Newsletter Term 1 #2 27 January 2017 St Andrew’s COLLEGE Nec Aspera Terrent “But it is a blessed provision of nature that at times like these, as soon as a man’s mercury has got down to a certain point there comes a revulsion, and he rallies. Hope springs up, and cheerfulness along with it, and then he is in good shape to do something for himself, if anything can be done.” ― Mark Twain To the Andrean Community Observing the emergence of a boys’ unique individuality as he grows to know himself never ceases to amaze me. The journey to manhood provides many opportunities where that self-knowledge is developed, nurtured, or damaged, thus shaping behaviours that determine the onward journey. Our sense of self-esteem is derived from the understanding and accepting of self as capable and unconditionally loved. Low self-esteem drives all manner of over-control behaviours (attention avoidance, fear of mistakes, over conscientiousness) and under-control behaviours (attention seeking). Our role as parents and teachers is to provide the scaffolding that allows our boys to grow healthy self-esteem that they may flourish as their adult self emerges. It’s not as easy as one might think, but there is a crucial ingredient, and that is “grit” - that distinct combination of passion, resilience, determination, and focus that allows a person to maintain the discipline and optimism to persevere in their goals even in the face of discomfort, rejection, and a lack of visible progress. Of course, as adults, we’ve all “been there”, and, like travellers who have already made a trip giving advice to those about to embark on it, it is hard to find the balance between giving necessary advice and robbing the recipient of the joy of discovering the trip for themselves. For while the destination is important, it is in the journey that we discover the most. It is as if we have made a difficult climb up a big tree, and having reflected on the difficulty of the exercise, we build a ladder for our children, that they might get to the top with ease. On doing so, we discover to our dismay that, instead of thanking us for the help, they sit there, dissatisfied, unfulfilled, and restless. St Andrew’s College Nec Aspera Terrent 27 January 2017 Uncertain of their capability, they look to find reassurance elsewhere in behaviours that chart a new journey whose end is uncertain in itself. Given reasonable challenge and an environment of unconditional love a child will flourish in their own appropriately positive self-esteem. To complete the journey successfully requires hard work and grit, and in my experience these two qualities are by far the biggest predictors of success at school (and, indeed, in life, particularly when we are blessed with so much opportunity). That quality of refusing to quit, expecting to win - “grit” - is one of the best gifts that we can ever give our children. Alan Thompson [email protected] St Andrew’s College Grade 8 Beach Walk: Boknes to Bushmans Last Sunday the annual Newboy Walk took place from Boknes to the Bushmans River Mouth. Just on a hundred Newboys, along with prefects and staff from their Houses, took on what proved to be quite a tough walk due to the easterly headwind and the high tide. Walking on the soft sand is pretty tiring but all the boys made it to the end without incident. On arrival the boys had boerie rolls and watermelon and were able to swim in the Bushmans River. On arriving back in Grahamstown one realised that we were lucky not to have had the sweltering 40 degree conditions that Grahamstown had experienced that day. All in all it was a good day out and a good opportunity for the boys to bond in an informal environment. St Andrew’s College Nec Aspera Terrent 27 January 2017 St Andrew’s College Nec Aspera Terrent 27 January 2017 The Music Leadership Team for 2017 From left to right: Thando Mseleku (Deputy Head Chapel Choir), Robert Quarmby (Head of Chapel Choir and Chamber Choir) and Zuko Yaka (Deputy Head of Chapel Choir and Musical Leader). St Andrew’s College Nec Aspera Terrent 27 January 2017 COLLEGE SPORT HIGHLIGHT Last weekend saw College teams heading to Port Elizabeth and East London for various fixtures, whilst we hosted a number of cricket matches in Grahamstown. The Basketball Club followed up fixtures on Friday against Kuyasa High School in Grahamstown with a busy schedule of fixtures in Port Elizabeth against Grey High School. The Club has grown in size and it was good to see all the boys getting a run. There was some good basketball played with the U14 coming away with wins, whilst the U16As went down narrowly 23-25 and the 1st Team game was a very tense affair. College were ahead most of the match but in the last quarter a lack of accuracy in shooting saw the Grey team draw ahead to win 33- 28. Water Polo ....................... The 1st, U15A and U14A water polo teams took part in the Grey High School Quadrangular on Friday and Saturday in Port Elizabeth. The junior sides found the going tough but it was a very good learning experience and they improved each game. The 1st Team clinched a draw with Selborne College on Friday, after the lead had changed hands a few times. On Saturday Grey came out firing against us and we were forced to play catch-up. Despite getting close in the 3rd quarter we were unable to get ahead and went down 12-8. The last game against Paul Roos saw us again start slowly before a better second half saw College run away with it, winning 15-8. St Andrew’s College Nec Aspera Terrent 27 January 2017 The tennis 1st team won the Settlers Cup. From left to right: Scott Cuthbert, Gareth Sparks, Ignus Potgieter, Christian Roebert, Murray Breetzke, Ryan Stoddart, Connor Wishart and Dylan Bowker Our senior and junior tennis teams took on a very strong Selborne side on Friday afternoon. Happening so soon in the year the boys generally battled, although they never gave up. Other than a few individual wins along the way we were outplayed on the day. On Sunday the tennis players took on Union High School, Kingswood College and Graeme College in the annual Settler’s Cup in sweltering conditions. The boys did really well to prevail over all three schools and to secure the trophy. The cricketers took on their Selborne College counterparts with the 1st XI game being played in East London. A strange batting performance, which always threatened to kick on but didn’t, saw College bowled out for 160 after being 134 for 4. A controlled run chase by Selborne saw them knock off the runs with 6 wickets in hand. Other than the U15As and the U14Bs College dominated the remaining fixtures with some extraordinary individual contributions with bat and ball. St Andrew’s College Nec Aspera Terrent 27 January 2017 The Rowing Club got in some good training at Settlers Dam in preparation for this weekend’s Settlers Sprint Regatta, which we host, involving Selborne College, Clarendon Girls’ High School, Grey High School, Zwartkops Rowing Club, NMMU and Rhodes University. Although the dam is only at around 50% full it should still provide some exciting racing with the format adjusted to accommodate the lack of water. This should allow all our rowers to get some competition on their home turf. The Albany Tennis Champs start on Friday and will be played over the next few weeks. There will be play on Sunday this week as well. We can expect a number of our boys to do well. Whilst the basketball fixtures against Lawson Brown have unfortunately been cancelled on Saturday, all the teams will be in action against local competition. Our Water Polo Club will host a quadrangular involving Selborne College, Grey High School and Kingswood College on Saturday. This will provide a further opportunity for our boys to progress from where they left off last weekend. A number of our cricket teams will be playing against Muir College, with the 1st and U15A teams playing in Grahamstown and the 2nds and U14As in Uitenhage. The rest of the Club will be involved in local fixtures. On Sunday the Annual River Mile will be swum in the Bushmans River starting at 10h00. Boys and girls from all three of our schools will be taking to the water. The seniors will swim a full mile whilst the juniors will swim a half-mile. The weather promises to be good so we can look forward to a good day out. Whilst it has threatened to rain a few times during the week, we are still desperately needing significant rain. Although Grahamstown and its surrounds look nice and green, we are in what they call a “green drought” and need rain urgently. With the sporting programme well and truly under way, I hope that you have a great weekend and look forward to seeing those of you that are able to support. Pete Andrew Director of Sport St Andrew’s College Nec Aspera Terrent 27 January 2017 Upcoming EVENTS 27 January - 3 February 2017 27/1/2017 15h00 Tennis Albany Champs (Round 1) 28/1/2017 08h00 Basketball vs Lawson Brown and PE Comets 08h00 Cricket vs Muir College (Grahamstown) 08h00 Rowing Settlers Sprints (Thomas Baines Nature Reserve) 08h00 Water Polo Quadrangular - Selborne, Grey, Kingswood (Grahamstown) 14h00 Choir Camp 29/1/2017 10h00 Swimming River Mile (Bushmans) 08h30 Tennis Albany Champs (Round 2) 30/1/2017 16h00 Tennis vs PJ Olivier and Graeme College 31/1/2017 16h00 Swimming Graeme Long Course Gala 18h30 Marketing Information Evening (Stand 429, 7 Hoggs Bay Close, Kyalami Estate) 01/2/2017 08h00 Water Polo vs Pearson and Alex (Port Elizabeth) 18h30 Marketing Information Evening (23 Pitt Road, Bryanston) 02/2/2017 Tennis Boland Landbou U15 Tournament St Andrew’s College Nec Aspera Terrent 27 January 2017 Information Evening Tuesday 31 January 2017 | 18h00 for 18h30 Stand 429 (7 Hoggs Bay Close) Kyalami Estate, Midrand Wednesday 1 February 2017 | 18h00 for 18h30 23 Pitt Road, Bryanston You are warmly invited to attend an Information Evening on our family of leading independent boarding schools Children are encouraged to accompany their parents St Andrew’s College The Diocesan School for Girls For more information and to RSVP St Andrew’s Preparatory School contact Craig Hatches | 083 351 5575 [email protected] Situated in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape.