MORE TAL K │ EDITION 15 │ 17 MAY 2019

MORE TALK │ EDITION 1 5 │ 17 MAY 2019

WEEKLY SCRIPTURE

With the world being in turmoil and with the uncertainty of our future, we tend to look at earthy solutions to our problems and concerns. However we have a Higher Hope and that is Christ Jesus who promises us that if we put our faith, trust and hope in Him, he will lighten our burden and ease our troubles. There is great comfort in knowing that we don’t have to travel through this life on our own and that Christ is there to renew our strength. He did not promise that this life would be eas y, but he did promise that he would be there for us.

I pray that this week has been a fruitful one for everyone and that it has touched the hearts of many.

Thanks to everyone who was involved during this week for their contribution in making it a such sp ecial time.

Cheryl Selley [email protected]

GENERAL NEWS

Parent & Student Portal Please note the links to the above-mentioned portals have changed; please refer to the quick links at the end of the newsletter fo r updated links.

Primary School Screen ings (new applicants for 2020) If friends/family were unable to attend the Open Days l ast term , please encourage them to contact Mrs Hartley who will gladly schedule a tour of the school and o f fer time to answer an y questions they may have. Grade 00 (21, 22 & 23 May) and Grade 1 - 7 (25 May). Please contact Juliet Hartley should you have any queries on 031 764 8640 or [email protected] .

H S Play - Ch icago H i gh School Edition Ticket bookings - please visit KARRI online Tuck Shop for ticket sales, or buy scanning the Zapper code on the newsletter banner . Tickets will not be issued, proof on KARRI, or by showing your Zapper purchase at the door will be taken as proof of payment when verifying against our database of ticket sales. 1

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

MORE TAL K │ EDITION 15 │ 17 MAY 2019

Parents’ Council - Gol f Day The Parents’ Council and the Golf Day Comm ittee wish to thank the golfers, sponso rs and prize donors for their support at their annual fundraising Golf Day hosted at Kloof Country Club on Friday 3 May.

PPA Pub Quiz Takes place on Friday 31 May - tables still available. Please book via the google form on the invitation email, which went out last week to parents.

E co -Schools Thomas More College was award ed International Green Flag Platinum 4 status at the KZN Eco -Schools prize giving held at uShaka Marine World on Saturday, 11 May. In addition to the Platinum 4 award, we were one of only 3 schools to receive a special award – Outstanding Platinum Eco -School. In addition to the high standard of many of our projects, a special mention was made of our upliftment of the underprivileged community (our Shea O’Connor initiative and for our extensive outreach programme) in the citation. E co -Schools is an internat ional initiative active in 51 000 schools across 67 countries. In , the programme is administered by WESSA, which aims to have 1500 schools involved in the programme by the end of the year. The programme encourages young people to engage in the ir environment by allowing them the opportunity to protect it act ively . It starts in the classroom where it expands to the school and eventually fosters change in the community at large. The progra mme involves young people tackling various environmentally -themed projects which ultimately leads them towards certification and the prestige which comes with being awarded International Green Flag status. The awards run through blocks with major awards at the end of the third, fifth and tenth year of each decade . In order to achieve Platinum 4 status (ninth year) we were required to continue with 5 previous themes, tackle a new theme and assist another sch ool in their environmental projects. Our themes covered in 2018 included:  Community & Heritage: Learning abo ut how individual and collective action can contribute positively to national and global citizenship;  Health & Wellbeing: Learning about healthy living (both physical and spiritual) as a vital part of happiness and a successful li fe ;  Biodiversity & Nature: To introduce learners to the natural environment and biodiversity in a practical way by enabling hands -on activities through effective projects that support classroom -based learning;  Waste: The impact of waste on the environment and actions to minimise th e amount of waste produced and disposed daily;  School Grounds: Learning about and understanding life on the school grounds - and beyond - and finding ways to appreciate and promote the value of biodiversity and nature in our lives;  Marine & Coast: Learning about coastal & marine habitats, how people affect them, and what to do to protect them.

This year we aim to achieve Diamond Decade status, after which schools, which are in their eleventh year, can either focus wi th fresh eyes on their original Bronze p roject or start a new project that focuses on one of the different themes that they have not covered yet.

Mr Gary Robson

MESSAGE FROM THE HIGH SCHOOL HEADMASTER fferen F rom darkness, light A rcs our preciously crafted I ndividuality That we may know H e knows and loves us, uniquely .

H e cradles gently O ur hopes and fears, P resent in our E very breath.

L et us not fret O ur differences, for we are bound in V ictory – his Love – D ave Wiggett E ternally. HS Headmaster dwiggett@thomasmor e.co.z a

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

MORE TAL K │ EDITION 15 │ 17 MAY 2019

NEWS FROM THE PRIMARY SCHOOL HEADMISTRESS

This past week has been a wonderfully exciting spiritual week with our Christian Arts Festival. All of our assemblies, whether combined as a whole school or in our separate phases, have been meaningful and have been supportive of our ethos and what we stand for as a school. Thank you too to our marimba groups who played and choirs who sang on Thursday evening at the Bonfire evening to give praise to our awesome Father God. It was encouraging to have parent and family support for this event a s well as for the Lisa Comrie talk on Tuesday night.

Thank you too for the phenomenal support for our winter woollies/ good used clothing Civvies day yesterday. The Pop - Up Store is a wonderful way of enabling disadvantaged folk to “buy” something used the y would like, at no cost to them, but still affording them the dignity of choice.

We also appreciated the support for the Primary Inter -schools’ Cross country this afternoon. Thank you for your support for this and for bearing with any traffic issues rela ted. The weather was kind and the course was both challenging and enjoyable. Well done to all our competitors and a huge thank you to our staff across both the Foundation Phase and the Senior Primary for all their support.

I have also been thrilled at how many of our youngsters have made it through to the various representative trials (PADSSA/ KwaNdengezi Ward, Pinetown and District trials etc.). Very well done to those pupils who have been selected and to their coaches! We have even had two South African r epresentatives, for tennis and dancing.

The activities of this past week to ten days, including our awesome Rhythms of Africa, outstanding KZN Youth Orchestra evenin g with combined performances, through our sport and Christian Arts Festival, have been trul y reflective of our holistic approach to education and have made me proud and happy once again to be a part of this great school. We are truly blessed to be working in an inspi red environment where the individual matters and does not have to conform to bei ng a “typical TMC” pupil. Our uniqueness is celebrated and we are all special and have talents, however diverse, developing tomorrow’s leaders today. Thank you to our teachers for the special role you play in encouraging our young people to be the best tha t they can be and for working with them closely whether in the classroom, culturally or at sport. We are blessed to have staff who put our pupils before themselves and nurture them selflessly.

I do hope that many of our Grade 6 and 7 pupils will be auditio ning next week at break time for the Grade 6 and 7 Sunset Proms on 30 May as we look forward to celebrating their unique talents and skills and rejoicing in their varied accomplishments. We also have our Culture Alive assembly next Tuesday 21 May at 07:30 to 08:00 in the Hall, where the majority of the solo items will be by our Grade 4 and 5 pupils.

We also look forward to supporting our High School musical edition of “Chicago”, next week and to see how many past primary s chool pupils have continued to flou rish on the cultural front.

We will be screening prospective pupils for placement in 2020 next Saturday morning at school, starting at 08:00. Should you have any friends or family considering TMC, please encourage them to make application so as to be inclu ded in the screenings on Saturday 25 May.

Wishing you 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 cul tural 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.

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

MORE TAL K │ EDITION 15 │ 17 MAY 2019

1B Jamie Croucamp for the wonderful improvement in her handwriting and work pace. Well done! 1R Andrew Scott for being so brave during his operation and for trying his best even though he has not felt well! Michaela Ann Lamb for showing kindness towards her peers and for adopting a diligent approach towards her work. Well done, 1S m y g ir l! 2D Demi Peixoto for such beautiful neat work and being a special little helper in the classroom. 2K Troy de Wit for presenting his Show and Tell with confidence and explaining it with clarity. Well done Troy! 2R Blake Smith for being incredibly kind and helpful to our new pupil and for enthusiasm in all he does. 3B Khwezi Hlela for his friendly and kind nature, his focused efforts in all that he does and for his willingness to help others. 3M Siyambulela Madubela for always working hard and having exemplary manners. Matthew Naicker for his excellent progress in Mental Maths. He shows great enthusiasm during our lessons and is a good 3V example to his class. 4J A ston Grace for his consistent, good work in Maths. 4D Kayla Perry for always trying her best. 4C Caitlyn Innes for trying so hard in all that she does. 5McG Liam Lötter for improved effort and positive attitude. 5M Connor du Plessis for his happy friendly nature and for his positive approach to his day. 5V Mishael Singh for his kind, helpful nature and for always trying to give of his best. 6F Liam O’Loughlin for his participation in the KZN Youth Orchestra and the TMC event. 6L Kirsten Moffat for her excellent work ethic and friendly nature. 6McC Leah Chetty for her excellent work ethic and determination. 7J Nicci Steyn for her enthusiasm and caring nature. 7CH Taya Brien for her perseverance in overcoming her obstacles, well done. 7M Lucy Lee for her infectious smile and constant pleasant demeanor. 7C Edge Foster for his good manners and consistent effort.

E questrian We had 5 learn ers representing Thomas More College at the SANESA Core League show at Durban Sho ngweni Club this past weekend; their results were as follows: Dressage Level 2: N aomi 7 th Equitation Level 1: E mily 9 th with a score of 26 Equitation Level 2: N aomi 5 th with a score of 31 Show Jumping Level 2: N aomi 12 th and 13 th in classes of 22 and 23 respectively Working Hunter Leve l 1 : Naomi placed 2 nd Rachel Easson: 3 rd Dressage, 10 th E quitation , 3 rd Prix Caprilli, 3 rd Working Rider Hayley Thomas: 5 th & 7 th Dressage, 1 st Equitation, Arabella Balidis: 1 st Working Rider, 2 nd Performance Rider, 7 th & 8 th Dressage

Equestrian Resul ts: Q3 at Buffelsbosch Hayley Thomas: 6 th and 2 nd in Dressage, 2 nd Equitation, 10th & 8 th in Showjumping Arabella Balidis: 2 nd & 2 nd in Dressage, 2 nd in Working Rider , 1 st and 1 st in Prix caprilli , 1 st in Performance riding Well done to all our riders who competed in both events.

Pinetown & Districts Rugby trials Due to injuries and boys being unavailable, some of our boys have been selected into the district side to represent P&D Rugby at this weekend’s Sharks Trials / Midlands Festival f rom 16 – 18 May at Maritzburg College ; w e wish them the best of luck: Thando MngomeZulu (U13B) Tahyesh Naicker (U12) The following boys were selected previously: Phila Nkosi (U13B) - however has be en replaced due to con cussion Alwande Mbonambe (U13A) Lindo Ndokweni (U1 3B)

SP Rugby vs Kloof U10A won 30 - 5 U11A lost 5 - 0 4

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

MORE TAL K │ EDITION 15 │ 17 MAY 2019

3rds lost 25 - 5 2nds lost 14 - 0 1sts lost 19 - 5

Girls’ District Soccer Congratulations to the following girls for making the U13 District Soccer team: Ashley Serfontein Taylor Cheary Lucy Lee J em ma Ramlakan

Op en-Water Diving Congratulations to Karl Wilhelm, (Grade 7) , who completed his PA DI Open Water Diving course last weekend . Well done Karl.

HS Boys’ Hockey 1st XI Reddam House Umhlanga W on : 4-2 2nd XI Reddam House Umhlanga W on : 7-0 U16A Reddam House Umhlanga Draw : 1- 1 U16B Reddam House Umhlanga Draw : 2- 2 U14A Reddam House Umhlanga Lost : 1- 2 1st XI Draw : 1- 1 2nd XI Curro Hillcrest Draw : 0- 0 U16A Kloof High School W on : 5-0 U16B Curro Hillcrest Lost : 0- 5 U14A Kloof High School Draw : 1- 1

HS Girls’ Hockey 1st XI Crawford College La Lucia Lost : 1- 3 U16A Crawford College La Lucia Lost : 1- 6 U16B Crawford College La Lucia W on : 3-0 U14A Crawford College La Lucia W on : 3-0

Spar HS Girls’ Hockey Tournament 1st XI Curro Hillcrest Draw : 0- 0 1st XI Westville Girls High Draw : 0- 0 1st XI Hillcrest High School Draw : 0- 0 1st XI Kloof High School Draw : 1- 1 1st XI St. Mary 's Lost : 1- 3

H S Rugby 1st XV Curro Hillcrest Lost : 22 - 2 8 U15A Curro Hillcrest Lost : 5 - 31

H S N etball 1st Team Westville GHS W on : 22 - 16 2nd Team Westville GHS Lost : 3 - 17 U16A Westville GHS Lost : 12 - 2 9 U16B Westville GHS Lost : 5 - 26 U15A Westville GHS W on : 26 - 5 U15B Westville GHS Lost : 9 - 20 U14A Westville GHS Lost : 4 - 19 5

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

MORE TAL K │ EDITION 15 │ 17 MAY 2019

U14B Westville GHS Lost : 6 - 10

QUICK LINKS / WHATS ON

Academic Calendars

Sporting / Cultural Calendars

Please note, the HS and SP share he SOCS programme for sporting fixtures & results, please ensure you check the age groups so as not to confuse the different phase fixtures. Portals

PARENT STUDENT

ALUMNI STAFF

D 6 S ch o o l Communicator

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