Past and present students gathered at Hoërskool PJ Olivier on Friday to celebrate the school’s 53rd birthday, where Gail Buys, 1968 matriculant, was the guest speaker.
Past and present students gathered at Hoërskool PJ Olivier on Friday to celebrate the school’s 53rd birthday, where Gail Buys, 1968 matriculant, was the guest speaker.
She recalled her days at PJ Olivier and remarked, "I feel very nostalgic and I feel like a child again."
Buys encouraged learners to embrace their individuality saying in Afrikaans, "Some of you might say, but my parents are poor, so I can never become somebody significant”.
Marr Bruce Barton stressed the importance of maintaining a positive outlook saying, “If you have a positive outlook on life and you are proud, not shy of your uniqueness, you will go far”.
The matric class was addressed by their teacher, Annalie Hendrikz. She inspired them to hold on to their dreams and grab every opportunity that comes their way.
The matriculants released red balloons which, according to Hendrikz, represent their dreams for the future.
Encouraging uniqueness
The school principal, Piet Snyders, commented on the school’s proud history and the success of many of it’s former learners, such as Marli Vlok.
Vlok was head girl in 2002 and has since excelled at Rhodes University in both sport and academics.
In closing, Buys urged the learners to make a decision about who they want to become and to work hard to achieve that.
“We all want to be remembered for being special, but each person chooses his/her own future and to be someone special, you must put in that something extra which will determine the difference between becoming an ordinary or an unique human being”.
The weekend celebrations included an old boys and girls night at the Vanie Venter Club, sport against Westbank, a dance at Neels Heunis Hall and a church service at the NG Kerk.
