Johannesburg - The 2021 head girl of a Johannesburg East high school said despite the challenges of schooling during a global pandemic, she was able to appreciate the events that made her 2021, such as her matric dance and a grade trip to Bela Bela.
The aim of the trip was for her grade to spend time together as friends just before the final National Senior Certificate examinations.
“My netball team was also able to go to the Gauteng Schools Netball Championships and we were on TV and that was a great opportunity to represent my school,” Saskia Rabie, a matriculant of Edenvale High School, said.
Saskia said that although her team did not place in the top three, she still felt that it was a great achievement as her school’s netball team hadn’t progressed to that level before.
She obtained seven distinctions in English (home language), Afrikaans (first additional language), maths, life orientation, history, life sciences and physical sciences.
“Last year I was just grateful to be given the opportunity to lead my school as head girl. It was great working alongside my prefect body and being a unit,” she said.
Saskia said that her Grade 11 foundation for matric was rocky because of the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 waves and that it was difficult catching up on Grade 11 work.
“For example in mathematics, there were some chapters that were seen as not as important and left out, but we would have to spend long hours after school catching up on that Grade 11 work. Integrating both the years was a bit overwhelming at times, but I’m thankful that our teachers and the school were a great support system,” she said.
The all-rounder said it was disappointing not being able to participate in sports like in previous years as spectators were not allowed and her athletics team also couldn’t compete against other schools. Saskia said her school was able to host inter-house competitions and she also participated in public speaking.
“It was a bit rough, but I’m grateful for everything that we could have because it was more than we had in 2020,” she said.
Saskia said she was very excited to further her studies at the University of Pretoria, where she plans to study psychology, physiology and genetics because she hopes to grow her knowledge in these subjects and help people one day.
“I’m hoping that I will complete that degree in four years. I’m just going to work hard and those topics interest me a lot. I’m excited for this and my life moving forward,” she said.
The Star