SEPTEMBER 2019 | THIRD TERM | VOLUME 2 #25 I have had the privilege of spending 5 days at the Southern African Heads of Independent Schools (SAHISA) conference in the Drakensberg. It is an annual event that is always inspirational and allows the heads of independent schools the opportunity to discuss the issues of schooling and of the demands of their jobs in informal and formal situations. The gathering is one that embraces collegiality while acknowledging the competition between schools and that balance allows it to be a rich and rewarding experience. In focus this year, amongst a variety of topics, was the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the demands on schools to respond to a new world of work and the perspectives of the millennial generation. I came away from the discussions more than confident that our school is both innovative and rigorous in its approach and that our students are extraordinarily well placed to face an uncertain yet clearly exciting future. A fine example of the opportunities that they have and the responses that they are able to give so easily lay in our participation in the Shell Eco-Marathon, held over the weekend. Months of preparation and practice were involved and the intricacies of the competition were clear for any layperson to see. But our staff members and our students embraced the challenges and did extraordinarily well, as reported elsewhere in this edition. For me, all that is good about schooling could have been found in the afternoon that I spent with the team. There was teamwork in abundance and a collaboration that went from the physical efforts of setting up our stand and pit, packing and unpacking, and then ensuring that all was ready for the laps to be completed successfully. Each person had a task and each performed it with immense good humour and dedication. There was a fine and friendly competitive spirit as we watched the successes of other teams and saw ourselves lie in first and then second place throughout the day. There was support for our drivers, who were hot, uncomfortable, tense, and yet totally focused on the task. There was collaboration between teams as they discussed ways to improve performance, with real learning taking place in the huddle of curiosity and enquiry. There was generosity in abundance as we were spoilt by our sponsors, indulged – perhaps over-indulged! - in the creature comforts of food and drink, and encouraged by the support that our parents, friends, staff members, and fellow students gave.And there was friendship and good humour. We laughed as we learnt and competed. And we laughed with new friends as well as amongst ourselves. Life lessons and memories for life were woven into the days at the track as we all embraced the future and, once again, experienced all that we have established as a learning culture in our school. This was reaching beyond in every sense of our motto and I could not have been prouder or happier when I left the racetrack – and that despite being entirely confused by a competition where going slowly around a racetrack is regarded as successful! Bravo, indeed, to the team and a special thank you to Ms Smit and Ms Naidoo for making this possible! My return to school sees a focus on two events today. While we wish the Springboks, or your team of choice, success in the World Cup, we are also acutely aware of a far more serious challenge facing us as the Global Climate Strike takes place. We have chosen to focus on a curriculum-based exercise for this and it is one that will continue well beyond today. Our students are mature and curious young people who are able to expand on issues and find solutions. That is the way of good education and it is the way of our community. On Monday, we celebrate Heritage Day in advance of the public holiday on Tuesday. Much discussion has happened in our school about how to respond to this day and I look forward to sharing a thoughtful response from our community. All matches are against equivalent teams unless otherwise stated. INTERHOUSE RESULTS PREPARATORY SCHOOL: CHESS: 3rd Triton 2nd Atlas 1st Luna TENNIS: 3rd Atlas 2nd Triton 1st Luna COLLEGE: CHESS: 3rd Luna 2nd Atlas 1st Triton TENNIS 3rd Atlas 2nd Triton 1st Luna CRICKET: 12 September The u9 boys team lost to Soweto Hub by 1 run, with Rocco Sharma scoring 50 runs The First Team girls lost to Everest Primary School by 55 runs 16 September The First Team girls lost to Laerskool Dr Havenga by 10 wickets 17 September The u11 boys lost to Soweto Hub by 9 wickets TENNIS: 17 September The Junior Tennis Team beat Leeuwenhof Akademie 24-13 CRICKET: 12 September The u16 girls lost to Jeppe High School for Girls by 6 wickets, with Demica Zaayman scoring 56 runs 17 September The u16 girls lost beat Orange Farm Hub by 67 runs and Rainnie Zhang scored 24 runs FOOTBALL: 14 September The College Girls First Team Lost to Parktown High School for Girls 0-6, beat Germiston High School 3-1, and drew to Krugersdorp High School 1-1 SHELL ECO-MARATHON For the first time ever, Steyn City School had the exciting opportunity to participate in the Shell Eco-Marathon Africa competition. The competition was held from 12 to 15 September at Swartkops Raceway, where other high schools as well as universities from Africa competed against each other. Shell initiated and sponsors this worldwide competition, where participants build automotive vehicles to try and achieve the highest possible fuel efficiency. A team of Grade 10-students (Team SCS), consisting of the pit-crew (Nkosazana Ndlovu, Sienna-Jade Naidoo, Shrivar Naidu, Erin Bergh, Sarah Nettleton and Kemello Joyini) and two drivers (Nehã Ganpath and Kgothatso Mabe) took on this challenge by using a battery electric propelled system for their car. To convert the car to battery electric, a team of engineers from NOVO-Energy proudly sponsored the new braking system, battery, emergency stops, as well as the clutch which allowed the driver to free wheel with less energy that the other cars that participated in the competition. The prototype ultra-energy-efficient car could reach a maximum speed of 54km/h and had to finish a 9,6km route with the least amount of energy. Team SCS did phenomenally well in the competition by receiving an award for being the best prepared team and ultimately finishing second inAfrica, even beating the University of Johannesburg with a result of 260.7 km.kWh. This converts to driving to Cape Town and back on only one litre of petrol! Well done Team SCS BORN TO PERFORM Born to Perform first made its debut on to the South African stage in 2015. Created and directed by Bryan Schimmel, Gemma Marinus, and Matthew Marinus, it provides a fabulous opportunity for young performers to showcase their talent with the support of seasoned professionals, whilst allowing self-development and personal growth through the performing arts. Each year the directors search for and nurture talent drawn from local schools, putting together a show that encourages young South Africans to celebrate their differences and embrace their individuality through the performing arts. Last weekend, The Teatro at Montecasino exploded with energy as the 2019 cast shared an incredible message with the audience - that we can be exactly who we want to be regardless of the challenges we face. With incredible performances from Mondeor High, St. Vincent’s School, Curro Aurora, and Fourways High, as well as guest appearances by The Voice SA stars Yahto Kraft, Thembeka Mnguni, and Craig Lucas, there were moments in the show that moved the audience to tears, moments that brought us to our feet in applause, and even more moments that left hope in our hearts for the future of this beautiful country. We are so proud of Benjamin Wood and Tannah Proctor who delivered superb performances in a number of items in the show. Thank you for shining your light and sharing your talent with us! 2019 EY-SA YOUTH FOR CLIMATE ACTION CONFERENCE Today is Global Climate Strike day and many children across the world will not go to school. Inspired by 15-year-old Greta Thorburn, students will march to various government buildings to demand climate change. It has been inspiring and reassuring to see the youth of the world taking on the fight for climate change. Our Grade 9s have spent their first week at school researching climate change-related case SHELL ECO-MARATHON examples and have considered what possible recommendations or solutions they would propose at a local and international level. Their commitment and passion in researching has made us proud and given us hope for the future. The Grade 9s researched and made Skype calls to South African and European businesses to learn about how various companies are implementing policies and innovative practices in the fight against climate change. They have learnt a great deal about the Paris Agreement, the 2030 Sustainability Goals, and on Thursday afternoon they submitted their research to the South African Institute of International Affairs as an entry into the 2019 EU-SA Youth for Climate Action Conference. In their conclusion, our group of Grade 9s researching Consumption and Production stated, “We as youth have more time on our hands at the moment to fix the mistakes made by the older generation. eW are also the most technologically advanced generation and so it should be our responsibility to create or invent a technological solution to help clean our earth.” Our group addressing Inequality and Climate Change stated, “As youth we are most affected, this is our future.