Preparatory Newsletter No 8 2013

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20th September 2013

St Johns Preparatory SchoolSt Johns Preparatory SchoolHoughton

Tel: 011 645 3100/ 087 550473 Newsletter Number 8

20/09 Prep Cultural Day

LIII & UIII Math's Assessments

LIII & UIII Social

23/09 School Holiday

24/09 Public Holiday - Holiday27/09 LII & UII English Assessments

LIII & UIII Afrikaans/ isiZulu

Assessments

SJP 1st XI Hockey Festival

28/09 Rowing Regatta (Roodeplaat)

ON THE NIGHT

30/09 Mad Hatters Tea Party - 150

Years of Alice In Wonderland

Hooked On Books

01/10 Headmasters Assembly

02/10 Parent Information Evening03/10 Waterpolo Tournament -

Cape Town

Reminders fromthe Diary

From the HeadmasterHave you done your homework? Please go and havea bath! Are your bags packed for school? Supper isready, come and eat! Get up! Eat your breakfast!Get in the car; were going to be late... soundfamiliar?

We have just completed the Independent QualityAssurance Agencies (IQAA) School Evaluation whichwill be available for your perusal shortly. The resultsare extremely encouraging and the whole processwas very worthwhile. Having read it and inpreparation for our strategic planning day, with allthe many different areas of the school on the agendato be discussed, it made me realise how busy we all

are.

All the boys seem to be doing is taking orders orlistening to instructions from their parents and fromtheir teachers. During term time, how often do weactually just take some time out? How often do wehave a conversation as a family that is not school-

related?

My family has supper at the dinner table everynight, and I often, without realising it, find myselfquestioning my children about what they should

and shouldnt be doing at university and school. Isee them tense up, and generally my daughters bothroll their eyes. I need to remind myself about theimportance of quality time and the importance offree conversation. Children need to be encouragedto speak openly in a secure and comfortable

environment.

You may remember what I always tell the Grade IIparents at the Upper I parent-information evening,

but in this context I thought it was worth repeat-ing...

If your son is 9 years old, thatmeans that he has been with youfor 3 285 days. In another 3 285days he will be 18, and there is agood chance that he will be off touniversity and never come back

home permanently. Scarily, forthe most of us it is even less thanthat! Now, do we want to spendthe rest of our parenting days justtelling our children what we want

them to do? I dont think so.

And so the challenge I have formyself, and perhaps you wouldlike to try it too, is to spend 10

minutes every evening talkingabout something totally different.


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Spring Assembly

Page 2 St Johns Preparatory School

It may be as simple as how Arsenal are going to win the league, or perhaps somecurrent news which is not too daunting or horrific - it doesnt matter. What matters is

that as a family we all enjoy each other, we slow down and we have fun.

I hope that you all have a wonderful term, that you take time to reflect on all the goodthings that have happened this year and you look forward to all the exciting challengesthat lie ahead. But most importantly is that you talk to, love and have fun with the

most valuable people in your lives your family.

A short poem as a reminder

Why do you offer material things

to show me how much you care?

Gifts of gold are lifeless and cold.

No matter how precious and rare.

These are not gifts but apologies you give

Because you are not really aware.

That the only true gift is the gift of yourself,

In the time and the love you could share.

May I wish you all a wonderful long weekend and a fantastic Heritage Day!

PATRICK LEES


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The future of learning

At the end of last term, I was privileged to attend the Future of Learning Programme atHarvard. The course is run by the Harvard Graduate School of Education as one oftheir summer programmes, beginning online with a series of pre-course readings andwebinars, and culminating in a week of full-time lectures, workshops and groupprojects on campus in Cambridge MA.

The programme focuses on questions such as: What do we know about globalisation,the digital revolution and mind/brain research, and their influence on education? Howmight we rethink learning as a result of these changes? What should we as teachers dodifferently to meet the demands of the future of learning in practice? What will these

changes lead to?

Speakers included some of the best minds in education in the world, such as DavidPerkins and Howard Gardner, and at times I almost had to pinch myself to believe it

was real!

Ideas shared included David Perkins views around change: we live in a world that is

changing so rapidly that to all intents and purposes we are educating for theunknown (Perkins, 2013). Our teaching needs ensure that what we teach results inlearning that matters in the lives our students are likely to live, in lifeworthy learning.We need to nurture students who embody Howard Gardners Five Minds for the Future,who are comfortable with the complexity and ambiguity in relationships with others

and the world.

Skills needed to navigate a path through this changing landscape include collaborativelearning, expert thinking, complex communication and effective thinking routines. Wealso need to factor in the impact of technology on knowledge and learning, and the im-pact of the many new developments in mind and brain research and the resultingneuromyths that may arise.

During the course, I volunteered to participate in a group research project a charrettelearning experience that taught me to think about the ways in which some of thesechanges might be made in my own teaching and in the learning process in myclassroom. Charrette learning is based on design thinking and our group wasencouraged to problem solve, experiment, create and collaborate in a studio-likeenvironment. At times, I found myself well out of my own comfort zone, but I cannot

remember when last I have felt as invigorated and challenged.


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I am indebted to John Lobban and the Board at ISASA who so kindly awarded me thegenerous visitorship that made this experience possible. I am also indebted to theCouncil of St Johns College and to Patrick Lees, Prep Headmaster, without whosesupport this exciting adventure would not have been possible. I hope to be able to shareall that I have learned at every opportunity, both at St Johns and in the wider

community.

A full copy of my Harvard report is available on the Prep website for anyone interested.Alternatively please feel free to email me if youd like a copy, or if you have anyquestions.


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Margot Long

[email protected]


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Ihave been really pleased with the general progress of our boys on the sports fields overthe past 18 months. Our results have improved steadily each season. The

performances of our teams, especially the mixed ability teams in the lower age groups,promise that this trend will continue. Our PE programme ensures that every boy hasthe opportunity to develop his skills, his fitness and his understanding of the sport.During our morning lessons we dont create just a thin veneer of excellence, but we aremaintaining that excellence and creating substantial depth within each age group.Although I believe that we still spend far too much time competing instead of teaching,the weekly matches have served as reliable bench marks to plot our progress and towork out our strengths and weaknesses.

Although this progress is encouraging, we must keep reminding ourselves of ourpurpose and keep checking to see whether our programme fulfils that purpose. Wehave to ensure that every boy has developed the foundation on which any futurephysical activity can be built. We need to give him the tools to play the traditionalgames like rugby, tennis, cricket, basketball or water polo and, also at a later stage, toparticipate in the less traditional sports like canoeing, cycling, rock-climbing or trailrunning with confidence and competence. Our programme must piece together thebuilding blocks to ensure that our boys are comprehensively physically literate. We seePhysical Education as a process. Initially, the process began in the Pre-Prep andcontinued into the Prep and then on into the College. Now, it starts in The Bridge!

In the 70s and 80s, the trend was to push young athletes to reach high levels ofexcellence as early as possible. It was not uncommon for 15 year-olds to compete in theOlympics , in Grand Slam tennis tournaments or in swimming or athletics WorldChamps. Supposedly, the thinking was that if they started their careers young, they

ould have long careers. Often they were put through tough accelerated trainingprogrammes where important developmental phases were overlooked. Some were givendrugs to delay the onset of puberty to keep them light and agile and others were givendrugs to build muscle in order to enhance their performances prematurely. Many neverreached their projected potentials and others were one-hit-wonders who were neverheard of again. A teenager may have many of the qualities required to participate at the

highest level but it is highly unlikely that he would have developed sufficiently in everyaspect required to produce a senior elite athlete to maintain that level of performance.Thankfully, we see that the trend has changed. Forgive me for choosing tennis as anexample, but this years Grand Slam winners serve as perfect examples of my point.Serena Williams won the Ladies Singles title at the US Open at the age of 31 and RafaelNadal (27)won the mens title. Both of these players also won the French Open earlier inthe year. Marion Bartoli (28) won the Wimbledon Ladies Singles title and Andy Murray(25) won the Gentlemans Singles title. Novak Djokovic (27)won the Australian Openand is ranked #1 on the ATP World Rankings. The Bryan brothers, the American twinswho have dominated the mens doubles for several years, are 34 years old. (They werehoping to win all of the 4 Grand Slam titles this year but were beaten in their ownbackyard by Paes and Stepanek in the semi-finals!) The success of these mature sports-men and women tells us that our boys have many years of competitive sport ahead of

them and that we need not be in any hurry to push them to peak too soon.


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As parents, we know the importance of allowing a baby to master each step in hisdevelopmental sequence before moving on to the next. Every milestone in the processhas a purpose and if, for example, he walks before he crawls, he will have missed outon several aspects of his development, creating a gap in the foundation of his futurephysical development which will be difficult to fill at a later date. Similarly, in a Physical

Education programme, there are window periods in which children are most receptiveto acquiring specific skills. If these window periods are missed, it is unlikely that thechild will ever reach his full genetic potential. It is, therefore, essential that werecognise these window periods and design our programme with them in mind, in orderto ensure that our boys complete every phase before moving on to the next. We shouldnot be tempted to rush into teaching them advanced drills. Time spent on teachingthem the basics will give them the edge. In our screen-dominated world, children areless likely to develop these skills naturally through play and so, the onus is on the PE

staff to ensure that the opportunity is created for them to learn these skills artificially.

I fear that the sport systems created in prep schools in South Africa dont allow childrento take advantage of the windows of optimum learning because the league systemsintroduce too much formal competition too soon. Too much time is spent playing andpreparing for matches rather than on making the most of these critical periods oflearning. When advanced concepts are taught before the foundation stones are laid, itwill be less likely that any of those skills will be completely mastered. At St Johns weare acutely aware of what is required and we try to ensure that our boys are given thevery best opportunity to reach their full physical potential but we are caught up in thesystem and it is worrying that, because of this, our good intentions may be

compromised.

Swimming

Our first gala will be held on the 11 th October. The College has given us some space inthe Valley Pool in the mornings. Until the Long Walk Pool warms up, early morningtraining will be held in the Valley Pool on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 6h15to 7h00, starting on Wednesday 25th September. Trials will be held during PE lessons in

the week starting on Monday 7th October.

Lynn Joubert

Director of Curriculum and Staff Development (Sport)

[email protected]


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Its that time of the year when everyone seems to have almost reached the top of thelong hill and we just need that final push before we can relax on the descent. These

next few weeks seem to be what the teachers and boys have been working towards thewhole year.

For the UIIIs, this is the last stretch of their Prep careers and they are at the pointwhere they begin to plan for next year. We the, interns, find ourselves in a similar

situation. Some of us will finish our studies and will also finish our Prep career.

I find myself sharing the same questions as some of the UIIIs, have I done enough?Have I missed an opportunity? Will I be remembered? The most important question I

ask myself is Have I learnt enough to move on?

I am very privileged to be surrounded by teachers who are leaders in their respectivefields. I have learnt more from observing lessons than any textbook could ever teachme. To see the time and effort that all the teachers put into lesson plans, coaching

sessions and general running of the school often leaves me in awe.

Their effort is not for fame or a big pay-cheque. It is for the one child that will comeback one day and say, Thanks, that was awesome!. I want to be a teacher so that I

can too, have a positive impact on childrens lives.

I have had the privilege to have started at St Johns Prep when the current UIIIs beganin UI. I have watched them grow up. I was there when they were learning to read, I wasthere when they took their first catch and played their first soccer game. I have sharedsome of their most important moments in their young lives. Those moments make thelong hours, stressful deadlines and tough days worth it.

To the teachers at St Johns Preparatory, Thank you for helping me become the teacherI want to be.

To the boys, Thank you for reminding me why I want to be a teacher you deserve.

Tony Johnson

[email protected]

An Interns Perspective


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Tennis

9th Private Schools Under 13 Tennis Tournament Sun City

During the August holidays, our five Prep first team tennis players participated in the

annual Private Schools U13 Tennis Tournament. This was held at Sun City where theboys enjoyed fantastic facilities. Over the first two days, St Johns drew 40 games withthe very competitive Jan Celliers, and convincingly beat Cornwill Hill 51-27, but then

lost to a strong St Stithians 18-56.

The boys started the final days play in 4th place on the log, but with two terrificvictories over Pridwin (46-38) and then The Ridge (49-31), they finished in secondplace. Our five players, Bradley Milton, Janovin Scholtz, Alex Barrow, Ethan Chilvers

and Christopher Williams proudly represented St Johns Prep

We look forward to next years tournament at Sun City, where we will be entering our2nd team in addition to our 1st team in this competitive and exciting weekend of tennis.

Detailed Results:

vs Jan Celliers Day 1

Singles:

Williams 8-1

Chilvers 8-6

Barrow 7-8

Milton 2-8Scholtz 5-8

Doubles:

Chilvers & Williams 8-1

Scholtz & Barrow 2-8

vs Cornwall Hill Day 2: Morning

Singles:Milton 6-8

Chilvers 8-1

Barrow 8-1

Williams 5-8

Scholtz 8-2

Doubles:

Milton & Barrow 8-5Chilvers & Williams 8-2

vs St Stithians Day 2:

Singles:

Milton 0-8

Chilvers 2-8

Williams 6-8

Scholtz 4-8

Barrow 2-8

Doubles:

Milton & Scholtz 3-8

Chilvers & Williams 1-8

vs Pridwin Day 3: Morning

Singles:Milton 8-0

Scholtz 8-3

Barrow 5-8

Chilvers 5-8

Williams 8-7

Doubles:

Milton & Scholtz 8-4Barrow & Williams 4-8

vs The Ridge Day 3:

Singles:

Milton 4-8

Scholtz 8-5

Barrow 8-2

Chilvers 5-8

Williams 8-0

Doubles:

Milton & Scholtz 8-2

Chilvers & Barrow 8-6

Sean Logan

Director of Sport

[email protected]


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Cricket

James Barrow, Ciaran James, Ethan Chilvers and Shaun Jacobs who have been

selected to represent the Johannesburg North-East U13 Area Cricket team.

Jack Lees, Jack Stewart, Jack Montgomery, Tarun Gupta, Riyaadh Haffejee and JamesIves. They have all been selected to represent the Johannesburg North-East U12 Area

Cricket team.


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Peter Buckle, LIIH, has been selected to swim for Central Gauteng in the Highveld

Inter-provincial Gala. Well done, Peter!

Waterpolo

We wish our St John's Preparatory School 1st team waterpolo boys every success at theupcoming and very competitive SACS Waterpolo Tournament in Cape Town.

Back row: Mr Bornman

2nd row: Gavin McPherson, Garyn Berry, Ethan Roets, Daniel Harding, Luca AllasioFront row: Jordan van Der Walt, Kieran McKenna, Michael Smith, Stefano Cavalieri,

Simon Shelton.

Swimming


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The 2nd XI hockeyteam began their season with a fantastic 2-1 win over Pridwin onWednesday 11th September at St John's. Well done, boys!

Page 13St Johns Preparatory School

Hockey

Congratulations to the 1st XI hockey team who kicked off their season with a fantastic2-1 win over Pridwin on Wednesday 11th September at St John's. A promising seasonlies ahead!


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Chess

16th September

St John's A vs Pridwin St Johns B vs APPS

St Johns won 38 - 28

Congratulations to boys who won both matches - James Arthur, Khavish Govind,Brendan Thomas, Andi Qu, Gregory Thompson, Alistair Van Der Riet, Taylor

Williamson, Corijn van de Loosdrecht and Montsi Manyatsa.

St Johns won 28 - 12

St Johns A Team

St Johns B Team


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4CTea

85% for Afrikaans Poem

Luca Harding

80% and over for Spelling Test

Thendo Mudau Trishan Moodley

Jordan Van Der Walt


Presenting Their Book Reviews in Assembly

Sebastian Whitehead Yusuf Ganchi

Early Morning Friday Run with Mr Logan

Kieran McKenna Nicholas Lansdown

James Burgess Anthony Mason-Gordon

Much Improved Drama Journal Writing

Kgotso Bogoshi

Hard Work and Excellent Effort

Richard Wattam


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Interact Day 2013

Drawings of Mr Lees by the Pre-Prep boys on Interact Day


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Last term, the Lower III boys read the novel Silverfin by Charlie Higson. The book isabout young James Bond, Before the name became a legend. Before the boy became

the man.

The Lower III R boys were given the difficult task of summarising the novel into pictures

for each chapter.

By Jack Montgomery

By Dylan Van Der Walt


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LIII musical instruments made from recycled materials


By Tarun Gupta


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On Saturday, 31st August 2013, Jordan Van Der Walt was the motivational speakerfor FOTAD. Future of The African Daughter. This is a development project for girlsaged between 12-19 years old, who come from previously disadvantaged areas. Girlsare equipped with knowledge, invaluable skills and academic support through

various workshops.

Jordan, pictured with Miss Gqbelo Dandala - Project CEO

Tom Sandilands, Stef Cavalieri and Nick Siedle have been involved with the JacobaFootball Academy since May this year. They have been helping to coach soccer to theprimary school boys on their free afternoons at the Sasol grounds near KES. This hasbeen an enriching and enjoyable experience for the boys where they have grown

enormously.

Last Sunday the boys, along with Jordan and Dylan van der Walt, hosted a party for86 players from The Jacoba Football Academy. These boys come from disadvantagedcommunities in the Berea, Hillbrow and Yeoville areas. Their coach Dimitri voluntarilycoaches these boys on a daily basis. Dimitri believes "a child in sport is a child out ofcourt". The Jacoba Football academy is also provided with a daily meal. Jordan also

donated 1.5 tons of maize.


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Roger da Costa from Maroka Swallows who came to "meet and greet" the boys.

Thanks to Lynhill Celtic for coming to play a few games againstJacobas older soccer players.


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Last Friday the author Dianne Hofmeyr came to speak to the UI, and UII boys about herlatest trilogy of books about Oliver Strange. The first two, Oliver Strange and theJourney through the Swampsand Oliver Strange and the Ghosts of Madagascar, have

already been released and the last book will be published next February. The trilogy isabout Oliver whose father is a herpetologist (a person who studies frogs) and he oftengoes missing on the journeys to look for rare frogs. The books tell of the adventures

Ollie goes on to save his father.

Ive read the first book which I enjoyed a lot. Ollies father goes to Botswana in search ofthe painted reed frog and he gets captured by crooks and Ollie gets worried so he fliesto Botswana to try and find his dad.

Dianne spoke a lot about her third book set in the jungles of Columbia where Olliesdad goes in search of the poison dart frog. Ollie gets more than he bargained for whenhe discovers an anaconda under his bed!

These exciting adventure stories are available in the School Library.

Author Visit By Kei Prior UIIB


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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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St Johns Preparatory SchoolPage 24

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]

ItalianLanguage

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 EnglishClasses

Tuesdays 14h15 to 15h00

Mrs Troleses Classroom


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If I had my life to live overId dare to make more mistakes next time.

Id relax. I would limber up

I would be sillier than I have been this trip.

I would take fewer things seriously.

I would take more chances.

I would take more trips.

I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers.

I would eat more ice cream and less beans.

I would perhaps have more actual troubles but Id have fewer imaginary ones.You see, Im one of those people who live sensibly and sanely hour after hour,

day after day.

Oh, Ive had my moments and if I had it to do over again, Id have more of them.

In fact, Id try to have nothing else. Just moments.

One after another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day.

Ive been one of those people who never go anywhere without a thermometer, a hot

water bottle, a raincoat and a parachute.

If I had it to do again, I would travel lighter next time.

If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay

that way later in the fall.

I would go to more dances.

I would ride more merry-go-rounds.

I would pick more daisies.

Nadine Stair (age 85)

Preparatory Newsletter No 8 2013

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