Newslettercollege St Andrew’S College

Term 1 #1 18 January 2019 NewsletterCollege St Andrew’s College

To the Andrean Community

“There is a tide in the affairs Constant but ever changing, there is a magical beauty to the sea. Possessing of men, Which taken at the tremendous energy and capable of angry thunderous moods, it is capable too flood, leads on to fortune. of the most serene gentleness. And at the dawn of each new day, as the golden Omitted, all the voyage of sun casts long shadows across a still-cool beach, the sea lies there still - rumbling their life is bound in shallows gently to itself - somehow exactly the same as it has always been, and somehow and in miseries. On such a not the same at all. For the tides and winds bring change - imperceptible at times, dramatic at others. Invariably, each day wakes to a new beach. full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current So too at the start of the new school year we have lying before us a most beautiful when it serves, or lose our vista- alive with potential just waiting for us to squeeze every drop of energy ventures” from it. And as the first set of footprints wind across a quiet beach soon become intertwined with countless others, creating chaotic patterns in the sand - each - William Shakespeare footstep representing the energy and fun of a day on the beach - College itself is slowly creaking back to life. As I write this there are groups of boys about – cricketers, water-polo players, rowers, tennis players, and others – all of whom

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have returned to school to begin preparations for what promises to be another Grahamstown cracker of a sporting year.

Water Crisis We have a great academic year ahead. This year sees the full launch of our Dear Parents Cambridge A-Level stream and the establishment of the St Andrew’s College Academy. The Academy is a partnership with Nombulelo High School and is As you will be aware, Grahamstown is designed to provide boys with academic potential enriched academic support in in the grip of a severe drought and our order to maximise their chances of Bachelor Degree and distinction passes. It is a supply from the Settlers Dam system very exciting opportunity for College to work in partnership with Nombulelo. Our is under serious threat. focus on Academic Excellence is unrelenting and intentional in its recognition of the fact that, clichés aside, in a complex, ever competitive, and constantly We are in the process of instituting changing world, knowledge truly is power, education is liberation. Good enough all possible measures to ensure that is simply not good enough. our water consumption is kept to an absolute minimum. Each new day dawning over the beach suggests a day that - although it follows We are confident that our own the day before and precedes the day after - will be a day all of its own, with supplies and sources of water its own moods, tides, winds, and character. Each day just a day, but each day independent of municipal supply will absolutely unique. So too we welcome the next tide of young Andreans, in the be adequate should municipal supply form of a full and extremely talented newboy group. I can’t wait to see this cohort be interrupted or ‘throttled’. of boys journey through College, that each boy finds amongst the richness of opportunity his own unique giftedness, and flourish. A permanent solution is being worked on by Makana Municipality A new year is time for new hope, new resolutions, enthusiasm, for fresh thinking. to pump water from the Fish River Through keeping our eye fixed on our vision of absolute excellence, giving our to Grahamstown West to relieve our absolute best in what we do, living truly principled lives, and trusting in God, we reliance on the Settlers Dam supply. have everything that we need for another outstanding year. The Municipal Manager has informed me that he anticipates this project to God Bless be finalised in 2 – 3 months.

WEEK AT A GLANCE Alan Thompson Friday 18 January: [email protected] 12h00 - Golf vs DF Malan 14h00 - Tennis vs Selborne 15h00 - Water Polo Grey High Festival U14A, U15A & 1sts to 21/1 (A)

Saturday 19 February: Cricket vs Selborne College (A) Water Polo Club Trials 9h00 - Basketball Team Trials

Sunday 20 January: 8h30 - Tennis Settlers Cup Quad Grade 8 Beach Walk

Monday 21 January: 16h15 - Tennis vs PJ Olivier (H) Visit: https://my.sacschool.com for full calendar

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COLLEGE LIFE

Welcome New Staff

Mr Lewis Manthata Mr Jabu Maswanganyi Mr Grant Mackenzie Ms Monica Strydom Deputy Headmaster (Joins Operations Manager (Joins Director of Water polo Afrikaans (Joins us from St John’s College, us from St Martin’s College, (Joins us from Reddam, us from Dainfern Johannesburg) Johannesburg) Constantia, Cape Town) College, Johannesburg)

Mr Ed Goodier Mr Murray Roodt Mr Nceba January Ms Mel Webb Director of Rowing (Ed joins Pipe Band / LO / NS (OA, Business Studies / EMS. Extra English Grade 8 & 9 us from King Edward VII Joins us from Prep) (Joins us from the Diocesan (Joins us from Zambia Liv- School, Johannesburg) Office) ingstone, Head of Tujatane School)

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ACADEMIC

Newboys’ Reception St Andrew’s College is delighted to welcome 104 new pupils to It has been a tradition at St Andrew’s College to give a gift the school in 2019. Newboys’ Day is always a special occasion to the family who has travelled the furthest on Newboys’ at St Andrew’s College and it is great to meet all the new Day. The Landsman family is from Melbourne, Australia. St parents as well. The new pupils were addressed by the Head Andrew’s College is excited to welcome Zac into Grade 9, he of School, Guy Rushmere and by the Headmaster, Mr Alan was previously at Brighton Grammar School, and his parents Thompson. We wish our newest Andreans and their families Tyrone and Simone to the Andrean community. Other families five excellent years of fulfilment and success at St Andrew’s join us from Hong Kong, Burma, Sierra Leone, Botswana, College. Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

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My School Portal The new myCollege parent portal is up and running at https://my.sacschool.com . Parents will have received an email with an onboarding guide. If you missed that email, you could start by simply requesting a password at https://my.sacschool. com/request-password using your registered email address with the school.

myCollege is accessible from your smartphone or tablet, and the guide below describes how to add an icon shortcut on your Home Screen, for both Android or Apple smartphone or tablet users. https://support.myschoolportal.co.uk/hc/en-us/ articles/360011493113-How-to-add-the-My-School-Portal- Webapp-to-your-mobile-device

Once logged in, you will find regular updates under the School Information menu. This is where you can find the Daily Notice, copies of the weekly newsletter, and photo galleries.

St Andrew’s no longer uses the D6 communicator or SIMS Parent. Guidance for uninstalling D6 can be found at https:// d6.co.za/education/services/support/d6-communicator- support/ and SIMS Parent can be removed from your device simply with a tap-and-hold on the app icon and then deleting and uninstalling.

Roy Hobson Head: ICT

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The Landsman family from Melbourne, Australia. Zac with mom Simone and dad Tyrone, sister Amelia and brother Tobias

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Grade 8 Orientation

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SPORT

Dear All

It is always really exciting to get back at the start of the year when there is so much to look forward to. We have a big group of Grade 8’s that have joined us and by all accounts they are settling in well. These first few weeks are always rather frenetic as teams are selected and preparations are made for the early fixtures of the term. It can be a time of stress for our young men as they move through to new age groups and new challenges and we need to give them our every support as they settle into their new roles in their new teams. With many of our parents some distance away it is important that we maintain good communication through the various platforms on offer and that you remain in regular contact with your sons with regards to their sporting involvement. The sports website can be found at http://sport.sacschool.com and this should allow you to see what fixtures are coming up, access to team lists and arrangements as well as to results. We will endeavour to keep this information relevant and up-to-date. Please bear in mind that final team selections can often only be done on the Thursday evening before a weekend and these are then published first thing on a Friday morning. You are also directed to the new communication application, details of which have been sent out to you this week.

We hope that you all enjoy a wonderful year of College sport and that you are able to support your sons in their endeavours wherever you may be.

The past week has seen considerable activity on and around campus as a host of boys have returned to take part in pre-season training and matches. We had a very good turn-out at the Water Polo Camp and new Director of Water Polo, Grant Mackenzie, was very pleased with the enthusiasm and commitment of the boys. They go straight into some early-season fixtures for the 1sts, U15A and U14A sides as they travel to PE this weekend to play fixtures against Grey Bloem, Paul Roos, Selborne and Grey High in the Grey Quadrangular.

The 1st XI played three fixtures as part of the Grahamstown Schools Cricket Festival hosted by Kingswood College in their 125 Jubilee Year. After a shaky start

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against Hoërskool Menlopark, College dominated the remaining two declaration games against St Andrew’s Bloem and St Alban’s. They then also played their annual fixture against a strong Stanley Invitation Club where they competed really well and Callum Francis scored an excellent 101. This weekend the Cricket Club takes on Selborne College with the 1st XI travelling through to East London.

The Rowing Club held a very successful rowing camp down at Port Alfred where the Kowie River dished up its usual combination of really challenging windswept water along with idyllic glassy conditions. This is always a great way for them to start the year and a worthwhile introduction to the sport for the newboys on camp. New Director of Rowing, Ed Goodier, was very happy with the way things went.

We had three boys competing for the Nelson Mandela Bay region at an inter- district gala in East London last weekend. Martin Wolmarans, Oliva Lange and Joss Hempel all performed really well raking in a host of medals and breaking a number of school records in the process. We look forward to their performances later this term when they will no doubt make a massive impact at the inter-house galas.

The top tennis players returned early for a camp, along with the DSG girl,s and they will put this preparation into practice when they take on their Selborne counterparts this afternoon. On Sunday they will play in the Settlers Cup Quadrangular against the other local schools.

Also in early action are our golfers who will take on Nico Malan HS on the Humewood Golf Club Course in PE today. This should prove to be a challenging and good experience for them as they tackle this tough links course.

It has been great to see the sports facilities coming to life with the hustle and bustle of the new season. We look forward to many memorable moments as we follow the fortunes of our youngsters in their chosen pursuits. I wish you all a great sporting year.

Kind regards

Pete Andrew Director of Sport