m t South African luu^cnu illagcmm ^o. 74 1959 % Scmtlr IWiU'an ^Hagazme OS 74 1950 'outh African CONTENTS Page Page Speech Day, 1958 1 Sports Reports-- Headmistress's Report 1 Swimming 30 Extract from Dr. Simon Tennis 32 Biesheuvel's Address ... 7 Lacrosse 34 Vale 9 Hockev 34 Salve 12 A Trip to Kimberley 37 School Benevolencies Visit to a Gold Mine 38 16 The Africana Museum 39 Achievements and Distinctions 14 A Visit to the Oxygen Works 39 School Officers 15 Contributions- Gifts to the School 16 Nursery Rhymes 41 In Memoriam- A Distant Cousin to the 42 Lion Sir Alfred Le Maitre 17 'n Pragtige Konsert 42 Looking Backwards 18 Le Petit Cochon Definitions 43 44 Items from the School Log 20 Mots Crois^s 44 20 Quid Interest? 45 Staff Tu Quoque 45 Foundation Day 21 Maculae nom Mutantur ... Monstrum Horrendum 45 45 The Grandchildren's Party ... 23 Acknowledgments 45 School Activities and Societies Junior School Section 46 Senior Science Club 25 Gifts to Junior School ... 47 Junior Science Club 25 Foundation Day 47 Debating Society 26 Parents' Day 48 Senior Music Circle 26 Girls and Boys 48 Girl Guides 27 News of Friends 49 The Undenominational Home Visit 27 S.A.O.R.A. Officials and Committe e 57 Sunday Evenings 28 S.A.O.R.A. Directory 58 School Tour of Europe 29 Reference to List of Married The SchooJ Play 29 ' Names 91 ic African JWirean JHagazme SPEECH DAY -8th NOVEMBER, 1958 Headmistress's Report Mr. Chairman, Dr. Biesheuvel, Mrs. Biesheuvel, Ladies and Gentlemen, If the welcoming speeches which you have just heard have something of a Hail and Farewell touch about them, I hope you will forgive the spea kers-for this is, I suppose, rather a special occasion. When the Board were planning whom to ask to be our guest of honour, they decided not to ask an important personage whom I do not know, simply because he i s an important personage-but rather to ask someone perhaps of less imp ortance whom I do know-But, said I, a little hurt, why do you suppose I don't know any important personages? And so, Dr. Biesheuvel, Roedean has proved lucky again, for in you we have a very important personage who is a very good friend. You are therefore doubly and trebly welcome. As I look back upon the history of this year, I find that its greatest ch aracteristic has been the tremendous speed at which it has gone. This mea ns, I think, that it has been a happy, busy year. We began on a very chee rful note, the celebration of the twenty-first birthdays of two of our st aff, Miss Sutherland and Miss Whiteman. It is, I believe, a characteristi c of Roedean, which I hope will long continue, to lay hold of the affecti on and loyalty of those who work for her so that they give her long and s plendid service. Another Board and Staff party held in July marked the re tirement of the Shaw family, and the arrival of the Camerons. Mr. and Mrs . Shaw had made a real home for themselves in the old French Cottage dari ng the eleven years of their service here-a home which offered a warm wel come to all; the vigour with which the Camerons have settled down to play their part is indeed a happy omen for the future. On the academic side, we were delighted to hear of many successes among the Old Girls-and especially of Deborah Lavin; a first-class matricula nt of 1956, she has been placed on the Reserve Scholarship list of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, on the 0 THi: SOUTH AFRICAN ROFDFAN examination which she wrote after six months at Rhodes University. I sho uld mention too, Jill Hendry who, within four years of matriculating at School, has become a B.A. of St. Andrew s University. We are proud too o f Elizabeth Sinclair s achievement in obtaining an Honours Diploma at th e Home Economics branch of the Witwatersrand Technical College with dist inction in every subject except one. Our Matriculants of 1957 also acqui tted themselves well. Of our forty candidates we had seven first-classes (one of whom gained distinction in English and French), twenty-five sec onds, three thirds and three school-leaving certificates: three failed. Judith Stamp won an Entrance Scholarship to Wellesley College, Massachus etts. Twenty-five out of thirty-three candidates passed the Afrikaans Taaleksa men in the Laer Graad. The four candidates who entered for the examinations of the Associated Bo ard of the Royal Schools of Music all passed; one with distinction in Gra de VIII. one with distinction in Grade IV. The other two gained Merit in Grades III and IV respectively. The Anne Cleaver Scholarship A. was not awarded in toto, but Exhibition s were given to Caroline Morgan for her work in languages and to Camill a Woodhead for her generally high allround standard. Both these girls b elong to Roedean. The B Scholarship went to Clare Walker, of St. Kathar ine's School. In the Navy League essay competition, the essays of two of our girls w ere commended, one English, one Afrikaans. This year we have formed a small class of unmathematically-minded girls half-way up the School, and set them to work on St. John Ambulance First Aid and Home Nursing courses. All five entered for both examinations in due course, and all five gained their certificates. At the end of last year, yet another Ante-Matriculation form had the inte resting experience of going down a gold-mine, and the Premier Mine again offered its hospitality to "the Upper Vs. These expeditions are partly ar ranged for the benefit of the staff who are doing their spell of groaning over examination papers- so it falls to the lot of the musicians and the games staff to chaperone the perpetrators of these papers to some place of educational interest or amusement. The Africana Museum and the Art Gal lery occupied the Middle Vs. last year, and the Lowers found some self-ex pression in their visit to the Zoo. In spite of the fact that, owing to building operations this year, we h ave been deprived of the Schollay for playtime and of the Freer Room fo r lectures, we have had a most interesting year. Professor Raymond Dart has lectured to the Science Clubs, who have also enjoyed lectures on D iamonds by Mr. Katz and on Volcanoes by Professor Gevers. The Music Cir cie has also THE SOUTH AFRICAN ROEDEAN 3 been very active, our last lecture being on Japanese music by one of our Board-Mrs. Dorothea Campbell. Local talent has been used in the Debatin g and Dramatic Societies, and in lectures on the Schoolgirls' Conference for Social Study, which had its headquarters at St. Andrews this year. We also enjoyed vivid descriptions illustrated by a film and by slides o f the last Schoolgirls' Christmas tour of Europe. There have been a numb er of Sunday talks and concerts, too numerous to mention. We have held our own on the games field as a whole. Both our first and s econd hockey teams began the year in the first league, which has been gr eatly enlarged. Of our first team, five gained their places in the Combi ned School teams, our own captain being chosen captain of the first elev en. The second team dropped to the second league, which does seem to be its natural place. Our first and second tennis teams are in the first an d second leagues respectively. In the inter-schools tennis tournament at Ellis Park a few weeks ago. our first two couples were beaten by Parkto wn High School, who later went on to win the tournament. Matches have be en arranged for the Junior School, who are taking up tennis rather earli er than heretofore, and playing very seriously. In swimming we did not d o so well, being placed fifth in the inter-schools gala. We have good accounts of the progress of our Bursar, Ephraim Tshabalala a t the Jan Hofmeyr School of Social Work. It is sad indeed to think that t his Institute will so soon be coming to an end; but not, I am glad to say , before Ephraim has finished his training. As usual, the School has received a number of generous gifts during the year-our target of £5,000 for the Chapel was passed, and encouraged us to add to the original prospect a low wall topped by iron railings, whic h has greatly added to the appearance of our approach. We have also been endowed with another prize by an anonymous donor-a prize for reading to be called after myself. A new enlarger is to find its place in the dark room, a gift from the Castle family. Miss Dixon has given us a picture t o hang in the hall of the new building, and Mrs. Leimer, an Old Girl of St. Agnes' House, has embroidered for us a wonderful tapestry depicting Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper." The Municipal Parks Department have g iven us a number of trees and shrubs for the new ground, which we have b een developing for the last three years in the South-east corner of the property. Although to-day's function is primarily concerned with the activities of the Senior School, I cannot allow it to pass without a reference to the s plendid work which Miss Snow and her staff are doing in the Junior School .