Magazine 2020

117 2020 | Edition No. 23 | pany™️, performed A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Fugard Theatre as part of the SASSF 2020 - and what a spectacular performance it was! The Parklands College Jazz Band also had many exciting performances here and there, including their annual performance at Riverglade Old Age Home. After a jam-packed first quarter, COVID-19 hit us.We all had to adapt to the new rules and regu- lations and there was no exception for the per- forming arts, public speaking and debating and all other cultural activities. At first, this was quite a shock to the system because it was life like we’ve never ever experienced it. Music, Dance, Drama, Debating and Pub- lic Speaking all had to leave the stage and podiums and the Culture Department had to act swiftly to keep the Arts alive here at the College. The time away from school made it feel as though life had come to a complete standstill, but we were still very much alive. With new challenges every week, virtual music and dance lessons, and learners practising their respective arts every day, we as a department still flourished. The arts definitely made the lockdown period more meaningful and fulfilling. We learnt how to be creative and resilient, and are glad to have been able to lift the spirits of all members of the College through culture. Now with the country slowly but surely easing its nationwide lock- down, our already-booming department is ready to slowly return to ‘normal life: with all of our students back at school, our music ensembles resumed, our dancers returned to the stage and many other cultural groups could meet whilst maintaining social distanc- ing. Our debaters even got to take part in theWCSDB’s first-ever online debating league. We’d like to thank all of our students for their unending dedica- tion to the Department as well as our awesome teachers who had to think and act swiftly like never before. 2020 was a force to be reckoned with but nothing that our creatives couldn’t handle. As Culture Prefects, it was our absolute pleasure to serve the Col- lege during these unprecedented times. May the spirit of Culture at Parklands live on and on! Libo Mavume, Jordan Farquhar and Likhona Mbovane Culture Prefects We started off our term in office in October 2019 with BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH. At the assembly the choir gave a heartfelt performance of “Fight Song” by Rachel Platten. Work- ing along with this year’s Service Prefects, Cayley Hefer and Kaylee Musikanth, we worked on raising awareness and providing support for those that have been impacted by Breast Cancer. This was followed by raising awareness for I LOVE BOOBIES, a non-profit company and public benefit organisation. I LOVE BOOBIES sell some funky buffs and socks, with all profits going towards raising funds to give South Africans living in rural areas, access to mobile health screening clinics across social, physical and economic barri- ers. More than 50 pairs of socks and a number of buffs were sold which meant that at least 10 women would have been screened for free in the month of October. In November 2019, in the midst of protests against GENDER BASED VIOLENCE in South Africa, Sebastian Swart invited Ms Nompendulo Mkatshwa, one of the youngest members of Parliament, to the school to discuss violence against women, rape culture and our role as active and responsible citizens in fighting against Gender BasedViolence. In February 2020 at the Grade 11Valentine’s Day Assembly, we cel - ebrated PRIDE MONTH in South Africa. With one of our main priorities at the school being acceptance, as we want everyone in the College to feel welcome, accepted and safe, we were very ex- cited to introduce the new gender neutral bathrooms in the In - novation Centre. In March 2020 we had South African actor, Sven Ruygrok, visit us to address the school about BULLYING. It was a very engaging and empowering speech that gave the students a sense of self-confidence and helped us understand our own values. We also had a very exciting addition to the equity and diversity team: our new Equity and Diversity Liaison, Ms Manyathi! Along with this, the College has introduced 3 new email addresses: eq - uity@parklands, LGBTQ@parklands, and helpme@parklands, as well as a pride initiative initiated by Ms Venter to provide support and a safe space for discussions for members of the LGBTQ+ com- munity. All in all it was quite an exciting year! Amber Taylor and Bathi May Equity and Diversity Prefects equity&diversity