prep newsletter no 7 2011

8/6/2019 Prep Newsletter No 7 2011

1/36

1 July 2011

St Johns Preparatory SchoolSt Johns Preparatory SchoolHoughton

Tel: 011 645 3100/ 087 550473 Newsletter Number 7

01/07 Geography Assessment UIII & LIII

Hist/Geog/Science Assessments

LII - UII

Break up for Half Term

12/07 Rugby vs St Andrews (1st XV)

Squash vs St Andrews (U13A)

13/07 Hockey vs St Andrews (1st XI)

Rugby Matches vs Pridwin

15/07 Cross Country Meeting

16/07 Gaudy Day

18/07 Parents Information Evening: Music

19/07 Hair Inspection

Drama Show LII & UII

20/07 Rugby vs WHPS


21/07 Academic Assessment Meeting - No

Extra -Murals


22/07 UIII Market Day

Cross Country Meeting

27/07 Rugby Matches vs The Ridge

1st Team Rugby & Hockey Teams

Depart

29/07 Cross Country Meeting

Reports Go Home

Reminders from theDiary

From the Headmaster

St Johns College Shop

New opening times:

Monday & Thursday 7am to 3pm

Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 10am - 3pm

Im a great believer that any tool thatenhances communication has profound

effects in terms of how people can learn fromeach other, and how they can achieve the

kind of freedoms that theyre interested in.

Bill Gates

For this newsletter I would like to do somethinga little different. I have decided that instead ofwriting to you the parents, I would like to writean open letter, directed specifically to the boys.All I ask is that over the mid-term break you

make sure your son has a chance to read it

I will be in London for the International BoysSchools Coalition Conference during the weekafter the mid-term break. Margot Long andNicky Sulter will be presenting action researchpapers at the conference and I wish them all ofthe very best. Karen Maitland will also be therein preparation for her research paper in 2012,as will Brigitte Taylor who is accompanying her

husband, Warwick.

Patrick Lees

Last match of the season


2/36

Page 2 St Johns Preparatory School

1 July 2011

Dear Men of St Johns Prep

As you read this letter, I hope that you all are having a wonderful and relaxing time withyour family during this mid-term break. You may find it a bit strange that I am writing toyou, but far too often, as teachers and parents, we are too busy telling you to do thingsthat we dont think you are doing correctly, rather than talking to you about the things

that really matter.

So, in an effort to correct that, I would like you all to know how proud I am to be theHeadmaster of St Johns Prep and that it is 100% down and due to every single one ofyou being part of this school. You all play a major role in making it such a special place. I

also want you to know that for me it is not important that you get 80% in every subject, orpass your music exam with distinction, or play in any of the A Sports Teams. If you do,thats fantastic and you are to be congratulated. If you dont, remember what isimportant is that you give of your very best in everything you do - and enjoy it. Rememberthat no one can be good at everything and, probably more importantly, no one is good atnothing! Every single person has some special quality - that potential just needs to beuncovered. The challenge for you is to make sure you know what your strengths are andto keep striving towards the goals you have set foryourself. If you normally get 50% in asubject, strive towards a 60% mark; if you play in a C team, play with as much pride andskill as if you were playing for a national team; if you play a musical instrument, practice

twice as much and twice as hard; if you greet one person on your way into school, greet10 the possibilities are limitless.

My challenge to you is to read this letter and then to send me a reply email [email protected]. You can tell me anything: whether you are struggling withsomething; what your goals are going to be in the next term; what you love about StJohns or what you would like to see changed or introduced in the future; or simply howyour mid-term break is going and what you are doing. I promise to reply to every one ofyour emails when I get back and to answer your questions and hear your concerns. I

hope you have a fantastic and restful break Lux, Vita, Caritas!

Cheers.

Sir

(aka Mr Lees)

[email protected]

.


3/36


Parenting 101Effective parenting has never been more important to a familys success than today. Properparenting shapes the coming generations, and the way the next generation will behave,affecting the world around them. History has taught us that parenting without a properfoundation tends to lead to confusion for any developing child.

That is why the task of trying to be a successful parent is so important and will be the mostimportant job of our lives. Knowing what healthy methods are best for our child during theparenting process is time consuming, but well worth the effort.

Discipline

Probably the most important and controversial parenting skill is discipline. We parents areconflicted over what type of discipline to apply at what time. Appropriate discipline for a two

year-old might not be appropriate or effective for a ten year-old or a teenager. The mostimportant piece of the discipline puzzle is determining who is in charge: the parents or thechild. This may sound simple, but in this day and age, the answer isn't always clear.

The fear of hurting a child's feelings or crushing his or her spirit coerces many parents intoallowing their children to rule the roost. Children need firm boundaries that come from clearand consistent parental discipline. Whether the method is redirection, time-outs, loss ofprivileges, grounding, or extra chores, it is crucial that we embrace our role to train ourchildren to become moral, respectable adults.

I feel that it is important that there are consequences for a childs actions, be they positive ornegative. Consequences allow the child to know immediately if his action was correct or not.

EducationThe ability to recognize that we are always teaching our children is one very valuable parentingskill. From the moment our children are born, they are learning from us. They learn that if theycry, we respond. If they pull our hair, we say, "ouch!" If they throw their cup on the floor, we

pick it up. As time goes on, we also teach them to walk, talk, get dressed, and say their A-B-C's.

As parents, we also have the responsibility to teach our children morals and values. We cannotdepend solely on the school to fulfil this important duty but when I see a child unable to

manage a situation, or struggling to behave well, I cannot help but think that he should be ableto fall back on what his parents have taught him. There are occasions when I feel very sorry forsome children, as their misbehaviour is not entirely their own fault; rather they lack thenecessary guidance on what the right thing is to do.

In conclusion, I would like to see the school and parents work in partnership with each other tothe benefit of each boy in our care. We see your son as a unique individual, and we would liketo form and shape him as best we can, in order that he may make a significant contribution tohis community one day. "Train up a child in the way he should go: And when he is old, he willnot depart from it." Proverbs 22:6.Talk to your son and teach him today, tonight and tomor-row. And the day after that. Forever. Please do not hesitate to contact me. I do look forward to

meeting you!

Craig Verdal-Austin

Second Master011 645 3116


4/36

4CTea

10 June

U11A Soccer team were placed second at Wade

Foster Tournament

Ethan Chilvers Keir Mantzios

Dale Hallendorff Stefano Cavalieri

Michael Mackie Thamsanqa Mtizira-Nondo

Bradley Dunbar Travin Bouwer

Luca Allasio Brandon Vermeulen

Ciaran James Sean Jacobs


24 June

Outstanding English and Afrikaans Assessment

Mpilo Mseleku and Colin Kinghorn

Outstanding Afrikaans Assessment

Lodewijk Volkersz and Sahil Harryprasadh

Zulu Assessment

Thando Myeza Matthew RobinsonHlumelo Mtshali Jack Gnodde

Gahle Letele Reabetswe May

Brandon MacKenzie Oliver Kieser

Excellent English Results

Merlin Love

Spelling Bee

Michael Norman Alex Harding

Devlin Hugo Katleho RamosediHelping in the Library

Michael Norman Ayrton Griffin-Ellis

Aidan Bellingan


5/36


Chess Results

6th June

St Johns A vs Grayston

Seniors won 27 - 1

Juniors won 24 - 4

Overall won 51 - 5

Well done to the following boys who won both their games:

S Modi, M Berger, J Batzofin, E Baleni, O Kieser, B Thomas, T Grubb, D Harding,H Papageorgiou, D Lowu, L Pan, A Ionescu, N Moschides, S Gaffney, J West,

N Haripershad, B Milton, G Thompson and S Omand.

Inter-House Chess

Inter-house Chess, played on 20 June 2011 was very exciting. There was great housespirit and the boys took their games seriously. Thanks to the captains for organizing

their house teams.

Overall Results:

Tie 1st : Bousfield and Darragh with 30 points each 3rd : Carter 19 points

4th : Cullinan 17 points

St Johns B vs Roedean

Seniors won 23 - 9

Juniors won 23 - 5

Overall won 46 - 14

Karate

Christopher and Nicholas Ching took part in the KWFKaratenomichi South African Karate Championships heldon Saturday, 11 June 2011. Nicholas Ching won a goldmedal for advanced Kata, a silver medal for open Kata anda bronze for open Kumite. Christopher Ching won a silvermedal for open Kata. Well done, boys!

Joshua Vosloo won the South AfricanChampionships, held on Saturday, 11 June for Kumite. He will now go toJapan next year in May 2012, to compete

in the World Championships.

Well done, Joshua!


6/36


Mountain Biking

Kevin Frew rode the 4th leg of the provisional crosscountry mountain bike champs at Rietvlei on the 12th of June.

He came 2nd in his age group. Well done Kevin!

St Johns 1st XI took part in the St Benedict's Soccer Tournament on Friday 10th June

and Saturday, 11 June 2011. The team made it to the quarter-final, losing 1 - 0 to

KEPS who were the eventual winners.

Gino Sanchez and Nicholas Hallendorff were selected to be part of the tournament

team. Well done, boys!

Byron Ledlie has been chosen to play for the Under 13BGauteng Provincial team. He will be representing his

province at a Squash tournament to be held inPietermaritzburg, Kwa-Zulu Natal. Well done, Bryon!

Squash

The Southern Gauteng Hockey Tournament tookplace on 11th June. Well done to Murray Blair,Alex Bester, David Greeff and Timothy McKernan

who all took part. Well done, boys!

Soccer

Hockey


7/36


Inter-House Quiz

Senior results:

Bousfield 67.5

Darragh 52.5

Cullinan 50

Carter 42

Overall results:

4th: Carter 99

3rd: Darragh 106.5

2nd Cullinan 110

1st Bousfield 123.5

Junior results:

Cullinan 60

Carter 57

Bousfield 56

Darragh 54

Music

Alexander Whitehead, UIIH, has been invited to take part in the Samro Hubert Van DerSpuy National Music competition. The competition will take place in September. Well

done, Alexander!

Kian Rose, UID, has qualified to represent South Africa in the U.S. Kids Golf World

Championship. Well done, Kian!

Golf


8/36


Inter-House Soccer

Overall Results

1. Carter

2. Cullinan

3. Darragh

4. Bousfield


9/36


Polar Bear Swim

The Extreme Explorers programme requires the boys to complete a polar bear swim.

To this end, some exceptionally courageous boys braved the depths of Long Walk

pool at 06:55 on the 27th June.


10/36



11/36


EXTREME EXPLORERS: Upper III Solitaire Weekend at Kloofwaters

Eleven determined Upper III boys braved the early winter cold and travelled out toKloofwaters for a camping weekend and an opportunity for a second attempt to earn

their Solitaire Award for the Extreme Explorers Programme. This entails spending sixhours alone in the bush, from 14h00 until 20h00, with only your clothes, waterbottle, journal and one other item! The boys were stoical about the cold (even GrantFoley and Max and Gabriel Baard who thought it would be a good idea to wear shorts)and all of them made it through the six hours of solitude. When it got dark, AlexBrady perched on a rock, bravely wielding a big stick to fight off nocturnal marauders;Grant Foley moved into the burrow that he had created during the daylight hours;and the boys hunkered down until they were called.

The following morning, Steve and Smiley (Mike) from the Kloofwaters team took the

boys up to a nearby Kloof to do a big 35 metre abseil down into the Kloof, whichqualifies as the Adventure Activity Award for Extreme Explorers. All of the boyscompleted this, even those who were petrified. It was a great weekend, and special

thanks must go to the following:

Zach Muldoon and Gabriel Baard for their work in helping to arrange this trip. Kloofwaters for hosting us. The Bradys and Stuart Norman for assisting with transport.

The following boys took part and completed both Extreme Explorers Awards:

Zach Muldoon (organiser)Gabriel Baard (assistant organiser)Max BaardAlex BradyGrant FoleyThomas MattiuzzoGrant McDonaldMatthew NelsonMichael NormanAidan QuinnJames Vieyra

Brett Nicolson

Thomas Mattiuzzo Abseiling


12/36


Grant Foleys

Burrow

Grant McDonald whiling away the hours

Spot Zachs solitaire spot!


13/36


The Rock Climbing season is in full swing, with over 60 boys fromUII to UIII taking part in weekly climbing training sessions with

Mr Poco, Mr Nic and a group of coaches. They are learningclimbing techniques and safety skills, being challenged person-

ally, and having fun!

Congratulations to our captain and vice-captains for 2011:

Captain: Rhys Newton-Hill

Vice Captains: Matthew Nelson and Grant McDonald

Inter-School Climbing Competitions:

Twenty of the climbers have competed in two big inter-schools competitions atWonderWall Climbing Gym, facilitated by the participating schools in partnership with

the Gauteng Climbing League. Our boys have once again achieved outstanding results,

completely dominating the U13 Boys category 12 of the top 20 climbers were from St

Johns. The following boys have qualified to climb in the Gauteng Primary School Finals

on the 29th July:

NAME: INTER-SCHOOL RANKING:U13:

Matthew Robinson 1st!

Grant McDonald 3rd James Shelton 4thRhys Newton-Hill 6thMatthew Nelson 7th James Vieyra 13thChristopher Ching 14thMurray Blair 15thMax Baard 16thNeil Gultig 17thDavid Nolan 19thGabriel Baard 20th

U11:Alex Thiel 11thAntony Mason-Gordon 15th

Waterval Boven Rock Climbing Tour

Ten Prep climbers spent the June 16th long weekend camping and climbing at WatervalBoven, together with five climbers from The Ridge. Apart from being an incrediblybeautiful place, Boven boasts some of the best sport climbing in the country, and ourboys had a good taste of what it has to offer. They led and top-roped routes from grade

14 to grade 21, and up to heights of nearly 30 metres.

ROCK CLIMBING


14/36


The boys who took part were:

UIII:

Grant McDonaldMatthew NelsonRhys Newton-HillJames SheltonJames Vieyra

LIII:

Murray BlairChristopher ChingNeil GultigMatthew RobinsonSeth Streeter

Thanks to Bruno Poco, Ryan and Nadia Butterworth, Marcus van der Hoven, CharlesFourie, Richard Mitchell and Hylton Goodwin for helping run this weekend, as well as

to Megan Nelson and Lesley Hill for helping to arrange the catering.

Well done, climbers you were awesome!

Brett Nicolson


15/36


Lower II

The Lower II boys had to draw a man, based on use of directions. Eight cardinal points

were given to them. Here are the results:

By Ziyanda Manaway

By Janovin ScholtzBy Emin Yilmaz

By Nikhil Haripershad


16/36


By Matthew Appleyard By Jack Stewart

By Daniel Fowlis By Rhys Jurgens


17/36


Lower II

Simile Poems: An Autumnal Leaf

A smooth leaf

glides down

like a beautiful eagle

A powerful leaf

parachutes down

like a group of paratroops

A chocolaty leaf

melts down

like a peaceful drop of rain

By Thato Nthoroane

A silvery leaf

spinning down

like a spinning ballerinadancing on the stage

A colourful leaf

flying down

like a flying saucer in space

A star leaf

twirling down

like a frisby in the sky

By Bohlale Masala

A fragile leaf

floating down

like a star falling from the

night sky

A golden leaf

tumbling down like an eaglesoaring

A silvery leaft

fluttering down

like a space shuttle landing

on earth

By Wade Omisore


18/36


Lower II

The Lower IIs have been thinking about Similes

Here are a few they have written

My teacher, Mr Bornman, is as kind as a wise turtle. Huzaifah Masood

My teacher, Mrs Trolese, is as strict as a mad lion. Liam Fowlis

My teacher, Mrs Trolese, is as joyful as a singing bird. Jack Montgomery

My teacher, Mr Martins, is as fast as a cheetah chasing a zebra. Ntokozo Dlamini

My friend Juliet is as beautiful as a butterfly on a flower. Max Milella

Pretzels are as crunchy as feet stomping on bones. Oliver De Sousa

Pizza is as lovely as a girl. James Rumsey

Dark as a cow at night. Austin Karan

Dark as the back of the moon. Matthew Levendig

Happy as a school boy on holiday. Rian Sadler

Happy as a dog running without a leash. Tarun Gupta

Smart as a calculator. Alistair Verhoogt


19/36


Lower II

In Research Skills the Lower II boys have been exploring advertising. Here are someexamples of their own adverts for the Knights Theme.

By Caleb Buchel LIIV By Andrew Raney LIIV

By Milan Prioreschi LIIZ By Max Milella LIIT

By Jack Montgomery LIIT


20/36


isiZulu

In isiZulu this term the Lower II boys have been learning about animals. To describe

their animal they made a mask and gave a speech. Here they are showing off theanimal masks that they made.


21/36


Jock of the Bushveld Homegrown Animation

This is our very own Bushveld story in glorious, animated technicolour on the big

screen! Along with the Pre-prep and some Roedean girls, we were extremely privilegedto have Duncan McNellie, director of Jock, the animated version, speaking to us. Wewere shown a sneak preview of the movie and watched closely, the intricacies of theanimation process as well as how the music, including that of Johnny Clegg, wasselected to fit in with the story. The boys were fascinated by the way in which thevoices, including those of Bryan Adams and Helen Hunt, were added to the characters.Duncan regaled us with many tales of his experiences in Los Angeles rubbing shoulders

with the rich and famous.

Our Upper II boys have been reading Jock of the Bushveldand have created their own

comic strips of an event in the story. These were presented as a thank-you gift toDuncan. Inspired by these works of art, a competition for the best Jock graphic novelhas been initiated by the film-makers. http://www.jock-animation.com/

Judging from the audiences enthusiastic response to the talk, come the opening of thefilm on the local circuit on 29th July, there will certainly be many St Johns boys queu-

ing to watch it!


22/36


Upper II

Graphic novel pages inspired by the Upper II literature study of Jock of the Bushveldthis term.

By Thomas Deppe and Nicholas Lansdown


23/36

By Garyn Berry and Alexander Thiel


Upper II


24/36

By Brendan Thomas and Anthony Mason-Gordon


Upper II


25/36


26/36

By Bradley Dunbar, Samuel Shumba, Takudzwa Kudzurunga, Thendo Mudauand Michael Smith


Upper II


27/36

By Tristan Mattiuzzo, Michael Mackie, Ethan Roets and Andrew Ray


Upper II


28/36


29/36


Lower III Family History

My fathers family geographic history starts in Centre of Italy, in a green, mountainRegion called Abruzzo. My dads father, Gabriele Di Giacomo, was a bright young,multidisciplinary qualified Electrical Plants Engineer from The University of the

Sudies in Rome and from The Politecnico in Milan.

He had always desired to work overseas, particularly in Southern Africa, where theelectrical generation, transmission and distribution was still in its pioneer stage with

huge development potential.

After several power lines built successfully in Europe, my grand-father was appointed,by a well-known World Wide Company (SAE), as Executive Director for the Construction

of overhead transmission lines in Southern Africa.

In this position, from 1955 he established the activity in South Africa where he,between 1956 and 1960, was appointed the Chief Executive of the Rhodesian PowerLines (Pty) Ltd which (supported by the South African Company and SAE Italy)tendered successfully for the supply and construction of the transmission lines related

to the Electrical Kariba Project.

The High Voltage power lines scheme built from the Kariba Dam in Zimbabwe towards

South Africa included, between others, the Kariba-Karoi-Sinoia, Sinoia-Northon, SinoiaSalisbury (Harare), Northon-Salisbury (Harare), Northon-Bulawayo (approx. 2000 kms).

Lake Kariba extends about 280 km and the mighty Zambesi river took more than four years to fill the lake created by the Kariba Dam (where powerful hydroelectric

generating turbines produce ~ 1200 MW of electric power).

My dads parents were on the stage with the Queen Mother, who officially inaugurated

the first phase of works in May 1960.

My dad was born in Harare in 1958. From Zimbabwe my dads parents moved toAustralia (Sydney) and, after a few years, they moved to North Italy where my dad also

became an engineer, as his father.After their wedding, my parents moved to Johannesburg for good (!!!), where I was born

in 1999. By Claudio Giacomo LIIIF


30/36


Lower III


31/36


32/36


Notices


33/36


Notices


34/36


Notices


35/36

St Johns Preparatory SchoolPage 35

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 ZULU

LESSONS

Lower III and Upper III boys.

Every Thursday 13h45

Upper III Mrs Mashele

All Welcome

Hair Dee-Lite 082 462 6813/011 648 6367

Dee offers excellent work for the whole family,

competitive prices and the added

convenience of being on campus.

Modern cuts, colours (from R300) and hi-lites.

Kids R50

7 Elm Street (Opposite Rice Field)

Open Tuesday to Friday

08h00 - 17h00

Saturday 08h00 - 13h00

EXTRA MATHS

LESSONSLower III & Upper III boys in Mrs Jean Clarences

classroom

Every Thursday 13h45 All Welcome

Extra Math Lessons

Individual tuition offered

Mrs M Hauptfleisch

Call 011 442 1854

083 256 7714


36/36


When you thought I wasnt Looking

When you thought I wasn't looking,I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator,

and I wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking,I saw you feed a stray cat,

and I thought it was good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking,I saw you make my favourite cake for me,

and I knew that little things are special things.

When you thought I wasn't looking,I heard you say a prayer,

and I believed that there was a God to talk to.

When you thought I wasn't looking,I felt you kiss me goodnight,

and I felt loved.

When you thought I wasn't looking,

I saw tears come from your eyes,and I learned that sometimes things hurt,

but it's alright to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking,I saw that you cared,

and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn't looking,I looked....

and I wanted to say thanks for all the thingsI saw when you thought I wasn't looking.

prep newsletter no 7 2011

Documents