Daardie laaste honderd treë van die verhoog na die deur van die saal onder die ritmiese applous wat net by ‘n seunskool gehoor sal word, moes seker vir PRG se uittredende adjunk-rektor Frans van Niekerk ‘n bittersoet moment in sy lewe gewees het. Hoe hy regop gebly het en of hy deur emosie oorweldig is, is vrae wat net hy kan antwoord.
But one thing is for certain, as pointed out in Nils Flaaten, OBU chairman’s video message, Frans made huge imprints on the schools’s academic and sport record in the more than 35 years that he served here as teacher, also on Nils’ and other Old Boys’ lives. “Jy het ‘n legende geword!”
Melding word gemaak van die tien Springbokke wat PRG in Frans van Niekerk se tyd opgelewer het. Rugby is ‘n sport wat by ‘n skool ontwikkel is en word vandag nog as ‘n opvoedkundige hulpmiddel gebruik, veral om die spanbenadering tot die lewe in te prent. Dit is ‘n tradisie wat al vroeg by PRG voortgesit is. Geen wonder dat Rugby Mag in ‘n onlangse artikel PRG as die hoeksteen van Suid-Afrikaanse skolerugby bestempel nie.
The passing of the anti-apartheid activist Steve Marais (1974), however, reminds us of the importance to question injustices and to take a stand, no matter the risk to your freedom or life. Important values, like these, are also shaped at school.
Dit was goed om te sien hoe daar op die tradisies van Paul Roos Gimnasium van geslag tot geslag voortgebou is toe talle Old Boys hul graad 8-seuns op die eerste dag van hul hoërskoolloopbaan kom ondersteun het. Ook die familie Kuipers was in die kollig met ‘n Old Boy oupa en pa wat hul graad 8-seun gebring het.
The annual report of the PRG Foundation reveals how it is being made possible for the underprivileged and previously disadvantaged to get exposure to such education and educational experiences. Your donation can make a difference.
Spring gou om jou plek by die massa-reünie op 19 April te bespreek en as jy deel is van die jaargroepe 1964, 1974, 1984,1994,2004 en 2014 wag daar ook spesiale bymekaarkomste oor daardie naweek.
In closing, we bid farewell to one of the finest athletes Paul Roos Gymnasium had ever produced. Stephen Donald (1976) still is the fastest marathon runner in the school’s history.
