COLLEGE NEWS

No 12 www.bridgehouse.org.za 11 May 2018 ______

Allan Gray Entrepreneurship Challenge Prize

During the holidays, Bridge House prizewinners Tim Vermeulen (far left) and Bocasho Braaf (third from left), who came 2nd and 3rd in the Allan Gray Entrepreneurship Challenge 2017, were treated to their magnificent prize. Tim wrote the following report: Twenty four hours hours of flying is no fun. No amount of movies can make up for it, but our destination, the famous Silicon Valley home to inventors of anything and everything awesome, made it all worthwhile! This was the reward for the top three high school learners in the country in the Allan Gray Entrepreneurship Challenge 2017, an all expenses paid trip to the hub of innovation and entrepreneurs.

Freebies and infinite refills were everywhere we went in San Francisco. The freebies meant I came back with a new wardrobe, including a hat! There was free pizza to fill ourselves with, at just about every event, not two or three boxes but at least twenty or thirty boxes! And, Allan Gray generously gave us pocket-money for all our shopping.

We barely had time to sleep as we chased from one amazing event to the next, to learn more about: the latest block-chain technology; A.I.; how virtual and augmented reality are applied in the operating theatre and to network with entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. We were shown an amazing world of progress and new types of internet that had been created. Trains that could change an eight- hour commute to a one-hour commute using a vacuum and extremely powerful magnets.

The trip to the Stanford Virtual Reality labs was amazing, the VR was so immersive that the floor even vibrated to make it feel more realistic. I was flying (no wings) between high rise buildings.

The place that excited me the most was Draper University, a university for aspiring entrepreneurs, founded by venture capitalist, Tim Draper. I am inspired to try and get in there one day as it gives entrepreneurs all the resources they need to help launch a successful company.

Some of the other attractions we visited were: Golden Gate bridge; the Intel museum and Muir woods. We were treated to a test-drive in the incredible Tesla – most of which was driverless.

We saw awesome robots and I really enjoyed being able to interact with their varying degrees of intelligence, all except for one, named Pepper. She is a humanoid robot that can read emotions and remember faces. You could talk to her like you talk to Siri. Sometimes, she would initiate conversations. People were asking her for hugs and she stretched her arms out and embraced them, so I thought I would ask. “Pepper, can I have a hug?” “No”, was the reply Since then I have been seeing a therapist.

We would like to thank Anthony Selley and Allan Gray for making this awesome trip possible, it truly was an experience of a lifetime.

The 2018 competition starts in August and I would highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in business. Apart from broadening your knowledge and improving your entrepreneurship skill, you too could reap these rewards. It has given us several life-changing opportunities.

Here is a link to our itinerary https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-mJEDEidPq-qXI3h-BcBc_pfv_Ywnvsq-h0Iv9fPXHo

Allan Gray video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GAcDQbvbOLc&feature=youtu.be

Matric Dance 2018

The staff and Grade 11 Moms worked so hard with so much creativity to transform the theatre into a typical Havana scene. Even the weather played along for this hot, sultry night of the Matric Dance 2018.

The Matrics arrived in all manner of transport for their special evening, including a huge digger/loader (below).

You can view an album of the latest available Matric Dance photographs, taken by the official photographer Nicholas Santrucek, on the school Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Bridg eHouseSchl/

West Side Story

Two weeks ago, the Grade 8 Musical Theatre Elective group and Grade 9 Music pupils went to see the musical, West Side Story, at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town. Based on one of the most famous love stories of all time (Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet), West Side Story tells the heart- breaking, short-lived love story of two young and idealistic lovers in New York’s Upper West Side in the late 1950s. The lovers, Tony and Maria, get caught in the conflict between two rival street gangs, the Jets and the Sharks. It was a privilege being able to attend such an utterly amazing performance and we thank the Music Department for organising it for the pupils.

Parents’ Forum Thank you to the Parents’ Forum for organising the enlightening talk by Megan Harrington-Johnson (HJW Attorneys and Safe School) for both parents and Grades 7 to 12 pupils, on bullying and its legal ramifications.

From the ESU On 17 April, College pupils were privileged to be addressed by Margot Keys. Margot is a recovering addict, an amputee and a single parent of 2 sons who shares her life story openly and honestly with pupils across the country. Margot grew up in Camps Bay and during her school career achieved provincial colours in 6 sports and national ranking in two of those. She started experimenting with drugs while still at school; first marijuana and eventually moving onto other drugs. Margot talked about how destructive and addictive drugs can be, and explained how her own drug and alcohol abuse almost destroyed her life. Her aim is to highlight the risk involved in substance use and abuse to as many teenagers and families as possible. After the presentation, the pupils were given a chance to engage with Margot and ask questions about her experiences and the information she had shared.

Note: The School’s Educational Support Unit (ESU) have invited Margot to share her experiences and knowledge with parents, too. Please do keep an eye out for this upcoming presentation for parents, where Margot will share not only her personal story, but also discuss issues such as the importance of boundaries, action and consequences, consistency, pocket money, curfews, parties, sleepovers, communication, love and trust, parties, alcohol, drug testing and peer pressure. Mrs Donna du Plooy

Advanced Programme Mathematics Conference

Eighty four Maths educators from forty two institutions in Gauteng, KZN and the spent the day at Bridge House last week for an Advanced Programme Mathematics Workshop organised by our Head of Maths, Stephan Willers. The presenters came from all over the country, including University.

Aladdin rehearsals are in full swing and bookings are open. Don’t miss out on this magical journey, buy your tickets as soon as possible from College Reception. Tickets for evening performances cost R100. There are limited tickets at R250 per person for the Gala Dinner. Performances begin at 19h00.

Bridge House Alumni Congratulations go to Robert Moerman (Matric 2011) son of Maths teacher, Mrs Marcia Moerman, who has been awarded a full scholarship from Trinity College Cambridge University. He will be doing a MASt in Applied Mathematics. The MASt (master of advanced studies) programme is a nine-month long course work masters degree. He starts in October. Robert follows in the footsteps of another Cambridge student, Timo Smuts (Matric 2005), who graduates with an MBA from Cambridge University in July this year.

Recently we received this very nice letter below from Henkie Smook (Matric 2005)

“I wanted to inform you of my career development. I chose to go to Bridge House in Grade 10 to become an artist. At Bridge House under Mr Fuller’s tuition, I developed my love for drawing and went on to study visual communication design and ended up graduating with an Honours in Visual Communication Design. I also did a Photography Course at SIPS and internet marketing at UCT. I worked for an agency, Digital Drawing Room, where I worked with various brands such as Jade Hubner (the Top Billing presenter), Cancercare and others. I also designed a logo for an aeroplane ,Ska SA aircraft leasing.

At the beginning of 2017, I opened my own business and have been working on 25 different brands, building some from scratch. My website is www.digitalbrother.co.za.

I see all the new talent coming from the Bridge Houe Art Room and it looks great. All the best Henkie Smook

In other news, Bridge House past pupil Nic Stevens (Matric 2011), recently spent two nights out at sea searching for lost fishermen. This is a regular occurrence because he selflessly dedicates a lot of his spare time to sea rescue working with the NSRI. He has trained hard in the different skills required and has helped save many lives .

Christian Landau (pilot) and Kurt Maske (paramedic), both from the Matric Class of 2009, are working together transporting critically ill patients on Air Mercy Flights.

PARENTS PLEASE SAVE THE DATE – FRIDAY 1 JUNE Open Day - GET Curriculum presentation and displays

We are embarking on an Open Day in the College on 1 June and would like to invite all interested parents to join one of the two talks on our new GET curriculum at 13.30 or 15h00 in the theatre. An exhibition of the work carried out in all the Electives and Core subjects in 2018 will be available in the Learning Commons after the presentations for parents and pupils to see first-hand what the various subjects entail.

Orgari/ Bridge House Ubuntu Auction The second half of this term is an extremely busy one and this has had an effect on parents being able to book tickets for the cultural evening and auction that has been planned to raise funds for the Bridge House Bursary Fund. To make life a little easier and to encourage as many people as possible to attend, we have taken the decision to postpone the event until Friday 17 August.

To honour the legacy of Nelson Mandela in his centenary year, Origari and Bridge House will combine our efforts on 17 August 2018 at Le Bon Vivant Restaurant to hold an auction of ceramic and life-size rhinos to raise funds for the Bridge House Bursary Fund. The ceramic rhino and elephants are similar to those in the Bridge House College Reception and in Origari by HS showroom, The Ivy, Kruger Street, Franschhoek. They will be hand decorated by Bridge House art students and auctioned off at a gala event at a Le Date: 17 August Bon Vivant restaurant.

A larger, life-size rhino decorated by Grade 8 and 9 students and another large baby rhino decorated by the Prep Art pupils (thank you, Nicky!) will also be auctioned.

Music will be presented by the Bridge House Music Department.

Entrance tickets, R350, will cover wine, canapes (from Le Bon Vivant) and a gift from Origari.

The basic idea would be that people will arrive at Le Bon Vivant to be greeted by a smiley face, a present, a drink and a canape or two while music is playing in the back ground. People can then wander around and look at the rhinos and elephants and decide which they are going home with.

At a given point, the music will take centre stage, after which a couple of very short speeches will be made (Amy Kleinhans and Aphiwe Mwezeni) and then the auction (with Doug Gurr) will proceed.

We are obviously hoping to raise a substantial sum of money and there is nothing to prevent a group of people joining forces to bid for one of the two larger rhinos to present to the school. Mr Dave Fuller

This rhino, decorated by Grade 8s, is going to be a masterpiece! You can own one of these or smaller versions of the Orgari by HS artworks decorated by our art students, if you attend the auction taking place on 17 August. The proceeds are going to a very worthwhile cause, the Bridge House Bursary Fund. Tickets from Bridge House College Reception or Orgari in Franschhoek. #orgaribyhs

These are some of the smaller pieces which have been decorated by our pupils and which will be available at the auction.

Bridge House Board Congratulations to Independent Directors, Susan Huxter and Lynn Campbell who were reelected to the Board at the Bridge House AGM on 23 April, and congratulations to parents, Tarryn Burton and Marc Kent who were elected as Directors.

Dogs For the safety of all on the campus, parents and visitors are requested to ensure that any dogs brought on to the campus are kept on a leash at all times.

Ramadan Mubarak Ramadan Mubarak for next week as Ramadan starts, to all our Muslim families.

60 Minutes with the Heads – Monday 11 June

In the interests of good and improving communication between school and parents, Mike Russell and Marc Barrow, Heads of the College and Prep respectively, will host the termly 60 Minutes with the Heads meeting, on Monday 11 June in the Learning Commons from 08h00 to 09h00.

In order to help the Heads prepare properly for this, please e-mail any questions or concerns (of a general nature) you may have, to [email protected] by or on Friday 1 June. The PA has kindly offered to bundle these into a folder and forward them to the Heads, who will then prepare responses to the matters raised, and e-mail out the agenda. Parents interested in these agenda items will be welcome to come along and participate in the conversation.

Please note that any issues mailed to PA@bridgehouse after that closing date will not be on the agenda for this meeting, and will either be replied to in the interim, or carried over to the next 60 Minutes in the third term.

The rules for 60 Minutes are simple:

 it's a constructive and collaborative initiative;  matters raised and mailed through need to be of a general nature;  if deemed a better option to do so, the Heads can respond directly by e-mail to any issues before the meeting;  there will be honest and frank responses and discussion around the topics on the agenda;  questions from the floor need to be only about the agenda issues: no "surprises" and no "general" please!  giving the Heads some preparation time is simply so that if figures and data are required for an answer, or if someone else's expertise is needed, there is an opportunity to gather this and give full answers (and perhaps put it into a presentation of sorts);  time: strictly 60 minutes for the forum, so that it's short and sharp and those attending can plan their morning. Mr Mike Russell

Sports Update

HOCKEY PROVINCIAL REPRESENTATION Our heartiest congratulations to the following boys who have been selected for Boland teams to participate in inter-provincial tournaments during the July holidays. Congratulations to Mr Cheslyn Andrews (Manager U18A team) and Mr Anwell Botha (Manager U18B team).

Left to right: Liam Daniels (Boland U14 regional team); Robin Brewer (Boland U18A); Thomas Pretorius (Boland U18A); Migael Adams (Boland U16A). OAKHILL HOCKEY TOUR

The boys and girls 1st hockey teams participated in the Oakhill Hockey Festival in Knysna from Thursday 26 April 2018 to Sunday 29 April. Both teams played five matches. The boys won their matches vs Wynberg Boys High School, Pearson High School and Southdowns College and lost to St David’s Marist Inanda and Hudson Park High School. The girls won their match vs Bergvliet High School and lost to Wynberg Girls High School, Oakhill, Southdowns College and Hudson Park High School.

Both teams showed plenty of grit and determination in all their matches and look forward to the hockey season that lies ahead.

Grateful thanks to Mr Andrew Jones, Mrs Colleen de Villiers, Mr Jacques le Roux, Mr David Sutcliffe and Mr Tom Lawrie for accompanying the teams and to Mr Rheinhardt van Schoor and Mr Patrick Swarts (JDJ Davids Transport) for the safe driving.

HOCKEY VS HTS DROSDTY (home) Boys U14 won 1-0 Boys U16 won 1-0 Boys 1st X1 won 2-0 Girls U16B drew 1-1 Girls U16A lost 0-2 Girls 1st X1 won 2-0

HOCKEY GIRLS VS PAARL GYMNASIUM FRIDAY 4 MAY (home) BH U16B vs Paarl Gym U14B lost 0-9 BH U16A vs Paarl Gym U16C drew 1-1 BH U19A vs Paarl Gym U19C won 4-0

HOCKEY BOYS VS PAREL VALLEI SATURDAY 5 MAY (away) BH U16B vs PV U14A lost 0-2 BH U16A vs PV U16A lost 1-6

NETBALL RESULTS Matches vs Paarl GHS Wednesday 25 April 2017 (away) BH U14A vs GHS U14C lost 9-27 BH U14B vs GHS U14D lost 0-34 BH U16A vs GHS U16C won 20-15 BH U16B vs GHS U16D lost 2-25 BH U19A vs GHS U19C lost 13-26 BH U19B vs GHS U19D lost 1-25

Matches vs Paarl Gymnasium Wednesday 2 May (home) BHU14A vs GYM U14C lost 4-32 BH U16A vs GYN U16C lost 11-19 BH U19A vs GYM U19C lost 15-19

Congratulations to Caitlin Taylor who represented the Central Cape Winelands team that participated in the Cape Winelands trials on Friday 4 May in Paarl. She has been selected to go through to the next round of trials on Saturday 12 May in Paarl. We wish her all the best for this event.

SOCCER RESULTS Matches Saturday 21 April vs Paul Roos Gymnasium (away) U15 lost 0-2 U17 lost 2-4 Matches Wednesday 9 May vs Paul Roos Gymnasium (home) U15 lost 2-5 U17 drew 0 -0 1st team lost 0-1

EQUESTRIAN Well done to the SANESA riders for their performances in the SANESA third Qualifier held in Stellenbosch last weekend. There were some great results with Zoë Boyd, Isabella Pampe and Tatum Killops demonstrating huge improvement in their riding. There was some super show jumping this time with Renate Blümers, Nicole Stubbs and Erin Turner showing great form.

A special congratulations to Shannon Lindhorst who has been selected as one of four riders from throughout to represent the Pony Club of South Africa in Zimbabwe during July 2018. Well done, Shannon, we are extremely proud of you.

CYCLING Tyler Lange (left in the photo) raced a WP Criterium race in Ottery two weeks ago. The race was 30 minutes of high-speed lap racing, referred to as Criterium racing. Although Tyler is only 14 years-old, he unfortunately has to compete in the U17 and U19 categories as he turned 14 in December last year. Well done, Tyler. WP Criterium U17: 2nd place WP Criterium U19: 3rd place

BALLROOM DANCING Congratulations to Hannah Robichon who competed in the Winelands Grand Slam Ballroom Dancing Competition on Saturday 21 April 2018. Swing 1st Salsa 2nd Foxtrot 2nd Jazz 1st International Rumba 1st Box Rumba 1st Hustle 3rd Cha Cha 2nd

BOLAND CROSS COUNTRY LEAGUE AT PAUL ROOS GYMNASIUM WEDNESDAY 9 MAY Well done to the the following athletes who participated in the Boland League meeting held over a tough course at Paul Roos Gymnasium on Wednesday 9 May. Guillaume Yed, Adrien Graff, Steven Calderwood, Mia Phillips, Robyn Van Niekerk , Noémie Trenel and Jaimie Lundie. Congratulations to Adrien Graff who was placed 10th in the senior boys race.

SPORT FIXTURES FOR THE WEEK AHEAD

Friday 11 May Boys & Girls Hockey vs Hottentots Holland HS (home) 15:30 Girls U16A 16:30 Boys U16A 17:30 Girls U19A 18:30 Boys U19A

Saturday 12 May Boys & Girls Hockey vs Hottentots Holland HS (home) 08:00 Girls U16B 09:00 Boys U16B 10:00 Boys U18B

Tuesday 15 May Girls Hockey vs Bloemhof (home) 16:00 U16A 16:45 U19A Netball vs Bloemhof (home) 16:00 U19A 16:35 U16A

Wednesday 16 May 15:30 Cross Country Boland League at La Rochelle Soccer vs Stellenzicht (home) times to be confirmed

Saturday 19 May Hockey Girls vs Parklands (home) 08:30 U16A 09:30 U19A

Franschhoek Literary Festival

2018

This year’s festival, kindly sponsored by Porcupine Ridge and Sunday Times, will showcase up to 160 authors and 40 event chairs, alongside local musicians and performers who will entertain into the evening. International authors include Zinzi Clemmons (US), Mick Herron, Kate Mosse and Kate Furnivall (UK), Nicolas Fargues (France), Orly Castel-Bloom (Israel), Maya Fowler and Bianca Marais (Canada), Irish poet Joseph Woods, South Africa’s own Mark Shaw (now based in Switzerland) and Christopher Hope (UK).

The local authors are too many to mention, but look out for your favourites on the programme: Jacques Pauw, Sisonke Msimang, the ever-popular Deon Meyer, Redi Tlhabi, Ruda Landman, Karin Brynard, Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh, Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, Simon Dingle, Kate Turkington and Zapiro.

Each year, as the organisers start building the extensive programme, a theme appears. This never happens by design, but is a reflection of the mood and tone of the country, which is in turn reflected in the featured books. This year the theme revolves around ‘urgency’, a real need for change right now. Here’s a taste of what to expect (and what to book for!):

RECIPE FOR A PRESIDENT: What kind of president does South Africa truly need, and are we convinced that such a person exists? Jacques Pauw (The President’s Keepers) and Jan-Jan Joubert (Who Will Rule in 2019) stir the pot with international relations scholar Oscar van Heerden. A MACRO-ECONOMIC MASTERCLASS: SA’s in a state of economic crisis. How did we get here and how do we pull back from the brink? Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh (Democracy and Delusion) leads the conversation with Claire Bisseker (On the Brink) and Frans Rautenbach (SA can work). WHY WE SHOULD CARE: Our planet’s wildlife is under threat from poaching, climate change, and urbanisation. Tamara LePine-Williams discusses why this matters with Richard Peirce (Nicole), James Clarke and Josh Crickmay (Josh Crickmay’s Big Year). REASONS TO GO. REASONS TO STAY: Danielle Bowler explores the motivations for moving from – or staying in – the lands of our birth, with Christopher Hope, Sizwe Mpofu- Walsh, and Nicolas Fargues (I Was Behind You).

Other not-to-be-missed events include: HOW PEOPLE SHAPED ME: Daniel Baxter, Mzuvukile Maqetuka and Nomvuyo Ngcelwani share how communities can enrich our experiences and change our lives. Phehello Mofokeng leads the discussion. AS WE DISCUSSED: Biographers give the facts, but how do they and their subjects decide what to share and what not to? Wamuwi Mbao debates the issues of veracity and trust with Eric Naki, Sibusiso Mjikeliso and Redi Tlhabi.

In keeping with true FLF spirit, you’ll also be able to enjoy a mini poetry programme; inspiring writing workshops with Gus Silber, Dianne Stewart and Hedley Twidle; magical storytelling with Nolubabalo Rani, Gilly Southwood and Philippa Kabali-Kagwa; The Poetry for Life finals; a school spelling bee; evening talks and performances by Darrel Bristow-Bovey, Ter Hollmann and Steven Boykey Sidley, as well as mesmerising musical performances by Pops Mohamed and Dave Reynolds, Nicky Schrire’s Ingrid Jonker Suite, and the classical magic of Christopher Duigan.

You’ll find the complete programme on www.flf.co.za. Tickets are available from www.webtickets.co.za. Don’t leave it to the last minute!

THE PLETTENBERG BAY LADIES’ FINISHING SCHOOL @ EVENTIDE LODGE Dates: Monday 25th June 2018 - Friday 29th June 2018 Ages 16 years up. Subjects offered in brief as follows: Simonne Joubert who is a qualified Make-Up Artist & Hairstylist will be hands on working with the young ladies, showing them the best way to make up their own faces for different occasions. Hairstyling & colouring. Nails will also be covered. There will be a section every day spent on deportment, carriage of the body & correct sitting positions. It will be obligatory for every young lady to bring a pair of high heeled shoes with them. Time will be spent everyday on the preparation of food for the day. They will gain experience from two qualified ladies on fine dining, etiquette round a table, the setting thereof glasses, cutlery, crockery, serving of food etc. Flower arranging. A course on massage. First aid course - given by qualified paramedics. Learning to dance the waltz. Photography/Birding. A talk on Nutrition & Supplements. Weather permitting - visit to the Plett Game Park & Beach outing.

There will be supervision on the property of EVENTIDE LODGE which has 10 cottages on 4.2 hectares on the Bitou River. All enquiries & e mails to be addressed to Elizabeth Barns - e mail me at [email protected] or [email protected] go to our website www.eventidelodge.co.za.

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