CURRO ACADEMY AND MERIDIAN SCHOOLS - DIGIMAG 2018 CURRO ACADEMY AND MERIDIAN SCHOOLS - DIGIMAG 2018 | Page 28

First faces at Meridian
Rustenburg ... From a casino
to a school
‘Great things in business are never done by one person. They
are done by a team of people.’ – Steve Jobs Meridian College, as it was known since its inception on 27 January 1997, was located in Vanadium Street in Rustenburg.
The school was started by Mr Martin van Breda and Mrs Elsa Grobler joined him in ownership. Mrs Hannelene Erasmus was
appointed as the principal and was one of the five staff members that started with the school along with 192 learners. Although
the initial school premises served the needs of the school, classrooms weren’t as conducive to learning with the growth of the
staff and learner numbers.
That is the motto of the reception team at Meridian Rustenburg.
It all started on 1 February 1997 when Annette Oosthuizen was
employed as the receptionist at Meridian College, as the school
was then known. Annette has worked at Meridian for 21 years
now and has watched how the school has changed, moved and
grown through the years. All these years she has been the face
of Meridian as parents and learners walk through the doors. She
often has the privilege of enrolling the children of learners whom
she enrolled years ago at Meridian.
2018
On 2 April 2012 Curro Holdings purchased Meridian College. With the new owners came a new name, Meridian Rustenburg,
and a new school premises. The Tlhabane Sun Casino, located next door to the Tlhabane Shopping Centre, was purchased as the
new location for Meridian Rustenburg. The casino however needed to be changed from the local gambling house to the learning
centre needed for a growing school. Everyone was excited to move into the new premises on 1 July 2014.
In 2016 Cobus du Plessis was appointed as Executive Head. The school has grown to 72 staff members and 1110 learners. With
the new premises and leadership learners have now been afforded the opportunity to excel in sport, especially in soccer and
athletics. Land Service has been a growing initiative in the primary and high school, enabling the learners to learn more about
their environment and how to care for it. Cultural dancing and ballet has helped develop learners’ creative sides.
As the school grew in numbers, another secretary was needed to
assist with the work and so Ann de Bruin joined the growing ranks
of Meridian Rustenburg. With her keen financial knowledge she
soon became the bursar of the school. Ann has now worked at
Meridian Rustenburg for 11 years.
Yet again the growth of the school called for the need of more
hands. That is when Debbie van der Merwe joined Meridian
Rustenburg. She started assisting Ann with general typing and
secretarial work. With her knowledge of administration, she
soon took on the administrative role as the school expanded
and is currently PA to the executive head as well. For the last five
years at Meridian she has kept her ear to the ground and her
pulse on everything to assist where she can.
2016
1997
Ann de Bruin, Debbie van der Merwe and Annette Oosthuizen
High spirits
Children have the ability to view the world in a different way. Adults may miss hilarious ironies about the world that children
have to point out to them. With yet another marvellous fun day at Meridian Rustenburg, the staff were reminded of these truths
– and that laughing kids are the reason why teachers love their jobs.
Meridian Rustenburg in progress
Meridian College – the previous school
C O OL
Fun day at Meridian Rustenburg
Meridian Rustenburg – the new school
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