Tif.: Xlbe South Hfricart Iroebean /Lfoaga3ine. CONTENTS. the Head Mistress's Report
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tif.: Xlbe South Hfricart IRoebean /lfoaGa3ine. CONTENTS. The Head Mistress's Report .... .... .... .... .... 1 Gifts to the School .... .... .... .... .... .... 5 Achievements and Distinctions .... .... .... .... .... 7 Acknowledgmenta .... .... .... .... .... .... 9 School Officers .... .... .... .... .... .... .... 10 School Benevolences .... .... .... .... .... .... 10 Inter-House Competitions, 1938.... .... ..... .... .... 10 Piano Grading, 1938 .... .... .... .... .... .... 11 St. Agnes' House Night .... .... .... .... .... .... 12 St. Katherine's House Night .... ...., .... .... .... 12 St. Ursula's House Night.... .... .... .... .... .... 13 Speech Day, 1938 .... .... .... .... .... .... 13 Foundation Day, 1939 .... .... .... .... .... .... 16 Weather .... .... .... .... .... .... -. .... 18 Sunday Evening Entertainments .... .... .... .... 19 The Music Circle ...^ .... .... .... -- .... .... 21 The Grandchildren's Party .... .... .... .... .... 21 S.A.O.R.A. Fete................................... .......... 21 Ode to a South African Dove .... .... .... .... .... 22 A Christmas Carol .... .... .... -. .... .... 22 Cherry Trees .... .... .... -- -- - -- 23 A Fawn .... .... .... -- .... -- -- -- 23 A Cats' Fairy Tale ..... .... -, .... .... .... 24 Junior House .... .... -. -. -- .... -- 25 The Merchant of Venice.... .... .... .... .... .... 28 The Dramatic Society .... .... -- .... -- 30 The Acting Competitions.... .... .... .... .... .... 31 Tennis Report .... .... -. .... .... -- 31 Hockey Report -- -- -- -- -- 33 The "Old Crocks" Hockey Match .... .... .... .... 35 The Staff Hockey Match.... .... .... .... .... .... 35 Lacrosse Report .... .... -- -- -- -36 The Fathers' Rounders Match ..................................... 37 The Gymnastic Competition ....................................... 37 News of Friends ..., .... -- -- -- -- 38 S.A.O.R.A. Officials ............................................ 49 S.A.O.R.A. Committee for 1939.... .... .... .... .... 49 S.A.O.R.A. Directory ...................................... .... 50 Roedean Grandchildren's Directory ............................... 67 XTbe Soutb Hfctcan IRoebean /Iftaga3ine. THE HEAD MISTRESS'S REPORT as given on Speech Day. At a time when all our minds are occupied with the major issues of world af fairs, it may seem presumptuous of me to ask for your attention to be focus sed upon the small world of a girls' school and its activities during the p ast-year. And yet, I believe that our history is not unimportant in the who le scheme of things, and I want you to believe that too. It is part of our creed that the occupation and thought of the single individual can and must reflect upon the occupation and thought of the body politic; that no attem pt at constructive living can be totally insignificant. Our first pretext for existence as a school must be in the main academic. Let me give you the results of our labours in 1937 as measured by the ya rdstick of public examinations. [Miss Le Maitre here read the examination results for the past year, and commented on the excellent results in History and Art.] The Music Club continues to flourish under Miss Pudney. Mrs. Dougall's Star singing class gave a delightful performance of a number of Old Eng lish Madrigals in costume. The Dramatic Clubs, too, have been busy. Many of the readings are, of c ourse, for internal consumption only, but a great many of you have form ed your own opinions about our performance of the Merchant of Venice la st month. As a result of the two performances a cheque for £26 was sen t to the Children's Aid Society. The Games of the school are in a very healthy state. This year we found ourselves at the head of the Hockey League, and three of our number play ed for the Inter-Schools Team, and two for the 2nd. The Tennis VI are ho lding their position in the 1st League. During the year we have made various expeditions to places of interest in and about Johannesburg. 2 THE AFRICAN ROEDEAN. History. Africana Museum (3). Archives, Pretoria. Geography. Observatory. November 30th. Science. Hortor's Printing Works. National Maize Products, f African Oxygen Acetylene Co. Epic Oil Company. The Witwatersrand University has again allowed us to do Practical Physi cs in one of their laboratories every week, and the Zoology Department has been most helpful in allowing us to use their Museum specimens and in providing us with specimens for dissection. Among the artists'who have visited the school are Bertha Hagart, one of our own Old Girls, the Johannesburg String Quartet, a Bantu Choir, and Olive Bloom. The sub-prefects again organized what they refer to as "the annual dance, " and a great success it was. The guests, the Staff and Prefects with the ir friends, were most appreciative. The Junior School, under Miss Mackinnon's serene and kindly rule, has a nother happy and successful year to look back upon. Entries are pouring in and we have had to disappoint a great many people for whom we can f ind no vacancies. During the year we found it necessary to build a sepa rate room for the Kindergarten, and we seem to be full for the next thr ee years. Of our Old Girls we have more than a dozen at the University of the Wit watersrand, three or four at Rhodes, one at the Cape, and overseas thre e at Cambridge, two at Bedford College, London, some at the Froebel Ins titute and several at Physical Training Colleges and Schools of Art. Rhoda Knight has become an Associate of the Inc. Soc. of Chiropodists. Charmian Whiting has her C.S.M.M.G., massage and medical gymnastics. Mary Ferrar and Margaret Walker are both Games mistresses at Johannesb urg schools. Isabelle Ferrar has a Junior School post in England. Phyl lis Livingstone was placed upon the Waiting List for Newnham College o n her entrance papers in History, after one year's specializing in the VI form here. Sally Leith obtained a vacancy at Newnham College, and has gone up this year, after a year in the VI form at Roedean, Brighto n. Cecil Scott-Brown has been appointed head of the publicity departme nt in the Union for Imperial Airways. Sylvia Fleming, who holds the de gree of B.A. Cantab, is now in Cape Town: she is taking a training in Women's Estate THE AFRICAN ROEDEAN. 3 Management, on the lines laid down by Octavia Hill, the pioneer of Slum Clearance. It is always embarrassing to offer praise to an individual in public and in his presence, and I am glad that Mr. Percival Whiteley, our Chairman, is in England at this moment, because I do want to make a paean in his ho nour. He it was who invented the Building Fund, to which you all contribu te so generously term by term. He is was who took upon himself the distas teful task of begging on our behalf from the great houses of this city. H e personally has collected nearly £1,000 from others, and from time to t ime a cheque comes in for the Roedean Building Fund with no other signatu re on it than that of P. Whiteley. The school is greatly in his debt. And you, my parents, may I thank you now for the way in which you have responded to our importunity, and beg you not to weary of well doing. O ccasionally you have given me shocks: one of you demurred at the paymen t of 10/- per term, took his bill and wrote £10, and capped it with a promise to provide all the beds necessary for the new Sanatorium. Anoth er, who is blessed with more than one daughter at the school, gave me  £5 for each of them. Mrs. Davies has presented the Sanatorium with bed tables, and Miss Clendinnen has presented it with deck chairs. One always loyal and affectionate subscriber is the S.A.O.R.A., the Old Girls' Association, which has undertaken to hold a fete every two years, the proceeds of which last March were divided in the proportion of 70% to 30% between the Building Fund and the Old Girls' Relief Fund. Loyalty and affection to us and to one another have inspired the Old Girls to c ollect a fund of their own, from which from time to time a present can b e made to one of themselves who may be in distress through illness or so me sudden calamity. And so it goes on. We were emboldened to ask for a loan from our Fairy G odfather, the Council of Education, so that we could begin on the Sanato rium at once, confident that the regular income from the Building Fund w ould pay off capital and interest in a very few years. For the next few years the sum of £300 per annum must be forthcoming against the Sanatorium, but it is possible to make specific donations towards our other projects. The Library Fund has been enriched by an a nonymous gift of one hundred guineas this year. The Chapel has £22 to wards the decoration of the apse from Mrs. Coaton, Bertha Haggart, Eli n Hammar and Mrs. 4 THE AFRICAN ROEDEAN. Lamartine Yates. Mr. and Mrs. Black have given us a set of vestments. Work on the new playing fields is still in process and we have made two new tennis courts on the reclaimed ground. We hope to make two more co urts in the near future. I hope that the weather will allow you to wander in the garden, which h as been coloured this year by many plants from Government House. In a country where Post-matriculation work in school is not part of the re gular scheme of education, it is a great deal to ask of a sixteen-year-old voluntarily to submit to a discipline from which she has won honourable r elease. It is a great deal to ask you to sacrifice another year of your da ughter's company, another year of paying out for her expensive education. And yet I know that for the girl of any genuine ability and ambitions it i s abundantly worth it. One of my last year's Sixth-formers, who went up to the University this y ear, told me that she was in the fortunate position of being able to mana ge her work completely, and to join with a free conscience in the outside activities that justly belong to University life.