Leaver's Weekend 2013

The 2012 - 2013 school year is over.

It started off with the tea for the IG's on Thursday afternoon and then the Staff Party on Thursday night! Speeches and presentations all round. It was the time to start saying "Good Bye" to people I had known for the past 18 months. Thisis a photo of the Modern Language staff which will be quite changed in the next school year.

Friday was final dorm meeting for me with the Standard 10's and in honor of the occasion, after all the good byes were said, Mrs. W. made Dutch Donuts! Mmm... were they delicious!!! So delicious I managed to eat 3 of them!!
Saturday morning was spent packing my suitcases and getting ready for the Leaver's Service which was in the afternoon.

 It was really quite an emotional occasion to see "our boys" all dressed up and being presented with their Record of Achievement folders and then seeing Ande as one of the Valedictorians. It was really a thrill as some of them received rewards of achievement for Music, Sport, and Academics.
The service was followed by the Leaver's Banquet at Gem Park Hotel (Holiday Inn) Ooty.

The buffet was delicious and the entertainment which followed permitted all to share memories of life at Hebron. Especially meaningful was the tribute paid by Tom George, A-level Dorm, to the last A-levels to live in Blades.

On Sunday I went to church with Dennis on his motorcycle. It was a real treat for me to do this on my last day in Ooty. Union Church was packed!

All the extra chairs which were brought in were taken and some people stood outside and listened in through the open windows. Following the service there were 2 baptisms in a bathtub.

This was followed by a farewell tea for the Leavers. The snacks were great and it gave me a chance to greet former students from 2007 as well as some of the parents of the students in my classes.
At 2:15 p.m. I started the 8 hour 30 minute taxi ride to Bangalore! More of that in the next post.