Matlala Sefale, Grade 12
UWCSA (Waterford)
Waterford Kamhlaba UWCSA has a long-lasting tradition of bidding goodbye to the IBDP graduating class (IB2s) in a special way each year. This is done through the always anticipated Inhouse Leavers party, which is organized and run by students in the first year of the IBDP (IB1s) with some help from staff members.
Before this event, the IB2s get together to select a theme of their choice, then the IB1s tailor the party to suit that theme. Afterward, residents of the school’s two IB hostels meet up in their corridors and blocks in Emhlabeni and Elangeni, respectively, to come up with ideas of costumes and performances for the big event.
In 2019, when I was in IB1, the theme chosen was ‘Iconic Movies’. Each block and corridor went as a unique iconic movie - luckily, there are more than enough iconic movies to go around all the 19 blocks and corridors combined as well as the group of day scholars. The movies chosen ranged widely between a lot of genres, from Nemo to Pirates of the Caribbean.
Organizing the party was fairly challenging for the IB1s given that this happens in the third term - early October - which is very close to the end of year exams. However, on the night of the event, the dining hall was well decorated with posters of the different movie choices, tables set properly around a stage, and some IB1s were already ushering the guests of honour (IB2s) into the hall to their designated seats.
The event was filled with creative and entertaining performances by each block and corridor; each performance was relevant to the chosen movie. Beehive girls shrunk the movie Sharks into a skit, which I found quite disturbing due to their excellent make-up skills, which made the red stains on their bodies and clothes look like real blood oozing from shark bites. Block C boys performed a really funny stand-up comedy set in honour of Nemo. Block E girls broke into song in whatever language minions speak; even though I understood none of it, it was very entertaining to watch them all sing like they know exactly what the lyrics meant.
In between block and corridor performances, we were treated to some of the best vocals and dance moves I have ever witnessed. Among a handful of outstanding performances, Kiara sang and danced to her own remix of Bruno Mars and Cardi B’s ‘Please Me’ with a sprinkle of Portuguese.
Towards the end of the event, after we were served dinner by the IB1s who volunteered to be waiters and waitresses, we all voted for people we wanted to win in a bunch of different award categories, and the winners received certificate awards. The categories ranged from the quietest student to the most likely to become a president or head of state.
Even though the evening was filled with good food, fun, laughter, and entertainment of all sorts, there was a layer of sadness to it. This was mainly because we were all aware that we were bidding farewell to the IB2 and they to us. It seemed as though the Inhouse Leavers party was foreshadowing the graduation ceremony - what would, unfortunately, be for some of us, final goodbyes. That sprinkled a bit of pain to an almost perfect night, but to some extent, that made us cherish the moments we had together a lot more and make the most of that party.
It was heartwarming to see IB1s immerse themselves so wholeheartedly and dedicate so much of their time in a very busy period of the school year to give their IB2s an above decent farewell and wish them the best with their final IB examinations. It was even better to see the appreciation shown by the recipients of our efforts. As they too had done the same for their IB2s the year before, they knew the hard work and sacrifice that went into the organization of the event, and they could relate to how we felt at that moment. I felt sad knowing that I was left with only very few weeks with them on the hill, but I also felt very proud of them and how far they had come, the heroism they displayed as they tackled IB throughout the year and still came out strong at the end, even though the end was only a few weeks away.
It is heartbreaking to imagine that my classmates and I might not be fortunate enough to experience Inhouse Leavers as the guests of honour this October due to Covid-19. However, my consolation will be the fond memory I hold of the 2019 Inhouse Leavers party - a reminder that there is a whole community of people who care about us and look up to us just as we cared about and looked up to our IB2s.
Before this event, the IB2s get together to select a theme of their choice, then the IB1s tailor the party to suit that theme. Afterward, residents of the school’s two IB hostels meet up in their corridors and blocks in Emhlabeni and Elangeni, respectively, to come up with ideas of costumes and performances for the big event.
In 2019, when I was in IB1, the theme chosen was ‘Iconic Movies’. Each block and corridor went as a unique iconic movie - luckily, there are more than enough iconic movies to go around all the 19 blocks and corridors combined as well as the group of day scholars. The movies chosen ranged widely between a lot of genres, from Nemo to Pirates of the Caribbean.
Organizing the party was fairly challenging for the IB1s given that this happens in the third term - early October - which is very close to the end of year exams. However, on the night of the event, the dining hall was well decorated with posters of the different movie choices, tables set properly around a stage, and some IB1s were already ushering the guests of honour (IB2s) into the hall to their designated seats.
The event was filled with creative and entertaining performances by each block and corridor; each performance was relevant to the chosen movie. Beehive girls shrunk the movie Sharks into a skit, which I found quite disturbing due to their excellent make-up skills, which made the red stains on their bodies and clothes look like real blood oozing from shark bites. Block C boys performed a really funny stand-up comedy set in honour of Nemo. Block E girls broke into song in whatever language minions speak; even though I understood none of it, it was very entertaining to watch them all sing like they know exactly what the lyrics meant.
In between block and corridor performances, we were treated to some of the best vocals and dance moves I have ever witnessed. Among a handful of outstanding performances, Kiara sang and danced to her own remix of Bruno Mars and Cardi B’s ‘Please Me’ with a sprinkle of Portuguese.
Towards the end of the event, after we were served dinner by the IB1s who volunteered to be waiters and waitresses, we all voted for people we wanted to win in a bunch of different award categories, and the winners received certificate awards. The categories ranged from the quietest student to the most likely to become a president or head of state.
Even though the evening was filled with good food, fun, laughter, and entertainment of all sorts, there was a layer of sadness to it. This was mainly because we were all aware that we were bidding farewell to the IB2 and they to us. It seemed as though the Inhouse Leavers party was foreshadowing the graduation ceremony - what would, unfortunately, be for some of us, final goodbyes. That sprinkled a bit of pain to an almost perfect night, but to some extent, that made us cherish the moments we had together a lot more and make the most of that party.
It was heartwarming to see IB1s immerse themselves so wholeheartedly and dedicate so much of their time in a very busy period of the school year to give their IB2s an above decent farewell and wish them the best with their final IB examinations. It was even better to see the appreciation shown by the recipients of our efforts. As they too had done the same for their IB2s the year before, they knew the hard work and sacrifice that went into the organization of the event, and they could relate to how we felt at that moment. I felt sad knowing that I was left with only very few weeks with them on the hill, but I also felt very proud of them and how far they had come, the heroism they displayed as they tackled IB throughout the year and still came out strong at the end, even though the end was only a few weeks away.
It is heartbreaking to imagine that my classmates and I might not be fortunate enough to experience Inhouse Leavers as the guests of honour this October due to Covid-19. However, my consolation will be the fond memory I hold of the 2019 Inhouse Leavers party - a reminder that there is a whole community of people who care about us and look up to us just as we cared about and looked up to our IB2s.
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Image Credits: Kandi Grey, student at UWCSA (Waterford)
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