Glenstantia Primary School valedictory service, Pretoria
23 November 2006
Mr HPJ Pretorius, Principal
School governing body members
Grade 7 leavers
Teachers
Parents
I am very pleased to be here on the occasion of your school farewell,
especially so because it is your schoolâs 25th anniversary year. Farewell
services tend to be occasions for mixed emotions. It is an occasion for
reflection on the contribution that you, the grade 7s, have made to this
school. It is also an occasion to say goodbye.
It is a moment of some sadness for the teachers that you are leaving behind.
Your teachers have come to know and care for you over the years you have been
together.
Perhaps you are also anxious about going to a new school â while also being
excited. You will make new friends and have new experiences.
Perhaps the biggest change will be moving from being the senior learners in
this school to being the juniors in your secondary school. Do not be afraid;
you will be fine. You will have to adjust, but with the preparation you have
been given at Glenstantia Primary School, I am sure you will manage the
transition well.
Tonight I want to talk to you about two things. First, you all have learning
opportunities that were not available to your parents. You must make the best
of the opportunities that freedom has opened up for you. As I look at you, I am
reminded of the 'generation of 1976', the youth who sacrificed so much for us
thirty years ago. I know that you are a different generation, faced with very
different challenges.
However, you need to show the same spirit that informed the 1976 generation.
You need to stand up and speak out against you know is wrong. You need to
respect your fellow pupils and your teachers. You need to report incidents of
violence and abuse. You must be aware that you are moving from a protected to a
more independent environment.
As you venture into secondary education you will be expected to participate
in the decision-making structures of your schools, through the Representative
Council of Learners. This is a good opportunity for you to develop your
leadership skills and to help us build cultures of learning and teaching in our
schools, where violence and anti-social behaviour is rejected.
In high school you need to make good friends. The friends you make will be
your friends for the rest of your life â even if you go on to study in other
provinces and even later when you spend time in other African countries or even
further afield. They will be your friends for life.
The second thing I want to impress on you is the importance of improving
your reading and writing skills. Take every opportunity to read. It will help
you for the rest of your life. You will become a more knowledgeable, aware and
whole person. The Department of Education is developing a national school
library policy and I have personally driven a plan to put sets of books in many
of our schools where novels and reference books were rarely seen.
Your reading will improve as you realise the enjoyment that comes from
reading. The easier it is to read, the easier it is to understand maths and
other subjects. As I have been talking, I hope you have been thinking about
your own education. While it is fun to watch television and play games, you
must be clear in your own minds that the core business of schooling is to
learn, and master reading, writing and mathematical skills.
If you engage positively in your own education you will be successful.
However, if you give in to drugs and other anti-social behaviour or fail to
take advantage of the educational and leadership opportunities open to you, you
will regret it later in your lives.
With those words, I wish you well in your new phase of learning. I would
also like to wish the Glenstantia School staff, principal and governing body
membersâ even greater success over the next 25 years.
Thank you.
Issued by: Department of Education
23 November 2006
