Keeping up with a tradition of almost 30 years, Hudson Park High School welcomed their new Grade 8 pupils into the school with a special candle lighting ceremony on Friday night.
Signifying the culmination and highlight of the school’s annual Grade 8 orientation week programme, the ceremony was introduced by former Hudson Park Primary and High School teacher Richard Rees in 1992, and he is still called upon to run the ceremony each year.
“I worked out the mechanics of the ceremony and refined it over the years. It’s great to still be part of the ceremony and continue to have a link to the school. I taught here for 32 years and to still be so involved is wonderful,” said Rees, 73.
The ceremony saw over 200 new Grade 8 pupils gather in the school’s Centenary Hall. Each received a candle, and during the course of the ceremony each candle was lit.
The head prefects started by lighting their candles using the school’s main lamp, known as the lamp of learning, and the flame travelled across the hall.
During the ceremony the pupils recited a pledge, promising to uphold the traditions of the school and to make a positive contribution during their time at Hudson Park High.
“The transferring of light signifies the way the philosophies and values of the school are transferred to the Grade 8 pupils.
“It’s the flame of learning and the flame of enthusiasm being given to new pupils, and I always tell them to keep that flame alive in themselves after their candles are blown out at the end of the evening,” Rees said.
“But it’s not just about what the school gives to the students. It’s about acknowledging that each Grade 8 pupil has a purpose and a contribution, each has a light and a value that they add to the school.”
Grade 8 pupil Kiara-Jade Smith, said the event was inspiring and that she felt accepted and welcomed into her new school.
“It captured a moment in time where we, as the 2019 Grade 8s, were being accepted into our high school family,” said the 13-year-old.
Fellow new Grade 8-er Ruben Steenkamp, 13, said: “It was a special ceremony, and watching the flame move across the hall was spectacular.”..