The 2025 Chronicle

ed their laptops in secret. The boys re spected her immensely and loved being looked after by Sis Joyce. We achieved great things together. She pushed us to our limits, but we pulled through as a team. We supported each other through late nights and demand ing rugby season weekends. I learned a lot from her and have grown profession ally because of Joyce’s calm and reas suring voice when I felt overwhelmed. Despite her busy work she always took time to check on how my family and son were doing. She was there when I lost my dad, and was an important source of comfort at a time when I needed tender ness the most. She will be greatly missed by all of us at the San and the Michaelhouse commu nity at large. We wish her a happy and restful retirement as she spends time with her children and grandkids. May God continue to keep and bless you, Sis Joyce. We love you endlessly. Written by Sane Ntuli

ality. It will be very strange not to see his braided, bearded and beaded figure around campus. We wish Ishmael all the best for his retirement and the best of luck as he completes his sangoma training. Written by Graeme Nothard Although tributes are traditionally re served for staff who have served at Mi chaelhouse for ten years or more, we felt it only fitting to also include this beautifully written tribute to Glynnis by Paul de Wet, as well as to Ryan 'Strud ders' by his good friend and colleague, James Fleming.

when we were able to make a part-time role available to her from the start of 2022. Soon after she started I asked her if I could sit in on a lesson or two in order to see what I could learn. Glynnis made it abundantly clear she would not be comfortable with that. Of course this made me more intrigued than ever. Was she casting spells, perhaps? I decided not to feel too bad after I learned that Antony’s request to sit in on a class had also been politely declined. In spite of this early setback I believe I have come to understand at least some of Glynnis’s superpowers, and it is only right that I share them with you. On Friday morning I attended the Clifton Nottingham Road prize-giving with Win. In his headmaster’s address, former Mi chaelhouse Rector Paul Fleischack com mented how much he had been inspired by the primary school environment, and that if he had his time over he would in sist that all high school teachers spent at least some time in a primary school. Glynnis started her career in a primary school and I believe this has given her an advantage as a high school teacher. Af ter four years she was seconded to teach at DHS, where she soon became head of department. The recently deceased Dud ley Forde served as headmaster of DHS during this time and he and Glynnis were lifelong friends. When Dudley left DHS after just a couple of years to become Rector of Michaelhouse, Glynnis would have followed him here. However, he wisely counselled her against this, know ing that it would not have been the best place for her as a single woman at that time. Glynnis’s admiration for Dudley meant that Michaelhouse would remain on her bucket list throughout her career. Glynnis, we are pleased you realised your dream of teaching here. While Glynnis was at DHS she taught the fathers of boys she ended up teaching at Michaelhouse, notably Bruce Hughes, father of Jack Hughes and Max Oliva, fa ther of Max Oliva. After ten years at DHS, Glynnis moved to St Mary’s for 10 years where she was, almost single-handedly, in charge of boarding while still contributing as an exceptional teacher of Maths. From there, Glynnis taught part-time at Ke arsney for 13 years, contributing sig nificantly to their outstanding Maths results in that era. Glynnis stays in touch with so many of

GLYNNIS OWEN

While 42 is the answer to the “ultimate question” of life, the universe and ev

erything in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy , it is also the num ber of years for which Glynnis has taught Mathematics.

ISHMAEL ZUMA

Ishmael joined Michael house in 2006, which was the first of 19 wonderful

years of service to the school.

Glynnis, it is a great pleasure to pay tribute to you today, to honour your contribution to Mathematics education and to thank you for your service to our special school. Glynnis saw us advertising a Maths post in 2021 and emailed me to en quire whether we would consider her in a part-time role. I was already aware of Glynnis’s reputation as a teacher with an enviable record. By way of example, in her final year at Kearsney College, a staggering 27 out of 30 boys in Glynnis’s second set achieved distinctions with an average of 89%. I was intrigued as to the secrets behind Glynnis’s success and I was pleased

He started his Michaelhouse career in the Estates Department, where he worked as a brush cutter for 14 years. Ishmael then joined our refuse and re cycling team. He was first assistant to Joseph before taking over the driving of the tractor himself. Ishmael has been very patient with our old Ford 5000 Tractor for the last few years, and he is sorry he won’t be around in 2026 to drive the replacement. We are going to miss his hard work and dedication, as well as his joyful person

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