2021 Magazine

70 | Edition No. 24 | 2021 In a year during which we also saw many of our family members falling very ill and some, sadly, losing their lives, we have seen an outpouring of love and support. This is what is important to us as a community; we need to be kind to one another. In the absence of competitive sport, our Sports Department came up with the idea of the Parklands Pro League, where internal teams competed against each other. What a great initiative this turned out to be. We had more learners signing up for sport than ever before and the fields, courts and swimming pool brimmed with enthusiastic learners in the afternoons. To witness the spirit and commitment of our learn- ers to every effort from the Sports Department has been a highlight of the year. The same goes for the Inter-House events. They just got on with it and made the most of whatever the House Captains asked of them. On the Cultural front the crea- tive people have been going strong throughout all the lockdown levels. Dance, Drama, Music, Public Speak- ing and Debating all found exciting ways in which to keep flourishing - with many events live streamed for the audiences at home. The joy of assembly performances and intimate concerts is what sustained us during these times of very little outside entertainment. We are grateful to our talented learners and educators for sharing their skills and passion with us. The Matrics of 2021 chose their motto for the year to be: “Amandla Omanyano” - United by Diversity. They proudly displayed this on their matric jacket, while at the same time making every effort to live this out and lead by example. In this year that forced us to separate physically, we worked hard on making every- one feel a sense of belonging. While we see it as an ongoing project, we are proud of our learners for their positive and constructive contribu- tions. We thank our Managing Director, Mrs Lorraine Roth, for the emphasis she placed on the health and safety protocols, making our staff and learners feel confident and comfort - able to teach and learn on campus. Thank you to our learners for being flexible and adaptable and keep - ing the Parkie spirit running high through all the changes. Thank you to the educators and all other staff for pushing harder than we could ever imagine. Thank you to our parents for believing in us and for supporting us. We now turn our eyes to 2022. As Mr Nelson Mandela said,“… there are many more hills to climb …”, but having successfully navigated our way through the treacherous 2021, we believe we are unstoppable.