7 6 The Chronicle 2021 Centenary Edition The third wave of the COVID pandemic caused havoc with the planning and preparation of events for Term 2. The muchawaited school production, “A Light Upon the Mountain”, showcasing events in the school’s history, unfortunately had to cancelled, followed shortly afterwards by the cancellation of the live Old Boys concert. Not to be deterred, our music department rose to the challenge, staging a concert amid the restrictions faced, and hosted several Old Boys who have pursued a career in the music industry. The event showcased their work during our first completely virtual concert, “Ikhulunyka”, which was first aired on 01 June 2021. Since the initial screening, the concert has had over 3,600 views, reaching 10,350 people from across the world, profoundly uniting our global Kearsney community. Where possible, the Centenary theme was pursued for all annual events that could take place, albeit in truncated or online forms. These events are all detailed elsewhere. With much deliberation and a heavy heart, the on-campus Founders Week events, the Centenary Ball, Kearsney Epic, 24-hour challenge, and several sporting festivals did happen due to COVID-19. All Old Boys, current boys, employees, parents and guests have been invited to sign the Centenary register as a symbolic representation of being a part of the College in its 100th year. Virtual Musical Concert Scan the QR code to link to the concert video. In 2017 the Kearsney Centenary Charity Fund was launched. The objective was for Kearsney boys to raise R100 000 for the Ethelbert Child and Youth Care Centre, to be donated in 2021 as part of the Centenary celebrations. The pupils of the class of 2021 and 2022 contributed to the fund when they arrived as Grade 8s. The funds donated by the boys, together with a substantial donation by Standard Bank, were handed over to Ethelbert at a special assembly. Kearsney was proud to hand over a cheque to the value of R105 526. Ethelbert has used these funds to equip their new Early Childhood Development Centre. Two additional community service projects were conducted during the year. In Term 3 we held a blood donation drive, where we set a target to collect 100 units of blood on one day. Unfortunately, circumstances conspired to prevent this from happening, with many pupils off school isolating and the Matric pupils starting their examinations the following day. We did, however, far exceed this target with the total number of units of blood collected during the year. The second project, launched in Term 3, aimed to raise funds to donate 100 sets of uniforms to orphaned children. A formal ceremony will be held in January 2022, where the Kearsney donors will meet the recipients and hand over the uniforms. The Centenary Plinth Thousands of people enter the Kearsney campus annually, and many desire to record their visit by taking their photo at a recognisable Kearsney lanmdmark. The construction of a plinth on campus was given Trust and Board approval early in the year, and construction was completed during the third term. The site has proved to be a popular spot for visitors to take that special photo. Headboy, Rahul Paul, and Mrs Vanessa Thoephilus, Director of Ethelbert, and Mrs Kathryn Buchanan, Ethelbert Board Chairperson Centenary Community Service Projects ‘Tolle Lege’ - Take Up and Read Centenary reading of the New Testament ‘Tolle Lege’, the first of the Centenary public events, took place on 09 /10 March, with the continuous reading of the New Testament. Starting at 13h00 on 09 March with a short opening service that included readers from Highbury, St Mary’s and Epworth, over 120 readers took turns to read for at least 10 minutes. The reading concluded on 10 March at 07h30, just in time to start the new school day. Some boys read with their tutors as a tutor group, others with friends, and some as a class. Readers and friends of the College joined the event online, reading from all over the world, across many different time zones. In gratitude to God and in celebration of the way God has been at work at the College over the past 100 years, we met God once more through Scripture. Whether through reading, helping or simply participating through being present and witnessing the event, this was a very special celebration of God’s goodness to the Kearsney community. Centenary Events Head of Chapel, Josh van der Merwe and Headmaster, Mr Elwyn van den Aardweg at the reading
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