“My St Catherine’s journey is a long and winding one. My brother and sister are both alumni of the school, or of St Catherine’s Dominican Convent School, as it was in the 60s. My brother, like all the boys, had to leave in Std 1 (Grade 3), as boys were deemed too boisterous for the nuns! My sister was able to attend the school until Std 9 (Grade 11), but had to complete her Matric at St Dominic’s, Boksburg – St Catherine’s was a small school and it was deemed financially impossible to maintain a high school, so all the girls had to move to Boksburg. Funnily enough, I did not attend St Catherine’s as a student.
My sister-in-law, Mrs Jenny Barrow, and my mother, Mrs Faith Barrow, were both teachers at the school for a long time. I am sure many of you will remember the concerts which my mother put on, with her head sticking out over the piano shouting “Sing!” to the children at assemblies.
My journey began when I started teaching Grade 6s and 7s part-time, in the 1990s. I had, in fact, studied to be an English teacher and I soon became part of the English Department in the Preparatory (what was then the Primary) School. I began teaching in the High School when it was founded in 2000 – a year I remember because it was the same year that my son was born. Over the past 22 years, I have taught many wonderful children and have loved my time here. My son also loved his years as a student in the primary school and was its head boy in 2013. And who knows, there may, one day, be another little Barrow who starts in Grade 00, carrying on the family tradition.
But – for now – I cannot wait for many more happy years teaching in the lively, close-knit family of St Catherine’s.”