Westerford Newsletter 9 (15 March 2018) WESTERFORD HIGH SCHOOL Newsletter 9 15 March 2018

MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK Last week was Mental Health Awareness Week. In Monday’s assembly we were addressed by psychiatrists, Dr Debbie James (OW) and Dr Emma Browde on various aspects of mental health; at break, Mrs Wright, our School Social Worker, spoke on emotional resilience. Tuesday’s speaker was psychiatrist, Dr Bavi Vythilingum whose topic was coping with anxiety. The following day, GP Dr Duncan Laurenson – who has a Postgraduate Diploma in Addiction Care, addressed the topic of substance usage and the risks involved. Then, on Thursday, Dialectical Behaviour Therapist, Jonathan Mitchell - who co-facilitates the Step-Up programme for teenagers - spoke on self-esteem and how it impacts behaviour. On Friday, Mr Voerman led an educational session exploring the benefits of controlled breathing in helping one to calm one’s body and clear one’s mind. To end the week, we were entertained – in an assembly at the end of the day - by OW, Daniel Richards. The laughs – thanks to his stories around responses to his middle name (he is Daniel Mphilo Richards) and, his local, modern-day version of the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet - were excellent therapy for us all, and we stepped into the weekend with smiles on our Westerfordian faces.

We are extremely grateful to the professionals listed above who all gave of their time to come to Westerford during Mental Health Awareness Week.

Pictured after the Monday assembly at the commencement of Mental Health Awareness Week, are: Dr Debbie James, Samantha Boting, Mr Anderson, Tess Derrick-Sleigh, Dr Emma Browde and Ivan Stark. Samantha, Tess and Ivan were part of the Week’s organising committee, together with Mr Anderson, Mrs Wright and Ms Gray.

Dr Bavi Vythilingum presenting a talk on Anxiety during break on Tuesday. Daniel Richards entertaining at our Friday assembly.

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MEET THE MAROONS This week we interviewed Mr Jamy Li. Mr Li has been a devoted Mandarin teacher at Westerford since September 2016. He taught English in China for six years prior to coming to for a two-year teaching contract. We spoke to him about his time at Westerford and his experiences of .

What is the Confucius Institute?

Confucius was a very famous educator in old-time China so Confucius refers to the teacher. The Confucius Institute (CI) model is for a college in China to collaborate with a South African university, e.g. . At Westerford we refer to The Confucius Classroom as we are a high school. Our partner school in China is the Tianjin Foreign Language School. Teachers from Tianjin – like me - come to Westerford to teach Chinese language and Chinese culture. The goal of the CI is to spread the Chinese culture around the world so that more pupils can understand what China is like.

What has been your highlight teaching at Westerford?

The best part of teaching at Westerford is that the pupils are very kind and behave very well. They are very mature and good at organising events. I’ve really enjoyed both the teaching and the cultural events.

Is South Africa different from what you expected?

Since South Africa is so very far from China, I really didn’t know what to expect! I just knew that I wanted to try something new. But before I came I was a bit worried – a new country, even a new continent. When I came here, it was very far from my expectations. Cape Town is a really lovely city and I’m having a perfect life – the working environment, the pupils, my neighbours - everything is good!

How is teaching at Westerford different from your school in China?

In China, I teach matrics and they are under enormous academic pressure. At Westerford I teach Grade Eight and Nine and there is more time to do other things. The pupils here are more active and like to communicate with you in the class. In China, the pupils are quieter and more hard-working but maybe that’s because they’re older. At Westerford the pupils play a lot of sports and many of them play musical instruments. I’ve seen a lot of the shows you put on and they’re really great!

What are your plans after you leave Westerford?

After my two years are up, I will go back to Tianjin Foreign Language School to teach English. I have got so much out of my time here. When I go back to China, I need to take back my knowledge of South Africa – what it’s like here, what the pupils are like and how they work. Sarah Woolard - Grade 12

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CONGRATULATIONS!

 Taya Pearson, Grade 9, participated last weekend in The World of Dance South African Qualifier. World of Dance is the largest International Urban Dance Competition with focus on the art of street dancing and today’s new-aged choreography. World of Dance is the largest touring event that embraces Urban Dance and Lifestyle.

 Imaad Hajwani, Grade 11, swam in the Cape Metro Aquatics Level 1 Regional Swimming Championships.

 Kai Nesbitt, Grade 8, is a part time student at the Waterfront Theatre School. He took part in the Grade 5 Imperial Society International Modern Dancing exam and the Trinity of London Grade 4 Speech and Drama exam. He was awarded the highest marks at the school for both exams: an 81% Distinction for Modern Dance and an 82% Merit for his Speech and Drama.

 Congratulations to the following who wrote a hockey umpires' exam and are now qualified umpires:

Robert Montignies, Jodie Collins, Laylaa Davids, Tanvir Ranchod, Thomas Falconer, James Whitford, Jordan Wild, In-Aam Kafaar, Nuhaa Touffie, Megan Lee, Jordan Roode, Aurora de Smidt, Lily Brown, Cameron Matthew, Ryan Jones, James Falconer, Ella Waterkeyn, Caitlyn Matthew, Ash Palha.

 Congratulations also, to Mr Narun and the 1st Indoor Hockey team for ending 3rd in their league. They missed coming second by a one-goal difference to St. Cyprian's - a fantastic result for them. The Indoor Team: Kirsty Leach (Captain), Laylaa Davids, Uri Naidoo, Mishqah Rustin, Niki Tarr, Tayla Martin, Tamsin Peisl.

 This weekend at Artscape, Kit Davies School of Ballet presents 'Legends', a dance showcase featuring a number of Westerfordians. Tatum de Wet, Caitlin Hutchison, Emma Hutchison, Alex Rendall, Isabella Gibbons, Madeleine Gibbons, Justine Smulders, Tessa van Schaik, Mila Strickland, Nina Welsh and Mia Chames are all participating.

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CAPE TOWN CRISIS In spite of the fact that Day Zero has been pushed back to the 9th July, the water crisis is still a problem.

In case you hadn’t realised, the situation is dire. Our dams are only at 20,3% full, of which only about 10% is usable. This is down from 30,9% at the same time last year. However, if we all work together to save water we can push Day Zero back even further and, hopefully, avoid it so that it no longer looms ahead of us.

In order to prevent Day Zero everyone needs to use 50l or less of water per day. This can be attained quite easily if we all make small changes to our lifestyles.

Here are some water saving tips to help you make a difference:  Fix any leaking taps or shower heads – a leaking tap can waste up to 20 000 litres in a year!  Even if you have a borehole, don’t water your garden and, if you do water, use a bucket, not a sprinkler – a sprinkler uses the same amount of water in an hour as a family of four uses in a day.  Use less crockery and try to wear clothes more than once before washing them. This may sound like it won’t make a difference, but by cutting down in these are as you don’t have to run the dishwasher or washing machine as frequently which can, respectively, use up to 10 and 20 litres per cycle.

It may seem hopeless, but Day Zero isn’t a certainty, and it can still be prevented if we all save water – our most precious resource.

Hannah McDougall - Grade 12

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CAPE TOWN PRIDE FESTIVAL The 16th annual Cape Town Pride Festival, was a riot of diverse and flamboyant costumes shown off by the creative LGBTQ+ community. The crowd of Westerfordians brandishing banners and flags could be clearly identified marching amongst the vibrant, multicolored paraders on the fan walk. Our participants reported that the parade certainly did not disappoint: exotic floats, glamorous drag queens and other extravaganzas were the order of the day.

Despite the relentless midday heat, the celebrations could be seen stretching as far as the eye could see, thronging with people of all ages, genders, races and sexualities, united by a shared pride and love. Each major religious group had representatives marching to support their own LGBTQ+ members.

The Pride March started at the beginning of Somerset Road and continued to Reddam Field at Green Point Urban Park, where the festivities were only just beginning.

A large tent offered the sweaty paraders refreshments, shade and a variety of stalls selling food and merchandise. Live music and dancing continued for the rest of the afternoon while the atmosphere radiated acceptance, love, and pride of the LGBTQ+ community.

Special acknowledgement goes to our PLUS society (The Provision for the Learning and Understanding of Sexual orientation and gender) for getting Westerford involved in the festivities. Alice Nuttall - Grade 12

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 March dates Wed 21 Human Rights Day Fri - Tues 23 - 27 “School of Rock” Production Mon - Wed 26 - 28 Grade 8 Camp Wed 28 School closes

Fri 30 Easter Weekend - Good Friday

 April dates Tue 10 Start of the 2nd Term

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