I am filled with mixed emotions as I take up the mantle of Chairperson of the Guild for 2020/2021. On one hand,I am extremely excited about the possibilities my new posi-tion affords and the exciting work and plans the committee have in store. Yet, on the other hand, it is with a heavy heart that I will be unable to introduce myself to our Old Girls at the Reunion for the classes of 2010, 2000, 1995, 1990, 1980, 1970 and 1960 due to COVID-19. Our annual Reunion days are such a highlight on our yearly calendar. I look forward to a bumper 2021 of double Reunion year celebrations.

My name is Trisha Parshotam (née Gokool - Class of 1999) and I am a passionate Old Girl with a daughter in Grade 4 at College. I have an Honours degree in Marketing Man-agement and my career has progressed from the world of advertising to being an owner and Marketing Director of Dragon Protection Services.

I believe the Durban Girls’ College Old Girls’ Guild can be a catalyst for change and I am looking forward to navigating the ‘new normal’ with some exciting initiatives such as online conversations through webinars and more

fundraising initiatives for our community. This year, our committee has a dynamic group of 22 women who have volunteered their services. I am very pleased that Nerissa Govind (Class of 1989) who has served on the Guild for over 13 years will remain as my Vice-Chairperson.

Nerissa does amazing work with Enkuliso and Ekujabuleni - these nursery schools still remain at the forefront of our fundraising efforts. Lungile Masuku (Class of 2006) is our new Treasurer of the Guild.

In closing, I would like to thank Taryn Hompes (Class of 1991), our previous Chairperson, for her incredible hard work and contributions during her term. I look forward to staying in touch this year and hearing from you all via our social media platforms or email us at oldgirls@dgc.co.za.

Keep well, keep safe and keep the faith. This too shall pass.

Trisha Parshotam ChairpersonDurban Girls' College Old Girls Guild

College ChatterFrom the Helm

College Moment

Congratulations to our 2021 Leaders: Saabira Amod (Head Girl), Keara Dunford (Deputy Head: Administration), Olivia Sharratt (Deputy Head: Conduct), Jenna Pearson (Head of SRC), and Melissa Githinji (Vice-Head of SRC).

Issue

#100

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2020

Junior PrimaryOur Grade 1s have been learning

about different root vegetables and we decided to create our own pineapples using rolled paper and our creative layouts, focusing on our fine motor skills and having

fun of course.

In celebration of Women's Day, our Grade 3 girls prepared orals on ‘Women Who Changed the World’. We are soproud of you, girls!

Click on the buttons below to watch presentations by Charlie Böhmke, Sarah Soosiwala, Jamila Hanson and Taylor Pincus.

Charlie

Sarah

Jamila

Taylor

Karabo Che Mokoape is aSocial Entrepreneur, Writer and Speaker who spoke to our Primary school teachers and girls

on Wednesday about why the world is better when we're together. He used the example of a tree

bearing 40 fruits and this really appealed to the girls. The Grade R girls loved his presentation and

drew their very own fruit trees.Our delightful

pre-school teachers wearing their

protective gear.

It was the perfectday for our

Grade 3 pyjamaday dress-up!

This week's Funtastic Friday was allabout 'A Bug's Life'!

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2020

Senior PrimaryFarah Kariel (Grade 4) was

awarded a gold Certificate ofHonour for achieving the top mark in the country in the 2019 English IEB IBT assessment. Well done,

Farah! We are very proud of you.

Art lessons are so enjoyable!

Thank you to Aisha Bibi Ismail and Nthabiseng

Mathibeli for sharing their story during assembly.

Grade 7 recipientsof English and

Mathematics 2019 IEB IBT certificates.

Grade 4 recipients of the 2019 IEB IBT certificatesfor English and Mathematics assessments.

Page 4 07August

2020

Celebrating Women's DayOur Staff enjoyed the beautiful sunshine and a Women's Day coffee and treat, this morning.

Happy Women's DayIn celebration of Women's Day, we honour the women in our College Community.

We recognise our differences and areunited by a shared purpose and values -integrity, empathy, courage, confidenceand commitment.

Page 5 07August

2020

Meet our Staff

From our Chaplain

“Leave her alone,” Jesus said. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. What I’m about to tell you is true. What she has done will be told anywhere the good news is preached all over the world. It will be told in memory of her.” Mark 14:6 and 9

Michelle Edgcumbe

Nadine Smith – High School Afrikaans Teacher

The scene here is a dinner party and the woman Jesus is speaking about is Mary, a friend of his. She has just come in with a jar of extremely expensive perfume, possibly a family heirloom and worth a year's worth of wages. She poured the lot onto Jesus, which may seem strange to us but at that time it was an extravagant display of devotion and worship. Worship comes from the word ‘worth’. If something is worthy, then you worship it. Jesus was worthy, not only of Mary’s on and off attention but, in her opinion, of her complete devotion. Though others are annoyed by the apparent waste of something precious, Jesus defends her. And more than that, he praises her insight and her courage, and declares that this action of love and worship will be remembered in history and re-told as a memorial to her.

As we celebrate Women’s Day, let’s remember the reasons behind it; in memory of those who showed courage in their contexts, and let’s remember the women who have, and are currently, facing hard-ships. But, let's not lose sight of the dignity and acceptance shown by God, sometimes completely counter-culturally, to those who never expected it. As we see Jesus' words about Mary coming true today, let's be grateful for his invitation to all who would see his worth to find dignity and acceptance with him, even when they don’t find it elsewhere, just as Mary did.

I am a true Durbanite at heart, I was born here but lived in Vryheid (a very small North-ern-Natal town) for eight years of my childhood until returning to glorious Durban where I matriculated. At the end of Matric, I decided to go into teaching. I completed my B.Ed degree in 2013 and took a gap year to Au Pair. I later began teaching at a very small school and that is where I found my passion for teaching Afrikaans. Wanting to broaden my knowledge, I completed my B.Ed Honours in Language Education with Afrikaans and English Studies as a double major at the University of Stellenbosch. Although I am still young,teaching has taught me so much about myself and about life.

Growing up, I had one big dream – to one day be a jet-setting rockstar. I have always had a love and passion for music and everything that goes with it. Although I did not become a jet-setting rockstar, I still followed a path of music and I play the keyboard at my church in the evening band. I always used to say: “teacher by day, rockstar by night”. I also love to play hockey and I still avidly play club hockey.

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2020

Reading, Listening & WatchingI Am Malala – Malala Yousafzai

When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education.

On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive. Instead, Malala's miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she has become a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

I Am Malala is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons.

Click here for more recommended reading

Meet our AlumnaLungile Masuku (Class of 2006)I am Lungi Masuku (Class of 2006). I am a chartered accountant, having studied at UCT, and previously worked for Old Mutual. I completed my articles in Cape Town, then moved to Johannesburg to work as an associate for the CEO and Finance Director, before moving to head office in London. Two years ago, I resigned from my job, went to Spanish school in Guatemala for two months, before travelling in South America. I have just graduated from an MBA and a Master’s in international Relations in Madrid, Spain. Having long been a proud Old Girl and my older sister was Class of 1998, I decided to join the Guild in light of recent events. With more recent Old Girls courageously stepping forward to be “the Old Girls they never had”, I felt a great sense of responsibility to be a part of the transformation process that is needed for current and future generations.

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2020

Results

GRADE 3ENGLISHBronze•Diya Gounder•Zahra Abdulla•Saheli Bhayroo•Hannah Essack

Silver•Hannah Joosab•Razina Ismail•Chevanthi Moonsamy•Kelsey Naicker

Gold (Top learner in the country)•Certificate of Honour – Farah Kariel

MATHEMATICSBronze•Zoie Sibeta •Jaina Pillay•Alexis Otto•Leah Kent•Diya Gounder•Zahra Abdulla•Hannah Essack•Chevathi Moonsamy•Chloe Pomakov•Emily Alder

Silver•Saffiya Osman•Abelo Mazziya•Nonjabulo Khumalo•Farah Kariel•Razina Ismail

GRADE 6ENGLISHBronze•Charlotte Phipps•Anika Naidoo•Isabella Fletcher•Keira Reddy

Silver•Olivia Verster•Maxine van der Walt•Anjali Ramdhani•Sienna Psannis•Hiranya Pillay•Erin Moodley•Nandini Gangaram•Aaliyah Asmall

MATHEMATICSBronze•Charlotte Phipps•Nandini Gangaram

Silver•Keren Curtis•Alaya Singh•Sienna Psannis•Hiranya Pillay•Olivia Verster

In October last year, our Grade 3 and 6 girls wrote the IEB English and Mathematics International Benchmarking tests. We have just received the results and are so proud of our girls. For many of them, it was time they undertook an assessment of this kind. Congratulations to our College girls!