Jeppe High School for Boys Association Cnr Good Hope Street, Kensington, Johannesburg Telephone: (011) 616 5090 | [email protected] Newsletter 1/2017 After 10 years as headmaster, Mr Anton Dempsey has announced his intention to retire at the end of the year, to staff and parents. The School is massively indebted to Mr Dempsey, under whose tenure and leadership the school has enjoyed a golden period of sustained success across the board in infrastructure improvement, sporting results, quality of staff and academic progress. Formal farewells will be held for Mr Dempsey in the 4th term of this year wherein he will be thanked by the various constituencies of the Jeppe family for his contribution to the School. Going forward, we are hopeful that Mr Dempsey will continue to play a role in the Jeppe family within the JBA structures. Fortunately the school has had a succession plan in place for some time and, in Dale Jackson, has a very capable and experienced senior deputy steeped in Jeppe history who will be able to step into the role of acting headmaster whilst the formal process of identifying and appointing a permanent headmaster takes place. For those of you that are not familiar with the mission of the JBA, it is “To be the “bridge” between the school and our old boys and patrons communities, building a vibrant and constructive relationship between these communities and the school and within these communities. With this in mind, I’d like to officially welcome the Class of 2016 to the Old Boys Association. We hope you enjoy reading your first “out-of-school” newsletter. I’d also like to take this opportunity to update everyone on the progress of our infrastructure projects. The one I’m most excited about is our drive to expand the school’s campus through a program of buying the properties that border the school’s precinct, as well as the development of the land that borders on the Oribi Hostel. We currently have options on two houses (shaded in the photo below) that border the road above the Watson pavilion and our intention is to purchase these into one of our existing trusts and allow the school to create direct access from these properties into our campus so that they can use the space for teacher accommodation, which is a real need. These are ambitious projects and if there are any old boys or patrons that are interested in assisting with funding the acquisition of the properties or the refurbishment of them, please make contact with me either by email ([email protected]) or on my cell (0824435922). Another exciting initiative for 2017 is the introduction of a formal program of bringing old boys back to the school to talk to the current boys and give them some insight into the world that awaits them and strategies to help them cope and be more successful once they graduate from Jeppe. I know we are all leading busy lives but I can assure you that you will get an amazing amount out of interacting with these boys and seeing the high standards at the school. If you’d like to be part of this program please let me know. Finally, for some time now the JBA has been operated by a small group of dedicated people in a part time and volunteer capacity and my thanks in this regard to Fabio Matteucci, Kevin Robins and Fiona Garcia. However, if we are going to achieve our mission and complete the exciting projects that we have on the table, we need some fresh thinking and new energy on our committee. If you are interested in joining the JBA committee please contact me. I hope to hear from many of you soon and I’ll try to keep you all up to date on our projects as they progress. Regards Rob Katzen (class of 1986) Old boy’s news 65 Years of Camaraderie – extracts from an email received from Michael Quail (class of 1956) “A note to let you know that a few of us gathered at the old school recently to celebrate our 60th class reunion. From the start of serious planning, Ivan Schwartz undertook to organise the catering for lunch. It turned out that Zelda mostly managed the production of a varied and most delicious lunch extending over many courses. How special to sit around a table and chat to classmates you've known for sixty-five years. Earlier we met for tea and went on a conducted tour guided by Kevin Robins. The lads were amazed to learn of the developments particularly on the lower campus which have led to Jeppe's status as a much sought after school. In addition Kevin gave us a great deal of other info on our walk. Dale Jackson then addressed us in the Watson Pavilion on matters related to the heartbeat of Jeppe. What a school it has become over 125 years! We also saw the latest production of a video designed to record the development of the school for ordinary boys like us. Jeppe can rightly claim to turn black and white into gold in a most impressive way. Thanks to Athly Jarvis and Gayle Thompson for being so helpful as well. What an amazing staff, governing body, old boy community and parent support they have to produce the fine young men that pass through its gates each year. We left the school as very happy Jeppe Old Boys. Jeppe Hockey in great shape The (very) Old Boys, pictured below, after the 4-4 draw against the under 14 team, can claim that the great start to the boys’ high school hockey career is attributable to the skills that the Old Boys passed onto them at the annual old boy vs school hockey day (the U14A squad were unbeaten at the Westville U14 Hockey Festival (31/03 – 03/04 2017) as well as the Nomads Festival hosted by Grey College (08/04 – 10/04 2017). They played 11 games - won 10, drew 1, scored 46 goals and conceded only 3). In total four Old Boy sides participated. The annual old boy vs school hockey day is a much anticipated fixture on the hockey calendar and hugely instrumental in upholding Jeppe Boys as a leading hockey school in South Africa. Jeppe Quondam – South Africa’s best Jeppe Quondam were recently crowned inaugural champions of the CSA Multiply T20 Community Cup, which is the premier T20 competition, encompassing all provinces and featuring non-tertiary clubs. They won a much needed R50 000 cheque for their efforts. A special congratulations to Gareth Olivier (class of 2010) for being named Player of the Tournament. The team is coached by Tyrone Peters (class of 1999) and includes 6 Old Boys. Rowing Dinner and Boat Naming On Friday 24 March 2017, boys, staff, patrons and parents gathered to celebrate and recognise key performers of a very successful 2016 / 2017 rowing season. An added feature of this year’s dinner was the Christening of our two new boats, a coxed four and coxless pair. This event highlighted the passion and enthusiasm the Old Boys have for their club and school, as they pitched in together to raise funds to purchase the naming rights to the boats with the objective of recognising two individuals who had played key roles in developing the club in the nineties to set the platform on which the current success was built. The coxed four was named ‘Lamorna’, after Lamorna Cantin, and the coxless pair was named ‘Fritz’, after Fritz Roberg. Zak Wood (class of 1996) delivered a moving tribute to Lamorna and Fritz who we were privileged to have present on the night. Another special moment of the evening was Mr Brian Goodall, Jeppe Head Boy of 1963 and first ever rowing captain, presenting the captains for 2017/2018 with their appointment letters. Congratulations to Captain Karl Kaminski, and his Vice-Captains Jaryd Johnston and Nizaam McBride, and good luck for next season! Recent visitors to the school Denzel Hill (class of 2013) addressed the boys during assembly and presented the school with a signed U20 SA Rugby Jersey. Receiving the jersey from Denzel is Janse van der Ryst, the director of sport. Rasta Rasivhenge (class of 2004) internationally renowned rugby referee addressed the audience at the Jeppe Rugby Celebration Evening. Wandisile Simelane and Tyrone Green (class of 2016, right of picture) recently visited the school as part of the Golden Lions contingent that addressed the boys during assembly. Eugene Stolk (class 1997, second from right) was the Guest of Honour at the Academic Prize giving Awards. His motivational speech is sure to motivate the boys in their quest for academic excellence. Darren Norman (class of 1988) who heads up the Australian Chapter also popped into the school with his family during his trip back to SA. In addition, another committee member of the Australian chapter, Robin Dobson (class of 1989) popped into the school with his children as well as Alan Carrington (class of 1984) who is Robin’s cousin, pictured here on the Ledwaba Stairs. Graeme Skeen, devoted Jeppe Old Boy and Managing Director of Dymot Engineering in Spartan, paid a visit to the school to chat to the learners who benefit from the annual donation Dymot Engineering makes to the school to aid disadvantaged learners. Graeme enjoys catching up with the boys during these visits to the school, discussing their academic and sporting progress, general school and boarding life and any topics the boys wish to raise with him. This was a particularly special visit as he presented Tebogo Thena, one of the learners who benefit from the Dymot Engineering funding, with the match ball from the 1st XI game against St Albans where Tebogo picked up 5 wickets for 21 runs in 8.3 overs.