MORE TAL K │ EDITIO N 1 7 │ 31 MAY 2019

THOMAS MORE COLLEGE │ MORE TALK │ EDITION 1 7 │ 31 MAY 2019

WEEKLY SCRIPTURE

J o hn 1 4: 26 B ut t he Helper (Comforter, C o unse llo r , Strengthener) the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things. And He will help you r emember everything…

T he heav y w o r klo ad and stress of exam time, can leave one feeling overwhelmed and despondent. It almost seems as if there ar e n’ t eno ug h hour s i n the day to complete routine t as ks …and now the e v er - p r es ent demands of study ing ! H o w c an one break through the almost impossible when we are at our weakest?

We ar e e ncouraged by the words of Jesus, t o l ean into the One who is our Helper in time of need. I nstead of working it out on your o w n, w e can call on t he Holy Spirit – who is our c o mf o r t er , strengthener and counsellor . H e i s t her e to help you and to bring to remem b r anc e w h at has been taugh t…Trust Him as you face your greatest challenges.

Roberta Ramasamy [email protected]

GENERAL NEWS

Country Fair - Tombola Collection/Civvies Day Special thanks to all that have brought Tombola items i n today. This is always one of the busiest stalls on the day so we thank you for your contributions.

Country Fair - Raffle prizes needed If you know someone who would be willing to sponsor a prize, or donate items for the Country Fair Raffle - please chat to Ra e Griese l, or deliver items to the Great House for Rae ’s attention - please remember to leave your details/or email your business logo to appear on the raffle sheet.

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Thomas More College │ [email protected] │ www.thomasmore.co.za

MORE TAL K │ EDITIO N 1 7 │ 31 MAY 2019

MESSAGE FROM THE HIGH SCHOOL HEADMASTER fferen I am very pleased to inform you that we have secured the appointment of Miss Thabisile Mkhize as our new Head of History. Mis s Mkhiz e has spent the past 5 years at Curro Hillcrest establishing and running their histor y department. Her dynamism, creativity and deep appreciation of building critical awareness and rigour in her students makes her a wonderful appointment for our school. We l ook forward to welcoming her to Thomas More at the beginning of Term 4.

As our Grade 8 - 11 charges move into examination mode now, I encourage them to:

- maintain a healthy diet during the examination period;

- avoid relying on coffee and other caffeine -laden drinks to ma intain their energy;

- exercise a little bit daily to enhance their oxygen flow in their blood;

- undertake their studying in a well -lit and sufficiently -ventilated space.

I wish all of our children a calm, focused and disciplined fortnight ahead.

I want to thank all of our staff and children (and parents) who have so passionately committed their time and energy to the Term 2 extramural programme. W e will look to continue to build upon our successes in order to improve upon and enhance our offerings as we plan for 2020. We remain blessed to have so many of our educators committed to – and involved in – our programme. I thank and acknowledge them here for the time they afford over and above the incredib le energy they bring to our academic programme.

I wish you all a blessed weekend ahead. D ave Wiggett HS Headmaster [email protected]

NEWS FROM THE PRIMARY SCHOOL HEADMISTRESS

Once again our cultural department has shone. Well done to all those Grade 6 and 7 pupils who performed such a wide array of items at the Grade 6 and 7 Sunset Proms last night. It was inspirational to see how far many of the youngsters have come, their confidence and aptitude. It was also good to uncover some unknown abilities in this sphere. We appreciate once again the support of our pare nt body.

YES, WE CAN DO WELL IF WE ARE PREPARED! This applies to all of us, but especially now to our Grade 7 s (and H S pupils ) to whom we extend special good wishes as they started exams today.

General Exam Stress -Busting Tips:

 Believe in yourself. You wouldn't be in the grade if you didn't have the ability to do it. Therefore, if you prepare for the exams properly you should do fine, meaning that there is no need to worry excessively.

 Don't try to be perfect. It's great to succeed, but keep things in balance. If you t hink that " anything less than A+ means I've failed " then you are creating unnecessary stress for yourself. Aim to do your best but recognise that none of us can be perfect all o f the time.

 Take steps to overcome problems. If you find you don't understan d some of your work, getting stressed out won't help. Instead, address the problem directly by seeing your teacher or getting help from your class mates.

 Don't keep things bottled up. Confiding in someone you trust and who will be supportive is a great way of alleviating stress and worry.

 Keep things in perspective. The exams might seem like the most crucial thing right now, but in the grander scheme of your whole life they are only a smal l part .

Tips for the exam itself: 2

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MORE TAL K │ EDITIO N 1 7 │ 31 MAY 2019

 Avoid panic. It's natural to feel some exam nerves prior to starting the exam, but getting excessively nervous is counterproductive as you will not be able to think as clearly.

 The quickest and most effective way of eliminat ing feelings of stress and panic is to close your eyes and take several long, slow deep breaths. Breathing in this way calms your whole nervous system. Simultaneously you could give yourself some mental pep talk by mentally repeating, " I am calm and r elaxed " or , " I know I will do fine " .

 If your mind goes blank, don't panic! P anicking will just make it harder to recall information. Instead, focus on slow, deep breathing for about one minute. If you still can't remember the information, then move on to another question and return to this question later.

 After the exam don't spend endless time criticising yourself for where you think you went wrong. Often our own self-assessment is far too harsh. Congratulate yourself for the things you did right, l earn from the bits where you know you could have done better, and then move on.

W e trust this Saturday many of our SP parents of our first rugby team playing against Atholl Heights , which is the curtain raiser to the HS first team game against Treverton , will support not only our last match of the season here at TMC on Savory Field but that of our HS also.

God bless and all the best for the week ahead

B arbara Taljard PS Headmistress [email protected]

ACADEMIC, SPORT & CULTURE ACHIEVEMENTS

Please remember to submit your achievements to the cultural or sports HOD in your phase for inclusion in the weekly newsletter.

Weekly Achievers Sponsored by Roman’s Pizza (Kloof) . We encourage our families to please support Roman’s as a token of appreciation for all that they do for Thomas More College.

1B Davie Burger for his descriptive and entertaining sentences. Well done! 1R Jordan Wilson for his upbeat attitude and his readiness to give new challenges a go!! 1S Arhana Panday for her diligent approach towards her work as well as being a good team player during group tasks. 2D Njabulo Mbhele for his improved work ethic, self-control and task completion. 2K Kelly Browning for her continuous and consistent hard work in all learning areas and for her beautifully presented work. Well done my girl! 2R Joscelyn Hancock for her kind and gentle nature and the wonderfully neat and accurate work she produces every day. 3B Kade Fouche for his concerted effort with story writing, and his consistently good, hard -working attitude. 3M Katelyn Scott for always giving of her best and being a kind friend to others. 3V Nala Mcunu has shown great enthusiasm during Maths lessons and I am proud of her continued determination. Keep it up N ala! 4J T habani Mthethwa for his enthusiastic approach to school life. 4D Josh Pretorius for his continued hard work and effort in everything he does . 4C Soph ie Moffat for her beautiful manners and excellent work ethic. 5McG Nina Cotton for her excellent effort and always giving of her best. 5M Violet Mcgregor for her polite manners and hard work in class. 5V Cole Becker for his good manners and always trying to give of his best in the classroom. 6F Hemishen Pillay for his kind heart and for his improvement in test preparation. 3

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MORE TAL K │ EDITIO N 1 7 │ 31 MAY 2019

6L Brunton Bigalke for his determination and consistent effort. 6McC Luke Patterson for his improved work ethic, good manners and bubbly nature. 7J A lwande Mbonambi for his well -mannered and humble nature. 7C Ben Sumadraji for his consistent effort and excellent manners. 7M Jenna Worsnip for her consistent effort and delightful mann er. 7H Izabella Cahi for her positive approach to her school day.

Debating Congratulations to the Senior League Debating Team who has progressed to the quarterfinals of the league. Furthermore, Justin Keep has been selected as the non -travelling reserve for the KZN Provincial Debating Tournament. Well done, Justin.

Cyc ling - KZN Lap Challenge Liam Theunissen (pictured right) 2nd in sub -junior division Jordan Bold 2nd youth and 15th overall Mitchell Potgieter 6th overall in A Batch and also 2nd Junior for the KZN XCO#3f

K arate - A rn old Classic Congratulations to Lia m H ar ris - awarded a bronze (Ku mite) in the Junior Male 16 - 17, and Connor Harris, placin g 5 th (Kumite & K ata) at the Arnold Classic International Invitatio nal. Well done boys.

Connor also was selected for the Protea team where he competed in the AUSC Africa Zone 5 Championships in Nam ibia from 23 - 25 Ma y and placed 2 nd for Kata bringing home a silver medal. Well done Connor.

Biathlon / Triathlon Stella Reinecke completed the Modern Day Triathlon and Biathlon races in the U13 division. The Biathlon is s wimming and running and the triathlon running, swimming and shooting. She got gold in both events and will re present KZN at the SAs next month.

Action Cricket Congratulations to Josh Snyman on being selected for the U10 KZN Action Cricket Team.

SP Rugby vs A shton U10A - W on 50 - 45 U11 - Lost 39 - 7 2 nd Team - W on 1 2 - 5 1 st Team - W on 15 - 7

KZN Swimming Congratulations to Daniel Albertyn and Luke Riddle on being selected for the KZN Swimming team. Well done boys!

H S H ockey: 1st Girls XI Durban Girls College Lost : 0- 2 Girls -U 16A Reddam House Umhlanga W on : 4-0 Girls -U 14A Reddam House Umhlanga Lost : 0- 1 2nd Boys XI St Henry's Marist College Boys -U18A W on: 1 -0 Boys -U16B St Henry's Marist College Boys -U16A Lost: 0 - 2 Boys -U14B St Henry's Marist College Boys -U14A Draw : 0- 0 1st Boys XI Howick High School Lost : 1- 2 Boys -U16A Howick High School Draw : 0- 0 Boys -U14A Howick High School Draw : 1- 1 4

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MORE TAL K │ EDITIO N 1 7 │ 31 MAY 2019

1st Girls XI Maris Stella W on : 4-1 Girls -U 16A Maris Stella Lost : 0- 2 Girls -U 14A Maris Stella W on : 7-0 H S N etball : 1st Team St. Mary 's Lost : 7 - 47 2nd Team St. Mary 's Lost : 7 - 16 U16A St. Mary 's Lost : 10 - 2 4 U16B St. Mary 's W on : 6 - 5 U15A St. Mary 's W on : 18 - 12 U15B St. Mary 's Lost : 6 - 7 U14A St. Mary 's W on : 17 - 7 U14B St. Mary 's Lost : 7 - 11 1st Team Kloof High School Lost : 27 - 2 8 2nd Team Kloof High School Lost : 9 - 10 U16A Kloof High School Lost : 15 - 2 1 U16B Kloof High School Lost : 4 - 13 U15A Kloof High School W on : 24 - 7 U15B Kloof High School W on : 12 - 2 U14A Kloof High School W on : 26 - 16 U14B Kloof High School W on : 18 - 5 H S Rugby : 1st XV Howick High School W on : 24 - 20 U16A Howick High School Drew : 5 - 5 U15A Howick High School Lost : 10 - 2 4 H S Tennis : Boys -U18A Curro Hillcrest Lost : 8 - 20

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Thomas More College │ [email protected] │ www.thomasmore.co.za

MORE TAL K │ EDITIO N 1 7 │ 31 MAY 2019

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Thomas More College │ [email protected] │ www.thomasmore.co.za