NEWSLETTER

TRINITY TERM No 4/2012

Dear Parents As we move towards Spring after a very cold winter, where St Johns was transformed into a winter wonderland by the most impressive snowfall since 1981, we have much to celebrate: we have appointed sixty-five young men and one young lady as prefects in their houses. They have completed a rigorous leadership programme where they have demonstrated their leadership skills and character through a programme of mentoring of juniors, community service, carrying out a leadership portfolio in their house and active participation in the life of the school community. We are proud of their achievements and congratulate them all. I would also like to acknowledge all who earned their Colours awards for the winter sports programme. Many have represented Gauteng and even South Africa in their various disciplines. They too have made us proud. On the academic front, we also congratulate a number of pupils on their science expo projects. Each project requires careful scientific research work and represents a real academic achievement. And so we have much to celebrate: in sport, in academics, in leadership. All these achievements contribute to the richness and holism of St Johns, making it an institution of which we can be proud. It is also true that it has been a term with several disappointments. It is always heart breaking when boys make bad judgement calls and the consequence of their actions leads to their exclusion from St Johns College. The message to all our sons and daughters must be to act according to the values of Light, Life and Love (Lux Vita Caritas). We need to get young men to think: does my action enhance light, life and love in my community? St Johns College continues to uphold a rigorous discipline system, tempered with compassion. We recognise that we are in the process of shaping young men into adults, who will contribute to, and serve society. The fact that there are consequences for wrong actions is integral to this process.

IBSC Conference Melbourne Australia Unearthing Creativity This year the IBSC conference was organized by ten boys schools in Melbourne and held at Scotch College, the oldest school in Australia. Highlights included an opening by Scotch College's 80-member orchestra and a combined choir, made up of boys from the ten schools. There were six keynote addresses and each day approximately 30 workshops or seminars were on offer. The 500 delegates came from the 110 member schools around the world. The new president of the IBSC is Mr Tony Little, Headmaster of Eton College. St Johns continues to be well represented on the IBSC: I continue to serve as Vice President for Africa and as a member of the Board of Trustees. Mrs Margot Long is leading an action research team for the IBSC and Mr Russell Untiedt and Ms Karen Maitland both presented the findings of their action research project,

keeping St Johns as an active contributor to the IBSC. Mr Patrick Lees, Mr Rob Long and Mrs Anne Nettleton also attended the conference. Key points from the conference to bring back to St Johns: 1. Review the toolkit of problem solving strategies available to boys to strengthen and develop their creative and innovative cognitive skills; 2. Support the development of a full orchestra; 3. Encourage all staff to be digitally literate in the use of educational technology; 4. Celebrate and enhance creativity: create opportunities to showcase creativity, where boys are not constrained by the need for strategic learning for exams; 5. Re teaching and learning: identification and analysis of relevant data to measure current status, and map professional development needs; 6. Provide opportunities for boys to share their 'voice' in organized forums. The IBSC is planning a nine-month virtual conference for boys to share their ideas around leadership and service, concluding with a meeting in Richmond and Washington DC in 2013. This is an opportunity for St John's boys to participate in an international forum. It was really encouraging to meet teachers and heads from the top boys schools from around the world and to recognize a common calling in the education of young men. In our interaction with the boys from the 10 Melbourne schools, it was encouraging to meet talented articulate young men and without doubt, St John's boys compare favourably Of the three schools I was able to visit during this trip to Australia, Raffles Institute in Singapore, where I stopped en route to Melbourne, was extraordinary. In typical Singaporean 'social engineering' the government takes the top students from the exit primary school exams and places them in the Raffles Institute. This results in an academic hothouse, where last year, 72 of their graduates were accepted into Cambridge University. Many others attend Ivy League universities in the USA and then return to take up key positions in the government, army, police and business. Raffles writes the Cambridge A-Levels exams, but their Headmistress, Mrs Lim Lai Cheng, has also created a Raffles Diploma, which broadens the curriculum and gives specific recognition for character development, service contribution, sporting excellence and academic achievement as well as excellence in the arts. Recognition of excellence in these areas assists in the placing of these students in top universities, particularly in the US. It is important for St Johns to benchmark itself against top international schools and the visit to this school was an eye opener. We need to continually engage with the quality of the South African NSC and even the Cambridge A Levels as we prepare our boys and girls for life in the global village. I do thank the Council for providing us with the opportunity to be part of the IBSC. St John's is well known and respected in this community. In reflection on this opportunity to interact with Heads and teachers from around the world and listening to top conference speakers who challenge ones thinking about the issues acting on education in boys schools, I would like to suggest there are five critical issues that face St Johns and which must be part of our strategic thinking. These are: 1. The future of learning The work of Howard Gardner on multiple intelligences, as well as recent research on the functioning of the brain emphasize the importance of professional development of teachers to keep abreast of the research, and the need for personalized learning strategies for boys. St Johns College will need to invest in teaching and learning expertise to assist in ensuring opportunity for top performance. Issues of creativity and motivation are integral to success. I would like to suggest that St Johns creates a post for a teaching and learning expert who would work alongside teachers in terms of best practice in teaching and learning.

2. Globalization in tension with national education imperatives This tension is best captured in the on-going debate about an international versus a national curriculum, specifically Cambridge A levels versus the National Senior Certificate. It is also expressed in the growing network of International exchanges and student conferences. The IBSC is proposing a student conference in Richmond, USA in 2013. St Johns must position itself as a global school rooted in Africa and prepare students for participation in and contribution to the global arena. St Johns will be offering in 2013 a pre university course through Cambridge, which will look at global issues and perspectives: The course is built around a series of topics, each one representing a key global challenge that will face students as young adults, wherever they live and work: The topics are organised into broad generic themes: Ethics Genetic engineering Medical ethics and priorities Standards of living vs quality of life Ethical foreign policies Religious-secular divide Economics Globalisation of economic activity Migration and work Impact of the internet Global trade Ethics and economics of food Economic role of women Environment Science and politics of climate change Industry and pollution Biodiversity Challenge of genetic modification Urbanisation and the countryside Technology Alternatives to oil Artificial intelligence Futures Technology and intelligent buildings Online and interactive communities Politics and Culture China as an emerging superpower Endangered cultures International law Supra-national organisations (UN, etc.) New nationalisms Integration and multiculturalism

This will be an exciting addition to our curriculum but will have cost implications in terms of staff. Other issues in this category are around the challenges of diversity, education for the poor, and the environment. 3. The digital age and future schools The extraordinary advances in technology present a huge opportunity and challenge for schools. There were several workshops at the IBSC conference regarding the use of technology in the classroom as well as discussions about cyber bullying and sexting and the ethics of IT and its potential for good and evil. Of concern is the impact of technology on access to the St Johns curriculum, as well as issues of affordability. Peter Henning, our Director of Technology, presented an outstanding address to the Heads of Gauteng Boys Schools focusing on IT Risks and Trends, where he pointed out the following trends and risks:

Top IT Risks
Underutilisation and lack of training Bandwidth costs impeding adoption Blind following of fads without pedagogy Inadequate maintenance budget Physical security/theft Procurement policies not followed Red tape holding back new projects

Educational Trends
eTextbooks: Universities leading the way Open Educational Resources (Cost saving vs greater demands on staff) Learner-learner interaction via social media (P2PU, KhanAcademy, Twitter, Facebook) Expanded high-speed Internet (video) 3 Providing affordable access to the curriculum

4. Spirituality and character: the good man Wilderness School: Maretlwane Educating boys to be men of integrity, with a strong Christian vision of life, is critical if we are to fulfil our mission as a school. The opportunity to develop a 5-week wilderness school at Maretlwane for all Lower Fours will add enormous value to our character development programme. This is an important educational initiative for St Johns but will have financial implications because we will need to expand the present camp to accommodate 56 boys. The costs of this school will be absorbed into the school fees. We have formed a committee under the leadership of Mr Dave Campbell, who will work with Mr Alex Junod, to develop this wilderness experience, which will take place in March, July and November 2013. The Anglican church as a support to schools St Johns hosted a meeting of three Anglican Bishops, several Chaplains and heads of schools from 5 diocese from north of the Vaal. This group met in the chapel for mass and then in the community room to examine the role of the church and in particular the role of the Bishops in supporting Anglican Schools. All participants acknowledged the challenge of educating young people in the context of its current secular and materialistic society. It was a valuable and encouraging meeting and Rev Jaques Pretorius played a significant leadership role. 5. Governance: finance and risk With regard to all these strategic initiatives, the leadership of St Johns College must be conducted with integrity and energy. Essential to the success of St Johns College is the appointment of quality teachers with opportunity for professional growth. One of my concerns is how we manage the constant demand for growth and facility development while at the same time operating with limited resources. There is constant demand for additional funding through donations. The needs of Masibambane must also be part of our thinking as well as the development of further community partnerships. We cannot be locked into a selfcentred desire for more, yet there is also great pressure for us to remain competitive, and this requires money. My hope for these August holidays is that both boys and teachers will return refreshed and ready to tackle the final term and end of year exams. Many boys and staff are involved in expeditions. Two groups go with the Wilderness Leadership School to explore the Okavango Delta; our golfers and tennis players compete in tournaments at Sun City, and we have rowing and water polo training camps and preseason tournaments as well as a 1st cricket team tour to Zimbabwe. Our soccer boys participated in the St Davids Soccer Tournament. Thank you to all for your contribution to a busy and fruitful term.

Roger Cameron

ST JOHNS COLLEGE - 2012 PREFECTS

Head of School: Second Prefect: NASH Head of House Nkululeko Phakathi HILL Head of House Paul Ontong James Surgey Wesley Antonites CLAYTON Head of House Ashin Daya THOMSON Head of House Julian Cowper

Gregory Alexander Wesley Coulentianos Matthew Holliday Jacques Oosthuizen Jamie Pretorius Nabeel Seedat Jody Swartz Charles Verwer Andrew Tuma-Waku Matthew Wolfe

Septimus Boshoff Gregory Harrup Kishan Narotam Murray Steinhobel Christopher Sterley

Pele Collins Luke Langschmidt Johnathan Lloyd Nicholas-John Maree Craig Murrell Irakli Rekhviashvili Joshua Verheul

John Atherfold Cameron Foster Mohammed Kaskar Himal Kooverjee Barry McNeice Nicholas Tennick Anthony Testa Samuel Theron Jacques van Rhyn

ALSTON Head of House Gerhard Olivier

CLARKE Head of House Murray Conway

HODGSON Head of House Bradley Stocks

FLEMING Head of House Owen Newton-Hill

Micha Dedekind Nicholas Greeff Laurence Nel Dylan Potgieter Jacques Smit John Whittle

Schalk Burger Kade Cloete Bhaveen Kalidas Matthew Koevort Muhammed Mangera William Murray Jonathan Schwartz Marius Vermaak Thomas Workman

Jack de la Fargue Daniel Fiser Niels Kuehnemann Rivoningo Mhlari Lebogang Mokgosi Thobile Ndzimande Kyle Robertson Jason Smythe Patrick Tattersall Matthew Temlett

Dylan Bradley Cameron Fisher Alexandre Jelonek Christopher Soal Shaneel Kalyan Jamie Odgers Jarryd Stephenson Jason Strong Daniel Zilesnick

RUNGE Head of House Isaac Rugamba Paige Osler

MUSIC The following pupils were entered for the Trinity London practical examinations:

NAME Nicholas MacRobert Robin Lavers Gabriel Kritzinger Aashish Diayar Kaleem Ahmid John Whittle Linda Jiang Tamlin Love

INSTRUMENT Saxophone Clarinet Clarinet Violin Violin Violin Piano Guitar

GRADE 5 7 4 7 6 6 6 4

The following boys were entered for the Associated Board of the Royals School of Music practical examinations: Matthew Nelson Aasif Bulbulia Rekessi Esipisu Michael Davies Stephen Havenga Keegan Leech Piano Piano Saxophone Saxophone Piano Piano 3 5 2 7 6 2

The following boys wrote their Trinity College of London Theory Examination (Grade 6): Matthew Lillie David Arnot Christopher Huntley Benedict Didcott-Marr Wesley Fletcher The following boys wrote their Associated Board of the Royal Schools of London Theory Examination (Grade 5): Jake Alfred Johann Muller Matthew Taylor Angus Mackenzie

ENGLISH OLYMPIAD Congratulations to Muhammed Ismail Bulbulia (UV) and Chris Soal (UV) who came in the top 50 of the English Olympiad this year. MIB was placed 12th overall and attended the prize giving in Grahamstown, and Chris was placed 45th. Prizes are awarded awarded according to ranking: a. The top three candidates are treated to a literary tour of the United Kingdom in December 2012.

b. The top 15 candidates are invited to attend the National Schools Festival in Grahamstown free of charge. The De Beers English Olympiad prize-giving ceremony is held during this Festival, and the top 100 winners are announced in rank order. c. Learners who are ranked between the fourth and 20th positions will receive cash prizes, books or book vouchers. d. The Top 50 candidates receive free-tuition scholarships for their first year of study at Rhodes University immediately upon successful completion of the matriculation examinations and subject to the universitys entry requirements. e. All candidates who complete the paper will receive certificates indicating a classified evaluation. English Alive the following boys will have their writing published in the 2012 edition of English Alive. This is a national anthology of school writing selected from submissions from all over the country each year: Sean Bayley - Lines to an old man Muhammed Ismail Bulbulia - A regular guy Liam Collins Hamburg - 1943 Daniel Erasmus - Trip through time

Science Expo 2012

St Johns College entered 20 projects into the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists this year. The expo took place on 28 July 2012 at Wits Education Campus. The boys had an interesting and succesful morning. St Johns College earned 16 medals: 6 Gold, 8 Silver and 2 Bronze. Gold medals were awarded to the following projects: Treating Acid Mine Drainage Gabriel Kritzinger, Graham van de Venter, Lex Slabbert Pro Visio Polarization of Light Photocatalysis Wim Burger and Henri Van der Walt Itote Rubombora, Nicholas Cowen and Chiraag Kathawaroo Matthew Taylor, Nikita Dartchiev and Nicholas Papas Remove Remove U IV U IV

Investigation to test whether titanium dioxide will degrade harmful bacteria in a river water supply Dan Trninic and Mike Papas LV Thin Film Technology Siyabonga Mkhize, Dilkash Harryprasadh, Akshay Manga, Jaishil Modi L V The gold medallists attended an elimination round on Wednesday 1 August where 5 of the gold medal projects were selected to proceed to nationals. A number of judges at the elimination round commended St Johns College for the high standard of Scienctific Research.We wish the gold medallists the very best for the National Final in October. Silver medals were awarded to: Bling with Zing The Green Paper Wooden Tiger The Rhombling Proving a Concept Fuel Low Sterling Stirling Matthew Berger and Andrew Lund Jonathan Whitehouse and Stefan Massyn Connor Williamson and Christopher Fitzpatrick Gio Rech and Andrew Fletcher Ayrton Kapp and Kiran Govinda Carl Beekhuizen Ayrton Da Silva, Jason McNeil and Robin Lavers Remove Remove Remove L IV L IV U IV U IV

Absorption and re-emission of radiant energy by different colours Gianluca Agostinetto, Merrick Stevenson, Andrew Williamson and Gareth Baker

LV

Bronze medals were awarded to: Solar Oven Degradation of BPB using TiO2 Hiren Mistry, Tariq Koor, Muaaz Suliman Jason Vermaak and Naazim Sayanvala L IV LV

Well done to all these young men on an excellent achievement. Thank you to the College Science Department, Natelie Gower-Winter and Nsika Dlamini for the guidance and enthusiasm shared with all the boys who did Science Expo Projects. C A Henning

SPORTS NEWS

Colours Awards Winter Sports

CHESS: Won the South Gauteng 5-A-Side Tournament & are in the SG High schools League Final Peter Piek Neil Viviers Played Super League finished 1st overall played 17 won 14, lost 3 Tyrone Dial - To be commended on being selected for the Gauteng U/16A Team Cameron Dry Dean Maxton Benedict Didcott-Marr Eric McLaughlin

Team Blazer: Honours:

SQUASH: Team Blazer:

Colours: Honours:

Matthew Barker Bradley Dial

HOCKEY: Team Blazer: Colours:

Played 32 matches - Won 23, lost 5 and drew 4 Micha Dedekind Joshua Hooper Nathan Elliott - To be commended on being selected to the S A National U/16 squad. Bradley Stocks

Honours:

Kyle Lion-Cachet Andrew Tuma-Waku

Owen Newton-Hill Thabo Zindi

RUGBY:

Played 15 games - Won 5 and Lost 10

Team Blazer:

Wesley Antonites James Eckersley Dylan Potgieter Samuel Theron NJ Maree

Mitchell Antonites Bradley Jardine Devon Stone Thobile Ndzimande Thomas Workman

Murray Conway Manqoba Lephoko

Colours: Honours:

Thapelo Rapelwana Niels Kuehnemann

ATHLETICS CAPTAIN 2012 Captain: Vice Captains : Patrick Tattersall Gregory Harrup & Craig Murrell

TABLOIDS RESULTS 2012 SENIOR RESULT 1 HODGSON 2 NASH 3 FLEMING 4 THOMSON 5 ALSTON 6 CLARKE 6 HILL 8 CLAYTON 9 RUNGE 23.860 23.330 18.757 17.675 17.482 17.080 15.940 15.687 2.60 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 JUNIOR RESULT NASH CLAYTON HODGSON HILL FLEMING ALSTON THOMSON CLARKE 16.870 14.804 14.600 14.260 13.250 12.189 12.066 11.700 OVERALL RESULT 1 NASH 2 HODGSON 3 FLEMING 4 CLAYTON 5 HILL 6 THOMSON 7 ALSTON 8 CLARKE 40.200 38.460 32.007 30.491 30.200 29.741 29.671 28.780

POLOCROSSE Congratulations to Tim Hayden (L4 Hill) on being selected to play in the U16 squad and was awarded SA President's Polocrosse Junior Colours. The results for the U16 squad which consisted of 4 Boys and 4 GIrls were: Fri Sat Sun - SA 23 - SA 24 - SA 22 Zim 13 Zim 13 Zim 16

The Zimbabweans put up good resistance but the SA squad managed to hold their own in a series of extremely exciting matches. Being one of the goal scorers for the boy's section, Tim, was awarded the prize for the Best U16 Number 1 and his horse, Rudi, was awarded Golden Pony.

INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS RUGBY FESTIVAL

St Johns played 3 games and won 2 at the Independent Schools Festival for 1st Teams that took place in Nelspruit from the 3 - 7th July .

SAILING
Henry Daniels has been awarded Northern Region Provincial Sailing Colours for his achievement in the 20112012 season

TOUR de FRANCE The Sky pair of Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome (Nash 2003) finished 1st and 2nd overall in the 99th Tour de France. Chris is currently preparing for Olympic Time Trials and the Road Race before returning to his base in Monaco in preparation of the 67th Vuelta a Espaa from 18 August to 9 September. Comment from Chris: http://www.letour.fr/le-tour/2012/us/stage-20/news/int/froome-i-couldn-t-be-happier.html

DATES TO DIARISE On the Night Speech Day Valedictory Remembrance Day Service (College) Remembrance Day Service (Prep) Combined Carol Service Saturday, 29 September 2012 Tuesday, 09 October 2012 Friday, 12 October 2012 Wednesday, 07 November 2012 Thursday, 08 November 2012 Sunday, 18 November 2012 ON THE NIGHT Join us for our annual fireworks spectacular On The Night to be held on Burger Field at St Johns College on Saturday 29 September from 15h00 to 22h30. The St Johns Symphonic Orchestra will perform live with the fireworks display. DJ Roger Goode after party Child minders Fabulous food Entertainment selection Bring family and friends for a memorable evening

Entrance: R160 per person. Children under 6 years of age free entrance Tickets on sale from www.onthenight.co.za and the St Johns College school shop NB: No firearms. No Gazebos. No umbrellas during fireworks. Right of admission reserved. Please take note of road closures and one way systems Download the precinct map at www.onthenight.co.za For further information: www.onthenight.co.za

House to Rent Kenton-on-Sea

We have a house on the Kariega River available for rent from 12 27 December (two weeks): Main Bedroom en suite with double bed Second Bedroom en suite with two single beds Third bedroom with four single beds sharing a full bathroom Fourth bedroom with two single beds sharing a full bathroom Large open plan lounge, dining room and kitchen Lovely covered verandah with river views and built in braai Viewing deck with river and sea views Single garage and off-street parking Fully furnished and equipped, Including bedding and linen Close proximity to the river, and a five minute walk to the lagoon and beach

R2600 per day for the two-week period. contact Ann on 083 239 3062 10

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