Preparatory Newsletter No 3 2013

20 March 2013

St John’s Preparatory School St John’s Preparatory School Houghton Tel: 011 645 3100/ 087 550473 Newsletter Number 3

20/03 Athletics vs St Peter’s LIII Instrumental Concert 22/03 LIII & UIII Science Assessment 23/03 Athletics vs St David’s 26/03 Headmaster’s Assembly 27/03 Athletics vs Pridwin 28/03 Easter Rugby Festival 29/03 Good Friday 01/04 Easter Monday 02/04 Housemaster's Assembly 04/04 Tabloids Athletics 05/04 St Benedict’s Waterpolo Festival

Reminders from the Diary

From the Headmaster… Last Friday, I was fortunate to be able to attend the International Boys’ Schools Coalition National Conference at St Alban’s College in Pretoria. The theme of the conference was, “Educating Boys to be Good Men”. Whilst driving there, listening to the radio and to what seems to be common news these days, I was saddened by many of the things going on in our country. Then, whilst at the conference, we were given some of the statistics and facts about the many problems that modern day society faces. I began to wonder if we as teachers and parents are helping our boys enough to become “good men”. The conference was superb and our staff members who attended (Margot Long, Anita Trolese, Nicky Loser, Ana de Gouveia, Caroline Rimmer and Jaci de Lange) benefitted immensely. Some of the notable speakers were: Dr Jason Bantjes who revealed some frightening statistics, such as: South Africa is the most violent country in the world not at war, and that 80% of all violence in South Africa involves men. He also talked about the problem of boys concealing their vulnerability and silencing their fear and their pain. Andy Rice, a renowned advertiser, talked about the ways in which the media and social networking stereotype masculinity and, as a result, boys do not reveal their true emotions for fear of them not being “manly” enough.

Dr Michael Moll emphasized the need to steer away from our perception of what a real man should be and celebrate our uniqueness. He also encouraged teachers and parents not to focus on weaknesses, but on strengths.

How often, when your son comes home with his report do you congratulate him on his good marks, but then quickly focus on subjects where his marks have not been good? We end up spending a lot of negative energy in these areas. Margot Long ran a panel discussion made up of a range of male and female teachers and heads, on the role of women teachers in educating boys. What was very evident was how important it is for our boys to be influenced positively by both male and female teachers.

St John’s Preparatory School

Halfway through the conference, after experiencing mixed emotions of sadness and depression and questioning whether we were doing enough to help our St John’s boys at school through this awful conundrum, a fellow head of a neighbouring school and I found ourselves debating this very subject during lunch. By the end of the conversation, we concluded that actually, our schools did manage to offer our boys enough. Our St John’s boys are fine young men and are equipped and do leave the school as “good men”. The only thing we need to do is to help them to develop the confidence, strength and conviction to stand up against violence and abuse in South African society. I came away from the conference with a renewed sense of energy, and I have made myself a promise to try and focus on the positive aspects of life. I do not mean that we totally ignore the problems we have, but we don’t need to waste energy unnecessarily on the negative issues. We have a magnificent school, wonderful parents, a fantastic staff and, as a result, superb boys, all destined to be “good men”. Let’s celebrate them and continue to support them in every positive way possible. Patrick Lees Headmaster Chatterbox Competition The following boys were chosen to represent St John’s Prep at this term’s Chatterbox Competition at The Ridge: LII: Jared Govender, Timothy Milton and Zayd Motara LIII: Dino Iozzo, Greg Basslian and Riyaadh Haffejee UIII: Bradley Dunbar, Dominic Moodie, Takudzwa Kudzurunga and Lawrence Lowdon Unfortunately, Gregory and Dominic were ill on the evening of the competition, but all our other boys competed and spoke eloquently. Well done, boys. You did us proud!


Lux, Vita, Caritas: A Practical Outworking

I have recently been thinking about our school motto of Lux, Vita, Caritas which signifies Light, Life and Love. I believe that these principles should be lived out in every facet of our school day and amongst our boys, parents and teachers. In living out these principles, we need to realise that partnership is a key transaction and it is the partnership between school and home that is so vital. Our expectation is that levels of discipline at St John’s should be excellent, and we need to look at how our partnership will ensure that all our expectations are met. The school clearly plays a very important role in this partnership, as naturally we have direct contact with the boys during school time. It is the responsibility of the school to set expectations, monitor behaviour, and take action in a fair and firm manner. The school is responsible for training and supporting the pupil leadership, empowering them, and setting realistic standards for pupil leaders. The role of the parents is equally important in inculcating values of good manners, punctuality, presentation and respect. Without the support of parents, as well as the support of the school, the partnership fails. Boys who arrive at school late, untidily dressed with uncut or unkept hair, or who treat the staff with disrespect, have to realise that consequences need to be put in place. With the values of Lux, Vita, Caritas to guide us in a partnership based on self-discipline and common sense, in an atmosphere of accountability, I have no doubt that St John’s Prep can serve as a model in terms of discipline and behaviour. Let us show the light, share the life and shower the love one to another. I would like to take this opportunity to discuss the daily and weekly operational as-pects of the Prep. It is important that boys and parents alike understand the various procedures we have in place.

• St John’s Discipline Procedure

The discipline procedure at St John’s Prep is as follows:

1) First offence: A verbal warning 2) Second offence: Parents are phoned and the child is warned again 3) Third offence: SAT Detention and a letter is sent home 4) Fourth offence: The Housemasters, teachers and the Deputy meet with the

parents 5) Fifth offence: The Executive meet with the parents

Discipline is always administered with care and compassion, and where necessary, counselling is requested. We strive to look after the boys in a pastoral sense.


• Saturday Detention

Saturday detention takes place from 14h00-16h00. Boys are given a Saturday detention for serious misbehaviour which can include disrespect to staff members. A letter is sent home which is signed and the boys are told what the requirements are for the Saturday afternoon. We have moved to the new time this year in order for the boys to fulfil their sporting commitments on the Saturday morning.

• Break Detention

A boy is placed in break detention if he arrives without his homework being completed. He arrives at detention at 10h15 and completes the work he should have previously completed. Once he has finished his work, he may go out to break. All boys will be given time to eat something and go to the toilet. If a boy receives more than three break detentions, he will then be placed into a Saturday detention.

• Break Time

Boys are to wear hats at break time. Every classroom has sun cream and on hot days, boys are to apply cream where necessary. Boys enjoy break time on Mitchell Field un-der the supervision of staff. They may frequent the tuckshop. A scholar patrol super-vises the boys as they cross St David Road.

• Supervised Prep

Voluntary supervised prep takes place on a Monday afternoon from 14h15 to 15h00. Boys do not have to attend these sessions but we recommend that they do, if they have not gone home by 14h15. It is an opportunity to get homework done. The Chess boys often have matches on a Monday evening and a prep session is arranged for them by Compulsory supervised prep takes place on a Tuesday and Thursday for the LIII & UIII boys from 14h15 to 15h00. This is a wonderful opportunity to get homework done before the boys go to their sport practices. This year we have five venues, namely an UIII and LIII classroom for supervised homework, two Computer Labs for boys to do any online research, as well as the Library if boys have completed their homework and would simply like to read and relax.

• Sport Practices & Matches

Boys need to be at school on Fridays to qualify to play in Saturday fixtures. However, if a boy provides a doctor’s note he is eligible to play on Saturdays. Practice and match times are to be adhered to. Please ensure that your son does not arrive late for a match.


Boys are scheduled to arrive at least thirty minutes before the start of the fixture. In addition, please ensure that your son is correctly dressed for his match. In the event that your son cannot make a match or fixture, please do contact the coach the day before in order to help him or her finalise the team. Please note that we are now in the Athletics season and it is compulsory for boys to attend these practices.

• Online Teams

Online teams are to be found on the Communicator. Please use this valuable electronic tool to source your son’s team. The online teams are available 24 hours before a match or fixture. Team lists are also placed on our new sports boards where the boys can see for themselves the arrangements for their fixtures.

• Uniform & Haircuts

At each Housemasters’ Assembly we run a hair and uniform inspection. An email is sent out before explaining that an inspection is due to take place. We are still finding boys with hair too long at these inspections and boys are then asked to have their hair cut on the school property

• Litter & Bins

As you may have noticed, the Prep has many more bins in and around the school. Each bin has been filled with a specific colour liner as explained below: Orange Clear/Black Green The boys have been informed as to the different colours and we would appreciate your support in this very important and worthwhile initiative. Litter continues to be a problem in the Prep and I ask that you encourage your son to be respectful of the environment and his school.


• St John’s Prep Slogan

The prep has a slogan: "Nurturing today's child for tomorrow's world". I like this slogan because it uses the word “nurture”. To nurture is to support and encourage; to bring up; to train and educate. This slogan is soon to be on display in the Prep Arch. Visitors, parents, staff and boys will be able to see our slogan on entering the Prep. The Prep must stand up for this word ‘nurture’ as that is what we believe in. Our mission is to create a nurturing environment in which the boys grow, but most importantly thrive, as we prepare them for tomorrow’s world. Craig Verdal-Austin 2nd Master 010 492 0116 [email protected]


The Love of Christ Ministries

For the Newborn and Foundling Baby Est. 1993

Margot Long

St John’s Preparatory School LETTER VIA E-MAIL

22nd February, 2013

Dear Staff and Pupils at St. John’s, What an absolute delight to hear the news of your wonderful donation of R10,000 which was put into our account last week. It has been a real joy to work in partnership with St. John’s. Your boys are always a pleasure and the High School Boys come regularly to fulfill their Community Service hours here in our nurseries and on the farm. Often, even after they have matriculated they continue to visit TLC and to spend time with our children. We love that, because we feel that our children have a lot to learn and imbibe from these amazing young men. We always feel that our donors are not just donors, but are investors who are helping to shape the future of our children by putting in, not only their money but their personal hours and energy. There are no words to adequately thank somebody for that. Our hearts are brimming over with love for such gifts, though. God bless you all! With warm affection,

Thea THEA JARVIS Founder/Director

Tel: 27(011) 948-7917

Fax: 086-504-2853

South Ranch

Plot 136 Bronk-horstfontein

Postal Address:

P.O. Box 990468

Kibler Park

www.tlc.org.za


Looking back on our recent Easter cricket season, I believe that it was truly a successful one. The season began with the playing fields and the rest of our facilities being immaculately kept and presented by Mr Manson and his ground staff team. Not a match day went by without opposition parents commenting positively on how good the St John’s fields and school appear. Thank you to Mrs Peters and her host of moms for delivering such a superb service in setting up the teas and delightful eats on each match day. The weather played a big part too in a successful cricket season, with only four inter-school fixtures being abandoned once they had begun due to the weather. I feel that this is a great blessing. This does not include the six fixtures that were cancelled against King Edward Preparatory School on Saturday 16th February, out of respect for the lightning disaster incident. Our best wishes continue to be with the boys who were effected. Mr Sammons, in the new indoor cricket centre, has done a fantastic job in utilising the centre for all the boys in the Preparatory School. This has either been in the physical education lessons during the school morning, or in the afternoons, where the team coaches have afforded the boys in their team the opportunity to make use of the indoor facility. A competitive inter-school cricket season was experienced by the U10 to Open age groups, where eighty-nine fixtures were played by the various teams across these age groups. The 1st XI competed in the 19th Annual Independent Schools’ Cricket Festival over half-term, which was hosted in Johannesburg by St Stithians Boys’ Preparatory School. Our boys had a magnificent 10 wicket win over Western Province Preparatory School on the opening day of the festival, then drew to Kingswood Junior School and had a very narrow loss on the last day to Highbury Preparatory School. Another highlight was fifteen of our senior boys being sent to the U12 and U13 area cricket trials, respectively. We wish them all of the best in these on-going trials and selection process. Looking ahead to the Michaelmas cricket season, we look forward to an exciting cricket tour to KwaZulu-Natal in October, when forty-eight boys making up the U10A, U11A, 2nd XI and 1st XI teams, will travel down over half-term to have their resilience tested against Thomas More College and Highbury Preparatory School. Lastly, a huge thank you to the boys, for displaying a love and passion for the game of cricket at all times. This has been wonderfully guided by the passion of our coaches in the Prep. My vision is to upskill each and every boy and ensure that together with the coaches, they are all having fun out on our beautiful fields. Yours in cricket S Logan MIC Cricket (011) 645-3177

Easter Term 1 2013 - Cricket Report


KwaZulu-Natal Cricket Tour Thursday 24th – Sunday 27th October 2013

The St John’s Preparatory U10A, U11A, 2nd XI and 1st XI cricket teams will be touring, over half-term, to KwaZulu-Natal in October. Each team will be playing two fixtures against Thomas More College, which is situated in Kloof, and Highbury Preparatory School, which is situated in Hillcrest. A squad of twelve boys in each team will travel to KwaZulu-Natal by air, and will be hosted for the three nights by the Thomas More and Highbury families respectively. These squads will be finalised by Monday 14th October, and the necessary documentation will be emailed to the parents directly. We look forward to a successful and exciting tour, where our boys will have an enjoyable experience on and off the field. At St John’s Preparatory School, we are committed to providing our boys with a wide range of opportunities. The intention is that our boys do not only experience these instances in their immediate surroundings, but may also be exposed to the rich history, traditions and exciting opportunities that our country provides. If there are any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me. Yours in cricket

Mr. S Logan MIC Cricket St John’s Preparatory School (011) 645-3177 [email protected]


Lower II In English, the Lower II boys have been exploring the theme 'Superheroes' through a variety of language and creative exercises. We used Thinking Maps to develop our thinking around what is a superhero and then wrote paragraphs based on these. It was so exciting creating our own superheroes! Discussions around new and interesting superhero 'weapons' and uniform design was cause for much debate!

By Nicholas Chamberlin By Lebone Madalane


What is a superhero?

By Jordyn Henning By Jordyn Henning By Jordyn Henning By Liam Petersen

A superhero is a character from a comic book although they are also seen on TV. Superheroes do incredible things. They can have super speed and extraordinary strength. Superheroes can sometimes even fly! Superheroes are very courageous and kind. Finally, if you meet a superhero you will be very fortunate!

Jordyn Henning

Visualise someone heroic, someone righteous, someone AWESOME! A superhero! Superheroes are like a god. They help, they save and they love. They have deceitful enemies like Dr Doom and The Joker. Their sidekicks are incredible like Robin. Superheroes are people like us, so we could be superheroes too!

Tiyani Mthombeni

A superhero can do interesting things like fly, shape shift, walk on water and breathe underwater. They can also save the world. They always have secret identities. Batman’s secret identity is Bruce Wayne. Consider yourself extraordinarily lucky if you meet one!

Keno de Jesus

4CTea 2013


Outstanding UIII Maths Assessment S Smart N Moschides M Mackie

Improvement on Their Listening Skills Mark D Moodie J Barrow T Walker A Bougardt

T Kudzurunga T Mudau M Ontong T Mattiuzzo J van der Walt

Good Work in Maths A Bougardt

Swimming T Sandilands

Outstanding isiZulu Assessment T Kudzurunga J Whitehead J Myers R Hoffmann

H Masood A Campbell T Grubb

Cricket N Dlamini N Forbes G Sayegh R Haffejee J Lees J Barrow

Individual Achievements


Julio Mordoh has been selected for the 2013 SA National Gymnastics Squad. He has been invited by the International Gymnastics Federation to attend a National Training camp from the 20th to 24th of March. Well done, Julio!

Our prep boys: Christopher Williams and Christopher Stride competed in the South Af-rican Schools Championships over the weekend starting 1 March. Chris Williams rowed in the U14A Quad, and Chris Stride was the cox. They came 2nd, receiving a sil-ver medal in the Junior Men's Under 14 quads. Chris Williams attained 4th place in the U14 octapule, and he just missed out on a place in the semi final of the single scull. Chris Stride rowed in the Under 14 doubles, although he did not make it through to the semi-final. Well done, boys!

Alexander Thiel and Nicholas Siedle have been selected to play for Under 13 District Hockey Team. Dylan van der Walt and Keagan Lion-Cachet have been selected to play for the Under 12 District Hockey Team. Well done, boys!

Congratulations to the following U12 boys who have been selected for the Johannesburg North East Area Cricket A and B Squad: Jack Montgomery Tarun Gupta James Ives Riyaadh Haffejee Jack Lees Jack Stewart Well done to the following U13 boys who have advanced through to the next round of trials for selection to the Johannesburg North East Area Cricket Team: Ethan Chilvers Shaun Jacobs Joshua Bailey Brandon Vermuelen James Barrow Jacob Joseph has been selected to represent The Central Gauteng Provincial Action Cricket Team. Well done, Jacob!

Hockey

Cricket

Rowing

Gymnastics


Sailing Stefan Milos, Brett Powell and Daniel Basson took part in the Inter Schools Sailing Regatta held at Victoria Lake, Germiston over the weekend. Well done to the boys on coming first!

Mind Sports Players from the St John’s Mind Sports Club were privileged to meet with two of the best eSports pro gamers in the world, Robert “PandaTank” Botha (South Africa – ranked 5th) and Silviu “NightEnD” Lazar (Rumania – ranked 2nd). Botha and Lazar are playing in an official Test Match tomorrow.

They were privileged to play a game against the legendary Rumanian at the St John’s-Roedean eSports Festival on Friday 15 March, which saw students from Gauteng schools play in an all-comers’ tournament, and a chance to meet the stars, and receive a few tips.


Articles of Interest


The Skull in the Rock - our very own cave woman In 2008, one of our Prep boys, Matthew Berger, (now in the College) made headline news when he discovered a section of a fossil dating back over 1.8 million years. This discovery, made with his dad Lee Berger, Professor at the Institute for Evolution at Wits, was the beginning of a long search for the rest of the skeleton. A near-complete skeleton named Karabo ( Australopithecus sediba), came together after many months of painstaking archaeological digs, in which fragments of bones were found and fitted together to complete the puzzle. This is one of the oldest and most complete skeletons ever discovered. A model of the original skeleton, kindly donated to us by Prof Berger, has now found a home in the Prep Library. Please pay a visit to this remarkable reminder of our ancestry. In addition a book, specifically written for young people, about this discovery and palaeontology, has been written by Prof Berger and is available in the Library.

Nikki Sulter

[email protected]


Grahamstown Children’s Arts Festival The annual Grahamstown Children’s Arts Festival (CAF) will be held this year from 27 June – 1 July. This is a wonderful opportunity for boys to enjoy this amazing event. (see www.childrensartsfestival.co.za) Anita Trolese and another member of staff will be taking a group of 20 interested Lower III and Upper III boys to the programme. (Please note that we leave on the Thursday before the start of half-term). The price of our tour will include a return flight to Port Elizabeth on British Airways, airport taxes, bus transport to and from Grahamstown, accommodation, all meals, transport to shows and exhibitions, all drama, music and art workshops and tickets to all of the shows. We will take care of all the bookings. The cost of the trip will be approximately R 6 500 and this amount may be debited to your account (at the Business Manager’s discretion). We hope that this enables you to budget for the event should your son wish to attend Festival. Preference will be given to those boys who have taken part in school drama and music productions and those who have an impeccable behaviour record. Further information will be given towards the end of term. Should you have any queries at this stage, kindly contact Anita Trolese [email protected].

A previous group of happy Festival goers


St John’s Lost Property - Spot the Difference


iCare Whilst we hope and anticipate that all boys will feel able to approach their teachers or a member of staff should they feel that something is wrong, we understand that this will not always be the case. Some boys may feel unsure of how to approach a staff member or unsure of what they should say. For this reason we are continuing to use the iCare box, which is now located in Mrs Powell’s office. We also have an electronic version where boys can contact the Pastoral Care Team at [email protected]. The Pastoral Care team is hoping that the boys make use of these initiatives to highlight anything that they CARE about at St John’s Prep.

The aim is to provide the boys with an alternative avenue to voice their feelings around whatever 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 John’s experience. 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 Meirim

[email protected]

AFRIKAANS TUITION Is your son struggling to communicate in Afrikaans or having difficulty mastering the basics of the language (oral or written)? I am qualified to assist in both of the above areas and would be available to provide the necessary tuition between 15:00 and 18:00 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at St John’s Preparatory. Tuition will be provided on either a one-to-one basis or in group situations, lessons will last 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 group sessions. 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


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 junior boys. 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 not normally 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 Lessons

Small age appropriate classes and individual tuition offered outside school hours at St John’s. Experienced mother-tongue graduate teacher using communicative method of conversation, maintaining cultural ties for solid IEB foundation. Contact Lisabetta on 082 682 2859 or

[email protected]

EXTRA MATHS LESSONS

Lower III & Upper III boys in Mrs De Lange’s classroom

Every Thursday 14h00 - 15h00 (Teacher recommendation only)

Shop At St John’s College New opening times from 28th January 2013 Tuesday 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

Preparatory Newsletter No 3 2013

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