THE CORDIES CHRONICLE

Vol. 2 No. 4     (For other Chronicles please visit the Old Boys Home Page.)

CORDIES CHRONICLE
The ties that bind

Dear Cords,

The school gates have now closed on the Grade 7’s of 2009, and they join the ranks of the Old Boys Club and we hope to follow their High School careers closely and to see them back at school once and awhile before their Matric Reunion in 2014. We were delighted to welcome Old Boy Gary Ralfe, Class of 1957 as our guest speaker at
Speech and Prize Day on 28th November. Gary recalled arriving at Cordwalles in 1952 and watching his parent’s Green Chevrolet drive away leaving him to start his Cordies career. From Cordwalles he went on to Michaelhouse where he has now returned as Chairman of the Board. From Michaelhouse he went on to Cambridge University to read history and subsequently obtained a B. Proc from UNISA. He worked for forty years between Anglo American Corporation and De Beers, thirty of which were spent in Diamonds and his last appointment for De Beers was as Managing Director of the De Beers global Group. He addressed the boys, staff and parents with a wonderful sense of humour when recalling his days at Cordwalles but the main slant of his speech directed the boys very much towards respect. Respect for your parents, your friends, your school and the world around you and this followed on closely from the school’s theme for the year.

Mr. Ralfe then presented the prizes to the boys of Grades 4-7.

The Grade & Leavers Gift
This year’s Grade 7’s presented the school with two wonderful Cordwalles Logo badges to be
fixed to the main school gates. These are now in position and look wonderful – come along
and see them at Old Boys’ Day or when you are next passing through Pietermaritzburg, they
certainly do look very smart and present a wonderful welcome to the school. A huge thank
you goes to everyone in Grade 7.

Over the last month we have been saying sad farewells to many members of staff including
Mark & Louise Whitelaw, Gayle Bastard, Sharon Scott, Franzl Bause, Carol Haines & Fred
Potter (Estate Manager)
At the Staff Christmas lunch many emotional speeches were made and staff were presented with gifts. Amongst them, Gayle Bastard was completely overwhelmed when she received a laptop and she can now stay fully in touch with Cordwalles through the newsletters. Mark was presented with a painting of Cordwalles which had extra special meaning as this was painted by Lance Penny who taught here when Mark first arrived and who now lives in the UK.
We wish each of them all of the very best in their new ventures – we will see Mark, Louise , Gayle and Franzl back here at times including the Matric Reunion next year but Sharon will be heading off to New Zealand in January.
Next year we start with new faces at Cordwalles and a new era will begin and I look forward to
reporting on this as the year progresses.

Until next year, I would like to wish you and your families a Blessed and Peaceful Christmas and
very Happy New Year as we head into 2010 and the World Cup!
With best wishes for the festive season,
Charlotte Usher