Issue 2
 

No. 2 of 2008 – Thursday 7 February

Friday Afternoon Cricket Clinic

Once we have finalized arrangements for the Clinic this year, an application form together with a letter giving details will be sent to parents via their sons.  In the meantime, thank you for your patience.

Mrs K. Stoop

Administrator

HIGH SCHOOL – Mrs Pat Fitzsimons

We have not even been back at school for a full month and the number of activities that have occurred is phenomenal. I congratulate all of our boys on the enthusiasm and spirit with which they have entered into all of their activities.

Academics

Many assessments have already been written or assignments given. Boys must remember to check their assessment timetables and plan their work. They have been setting goals in each subject with their teachers and it is important that in each and every assessment this goal is achieved or even exceeded, if it is to be achieved by the end of the year.

The marks from assessments being written at this time will be reflected in the mid- term report which will be issued on Friday 22^nd Feb.

Cultural

It was wonderful to have the school band play at our assembly once again and hear the marimbas being played at the College birthday mass last Thursday. The time that these young men give to their practices is much appreciated and I encourage others to become involved. Mr. Askham is looking for new band members and if anyone is interested in playing the marimbas please speak to Mrs. Luiz in the Prep. School.

Years 10 have begun their Toastmasters course organized by Ms. Dolman. We have been doing this course for many years and believe it gives the boys many important skills. It is now also part of the year 10 Life Orientation requirement. Thank you to the Toastmasters who give of their time every Tuesday evening to assist our students. 

Sport

As always the boys have been very busy in this area. The swimmers in particular are very involved at this time of year and we thank them and their coaches for all the time given.

Cricket, squash and tennis sides have started the season well, with very involved, passionate and motivated players and trainers.  The new time allowances for sport have allowed us to utilise coaches more effectively and the study and fitness sessions are being approached very maturely by the majority of students.  With any new system, there is a time of adjustment and some hiccups do occur, but we believe that the benefits of the system to the boys far out weighs any problems we have encountered thus far.

The finals of the House 20\20 cricket will be held on Thursday 14 February.  Parents who are available on the day are welcome to come and join their sons in support of their House.

Spirit and Support

The matric leaders of 2008 have been doing an excellent job in this area. This was clearly seen at the Inter- House swimming Gala. Participation in the events was at an all time high and the support for the swimmers from the various Houses was exceptional. Thank you to Mr. Douglas and the swimming coaches for the organisation and to all boys for their involvement.

Matric Farwell

Mrs Ruthven, Ms Dolman and the Year 11 boys have been very busy organizing the valentines gifts as the first fund raiser for this event.  A meeting was held on Monday evening to discuss further fund raisers and I thank all parents and boys who attended for their presence and ideas. Look out for future notices about the Ladies Tea, a Dinner Dance and a Golf Day. Please support the Year 11 boys in their efforts to raise funds so that the Matrics of 2008 can have a wonderful Matric Farwell Evening. 

Outreach and the Edmund Rice Society  (from Mr Wermuth)

The boys or the E.R.S. continue with their commitment to help those in need.  On Tuesday 22^nd Jan. they delivered 170 pairs of Reading Spectacles to Rest a While a home for the aged. These were donated by Mr. Barnett and Edmund House. The centre provides many services such as religious services, a choir, recycling promotions, bingo etc. During the visit the boys were reminded that all people whatever their beliefs are to be loved and respected because they are made by God, they are also valuable and they matter. Thank you to Mr David Maluleke for transporting us safely.

Tuck shop collection—Boys are encouraged to donate any copper change 50 cents or less at the tuck shop collection point.

Reminders—Please continue to donate at least R1 per week to fund the Monday soup kitchen.  For Masses remember to bring one item of non- perishable food to be distributed to destitute families.   May God Bless you for your generosity.

Message from the Head Boy, Deputy Head Boy and Heads of Houses

We would like to thank Mrs Fitzsimons and Mr Askham for their support, guidance and patience as we assume our new roles as leaders, roles which we hold with a massive amount of pride and excitement.

The year has kicked off with a bang and we have already completed many inter house-events. Well done to all the participants and especially the houses and their leaders for the fantastic start. The spirit shown has been some of the best we’ve seen. Keep it up boys!  Good luck with all up coming tests and assignments, work hard and the results will show.

HOUSE REPORTS

Aquinas  (Mr Rindfleisch)

The first few weeks of this term have been highly productive for Aquinas from a sporting point of view.  The inter-house golf was finalized last Thursday after all the rain delays.  Well done to our golfers for winning the event.

Our swimmers were excellent last Friday in the inter-house gala.  Aquinas finished first, with Douglas Erasmus and Jo nathan Gardiner breaking various records.  Douglas set new records in the open freestyle and butterfly, while Jo nathan managed three records in Under 15 freestyle, butterfly and breaststroke.  Well done!  The support at the gala by the rest of the house was also of the highest quality—thanks to the matric leaders and the boys on the stands.

Final results for inter-house squash, tennis and cricket are still pending, but it seems that Aquinas is favourably positioned in all these events.  Good luck to the boys in these teams.

Edmund   (Mr Barnett)

Fantastic!  Great!  Amazing!  These are the adjectives that have been used to praise the cheerleading from Edmund House.  Thank you, matrics, for keeping the tradition and doing your house proud.  Although we lacked the star winners that the other houses have we pulled together and achieved an admirable 2nd / 3rd place—depending on the Hibernia result.

Well done, Liam, for being selected for the Eastern Gauteng Under 21 Indoor Hockey Team, and also for swimming a length at the gala.  Thank you to the tutors, boys and the matric leaders who are so positive this year.

Founders  (Mr Muller)

I am so proud to be part of the Founders family.  To see how well the house is working, how well the boys are working together and achieving good results is heartening.  I am, of course, talking about the inter-house swimming gala.  The spirit of Founders was just amazing.  All credit must go to the leaders—they have done a sterling job of organizing the house, building the team spirit, and they tried their best participating in the events.  They are responsible for the success of Founders and I salute them for their effort.  Well done guys!  Also, congratulations to all the boys who participated in the swimming.  I am proud of you, even if you just tried.  A special thanks to some boys who participated even though their names were not on the list.  This shows the spirit of the house.

There is unfortunately some bad news in the fact that there are ten Founders boys on detention this week.  Homework needs to be completed by due dates.  I ask the parents to help in this regard.  Please check diaries to keep abreast of your son’s scholastic behaviour.  This will show that you are interested in what he is doing and you will not received any unwanted surprises.  Remember, it is not important who started the race, but it is very important who completes it.

A reminder to parents, please—you must phone in to the front office if your son is absent from school.  It is also required that you send a note to school, timeously, if your son will be missing events.

Revill  (Mr Phiri)

“I once had a teacher who taught me to play as part of a team—not always my way.  He taught me a lesson on sharing that day, when he shared his gift with me.”

This stanza sums up the diligent efforts displayed by both swimmers and the rest of the cheering boys at the gala last Friday.  It is an open secret that enthusiasm for a task and discipline to do it, are inseparable for great success.  I thus congratulate all the boys for a successful display at the gala.  Special mention must go to all the swimmers and our matric leadership for all the organization.

On a different note, I am disappointed by the number of boys who are on detention for not doing homework.  This does not reflect any seriousness on these boys’ part and it will not be tolerated at all.  As such I would like to urge all parents to check on their sons’ diaries daily so as to avoid unnecessary detentions.  Still on the academic front,  the first assessments are on at the moment in most learning areas, if not all.  I will not suffice to reiterate the importance of preparing adequately for these.

Remember, each person’s work is always a portrait of oneself.

A reminder to High School parents—

Please remember that on Tuesdays and Thursdays, if you are collecting your sons between 14h00 and 14h30, then please do so at the BACK GATE of the College.

PREPARATORY SCHOOL – Mr Stephen Bryan

SWIMMING

Well done to all for the excellent spirit that prevailed at the Inter-House Gala last Friday.  Congratulations to all the participants who qualified to swim for their houses.  The Prize-Giving ceremony will take place next Monday from 12h30—13h30 in the hall.

The final positions in the gala were as follows:  1.  Hibernia (1564), 2.  Caledonia (1367), 3.  Albion (1187) and 4.  Cambria (1133).  The Spirit Trophy was won by Caledonia .

Good luck to the swimmers who are participating in the Midmar Tour this weekend (8—10 February).  Well done to the boys who have been representing us in all the galas recently.

A reminder that the Inter-Primary B Gala (Wednesday 20 February) and the Inter-Primary A Gala (Thursday 21 February) take place at the Boksburg North Pool.

ACADEMICS

Important dates this term—

Saturday 23 February  -  Year 4 Workshop

Saturday 8 March  -  Year 5 Workshop.

Details for these workshops will be given by Year Heads.

A reminder once again that all work contributes towards the final Term mark.  It is essential that boys keep up with their work on a daily basis.  The Mid-Term Assessments will go out on Friday 29 February.

The staff would like all parents to encourage their sons to be well prepared for the reading period on Wednesdays by ensuring their children have an enjoyable book to read.  Enquire as to what your son is reading and help him develop a keener interest in reading and comprehension by constantly chatting to him about the benefits of reading more often.

EDMUND RICE INTER-CBC SUMMER FESTIVAL

This year our Open A Tennis, Open A Cricket and Cross Country teams will represent us in Welkom from 28 February—1 March.  Details will follow soon.

VALENTINES’ PICNIC

On Thursday 14 February the boys will be celebrating Valentines’ Day with St Dominic’s at CBC.  The morning will consist of shared lunches, social interaction and singing presentations.  Boys may wear civvies (something red) on this day.  The R5 donation goes to the Year 11 Matric Farewell Fundraiser.  The day ends at 12 noon as this is the start of the mid-term break.

EXTRA-MURAL PROGRAMME

This programme is on an all-time high in both the sporting and cultural activities.  Parents are reminded of the tutorials of extra English, Maths and Afrikaans on offer.

SCHOOLBOYS OF THE WEEK

DATES TO REMEMBER

PRIMARY SCHOOL – Mr Henry Moolman

School seems to be a place of so much fun.  The carefree manner, energetic games played, time to socialize with friends and very important, mom’s special lunch to enjoy, all contribute to the happy moment enjoyed.  There are however a number of occasions that can cause unhappiness and stress in a young man’s life.  One of them is not being certain about who is to fetch him after school.  Often transport arrangements are relayed to him but these are forgotten or his parents are delayed due to some unforeseen circumstance.  To limit the occurrence and effect of this stress-inducing event, I wish to remind everyone of our standing arrangements—

Firstly emphasise the extra-mural or cultural activity your boy must attend on the day.

Fetch your boy from the place where the activity is taking place.

Should you be delayed, the responsible staff member will bring your boy to the front steps of the

Administration building.  NB—if your child is very anxious we will arrange for him to phone you.

NB—if your boy is going to change his extra-mural activity, etc., please let his class teacher know.

If these few but important steps are followed, it will ensure that none of the boys will ever have an unhappy experience regarding transport.

CAKE AND CANDY

The Year Three’s will have their Cake and Candy on Friday 8 February (tomorrow).  I wish to thank their parents in advance for their support, and would encourage the rest of the school to do likewise by buying the goods donated. 

PARENTS’ WORKSHOP—YEAR ONE  (Saturday 9 February 2008)

In the past these workshops have without fail provided an opportunity for parents to become well informed about how they can assist in the consolidation of the reading skills needed for progress in this area.  We are starting at 08h00 in the Media Centre, so as to finish early, allowing you time to enjoy the better part of Saturday doing what needs to be done.  Hoping to see you all there.

VALENTINES’ DAY—THURSDAY 14 FEBRUARY

The whole Primary School will be visiting St Dominic’s to celebrate Valentines’ Day.  The pre-grade will be transported by bus.  Our older boys will enjoy a leisurely walk to St Dominic’s.  The lads may wear civvies, as long as something red is worn.  NB—they may be fetched from their classes at the end of the day.

MID-TERM BREAK

On Thursday 14 February school ends at 12 noon for the start of the mid-term break.  School resumes again on Tuesday 19 February.  Boys must bring their sports skills kit for extra-murals that afternoon.

SPORT REPORT

Please see Mr Maree’s report on page 7.

SPECIAL AWARDS

Our boys have been busy again on the sports front.  We congratulate the following on their achievements.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

“They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”  (Carol Buchner)

SPORT – High School (Mr Mike Moriarty)

TENNIS

SQUASH

Last Friday Michael Forner, Marco Marques, Douglas Erasmus and Deryck May represented the College in a friendly squash fixture against St Dunstan’s.  CBC won the fixture, winning 3 of the 5 matches.

GOLF

CBC won all three games in the fixture against Woodlands International College .  The score was 4—0.

The results of the Inter-House competition were as follows—

1st place—Aquinas (117)

2nd place—Founders (106)

3rd place—Revill  (99)

4th place—Edmund  (85)

TRIATHLON

Well done to the boys who took part in the Jhb Tri Series on Sunday 3 February.

750m swim, 20k cycle and 5k run—

Shaun Dalton 1h 14.31

Douglas Erasmus 1h 15.33

Jason de Jager 1hr 23.09

400m swim, 10k cycle and 2.5k run—

Darren Morisse 46 min 31 sec

Zane Coles 54 min 07 sec

There is no cycling on Friday 8 February (tomorrow) as we are away in Midmar.

RUNNING

The boys have enthusiastically taken to the Friday afternoon time trial.  Deryck May is currently our quickest runner over the 2.8 km course.  Well done to all the boys taking part.  To have so many taking part, especially after last Friday’s gala, is very impressive.  Keep in up.

CRICKET