16 February 2018 St Andrew’S COLLEGE Nec Aspera Terrent

Newsletter Term 1 #5 16 February 2018 St Andrew’s COLLEGE Nec Aspera Terrent To the Andrean Community "The thing about sport – the important thing about sport – is that it is not just about sport" On Saturday I spent the day in East London, oscillating between the Buffalo Regatta and the junior Water-Polo tournament which was held at Selborne. The setting for the Buffalo is a spectacular one - the Buffalo River passes under grand bridges, between imposing and overgrown hills with nautical sights and sounds everywhere, abandoned railway lines, and of course the infamous and deeply mysterious Buffalo harbour water wherein lurks all manner of biological strangeness. I took some time out from the frenetic activity of the regatta area and walked across a disused railway bridge, over the river, pausing to observe from afar the remarkable order that perspective gives of the St Andrew’s College Nec Aspera Terrent 16 February 2018 apparent chaos at river-side (as with most things in life, you see the order best when you step back a bit). It is a remarkable sport, rowing! A sport so demanding and so technical that it is impossible to fake or chance success. It is a sport where the links between hard work, commitment, and success are rendered obvious, and yet variables on the day can make it at once fantastically rewarding and bitterly disappointing. It is a sport in which individuals count less than the success of every element of the team and yet the relationships between individuals within the team are, of necessity, strong. It is a sport that teaches boys grit, tenacity, humility, and that giving up is never an option. There can be no greater example of Nec Aspera Terrent than the rigour of a regatta (which is the end point of a process much greater still). Although in a deconstructed analysis it is all three of these, rowing is much more than simply a sport, it is more than merely competition, and it is more than simple recreation. It is a teacher of life lessons second to none. The same could be said of most sports, of course, but sitting as I was on the bridge where I was, rowing was front of mind (although the thought of taking to sea in one of the beautiful catamarans tethered yonder did take me on a completely different train of thought for a while). Sport is not something that we do in order to fill the time between the important stuff at school. It is a teaching tool that develops some of the most important skills that we impart to our boys. And although sport is a physical endeavor (with intrinsic benefits all of its own), it conveys with it great lessons in character, relationships, integrity, trust, and of course, fun. In a world of such complexity, seriousness and challenge, the opportunity provided by sport to step back from the chaos is, actually, the best way to prepare to master it. God Bless Alan Thompson [email protected] St Andrew’s College Nec Aspera Terrent 16 February 2018 ACADEMICS PROFICIENCY TIE Congratulations to the following two boys who have attained their Proficiency Tie. Cameron Lovemore Tony Rubombora The Proficiency tie is obtained by a record of all-round effort, in and out of the classroom. Antony Rubombora, left and Cameron Lovemore were awarded the Proficiency Tie. These St Andrew's College boys wrote AS and A Level Thinking Skills and Japanese AS Level exams recently. The St Andrew's College Cul- tural and Extramural Committee awarding Jack Torres his Music Colours. St Andrew’s College Nec Aspera Terrent 16 February 2018 From the Transformation and Diversity Desk We spend so much of our energy every day looking for taking place and are exploring the possibility of a change and hope elsewhere that we hardly ever take the South African branch of the GLI to be established at time to turn our gaze inwards. It is in taking that slow, our school. journey back into our own past where we discover those incidental moments or shattering events that led The creation of two more Portfolio Prefect positions to our current beliefs, firmly held stereotypes, secret for Transformation and Diversity holds enormous prejudices or open judgements. potential. Sanele Mboto and Cameron Lovemore have already started to apply their minds and energy towards St Andrew’s College is a privileged school, and we creating a more inclusive and welcoming school for our have to acknowledge that for too long we have taken diverse learner body. that privilege for granted. With that privilege comes a responsibility to our boys, staff and our greater Student Life Forum: This initiative is run by a senior community to address the injustices of the past, and Student Tutor, Pax Matia, and other guest speakers and to look towards a future in which our entire school facilitators, and is aimed at senior learners. It runs once community is valued for their own unique giftedness. a fortnight and addresses transformation and diversity from the basis of respect, and encourages positive As a school community, we have committed ourselves masculinity. to a systematic process of creating a space that acknowledges our past while actively engaging in a Committees: Various committees have been conversation that seeks to be more inclusive. established, such as a Staff Think Tank which has developed into various subcommittees to address Over the course of the past 18 months we have started specific issues, for instance: this process in the following ways: Physical Spaces: CRITICAL CONVERSATIONS An Icons and Nomenclature working group was called together to do an audit of our campus in Staff training: What soon became clear was that we order to critically assess spaces which have cannot expect our boys to take on this task if we have the potential to perpetuate injustice or hurt. not done the hard work ourselves. A joint staff day-long Various projects developed out of this audit of which the most important is certainly training session on Transformation, Diversity and Safe commissioning an artwork by sculptor, Modisa Spaces for SAC, DSG and St Andrew’s Prep was held Motsomi (OA) . We are nearing the end of our in September 2017, facilitated by Theresa Edlmann and planning phase and hope to conclude this project Athambile Masola. As a direct result, eight ‘Tooling by the end of 2018. Up’ sessions have been held over the past three weeks with small groups of all academic staff of SAC and Another exciting project is the restoration of the DSG, which were facilitated by Theresa Edlmann and historic Carpentry and Printing Room which was Allan Magubane. These sessions explored matters such part of the Mullins Institution. It was here that many as inclusive classroom practice and personal awareness. influential founding fathers of the Modern African In the near future we are hoping to roll these sessions State, such as Josiah Gumede, Daniel Letanka, out to our administrative and boarding house staff as Thomas Mapikela and Samuel Masabalala, well. were taught. This building, currently a disused changeroom, will be transformed into a debating Good Lad Initiative (GLI): In October 2017, Clive chamber. Eley (OA) and Daniel Guinness from the GLI (based in the UK) did extensive work with Tutor Groups in Grade 10 and 11 around positive masculinity and Towards a policy of inclusivity: gender-related experiences. Although these workshops dealt with sensitive issues, they were met with a most The Transformation and Diversity positive response from the boys. We would really like Core Committee has dedicated itself to pursue the possibility of an annual GLI intervention to the development of a Policy on Unfair St Andrew’s College Nec Aspera Terrent 16 February 2018 The historic Carpentry and Printing Room Discrimination. This policy states our commitment We acknowledge that we are in unchartered waters. to inclusivity and the Constitution, but also aims However, I draw strength from John A. Shedd when he to provide an educational framework, as well as said, “A ship in harbour is safe — but that is not what guidelines to boys and staff, on how to deal with ships are built for.” issues that pertain to unfair discrimination. Since we believe that such a policy belongs to We believe that it is in our relationships that we have everyone that forms part of our community, the strength, and we are committed to moving towards policy will be disseminated to all stakeholders creating a school that actively values diversity and for comment and suggestions in the near future. respect for all members of our community. During the course of last year, I was amazed by boys wanting to take ownership of teaching peers and Warm regards younger boys about the effects of racism, gender-based discrimination, and related issues. Whenever there has been a focus group on any issue, boys have flocked to share their experiences and acknowledge where they Maretha Potgieter are falling short of what they expect of themselves. The Term 1 parent–teachers meetings will be held on Thursday 1 March from 8:00 – 10:00 at DSG, Worcester Street. On-line bookings will open at 08:00 on Thursday 22 February and close at 16:00 on Tuesday 27 February. An email will be sent out shortly with instructions on how to book meetings with your son’s teachers. St Andrew’s College Nec Aspera Terrent 16 February 2018 Reading & Watching Club “There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.” Ray Bradbury Reading & Watching Club started with a bang The club is made up of 12 members from different age this year.

Load more