Term 2 #16 14 June 2019

To the Andrean Community

There is a beautiful, confident green to summer in Philadelphia that mirrors (or is perhaps formative of ) the confidence of its peoples. As I walked along the Schuyllkill river the verdant foliage was almost explosive in its summer growth. The beautiful boathouses along the river and the gentle clunk of oarsmen practicing on the water makes for a most beautiful morning scene. I was out walking along the river path in the morning sun to shake off the jet-lag from the long trip from Grahamstown, and the soul-feeding view in the bright summer sun did just that.

I was in Philadelphia as an invitee to a global summit on positive education, hosted by Professor Martin Seligman at the University of Pennsylvania. A small group of academics, Eisenhower Fellows, and educational practitioners gathered to review the global state of positive education, and to answer the ‘what next’ questions of this developing field. It was an incredibly stimulating summit, and I am filled with much enthusiasm for what the future of positive education holds.

College

Nec Aspera Terrent

St Andrew’s CollegeNewsletter

“Positive Psychology takes seriously the bright hope that

if you find yourself stuck in the parking lot of life, with

few and only ephemeral pleasures, with minimal

gratifications, and without meaning, there is a road out. This road takes you through the countryside of pleasure

and gratification, up into the high country of strength and

virtue, and finally to the peaks of lasting fulfillment: meaning

and purpose.”

- Professor Martin Seligman

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God Bless

Alan Thompsona.thompson@sacschool.com

It is at this point that the cynics among my readers might sigh to themselves, with the inward groan that “the headmaster is prattling on about positive psychology again” or, “I hate it when these heads go off on a conference and come back with the latest educational fad”. Cynics be reassured - there is actually nothing new to positive psychology – indeed, its tennets are an affirmation of the timeless notions of the “good life”. The field of positive psychology (and its educational specificity, positive education) is simply an intentional examination of the aspects of life that develop a growth mindset and flourishing.

Positive Education is not an “add on” or a “programme”. It is, rather, an intentional way of thinking about that which we do - that we can then create the environment where our boys may be able to identify their own unique giftedness, and flourish. By embracing mindfulness, growing positive emotions, engagement, positive relationships, meaning, and achievement we create a way of viewing life that not only builds wellness for its own inherent good, but a large and growing body of international research shows that a child that is flourishing does better academically too.

In a world where our youth are increasingly anxious and where rates of teenage depression are at record highs, the benefits of wellness are not only intuitively obvious, but they are validated by research. St Andrew’s College will be presenting that research, and more, when we host the South African conference on Positive Education later this year.

I am excited by positive psychology for all of the reasons above, but, especially, as a parent, I know that there can be no better way to raise a child than by contributing to a mindset where s/he may flourish. It’s as simple as that.

WEEK AT A GLANCEFriday 14 June:2009 Leaver’s ReunionPipe Band Tour to Pretoria Boys Gathering to 16/6Shooting OVL Open11h30 - Youth Day Celebrations (Lower Field)12h30 - Golf vs Kingswood College14h00 Grade 10 Cambridge A Level Information Talk (Auditorium).

Saturday 15 June:Rugby vs Kingswood College (A)2009 Leaver’s Reunion

Sunday 16 June:Youth Day09h00 - Grade 8 Mullins to Table Farm10h30 - Upper House Golf Day

Monday 17 June:16h10 Tennis: Senior House Finals

Tuesday 18 June:15h15 Tennis: Junior House Finals17h00 - Sports Forum Meeting

Thursday 20 June:Half TermTravel DayScuba Diving Tour to 24/6

Half Term Activities:Scuba Diving Tour from 20 to 25/6Albany Tennis Tour departs to Cape Town (22-26/6)National Arts Festival (27/6 to 7/7)SA School Librarians’ Conference at St Andrew’s (28/6 to 2/7)Rugby Craven Week (1 to 6/7).

Visit: https://my.sacschool.com for full calendar

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Creative Writing

ACADEMICS

We congratulate Joe Orsmond on being accepted to present a paper on creative writing at two world class conferences in the UK over the next two weeks.

Firstly, he is presenting at the 10th Wellington College Festival of Education on 21 June 2019.

After that, his paper was accepted for presentation at the Great Writing International Creative Writers Conference at Imperial College, London.

St Andrew’s College is most proud of Joe and wishes him all the best for these two wonderful experiences.

Aidan Smith

GREAT WRITING: The International Creative Writers Conference (Imperial College, London)

The UK’s Great Writing International Creative Writing Conference is a place to share creative and critical work, to explore Creative Writing, and to discuss those explorations with Creative Writing colleagues from around the world. Launched 22 years ago, each year the conference welcomes creative writers from all over the world -- many of whom work in universities and colleges, or are undertaking graduate degrees in Creative Writing.

Each year the conference is the home to some truly magnificent presentations - some by creative writers who have given many presentations, some by creative writers who are giving their very first presentations! Great Writing is always a friendly, open conference where the focus is entirely on Creative Writing and the many ways we can undertake it and understand it.

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Grade 8 Study SkillsGwen Johnson has been presenting a short skills course to Grade 8 boys since the beginning of Term 2. The workshops cover: Organisational - recap on calendar and use of daily planner to strategically organise for tests and exams; Exam Preparation - summaries, mind-maps and how to answer questions.

Graham Merriman

Matric Parents - Supplementary ExamsMatric parents and boys please note that currently the position is that the IEB will not conduct a supplementary examination in 2020.

Matric ParentsThe Matric Revision Camp will take place from 8am on Sunday 1 September to Tuesday 3 September. Most boys arrive on the evening of Saturday, 31 August, to be in time for their sessions on Sunday morning, so please bear this in mind when booking flights.

Matric Parents: IEB Matric ExamsThe IEB has had to make three changes to the year-end Final IEB Matric Exam Timetable. Please see the revised Matric Timetable on the Parent Portal.

The following subjects have been affected:

• French SAL, Mandarin SAL (changed from Thursday 24 October to Friday 25 October - afternoon session)• Dramatic Arts moved from Tuesday 5 November (afternoon) to Friday 25 October (morning)• Visual Arts moved from Friday 25 October (morning) to Wednesday 6 November (morning)

Please update your records accordingly.

2018 Matric ParentsThe Andrean Magazine and Matric Certificates are ready for collection for 2018 Matric boys. Please arrange for your son (or yourself ) to collect these from Sino Bili in the Administration Building. Current pupils were given Andrean magazines (one per family) earlier this year before the holidays.

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Chamber Choir sings at “Big Hymn Sing”Kingwood College hosted the “Big Hymn Sing” this past Sunday as part of their 125th celebrations. The event was held in the Cathedral and choirs from all over Grahamstown/Makhanda were invited to join in the celebrations. It was a joyous celebration of singing together and showed that choral music is thriving in this city and our schools.

The Chamber Choir performed at their peak singing a complex arrangement of the spiritual “Wade in the Water”. This piece was commissioned for the Pretoria University

CULTURAL

Choir in 2017 and the Chamber choir is only the second choir to have performed this piece since.

The choir’s high level of energy exuded throughout the cathedral as was evident in the rousing applause that followed. The choir can be secure in the fact that they have done their school proud and I would like to thank them all for their hard work and unwavering dedication.

Jovan Heynsen

The MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet fundraising programme raises funds for schools, charities and environmental organisations through a card system that allows supporters to raise funds for their beneficiary (school or charity) every time they shop at the partner stores.

Only 2 more weeks to enter and have a chance of winning a share of R150 000 in partner vouchers and your school’s chance of winning R150 000.

Don’t have a MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet card? Get your virtual card HERE and remember to choose St Andrew’s College as your beneficiary

The winning school also gets the opportunity to pay R100 000 forward to a previously disadvantaged school of their choice.

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l-r Calum Stokes, Mr G Marx, Oliver Rose

Kings AcademyWe are excited to welcome Kings Academy in Madaba, Jordan to our Exchange programme in 2019. Calum Stokes and Oliver Rose where our first Grade 10 Student exchanges to visit Jordan. Here they are with Exchange co-ordinator Mr Gunther Marx after their 4 week stay with their hosts. We look forward to welcoming Kings Academy boys to College in 2020.

STUDENT EXCHANGE

College Exchange StudentsHere are our 2019 Student Exchange Grade 10 boys with their current visiting exchange’s from Doon School, India; Pinegrove School, India; Knox Grammar School, Sydney and St Peter’s College, Adelaide. We look forward to hosting Canberra Grammar and The Scot’s College, Sydney in October this year.

Back row – William Stewart and Krishna Gulati (Pinegrove School, India); Ethan Breetzke and Henry Hawker (St Peter’s College, Sydney); Tobias Rowe (Knox Grammar School, Sydney) and Stuart Christie; Matthew Grunewald and Jacob Erasmus (to visit Upper Canada College, Toronto); Luke Barker and Harry Seaton (St Peter’s College, Sydney); Murray Campbell (to visit Scots College, Sydney); Front row - Calum Stokes and Oliver Rose (visited Kings Academy, Jordan) ; Daniel Bradfield and Armaan Batta (The Doon School, India); Samuel Francis and Krishna Rajesh Bhagat (Pinegrove School, India);Mrs Sashay Bates; Mr Gunther Marx; Kitso Mokgatlhe and Yash Gopal (to visit Canberra Grammar, Canberra); John Torcida and Zuber Singh Chawla (The Doon School, India); Malibongwe Mkosi and Tom Osborn (Knox Grammar School, Sydney); Absent - Cameron Holmes (to visit Scots College, Sydney)

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KZN Branch FunctionOn June 11 2019 the KZN Branch Function was held in Hilton, Kwa-Zulu Natal

The gathering was kindly arranged by ‘Doc’ Caldwell (Mullins 1962) and combined both the Durban and Pietermaritzburg branches.

The cosy atmosphere at Crossways Pub and Grill provided a perfect setting for the large turnout of Old Andreans and DSG Old Girls.

Special guests were Antony and Brigitte Clark (Armstrong 1974) newly relocated to KZN where Antony has taken up the position of Rector at Michaelhouse.

We look forward to many more events of this kind with Stuart Johnson (Espin 1986) assuming the role of Durban Branch Chairman.

Bridget Rippon

St Andrew’s CollegeNec Aspera Terrent

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K-Day DebatingOn Tuesday evening Kingswood hosted College for the annual K-Day debating fixture. 

The support from both sides was phenomenal and all the venues were packed to the rafters with adults and students alike. 

The senior debate was hotly contested and gave James Stadler, Michael Velloza and Jonathan Shema the opportunity to flex their intellectual muscles by opposing the implementation of community service for all university graduates. Although a close affair with James earning a joint

best speaker award, the debate was won by Kingswood.

The junior team of Michael Boynton, Lulo Mfaba and Scott Ritchie needed to convince their adjudicator that co-ed schools are preferred to single sex schools. They managed to do so with some imaginative arguments and Lulo was named best speaker. 

All in all it was a festive evening with some great crowd-pleasing moments. Well done to all the debaters.

David Molony and Craig Cuyler

Chess ClubThe Chess club faced off with long-time local rivals on Friday. They were met with some fierce competition particularly at the top boards where the no 1 and 2 seeds went down against strong opponents. John Atkinson was able to repel his opponent for the longest duration but lost narrowly in the end game. The club lost some ground in the derby matchup where home tactics were not enough to outmanoeuvre the opposition team.

Andrew Stuart-Watson

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SPORTDear All

Last weekend we made the “trek” inland to our fellow boys-school, Queen’s College on Friday and Saturday. Whilst this is always something of a logistical challenge it is one of those weekends that endorses why we continue to go out of our way to sustain these keenly anticipated inter-school encounters. The action started on Friday morning when our golfers took on their Queen’s counterparts on the hard and challenging conditions often found on inland courses during the winter months. The boys acquitted themselves well, winning the fixture 3-1, with 2 matches halved, notably Hein van Deventer coming from behind to secure a very good half with the Border No3 player. Then it was the turn of the Cross Country runners who took on a strong Queen’s outfit up into the foothills above Queen’s College. Despite the boys putting in a good effort and enjoying the outing, the Queenian’s were too good on the day and we went down 21-7. The Squash players competed well but did not manage to pick up a match, despite some close encounters, whilst the Chess players had a similar outcome. The Hockey was to produce more good results for our boys, with the U14 A and B sides winning, the U16B’s and C’s winning comfortably, whilst the A’s just lost 2-1. The 2nds pulled off a 2-0 win, and could have grabbed a few more goals, whilst the 3rds went down in the late game on Friday. The 1st XI took a while to settle down and only some outstanding goalkeeping from Jonathan Shamwana kept the Queen’s strikers at bay. Once the side had settled down they played with more confidence and two well-taken goals saw the team control the rest of the game to end up 2-0 winners. This represented a good afternoon for the Hockey Club in a notoriously difficult away fixture.

Saturday, although fresh early on, turned out to be a beautiful day in Queenstown and this made for some exciting running rugby. The age-group teams competed

Cross Country

K-Day Squash

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well with the U14A’s going down 19-7 in a well contested game against much bigger opposition, whilst the B side managed a very tight 19-14 win and the C’s went down in the last few minutes of the game 27-21. The U15A’s and B’s recorded good wins, 26-22 and 15-12 respectively after having lost this fixture at home last year, whilst the C’s were a little outgunned. The U16A’s were disappointed to go down 31-24 to a big, strong outfit with whom they really competed. The B’s and C’s both enjoyed convincing wins. Once again the Open sides played some fantastic rugby and really reinforced the current depth in the Club. The 2nds through to 5ths all recorded dominant wins and scored some scintillating tries. The Club upheld its proud record on The Rec in recent years when the 1st XV again produced an outstanding first half to blow the Queen’s outfit away. Some very slick handling and good finishing saw the half-time scoreline at 27-3. A somewhat disrupted second half saw the College boys struggling to get the same continuity going and they were frustrated not to score more that the two tries that they got. A consolation try by Queen’s saw the final whistle sound at 39-10.

The week of K-Day has finally arrived! There is no doubt that K-Day has an extraordinary effect on all the boys and girls from our schools. It has attained legendary status over the years and is the focal point of many peoples’ calendars. What is it about this week that is so special? Well, it is hard to put it down to any one thing. It is a reality that many old boys and old girls of our schools make a special effort to come to Grahamstown / Makhanda to be a part of the K-Day festivities. It is also a reality that most all those parents that can arrange to be in town over this week, are! This, along with the fact that hundreds of boys and girls from our six schools are engaged in a healthy cross section of sporting and cultural activities during the week, makes for something that is pretty unique to witness and to be a part of. The excitement over K-Day has been building for some time now as war cry

practices become more frequent and the boys start talking about the fixture with great anticipation. For me it is this wonderful spirit of excitement, the keen but respectful rivalry that prevails, the sight of hundreds of youngsters doing what they love to do, whilst their parents and family are able to be a part of it all, that makes K-Day so special. There are not many places in the world where this sort of gathering still takes place and we must celebrate it and look after what we have. I hope that all those involved in K-Day 2019 will go away with fond memories, new friendships and new stories to tell. I would like to congratulate Kingswood College on their 125th year and hope that our two schools will continue to enjoy a healthy, respectful relationship long into the future.

Monday evening saw an extraordinary atmosphere prevail in the Kingswood College Squash Complex. A good crowd witnessed the College and DSG 1st teams take on their Kingswood counterparts. The happy, noisy atmosphere was punctuated with spontaneous applause when good play resulted in a point for either side. Although the College boys fought hard against their more accomplished Kingswood opponents, with some close matches, Kingswood finally prevailed 6-0.

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The College hockey teams made the best of the wintry conditions that came in behind a cold front on Wednesday afternoon. There were games played throughout the afternoon on the three astros in Grahamstown with College enjoying success in all the games, barring one draw and a narrow 3-2 loss at U14B level. All the games were tightly-contested and this set-up the final game of the day with the 1st XI’s of Kingswood College and St Andrew’s College expected to have a titanic struggle. The large and vocal crowd braved the freezing conditions to give support to their respective teams and they were richly entertained with the game flowing from end to end. It was Kingswood who had the better of the chances in the first quarter but they were held at bay by some solid defence and good goalkeeping. In the second quarter College managed to net from a good cross from left field, with the first time deflection by Nick Barlow finding the top of the net. Whilst College seemed in control of matters through the middle period of the match, the final quarter saw them survive some tense moments and a number of short corners. The match finished 1-0 and the College side breathed a sigh of relief before going over to acknowledge the support of the crowd. This wrapped up a good day for College teams who came away with 7 wins, a draw and a loss from the 9 matches played.

On Friday the College boys will take on their opposing Kingswood golfers at 12h30 on the Belmont Course. Whilst both teams will be familiar with the course it remains a really challenging lay-out that will test the skills of all concerned. A staff challenge over 9 holes will tee off at 15h00 on Friday. The traditional Old Andrean vs Old Kingswoodian rugby game will take place at 16h00 on Lower on Friday afternoon with the hockey game taking place at Webster Field at 16h30.

Saturday will see all the rugby taking place, with most of the College teams taking on their Kingswood counterparts and the balance of the teams playing against Mary Waters High School. The Games involving Kingswood will all be played at Kingswood College starting at 08h30, whilst the games against Mary Waters will be on Lower. There will no doubt be a huge crowd watching at City Lords by time the 1st XV run on at 15h45 accompanied by the lilt of the bag pipes. The pupils from the two schools will form a long tunnel for their respective teams to run through and this will kick-start what should be a very intriguing tussle between the first 1st XVs of our two schools. As always the hype around K-Day will ensure that the result will be up in the air until late on Saturday afternoon.

Kind regards

Pete AndrewDirector of Sport

I am sure that there will be many Old Boys and parents in town this weekend and I hope that you all have a wonderful time watching and following the sport. I hope that the boys from both of our schools will look back with great enjoyment at being part of this very special week of inter-school rivalry. I trust that the action on Friday and Saturday will be entered into with the same sense of enthusiasm and sportsmanship that we have seen throughout the week. Enjoy the occasion!

K-Day Programmehttps://www.sacschool.com/download/14240/

3rds

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1sts

2nds

U16A

U14A

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Congratulations to these College boys who have been selected for the Eastern Province U18 Craven Week: Basi Malesu, Chris Poole, Matt Hillary, Bame Malesu

Congratulations to these College boys who have been selected for the Eastern Province U18 Academy Week: Guy Rushmere, Buhle Matshaya, Busang Mmile, Sinjin Broad

Martin Wolmarans is currently competing in the Mare Nostrum Swim Series in Europe. This week he took part in the first event in Monaco, and then the second leg in Caneten-Roussillion in France. Martin is flying the College flag high as he competes against the best swimmers from across the world.

St Andrew’s College staff members, Eurico Marques and Laura de Lange finishing the Comrades Marathon, from Durban to Pietermaritzburg, on Sunday. Eurico finished in 10 hours 52 minutes and 50 seconds and Laura finished in 11:43:57.

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K-Day Programme:Scan the QR Code above or click on the link below for the K-Day Programme: https://www.sacschool.com/download/14240/