After a long and cold winter, what else is better than to have a little bit of sunshine and a summer day at the beach? The Cultural Induction Party, with the summer beach party theme, left all of us (even those who prefer winter) longing for those warm summer days spent at the beach eating ice-cream and making sandcastles. It certainly was an afternoon filled with many laughs and unforgettable memories. Who really needs the beach after all?
With a total of 17 tables (one for each committee) the hall was abuzz with activity. Excited young ladies decorated their committee’s table with buckets and spades, sea shells, sand, little beach stones, tiny plastic sea creatures and even boats and a surfboard. The tables also had extra delicious snacks like biscuits and cupcakes for those who sat at them. It was undeniable that the tables looked gorgeous and congratulations to Interact who took the award for the Best Table overall.
Throughout the event the atmosphere showed that everybody was thoroughly enjoying themselves. Everybody was chatting away merrily, singing along to the music which was played or was giggling happily. There was only total silence when the food arrived and the girls tucked into the delicious burgers, organised by the Cultural Board. Of course, what is the beach without ice-cream? Just when the girls had finished their burgers, the sweet Grade 8 waitresses brought in delicious ice-cream cones which perfectly complemented the idea of summer and the beach. Thank you to Mrs Naidoo and Mrs du Pisanie for their help with the serving and organisation.
The Cultural Induction Party is not only an extremely fun event, but was also when the new Committees for 2017 were to be announced. The girls waited with bated breath as the current heads of the Committees gave their speeches before announcing who was on the new committee. 236 positions were announced within the space of 2 hours. Upon hearing if they were on a committee, shrieks of joy could be heard from the girls and even louder shrieks when they realized that they were announced as head or deputy, or if a friend was announced to be on the committee as well.  Congratulations to all who were announced on a committee!
What better way was there to spend a Friday afternoon? Two hundred girls with the support of fifteen teachers sang, danced and bonded.  The girls tried out the hula hoops, enjoyed the photo booth and sang Under the Sea and Barney’s Mr Sun with gusto.
Taybah Teladia says, “it was an amazing day filled with lots of fun. My Friday was made!”. The event was a time of relaxation and much enjoyment… Especially when it came to the food. Nicole Rhodes says, “It was a lovely afternoon to relax and enjoy the ‘beach party’, whilst celebrating the leadership achievements of the girls. The ice-cream was amazing.”
Of course with the new-coming committees, it is only fitting to give a suitable goodbye to our “kindergarten graduates”, the 2016 Matrics. Everyone joined in for the dancing and singing of the Matric section of the afternoon. It was truly entertaining to see everybody get involved in the music and truly live in the moment dancing and being happy. With songs like Roar, Shake it Off, Dynamite and Happy adapted to be about school, the matrics enjoyed the send-off and their gift of a beach in a bag with a special message.
Lenae Naidoo received the award for Best Dressed and Drama deserved their Best Spirit Award.
Mrs Gerber gave a talk on the importance of using the d6, the value of liking and sharing club news on facebook, the importance of reporting back to teachers, being honest in your dealings with the committee and teacher in charge and being accountable without blaming others and looking for excuses.  Mrs Gerber also spoke of how blessed we are to have 17 clubs to choose from to be involved in and that the teachers should be thanked after each event or meeting as the teachers were hard-working and deserved that recognition. 
The masters of ceremonies were our life guards, Megan de Beer and Siviwe Tole, and they were amazing.  They kept tight control when the names were being announced to ensure everyone got a fair congratulations and they made us laugh! 
Special thanks are to be given to Mrs Stark, Mrs Gerber and the Cultural Board, especially Jessica Du Pisanie for organising this amazing event and making it possible. Well done to the Cultural Board who stepped in, such as Kristin Hunt organising visuals and sound with the Computer Club team, Sinovuyo Madlavu doing a great job with badge collections and distribution. We are extremely grateful for and appreciative of your hard work and dedication to making this event wonderful for us all. The quote “Wake up with determination, go to bed with satisfaction” best represents the Cultural Board, as they were determined to make the Cultural Party amazing for us all and can be satisfied to know that it was better than anyone could have imagined.