brescia alumnae news married zev cherniak, congratulations! classifieds ... • lauren dexter (class...

Brescia Alumnae News

BAN Edition 3: September 2013

Foreword Hi Everybody Can’t believe how fast this year is flying by! This Newsletter is packed with Brescia success stories & beautiful photos of this year’s Matric Dance. I would like to take this opportunity to offer my condolences to the family of Mackson Musandiwa (Macks) who holds a special place in my heart having been a “Drama” Mom – on many late nights and early weekend rehearsals, he was the ever smiling face making sure our girls were safe. This year we will be combining our Alumnae gathering with the Christmas Market on Saturday 2nd November. Pop in for a cup of coffee and take a tour of our lovely new additions to the school. I am looking forward to catching up with all of you. In the 1st term we launched the Brescia Business Network on Face Book. Please feel free to advertise your businesses & services to other Brescia family members. Regards Michelle Macfarlane (class of 1988)


Changes at school There have been many changes to the school buildings. During 2011 everyone moved out for the main teaching block for the renovations to take place. In January 2012, we moved back into beautiful buildings. Here are some of the changes.

The classroom block from the lawns behind the library. Immediately to the right is the new addition, which includes a small chapel.

This is a close-up of the mosaic in the section underneath the chapel.


Inside the chapel

The display to encourage people to pray for Madiba

The altar

The beautiful stained glass windows


Hall and Music Centre

The Music Centre has had another story added – the Vivaldi Room above the Mozart Room- this gives more teaching space.

The old netball court behind the hall has been grassed

The hall has new curtains – on the doors and on the stage


Alumnae vs Matrics The annual alumnae vs Matric sport afternoon happened on Wednesday 26th June. There was a wonderful turnout of both past and present pupils, to participate in and to support this event.

Supporters on the new benches provided by the PTA

Janet (Matric ‘84) and Tamaryn (Matric ‘13) Asbury

What’s been happening at your school?


The Matric Dance 2013 The theme for this year’s Matric Dance was “Alice in Wonderland”. The Grade 11s put on a magical event for the Matrics in the Church hall.


Polar bear swim The annual polar bear swim took place on the winter solstice. Many of the Matrics made the most of their last midwinter’s day at school and took the plunge, joined by the senior History teacher, Mr Kevin Garcia.

Mr Garcia and the Matrics of 2013 who were brave (crazy?) enough to swim.


Inter-house events

Inter-house hockey was won by Merici with Laurus coming 2nd and Brescia 3rd.

Inter-house netball was won by Brescia, with Laurus once again in 2nd place and Merici in 3rd.

All 3 of the House plays were excellent. Brescia won Best Production and Katherine Atkinson of Laurus won Best Actress


New author Kirsten Everett, a Grade 9 Brescia pupil, has had a book published by Amazon. We are so proud of her. Book Description: Bethany Clark is special. Not because of her passion for rhinos or her captured parents but because of what she is. An Eclipse Child. Being able to turn invisible, have glowing hair and the ability to regenerate cells means she is the perfect weapon. Tricked into a new world filled with merciless greed can she do what is right? Even when the odds are piled against her. http://www.amazon.com/Eclipse-Child-ebook/dp/B00D3OAV68/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373619430&sr=8-1&keywords=kirsten+a+everett

Pizza Day! The Gr11 Geography class enjoying pizza from

Andiccio24 Bryanston, owned by Candyce Simaan (Matric 2001)


http://www.amazon.com/Eclipse-Child-ebook/dp/B00D3OAV68/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373619430&sr=8-1&keywords=kirsten+a+everett









Nicola Harris was born and schooled in Johannesburg (at Brescia House) and went to Stellenbosch University to study a BComm with honours in Economics. She then spent 5 and a half years in Sydney working in investment banking with ANZ and then Caliburn Partnership. Nicola returned to South Africa in April 2008 to join the Rand Merchant Bank corporate finance team.

In 2011 Nicola helped establish the Click Foundation, and in 2012 decided to leave the corporate world with the aim of focusing more time on the Click Foundation and other upliftment initiatives, and on private investment opportunities.

The Click Foundation, is an educational skunkworks set up as a response to the education crisis in South Africa. The aim of the foundation is to innovate and test non-conventional, out of the box, technology based solutions that have the potential to scale and meaningfully impact education for individuals. We imagine a world in which South African children, through the use of technology, can have access to a quality education, reach their full potential and contribute to their community and the wider world.)

Success Stories One of the ultimate challenges we face in South Africa is our declining levels of literacy. The United Nations states that literacy is a fundamental human right and the foundation for lifelong learning. It is fully essential to social and human development in its ability to transform lives. The Click Foundation began implementing a foundation phase English literacy programme called Reading Eggs in 2012. Reading Eggs is an online phonetics based learning experience that uses reading games, activities, songs, animations and rewards to create a fun and motivational way to support the initial acquisition of literacy skills. Reading Eggs provides visual and auditory instruction that allows for individualised and self paced learning, while requiring only basic facilitation. We currently have more than 2,000 children nationally doing the programme and are continuously growing through primary schools, afterschools and ECD Centres. For more information visit www.clickfoundation.co.za

Nicola Harris with 2 other trustees (Lelo Rantloane and Basani Maluleke


http://www.clickfoundation.co.za/

Reunions

• The Class of 2003 will be holding their 10-year reunion on Saturday 30th November. Please contact Marie Claire if you need more details ([email protected])

• There are also plans for a 20-year reunion for the Class of 1993 in December – please contact Shevaun (Gazzard) Vermaak for more information ([email protected])

• There is also a 30-year reunion for the Class of 1983 in the pipeline – contact Allison Erasmus ([email protected]) or Anthea Frith ([email protected])

• Nadine Smith is trying to contact “girls” who were at Brescia in the ‘70s for their own reunion on Sunday 27th October ([email protected])

Alumnae and Daughters We will be taking an up-dated Alumnae mothers-and-daughters photo on Thursday 26th September at 7.30am.

If you have a daughter at Brescia this year, please let Heather Auchterlonie know whether or not you can make it for the photo.

Congratulations to the following ladies who graduated from The University of Stellenbosch in December 2012 and March 2013. The university commended Brescia House School on “the quality of students that come from the school” and conveyed their strong relationship with Brescia. AJ Dodd –MSc (AH) L A Harris – Mphil T J Dempster – Bed (General Education) E Achilleos – BAccounting (Hons) T A Barnes - BComm (Law) S Burness – BSc (Earth Science) D Cromhout – BAccounting L J Fisher - BA (Humanities) A Lazic - BA (Humanities) K K Liebenberg – Baccounting H R Mole – BSc (Molecul Biol and Biotech)

Graduates


mailto:[email protected]





She said YES! Melissa Beachy-Head (Matric ‘2003) and Dean Bonini got engaged on the 31 May 2013

Jessica Knight (Class of 2001) and Ian White are getting married on 4 January 2014.

Candice Finch (Class of 2001) and Antony Felix are getting married on 15 February 2014.

She walked down the aisle! Sandrine Rey and Paolo Scalco got married at lovely ceremony at Rosebank Catholic Church followed by a magical reception at Le Chatelat

Jane Vermeulen (Class of 2001) married Zev Cherniak, congratulations!

Classifieds

New moms and moms to be…

Taryn (Lazarus) Curtis - Benjamin Micah Curtis was born on 23 May 2013

Ashleigh (Kirkwood) Frank - Emily Frank was born on 18 June 2013

Juliet (Birch) Collins - Daniella Collins was born on 27 March 2013

Bronwyn (Watkins) Kohler - Maya Linda Kohler was born on 13 June 2012

Julia Stock - Katheryn Khanya Stock was born on August 19 2012

Paula (Maclaurin) De Klerk – Oliver De Klerk was born on 3 April 2013

Claire (Hardie) Potter - Alexander Thomas was born on 14 March 2013


Condolences May the light of Christ be with these families at this sad time. We pray that they will feel Christ's love and strength and know the peace which passes all understanding.

• Alexia (Class of 2005) and Kalli Haggiyannes (2009) lost their father

• Lauren Dexter (Class of 2007) also lost her dad

• Jessica and Ashleigh Welsh (Class of 2012) lost their mother

• Karen (Johnson) Nicholls (Class of 1990) lost her father

• Sister Barbara Keegan, took ill with a lung infection, and possibly owing to injuries sustained in the recent motor car accident, was unable to successfully fight off the infection.

Classifieds

• Sister Mary Hugh - Sister Mary Hugh was a member of the Ursuline Founding Community of Brescia House School in 1965. She moved to Krugersdorp and then to the Subiaco Mission Station in Polokwane in 1984 where she helped found the St Bede’s High School. Sister Mary Hugh was a most inspiring and creative teacher and taught History to our first group of Matrics and English to the pupils of St Bede’s. Our Grade 11 pupils have for many years conducted their service learning programmes in the community in Polokwane, so many of our past and current pupils will have met Sister Mary Hugh. She will be remembered for her quiet, gentle manner and for her sensitivity and love for people. She was a stalwart of school organization - always carrying chairs around which she jokingly said was a charism of the Ursulines.


Pencil in your diary… Brescia events… • The Spring concert is on Wednesday

9th October at 6.30pm, in the school hall

• The Gala concert is on Wednesday 23rd October at 7pm, in the school hall

• The annual Matric art exhibition will be on Monday 21st October, in the atrium

• The Carol Service will be on Tuesday 3rd December at 7pm, in the church

• House Music will be on Wednesday 4th December from 9 until 10.30am in the hall

• Inter-house athletics is on Monday 30th September (field events from 2.30pm) and Wednesday 2nd October (track events 1.30 – 3.30pm) and Inter-high athletics is on Saturday 19th October in Potchefstroom.

• All Brescia alumnae are welcome to attend any of these events.


The annual Christmas Market will be on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd November. This year we will be combining our alumnae gathering with the Christmas Market, so please diarise Saturday 2nd November

Kerryn Le Cordeur (Class of 2004) After matriculating from Brescia in 2004, I went to Monash South Africa, where I completed a BA in Communication & Media Studies and Psychology, and a BA Honours in Communication & Media Studies, receiving the highest mark in the Honours class. I spent three months in Canada before starting a three-year stint as an online journalist at Newsclip Media Monitoring, followed by a year as editor of the Journal of Marketing magazine under Jeremy Maggs. I then made the decision to follow my passion, and am currently completing my Postgraduate Certificate in Education at Wits. Recently, I was lucky enough to do one of my practicals at Brescia, teaching Life Orientation to the high school girls. It was quite surreal to be back and seeing how the buildings have grown and changed and how the school is keeping up with technology and the latest trends, but at the same time to see several familiar faces, see myself in the girls and their ways and still feel quite at home.

Checked in….

We have received e-mails from Brescia Old Girls from all over the world… Take a look at who checked in to tell us their news…


Class of ‘86 class in their Standard 4 year. From top: Tandi Snaddon (Jill Snaddon’s daughter), Bronwyn Sara (Head 1986), Tanya Cromme, Jane, Valerie Kyle, Jane Chapman, Jenny Gentholtz, Cath Alexander, Alex Robb, Romy Parker. Standing: Liz Saul.

Blast from the past

Matric Dance 1984


Janet Asbury (Matric ‘84) at her Matric Dance in 1984 and her daughter, Tamaryn (Matric ‘13) at her Matric Dance this year. Thank you for sharing your photos, Janet.

Advertising


Holly Young (Matric 2007)

Allyson Cairns (Matric 2001)

Advertising


Telana Simpson (Matric 1992)

Lerato Kantue (Matric 2002)

Advertising


Kathy Mann (nee Allen, Matric 1992)

Sandrine Ray (Matric 2000)

Lights, camera and action…


Jobs We are looking for a new PR/Admissions person. We need someone who knows about marketing a school and doing admissions. If you are interested or know someone who is, please send a CV to [email protected] as soon as possible.



Join our Facebook group: “Brescia House Old Girls”

Follow the Brescia Blog on http://bresciahousesecondaryschool.blogspot.com

Contact us with your latest news, stories and photographs… E-mail: [email protected] Or call Heather Auchterlonie on 0823306312


brescia alumnae news married zev cherniak, congratulations! classifieds ... • lauren dexter (class...

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