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Howick High School - Midmar House-Hostel |
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Howick High School is very fortunate to have a hostel and I say this for a number of reasons: Firstly, I have seen that the hostel plays a pivotal role in the life of the school. Hostel boarders are here on campus during the school week and can easily get involved in the extra mural programme. They are also often called upon to do various duties, such as helping at parents’ evenings or waiting at Gavel Club dinners; these duties are done without complaint and with much enthusiasm.
Many people have commented that the hostel forms the backbone of any school; I concur.
As hostel superintendent; new to this job, I did not really know what to expect. However, in retrospect it appears that the hostel has embraced ‘change’. Management, teachers, parents and boarders have recognized the need for positive change and one of the reasons for this is the need to accommodate the ever-changing realities of the modern household and society in which we live.
Over the year, we have seen the grade 8’s settle into hostel life. It has been my pleasure to watch these youngsters integrate to become a capable, cohesive and fun-loving group. For this I thank our head of hostel, Maurice Anderson as well as the 2009 prefect body. It is not easy being ‘on duty’ for 24 hours a day!
In addition to the prefect body, a hostel is only as effective as the staff
that run it. Although we will have said goodbye to Miss Dyall, Mr. Rembold, Miss Kidia and ‘Aunty Gail’ over the course of the year, we have also welcomed on board the seasoned hostel teacher, Mr. Gardner who will return to duty in 2010.
Many activities took place over this busy year: Hostel Olympics, Polar Bear Club (crazy people), Gym, Matric Dinner and Christmas dinner are the regular events. Introduced this year was the 2009 Fun & Recreation Committee. This democratically-elected committee is responsible for allocating time for fun and recreation. Items such as Bingo, Movie Nights and various board games, were introduced over the course of the year. The committee was also responsible for the revamped basketball hoops and even gave our over-used foosball table, an occasional cleaning!
My inaugural year as Superintendent has taught me much about diversity. Thanks in particular must go to our matrons, Mrs. Thompson and Mrs. Nel along with their kitchen assistants for keeping us well-fed.
Mr. Mario Baptista (Midmar House Superintendent)
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