PA NEWS - The Wykeham Collegiate
Transcription
PA NEWS - The Wykeham Collegiate
Volume 17 ∞ Issue 14 ∞ 12 September 2014 PA NEWS For the PA Function, we ‘boarded’ Flight FW2014 and headed for Barbados to celebrate Flick’s years at The Wykeham Collegiate. In spite of the cold, we partied ‘Island Style’ with fire dancers, cocktails, delicious food and fabulous music. All who attended had a wonderful evening. Air Hostess, Glen Jenkins, and Our Captain, Brian Lewis. Chairman of the Board, Jeremy Brink, and Flick Wright. Marian Loveday and Jenny Clarence-Fincham. Priscilla & Carlo Cuturi and Flick Wright. Janet Bailey, Belinda Veenstra and Colleen Harries. Michelle Lesur, Helen Christodoulou and Flick Wright. 1 Out Of The Hat It hardly seems possible that we are nearly at the end of the Third Term already! The end of 2014 is in sight and the Grade 12s have nearly completed their Trial Examinations. All the 2014 Prize-Givings are being finalised, Art Exhibitions planned and all those other ‘end-of-year’ events are being organised. Below is a quick summary of the important dates for you to diarise: Term 3 2014 Grade 6 Sleepover Friday 19 September to Saturday 20 September (TWC & External Grade 6s interested in joining TWC in Grade 8 2016) Eagle & Rose Awards Ceremony Thursday 25 September – compulsory for girls in Grades 8 - 12 Grade 12 Prize-Giving Thursday 25 September – Grades 8 – 12, Grade 12 parents, invited guests Term 4 2014 As always, Term 4 is full of final events before the academic year draws to a close. At the time of ‘going to press’, the times for these events are still being finalised - please consult the Term 4 Calendar for final details. The second week starts with the opening of the Grade 12 Art Exhibition. Treat yourselves and call past the Senior School Art Studio from Tuesday 14 to Friday 17 October to view the Grade 12 Art Exhibition. This exhibition will be officially opened on the evening of Monday 13 October and may be viewed from Tuesday to Friday, between 08:00 – 16:00. Please support the many hours of hard work and dedication required of the girls studying Visual Arts - you will be amazed at the diversity of talent on display! The Student Leadership Induction Service, at which the leaders for 2015 are formally inducted, takes place on Friday 17 October. Farewells: Grade 12 Valedictory Communion & Grade 7 Farewell Dinner We bid farewell to our Grade 12s early next term as they leave to begin their final examinations. There will be a Valedictory Communion for Grade 12s on Friday 17 October. The Junior School also bids farewell to its “senior girls” at the Grade 7 Leavers Dinner on Wednesday 29 October. YEAR-END FUNCTIONS TO DIARISE: Foundation Phase Nativity Play (Grade RR - 3) Foundation Phase Prize-Giving (Grade RR – 2) Senior Primary Prize-Giving (Grade 3 – 7) Junior School Closes (closing times in Calendar): Festival of Praise: Senior School Prize-Giving (Grade 8 – 11) Tuesday 11 November, Thursday 13 November and Friday 14 November Wednesday 19 November Thursday 20 November Thursday 27 November Thursday 27 November Friday 28 November We all look forward to seeing many of our parents and the larger TWC Community at these events. Rose Harries Marketing Co-ordinator 2 School News What’s inside: * Senior School * Junior School * General * Sport Highlights Junior School Senior School 3 Each year the Grade 9 Economic and Management Sciences girls start and run their own businesses. The girls have the option of being a sole trader or forming a partnership within their registration class. The project involves, amongst other things, conducting market research, drawing up a business plan and finally selling their wares at The Wykeham Collegiate annual Market Day. The project is concluded with The Business of The Year awards ceremony. This is an opportunity to thank all the girls for their effort and commitment to the programme and also to award prizes in 4 categories. Photographer: Elizabeth Platt, Grade 11. Mrs Melanie Veness, the CEO of the Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Commerce was the guest speaker at this Left to right: Emma Henderson, Jade Newman, Tessa Winter, Melanie Veness (Guest Speaker), year’s awards ceremony. Nanele Mlambo (Chairlady Chamber of Commerce). The Winners were: Business of the Year Award: Hipsta Please Emma Henderson, Jade Newman, Tessa Winter Most Creative Business: Bella Belle Chelsea-Belle Gevers TWC Chamber of Commerce Award: Nutelleria Haseena Kajee Most Profitable Business Award: African Allure Jessica Hirschowitz, Emma Daugherty, Sarah Bristow, Rachel Springate. ENGLISH DEPARTMENT NEWS The Witness has published a list of 9 finalists in the True Stories of KwaZulu-Natal Competition (schools category). Of those, 7 are pupils at TWC! They are: Kate de Gruchy, Megan Manley, Thokola Zungu, Jordan Magrobi, Sesetu Holomisa, Brittany Dorning and Sibulelo Jolwana. LEAVERS Please ensure that clothing handed in for resale is clean. The Shop will NOT accept dirty clothing. Clothing of a personal nature and outdated uniforms will also not be accepted for resale but will be donated to a Charity. Vere van der Watt The stories written by these Grade 11 pupils will be published in The Witness over the next few weeks. At a later stage, this year, the winner of the competition will be announced. Grade 10 and Grade 12 pupils, whose work was submitted to the Douglas Livingstone Creative Writing Competition, have done very well. Emma Farquharson was placed first in the Grade 12 Poetry section; and Kerryn Cockbain was given a Merit for her short story. Ashleigh Reimers was placed second in the Grade 10 Poetry section; and Deantha Govender, third. The work of Fern Bamber and Jessica Dutton was Highly Commended. All these girls will attend the prize -giving at Westville Girls’ High on Monday 22 September. Congratulations to all promising young writers. these Moira Lovell Head of English 4 PIE (Partners in Education) Workshop Teachers from Grades 4 – 7 recently facilitated a workshop which attracted many teachers from a number of local schools. Entitled Easy Art Ideas for Busy Teachers, the workshop was Delegates, from left to right: Nichola Lampractical, enjoyable and in- bert, Nadine Adkins and Cynthia Campbell. formative. The facilitators were delighted with the wholehearted participation of the delegates. All involved appreciated pausing for a while to imagine, create and make! ATHLETICS Congratulations to Gaynor Weir and Chanti Firman for organising successful Inter-House Athletics meetings on 21 August and 5 September. As always, it was a treat to see the girls giving of their best, cheered on by parents, grandparents and friends of the school. The Inter-Schools Athletics meeting hosted by Pelham on 30 August tested the girls’ endurance as the icy wind was relentless. All girls who represented the Junior School are commended. Jessica Bompas, participating in the Open Section, broke records in Long Jump and the 100 and 150m races. She is congratulated on this fine achievement. Happenings and adventures to come: Hosting Cordwalles Grade 1 boys for Barn Dancing Grade RR ‘Cordies’ boys to play in Poppets Patch Grade 4 TWC / Cordwalles Victorian Day Grade 7s to visit Mbubu Crèche Christian Club Movie night Grade 7 field trip to Twinstreams, Mtunzini Stories by Candlelight for Grades RR – 3. Flick Wright - Headmistress GRADE 6 OUTING TO MANDELA CAPTURE SITE AND MUSEUM Grade 6s at Mandela Capture Site. Guest of Honour, Gusta Leimecke, with Georgina Harries, Captain of the winning House, Crookes, and Kate Archibald, Vice-Captain. Guest of Honour, Gusta Leimecke, with Campbell House Captain, Erin Jenkins, and Vice-Captain, Megan Wayt. Campbell were awarded the Spirit Cup. L TO R: Ayanda Phetha, Asma Noorgat, Ashleigh Starmer and Pranjal Gongal. 5 SPORTYTOTS ATHLETICS Left to right: Abbie Chalk, Simoné du Plessis, Seen at the Sportytots Athletics meeting are Tamika Haripersad and Grace Wayt all of Grade 1. Mrs Chanti Firman and Guest of Honour, Sarah Johnson, with the Grade 2 girls of the winning House, Campbell. The following 3 books have been added to the Library’s collection. They provide some important insights into the effect of our digital world, particularly on our younger generations and into their twenties and early thirties. BAUERLEIN, Mark. 2009. The dumbest generation: how the Digital Age stupefies young Americans and jeopardizes our future; or don’t trust anyone under 30. New York: Penguin. 253pp. When this book was first published in 2008, the author was severely judged. The Media ran with the subject and most interviews and discussions were divided into those who agreed and those who didn’t. The basic question was “Do the digital diversions of young kids cut them off from history, civics, literature, fine art? Does mounting screen time dumb them down?” (Bauerlein: 2009). Many critics lamented that the “greying generation” was at it again preaching that things were better in “their day” and were to be pacified but not taken seriously. grandparents. However it is those very adults’ responsibility ( those who have experience and perspective), to ensure their children, as the younger generation, mature to become responsible, thinking and effective citizens. Teenagers, however, live in the present and the immediate. What happened long ago and in distant lands is unimportant. Their concerns are directed towards what happened last week at the club, the social or at the sports game. They pay attention to the words and images of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. But how do adults break into these teenage diversions and cliques? According to Bauerlein “Maturity follows a formula. The more kids contact one another the less they heed the tutelage of adults. When peer consciousness grows too fixed and firm, the teacher’s voice counts for nothing outside the classroom. When youth identity envelops them, parent talk at the dinner table only distracts them. The lure of school gossip, fear of ridicule and the urge to belong swamps their minds and stunts their intellectual growth”. Young people need a rest from all this - if they are to have any chance of growing up as mindful citizens and discerning consumers. They can’t do it by themselves. They need the help of adults to draw them away, they need their parents and mentors, like The bedroom is no longer a sanctuary; it’s become a command centre. E-mails, smses, blog postings, likes and comments, phone calls, tweets, feeds, photos and songs and their words pour into that centre every evening, and if teenagers don’t respond immediately they fall behind. It’s the stuff of cyberbullying, sexting, pornography and reduced attention spans. That’s what has changed for the Digital Age generation. It has them embroiled in a swirl of social groupings and contests… and … it threatens their intellectual development. A fascinating read. BAUERLEIN, Mark. Ed. 2011. The Digital divide: the arguments for and against Facebook, Google, Texting and the Age of Social Networking. New York: Penguin. 354pp. Twitter, Facebook, e-publishing, blogs, distance learning and other social media have served to raise some of the most divisive arguments of our century. One side sees the technological breakthroughs as bringing hopeful and democratic new steps in education, information gathering and human progress. 6 The other side sees these very breakthroughs as eroding civil life, reading, withering attention spans and the treacherous effects of 24/7 peer pressure on the young of our societies. This book contains a number of essays and instead of arranging them according to the ‘yeas’ and ‘nays’, they have been arranged by subject – The Brain; the Senses; Social Life; Personal Life; School and The Fate of Culture. Enthusiasms for the Digital Age appear to have cooled with the passage of time and the piling up of real life examples that prove the risks of an online-focused culture. Nevertheless, the debate as to how much these technologies are rewriting the future is still ongoing. These essays provide some of the best writings on both sides of the Digital Divide and are well worth reading. BUSH, Nikki and GOLDSTUCK, Arthur. 2014. Tech-savvy parenting: a guide to raising safe children in a digital world. Johannesburg: Bookstorm. 242pp. These two South African experts, one on parenting and the other on technology, offer information on what’s happening in the digital space and tips on how to ensure one’s children are safe and savvy in a fastchanging world. The chapters are arranged in a variety of subjects: for example, The pull of the small screen; On-screen fun goes interactive; Devices go smart and mobile; The evolution of learning; Dangers in the digital world, and How to help one’s children keep safe and savvy. The authors guide concerned parents through the maze of raising digital natives, (those born in the late 20th century or early 21st century with a mouse or gaming console in one hand and a cell phone in the other). The role of today’s parents and their roles in their children’s lives are quite different from yesteryear, when children generally played catch or cricket in the street, read books, played cops and robbers, rode their bikes in the park and climbed trees. The book is easy to read, full of helpful and practical advice that will help parents navigate digital space together with their children, with greater confidence. INVITATION The Mothers Who Pray group invite you to hear Xavier Moran speak on issues challenging contemporary parents raising tweens and teens. Xavier Moran has vast experience as a parent himself and as the past chaplain of TWC. He has been with Scripture Union for over 6 years where he has ministered to, and counselled, countless numbers of tweens and teens. Date: Friday 19 September Time: 7:30 for 8:00 - 8:45 Venue: Functions Room Hot drinks and muffins will be served. Please RSVP to Linda Grant on 0731985693 or e-mail Michèle Tanner on admin@twc.org.za. 7 Junior School TENNIS TWC A girls played in the boy’s league vs Cowan House and lost 14 – 22 and lost against Wembley 12-16. TWC played Wembley, Pelham, Treverton, New Hanover, Longmarket, Athlone and Cowan House. TWC won all these matches, except the match against Cowan House Open. parents and the players for their contribution to tennis at TWC. Some wonderful tennis has been played and TWC retains its reputation as being a school with very strong tennis players. Special mention is to be made of Denise Gouws and Loraine Osborne who, together, form a formidable team. ATHLETICS The TWC Athletics team completed at the Pelham Inter-Schools Athletics Meeting. TWC did very well and were placed fourth in the Girls Section. Jessica Bompas set the track alight and broke three records (one of which has stood for 9 years). Well done Jessica and thank you for your conOn Monday 8 September, TWC tribution. Tennis Teams played Pelham, St John’s, Wembley and Clifton. TWC won all the matches. As the Josie Le Roux and Hayley Contennis season draws to an end, I way competed in the Gymnastics would like to thank the teachers, Regionals in Durban. Josie (who Alice Beckett, Frances Martin, Teagan Kroukamp and Rebecca Munitich all played in the Epworth Tennis Festival on Saturday. The level of tennis was very good, with Durban schools also competing. Alice and Frances came second overall. GYMNASTICS competes at Level 6) came first in her category and Hayley came third. They were both chosen for the KZN Rhythmic Gymnastics team and will compete in the National competition in Cape Town in October. MOUNTAIN BIKING Sarah Ryan took part in the Mandela Day Mountain Bike Marathon and come in 2nd place in the ladies’ category. EQUESTRIAN Chanel Lotter has been selected to represent KZN at the Core League National Championships in Gauteng. This is indeed a wonderful achievement. Channel competed at Treverton’s affiliation show over the weekend and came first in all three events in which she competed. Gaynor Weir Senior School SWIMMING The Wykeham Collegiate is proud of two of their top swimmers, Chelsea Meiring (Grade 11) and Catherine Royden- Turner (Grade 8) who recently took part in the SA Short Course Swimming Championship held in Pietermaritzburg at the Seals Club. Both girls were extremely competitive against some of the top swimmers in South Africa and achieved top positions in the various events they swam. Chelsea Meiring recently returned from the Dubai Leg of the World Cup Short Course Championship. There were a number of International swimmers at this event and Chelsea gained a great deal of experience as one of the invitational team members. She will travel with the invitational team to Hong Kong during the September school holidays where she will swim in the Third Leg of the World Cup Short Course Championship. At the end of the year, Chelsea will represent the South African U20 Swimming Team that will take part in the African Youth Games in Zimbabwe. 8 TENNIS RESULTS Our U19A tennis team consisting of Chenéy Firman, Nicola Deenik, Kirsten Moody and Jemma Veenstra secured the U19 Risely League Trophy by beating Epworth in their last match. Chenéy Firman. Nicola Deenik. Jemma Veenstra. The U15A team will play their toughest match against St Anne’s next week and Kirsten Moody. the outcome will determine the Joy Watt league winners. TWC U19A beat Epworth U19A TWC U19B beat Wembley U19A TWC U15A beat GHS U15A TWC U15C lost to GHS U15B 4–2 4–2 6-0 0–6 TWC U19B beat Howick U19A TWC U15A beat Epworth U15A TWC U15B lost to GHS U15A 4–2 6–0 2–4 BASKETBALL A number of basketball matches have been played over the last two weeks. On Wednesday 27 August TWC played against Alex High School. The day produced mixed results, with our first team taking the match from Alex in the dying seconds. TWC 1 Won 22-21 U16 A Lost 10-6 U16 B Lost 12-11 U15 A Won 11-9 U15 B Won 6-1 U14 A Lost 24-8 U14 B Won 21-5 Alice Finlay jumps for the ball. TWC hosted Grace College on Thursday 28 August. U16 A vs Grace 1st Won 59-0 U16 B vs Grace 2nd Won 16-6 On Wednesday 3 September two basketball teams travelled to Treverton and our second team played Maritzburg Christian school at home. TWC 1 vs Treverton 1 Won 17-8 U15 A vs Treverton U15 A Won 16-3 TWC 2 vs MCS Lost 14-12 Nicole Grindlay shoots a penalty. On Wednesday 9 September the basketball teams played their final match against Voortrekker. The first team put in an outstanding display of basketball. Many of the girls played their final fixture and they ended off on an extremely positive basket. U15 A Lost 17 - 16 TWC 1 Won 84 - 11 U14 A Won 20 - 2 U16 A Won 59 – 5 9 SOCCER CANOE POLO Soccer vs St Anne’s The first team hosted St Anne’s on Thursday 28 August. It was an evenly contested game with both goal-keepers being extremely active in their goal areas. The final score was 2-0 in St Anne’s favour. The junior team travelled to St Anne’s and, although they lost 5-0, this was not a true reflection of the match. TWC girls played well and never gave up. Rachael Springate was particularly effective as a defender. Soccer vs Voortrekker The senior team travelled to Voortrekker on Thursday 2 September. Their “forwards” were particularly fast which tested our defence. The first goal against TWC was high and very difficult for Thokola Zungu to save. The girls fought back and Sindi Gabula scored the equaliser just before half-time. In the second half, the opposition proved too pacy for our defenders. The girls enjoyed the game but unfortunately lost 3-1. The junior team played Voortrekker at home. It was another tough game which the girls enjoyed despite their 4-2 loss. Jodie Alport was particularly impressive, scoring both goals. Jessica Hirschowitz and Anele Manci played a key role in the mid-field. Shongweni Dam The Inter-Schools Canoe Polo took place last weekend. The change in venue from the usual varsity pool to the new pitch at Shongweni dam turned out to be a major success. TWC girls played their first match against the St John’s Team. The fairly young team struggled to put their game plan into action and drew the game 1-1. TWC were more focused for the second game against MHS Jnr team. The girls pulled off a solid win beating the young boys 2-1. Owing to a weak development team falling into a fair amount of pressure, we combined a few of TWC girls with them to play St John’s which allowed for a bit of fun on the pitch. The toughest game of the day was the last game against Epworth. TWC girls scored early. Epworth came back strongly and broke through the defence, but keeper, Linda Sithole, Soccer vs Haythorne proved on top form and The friendly match against Hay- denied them the goal. thorne was a tough game. The However, Katherine Barry opposition were quick and their broke away with Amanda ball skills were good. TWC girls Peake to sneak another played very well in the first half effortless goal into the and came very close to scoring back net ending the game on two occasions. The second 2-0 to TWC girls. The win half started well but near the end secured TWC as the tourthe pressure, from the opposing nament champions. forwards, became too much for TWC’s defence. Our TWC keep- The following link is an article about this last weekend’s canoe polo er, Thokola Zungu, performed tournament. well under pressure and saved some difficult shots. TWC lost http://durbaninternational.com/news/ 3-0. Sport Department - Senior School 10 SQUASH Championships Fifteen of the top squash players entered the school championships this season. The Swiss pairing draw ended with Tessa Foster and Alice Comrie playing in a nailbiting championship final. The two Grade 9 girls have played a great deal of squash this year and have both performed extremely well. They have each other which has brought healthy competition to the Alice Comrie (Squash Champion). sport. SAILING On Sunday 31 August, Sarah Joy Quibble and Bronagh Johnson attended the Open Day held at Midmar Dam. The focus of the day was to teach the basics of dingy sailing to young people. It was cold and windy and the water was freezing which tested the girls’ resilience. They both made progress and by the end of the day Sarah Joy was able to confidently sail the boat on her own with Bronagh as crew. On the day, it was Alice Comrie that managed to sneak the win and claim the trophy. 11