The Junior School was privileged to have Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala and Johann Peiris come to speak in Assembly in June, just three weeks after Jayanthi had become the first Sri Lankan to reach the summit of Mount Everest.  She is only the fourth woman to become the first person in their country to climb Everest.  Jayanthi and Johann also visited the Senior School in September.  At both schools, they talked about their historic trip and showed the children some of the equipment, showing the students it is possible to achieve any dream with sufficient determination and commitment.

Although Jayanthi is the first Sri Lankan to climb Everest, one of the early Everest pioneers, Eric Shipton, was also born in Sri Lanka, the son of a British planter.  Shipton led the missions in 1935 and 1951 that preceded Edmund Hillary reaching the summit in 1953.

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