EDITION 28 │ 05 September 2018 EDITION 28 │ 05 September 2018 WEEKLY SCRIPTURE This week the Foundation Phase children were asked to bring in a bunch of flowers, not only as a celebration of Spring Day, but to be given to local old age homes as a blessing. The fragrant aroma and array of beautiful colours was simply wonderful! Sp r ing is a great time to renew yourself and gain a fresh perspective on one's life. With flowers blooming and everything coming to life, it's easy to feel a sense of change and rebirth happening all around us. Even if you've had a particularly brutal winter, spring always brings hope that summer will soon be on its way and that a fresh start is all around us. Embrace this new season by asking Him to “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10 “There shall be showers of blessing, this is the promis e of love; there shall be seasons refreshing , se nt f r o m the Saviour above. Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need, mercy - drops round us are falling, but for the showers we plead. There shall be showers of blessing, if we but trust and obey; there shall be seasons refreshing, if we let God have His way .” (from song: “There Shall Be Showers of Blessing” by Daniel W. Whittle) Be blessed - Happy Spring everyone! Colette Jagles [email protected] NEWS FROM THE EDITOR H i l l cr e s t / Waterfall bu s (mornings only ) – we have some space available on this m or n in g’ s only bus. Please refer to the resources tab of the communicator or the website for the application form. Electronic Board at Gate Entrance – our electronic board at the gate is fairly old and we have been experiencing some difficulty with it sourcing par ts and repairing it. If there are any parents in this line of work or know of a company in Durban who could possibly assist, please contact Kim Hooper. T h an k you – S pr i n g D ay Special thanks to our Foundation Phase families who donated flowers to the old Hillcrest Hospital for the aged and disabled. We are certain you brightened their day and welcomed the joy of Spring into their lives. The Senior Primary pupils have supported the Valley Dogs and we are certainly overwhelmed by the commitment and support towards this project. We are so excited to share the amount of dog food, blankets etc. that have been donated (once we can physically get it all out of the storeroom to photograph). Watch this space! Condolences Our sincere condolences to Mrs Kathy van R ensurg (SP Aftercare) on the passing of her mother. Our thoughts and prayers are with her and the family at this difficult time. Thomas More College │ [email protected] │ www.thomasmore.co.za 1 EDITION 28 │ 05 September 2018 Child Safety We have received communication from a parent about kidnapping syndicates operating from areas in and around D urban. We cannot confirm or deny the authenticity of this communication, but would rather be extra cautious when it concerns our children. Please chat to your children about going off with strangers when in public areas, and to ensure that you keep a cl o se eye on your child at all times. Parents, if we could remind you that if your children are being collected from aftercare by aunties, uncles or friends, please can you inform the necessary teachers/secretaries or aftercare staff beforehand. K i m H oope r Marketing Co - ordinator: Communications [email protected] NEWS FROM THE HIGH SCHOOL HEADMASTER It is, once again, quite sobering to acknowledge that we are in the ninth month of the year. Whilst I am energised that Spring has sprung, and the sunrises that greet me daily as I arrive at school continue to fill me with sheer wonderment, it remains mind - boggling to be in the throes of matric prize giving planning and all the related dominoes th at precede Christmas decorations and the sound of Christmas Carols across shopping centre PA systems. This realisation of a fast - approaching end of 2018 gives me opportunity to pause and think about living NOW. I know I will hear from one or two Grade 12s in the coming weeks of missed opportunities during their time at school; I hear th e se e v e r y year. Thus, perhaps NOW is an opportune time for our Grade 8 - 11 children to reflect on their year to date. Varied and dynamic opportunities for self - discovery prese nt themselves daily at Thomas More College, be these through our academic programme, our extra - curricular programme, our Outreach programme or simply in the multitudinous life - affirming interactions we can enjoy amongst ourselves on this campus. P e r h aps , f or many of us, it is easier to put things off “until tomorrow”; however, as NOW is all of which we are ever guaranteed, perhaps NOW is the better option. John Maxwell cites the case of best - selling author, Louis L’Amour who, when questioned on his inspirat ion for his writing, simply stated: “Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” I believe that it is the Thomas More adult community who should be encouraging our children to “turn on their taps”; make no mistake , we cannot turn their taps on f or them. The tap is th e i r s , n ot ou r s . Similarly, their school w or k i s t h ei r s to do, not ou r s . Their progress, commitment and sense of self are the i r s to explore and hone, not ou r s . D ai l y challenges are t he i r s to navigate, no t ou r s . S e lf - fulfilled children are those who have been allowed to be scratched by difficulty, grapple with difficulty and overcome difficulty. It is only by doing so that they recognise fully the beauty and wonder of living. It is in the struggle that we find our true selves and depth of character. And so, may we encourage our children to find that which is vibrant and resonates deeply in their lives today. May we allow them the space to find their own solutions and coping mechanisms in times of challenge and difficulty instead of trying to remove the difficulty ourselves. We do them no favours whatsoever when we do so. I believe unequivocally that we are nurturing Tomorrow’s Leaders Today. Leaders lead. They lead their lives; they lead themselves through t imes of darkness; they lead others through times of darkness; they do hard things. Leaders lead not on their own; they have reinforcements around them, and that’s us, the adults of this community. Let us, therefore, reinforce and support. In so doing, we w ill give our young people permission to empower themselves exponentially, TODAY. Notes from the Head’s desk: I take this opportunity to inform you that Mr Justin Lanz, Mathematics teacher in the high school, will be leaving us at the end of the year. Mr Lanz has accepted a Maths post at Reddam Umhlanga which is mere minutes from his home. Whilst he will be sorely missed, the move is a good one for him on many practical levels. We will bid farewell to Mr Lanz appropriately at the end of the year. D av e W i gge t t HS Headmaster [email protected] 2 Thomas More College │ [email protected] │ www.thomasmore.co.za EDITION 28 │ 05 September 2018 NEWS FROM THE PRIMARY SCHOOL HEADMISTRESS Thank you for the support both in terms of your voluntary contributions of dog food and by permitting your children to wear civvies to commemorate the arrival of spring. The R10 for the permission to wear civvies will be debited to your account, the procee ds going to the Valley Dogs, a most worthy cause. Our athletes who took part at the Kings Park Stadium Zonal Christian School athletics meeting did very well, gaining a number of places and many of them qualifying with their times or distances for the next r o und in Sasolburg at the end of September. A huge thank you to those teachers who gave up their Friday afternoons and their whole day Saturday to accompany them, and manage, or assist with the event. We are indeed grateful to staff members Tracey Meikle, Marie Steyn and Jade Goosen as well as Jason McGarry, Lindo Mthalane and Josh Wiborg in addition to a number of our coaches. Special congratulations once again to Kaelah Balarin for yet again being victr ix lud o r um – we are very proud of you! On Saturday 1 st September TMC had 7 teams take part in the World Robotics Olympiad competition. This was the 1 st r o und at provincial level and it took place at Curro Mount Richmore in Ballito. The 7 teams worked for months in preparation for the event and put in many Thursday nights and Sunday mornings as well as many hours during school time. We congratulate two of our HS teams who won silver medals. In the SP, Bethany Steenkamp, E than Roome and Hugo Gildenhuys also came in 2 nd with silver medals in the Elementary category. The following teams also took part: - James Harrison and Joshua Fitzpatrick; Lwazi Gumede and Greg Acklom; Ben van der Walt and Vasilios Kapnias.