MATRIC '06c: September 2006

This is to all the teachers who thought we wouldn't come right, i could name them all by name...but i'm not going to. This is to our parents, who might or might not be happy with all our choices in life, past present and future. This is to those who never gave up on us, however few they are. Yip, we went through some hard times, but if we hadn't had those times, we wouldn't be who we are today, and we definitely do want to be who we are today! Most importantly, this song is to us, because anybody who says we're not perfect, just doesn't understand what perfection is!

Perfect
-Simple Plan

Hey dad look at me
Think back and talk to me
Did I grow up according to plan?
And do you think I'm wasting my time
Doing things I wanna do
But it hurts when you disapprove all along

And now I try hard to make it
I just want to make you proud
I'm never gonna be good enough for you
I can't pretend that I'm alright
And you can't change me

Cuz we lost it all
Nothing lasts forever
I'm sorry I can't be perfect
Now it's just too late
And we can't go back
I'm sorry I can't be perfect

I try not to think
About the pain I feel inside
Did you know you used to be my hero
All the days you spent with me
Now seem so far away
And it feels like you don't care anymore

And now I try hard to make it
I just want to make you proud
I'm never gonna be good enough for you
I can't stand another fight
And nothing's alright

Cuz we lost it all
Nothing lasts forever
I'm sorry I can't be perfect
Now it's just too late
And we can't go back
I'm sorry I can't be perfect

Nothing's gonna change the things that you said
Nothing's gonna make this right again (right again)
Please don't turn your back
I can't believe it's hard just to talk to you
But you don't understand (you don't understand)

Cuz we lost it all
Nothing lasts forever
I'm sorry I can't be perfect
Now it's just too late
And we can't go back
I'm sorry I can't be perfect

Cuz we lost it all
Nothing lasts forever
I'm sorry I can't be perfect
Now it's just too late
And we can't go back
I'm sorry I can't be perfect

(Sasha): Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived eight beautiful princesses who –

(Smoo): No, wait a minute; you’ve got the wrong speech.

(Sasha): Right, our class can be described as anything but a fairytale.

(Chaya): Let’s start again.

(Sasha): (looking for right speech)
Oh this looks more like it.
In a deep, dark forest, which is so still, even the birds are afraid to make a sound, where the grass is too scared to grow…

(Sasha): There is a school called Torah Academy Girls High School, and the girls there are definitely not afraid to flourish!

(Muki): Our school day begins at 8 o’clock

(Chaya): Actually, quarter past 7 for me…

(Muki): Well, besides for Chaya, the school day begins at 8. By 8:15, most of us have arrived, hastily pulling, not brushing! hair into ponytails, tying shoelaces, removing jewelry and hiding hands behind backs so our nail polish is unnoticeable. We sneak into davening…

(smoo): Which is better left undescribed so not to embarrass anyone!

(mushi): We have an eight hour school day, which is quite surprising considering we have hardly any lessons. Aside from the few occasions when we actually do go to class, our main place of residence is in the driveway, lying right in the sun

(mushi): Even Rabbi Hazdan has given up on relocating us!

(marli): Truth be told, we do have amazing teachers!

(sasha): Morah Stern, if anything, has taught us one of the most important sentences in the Hebrew language. Whenever we are stuck in Israel, at least we’ll be able to say ‘ha’im ani yechola lalechet lashirutim?’ or repeat Magash Hakesef line by line!

(mushi): Mrs. Mintz’s advice has always been valuable…as in ‘do 3 hours of accounts a day!’ and ‘think before you ink!’ Her fluffy tablecloths, cinnamon buns, muffins, and bananas are always in abundant supply.

(muki): ‘Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments, love is not love which alters when it alteration finds or bends with the remover to remove, oh no it is an ever fixed mark….’ That’s the way we feel about English, and our English teacher. With a teacher like Mrs. Isaacs, who cries during our speeches, one cannot help but love the English language. Mrs. Isaacs is one of the only teachers who understands why we are always talking and laughing, admitting that ‘life is more fun on the other side of the classroom!’

(chaya): Meffy, Mevrou, Fester Adams, we are so sorry about stealing your car. At least we gave it back undamaged, unlike the people who really stole the Hulk! Mevrou is one of the most down-to-earth teachers, constantly regaling us with stories of life in Kempton Park.and updating us on the school’s gossip.

(smoo): “Hello Mrs. Schay….how are you today?” One day we might be related to you, which explains your kindness to us like giving us lifts home… Mrs. Schay couldn’t resist our charm, and returned from a brilliant job to teach us Jewish History.

(sasha): Miss Webb gave up seeing the gorillas in Rwanda and the Serengeti Wildebeest Migration in order to teach us Biology. We are eternally grateful.

(marli): Although Ms Webb may be the best Biology teacher, Rabbi Fishman is coming a close second! Rabbi Fishman taught us about autopsies, while doing a hands-on demonstration on the model in our classroom. On hot days, he brings his hat so we can learn outside, and his eyes are sheltered from the glaring sun.

(muki): Another multi-talented teacher is Mrs. Schwartz. Not only does Mrs. Schwartz teach us how to get our Math’s correct, but she also taught us the Math’s Victory Dance, which we can do when we do get the math’s right! Her open home, her relaxed attitude (just chill girls!) and her comments like ‘don’t worry, if you need, you can sit with me and do maths while I’m delivering the baby’ show her absolute dedication to us and our work.

(smoo): Mrs. Sacks knows everything about everything there is to possibly know about. If you have a question, Mrs. Sacks has the answer. From Biology to Home Ec, to family life stories and gossip, Mrs. Sacks is like our mommy at school.

(mushi): When we see our ribs and feel our heart beat, we will think of Mrs. Pillay who can always come up with the cleverest ways to remember our B.E syllabus. Mrs. Pillay, we’ll even remember you when we participate with the cops. Thanks for being so kind, gentle and helpful.

(chaya): Rabbi Masinter, Rabbi Groner and Mrs. Wineburg are in charge of our spiritual development. They may feel that they haven’t taught us so much, but we want you to know, even if it sounds far fetched, we really have grown from every lesson with you.

( ):Mrs. A in her quite way keeps the school office running smoothly, she is almost always there to chat and give you valuable advice, such as “you might want to remove your nail polish before you go in there”, when you’re in the office, waiting to get into trouble.

(Sasha): There is no-one to cry tears of gladness for us tonight, with Mr. Shillinglaw gone. Sir, your absence is felt everyday.

(muki): Dr Russouw is officially in charge of forms in our school…and for hounding us when we don’t fill them in, as well as busting us when we doing our hair in class!

(Smoo): Most important to mention is the lady who keeps this crazy place insane! Morah Rebecca, thank you for sharing your office, your chocolate and your garanim. Thank you for your advice, your conversation and your guidance. We are so lucky to have a principal like you.

(Marli): However, our teachers are not the reason we are here tonight, we are.

(Marli): We haven’t all been together since nursery school like most matric classes, but we are one of the closest classes ever. We are so close we can

(Chaya): Finish each other’s sentences and read each others thoughts, and eat each other’s food.

Sammy’s mischievousness, Sasha’s artistic talent, Shterna Sarah’s legendary stubbornness.

(Sasha): Mushi’s sweetness, Muki’s brains (or just her pure luck), Marli’s advice, Mushki’s inquiring mind and Chaya’s quirkiness make our class the special class we are.

(Muki): If you ask any teacher, it’s quite a shock to the system to walk into our classroom during a lesson. On a good day, you will find: Mushki and Sam listening to the cricket and updating us on the latest scores or scheming an evil plan against the school and damaging school property. Its surprising to see how well Sasha does in school considering she spends every lesson designing her latest fashion range, and every once in a while cracks up to our madness, contributing her funny comments.

(Chaya): Shterna-Sarah is always missing in action unless she’s sitting on her desk painting mushi’s nails and giving the teachers a run for their money, that is, deciding if they want to run or have the money. If the class room is noisy, you have no doubt that Muki and Mushi are talking, singing, dancing or laughing but on a quiet day you’ll find them rolling sponge bob toys on the floor or reclining on the comfy couch.

(Smoo): When chaya is not having a rawl with marli or taking register on the back on the door, she also contributes to the noise-o-meter. Although she might be visiting the “bathroom”. It is a rare occasion to find Marli without her cell phone glued to her hand. Even though she only joined us this year, she fits in well with the crazy dynamics of our class.

(Mushi): There are certain memories that will stay with us forever. Huddling by the heater or cuddling on the big comfy couch on cold winter days, stuffing our faces during lessons, dancing around the teachers, our crazy fun-filled shabbatons, our dmc’s -deep meaningful conversations and every moment we spent together in and out of school. We miss each other when we are apart over the weekends, we can’t imagine how we are going to cope when we all go our separate ways.

(Sasha): Our school is generally a place of learning. The students from the teachers and the teachers from the students but most of all the enormous amount that we’ve learnt from each other and helping each other grow. We have to be eternally grateful to our amazing classmates have helped us develop into the unique and wonderful people that we are today and for making our school careers so full of fun, enjoyment and growth.

(muki): We owe a huge thank you to all those who made this special evening possible, morah rebbeca and the grade 11’s who put in a lot of effort into making us a very beautiful and memorable Matric farewell.

(Marli): We started high school full of dreams and plans for the far distant future, and now, sooner than we expected, the future we planned is practically tangible.

(Chaya): In November, we will leave the deep dark forest wherein our school lies. We will implement the future we having been dreaming of our entire lives, and iyh…

(Chaya): We will live happily ever after!