‘Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.’

Steve Jobs 1955 – 2011 

Steve Jobs, the CEO and founder of Apple, the richest company in history, died in October, 2011. The above quote was the topic of one of my assemblies in May 2011, as sadly that year was fraught with sadness for our community. Several staff had family and friends die, school families lost loved ones and many families were affected by poverty, divorce and depression.

When these unhappy things happen, one is prompted into reviewing one’s life and so there is never a better time to make some positive changes. In the assembly with the children, we discussed how easy it is to ‘live someone else’s life’, and we determined then that we need to take every opportunity to make life a series of moments that you will treasure forever.

At Pinelands North, we try to make school into a series of momentous moments. Every child will be taught information at any school you send them to, (some will be taught more than others!) but remembering the day that I was allowed to walk on the wet field without my shoes on, or the day that I sat quietly during break, watching day-old ducklings wandering around me, are moments that will be forever embedded into the psyche.

So 2011 was also been filled with small treasures, some personal and some communal. I will always remember how awed I was when our seven grade seven children spoke to the Western Cape Parliament in June, and how proud I was when I heard their well researched speeches and watched the confidence they portrayed when speaking to the press at the media briefing afterwards.

Another special day for me was when we were publically acknowledged by the Minister of Education for our inclusive policies! If you spoke to our children themselves, however, they would probably give you a different list of ‘moments’. Maybe they would tell you about the day the teachers played netball against the pupils, maybe the camp or tour they spent time at, or maybe just that this year their teacher really understood them or that they made one new friend this year.

To read about the many varied ‘special moments’ in the life of this fabulous school over the years, read our website – you will be astounded that we even have lots of time to learn too. Plan today, or during this next school holiday, to make some time for your family to celebrate some special moments together – you never know when time will run out and those moments will be over forever.