11 September 2019 Newsletter 29/2019 Newsletter2222929/2018

Dear Parents, and Friends of

Please click on the headings below to navigate around the eNews.

Rector’s Message ...... 1 Welcomes : New Pupil & Exchange Student ...... 3 Staff News ...... 3 Congratulations & Individual Achievements ...... 4 The Music School presents: “A Trio of Concerts” – Sunday 6 October 2019 ...... 5 Fathers & Sons : “Courage To Connect” Weekend : 26-28 October 2019 ...... 6 2020 Overland Trip Proposal : Botswana & Zimbabwe ...... 7

Rector’s Message

Speaking in public can be terrifying until you get used to it. In fact, in a recent survey American business executives rated speaking in public as the single issue of which they were most frightened and which kept them awake for the longest time at night. In comparison, they put dying in third position. And so it was particularly gratifying to attend the 267th Meeting of the Michaelhouse Toastmasters on Friday night where our senior boys were able to demonstrate to their parents how much progress they had made during the year. My thanks go to Mr Dominic Gruijters and Mrs Mary McMichael for developing the boys’ skills in public speaking through the year and my congratulations to the speakers themselves for the fluency of their speeches and humour which they displayed. It was, all in all, an outstanding evening in every respect and I commend the following pupils on their development: Reuben Mitchell, Harry Nel, Robert Officer, Mako Kamba, Cyle Wilson, James Armstrong, Leruri Sealetsa, Khetha Khoza, Huckleberry Finn Elliot, Lombe Chibwe, Richard Taylor, Gomo Mangena, Aidan Logan, Andrew Daly, Neil du Toit, James Dawson, Tristan Vermeulen, Ben Rebeck, Neil Johnston, Ayanda Nene, Hamish Henderson, Matthew Craigie Stevenson, Luke van Rooyen and Nana Buxton-Tetteh. The boys spoke with varying degrees of confidence and they have all made a good start to learning an important skill. Further opportunities exist in debating, amongst other areas, and I want to encourage boys to develop their public speaking skills in arenas such as this.

During the course of this week I will be visiting the C Block at Giant’s Castle and the Garden of Eden to assess their progress on the Journey, as well as boys just beginning their “solitude”. They left on Saturday morning and many of our parents were here to see them off on what should be an experience which greatly develops and matures them as people.

As parents know, our Senior Deputy Rector, Paul Fleischack, has had a huge amount to do with the development of this aspect of our broader curriculum and his experience in outdoor education has been invaluable to us. As you can imagine, organizing 115 boys in 4 different groups over 13 days is an enormous task for which I thank him most warmly.

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Our B, D and E Blocks head out soon too on their respective Outdoor Education and Leadership experiences. The B Block Leadership Camp takes place from 14-16 September at the Greystone Adventure Camp near Estcourt. The D Block will be on their hike from 16-19 September. The hike will follow a route from the Melouney’s Farm outside Nottingham Road, across private land in the vicinity of The Dargle, Fort Nottingham and then back to school, with overnight camps along the way. The E Block Camp, in the form of an Outdoor Survival Challenge, also takes place from 16-19 September and the boys will be based in the Michaelhouse Nature Reserve and Lapa, just up the road from the school. Further details on the various outdoor education programmes can be seen on the school’s website at: www.michaelhouse.org under the “Student Life” tab.

C Block boys on their Journey 2

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Welcomes : New Pupil & Exchange Student

We welcome new pupil Josh Naudé (C Block – McCormick) and his family to the Michaelhouse Community. We also welcome exchange student Joseph Beal (B Block – Mackenzie) from Woodberry Forest School, Virginia, USA. Joseph will spend the remainder of this quarter and the fourth quarter with us. We wish him a wonderful exchange experience at Michaelhouse.

Staff News

New Appointments Assistant Housemasters: We are very pleased to announce the following Assistant Housemaster appointments which will commence at the beginning of January 2020: Mr Carl Bezuidenhout (Tatham), Mr Olwethu Hugo (McCormick), Mr Sibonelo Khanyile (Ralfe), Mr Craig Pieterse (Baines) and Mr Clint Sliedrecht (Mackenzie).

Head of Department: Engineering, Graphics & Design: Mr Craig Pieterse has been appointed Head of Department: Engineering Graphics and Design (EGD), with immediate effect.

Maintenance Manager Mr Donovan Nel has been appointed Maintenance Manager commencing on 1 November 2019. Donovan is no stranger to Michaelhouse and has been instrumental in a number of large construction projects on the estate including the recent building of the Heritage Centre and new boarding houses. We look forward to welcoming Donovan, his wife Jessica and their children, Travis (2 yrs) and Alexander (9 months), to the Michaelhouse family.

We congratulate them on their appointments and wish them well in their respective positions.

Resignation We are very sad to announce that Mr Sam Mofokeng has resigned and will be leaving Michaelhouse at the end of the year. We thank Sam for all he has contributed to Michaelhouse over the past years, especially in the English Department, in the coaching of rugby and and in the pastoral care of our boys. We wish him all the very best as he returns to to take up a teaching post there.

Congratulations: New Baby We congratulate Carl and Leigh Bezuidenhout on the birth of their daughter, Madison Grace, on Monday morning.

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Congratulations & Individual Achievements

Community Partnership News SMILE Programme The following boys received SMILE Certificates on Monday for completing a course in facilitating English oral conversation skills with students from Jabula Combined School in Lidgetton: Christian Brand, Karan Chauhan, Richard Esipisu, James Fleming, Sean Fitzsimmons, Sam Frost, Jaimé Gomes, Gurney, Jack Irons, Chris Langebrink, Rex le Sueur, Conor MacColl, Kieran Martin and Tristan Naidoo. Congratulations to them all.

Toastmasters’ Annual Awards 2019 Congratulations to the following pupils who were the recipients of awards at the Toastmasters’ Dinner: The Jack Crutchley Award for Excellence in Public Speaking: Cyle Wilson The John Pluke Trophy for Most Improved Speaker: Neil Johnston The Dudley Forde Trophy for the Promotion of Excellence in Public Speaking: Ayanda Nene

Sport News This past weekend saw us switch to the summer sports. There were no C Block age groups participating in fixtures this past weekend as the boys are away on the Journey.

Basketball The fixtures got off to a start against Kearsney College on Saturday. Our U15 teams enjoyed some good wins with the U15A team clinching a 22-21 win; the U15C team won 22-14, the U15D won 23-17 and the U15E won 12-8. The 6th team won their match 23-22 and the U14B team also recorded a win of 19-15.

Cricket In the fixtures against Kearsney our U15 teams also enjoyed some good results: the U15A team won by 4 wickets (Luke van Niekerk took 7/20), the U15B team won by 4 wickets (Andrew Davis made 82 not out) and the U15C team won by 5 wickets. The Fourth Team won by 16 runs (Harry Rowles made 55 not out).

Canoeing 28 Michaelhouse boys completed Saturday’s Inter-Schools’ race on the Lion’s River. The following notable results were achieved: Ross Leslie-U18: 2nd place, Chase Leisegang-U18: 3rd place, Robert Butcher-U14: 2nd place and Peter Hein-U14: 3rd place.

Squash: Annual Awards Congratulations to the players below who received awards at the annual Squash Dinner held last Thursday evening: The Bradford Cup for School Champion of 2019: Richard Upfold The Mike and Karen Short Trophy for Sportsmanship: Richard Upfold 4

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The Royappen Trophy for Commitment: Brett Oellermann and Michael Ross The Collen Trophy for Most Improved Player of the Year: Joshua Hoatson

Tennis Tour to Sun City for the Independent Schools’ Tournament Last week, six senior boys represented Michaelhouse at the tournament. The was of a very high standard with our number one player often having to play SA ranked opposition and many matches being decided in a final tie-break. Eleven schools participated in two sections and Michaelhouse was placed 5th in the A section, culminating in a win against St Benedict’s in the last match. Well done to our players.

In the inter-schools’ league matches the 3rd team beat the U18B team 9-3 and the U15A team beat St Charles College U15B team 12-0.

Water Polo Fixtures were played against a visiting St Stithian’s side on Friday evening with St Stithian’s beating our 1st, U15A and U14A teams. Against Kearsney on Saturday, our 2nd team won 2-0, our U15B team won 9-5 and our U14A team won 8-6.

Please visit the Michaelhouse Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/pg/michaelhouse.org/posts/ to see more information and photographs on events at the school and achievements by our pupils.

The Music School presents: “A Trio of Concerts” – Sunday 6 October 2019

Join us for another instalment of our unique concept-concert at Michaelhouse – “A Trio of Concerts”. The concerts will be performed in different venues all over our campus; starters will be served in the Theatre Foyer after which there will be an instrumental concert with performances from the Michaelhouse Marimba Bands and the Orchestra. Main Course will be served in the Memorial Hall to background music supplied by the staff from the Music School. The final concert will take place in the Chapel and will feature the Michaelhouse Chapel Choir plus the choirs from Clifton Preparatory School Nottingham Road, the Newcastle Choir and the KZN Midlands’ Youth Choir after which coffee and cupcakes will be served in the Main Quad. For catering purposes bookings will close on Wednesday 2 October and numbers are limited to 160 tickets – BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL. See the poster at the end of this newsletter. Date: Sunday 6 October 2019 Time: 11h30 Venues: The Schlesinger Theatre, the Memorial Hall and the Michaelhouse Chapel Tickets: R180 per person (to include the concerts and a 3-course meal) Bookings: www.tickethut.co.za/michaelhouse

Should you have any queries, please contact: Angela Jonsson at e-mail: [email protected] or Tel: (033) 234 1238 (weekdays 08h00-13h00).

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Fathers & Sons : “Courage To Connect” Weekend : 26-28 October 2019

It is often difficult for fathers to stay connected to their sons during their adolescent years, but this is perhaps where a father’s effective involvement is most crucial. To this end, the Michaelhouse Counselling Department will be running the Fathers and Sons Weekend during the 4th Quarter. The course is limited to Michaelhouse fathers and their sons who are currently in C or B Block. The aims of the weekend are as follows:

 To open and/or develop the lines of communication between fathers and sons  To provide experiences for fathers and sons to build trust  To explore ways in which fathers can support their sons as they become men  To give an opportunity for sons to speak, be listened to and understood by their fathers  To give an opportunity for fathers to speak, be listened to and understood by their sons

Dates and Starts on Saturday 26 October 2019 (16h00) times Ends on Monday 28 October 2019 (15h00)

Venue Glengarry : in the foothills of the Drakensberg

R3 150 per person (R1 500 per person non-refundable deposit) Cost This includes all accommodation, activities and meals We will debit your school account

Facilitators Tim Jarvis, Rob Pluke, Jaques Pretorius

Contact the Counsellor’s Administrator, Caryl Ballance, for a booking form. Email: [email protected] How to book Phone: 033 234 1014 (Please be advised that places are limited. On receipt of the completed booking form, your place will be confirmed by return letter from the School)

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2020 Overland Trip Proposal : Botswana & Zimbabwe

Mr Paul Snyman, our HoD Life Sciences, is proposing an overland trip through parts of Botswana and Zimbabwe in the July holidays, 2020. Please see the letter from him, attached separately to this newsletter, with further details of the proposed trip and costs. Please contact Paul Snyman directly on his email should you be interested in this trip for your son, or should you have any queries about the trip.

With my best wishes

Antony Clark Rector

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The Michaelhouse Music School presents A Trio of Concerts Join us for another instalment of our unique concept-concert – A Trio of Concerts –

Concerts will be performed in different venues around our campus

Served in the TheatreStarters Foyer at 11h30, followed by an instrumental concert with performances by the Michaelhouse Marimba Bands and the Orchestra at 12h00

Served in theMain Memorial Hall to Course background accompaniment of Michaelhouse Music School staff at 12h30

The final concert takesDessert place in the Chapel at 13h30 and features the Michaelhouse Chapel Choir with the choirs from Clifton Preparatory School Nottingham Road, Newcastle High School and the KZN Midlands Youth Choir. Coffee and cupcakes will be served in the Main Quad after the performance

For catering purposes bookings close on Wednesday 2 October and numbers are limited to 160 tickets. We hope you can join us for another SUNDAY SPECTACULAR SHOWCASE!

Venues: The Schlesinger Theatre, the Memorial Hall and the Michaelhouse Chapel Tickets: R180 per person (to include the concerts and a three course meal) BOOKING ESSENTIAL! Bookings: www.tickethut.co.za/michaelhouse

For any queries contact Mrs Angela Jonsson at [email protected] or telephone (033) 234 1238 (weekdays between 08h00 and 13h00)