21 November 2018 Newsletter 38/2018 Newsletter /2018

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1 Dear Parents, Old Boys and Friends of Michaelhouse Please click on the headings below to navigate around the enews. Rector s Message... 1 Staff News... 2 Congratulations & Individual Achievements... 2 A Block : Matric Leavers Ceremonies... 3 A Block : Applications to Tertiary Education: UK & USA... 3 End Of Year 2018 & Start Of Year 2019 : Bus Transport : 1 st Quarter Half-Term... 4 Carol Service : Invitation... 4 Condolences... 5 Rector s Message Who can believe that there are only seven school days left this year? We really are on the final countdown. The scary part is the mountain of work to be done between now and next Saturday: exams, marking, reporting, promotions meetings, Leavers Ceremonies, Christmas Dinner, Carol Service and the like. We have also committed, for a second year, to the very exciting project, Soul2Sole, where boys either give their old school shoes, sports shoes and sports boots, or buy new shoes, to donate to the project. These are then refurbished for distribution to school children who have no shoes. The Soul2Sole Project provides children at two schools in our Community Partnership programme with shoes, which are handed over to the recipients by our boys. Hugo Ayo and Neil Johnston are leading this project here at school. Boys need their parents permission to donate shoes. Please let your son know if you are happy for him to do so. Collection boxes will be placed at various places on campus and at the gate next Friday. Boys can simply drop their shoes into these boxes as they leave for holiday. Last year we collected 200-odd pairs of shoes. This year we hope to at least double this number. Please support this project by giving your son permission to donate his old shoes. A video clip of last year s donations can be seen at: Looking ahead to next year: One of the new initiatives which we will implement at the start of 2019 is the Guardian anonymous reporting app. Boys will have the app on their phones and can use this to report incidents which may need further investigation. Reports are logged by the Guardian and sent to the designated senior staff for investigation and report-back. All sources remain anonymous. This app has been used successfully at other schools to report incidents of bullying, drug abuse and similar concerns. 1

2 A group of 30 boys (B to E Blocks) have been asked to test the app before the roll-out next year. They uploaded the app yesterday and have been asked to send a message to the Guardian; either a report, if they do wish to report an incident, or just a 'test' message. If you wish to find out more about the app, please take a look at: Staff News Congratulations We warmly congratulate Ms Nqobile Zuma (isizulu Department) on the birth of her baby boy Sbongakonke and wish them the very best. Congratulations & Individual Achievements Awards Congratulations to the following A Block students who received Awards at Monday s Assembly: Cultural Awards for Art Honours: Colours: Michael Kimber Kieran Benson, William Crutchley, Justin Fyvie, Bailey Green, Thomas Jacobsz and Sebastian Maitre Half-Colours: Gift Mokoena Sport Awards Swimming: Honours: Andrew Cameron Cricket Honours: Michael Brownlee and Thomas Trotter Colours: Liam England, Declan Newton and William Norton Half-Colours: Christopher Hardie, James Kiln and Thomas Quin IEB Critical Thinking Skills Exam 2266 candidates nationwide wrote this. Hubo Khumalo and Matt Winn (both C Block) placed in the Top 1% in South Africa with their results. Squash : All Africa Championships Kameran Jinnah competed in the All Africa Open Championships in Cape Town in early August. He contested the final in the U15 age group and lost the match in the fifth and final game which placed him as runner-up in the Championship. 2

3 Swimming Oliver Bass (Tatham-D Block) swam 15km in an extended training day. This is a first at the school and he is well prepared to complete the 8-Midmar Miles in 2019 we wish him the very best. President s Award Silver Medal: Ben Chance Bronze Medal: Jonathan Segar Inter-House Touch Rugby results Seniors: 1 st : Tatham 2 nd : West Juniors: 1 st : Founders 2 nd : Tatham A Block : Matric Leavers Ceremonies Parents are invited to join us for a short ceremony following your son s final exam. The different ceremonies are held to accommodate the different days on which the boys finish their last exam. Please find the dates of the ceremonies below: Date: Time: Venue: Thursday 22 November 12h30 Heritage Centre Friday 23 November 12h30 Heritage Centre Monday 26 November 16h15 Centenary Centre * Venue changed Tuesday 27 November 13h00 Heritage Centre Please note that no RSVP is required. We look forward to having you with us to be with your son as he is inducted into the Old Boys Club. A Block : Applications to Tertiary Education: UK & USA Mr Tim Jarvis writes: All A Block boys applying to colleges and universities in the United States or the United Kingdom should be in the final stage of their applications and have already communicated with the relevant staff members around these. In addition boys must have finalised the details of their applications with Mr Jarvis before they leave, or by Wednesday 28th November 2018 (whichever comes first). Given that there is a lot of material required from the school in support of these applications late notice requests, or requests made during the holidays, will only be dealt with in the New Year (sometime after the start of the new term). There is a high demand for references and academic transcripts at this time of year and so appropriate time is needed to process these. 3

4 End Of Year 2018 & Start Of Year 2019 : Bus Transport We would like to remind parents that there is no bus service provided by the school at the end of term in each 4 th Quarter of the year or at the start of term in each 1 st Quarter of the year : 1 st Quarter Half-Term Please will all parents note that the school s annual Prize Giving Ceremony takes place next year on Thursday 21 February 2019, the same day that the boys leave for Half-Term. All buses to airports, in Durban and Pietermaritzburg for all flights, may only depart Michaelhouse at 10h15. Please could you ensure that you book any flights accordingly. Your co-operation in this regard is appreciated. Carol Service : Invitation 4

5 Condolences It was with deep sadness that we heard of the passing of Mr Bush Zuma who worked in the Catering Department in the school kitchen, and who retired at the end of last year after 47 years of service at the school. Bush was a character who will be fondly and well-remembered by generations of Michaelhouse Old Boys and staff. We offer our sincere condolences to the Zuma family and keep them in our thoughts and prayers at this time. Kind regards Paul Fleischack Rector 5