𝗔 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗙𝗘𝗟𝗧 𝗙𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗪𝗘𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗢 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗡 𝗥𝗢𝗦 𝗥𝗨𝗕𝗜𝗗𝗚𝗘
On a wintry Monday morning among the blooms of the beloved Max Kroon garden, 𝗮 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗱 for a woman who has left an indelible mark on the hearts of many – Matron Ros Rubidge.
Gathered together in a spirit of gratitude, staff and parents came to honour Ros, who has been an integral part of the Max Kroon House family for the past 20 years. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘣𝘺𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴.
Mrs Vanessa Copeman, in a heartfelt speech on behalf of everyone present and those who couldn’t be there in person but were certainly there in spirit, captured what Ros has meant to the community. “𝘛𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 – 𝘙𝘰𝘴,” she said. “𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴.”
Ros’ journey at Max Kroon began two decades ago. Over the years, she has not only cared for and guided countless children but helped shape them into the kind, confident young adults they are today. With humour, Vanessa added, “𝘕𝘰𝘸, 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 – 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 – 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘪𝘧 𝘙𝘰𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 20 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦 1𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 27 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘭𝘥!”
The sentiment throughout the morning was clear: Ros is deeply cherished. “𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘥𝘰𝘮, 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦,” Vanessa said. “𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦, 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭.”
As a token of appreciation, Ros will be gifted with a beautifully curated Memory Book – filled with photos, heartfelt messages and colourful drawings. “𝘐𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳,” said Vanessa. “𝘐 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥.”
Vanessa also shared a personal reflection on her own journey with Ros, beginning in 2015 when her daughter Rebecca started Grade 1. Their bond was instant, and when Vanessa later discovered she was expecting her son Mark, Ros was among the first to hear the news. “𝘙𝘰𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘬’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦 4, 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”
Though this chapter may be ending, Ros’s legacy at Max Kroon will live on. 𝗔 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 – 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗯𝗼𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁, 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹.
“𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯,” Vanessa concluded. “𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯 𝘙𝘰𝘴.”
With emotions running high, Mr Justin Kingwill, chairman of the Union Preparatory School Governing Body was then invited to say a few words, followed by a lovely speech by matron Demi Van Der Rheede. Everyone present was then invited to enjoy the selection of tea eats lovingly prepared for the occasion.
𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝗥𝗼𝘀 𝗥𝘂𝗯𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗮𝘅 𝗞𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁, 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘂𝗻𝘄𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀.
