Head Girl Speech 2012 – Lauren Loxton - Kingsmead College

Head Girl Speech 2012 – Lauren LoxtonGood evening ladies and gentlemen, members of the board, Mrs Kaplan and all staff members,and all Kingsmead girls sitting before me tonight. I have done absolutely nothing of great value inthis world. I have not put months of hard work into running along the borders of an entirecountry. Nor am I a headmistress, or a highly successful advocate. I have not much life experienceor insightful wisdom to offer, for I am merely a student who still relies on the Bank of Dad. So hereI stand before you tonight, having little to offer other than the experiences that I have gainedthrough my education at Kingsmead College. Given the calibre of the speakers that have comebefore me tonight, I should probably be feeling a lot more nervous than I am at present, if that iseven possible. However, as the true Kingsmead girl that I consider myself to be, I have absolutelyassured myself that all of you are dying to hear what I have to say. Of course I shall shame myfriends by making reference to some wonderfully embarrassing memories, but I can assure all ofyou that my years at this school have filled me with the voice needed to attempt to describe 5years of amazing experiences and a life-time's supply of memories.This may be a predictable memory to unearth, but when I remember my first day of High Schoolmany things spring to mind, and I feel it is nothing less than my honourable duty to mention them.Firstly, what would a Head Girl's speech be without some reference to someone falling into thefountain in the quad outside of the grade 8 locker room? In my year's case, our grade prefect, JessMarkram, went out of her way to impress us and make us feel at home. I am not sure as to whyshe felt that falling in the pond would do the trick, but it certainly impressed most of us. In fact, alittle less than two months later, Camilla Hyslop, Savanna Deetlefs, Ash Lopez and I willinglyjumped into that pond after a water polo practice. We stood in the pond, holding hands, shouting"Our Time Has Come!" until Mrs Maritz found us and chastised us for behaving so badly. So clearlyJess's moment of glory inspired us on that first day. Secondly, I shall never forget the St Katharine'sgirls and their sweet, naive use of the Kingsmead hair scrunchie. Except for Thameenah whose hairwas too short, but she compensated by wearing the sleeveless jersey, a style which I have beenassured is highly fashionable at St Katharine's.. However, amongst all of these memories, Ispecifically remember feeling overwhelmed by the sense of pride, success and happiness that wasand is in the air that we breathe at Kingsmead College.It is these memories and experiences that I am going to miss most about Kingsmead next year andeach year that is to follow. I have spent 9 years of my life at this school, and it has become asecond home to me, just as each girl and teacher sitting in this room has become family. Thisschool has given so much to me, and I hope that I have been able to give back to it as much as

possible over the past year. I am going to mention the 9 things that I am going to miss the mostabout Kingsmead in the hope that each one of you will cherish these things while you still havethem.Firstly, I am going to miss the amazing teachers of Kingsmead. Unfortunately, I have not beentaught by every teacher, but I know that I speak on behalf of my grade when I say that you have alldone an exceptional job of preparing us for so much more than our Matric finals. Since I am notthe only girl who has been taught by our teachers, I have consulted with the Matrics and havecompiled a list of the things that we are going to miss most about these remarkable women andmen. These are the things about which we are going to reminisce at our 10-year reunion.Thisha, we shall never forget the fun that we have had in Zulu, and your loving pet names for uswill be sorely missed, our favourites of these being “Sarrafina”, “Philadelphia” and “grade 2s”. MrsCC, there is one thing that stands out for me, even though you have not done it for a while: so I amjust going to say it: "SIPHO!" Mrs Banwa, there are several things that I shall never forget aboutyou, particularly your ability to start new sections in the last 5 minutes of the lesson, despiteTayla's and Azraa's complaints. Mr Allen, it would seem that your violent threats to throwstudents out of the window will remain imprinted on the minds of your young historians for yearsto come. As for Mrs Koch, your Matrics will never forget your struggles with your Macbook, andnow that Bibi is matriculating, there is great worry as to who is going to fix these problems for younext year. Miss Pines, you will be remembered for your daily ritual of turning the air conditionerto about 16 degrees so that everyone in the class, bar you and Steph, gets brain freeze.Mrs Clogg, there is so much to say, but I just want to say thank you for your never-failing patienceand remarkable ability to not beat us all for our shocking behaviour. Even when Camilla threw aspace case at Catie's head, you somehow remained calm, and for that we admire you greatly. Asfor Mrs Fourie, or should I say Fourozzel, the music class will never forget your long-windedstories, your ability to sight-read Erlkonig with ease, and your absolute adoration of your babies,or rather babozzles. Mrs Redfern, your drama girls absolutely adore you, and they have told methat they are going to miss the way you furiously shout at them in fluent Zulu, allowing yourselftime to calm down before translating it. Miss Cambitsis, I know that you have only been with usfor a short while, but my favourite memory in your class is of Lerato’s concluding her Matric oral inclassic Lerato style, by singing. Our whole class cried with laughter, but you kept your calm, andsaid with perfect grammar: “you see, Lerato planned her ending well. Although if she were a boy,one of you would probably punch her now”. And last, but certainly not least, Mama van der Want.The Matrics will never forget the way you panic about our stress levels, and send us emails alwayssigned with love from Mama van der Want. Thank you to all of our teachers for guiding us, lovingus, putting up with our drama, and most of all, for educating us.The second thing that I am going to miss about Kingsmead is going to make Mrs Fourie smile,because it is the culture department. Kingsmead is an amazing school because it offers its studentsfulfilment in all areas of their lives, and culture is certainly one of these areas. There has beenmany a time when the Choir and the Glee Club have performed something so beautiful that I havetemporarily forgotten my inability to sing and had the urge to join in. I am by no means forgettingabout the Wind Band which I shall miss not only for its music, but also for the weekly photos andvoice noted recordings of the Flutes that I have been receiving from Thameenah and Camilla,dedicated Matric musicians, for the duration of this year. Another cultural aspect of the schoolthat I have truly loved during my time here is the annual school play. I have been blessed enoughto enjoy yearly performances in which Kingsmead girls display their dramatic talents. I truly hope

that Kingsmead will continue with these productions for years to come, as they are humorous,moving and amazing to watch. One last aspect of the culture department that I am going to miss isMrs Maritz. Mrs Maritz, although I shall admit that I was a little afraid of you when I was in grade 8and 9, I truly do admire your dedication to keeping the school tidy and the noise levelsrespectable. Kingsmead would not be the same without you, and I hope that you are enjoying yournew room, which is far away from the noisy grade 10s.The third thing that I am going to miss about Kingsmead is the annual school camp. These campshave produced the most amazing memories as well as the sisterly bonds between the girls in mygrade. My personal favourite camp was our grade 9 camp, where we took on the wild outdoorsand pitched tents. Well most people did anyway. Caroline, Camilla, Vivian Karanja and I tried andfailed horribly, and it collapsed on us in the middle of the night. There is a list, an entire Facebookpage, in fact, devoted to the memories made on that camp, but there is one special one that Iwould like to share. My group had spent the first night comfortably in the bungalows at Lapalala,so on the 2 nd night we joined up with another group that had been camping for a day already. Wewere dispersed into this group so that we would be with more people. I was put into a group withSam Gillard who had been in the other group. She was wearing mud-stained skinny jeans, her shirtwas filthy, her gorgeous pale cheeks had flushed bright red, her hair was completely frizzled andthere was a certain wild glimmer in her eyes. I was shocked by the mere sight of her, but dear oldSam, being ever the optimist, grabbed me by the shoulders, looked me in the eyes, and cried out“DON’T WORRY GUYS! WE’RE THE BEST GROUP EVER!” I could go on for days about all of theamazing camp memories, but as I said, there is a Facebook page dedicated to those. And althoughthere have been moments when the camps have felt like, well to quote Caroline de Chastelain onBabanango “Godforsaken hell holes”, we always come away from them closer than ever, and Ishall truly miss those special moments that my grade and I have spent together on camp. We sangsongs, we laughed, some people cried, most of us laughed until we cried, we got dirty and thenfantasised about getting clean again, we confided in one another and formed lifelong friendships,and all in all, I shall hold these memories close to my heart for the rest of my life.The fourth thing about Kingsmead that I am going to miss is Kingsmead College itself. Eachbuilding and garden, old and new, holds precious memories of the happy days of my high schoolyears. When I walk along the garth observing the different grades, it feels like I am walkingthrough my own life’s timeline, for I remember walking the same path as a little grade 8. Even as Isit in this Hall, I am filled with an overwhelming sense of history and school pride as I imagine theOld girls that sat here before me. Some of them I knew, some of them I shall never know, but weall share with them this remarkable legacy of a school and a community. The gardens ofKingsmead are always beautiful, and I truly find it remarkable that Kingsmead, with some helpfrom Mrs Bulterman, is able to turn a dusty wasteland into a gorgeous, flowering garden in littlemore than a day or two. These buildings, these facilities and these gardens have been designedand built spectacularly, but they have been filled by the soul of the Kingsmead girls. And when Iwalk around the school I do not simply feel like a student, I feel as though I am truly a part of thislegacy. And it is my sincerest hope that all of the girls sitting before me will know this feeling toowhen it is their time to leave.On to number five - my precious, darling, beautiful Deputy Head Girls, Dayle and Danny. This mayseem obligatory, but I can assure you all that I speak honestly when I say that working with thesetwo girls has been nothing short of an honour. Dayle, there is no other person quite like you, and Ido not know how I would have made it through this year without you. Whenever I have neededsomeone with a sound, reasonable mind, you have been there. You have been able to do difficult

things that I would struggle to do, and I truly admire you greatly. In my most dire times of need,you and Danny have always been there, encouraging and helping me, and I am going to miss youboth so much next year. Danny, are so kind and sweet and any girl would be the luckiest to haveyou as a friend. You have the most amazing ability to listen and help, and that is going to serve yougreatly throughout your life. Both of you have done phenomenally this year, and I shall forevercherish the memories that we share. We have laughed, ranted, stressed, panicked and improvisedspeeches together, and without both of your organisational skills and consistent loving support,this year would have been 10 times more difficult for me. I love you both so much, and I am goingto miss you more than words can say. You are both true Kingsmead girls.Now, number 6: Mrs Kaplan. I know that each year the Head Girl gives a tribute to you, but in myopinion this by no means makes it a cliché. Mrs Kaplan, you have been supportive and lovingthroughout this year, and you really have made it special for me. You are always full of jokes andbounce, and I feel that you have really allowed me the freedom and space that I have needed togrow and mature through my year as Head Girl. I have learned so much from you, and I remainever in awe of your ability to memorise every single girl’s name. I am going to miss our Thursdaylunch time meetings; although I am sure that Mrs CC will not be missing my weekly late arrivalaccompanied by a letter of apology from you. Thank you for being my mentor, I shall miss you nextyear.For number 7, I have coined a term to describe a phenomenon that I am going to miss so muchnext year. This term is OHAK, which is the abbreviated form of “Only Happens At Kingsmead”.Kingsmead girls certainly know how to have fun, and they possess many quirks that allow for theoccurrence of these OHAK moments. For example, in grade 9, our hockey team tested to seewhether or not Ash Lopez would fit in Paige’s goalie kit bag for fun. OHAK. Earlier this year on aFriday during break, any visitor would have been surprised had they walked in front of the Matricstudies as they would have found a line of grade 8s doing “The Creep” while the Matrics laughedand video recorded them –OHAK. Then of course there is the occasional incidence of one of the 10thousand Kingsmead cats climbing on the roof above the art room, getting stuck, and then wailinguntil the school is in a state panic – OHAK. Another OHAK occurrence must be accompanied by anapology: Mrs van der Merwe, Caroline, Rachel and I still have not done our grade 10 biologyPowerPoint presentation about Moussaka. I apologise for all three of us, and I hope that you willnot hold this against us. One of my personal favourite OHAK moments happened last year beforeour grade 11 midyear music practical exams. Camilla, Meg, Daisy and I, being the studious pupilsthat we are, used our time before our exams to compose a song for Mrs Fourie who was away onmaternity leave. The song is called “Mrs Fourie, please stop having babies”. I am sure that all ofyou have experienced these OHAK moments, and I believe that these moments are what makeKingsmead unique. And I shall always be grateful for the unique, crazy, OHAK memories that I shallkeep forever.The 8 th thing about Kingsmead that I am going to miss is all of you. Every single grade has had anamazing impact on my final year at Kingsmead, and I am going to miss each one of you next year,even though not all of you will miss me. To the grade 8s, I want to thank you for making me soproud. You have made this year so special by tackling each aspect of school with ease and by beingbubbly, bright and fun. You are truly Kingsmead girls now, and I hope that you will continue tomake Kingsmead proud. Grade 9s, I have been so impressed by the way that you have all maturedand grown this year. You are a group of strong, talented young Kingsmeadians, and you mustnever forget it. As for the grade 10s, Andrea Barnard shouted at me because apparently I alwayssay too little about you, so I shall try to up my game tonight. You are an inspirational group of girls,

and I have been blown away by your ability to achieve anything to which you set your minds. Youare talented, fun and you have made me so proud. Please, do not change. Grade 11s, you are allalready leaders, and now that my time is almost up I must say that I feel confident in leaving ourprecious Kingsmead in your capable hands. You are all amazing and over the past two weeks youhave all shown that your kindness and support for one another knows no bounds. As a grade youcan do anything, and I wish you all the best for next year.Finally, the 9 th thing that I am going to miss about Kingsmead: the Matrics. What is there to say soclose to the end when we have spent almost every day of every week together for the past fiveyears? I am going to miss all of you so much, and I want you all to know that if it weren’t for yoursupport, I would have been powerless this year. We have been through so much together, and Iam sure that we shall all miss the small, everyday quirks of the different girls in our grade. Such asThameenah’s ability to panic at the drop of a hat, and Meg’s ability to face plant 150m into a 200mrace, not to mention Kate’s ability to record the entire event. I am not sure what will happen nextyear, when we won’t have Tshina to keep us line, or Alicia to update us on the everydaymovements of the Parlotones. We have had some good times and some bad times, but when wehave needed each other, each Matric girl has stepped forth and been there. One of my mostcherished memories of my grade is of the 2011 Matric Dance, when we slaved away all day toproduce an amazing dance. We had such fun and we accomplished amazing things together. Ishall never forget stepping on to the Garth to witness a mass exodus of grade 11s running acrossthe garth, singing “I Want You to Take Over Control”, or rather a slightly abridged version that Idare not mention. We have had some amazing experiences together, and if I were to redo my highschool years, I would not do it with anyone else. The Year of Us truly was a year in which Iwitnessed the individuality and talents of my classmates. I sincerely hope that we shall all keep intouch, even when people like Chelsea Havenga become famous and Julia Vincent is an Olympicdiver. I shall always be grateful for the time that we have spent together, for you are the sistersthat I never had. Kingsmead is a richer place for the Matrics of 2012, and my life has been enrichedby your friendships, so thank you.This year has been amazing for me, and I owe it to all of you. It has been a tough year, and it hastaught us to truly appreciate each day that we have, and I have appreciated each day that I havespent with all of you. Over the past months I have watched girls display strength beyond mywildest imagination, and I have seen a school that rises from each fall as a strong, hopeful, unitedfront. Kingsmead, my breath has been taken away by your ability to stand together as acommunity. They say that a team is only as strong as its weakest member, but in my opinion, thereis no weakest member of Kingsmead College. For Kingsmead is a family that nurtures and holdseach of its members, thus giving each girl the strength needed to face life during changing times.Argue if you will, but Kingsmead is a school like no other, and I could not be more proud to saythat I am a Kingsmead girl. So as I said in the beginning of my speech, I have not made a greatimpression on society or the world, but I am a Kingsmead girl, all I need is a little more time.