Covid-19 and Queen's College update 3

I was hoping to have a quiet Easter time, but Mr Ramaphosa's announcement last night changed that. Apologies for intruding into your private family time.

Please allow me to state the following: I am grateful that we are lead by a president that listens to the advice of experts. I am grateful that our president has made a decision, after considering all the relevant aspects, that will benefit the health of all South Africans. I am grateful that we have a leader that speaks to his people in a humble, respectful and humane way. I am sure that the weight on his shoulders to put the economy first, was enormous. I am grateful sanity prevailed. We can always resurrect the economy, but we can never bring back the life of a loved one or a dear friend. Every single human falls into one of these two categories.

Our school has a 162-year history of survival, endurance, overcoming and ultimately thriving. When reading our history, you will find that the birth of our school in 1858 was painful. Our school and our community had to negotiate its way through times of local unrests/wars, world wars, health threatening pandemics, droughts and recessions many times in history. Our Great School has survived them all. We have not only survived; we have thrived to become the school you know today. What a testament to our forefathers and mothers, the people of Komani and the broader Border area!

May I encourage you to use this Easter time to do personal reflection and may we all, in this time of celebrating the resurrection of our Creator, understand how our own thinking and actions maybe need to be resurrected, to care for and love creation as much as we love ourselves.

Now. What to do next? I encourage you to be positive regarding the additional two weeks in lockdown. We need to support our government as best we can to stop the thread of the virus and to flatten the curve.

We are ready to implement e-learning successfully come this Tuesday, 14 April 2020. We are also innovative enough to adapt to any challenge e-learning can bring. Be excited about this new learning process and engage in the best way you can with your teacher and fellow class mates. We will thrive under these circumstances, and be all the better for it.

Stay healthy and Stay safe.

Yours sincerely

Janse van der Ryst

HEADMASTER