Townships”. He was awarded Fellowship of the SA institute of EE in 1976 and Fellowship of the UK IEE in 1979. In 1994 he received a 50 years membership award by the SA IEE.
Due to the frustration of non-progression in his career, Victor took early retirement from the JCC at the age of 55. He then worked for Croswell Engineers until he went into semi-retirement in 1989 in the Cape, but continued working on part-time projects until recently.
Although Victor was a talented and innovative engineer, who won awards for his inventions and recognition of his achievements by the Institutes of Electrical Engineering, his career progression in the JCC was thwarted from further advancement due to not having political connections with the Broederbond.
He leaves his widow Margaret; also a daughter, a specialist occupational physician and a son, a chartered mechanical engineer. Two sons predeceased him; a civil engineer died of the late psychological effects of service in the South African Army and the youngest, a lawyer, died of a rare cancer. Victor was a keen competitive sportsman and chess player. He was an enthusiastic coach and has left many grateful recipients of this tutoring, including amongst them his 8 grandchildren. Although throughout his life he had personal tragedies, in prematurely losing a parent, a spouse and then two sons, Victor retained a deep faith in the goodness of God through his Catholic faith.
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(1936 – 2004)
Micky Lill Physical Education Teacher and Football Coach at Sacred Heart College from 1977 – 2000
Right: Wolverhampton Team Below: 2006 Micky Lill Fitness Centre
A fitness centre built for the boys to train in, was opened on the 4th March 2006
M
icky Lill was born on the 3rd August 1936, Romford, United Kingdom. He qualified as a Physical Education Instructor in the British Army, where he acquired his knowledge and loud, clear voice, which was so familiar to all of us. But, more impressive than this, he was signed up as a professional footballer in the British football league at the age of 17. He played for Everton, and Wolverhampton in the year they were 1st Division League Champions.
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Micky Lill with the U16 Soccer Team
There are many who remember standing in crowds of 100 000 and chanting, “Micky Lill, Micky Lill….” for he was a brilliant player who scored many spectacular goals. At the age of 23 he was on the verge of selection for the England Team when, sadly, he was badly injured and had to switch from playing to coaching.
and the 1st XV rugby pitch (behind the Science Block) was returned to its originally designed usage as a soccer field. A fitness centre for the boys to train in, was opened on the 4 March 2006 and dedicated to Micky Lill. He sadly passed away from cancer in October 2004, aged 68.
Micky Lill left English football in May 1966 to join Germiston Callies in South Africa. He soon became manager/coach of the club after retiring from playing for the period 1968 to 1973. He left Callies to manage Jewish Guild (based in Johannesburg). He eventually joined Sacred Heart College in 1977 as a Physical Education Teacher until 2000 and continued coaching the 1st Soccer Team until 2004.
Today, Sacred Heart College continues to produce excellent players who compete at District and Provincial levels. A number of our alumni have played or are playing in professional leagues. Waseem Jadean (Matric 2014), former Kaizer Chiefs Academy member, is a professional soccer player in Malta for FC Gujdha. Emmanuel Ndlovu (Matric 2015), a former Black Aces Academy player, is part of a Greek professional club. Obert Rukato and Bogosi Morojele (Matric 2015) are playing for Corinthians FC in the SAB Ekurhuleni League.
By 1986, soccer had fostered enough enthusiasm amongst both the boys and staff that it came to replace rugby as the main winter sport,
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class of 1948
Lord Joel Joffe Human Rights Lawyer and a leading campaigner and advocate for assisted dying
J
offe was born to a Jewish family in Johannesburg and attended Marist Brothers College in Observatory till 1948. He studied law at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, qualified as a solicitor in 1956 and was called to the South African bar six years later. Joffe was approached by Mandela’s wife, Winnie, to defend her husband in the Rivonia Trial, where several leading members of the African National Congress (ANC) liberation movements were facing charges. Joffe was a key part of Mandela’s defence team in the 1963 – 64 Rivonia Trial, which saw Mandela given a life sentence for sabotage against the apartheid South African state. Joffe told BBC radio in 2007, “For me, it was about saving the lives of these wonderful people. The nine members of the ANC were the finest people I had ever met – such courage, such integrity, so committed… It was a great privilege to defend them.” Following the trial, South Africa offered him the opportunity to leave as long as he never returned. In that year, Joffe wrote a book about his experience entitled, “The State
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Joel left his native South Africa after representing Nelson Mandela and other antiapartheid campaigners at the Rivonia trial in 1964
vs. Nelson Mandela: The trial that changed South Africa”. Lord Joffe will not only be remembered for the breadth of his experiences, but for his humanity Sarah Wootton, Chief Executive of Dignity in Dying, pays tribute to Lord Joffe, a leading campaigner and advocate for assisted dying. Few people will be able to fit so much into a life as Joel Joffe did. Representing Nelson Mandela in court, founding a FTSE 100 insurance company, chairing Oxfam and leading the campaign for assisted dying – Joel
Joel became renowned for his passionate and dedicated campaigning to legalise assisted dying managed to make the most of his time on this planet. His death was a great loss, but his legacy will live on for some time. Joel left his native South Africa after representing Nelson Mandela and other antiapartheid campaigners at the Rivonia trial in 1964. In the UK, he was known for being one of the co-founders of the insurance firm that later became Allied Dunbar. He supported the international development charity, Oxfam, for many years and chaired the organisation for six years. He became a member of the House of Lords in 2000. Amongst his many other causes, Joel became renowned for his passionate and dedicated campaigning to legalise assisted dying. While his attempts to change the law did not succeed, Joel’s continued support behind the scenes played a big part in managing to ensure that Lord Falconer’s Assisted Dying Bill received the support of the House of Lords in 2014 and 2015. Before becoming chief executive of Dignity in Dying, I had heard Joel’s Desert Island Discs and was hugely impressed, not only by the breadth of his achievements but, also, by his humanity. It was the latter that was the key to his involvement in the assisted dying debate. Joel felt sure that we have enough humanity to provide the choice of assisted dying, at the same time as protecting the vulnerable. He showed this humanity through his support for Dignity in Dying’s staff and for me; as well as for the values of a campaign that has at its heart, compassion.
While his career as a lawyer was far behind him by this stage, his advocacy for assisted dying laws was certainly that of an attorney. His sharp wit, his astute analysis and his fiercely intelligent arguments convinced many of the finest minds in the Lords and gave encouragement to those of us on his side. Joel’s keen eye for evidence was a particular boon for our campaign. He was enormously frustrated at the use of reckless allegations and spurious arguments that assisted dying laws would not work. He fearlessly took up those arguments with opponents of assisted dying. More than anything, he held the highest respect and compassion for people who campaigned for assisted dying, particularly those who had been directly affected by the suffering of their loved ones. He spoke movingly about the unnecessary suffering that was being imposed on dying people by a law that was broken: “As a caring society, we cannot sit back and complacently accept that terminally ill patients who are suffering unbearably should simply continue to suffer for the good of society as a whole.” When I visited Joel last week, I saw the same humour, intelligence, passion and integrity that we had all come to know so well. While his health was deteriorating, I saw no dimming of that brightness that we all benefited from so much. He’ll be very sorely missed by all of us at Dignity in Dying, by his friends and family, and by the uncountable beneficiaries of his lifetime of good causes.
Article written by Sarah Wootton, Chief Executive, Dignity in Dying: https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/healthand-care/opinion/dignity-dying/86937/lordjoffe-will-not-only-be-remembered-breadth
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class of 1948
Joe Warby ‘What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?’ – a short story on Joe Warby written by his daughter Vivian Warby
F
or a daughter whose profession is that of a writer, I’ve been blessed with parents – Joe and Dot Warby – whose lives are worthy of a series of books. In the same year that Marist Brothers celebrates its 150th anniversary, my dad – who attended the school for part of high school – turned 91. In a rich, full life you wouldn’t think a few years as a teenage boy would be remembered but when I asked dad recently what one of his proudest memories was – it was when his peers at Marist Brothers voted him the Victor Ludorum. To a young teenager, who had been called ‘Uitlander’ in his hometown, this level of acceptance was an affirmation of his great worth and gave him the self-confidence to walk tall.., which he has done his whole life. My parents lived in such a different era to us.
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In the same year that Marist Brothers celebrates its 150th anniversary, my dad – who attended the school for part of high school – turned 91
As Lebanese immigrants they had it hard and were ostracised, which is why I think it meant the world to him to be Victor Ludorum and, I think, Rugby Captain – chosen by his team mates. He has remembered it his whole life – it showed him he could rise above all petty discrimination. ‘One of the boys put me on their back and did a victory lap with me,’ my dad recalls of that time.
My dad’s short education at Marist Brothers laid the foundations on which my father built himself up to become a wellknown and astute businessman
But the joy was short lived – my grandfather was struggling, not only to pay fees but to support the family, and dad returned home to help keep the home fires burning. ‘We were battling ... I couldn’t leave my father.’ My dad has worked most of his life and only retired at age 89. In his working career he turned his family’s fortunes around but he never forgot his youth nor where he came from.
hero and gentleman my dad is and what a kind, good heart he has. To this day he speaks highly of the Brothers who had a big impact on him. They encouraged his love of reading and led by example to show what it was to be good in this world. He talks of his two friends – Harald Donaldson and Jackie Webster – who, even with the help of modern technology, we have not managed to trace.
One story that always sticks out for me is this one: When my dad was a young boy, the nuns at the mission, down the road from where he and his family used to live, would supply them with a barrel of water, weekly, for their use. My dad never ever forgot the good turn that the mission sisters did to ensure this big family had water for their daily use – and, 86 years later, a weekly delivery from my father and brothers’ fruit and veg shop is still made to the mission.
My dad’s short education at Marist Brothers laid the foundations on which my father built himself up to become a well-known and astute businessman, an exceptional father and an icon in the community.
The nuns from my dad’s youth are long gone, but his memory of their kindness is still as fresh as yesterday. The fruit and veg are used by the mission, these days, to feed the less fortunate. This is just one of the many stories of what a
We all extend a thanks to the Marist Brothers who played a role in shaping my dad into the hero he is to us today. May many more graduates shine bright.
Together with my amazing mother – his devoted wife, Dot, – they have built a home full of love for their seven children, twelve grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
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reunion
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reunion
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Sacred Heart college SACRED HEART COLLEGEPre-Primary PRE-PRIMARY School SCHOOL Tel: 011 081 2232 Fax: 011 648 1858 rashidat@sacredheart.co.za YHZOPKH['ZHJYLKOLHY[ JV aH
Sacred Heart SACRED HEARTcollege COLLEGEPrimary PRIMARY School SCHOOL Tel: 011 081 2203 Fax: 011 648 5204
veronicap@sacredheart.co.za
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Sacred Heart college HIGH SCHOOL SACRED HEART COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL Tel: 011 081 2219 Fax: 011 648 1047 jenh@sacredheart.co.za
;LS!
-H_! QLUO'ZHJYLKOLHY[ JV aH
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SACRED HEART COLLEGE
MARIST OBSERVATORY ContactUS US CONTACT
15 Eckstein Street, Observatory, Johannesburg
15 Eckstein Street, Observatory, Johannesburg 2192 www.sacredheart.co.za | Email: shc@sacredheart.co.za www.sacredheart.co.za Email:shc@sacredheart.co.za PO BoxI87257, Houghton, 2041 | Telephone: 011 487 9000 https://www.facebook.com/officialSHC | https://twitter.com/_Cool_School PO BOX 87257, Houghton 2041 I Tel: 011 081 2200 https://www.facebook.com/officialSHC I https://twitter.com/_Cool_School