Preparatory Newsletter No 10 of 2013.pdf

8/14/2019 Preparatory Newsletter No 10 of 2013.pdf

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8th November 2013

St Johns Preparatory SchoolSt Johns Preparatory SchoolHoughton

Tel: 011 645 3100/ 087 55 0473 Newsletter Number 10

10/11 Carol Service - St Marys

Cathedral

11/11 All Library books must be

returned

12/11 Headmasters Assembly13/11 UIII & LIII Exams

13/11 - 17/11 School closes 13h00

15/11 Christmas Market

19/11 Housemasters Assembly

20/11 UI - UIII Pantomime -

Johannesburg Theatre

22/11 Dads and Lads camp

25/11 Brainpower Week

Reminders fromthe Diary

Fromthe HeadmasterWe are heading for that time of year again whencertain boys will receive acknowledgments andawards for academic, music, cultural and sportingperformances at the forthcoming Prize Giving andFinal assembly events. More often than not, it willbe the same core of boys who repeatedly get thesame type of awards year after year, and I wouldlike to reiterate what I wrote last year on how tohelp your sons who may feel disappointed if they are

perhaps not one of those boys.

Teach him to celebrate the achievements of others,to be happy for those who have been rewarded, to

congratulate them and be gracious about it.

Look at the big picture with him: the reality is thatnot everyone can receive a prize, be awarded colours,etc. At the same time, encourage him to be honest

about his potential and his ability at this stage in hisdevelopment.

Help him to be patient and to learn from theexperience. Bitterness and resentment are counter-productive. Receiving a prize or being awardedcolours is no guarantee for achievement later in life.We all grow and develop at different rates and indifferent fields and this is merely one stage of his

development.

Remember and reiterate to him:

Overcoming challenges brings wisdom to reach

even higher goals.

Realising that life could have handed out a muchlarger disappointment helps put the setback in

perspective.

Spending time feeling sorry for ones self only

delays achievement.

Having unreal expectations only sets ones self up

for failure.

Examine how and why theunwanted situation occurred, thenrestructure the strategy for even

bigger and better things.

Positive thoughts with decisive,confident and positive action will

propel ones self to new heights.

Setbacks dont define a life; itshow one reacts to them that will

determine the outcome.

As parents, we are told time and

time again not to compare ourchildren, but sadly, sometimeslogic and sanity do not prevail! Ithink it must be our way asparents to ascertain whether ourchild is 'just' average, or aboveaverage or where they sit in theirenvironment. Some parents alsofind satisfaction in being able totell someone that their child isdoing so well in X, Y or Z. In asense, we feel it is confirmationthat we are doing a good job as a

parent.


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Page 2 St Johns Preparatory School

A child receiving any award is at his best, right now. But the reality is that childrengrow, shift and change all the time and this means that they will peak in different areasof their lives at different times. The timeline for intellectual, physical and emotionaldevelopment is different for every child, and whilst there may be things we can do tohelp our children improve in certain areas, most of the time, its just simply time,

maturity and patience that is required.

Our role as parents is to help our children grow up into good human beings who areconfident and capable. Each child is unique and we should identify and celebrate theirstrengths and work on areas less developed. We should help them develop morecapabilities through positive encouragement rather than by comparing them. Children,even among twins, develop at a different rate. Their interests may be different and theirdevelopment of skills will vary based on that. Eventually, all children will catch up witheach other and reach their optimal abilities.

So, do not cause your child to see bad in themselves because of comparisons. Instead,applaud a child based on his own activities and actions - not how he compares with asibling, his peers, or anyone else for that matter. Even if you mean to say good things,for example, you might say, "Jimmy is a good runner, and Freddie is a fine batsman."But all Jimmy hears is he is not a good batsman, and all Freddie hears is he is not a

good runner. You have to keep compliments and complaints separate.

Children are special beings that need encouragement and love, so watch how you saythings, and be careful not to make comparisons as this invites guilt, competition, and

jealousy. We can avoid this simply by concentrating our comments towards the childwe are addressing, without making any mention of other family members or peers.Ditching the comparisons helps us to focus on specifics and deal with the situation at

hand, without the need for any punctured feelings.

I have always believed that there is no such thing as an under achieving child, just achild who hasnt found his or her world of undiscovered possibilities. Travel thatjourney with your child, and it wont be the end destination that you will marvel at and

remember, it will be those priceless times of the actual journey to get there.

May I wish you all a wonderful last stretch to the end of 2013.

PATRICK LEES


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Getting to know TLC Childrens Home - watch the video links!

TLC (The Love of Christ) Childrens Home was established in 1993 by Thea Jarvis to

provide a place of refuge for abandoned babies. TLC collect abandoned babies at any

time of the day or night. The first two baby boys arrived in April 1993, sickly and at

deaths door. These two boys matriculated from St Davids at the end of last year, hav-

ing been sponsored by donors and assisted by the school. They are now both studying

at university and one plays rugby for Wits first team!

The following short clip was aired on e-tv and shows some interesting background to

the home, and also includes interviews with some of these children. Take a quick tour

to find out more . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT7kb5KG3MI

TLC cares for the babies while preparing them for adoption or their return to their own

families. To date, TLC has seen the successful adoption of more than 800 babies, both

in South Africa and abroad. When the babies are not adopted, TLC provides them witha home. Whilst TLC cares for approximately 35 babies and toddlers, it is also home to

approximately 37 children aged from 4 to 20 years old. These children attend different

schools including St Davids & St Katharines where they are on scholarships, St Vin-

cents, Parktown Boys, Waterstone College, Aloe Ridge primary school, Frances Vorweg

remedial school and Randeor School. There is a pre-school on the premises for the tod-

dlers, and the older ones attend a local nursery school.

TLC now has its own social worker and foreign volunteers come to TLC to work for vary-

ing periods of time to care for the babies. Watch this beautiful clip which shares the ex-

periences of one of these special volunteers, Sonia Torres. http://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=hUUqP7cMKZA


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The entire Jarvis family is involved in running the project. Funding is provided by

corporate and individual donors, many of whom have adopted a child from TLC.

Grants from the Dept of Social Development are now being made to the home, and

they are also recent beneficiaries of the My School programme and the Lotto.

St Johns boys, parents and teachers have made many significant contributions to the

home over the years. Jordan van der Walt was able to donate R150 000 to the home

last week when he was declared the LEAD SA hero of the year. He was also able to do-

nate over 300 tins of food and water bottles to the home. We are very proud of Jordan

and what he has managed to do for this special place.

Photo courtesy of Matthews Baloyi, Photojournalist, The Star Newspaper

FollowTLConfacebookandsharethelinkwithyourfriends!https://www.facebook.com/TlcChildrensHome?ref=ts&fref=ts

Pleasefeelfreetocontactmeshouldyourequireanyfurtherinfoaboutthehome.longma@stjohnscollege.co.za


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Google Summit SA

Photos courtesy of School net site: http://www.schoolnet.org.za/news/836/

I was fortunate enough to attend the recent Google Summit in Cape Town the firstof its kind to be held in South Africa. The Summit was hosted by Parklands Collegeand Schoolnet. Google has launched a range of wonderful new apps and many of

these exciting new tools were demonstrated by presenters from South Africa andfrom the USA.

I presented a workshop on using Google sites for collaborative online projects. Threedifferent site structures were demonstrated: the Prep PR site which is used for com-munication, recording and collaboration; the Upper III English Creative Writing sitewhich is used as a blogging project; and the International Boys Schools Coalition site- a three-tiered structure which hosts the IBSC Action Research programme.

Bradley Dunbar and Nicholas Ching were on

standby to respond online during the workshop,to demonstrate how effectively the site works for

communication of tasks.

The Upper III Creative Writing Blog

was a great success and several of

the workshop attendees created a

copy site there and then to use in

their own schools.


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If youd like more information, Irene Basson, who also attended the summit, haspublished this interesting article about the power of using Google and the changes that

are taking place:

http://r.sjc.co.za/google

If youd like to create your own Google site, use this beginners guide to help you getstarted:

https://support.google.com/sites/answer/153098?hl=en&ref_topic=23216&rd=1 For more information, please feel free to contact me.

Margot Long

[email protected]

Di Laycock (IBSC Action Research Co-Ordinator in Sydney) participated in a liveGoogle hangout during the workshop as well.


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When working memory becomes a barrier to learning

As the year comes to a close, and exams loom darkly on the horizon, I would like totake this opportunity to draw attention to an often neglected aspect of the learningprocess. We all understand that memory plays a vital role in successful test / examwriting, but how much do we really know about the different aspects of memory? Weare all familiar with the terms and concepts of short-term memory and long-termmemory, but it is the little-known working memory that more often than not sabotages

the exam process.

Working memory affects all aspects of learning in all subjects. It is crucial to academic

success, and is believed to be a far more reliable indicator of academic success than IQ,as it measures the potential to learn. Research has shown that children with poormarks in Grades 1 and 2 due to poor working memory never catch up to their peers(Tracy Packiam Alloway, Improving Working Memory, 2001). In the past, the problemhas been difficult to identify, as boys with poor working memories often present asconfident, socially well-adapted individuals. The effort they put into their work neverseems to translate into high grades. Comments such as he must try harder and heneeds to put in more effort are often levelled at these boys. Effort is not the problemhere - working memory is.

Working memory is our ability to remember, process and manipulate information. It islike the working space of our memory system. I think of it as a desk where all theelements, information and skills needed to complete a task are laid out. If the task iscomplicated the desk will fill up very quickly. If its surface is not big enough to cope

ith all elements, some things will get lost. If things are not laid out in an orderlyfashion, some elements may never even make it to the table. As a result, the task will

prove to be extremely difficult, and some parts may be missing.

Working memory can be divided up into two different skills the verbal workingmemory, used for remembering instructions, learning a language and all kinds of

comprehension tasks; and the visual-spatial working memory, used for rememberingthe sequence of events and patterns, images and Maths skills (Lucy Henry, TheDevelopment of Working Memory in Children, 2012). This explains why some boys maybe fluent readers, but struggle with Maths; while others may be strong in arithmetic,

but struggle to comprehend what they are reading.

Working memory is affected by space, time and effort.

We are born with a specific sized working memory, which increases in relation to our

age until the age of around fifteen. Some are born with a smaller space than others.

Those with a large working memory space may often get bored in class, while thosewith a small space may struggle to cope.


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St Johns Preparatory SchoolPage 8

We need to be aware of what kinds of classroom activities place strain on the workingmemory. Examples of activities using the verbal working memory skills include:

Listening to instructions

Remembering unfamiliar combinations of letters such as st

Remembering a dictated sentence

Finding the missing numbers in patterns

Identifying multiples of 6, or factors of 12

Activities that make use of the visual-spatial skills include:

Keeping track of his place when copying from the board or from memory

Using vocabulary such as first, next, last to retell an event in chronological

sequence

Remembering and acting lines of poetry

These are only a few.Each boy needs to be taught explicit strategies to help him cope with his workingmemory, and then be given many opportunities to practise these skills both at school

and at home. These can include;

First and foremost, understanding as much as possible about working memory. I

firmly believe knowledge is power. A boy will often devise his own strategies to help

him achieve what he wants to.

Whispering information back to himself.

Having steps of the task or Maths problem written down and easily available.

Making use of chunking information. In his book Bounce, Matthew Syedattributes chunking information as the key to the phenomenal mental success of the

grandmaster chess players. On a simpler level, boys can learn to chunk sounds

together when spelling (ham_st_er), or chunk facts together on a mind map. Syed

also talks about purposeful practice tasks need to be relevant and always just a

littlebeyond the boys current abilities.

Previewing and reviewing every task for example, use the I see I think

I wonder thinking strategy.

Getting organised with calendars, diaries, lists.

Using mind maps and thinking maps to help organise thoughts and written work.

Secondly, it depends on how quickly information is given to us and the length of

time the teacher talks the longer the teacher talks, the more chance the boy with a

poor working memory will clock out.

The third limit is the amount of effort a task requires. If a boy finds a particular task

difficult, he will expend a huge amount of mental energy completing it. In manycases, he will understand this, and simply opt out or try to avoid the task altogether.

Finally, anxiety puts enormous pressure on the working memory. In my mind, it

shrinks an already small desktop.


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All of the above strategies, along with many others, are being taught in our classrooms from Upper III right down to Upper I. The older the boy gets, the more responsibilityhe needs to take to make sure he has tried and tested as many strategies as possible.Only in this way will he know what really does work for him, and what does not. It isnot enough for teachers and parents to keep suggesting different ways of doing things.

Each boy needs to WANT to make changes to his learning process, and then try thevarious strategies.

Although poor working memory can be a barrier to academic success for boys of allages and abilities, we can do something about it. It requires working smarter ratherthan harder. Each boy needs to understand exactly the limits of his working memory,and take ownership of his situation. Understanding how HE thinks is a crucial skill tohave no matter what his age or abilities. He will then be in a far better position to askfor the specific help he needs, be able to work out the strategies that suit HIM best, and

make the most of his learning potential. And this does notstop at the end of Matric

Early intervention is crucial as success at school is intricately linked to self-esteem, butintervention can help at all ages. If we want to inspire boys to be the best they can be,to truly reach their potential to learn, we need to think seriously about the role workingmemory plays. We need to challenge these boys to change their mindsets from one of Icant do this to one of I cant do this yet (Dr Carol Dweck, The Power of YET,2013). We then need to teach them the strategies to do this both at school and at

home and give them every opportunity to practise them.

Caroline Rimmer

References:Alloway, T.A. (2011). Improving Working Memory Supporting Students Learning.SAGE,LondonDweck, C.S. (2006). Mindset: How you can fulfill your potential. Random House, NewYorkDweck, C.S. (2013). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyAde4nIIm8 Henry, L. (2012). The Development of Working Memory in Children.SAGE, LondonSyed, M. (2010). Bounce. The Myth of Talent and the Power of Practice. Fourth Estate,Great Britain


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Lower II Adventures in SpaceAs part of our English theme, the Lower IIs are each writing a Captains Log about

their adventures into Outer Space. The boys have enjoyed thinking about a unique

name for their spacecraft and, more importantly, a worthwhile mission for their capable

crew and themselves!

Star Date: 9 October 2013

Hi, Im Captain Caleb Lombard and Id like to report my progress. My ship iscalled Space Line Fighter. I have ten members of experienced crew on myship. Our mission is to secretly carry certain valuable weapons to ourundercover space station. As we fly through space, we pass different shapedmeteorites. Its quite interesting to explore the wonders of space. Not so fardown, a group of aliens attacked. Luckily we could take them on though we

lost a lot of ammo. I cant wait for tomorrow.

Caleb Lombard

Star Date: 4000-10-09

I am Captain Henning, captain of the Star Protector F17. The Star Protectoras chosen to protect the space colony because of its speed, size and

defenses. We are currently travelling to deep space on a peace keepingmission to the planet Zeon. We are halfway to Zeon and about to travel at

hyper speed and land. What could possibly go wrong?

Jordyn Henning


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Jason Short and Marc Hersov

Caleb Lombard, Dean Graaand Joshua Myers

Mangapa Matlala, Hamza Masoodand Caleb Gill

Jared Govender, Kgositsile Mashugane andNicholas Chamberlin

Keno de Jesus, James Estill andCharles Robertson

Liam Peterson, Mikaeel Moosa andMark de Jongh


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Two teams represented St John's Prep at the Hoops-4-Hope Basketball Tournamentheld in Cape Town during half-term. Well done to both teams on a superb effort! Theboys played with character and determination! 1st Team won 3/5 matches, whilst the BTeam won 1/5 matches. Our teams competed very well against other schools but

battled against the club sides.

Thank you parents for making the tour possible, and to the coaches for the wonderfulwork they continue to do with the boys.

David Mulenga

MIC - Basketball

[email protected]

Basketball Tour to Cape Town


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Cricket

Congratulations to Shaun Jacobs, Ethan Chilvers, Ciaran James and James Barrowwho have been selected to represent the Johannesburg East Region at the upcoming

U12 and U13 Cricket Festival. This takes places over the weekends of 23, 24 and the 30November and 1 December.

U12 boys: Tarun Gupta, Riyaadh Haffajee, Jack Lees andJack Montgomery


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The 1st Team Cricketers from Cordwalles Prep and St John's Prep

Ethan Chilvers scored a century (102*) against Cordwalles


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Cricket Tour Against Cordwalles and Clifton

This was the first cricket tour for our U11A cricket team so it was both new andexciting. In fact for Mark, one of the boys I hosted for the tour, it was his first time in

Johannesburg.

Thursday 10 October 2013

Our team had never played a cricket side from Durban and had no clue what to expect.Luckily for us Alex, our captain, won the toss and he chose to bat. This was a gooddecision as the weather did not look good. The format for the game that afternoon waseach boy would play a maximum of three overs unless he went out. Unfortunately, itstarted to rain and lightning was all around us so we only got up to batsmannumber 5. We batted well, which gave us confidence for the rest of the weekend.Having the cricket rained out wasnt such a bad thing, because it gave us some time tomake friends with the Cordwalles boys. The boys I hosted were Mark and Nathan.They were friendly, well mannered boys with a great sense of humour. We had many

things in common, especially when it came to cricket.Friday 11 October 2013

The BIG day. Do or die day as Mr OMahony said. The format was 36 overs each side.The weather was perfect. Alex won the toss again and elected to bat first. Things werecertainly in our favour. Keagan and Daniel opened our batting order. Daniel was aboutto have the game of his life. He could not do anything wrong. First he got to 50 runs, afantastic score but that was not the end... he kept his cool and after a while reached amilestone in his cricketing career -102 runs/ not out. Well done Daniel! Alex also hada magnificent game and got to 50 runs. This was also Alexs highest score yet.Congratulations Alex! We ended our batting session on a massive 221 runs. The boys

from Cordwalles had their work cut out for them. We bowled our hearts out and tookwickets and catches. We needed to work fast because the sun was fading and MrOMahony wanted us to win. Final score for Cordwalles All out for 161 runs. Our winover Cordwalles that day was a team effort. Batting, bowling and fielding all cametogether. All the boys, their parents and staff were invited to a magnificent dinner at

the cricket pavilion.

Saturday 12 October 2013

We said good bye to the Cordwalles cricket team and welcomed the Clifton cricket team.Once again, the sun was shining and not a cloud in the sky. Today we lost the toss andClifton chose to bat first. Our bowling attack was on form and our fielding was tight.

We managed to get the whole Clifton team out for 87 runs. Fantastic effort St JohnsU11A cricketers! It was now our turn to bat. So we were chasing 88 runs. Cliftonsopening bowlers were on top form and aggressively took one wicket after another quitea shock. I was batting number 5 and my turn arrived sooner than what I had expected.My game plan was to slow the game down and stay in to get through the tough bowlers.I managed to survive the opening bowlers and then they bought on their spinner. Yes,this is my chance to put some runs on the board. I wacked a 6 and it felt good.Another opportunity came about and I hit another 6 but this time it smashed thePre-Preps classroom window sorry about the window Mrs Lane. I hit another coupleof sixes and fours but was then bowled out. The game had now turned around and we

had a chance to win. The tension was growing on both sides as we came down to ourlast two batsmen and only had a few runs left to win. We had lots of time and balls in

hand so Graeme needed to choose the balls he hit wisely. This he did in true style.

Another victory for St Johns U11A cricket team. Thank you Mr OMahony for making

our first cricket tour so memorable.

Joshua Sansom


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Cordwalles tour to St Johns XI team

We had our first match of the season on Thursday the 14th of October. It was a T20match and Cordwalles won the toss and chose to bowl, but it did not really matterbecause after seven overs it started raining and the match got called off about half an

hour later. On the Friday we had an all day game, in which St Johns won the toss andchose to bat. We missed half of school which was good. The first ball of the season thatSt Johns XI bowled was a wicket, which was bowled by Shaun Jacobs. We got them allout for fifty seven runs. We chased it down in about eleven overs and we won by sevenwickets. After that, to get practice in we carried on from fifty eight runs. Ethan Chilversgot a century. We got to 178. They did not chase it down, but we did not get them outeither. After our practice match, we played soccer in which the Cordwalles boysdominated. We also had supper with the Cordwalles boys and the food was amazing.On Saturday morning, we dropped the Cordwalles boys at The Ridge and then weplayed Clifton which was the best match I have ever played. We chose to bowl first andClifton got to 290 at the end of their innings we knew it was going to be a hard score tochase down, but Ethan Chilvers got yet another century and with Ciaran James andShaun Jacobs getting their 50s we knew we had a chance. Unfortunately in the end wegot two hundred and ninety as well. It was a draw. The lunch on Saturday afternoon,after our match, was even better than the one on Friday. There was just so much pud-ding with a great Chicken la King as the main meal. The weekend was a success with

many boys playing great cricket.

By Michael Mackie UIIIL

Cordwalles touring to St Johns is a long tradition, very much enjoyed by the boys.

Even though St Johns usually beats Cordwalles comfortably, the Cordwalles boysalways come here with an air of confidence about them. There is always an eveningwhich is at someones house or at the school where the boys get to know each otherand play a game of soccer. On the Thursday, when the Cordwalles boys got here, weplayed a T20, but it was rained out. The next day we played a 50 over game. Webowled them out for 57. For us, Ethan Chilvers batted very well making well over 100.Well done to Daniel Segal for also making a century for the U11s. Once we passedtheir total, we batted on for one and a half hours and then Cordwalles had to chase itdown in two hours. We won easily. The next day we had to drop the Cordwalles boysat The Ridge and say goodbye. It wasnt very emotional but on the bus ride home, theboy I was hosting, Keanu, said that he already missed the food. We shared contact

details so we could keep in touch with the boys who we came to know as our friends.

By Shaun Jacobs UIIIL


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Waterpolo

1stteam Waterpolo after they narrowly lost 2-3 to Cannons Creek inthe quarter final in the annual SACS Waterpolo Tournament

Page 17St Johns Preparatory School

SACS Tour to Cape Town

The SACS junior U13 Waterpolo Tournament, in Cape Town, is held annually aroundOctober. Our 1st team went down to compete against 19 other schools. We were hostedby Rondebosch, Cape Town. On day one we played Stirling, Wynberg and Clifton. Wewon all our games that day. On day two, we beat The Ridge and then lost to Redhamand Rondebosch. On day three, we beat St Davids and KEPS and lost to St Stithians.That made us qualify for the quarters where we played Cannons Creek and lost 3-2, asMr Logan would say we choked. Half way through the tournament, we went to Caven-dish Mall and there is the only Burger King in South Africa but we were not allowed it!So we had Subway. The coaches were taunting us with it. After the tourna-ment, we had a party and watched the rugby. Rondebosch won overall and St Johns

Prep came sixth and is currently the best school in Gauteng.

Michael Smith UIIIL

On the 2nd October, 2013 St Johns Prep waterpolo 1st team went on a SACS waterpolotour to Cape Town. We left at 09:00 in a school bus to OR Tambo InternationalAirport. Our flight got delayed by an hour. When we arrived in Cape Town we couldn'tgo to the beach due to our flight being delayed, so we went to Cavendish Mall. We gotpicked up from SACS by our host families from Rondebosch. For the next three days,we had the SACS Waterpolo Tournament. We had three games a day and during thewhole tournament we only lost three games. We also made it to the quarter finals.There we got beaten by Cannons Creek. During the tournament, Mr Lees andMr Harrison came down to watch us play. In our spare time we went with our coaches,Nicholas Rodda and Mr Bornman to Cavendish Mall to get something to eat. We left inthe morning and went back to Johannesburg having had tons of fun on our Waterpolo

tour.

Kieran McKenna UIIIL


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Sports Report on the U14 Waterpolo Festival held in Bloemfontein

17 19 October 2013

Thirteen boys in total went to Grey College in Bloemfontein, five were from the PrepSchool. This was to participate in the annual U14 Grey Waterpolo Tournament. St

Johns College was put into a group with: Grey Bloem

Port Rex

DHS

Parktown Boys

On day one, our first game was against Grey College, where we lost 10-3. Our secondgame was against DHS, where we won 8-6. On our second day, our first game of theday was against Port Rex, where we won 18-3. Our second game was against Parktown

Boys where we won 9-1.

After the end of day two which was the end of our group games, we were in 2ndplace inour group. On the third day we had to play out first quarter final against Reddam. Thiswas played Saturday morning at 7am. We lost this game 9-1. This meant we wouldhave to play another 2 games to decide our final placing. We played KES and we lost11-1. Our final game was to decide as to if we finished 7thor 8thoverall. We playedMichaelhouse and we lost 10-4. Overall we came 8thout of 20 schools. It was a good

performance despite the pool being a mere 12 degrees.

By Luca Allasio UIIIL

Vs Pretoria Colts won 21-0

Vs Jeppe won 19-1

Vs St Stithians lost 4-3

Vs Clifton won 9-2

Vs Reddam lost 5-3

Vs St Benedicts won 6-2

Final result 3rdplace out of 8 schools

Ethan Roets was awarded a medal for best goal keeper of the tournament.

St Stithians Waterpolo Tournament Results 25th - 27th October


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U13 Gauteng Waterpolo Representatives

Gauteng A: Luca Allasio, Michael Smithand Stefano Cavalieri

Gauteng B: Simon Shelton and Garyn Berry

Gauteng non traveling reserves Kieran McKenna, Jordan Van Der Walt andGavin McPherson


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Rowing


The rowing season has been great so far. We have had two regattas and an awesometour to Hilton. Most of the rowers started off the season by going to August rowing

camp; that was the official start. There was also an open day where some guys got thefeel of the boat and there was winter training where they got to row and learn a bit ofthe basics. The August camp was when we all got in the boats and learned how to row,how to tie down, how to cox and all the calls. It was so much fun and we all learnt a lot.We were also joined by some boys from The Ridge. It is great that they can still come toour training and be a part of our rowing group. I have made lots of friends through

rowing. I have got even closer to my own friends. So far it has been a great experience.

By Michael Omand UIIIH

Rowing


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Karate

Individual Achievements

Nicholas Ching, UIIIG won a silver medal for individual kata at the 2013 KWF World

Championships held in Denmark on the 20thof October. Well done, Nicholas!

Torin Torrente (Torin got silver for kata

and bronze for kumite), Luka Rajak (Goldfor Kumite and Bronze for Kata) and MaxOliver (Silver for Kumite).

SA JKA Junior Karate Championships held on the 19th of October. Well done, boys!

GolfBradley Dunbar qualified for the 2014 NOMADS SA Boys U15 Golf Championship

which will take place at the Fish River Resort 5-7 Jan 2014. Well done, Bradley!


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Well done to Tayne and Oliver Krynauw who swam in the 600m

event at the Dis-chem Sun City Open Water event.

Swimming

1st XI boys enjoying dinnerwith the Cordwalles boys

U11A boys enjoying dinnerwith the Cordwalles boys


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Visit By Police Canine Unit

On the 10th of October we were fortunate enough to be visited by the Police CanineUnit. It was a most spectacular demonstration and we will never forget what we saw.

The skills of the dogs and how they could find drugs and explosives in even the mosthidden away places, was amazing. Who could forget the brown dog that could evendo bodmass and play cards? I think that dog is smarter than most of us! Anotherdog could jump through blazing fire hoops and again, we were astounded to see whatthese dogs were capable of. I would like to thank the dog trainers, and mostly thedogs, for taking the time to come and show us all their special tricks. I hope that wecan see these extraordinary dogs in the future and wish them luck with all their hard

work.

By Taylor Willliamson UIIF


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MUSIC

The Following Boys Completed Their ABRSM Practical Examinations:

Maqhawe Hoohlo Cello Gr2

Dylan Brugman Cello Gr2

Sean Poole Cello Gr3

Stuart Omand Cello Gr2

Adam Jacobson Piano Gr2

Andrew Raney Piano Gr2

Nicholas Thiel Piano Gr2

Matthew Monteith Piano Gr3

Samuel Harding Piano Gr3

Gibran Sayegh Piano Gr1

Richard Graca Flute Gr1

Matthew Bester Recorder Gr2

Taylor Williamson Recorder Gr3

Tariq Seedat Guitar Gr1


NAME INSTRUMENT GRADE

Nicholas Moschides Recorder 5

Dean Graca Violin 3

Ryan Hoffmann Violin 3

Thato Kabi Violin 2

Liam Campbell Violin 2

Che Moodley Violin 1

Matthew de la Rey Saxophone 1

Ethan Orritt Cornet 3

Harry Myburgh Trumpet 3

Warick Roux Trumpet 5

Siyanda Mbatha Violin Initial

Max Milella Guitar 3

Ekow Daniels Guitar 3

Luka Rajak Guitar 1

Graeme Gush Recorder 2

Alec McLardy Piano Initial

Oliver Innes Piano Initial

Tristan Butler Piano 1

Malusi Mtshali Piano 1

PREP TRINITY PRACTICAL EXAM RESULTS 2013


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Music

St Johns Prep hosted their first combined Art and Music evening on Monday 21 st ofOctober. Although the weather was cold and wet, the evening proved to be a wonderful

success, showcasing the impressive talent of our Prep boys. This cultural evening wasfilled with a variety of music performances by the Prep ensembles, including the SeniorChoir, String Orchestra, Junior and Senior Jazz bands, as well as the vibrant Marimbabands. The boys thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity of performing, some of them forthe very first time and despite nerves, tried their very best. After the concert, parents,teachers and children meandered the hall enjoying the Art exhibition. Congratulationsto the teachers and learners involved, the evening was a great success and we look

forward to making this an annual event.

Shannon Frigyik


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Inter-Schools Quiz

Travis, Donato, Shaun, Ciaran, Richard and Luke all tested their general knowledge

as well as their skills at charming their fellow team mates in this terms Inter-schools

Quiz held at Pridwin. This was a fun evening in which mixed teams from eight

different schools answered questions on a vast array of topics. The emphasis was

more on the social than the cerebral! Well done boys on your success on both fronts!

One of the best books I have read by Daniel BurkeThe Looking Glass Wars by Frank eddorThis book really caught my attention because I have alwaysbeen attracted to classics and books that branch off fromclassics. This book contains treachery, battles, skullduggery,many a strange weapon, a deadly tophat and most of all,

imagination. Princess Alysss heart is just turning seven whenher aunt, the evil and twisted Redd takes possession of thethrone and sends her from Wonderland, into Our World wherefate has many a strange tale for her to tell. I greatlyrecommend this book to all age groups for this book willgreatly expand their imagination and thinking ability. Forwhat is a hatter without their hat just like what is ajabberwocky without its teeth and breath, completelydefenseless


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30th October 2013

Father and sons Chess match. Fathers won 69 61! Congratulations to the boys who

won both games Thomas Grubb, Nicholas Lowick, Matthew McLean, Kei Prior, AndiQu, Hraklis Papageorgiou. Well done, boys!

Father and Sons Chess


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4CTea

Winning B Section of the Gauteng Central JuniorSquash League

Nicholas Ching Matthew Wong Sam Harding

Brendan Thomas Andrew De Lange Daniel Segal

Excellent Geography Homework

Greg Basslian Kgotso Bogoshi Alistair Verhoogt


Excellent Maths Assessment

Matthew Chow Andi Qu Khaya Ntuli Ethan Berriman

Excellent Spelling

Trishan Moodley Mike Ontong Jason Short

Outstanding Co-Operation and Enthusiam

Deckland Nichols Hamza Masood Lebone MadalaneMangapa Matlala

Centuries

Daniel Segal Ethan Chilvers

Brilliant Spelling

Demarco Moodie Trishan Moodley James Barrow Mike Ontong

Early Morning Run With Mr Lees and Mr Logan

Dino Iozzo Matthew de la Rey Oliver de Sousa

Nicholas Lansdown Taine Maynard James Rumsey Jack Lees Jack Montgomery

Outstanding isiZulu Assessment

Mikael Moosa Mark de Jongh


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4CTea

Consideration and Empathy

James Estill

Creative Writing

Jordyn Henning Caleb Lombard


Creative Film Maker

Joshua Myers

Conscientious

Jack Healey

Listening Skills

Michael Omand Demarco Moodie

Junior Public Speakers

Dylan Brugman James Hoole Thato Kabi

Spencer Clarke Keegan Graham Adam Jacobson

Dexter Harding Kei Prior Jamie Diesel

Guns Down Maths Champ

Sithenkosi Mbuli

Outstanding isiZulu Speech

Caleb Lombard

Junior Public Speaking MCs

Sean Faesen Abdul Malik

Joshua Sansom Taylor Williamson

Fizz Bang Pop Champs

Garryn Berry Christopher Williams

Cale Gregory Nicholas Ching

Project on The Rain Forest

Liam Campbell Daniel Basson

Richard Wattam Andrew Shiller Dylan Moyo

Mpho Makgamatge

Outstanding Spelling

Murray Matthews

Cricket

Matthew Durandt Christopher Gray

Daniel Segal James Barrow Ethan Chilvers

Distinction for Violin Exam

Ryan Hoffmann


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UPPER ONE SCARY TALES PICNIC


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End of term Book Swap

As we are trying to get all the books back into the Library by Monday 11, we wouldlike each boy to bring at least one age appropriate novel or biography fromhome,that he has read and enjoyed, to swap with one of his class mates. We willhold a book swap on Monday and the boys can then read their books during theexam period and on into Brain Power week. Books can carry on being swapped un-

til the end of term. Each boy should have a book with him all the time.

Please make sure that each book is clearly marked with the owners name and that

it is not of sentimental or other value to him.

As long as they do not have any overdue library books, the boys may take out

books for the holiday in the last week of school.

We look forward to many hours of happy reading!

Nicky Sulter


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Phendulani QuizOn Friday 18th of October, the sixth Phendulani Quiz was held at The Ridge School.Phendulani is an initiative, driven by Marj Brown from Roedean, by a number of

Johannesburg schools to support under-resourced schools with reading. Eachunder-resourced school is supplied with up to 24 books that are read by a group ofGrade 7 pupils. Teams of up to six pupils are then selected to participate in the quiz.Questions are asked regarding the books read and the teams work together to answerthem. This year 22 teams from 16 schools competed in the quiz, three of which,Vuleka Rosebank, Vuleka Northriding and Parktown Public, were supported andsponsored by St Johns. There are book prizes for all the teams and special prizes for

the winners. The quiz is generously sponsored by The Times newspaper.

This year the standard was extremely high and it was overwhelming to see the

enthusiasm for reading that was generated by the quiz. The two teams from Vulekacame in the top five!

Team from Vuleka Rosebank who came 3rd

in the 2013 Phendulani Quiz


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Just One Bag

On 14th of October 2013 Jordan wasinvited to be the guest speaker at theJohannesburg Mini City CouncilFellowship Dinner. He addressed

350 students about his 'Just OneBag' campaign. Each student wasalso required to bring a tin of foodthat will be distributed to the under-

privileged.

On Friday the 11th of October 2013, George Skoutellas owner of Belairs Superspar andSpar Head Office donated seven tons of maize to "Just One Bag". A ton of maize wasgiven to a local orphanage. The balance of the maize will be distributed to

underprivileged children and communities.

Jordan Van Der Walt with members fromSpar and the children form the

orphanage.

On Sunday 13th of October 2013, Jor-dan was invited by The Spar Group to

their annual ladies 5km/10km walkheld at the Wanderers Club.


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During the month of September 2013 the entire JD group nationwide which consists of:Hi-Fi Corporation, Incredible Connection, Electric Express, Morkels, Bradlows, Pricen Pride, Russells, Supreme Furnishers, Barnetts and Joshua Door, ran an internal staffdrive to collect maize on behalf of Jordan's campaign. Whatever each store contributedJD Head Office matched. The maize was then distributed to local charities. An

outstanding amount of 41 810kgs (nearly 42tons) has been collected. Thank you to theentire JD Group, many underprivileged people have been blessed by your extremegenerosity. In August this year Jordan was the guest speaker at The JD Groups 30thbirthday celebrations, where this maize drive was announced.

Electric Express Brixton Store donated to a Day Care in the area


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Electric Express Oudtshoorn Store donated to a local school

Road Show in Krugersdorp


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On Tuesday the 29th of October 2013, Jordan along with Kate Sidley - author of"Agony Chef", were invited by the JHB Mini Councilors to be one of the judges at theirMasterchef competition, which was sponsored and held at the Good Life Pick n PayStudio. The Councilors also donated 300 tins of food to Jordan, which was given to the

TLC orphanage.


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Soles For Souls

Dear Debbie and Michelle

We would like to thank the St Johns community for the support shown for Soles for

Souls. As a result of the shoes donated, we managed to shoe 400 learners at the IsaacMore Primary School in Atteridgeville. Oliver checked the childrens shoe sizes beforewe found a suitable pair for each learner. We also donated books from the St Johnslibrary for the school library, which we had built 3 years ago. With your help, wemanaged to make a difference in these childrens lives.

Kind regards

Joshua, Oliver, Heath, Liam and Glen Krynauw


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LIBRARY BOOK RETURNS

If you have a large or even a small stack of these

from the Prep Library

at

Please return them by Monday 11 November, at the latest.

Lost or unreturned books will be charged for

@ R150 per book

Books for the holidays may be taken out in the last week of term, once all

other books have been returned.

Queries: Nicky or Kim 011-6453119


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iCare

Whilst we hope and anticipate that all boys will feel able to approach their teachers or amember of staff should they feel that something is wrong, we understand that this will notalways be the case. Some boys may feel unsure of how to approach a staff member orunsure of what they should say. For this reason we are continuing to use the iCare box,which is now located in Mrs Powells office. We also have an electronic version where boyscan contact the Pastoral Care Team at [email protected] . The Pastoral Care teamis hoping that the boys make use of these initiatives to highlight anything that they CARE

about at St Johns Prep.

The aim is to provide the boys with an alternative avenue to voice their feelings aroundhatever may be on their minds. This extends beyond the reporting of just peer

difficulties (such as bullying) the aim is to further enhance the quality of the St Johnsexperience. All notes placed in the box or sent via email will be treated confidentially and

actions instituted where possible.

We ask that you encourage your son to make use of the iCare initiative so that we can

make his day all that he hopes it can be.

Hugo [email protected]

AFRIKAANS TUITION

Is your son struggling to communicate in Afrikaans or having difficulty mastering thebasics of the language (oral or written)? I am qualified to assist in both of the above areasand would be available to provide the necessary tuition between 15:00 and 18:00 on

Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at St Johns Preparatory.

Tuition will be provided on either a one-to-one basis or in group situations, lessons willlast for an hour. Progress will be regularly monitored and pupils will be expected to

perform certain tasks and complete basic written assignments.

Tuition fees for individual lessons are R250 per hour and R150 per hour for groupsessions.

Should you be interested in the above, my contact details are as follows:

Graham Carroll

Tel : 011 534 1224

Fax : 011 534 1225

Cell : 076 858 9420

Notices


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Notices

Art club and extra classes

From the beginning of next term, Mr Poco is starting an Art Club (for LIII and UIII boys) and extra art classes for juniorboys. Senior boys are encouraged to join the Art Club on Tuesdays from 14h00 -15h00 or Thursdays from

15h00-16h00. Juniors may arrange extra art lessons with Mr Poco at alternative times and on alternative days.

We hope to see the senior boys joining the Art Club to create various exciting art works with mediums they do notnormally use in class, such as print making, photography, oil painting and many more. This will be a fantastic opportunity

for any boy who wishes to develop his art skills.

For further information e-mail Bruno Poco on [email protected]

Italian

Language

LessonsSmall age appropriate classes and individual tuition

offered outside school hours at St Johns.

Experienced mother-tongue graduate teacher usingcommunicative method of conversation, maintaining

cultural ties for solid IEB foundation.

Contact Lisabetta on 082 682 2859 or

[email protected]

EXTRA MATHS

LESSONSLower III & Upper III boys in

Mrs de Langes classroomEvery Thursday 14h00 - 15h00

(Teacher recommendation only)

Shop At St Johns College

New opening times from 28th January 2013Tuesday and Thursday: 7am to 3pm

Monday, Wednesday and Friday: 10am to 3pm

For stationery and labels, as well as all your sports clothes, jerseys, bags and socks

Upper III Extra English Classes

Tuesdays 14h15 to 15h00Mrs Troleses Classroom

Appeal For

D & T

Plastic bottlecaps,

softdrink,water, milk, all

twist off bottlecaps

Thank You!


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Only a Dad

by Edgar Guest

Edgar Guest, an English-born American poet, was born in 1881. In 1895, he was hired

as a copy boy for the Detroit Free Press, where he would work for almost sixty-fiveyears. In his lifetime, he published more than twenty volumes of poetry and was

thought to have written over 11,000 poems. Guest died on August 5, 1959.

Only a dad with a tired face,

Coming home from the daily race,

Bringing little of gold or fame,

To show how well he has played the game,

But glad in his heart that his own rejoice

To see him come and to hear his voice.

Only a dad with a brood of four,

One of ten million men or more.

Plodding along in the daily strife,

Bearing the whips and the scorns of life,

With never a whimper of pain or hate,

For the sake of those who at home await.

Only a dad, neither rich nor proud,

Merely one of the surging crowd

Toiling, striving from day to day,

Facing whatever may come his way,

Silent, whenever the harsh condemn,

And bearing it all for the love of them.

Only a dad but he gives his all

To smooth the way for his children small,

Doing, with courage stern and grim,

The deeds that his father did for him.

This is the line that for him I pen:

Only a dad, but the best of men.

Preparatory Newsletter No 10 of 2013.pdf

Documents

Transcript of Preparatory Newsletter No 10 of 2013.pdf