The week before school started in January,three staff members took 32 ofthe leadership group up Mont Aux Sources. From the car park we zigzagged slowly up the steep slopes. At the viewpoint ofthe spectacular Amphitheatre we turned right to head for the chain ladder some kilometres away. It is here that the path becomes indistinct and there are various options to take. From time to time someone would shout from way up front,"Which way, sir?". I would not always be sure and so would reply,"Follow the blue foot prints". These are markers,the Parks Board has placed to guide hikers to the chain ladder. Whenever there was doubt, we would TO THESIXTHFORM CLASS AND THEIR PARENTS: May the road rise up to meet you; May the wind he always atyour back; May the sun shine warm upon yourface, The rainfallsoftly upon yourfields And,until we meetagain. May God holdyou in the palm ofhis hand. search for the blue footprints painted on the rocks. At times we felt lost until someone shouted that they had found the next blue footprint. Sometimes the prints seemed to lead the wrong way but one had to believe in them and follow in the direction they were pointing. "Trust the blue foot prints" became our directive.The chain ladder looks worse than it actually is. Nervous chatter and laughter precedes the perpendicular climb up the rock face. One must remember a few basic guidelines and in a few minutes you are safely on the top of the escarpment. The terrain is very different up there compared to the heavy climb of the preceding few hours. There are no more blue footprints to follow and the land is undulating and open,allowing you to set your own course, but it is easy to lose your way. Climbers have died up here. Instead of blue foot prints there are cairns - piles ofrock that hikers have stacked one on top ofeach other. These cairns stand out quite obviously against the bleak backdrop on a clear day. They usually indicate the top of a pass or the direction to a cave. The cairns are there to guide you. In many respects, I see your time at Kearsney as following the blue footprints, which are always there. These footprints are honesty,loyalty,good manners,honour,tenacity,tolerance, yes,perhaps prep times,school rules, gentle advice and even a Sunday detention. You are approaching the chain ladder of the matric exams - not an end in itself, but a gateway to the next exciting phase of your life. Up there, the cairns, which have been builtfor you,will help you in your decisions. Cairns built by your school,parents,church and people you respect. These cairns are the values of honesty, integrity, fair-play, trust, treating others as you would like to be treated, time and a place for most things,leading a balanced life, the pursuit ofexcellence, hard work and many others. When the mist comes up or when you lose your way and you come upon a cairn, trust it. It has been built by many wise and caring people, don't disregard its purpose or value. It is timeless. It is not leading you astray. On the contrary, over and over again it has been used by people like you to confirm a direction or to correct a course. It will be exciting for those of us who have helped build cairns for you,to see your progress in the years that lie ahead. As we see you moving on in your journey,our reward will come as we notice you making your way across the escarpment towards a distant cairn, stooping slowly to pick up a rock, placing it on the cairn and continuing in the direction it is pointing you. May God bless your lives ahead. EVAN DENAARDWEG
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