Brilliant summer weather, but the Mendelcollege in Haarlem was all about skating this morning. Surrounded by hundreds of students, poet Jan Kal recited his poem ‘Gouden Yvonne’ to former skating champion Yvonne van Gennip. The poem can be admired life-size from today on the side of the Mendel College, the secondary school where Van Gennip spent her school days.
During the meeting the Haarlem Kal his poem in the presence of Van Gennip and teachers and students of the school. After the unveiling and the reading, it was the turn of the first graders, who were also allowed to recite a poem they wrote themselves. “All in all it was a very successful morning, the mural turned out very beautiful. It draws attention,” says Rector Jan-Mattijs Heinemeijer.
The poem and the wall decoration are a tribute to the achievements of the skating legend during the Olympic Games in 1988. The initiative is in collaboration with the Haarlem Literary Society and the Mendel College, a so-called ‘top sport talent school’. This means that students who practice top sport at this school are given extra guidance by teachers to combine school and sport.
Completed training
Yvonne van Gennip also completed her education at this school during her sports career. “Yvonne has indicated that she has been really delighted twice in her life: when she won gold and when she received her diploma,” says Heinemeijer.
Despite the fact that Van Gennip is of a different generation than the first graders, the children did know her. When she walked into the school, the students were already ready with their skates to have them signed† according to rector Jan-Mattijs Heinemeijer.
As far as Heinemeijer is concerned, it does not stop at this one wall. “It’s a really nice addition to the building and refers to what’s happening here at the school, then and now.”