st john’s preparatory school · there are only 3 test opening batsmen who have ... page 2 st...

17 March 2014

St John’s Preparatory School St John’s Preparatory School Houghton Tel: 011 645 3100/ 087 55 0473 Newsletter Number 3

From the Headmaster… Last week we said goodbye to someone who I believe is a cricketing great and truly one of the best sporting leaders South Africa has experienced in our current generation and in our children’s life time – Graeme Smith. Smith for some reason has never been the most popular sportsman in his own country, which I feel is very sad and personally, I feel he deserves far better. I am not sure everyone actually realises what he has done, but I think his stats speak for themselves. They are namely:

Highest impact batsman in South Africa’s test history (minimum 50 tests)

Highest impact captain of all time, ahead of Lloyd, Cronje, Bradman, Taylor, Waugh, Khan and Border.

6 Series-defining batting performances, equal to Tendulkar and Sangakkara and only Dravid and Inzamam with 7 have more.

Highest 4th innings impact batsman in test history.

4th highest impact batsman of all time behind Sangakarra, Dravid and Kallis.

There are only 3 test opening batsmen who have an average higher than Smith – Gavaskar, Hayden and Sehwag, none of them as captain though.

To play over 100 Tests as an opening batsman is to do something rather special as a cricketer. To do so, and Captain at the same time, is nothing short of amazing. To do all that and have some of the most impressive batting stats of all-time, well then, you are quite simply one of the greatest cricketers of all-time in my books.

And so it makes me wonder how Graeme Smith became this good? He has poor technique, he doesn’t look attractive and certainly doesn’t look like a natural such as a Kallis or Tendulkar.

14/03 LII & UII History/ Science/ Geography Assessments LIII & UIII Geography Assessments Water Polo Festival: U11 at St John’s 15/03 Athlectic Trials (Rice) 17/03 Chess Matches 18/03 Housemasters’ Tutors Assembly Parent Information Evening (Jeffrey Auditorium) 19/03 Book People Book Sale - Library St John’s vs St Stithians Athletics 21/03 Human Rights Day 25/03 Headmaster’s Assembly (Big School) 27/03 Book Launch & Poetry Evening 28/03 Supper & Song (Darragh) Water Polo Festival: U11 at St Benedict’s U13 at St Peter’s 29/03 Supper & Song (Darragh) 31/03 UIII Instrumental Concert (Clarke) 01/04 Papplewick Rugby Tour Housemasters’ Assembly LIII Instrumental Concert (Clarke) 02/04 UII Instrumental Concert (Clarke) Inter-Schools’ Athletics Meeting 03/04 LII Instrumental Concert (Clarke) 04/04 UI Instrumental Concert (Clarke) Water Polo Festival U11 at The Ridge U13 at St John’s 09/04 Inter-House Athletics (Rice) 08/04 Housematers’ Tutors Assembly 09/04 Grandparents’ Tea 10/04 St Stithian’s Night Rugby Festival

Reminders from the Diary

I was fortunate enough to have played with Graeme Smith for a season or two at Old Eds when he was still at school. Already then, we could all see that he wanted it – he was hungry for it and dedicated to it. His goal - playing cricket and to play for his country.

St John’s Preparatory School

And then there is the word ‘talent’. Did Smith just have talent? What in fact is talent? A talent was a sum of money in the ancient world, a specific weight. As an abstract concept it meant an inclination, disposition, will or desire. But now it is generally used to describe a natural ability, a gift or an aptitude, which someone has regardless of effort.

There have been various forces which have led to this shift in meaning; one of those forces was the thinking of Francis Galton, the half cousin of Charles Darwin, who wrote a book, Hereditary Genius. He set out to show that, ‘man’s natural abilities are derived from inheritance… I have no patience with the hypothesis that babies are born pretty much alike and the sole agencies in creating difference are steady application and moral effort’.

However, the 20th and 21st century has generated research which seriously undermines this hypothesis and which at the very least suggests that the factors which lead to success in any complex task, including sport, cannot be explained merely through a theory of innate talent. Matthew Syed, a former European Table Tennis champion, and now a successful sports journalist wrote a book called, Bounce. His main thesis is that success in a complex task requires three ingredients: purposeful practice, internal motivation and opportunity. In essence, that what we describe as ‘talent’ is not a ‘weight’ dropped out of the sky, but a ‘weight’ of opportunity, hard work and internal motivation.

Graeme Smith has had all three of these things. He was given the opportunity by his school and parents; he certainly had internal motivation to do well; and he has always been one of the hardest workers at his game.

So, as parents, when we look at our own sons, whether it’s in the sporting, academic, or cultural arena, we need to be mindful that it is not what we want that will matter. We can certainly help provide opportunities (sending them to great schools like St John’s for example and giving them the best tools around), but unless there is an internal will to do well and a desire to be the best that they can be, it will all be in vain.

There is an ongoing debate about why so few private school children do not go on to play on the international arena. My view is that whilst the child might have the potential to develop an internal motivation, it is often sidelined by external motivations (parental desires to have our chidlren leave school with a good matric, to get a degree, to get a good job and to make good money). But are these the things that our children really want to do? Will our children have that internal motivation to work hard no matter what obstacles are in the way?

I am not sure of the answers, but one thing I am quite confident about is that at a Prep school level, we, as parents, have a duty to still guide our children and should never lose sight of the desires our children may have.

Cheers Biff – it’s been an honour and privilege to have watched you. We wish you well and thanks for being a great role model to our children.

PATRICK LEES


CELEBRATING ST JOHN’S PREP!

Dear Parents

This term I have been spending some time with each grade. I must say that I have thoroughly enjoyed our chats and discussions together. My theme for these talks with the boys has been “Celebrating St John’s”. According to the Oxford Dictionary, the definition of celebrate is: “Publicly acknowledge (a significant or happy day or event) with a social gathering or enjoyable activity.” When we celebrate something, we want to share it with others. Celebration is exciting. As I mentioned to the boys, when we celebrate a birthday, we hold a birthday party! Birthday invitations are drawn up, plans are made as to the day itself and everyone is given duties to perform in readiness of the exciting day. When we celebrate something, we are not quiet about it. We don’t tell mom to not send out the invitations and not to bake a cake. We don’t spend the birthday party holed up inside the house with the curtains drawn! With this background in mind, I then asked the boys, “So how do we celebrate St John’s?” The comments received have been interesting. Boys have responded by saying things like: “We celebrate St John’s by listening in class.” “We celebrate St John’s by being a friend to someone.” I personally think we celebrate St John’s from the moment we open our eyes in the morning. From the boys’ perspective, as soon as they open their eyes in the morning and cast their sight upon their uniform hanging on the cupboard, the celebration has begun. The Prep uniform and cap, to my mind, should instil a great sense of pride and loyalty. I can still remember wearing my school uniform with great pride and a sense of belonging. The celebration when putting on the uniform in the morning is just the beginning. The boys should look smart in their uniforms, their chest should bulge out with pride as they recognise the fact that they belong to one of the finest schools in the country. I, personally, think it is the finest! And as their day unfolds, the boys can celebrate their school by doing the following:

Arriving to school on time Listening to their teachers during the day Respecting other boys Helping and encouraging other boys Doing the tasks set before them with the right attitude Doing homework timeously Picking up litter Greeting adults respectfully


This has also been part of my discussion to parents in the recent Parent Interview afternoons. I believe that our boys can celebrate St John’s by working hard, building friendships, learning to deal with failure, adopting the right attitude, being resilient and adding value to their school. I would very much like to see the community of St John’s, where we all spend many hours of the day, grow and develop under the banner of celebration. This of course, can only happen if we celebrate our successes and failures as a team. Just like a sports team, whose members all have to rely on each other, we need to celebrate together, and I also think we need to cry together, and by that I mean share in each other’s joys and sadness’s. There is no doubt that St John’s is a very special school. If you visit our school website (www.stjohnscollege.co.za) you will notice the Prep Motto which reads as follows: “Nurturing today’s child for tomorrow’s world” I love the word nurture as, to my mind, it signifies holding hands, a partnership, a relationship, compassion and understanding. Together let us celebrate the boys and work in partnership in nurturing them to be the best that they can be. Kind regards Craig Verdal-Austin Second Master


During World Read a Loud Day the boys were captivated by various teachers reading to them. Mr Verdal-Austin read his favourite book, The Twits and Mr Odgers read a short story, Rags to Riches. The boys brought their favourite books to school to share with the class.

Alex de la Ray Keitu Mphomane

Sandiso Mota Sam Johnson

Siyanda Mbatha


The Upper IIIs spent an hour at the Pre-Prep reading to the younger boys

What is the Chatterbox Public Speaking Festival?

The Chatterbox Public Speaking Festival is a termly event where several schools in our area get together to celebrate the art of public speaking.

The evening is hosted by different schools, with this term’s competition being hosted by Roedean School.

The aim of the festival is to expose as many children as possible to public speaking.

During the first and second term, the children present a prepared speech and an impromptu / unprepared speech is presented during the third term.

The children present their speeches in their year group and these speeches are adjudicated. The adjudication is aimed at being positive and constructive.


Chatterbox Public Speaking Festival

On the evening of Thursday 6th March 2014, the following boys represented St John’s Prep at this term’s Chatterbox Public Speaking Festival:

Lower II

Remo Scaramal, Zeyn Mahomed and Muhammed Mayet

Lower III

Dexter Harding, Matthew Russell and Taylor Williamson

Upper III

Caleb Buchel, Tarun Gupta, Matthew de la Rey and Max Milella

Congratulations to all our speakers! They most certainly did St John’s Prep and themselves very proud!


Our Easter cricket season has been a positive one. Positive, in terms of the number of boys who turned out for weekly cricket practices amongst the various age-groups, the spirit in which the fixtures were approached and the number of fixtures that were scheduled. Eighteen inter-school fixtures were lost due to wet weather in the concluding week of the Easter cricket season. This is not meant to be seen as a negative, but rather to enlighten you on how many inter-school fixtures (amongst the range of age-groups) the cricket boys of St John’s play in a week. The seven week cricket season certainly has been the longest Easter Term cricket season over recent years. This has allowed one hundred and forty-two fixtures to be scheduled in the season. Not all these fixtures were played or finished due to lightning and wet weather. Nonetheless, I think this is a tremendous amount of cricket offered to our keen young cricketers! This is fifty-three more fixtures than the 2013 Easter Term! A welcome and a big thank you to Elaine Vermooten who has taken over the LEC this year. Her team have done a superb job in turning out the many match day teas. This is no easy task and her attention to detail has certainly aided the very smooth running of this! Mr Sammons and his dedicated team of coaches continued their amazing work in the Indoor Centre. They have done a fantastic job in utilising the centre, ensuring that all the boys in the Preparatory (non-cricketers included), experience their knowledgeable coaching, have fun, learn skilful drills and of course, get to experience this great facility. Stuart Matsikenyeri and Njabula Ncube, who have both represented Zimbabwe on the international stage, were the new additions to Mr Sammons’ team this season. They have both had direct contact with all the boys in the Prep throughout the season and have thoroughly enjoyed their interactions with all the boys. Mr Sammons and his coaching staff have also implemented the Junior Cricket Programme this term. Every Saturday morning, the Grade I and II boys along with their dads, have eagerly turned out for cricket coaching and games. The number of boys and dads who arrive each Saturday morning continues to amaze me. This shows the dedication and passion they have for the game, especially with a 07h00 start each Saturday morning. Six successful Saturdays were hosted. May this eagerness of the boys and dads continue! This year, for the first time ever, U9A and U9B inter-school cricket games were introduced on a Saturday during the Easter Term. The mixed ability U9 teams can look forward to mid-week inter-school fixtures in the Michaelmas Term. These will be taking place on a Monday afternoon and this will also be a first for St John’s cricket. The U10 cricket age-group next year will be the stronger for it.


The 1st XI not only competed in the 20th Annual Prep Schools’ Cricket Festival over half-term, but hosted this Festival too! The school and fields were in immaculate condition for this Festival and special thanks go to Mr Duncan, Mr Manson and their team of ground staff for achieving this. Our boys had a good three wicket win over Western Province Preparatory School on the second day’s play, and had a magnificent 80 run win over Kingswood Junior School on the third and final day’s play. Unfortunately, due to lightning and wet weather, the first day’s play was not completed. Jean Symes, an Old Johannian and current Lions cricketer, was the guest speaker at the prestigious Festival Dinner. A very exciting cricket tour of international status awaits our 1st and 2nd XI boys. At the end of the August holidays, these boys will be touring to Zimbabwe! St John’s College - Harare, have done a magnificent job in setting up four fixtures for each of our teams for the week-long tour. The participating schools include Falcon College, Peterhouse, St George’s and St John’s College, Harare. Our boys will also be participating in a T20 Cricket Festival with five other South African schools in addition to six Zimbabwean schools. What an exciting opportunity awaits our St John’s boys! Michaelmas Term 2014: We look forward to an exciting cricket tour to KwaZulu-Natal in October. Thirty-six boys making up the U10A, U11A and 1st XI teams, will travel down over half-term and will take on Cordwallles Preparatory School in Pietermaritzburg and Clifton Preparatory in Durban. I am busy exploring options to expand this tour to include more teams across the age-groups. I look forward to updating you on this progress. The U11Bs will be participating in the annual Beaulieu Preparatory 20/20 Cricket Festival. This also takes place over Michaelmas half-term. Our U9A team will be participating in the annual Trinity House U9 Cricket Festival in October. These boys can look forward to some extremely competitive cricket. To conclude, I must say a huge thank you to the boys, for displaying such a love and drive for the game of cricket at St John’s. The coaches in the Prep have done their utmost to guide these boys and instil in them a passion for the game. Thank you to the coaches for their dedication and invaluable insight! A hundred and forty-two fixtures later, the boys and coaches are still smiling! Yours in cricket

Mr. S Logan Director of Sport St John’s Preparatory School (010) 492 0177 [email protected]

Riyaadh Haffejee walks through the 1st team guard of honour as he celebrates his marathon innings of 3 hours, 22 minutes. Well done, Riyaadh!


Cricket

Jacob Joseph (U11A) after bowling 8 - 0 - 27 - 6 against WHPS on Saturday 1st March. This included a hattrick! Well done, Jacob!

Riyaadh Haffejee (1st XI) raising his bat in celebration of his maiden century against WHPS on Saturday 1st March. Riyaadh carried his bat throughout the St John's innings, finishing with 136 not out off 161 balls. He batted for three hours and twenty-two minutes. Well done, Riyaadh!

The 1st XI at the 20th Prep Schools' Cricket Festival, hosted at St John's over the Easter half-term. St John's beat Western Province Preparatory School from Cape Town by 3 wickets and Kingswood Junior School from Grahamstown by 80 runs. The third fixture vs Merchiston Preparatory School from Pietermartizburg, was abandoned due to lightning. The twelve schools from across the country thoroughly enjoyed the extremely competitive weekend of cricket, where Jean Symes, an Old Johannian, was the guest speaker at the formal Festival dinner.


Sean Poole receiving his 1st XI cricket jersey from Mr Logan (coach) and Jack Lees (captain) against WHPS on Saturday 1st March.

Joshua Sansom receiving his 1st XI cap in his fifth game for the first team against St Andrew's from Grahamstown. This fixture was played at The Wanderers Cricket Club, under lights. Well done, Joshua!


Swimming

Peter Buckle, UIIFJ, took part in the Central Gauteng Level 1 Championships and achieved the following results:

5 x Gold Medals – 50m, 100m, and 200m freestyle. 50m fly and 50m backstroke

4 x Silver Medals – 100m backstroke, 100m Fly, 200m free relay and 200m IM relay

1 x Bronze Medal – 200m backstroke

Well done, Peter!


Tabloids Gala


Congratulations to Keagan Lion-Cachet for being selected to represent the U13A Boys Southern Gauteng Provincial Schools Hockey Team. This is a fantastic achievement as Keagan is still U12.

Keagan will be representing Southern Gauteng in a few provincial tournaments this year, with the main tournament being held in Bloemfontein from the 2nd – 5th July.

We wish Keagan all the best with his training and up-coming tournaments and we know that he will represent St John’s proudly! Well done, Keagan!

Hockey

Basketball


This season we had yet another successful campaign of basketball at St John’s.

With just over 30 matches in total played (Saturday festival and week-day games combined), the St John’s Prep 1st Team was undefeated in the league this term.

Our boys particularly enjoyed playing against Saints and Saheti who joined, this term, the mini-league we also play in.

There has been a general improvement in skill levels across all age groups. The 2nd, U12 and U11 basketball teams also had much improved seasons.

Well done, to all the boys who represented St John’s in basketball this term!

David Mulenga

MIC Basketball


10th March St John’s A vs The Ridge - won 50 - 14 St John's B vs Roedean - won 46 - 18 Boys who won both matches : K Govind, A Qu, C vd Loosdrecht, N Haripershad, J West, G Thompson, T Jun, J Hoole, C Leathwhite, E Osei, M Manyatsa, T Martin, S Shearer, S Clarke, J Short, K Moodley, L Madalane, S Qiao. Well done, boys!

4CTea

Cricket Sean Poole Brandon Badenhorst Matthew Durandt

Ntokozo Dlamini Torin Torrente Jacob Joseph

Riyaadh Hafejee

Chess - Great Service, Polite and Very Helpful Khavish Govind Alistair Van Der Riet Corijn van de Loosdrecht

Won Both Chess Matches K Govind A Qu C van de Loosdrecht N Haripershad

J West G Thompson J Tan J Hoole C Leathwhite E Osei M Manyatsa T Martin S Shearer S Clarke J Short K Moodley

L Madalane S Qiao

Good Spelling Josh Kapp Ryan Gower-Winter

Kidz Lit Quiz Max Milella Sean Morrison Justin West

Andi Qu Kei Prior Andrew Raney

Ydhan Naidoo

Chess

Brilliant isiZulu Speech Ntokozo Dlamini

100% For Maths Assessment Zayd Motara

Inter-Schools’ Quiz


Every couple of years the Prep hosts an Inter Schools’ General Knowledge Quiz for a number of schools in our area, and on the 5 March it was our turn again. After a day of intermittent black-outs, the electricity went off again at 6:30 and with pupils from nine different schools waiting patiently for the evening to begin, at 7:10, when the quiz was about to be called off, light and power was miraculously restored. We were able to proceed with the evening’s activities.

As this quiz is more about social inter-action than competition, the teams were made up of a mix of boys and girls from the various schools. Allowed to give their teams names, the children made their intentions clear with some of the following names: “The IQs”, “Radio Active”, “The Aviators” and “Brainiacs”. They certainly lived up to them too!

Ten rounds of ten questions in each round on different topics such as: Natural Phenomena, IT Savvy, Beliefs and Ideas, Cartoons, and Current News, saw “The IQs” come out on top followed closely by “Radio Active”, “The Aviators” and “Brainiacs”. Congratulations to all the quiz participants, including a number of our own Prep boys, on flexing their intellectual muscles with such vigour.

TLC


A huge thank you to Jordan and the van der Walt family who, together with Restonic, Bradlows, Morkels and Electric Express, have put a huge tick next to several items on the TLC wishlist. Restonic donated ten brand new single base/bed sets, and Bradlows, Morkels and Electric Express donated a shiny new lounge suite and fifteen large packs of towels. Although now in St John’s College it is lovely to see Jordan still supporting such a wonderful cause. The best part was seeing everyone at the handover fall in love with all the TLC babies they met!


Restonic very kindly added to their already generous donation of beds, and provided several mattress tops for the nursery floor at TLC to help keep the babies warm through the winter.

Lost Property


While we know that lost property is a problem that won't go away, we are pleased to say that boys are increasingly trying to be more responsible about their belongings and are making a real effort to avoid the penalties. The boys need to be reminded of the following: If they come and collect their lost items from the Lost Property room (open Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7am) then there is no penalty. * If it is handed to them by their class teacher then they will be charged R10. (Money goes to charity) * The teacher will be keeping a record of the number of lost items. * After 3 offenses the boy will be given a break detention. We would also like to appeal to parents to ensure that all items are clearly marked. The number of unmarked items continues to be a problem and far outnumbers those that are marked. This is especially true of second hand items, which are often not marked with the new owner’s name. Furthermore, parents are asked to check that if their son comes home with an item that does not belong to him, it must be returned. A very special thanks is extended to Shetal Patel and Louise French for their assistance in the Lost Property room. Their readiness to give of their time to help sort out the room is greatly appreciated.

Ana de Gouveia

All unclaimed and unnamed lost property was donated to the Avril Elizabeth Home


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 Tuesday 14h15 - 15h00

Upper III Thursday 14h15 - 15h00

Mrs de Lange’s classroom

(Teacher recommendation only)

Shop At St John’s College

New opening times from 28th January 2014 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

Upper III Extra English Classes

Tuesdays 14h15 to 15h00

Held in the Maths Centre

Appeal For D & T

Plastic bottle caps,

softdrink, water, milk, all twist off bottle

caps Thank You!


If I had my life to live over

I’d dare to make more mistakes next time. I’d 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 I’d have fewer imaginary ones.

You see, I’m one of those people who live sensibly and sanely hour after hour, day after day.

Oh, I’ve had my moments and if I had it to do over again, I’d have more of them.

In fact, I’d try to have nothing else. Just moments. One after another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day.

I’ve 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)

st john’s preparatory school · there are only 3 test opening batsmen who have ... page 2 st...

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