Stories & photos - Van Asch Deaf Education Centre

Duffy books
On Monday 3 rd April van Asch students and staff
assembled in the Conference room for the first Duffy
Book Assembly for 2006. Margaret Foster, coach for
the Canterbury Flames netball team, was supposed to
be our speaker but was unfortunately unable to attend
due to illness in the family. Instead, Bessie Manu, up
and coming star of the Canterbury Flames, came to
speak to us and present the students with their Duffy
books.
Bessie is only 19 years old. She has been a member
of the Canterbury Flames since she was 16. She
is also a member of the NZ Under 21 netball team.
Bessie’s greatest ambition is to become a Silver Fern.
Nobody becomes a Silver Fern without hard work!
Bessie trains at least 20 hours a week. She does
workouts and weight training at the gym, goes for long
runs and practices her netball skills on the court with
the other members of the team.
Life is certainly very busy for Bessie with training,
travelling, playing in competitions and studying full
time at Canterbury University. She is a remarkable
young woman and a wonderful role model for all our
students. We wish her all the best for a successful
career.
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