Closing Function (20 Sept 2006)
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Mr Azar, Mrs Steenkamp, Mrs Uys, Honoured Guests, Ladies and
Gentlemen I acquired this black academic gown 20 years ago when I
came to Eunice. It hasn’t stood the test of time as it’s struggled
to adapt to the changing shape of the modern educational leader. The
two doctors, Paine and van Niekerk, look so dignified in their
robes, but the image that lingers in my mind is their bare chested
performance at the Steedman gala walk-in – an embarrassing
combination of Physiology and Drama, but a tribute to teachers who
know when to be teachers and when to be teenagers. I introduced Mr
Volsteedt at a conference recently and he compared the preparation
of a speech to the making of a dress. They think they know
everything these Grey guys. “You need to make it long enough”, he
said, “to cover the essentials, but short enough to keep it
interesting”. Johan, Grey’s a bit dull. I am sure it was a bright
Green dress! I’ll try to keep it interesting but I noticed that the
moment I mentioned the word ‘dress’, I lost the front half of this
hall to tomorrow night. I am sure you’ll look lovely, ladies, but
focus now on my gown. The gown and hood signify degrees and imply
completed learning. Yet today we all know that learning is a
life-long process and the gown simply means qualified to learn. The
day I was appointed Headmaster I began to learn to lead a school.
Today I’m, trying to learn how to lead Eunice for the Grade 8s in
the middle here, our 2010 matrics. How do we lead Eunice, or lead
our businesses or our country or even ourselves towards that
symbolic 2010? We lead by learning, but putting our knowledge and
experience and insight to work, by viewing ourselves in relation to
the wider world, by setting shared goals, by placing maximum value
on high quality, by developing the best, in our case, teaching and
learning strategies, by working as a team of teachers, by keeping
tabs regularly on how we’re doing and by continually seeking to
understand ourselves and each other better in the interests of
moving forward together. I always tell our girls that they need
leadership to lead their own lives, to dictate direction and to
master attitudes and to master time. We all need to be leaders and
that means we need to be learning all the time. For once I say ‘not
studying’, but learning, gaining daily wisdom, insight for living,
for loving, for succeeding. Every Eunice year is crammed full with
activity and with regular calendar highlights every month of the
year. But each year has its own high profile successes. Allow me,
without detail to simply list 2006’s eight special highlights:
That Top Mathematics and Physical Science Trophy for the fifth time
in six years. The best average aggregate in the matric exam of
1550 marks which made us an average of 147 marks per pupil better
than our trophy winning brothers next door and 88 marks better than
any other Free State school. The regaining of the National Girls’
Schools’ Swimming Trophy won in Durban the same weekend as 150 girls
swam the Midmar Mile. And all the trophies at Inter-High. The
remarkable progress in terms of performance and momentum shown by
our netball girls. The success of our new Tennis Academy with its
star-studded young intake. I won’t leave it out – that sweet
unexpected 2-1 victory over Oranje in June. The wonderful quality
of productions which continue to be staged in Dr van Niekerk’s
Theatre. Nunsense was simply sensational. The striking sincerity
of Mrs Marais’ 20 Leader Projects which brought cheer to many, a
trip to Shanghai to a few and loads of special memories for our
matrics. The last one is the road, no not the tar road and its
traffic issues. No, the road travelled by Eunice and its staff and
girls in sharing Mrs Marais’ journey back to health. When I saw the
Orange girl conducting the green School’s song in practice
yesterday, I knew she was seriously sick which means….. she is
healthy again. Tonight I want to move away from a detailed report
on the activities of 2006. My newsletters provide a running
commentary on the activities and personalities of a school term. Our
girls’ achievements, which will be read out to you as they cross the
stage in what I always call their ‘tiny taste of triumph’, provide
sufficient evidence that a school is not a building but as Senge
calls it, a human community. I don’t know of a school that takes the
trouble to detail student achievement in such a comprehensive way.
You’ll hear and see and feel Eunice’s 2006. It’ll take a while to
give them all a chance, but as parents and teachers, as part of that
human community, we owe each one their moment. As a learning
leader my theme tonight is to share with you what I have learned in
20 years at Eunice.
I’ve learned that Eunice was around long before you and me - and
will be around long after. We are its privileged custodians tasked
with the responsibility of leaving it richer than we found it. It
provides us with a sense of belonging, firm roots, very high
standards, a network of personalities and so many quality
opportunities. We give it our best and we contribute to something
worthwhile, something lasting, and something far greater than
ourselves and 2006. I have learned that my job is to create a
positive climate, a climate of confidence and calm, an atmosphere
which allows, which invites and encourages talented teachers to use
their creativity, their skills and their energy to put Eunice and
its girls at the front of the pack in terms of preparedness,
opportunity and performance. I need to be there to support, to
promote perspective and to ensure that we all focus on our girls’
best interests; but the real success lies in our staff’s desire to
take their subject or sport or service opportunity to a new level to
stage a world class show or Christmas Market or overseas tour. I
salute the flair, the style and the commitment of our many talented
teachers. It was Woody Allen who said “My problems started with my
early education. I went to a school for mentally disturbed
teachers!” I have learned that our girls want demanding teachers
and the best teachers are those who create energy within their
classroom, the staffroom and beyond. Their energy is, in fact,
leadership, motivation, innovation, creativity, coaching, directing,
organizing, call it what you will; I repeat, the success of this
school these least 20 years has been mine only in as much as my
mission to surround myself with such teachers and administrators and
support staff. The challenge for you and me as Eunice custodians is
to support these special contributors with loyalty, service,
commitment and with recognition. As a community we need to hold on
to our best teachers at a time in our country when there is no
substitute for expertise, experience and a personal work ethic. I
came across my memorable Std 5 teacher in Cape Town some years ago.
“Do you remember me Sir? Cassar”, I said. “I remember exactly who
you are Cassar, but you haven’t grown!” I have learned that
nothing drives standards and achievements more than high expectation
– a key ingredient which sets a school apart. The first day you came
to high school you cannot but be struck by our Board Medal Assembly
with our girls’ beautifully personal speeches. There’s an instant
awareness of the expectation that at Eunice we try our best. To be
on stage tonight you need to make it not into the top three in the
grade, but the top 50! That’s roughly the top third of our grade.
You’re the students South African Universities will compete for in
the years to come.
I have learned how much a top school relies on depth and
competence in those subjects which are considered critical to the
success of the global economy: Mathematics, Physical Science,
Accounting and Information Technology. Between them our six Maths
teachers have 77 years experience of teaching not Maths but Matric
Maths. Tonight our Guest of Honour is Mrs Antoinette Steenkamp who
retires this year as head of the Physical Science Department and who
has played a key role in the five trophies which have confirmed our
high standards. Thank you Antoinette for your classroom work ethic,
your attention to detail, for the lead you take in our staffroom and
for delaying your retirement to see our matrics through. Your
service has contributed to the career of many a Eunice girl in the
wider fields of medicine and engineering.
I have learned that matric results are a good measure of just one
aspect of a school’s performance. You measure a school by its
product; its leaders in the front benches, their collective school
experience, their readiness for new challenges, their own measure of
their schooling; and the feelings they have for their school. But
that 100% pass for twenty years is quite an amazing statistic for a
big school, and it’s one I’m very proud of, to be honest. I have
learned that marks and medals and hockey goals make for successful
schooling but no school based learning opportunity can match a
quality school musical production. It may be exhausting for girls
and teachers and disruptive for parents and school, but the real
success lies in the sophistication of the opportunity, the value of
teamwork, the idea that work can be fun, the sheer entertainment
provided, the cultural and artistic merit, the school spirit
engendered and the enjoyment, excitement, experience and self
confidence gained by each and every member of the cast and
production team. If you responded to our offer to be in just one
Eunice production in your time here, I salute you. It was Jack
Herbert who said “My father wanted me to have all the educational
opportunities he never had, …..so he sent me to a girls’ school!”
I have learned that as a human community people matter so much more
than paper; parents matter much more than procedures, teachers
matter more than bureaucracy and girls matter more than rules. It’s
an outlook that gets me into trouble now and then, but I focus on
the human community concept and try to get it right. That’s my core
business. I have learned that leading a school is about listening.
The young need to be heard. They need to learn to think critically,
to express an independent, individual, intelligent opinion; they
need to stand up vocally for what is right and we can only help them
learn if we listen. It was RK Rathbun who said ‘We spend the first
twelve months of our children’s lives teaching them to walk and
talk, and the next twelve years telling them to sit down and shut
up”. I have learned that as a principal my clients are the parents
who entrust their daughters to our care. I remember Mr Roger
Makings, an old Saints boy and Sunday Times journalist who on day
one had only one question for me. “Mr Cassar, how are you going to
protect my daughter from Saints boys like me?” But the beauty of
the business of education is that my clients' daughters become my
friends. In that very first interview in my office the focus is
clearly on the hot seat and the opinions that matter are those of a
young girl who aspires to wear our school colours – green, gold and
blue. The green represents growth, progress, promise; the gold – the
wealth of our heritage, the collective contribution of thousands of
old girls and the blue, the limitless goals to which we can aspire,
the exciting challenges of the future beyond. As thinking teachers
we have a deep regard for the young because we respect what the
young can become. As the late astronaut Krista McAuliffe said
‘teachers touch the future. I have learned that we have the best
boarding facilities of any state school in South Africa and that our
boarders, who make Eunice a home away from home, are the heart of
this school. Like the heart, they are the driving force of so much
that happens; of so much fun, vitality and love within Eunice House
and beyond the green fence. Like the heart beat, their spirit never
ends and our work never stops. The boarders have a very special
place in my heart and they will be responsible when one day it needs
to be ‘bypassed’. Touch wood. I remember years ago going to the
Eunice House one afternoon to call a girl in trouble who had been
gated. She sent me a message. “I’m not allowed male visitors!” I
have learned that the real privilege of 20 years at Eunice is the
thoroughly rewarding contact with past pupils whose news is always a
source of both interest and satisfaction. They keep in touch in
person, electronically or though their proud parents. A cleaner at
Eunice House made a farewell speech some years ago and explained
that nothing gave her more pleasure than the knowledge that her
girls were professional businesswomen. She really believed that she
was serving the women of tomorrow. I can relate to that. I have
learned that as a middle aged white male in a multi-racial, female
environment, I’m totally dispensable. So what has 20 years at Eunice
taught me about women? Same as what I knew on day one. Women have
many faults. Men only two. Everything they say and everything they
do! But, I am envy of my colleagues. What a privilege it is to lead
Eunice, a school which has had just three principals since 1942.
It’s got to be lovely working here. I have learned that Eunice
does things in style. Look on stage here. Look at Dr van Niekerk’s
flowers, Mrs Grobler, Mrs Grobbelaar and Mrs Marais’ prizes and
certificates, watch Mrs Visser’s choir a little later or Mrs Raven’s
RCL Induction. There’s a commitment to style, although I think I
need a new gown or perhaps my gown needs a new me. I will never
forget our 1993 conductresses who showed, like all our
conductresses, and my secretary Mrs Nelson was one in 1989, that you
don’t have to get your feet wet to be a star at Inter-High. They
walked in in style on the arms of Hansie Cronje and Allan Donald,
fresh from their first World Cup. I won’t forget our 125 or 130
banquets at the Boet Troskie Hall or the final curtain call at so
many classic shows or our school services at Trinity or our new
museum or quad or theatre. It’s simply style which projects an
ongoing message that Eunice upholds a standard which is entrenched
and non-negotiable. But, we can lose it in an instant because it’s
all based on staff personalities willing to go the extra mile and
parents willing to walk the distance by meeting their financial
obligations.
I have learned that we need to acknowledge that stress is a
societal feature of South African life. We stress about our survival
as a community, about safety at every turn, about stability in our
families, about schooling, about tertiary selection and about
success as a desirable ambition for all young people in a changing
world. If I stress about my gown, you can imagine how much they
stress about that dress. It is imperative that a school provide a
haven for our girls; not a place to relax but a common sense place
of more smiles, of informality, of happy interaction. Mrs Melaney
Adams reminds us regularly that we need to be able to celebrate joy
and our girls need no coaching. I value a sense of humour as one of
our world’s most necessary dispositions and I concede that that
informality and celebration may make controlling 857 teenagers a
little difficult at times, but school needs to be fun and learning
needs to be exciting and vital and memorable. Eunice has an
emotional intelligence all of its own. I have learned that
principals walk a lonely road which requires them to absorb loads of
pressure and daily criticism. Everybody has an opinion about running
a school, managing teachers and parents and disciplining teenagers
and many are only too willing to share those opinions. But my
shoulders are broad; maybe that’s why this gown feels so tight! I
have learned that schools and, in particular, heads need to
collaborate and co-operate. We need to constantly learn from other
world class schools and principals and these days it is so easy to
do so. Mr Roy Gordon of Saint Andrew’s retires tomorrow. He is the
Guest of Honour at SMS tonight and so misses his first Eunice Prize
giving in 20 years. We get on really well together (although I
suppose it depends on who you ask) because Eunice girls and Saints
boys don’t play AGAINST each other but WITH each other! I have
learned that teenagers are so used to receiving automatically. They
need to learn to give generously. Service at Eunice is not window
dressing or compliance; it’s an integral part of the philosophy and
practice of education here. Our focus, developed over the years
through SANCA and Interact, is now aimed at our widely acclaimed
Leader Project – an initiative which replaced the prefect system and
in which Grade 12 girls in groups, tackle innovative community
outreach projects. In five years 700 matric girls have caringly
contributed to 160 projects. Many of them would do justice to any
Rotary or Round Table Club. Our girls’ sincerity and willingness to
serve at grassroots level attracts the support of companies,
benefactors and generous parents. We are so proud of their efforts.
One project earned nine matric girls a trip to Shanghai. It was a
very special initiative but what is significant is that there are
many like it each year. Service is not an attempt to gain publicity.
It’s a genuine and integral part of our Matric year. I have
learned that it’s such a blessing to have been a Eunice parent
myself these last eight years. Kristina was exposed to the Eunice
Choir at the Universitas Hospital the day after she was born. She
had climbed Thaba Nchu mountain many times before Grade 8, mostly on
the headgirls’ shoulders. Simply put, my daughters had a first class
education made special by remarkable opportunities such as Evita,
Grease, Fiddler on the Roof, Oklahoma, Charlie and the Chocolate
Factory and Cinderella; by memorable leader projects, Thanksgiving
Services and special personalities. Mrs Steenkamp’s Science, Mrs
Bouwer’s Maths and Dr Paine’s Physiology enabled and inspired
Kerry’s career in Pharmacy. They braved public speaking like their
Dad and like their Mom, they braced the pool; neither made even one
Eunice Gala, but gained 6 Midmar medals between them. But what I
valued most and what came out so clearly at the beautiful Matric
Thank You Assembly recently was the personal and intimate
relationship between our senior grade and their quality teachers – a
real tribute to Eunice and its teaching climate. As a parent I
couldn’t have asked for better, and like you, I am sincerely
grateful. They just wish they had another principal. Not one who
shares their friends and frightens away the boys.
- That is what I have learned in 20 years. So, matrics, what
have you learned in five?
- Have you learned that you need leadership to lead yourself
next year and beyond?
- Have you learned to keep both feet firmly on the ground but to
reach for the stars?
- Have you learned to guard against that moment of weakness
which will cost you dearly?
- Have your learned that, as Edison says, “Opportunity is missed
by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like
work”.
- Have you learned that you are part of a human community and
you need to be strong on sincerity, loyalty, humility, respect,
fellowship and service.
- And lastly, have you learned, as Bishop Glover put it in June
at our schools’ birthday, that you have to contribute to this
world by being better parents to your children than your parents
have been to you! That’s a tall order, but it’s the nature of
doing one’s best.
This has not been a conventional report but I have also learned
that this is the occasion to thank those who make this the school
you and me want it to be. I am indebted especially to our six wider
deputies; Mr Leon van Rensburg, Dr Don Paine and Mrs Mag Marais, our
school deputies, Mrs Maureen Botha, who has been my right hand all
these twenty years, Mr Pat Uys who runs our financial department and
Mrs Karen vd Merwe who is responsible for Eunice House. You are the
driving force of this school and you make me look like a good
driver. My thanks to all our governors for their time, support and
special expertise. I acknowledge the involvement of our PA and I
particularly thank Mr Andries Bester, Mrs Maureen Botha and Mrs
June Norval. Mrs Amal de Vries and Mrs Dolly Wedderburn are long
serving loyalists in the tuckshop and the uniform shop. To Mr Rory
Hoareau, Mr Francois Esterhuizen and Mr Tobie Wiese and all our
support staff, I thank you on behalf of our girls for the way in
which you develop and maintain our grounds. I have focused
heavily on teachers and teaching in this speech. I thank each and
every Eunice teacher for enduring me, for guiding our girls and
for adding value day after day. I thank all our sports coaches,
support staff especially Daisy Munro, Jan Etzebeth, Tiger Muller
and Paul Mohlakola. Thank you Liza, Naquita, Megan and Beatrice
for always leading with a smile and with spirit. I have had five
secretaries in the last twenty years and it’s been special to have
you Sharon come through the ranks: Eunice, Eunice House, Eunice
Office. To you and Myra, Mary, May, Anita, Sandi and Pamela, I
extend sincere thanks. Miss May Taylor and Mrs Sandi Pautz will
not be with us this time next year. I thank them for their
wonderful expertise and special commitment to Eunice. But I’ve
only had one wife and she’s had to put up with me and Eunice for
all twenty. She has some insight and some comments about why this
gown doesn’t fit so lekker. But thank you Moira and Kristina and
Kerry Louise (in her absence) for your very real sacrifice. My
theme tonight has been about lessons learned and I would like to
end with a different one. Seeing that Kristina matriculates this
year allow me to share with you one of the early lessons she
learned which makes her an expert in outcomes-based learning.
When we visited Cape Town many years ago all Kristina wanted was
to visit my brother, whose wife had given birth to a baby girl just
ten days before. On entering their flat Kristina discovered my
sister-in-law, Jane, breastfeeding her baby. Kristina, strangely,
had never been exposed to breastfeeding even though she was
breastfed herself. She was horrified. Mom! What is Jane doing?
She’s feeding the baby.
Ooohh I see.
Feeding it what?
Feeding it milk.
Ooooh. I see. (pause for a deep thought)
Is the other one juice! Kristina you’re a star for allowing me
to use the most original learning experience of my teaching
career. The sooner I end the sooner I can exit this gown. Thank
you, one and all, for sharing Eunice with me and my family these
last twelve years. ◄
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