GHS honours Norma Keizer with thanksgiving

AlumnAE, teachers and students of the Girls’ High School honoured the late Norma Keizer on Tuesday with a thanksgiving ceremony, held under the theme, “Celebrating a Beautiful Life”.{{more}}

Many persons paid tributes to Keizer, a woman who impacted greatly on their lives in one form or another.

Joye Browne, President of the GHS Alumnae Association and a former headmistress, expressed her deepest condolences to the family of Norma Keizer.

Browne highlighted the tremendous amount of work that Keizer did for the institution, which will always mean a lot to many persons.

She further described her former headmistress as a teacher who was able to arouse one’s intellectual curiosity and make a difference in their life.

“One of the things she did is to make us stretch ‘ad alta’ – to the heights,” Browne said. “A lot of what I’ve achieved in life came from inspiration she gave to me”.

Threads of this inspiration were sewn into the tributes that followed Browne’s, solidifying the impact that Norma Keizer was able to make in the life of her students.

In her tribute, Carleen Marshall, from the class of 1982, described Keizer as the best there ever was, who “not only gave us wings, but she taught us how to fly on broken wings”.

Marshall pointed out that

she was thankful to Keizer for many things including “her

love, inspiration and quiet force that spurred us on to great heights”.

Laura Anthony-Browne, Director of Planning, shared her last visit with Norma Keizer in the form of an exhortation.

Anthony-Browne mentioned that she read Thessalonians 5:9-11 with Keizer, for the three main messages that were in the scriptures.

She highlighted that the text stressed that God does not want let people suffer or punish them; Jesus died for humanity so that they can live with him and that people should encourage and build up one another.

While explaining the last point, the director likened Keizer to the encouragement being mentioned.

“Norma Keizer encouraged everyone to strive for excellence and to be better than they believe themselves to be,” Anthony-Browne said. “This is the hallmark of a true leader that in my understanding of Christianity is a virtue of a true Christian”.

Additionally, Anthony-Browne pointed out that the guidance and direction that she received from Keizer are as “deeply personal as they are profound” and as “gentle as they are life changing and transforming”.

Furthermore, the director stated that it was this quality that was needed in schools and in the country today. She went on to encourage persons to support and build one another in whatever way they could.

Norma Keizer entered the Girls’ High School in 1948 after winning the sole Kingstown Town Board Scholarship. After finishing her post secondary studies, Keizer served the school first as a teacher and then as headmistress. She is the longest serving headmistress of the institution, with her 15-year tenure ending in 1990. (BK)