ANN CUTLER: The morning star of Gayaza High School

By Filda Ojok and Susan Kiguli

Miss Cutler, as she was known by her students, came to Gayaza High School in 1961 as a specialist physical education instructor, sent by the Church Missionary Society.

Young (then) of medium height, and with a gait akin to that of a soldier, Miss Cutler was discipline and purpose personified.

Right from her arrival, she was like a thermostat, regulating the activities in the school by making physical education a central part of school life.

During her many years of service, Miss Cutler exhibited so many other qualities that have made an indelible mark on the lives of the hundreds of students that were mentored by her.

Every Gayaza High School student (1961-2001) remembers Miss Cutler, first and foremost, as the physical education teacher.

She lived the life of a physical education instructor to the hilt, always exuding energy and single-mindedness as she briskly crisscrossed the school compound with her dog.

In the mind of all her students, Miss Cutler was synonymous with "early mo."

Different classes had to go for country dancing, which mainly consisted of Scottish Ceilidh dances, on different days throughout the week.

As one student commented, "once you joined Gayaza, you had to be prepared for the early morning star in the person of Miss Cutler."

Each day, the "Bugu", the drum would be sounded at 6:00am, signaling the start of the Gayaza Day. If it was the turn of your class to go for country dancing, then you would do well to scamper out of bed to be ready at the venue by 6:30am. Even before you got there, the loud sound of her record player would hurry you up.

If you were late, running, or moving slowly, you were bound to hear her calling out after you, "Rrrrun!" or "Mmmmove!" She was always punctual. All our attempts to get to the venue before her were futile. She enthused in us the love for country dancing, encouraged agility and finesse.

Miss Cutler taught physical education to the entire school, often starting from 6:30 am and ending at 6:00 pm daily. She offered an assortment of sports activities, including tennis, table tennis, badminton, hockey, volleyball, netball, rounders and athletics. Under her tutelage, Gayaza excelled in many interschool sports competitions.

During the 1960s, the Gayaza relay teams dominated the national schools' championships. Through these sporting activities, the students learnt punctuality, discipline, teamwork, competitiveness - all undergirded by the desire to have fun.

Miss Cutler was not a supporter of the current cut-throat competition driven by money, and she was always saddened by it.

 

 

HER EXCEPTIONAL QUALITIES

Her interaction with the students through the physical education classes enabled Miss Cutler to know all the students in the school by name, not only that, she only needed to see someone's legs to tell whose they were!

At one time, she came across some mischievous girls who had gone looking for mangoes after lights out time. When they started running, she directed her powerful torchlight at their legs. The next day during assembly, she named all of them!!

For those on staff, she could tell who was approaching a room by just listening to the footsteps. We were always amazed by this rare gift she possessed, and it became the subject of conversation among students after lights out.

 

HER STRONG FAITH

Miss Cutler was a woman of strong faith in God, and she lived out her faith in very many practical ways.

For most of her time at Gayaza, she was in charge of the chapel (the school chaplain) and the activities associated with it. She enjoyed being in charge of what she referred to as "the hub of school life," and overtime she nurtured and supported the staff children's Sunday school.

She deeply loved her role of care taking the chapel. For her, all victory was embodied in God and she considered being directly in charge of the chapel as the highest calling of all her duties.

The chapel had a number of activities, such as school assemblies and Christian club.

She made sure they all run smoothly. In her vision, she saw the brightness of God's purposes and so she greatly enjoyed chapel time.

We can distinctly remember her singing while bouncing off her heels and the balls of her feet, in addition to enunciating the words of the hymns clearly. The students would laugh behind her back and joke that if one wanted to learn the words of a hymn, one just had to "lip read" Miss Cutler.

Senior Five and six always had the privilege of having Bible study at her house. It was a great source of endless mirth to the girls that she always encouraged them to pray for their future husbands. This illustrates her desire for a bright future for all her students.

For a long time, Miss Cutler was one of the class teachers in charge of one of the Senior One classes. When you came to Senior One and was assigned to S1C, the Senior Two students would warn, "If you are in S1C, you just must learn to be alert at all times, attention is key."

As a class teacher, she taught us the value of punctuality, honesty and prioritizing activities.

In the 1980s, Miss Cutler had a dog called Chiffy. If you took groundnuts or popcorn to class, Chiffy would sniff them out and would not leave your desk until Miss Cutler came and asked you to surrender them! For some reason, Chiffy knew that the classroom was not a place for eating.

Those who belonged to S1C had the privilege of going to Miss Cutler's house on Saturday mornings to borrow books to read. They were such fun books to read. They included Enid Blyton's books, and TinTin cartoon books. In this way, she nurtured in us a reading culture and was key in expanding our vocabulary and developing our character.

 

HER SENSITIVE SIDE

Miss Cutler was a sensitive, caring and extremely generous person. She identified the financial and material needs of students and did her best to help. She paid fees for many students and assisted many with health issues. Her sensitivity always found a way of making up for the deficit in her students. One old girl testified how one day she just did not feel like joining in the physical education activities, and stood nearby, sulking.

Miss Cutler looked at her and told her she looked very pretty whenever she smiled. No one had ever given her such a compliment, and she was not to hear it again until much later from her husband-to-be.

Those who worked with Miss Cutler on staff came to understand her deep love for people despite her apparent very tough exterior.

They learnt first-hand about her belief in excellence in love. She offered warm friendship to her colleagues and was always more interested in giving than receiving.

One teacher recounted how she always signed off her letters to him with "Be good son". Miss Cutler also hosted the Staff Bible Study every week, and always followed up members that were absent to find out the reasons for their absence.

Her caring attitude always encouraged us to grow in our faith and, of course, we also enjoyed the delicious cookies and tea she always served.

Before she retired, she was one of the deputy Headteachers when Mrs. Ruth Kavuma, an old girl of the school, was the headteacher, which was a testament to her humility. She carried out her duties with that characteristic energy and signature smile.

Ann Cutler combined authority and compassion. She lived out her faith in both word and deed. She encouraged the students to read the Bible and would beam with pride when one did exceptionally well at memorizing verses.

She took Gayaza to great heights in sports and athletics. She contributed to creating a loving and caring environment that made boarding school fun and exciting.

She has had such a lasting impact on our lives, and we are the richer for having been her students and friends. Rest in Peace Miss Cutler.

The writers are Gayaza High School old girls and also taught there.

 

Get a copy of today's New Vision and read how Hon. Ruth Kavuma, long time Gayaza headmistress, eulogises Ms. Cutler...