Headmaster: S Simpson BA, HDE (Wits), B Ed (Hons) (UCT) www.rondebosch.com Message from the Headmaster In an assembly message to the school this year, I spoke about a phrase that I use often, which the boys in my Grade 11 English class have apparently found quite amusing; maybe because it has become something of a catch phrase, maybe because it draws attention to the person at whom it is directed. I have developed a tendency to say the words: ‘Good man!’ when a young man says or does something praiseworthy. There is a term in psychology, ‘semantic satiation’, which describes a phenomenon where repetition causes a word or phrase to temporarily lose meaning for the listener, who then begins to hear it as repeated meaningless sounds. I’m sure that most parents of adolescents have seen this phenomenon at work – where overused phrases like ‘make your bed’ seem to have become ‘meaningless sounds’. This may be true of my overuse of ‘good man’, but it is something that is always at the forefront of my mind. Surely, one of the prime reasons that we gather adolescents of the male gender together in a monastic school is to make better men of them? Surely, it is incumbent upon us to deliver into a world full of phrases like ‘toxic masculinity’, ‘homophobia’ and ‘mansplain’, a socially, emotionally and ethically ‘woke’ version of man? The more I work with boys, the more aware I become of how fraught this journey is; particularly in this bewildering age where messages and images with the potential to change lives forever move in a millisecond across the electronic ether at the push of a ‘like’ button. It is easy to say ‘good man’ but what does this actually mean? Headmaster: S Simpson BA, HDE (Wits), B Ed (Hons) (UCT) www.rondebosch.com I use this term as an indication that a young man has used his initiative. I use it when a student takes a step beyond his peers and goes the extra mile to assist. I use it when a young man takes accountability or responsibility either for doing or not doing something. I use it when a boy offers a solution to an issue which he has observed as needing addressing. I use it when a young man brings something to my attention that I hadn’t thought of before. I use it when a young man stands up when others commit indefensible acts. Of course, these are my own assessments of what makes a good man. It feels at times, as technology becomes increasingly pervasive and Moore’s Law of exponential doubling takes hold, that there is a growing set of unreasonable expectations facing educators and that there are other bigger questions at play. Looking around at the environment their boys find themselves in, heads of boys’ schools have been led to interrogate how to negotiate these uncertain times. For instance, how is technology influencing the shaping of good men? How do we teach boys to take responsibility for what they post online? How can a school possibly equip boys to interrogate and respond to media messages of what it looks like to be a man? How do we reinforce the message of respect for women in the face of the messages coming at young boys in movies and songs? In an era where young men are mishearing that all things masculine are toxic, how do we talk about and accommodate all types of masculinity? Headmaster: S Simpson BA, HDE (Wits), B Ed (Hons) (UCT) www.rondebosch.com Adolescent boys are wired to take risks: how can we provide a context which teaches them to be responsible risk takers? And perhaps the loudest question in a boys’ school where physical activity and physicality are encouraged: how do we negotiate a shift away from a damaging, collective obsession with sporting dominance and success, with winning leagues and cups, and lead all of our community of players, parents, coaches and supporters towards a more healthy emphasis on sport (and in fact all school activities) as a classroom for character development without the perception that we are compromising tradition and pride? Michael Mol suggested to school leaders at a 2014 IBSC conference, “Your responsibility is not to create good men, your responsibility is to create an environment to help boys discover they are good men.” Herein, I think, lies part of the answer to all of the questions above. We cannot be the finger in the dyke, plugging a small hole while the dam wall is bulging and cracking around us. We can create context and creating context forms the essence of the Bosch 125 vision. Rondebosch has a rich history of good men doing good things (most of the time), the challenge in the face of rapid change, is for us to create the ethical, social, emotional and educational contexts to watch the good men grow. Shaun Simpson Headmaster | Rondebosch Boys’ High School Headmaster: S Simpson BA, HDE (Wits), B Ed (Hons) (UCT) www.rondebosch.com Academics A very pressurised term, with regard to teaching time, has come to an end. Our midyear examinations, collecting and capturing of marks and the exam script handback ran smoothly. The results of these examinations can now be analysed and used to come up with effective strategies to improve. Well done to all of the boys who have worked hard and consistently and who achieved the results that reflect their best effort. Rondebosch Boys’ High School won the UCT Mathematics Competition for the sixth consecutive year. Bishops was placed second and Wynberg Boys’ High School third. This is the 15th time that Rondebosch has won the Trophy for the best performing school. There were over 6500 entrants and Rondebosch received 7 individual gold awards and 4 pair gold awards. Gold awards go the top 10 individuals and top three pairs per grade - from RBHS are: • Matthew Blows & Theon Smith (1st in Gr 12 pairs) • Steffan Brundyn (2nd Gr 11) • Andrew Walsh & Chilton Yip (2nd in Gr 8 pairs) • André Toerien (3rd in Gr 10) • Daniel Schlesinger (3rd in gr 9) • Angus Duncan & Sang-Yeon Park (3rd in Gr 11 pairs) • Johann Mats Engelbrecht & Alexander Stulting (3rd in gr 8 pairs) • Imran Moosa (4th in Gr 8) • Ethan Cunningham (8th in Gr 10) • Muzzammil Mohamed (9th in Gr 8) • Ethan Holgate (10th in Gr 8). Congratulations to all our participants and to our Mathematics Staff, in particular Mrs Susan Carletti, Ms Paola Ghignone & Mr Trevor Edwards. Headmaster: S Simpson BA, HDE (Wits), B Ed (Hons) (UCT) www.rondebosch.com Sport Winter season is traditionally our busiest sports season. Apart from offering eight different sports for our winter program, the big team sports, of hockey, rugby and soccer, on their own represent 76% of our boys. Our winter derbies, against our traditional rivals in the Southern Suburbs, attract a lot of attention and all of our boys fiercely participate in them. At our last derby, against Bishops, we had 35 teams from various sporting codes competing over a period of two days! As usual, this is also the time of year when the provincial structures in the major sporting codes select and announce their teams for the IPT’s (Inter-Provincial Tournament). Congratulations to all of the boys and their parents who have made the various winter sports’ provincial teams. Although not one of our main goals, these selections can be an indication of how healthy our sport is. So far, we have received selections for: Western Province Hockey: 10 WP representatives (6 x U18, 4 x U14) Western Province Rugby: 8 WP representatives (8 x U18) Western Province Squash: 9 WP representatives (4 x U18, 2 x U16, 3 x U14) Thank you to all of the coaches and parents for supporting and guiding our boys so far. A tough half of the winter season is still ahead of us. Enjoy the well- deserved break. Make use of the opportunity to give your bodies a bit of a recovery period, but remain active. See you all on the side-lines somewhere during next term. Headmaster: S Simpson BA, HDE (Wits), B Ed (Hons) (UCT) www.rondebosch.com Chess Chess 2019 saw a strengthening of the Rondebosch chess teams in terms of numbers. This term the boys have entered to play in two leagues: the Western Province school’s chess league and the southern suburbs league. In the WP league the boys played five matches and won all of them, putting them at the top of the league. In the southern suburbs league both the A team and the B team competed. Each team played five matches. Our A Team won three and drew two with no losses in any matches this term. The B team won, one drew one and lost three. The B team is growing in skill and I look forward to their improvements in the third term. A special mention must be made of Nico Martin who competed in the National U18 closed event. In this event, the top 20 players of each respective age category are pitted against each other. Martin was seeded thirteenth and finished sixth, outperforming many stronger players. A special mention must also be made of the following boys: Yaseen Majiet: Most improved chess player. Furqaan Barday: Most number of matches won. Imran Moosa: Most number of matches played. We look forward to the continued improvement of our chess players’ skills in Term 3. Headmaster: S Simpson BA, HDE (Wits), B Ed (Hons) (UCT) www.rondebosch.com Cross Country What a fantastic season of running we have enjoyed so far! Not only have we seen another healthy growth in the number of runners at Bosch, but the boys keep getting stronger and faster too.