Pietermaritzburg Children’s Choir Competes in the World Choir Games

Volume 17 ∞ Issue 11 ∞ 1 August 2014
Pietermaritzburg Children’s Choir Competes
in the World Choir Games
Starting with the dream of resuscitating the Children’s Choir, the idea was born that our little choir
– of which four are TWC Senior School girls and three are TWC Junior School girls – would participate in the choral equivalent of the Olympic Games in Riga, Latvia in July 2014. And the dream
came true! The Children’s Choir competed in three categories in the Open Competition, attaining
silver diplomas in each category (in two of the categories, the Children’s Choir competed against
adult choirs.) It was an overwhelming experience to witness 420 choirs from all over the world
competing against each other whilst forging new friendships. The camaraderie amongst the many
South African choirs made an indelible impression on the choristers and the accompanying adults.
Etched in our memories are the sounds of singing from choirs and bystanders echoing through the
streets of Riga at midnight. And so the flame has been lit for the next World Choir Games in 2016.
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Out Of The Hat
Welcome back
to the start of Term 3. A special
welcome to families who are new
to the school, and to Fergus Lombard (school driver) and Lyn Harris (student teacher and TWC
Old Girl).
from 90 nations participating in
this great event. In each of the
three categories in which the
PMBCC competed (two against
adult choirs), the choir achieved
silver diplomas.
The isiZulu girls participated in
an isiZulu evening at St Anne’s
and the Grade 9s went on a
Geography outing to the Markets of Warwick.
Although some work had to be
done, this holiday was one of
getting comfortable on the
couch and watching much sport
on TV – Wimbledon; World Cup
soccer; Tour de France and
rugby. It got to the point of having to turn the couch cushion
over to get rid of the dent.
While many of us were relaxing, there were a number of
girls and staff involved in InterProvincial
hockey,
netball,
squash and debating. All the details follow in Hat Chat, and I
would like to congratulate all the
girls and staff on their performances.
E
ight girls, accompanied
by Michelle Bennett,
travelled to India during
the holiday as part of the World
Challenge. They embraced the
opportunity and different culture
and we look forward to hearing
more about it in an Assembly.
Seven girls from TWC are
members of the Pietermaritzburg Children’s Choir
which competed in the
Open Competition of the
World Choir Games held in
Riga, Latvia. It is the biggest choral competition in
the world, based on the
Olympic ideals, to peacefully unify people and nations through fair competition. There were 400 choirs
As usual, the start to the term has
been a busy one. Last week the
Gospel Choir participated in a
concert at Maritzburg College.
They were amongst 15 choirs
and the atmosphere was very
happy and festive.
Grade
10s have continued
with their dance lessons in
preparation for their dance tomorrow night and I am sure
they are all very excited and
looking forward to the evening.
The
Grade 11s spent two
nights and three days at Em’Seni
Many of our girls are involved in
on camp. Their focus was on
the President’s Award and, during
team work and leadership skills
the holiday, Emma Hubble, Cynand they have also attended a
thia Kijjambu, Emma Farquharcareers workshop.
son and Hannah Edwards completed their Gold Level hikes The Grade 12 focus from now
while Laura du Toit completed until the end of the year essenher Bronze Level adventurous tially needs to be on their acajourney. One hike was along the demic studies.
Wild Coast, while the other was in
I look forward to a happy and prothe Drakensberg.
ductive term.
F
Susan Tasker
ive TWC girls took part
Lady Principal
in a keel boat sailing
competition in Durban
Harbour.
Caitlyn de Valence,
Jodie Connolly and Nooreen
Nuruddin came second, and
We wish Mr Goosen
Bronagh Johnson and Sarah Joy
and all the girls
Quibell came third.
Congratulations to Jordan Magrobi (Grade 11) and Anna Brooks
(Grade 12) who have had their
poetry selected to be published
in the national journal, English
Alive. The journal is due for publication in August.
in the Choir well as
they travel to Pretoria
to participate in the
final round of the
ATKV Choir
competition.
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School News
What’s inside:
* Senior School
* Junior School
* General
* Sport Highlights
Junior School
Senior School
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On 25 June, the Ballroom Dancing Club hosted a dance social with Grade 9 boys from Maritzburg
College. The evening started off with a bit of line dancing, before the
budding stars learnt basic steps from the Jive. All had an enjoyable
time!
Jenette Reitsma - French Teacher
Photos by Banjamin Caister
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GRADES 6 AND 7
SCHOOL PLAY
Be Enchanted – Up the Faraway
Tree was staged at the very end of
last term. I would like to congratulate
and thank script writer, director and
producer Heather Ashton for a truly
delightful show.
The script was based on Enid Blyton’s The Magic Faraway Tree.
Audiences – in all four performances
– were transported to a world of
make-believe. It was sheer escapism
as trees and toys talked, and goblins
and Nursery Rhyme characters were
encountered. There was suspense,
excitement, disappointment and jubilation – all the ingredients of good
story-telling.
The cast of nearly 100 girls each had
a little moment to shine. All worked
conscientiously and creatively in order to ensure the success of the
play. Very effective lighting and choreography reflected Heather’s attention to detail and aesthetic sense.
The costumes were colourful and
altogether charming.
Once again Music Director, Leslie
Duffy, used the ideas and talents of
the girls to produce music – both
choral and instrumental – of amazing
quality. Guitarists, Robin Brown and
Hector Houston, and drummer, Les
Willows, added an extra dynamic to
the Band.
I am most grateful to Helen Rogers
and all staff members who gave very
generously of their time and ideas. In
addition, my thanks go to all parents,
grandmothers and friends who
assisted with costumes, and the
Estates team for building the set,
making props and helping with other
practical matters.
Anne Fine, a former British children’s laureate, expressed her concern some
years ago about the fact that children nowadays are bombarded with reality.
She contends that children, and indeed all human beings, need a space or a
fairyland in which the mind can ‘roam, dream and wonder’.
Be Enchanted – Up the Faraway Tree afforded audiences such a chance.
PIE
(PARTNERS IN
EDUCATION)
WORKSHOP
Foundation
Phase
teachers recently facilitated a workshop which
attracted almost 100
teachers from fourteen
local schools. Entitled
Add Sparkle to your
Grade R teachers, Karin Braithwaite and Janet
Classroom the workBailey, with Kay Pillay, Sibulele Ntomo and Lisa
shop included many
Manuel, all of Berg Street Primary School.
practical ideas on how
to enhance teaching
using common, everyday objects such as
plastic bottles. The informal, interactive nature of the workshop led
to fruitful discussion and
sharing of ideas.
Flick Wright
Headmistress
Jean Clarke of Grade 3 with Melanie Naiken and
Merthly Naidoo of Berg Street Primary School.
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GRADE 2 OUTING TO BUTTERFLIES FOR AFRICA
Zoé Panczyk and Kalia Govender
thoroughly enjoyed the outing.
Julie-Ann Bloy delights in
showing off a butterfly poised
on her finger.
Celebrating
South Africa
Shannon Holdsworth, Zoë Janas, Lesedi Chokoe, Ayabonga Shezi, Minnie Nota.
Libby Chapman, Elethu Manentsa,
Zita Sewram.
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“Mothers and
Daughters Womanhood”
Dear TWC Mums
In celebration of Women’s month in August,
The TWC Old Girls are
hosting Mary Steward
who is going to take us on
a journey from Girlhood
to Womanhood in her
brilliant one woman show
entitled Womanhood.
All Grade 8 to 11 girls
will be attending and we
encourage all TWC Mums
to take some time out
and join your daughters
in celebrating the joys of
being a woman and all
that connects us. Mary’s show is
guaranteed to make you laugh and
look at the lighter side of your
relationship with your daughter.
Don’t miss this opportunity to
celebrate the joy of life together!
Reviews
“Mary Steward presents a hilarious
journey through the trials and tribulations of a woman's journey from girlhood to womanhood in all its aspects, often addressing questions and answers - to members of the
audience. She depicts many characters from seven and nine-year-old
nieces to her older mother and elderly aunts, switching expertly from one
to the other. A highlight is her depiction of the pressure of that first kiss
and the heartbreak of being deserted
by the boyfriend thereafter. Spot on
is her enactment of how she has to
cope, as a busy working mother, with
preparing the school lunches for the
Please see the advert for details
of what promises to be an entertaining morning for you and your
daughter. Alternatively, contact
Pru Deenik for details on (033)
342 0752 Ext 119 or
prudenced@twc.org.za.
children, bathing them, answering
the telephone and preparing her
work assignment.
All this is done with the minimum
use of props, and very appropriate
sound effects and lighting. Every
woman could and would identify
with the joys, sadness, pathos, irony and problems and it will indeed
be enjoyed by the men in the audience as well.” Maurice Kort –
Durban 2009
Mary Steward presented Womanhood at the Inaugral Ladies Night
at Umhlanga College. It was such a
success that within the year she
We look forward to seeing you
there with your daughter.…
Warm wishes
Michelle Lesur
Chairlady TWC Old Girls
was back for the next Ladies Night!
Womanhood was an outstanding
success, with ladies identifying with
the stereotypes presented during the
development from girlhood to
womanhood. Mary's clever use of
music to add a further dimension to
the memories that came flooding
back added to the fun of the evening.
People were crying with laughter and
the happy buzz that was created the
next morning around the school was
worth every bit of organising an
event like this."
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The Wykeham Collegiate Eisteddfod 2014
The Music Department is excited as our Eisteddfod
is once again about to take place. We have five full
days of adjudication which is a wonderful indication
of the health of music at TWC. Some of the adjudicators are:
Mario Nell, from Stellenbosch University, for Piano;
Brett Udal, from Hilton College for drumkit, guitar
and strings;
Sandra Breschi, from UKZN, for woodwind;
Vanessa Tait-Jones, a professional singer from
Durban, for voice.
All sessions are open and we welcome anybody
who would like to listen, whether from the school or
beyond. It is useful for pupils to listen to those playing a grade higher than theirs in order to see what
lies ahead.
We look forward to a productive and musical few
days.
Jenny du Plessis
Monday 4 August
8:30
Grade 3 and 4 Recorder Group
8:45
Woodwind Beginners
9:15
Woodwind Pre-Grade 1
10:00
Tea
10:15
Woodwind Grade 1 Group 1
11:00
Woodwind Grade 1 Group 2
11:45
Woodwind Grade 2
12:20
Lunch
13:00
Woodwind Grade 3
13:50
Woodwind Grade 4
14:45
Woodwind Grade 6
15:20
Tea
15:30
Woodwind Advanced Certificate
Tuesday 5 August
8:00
Junior Band (in the Atrium)
8:30
Woodwind Grade 5 Group 1
9:30
10:30
10:45
12:45
14:30
15:00
15:15
Woodwind Grade 5 Group 2
Tea
Woodwind Grade 7 and 8 Group 1
Lunch and Break
Woodwind Senior Band (in the Atrium)
Tea
Woodwind Grade 8 Group 2
Wednesday 6 August
8:30
Drumkit
9:00
Strings
9:30
Guitar Group 1
9:50
Guitar Group 2
10:15
Tea
10:30
Voice Grade 1 and Grade 2
10:45
Voice Grade 3
11:20
Voice Grade 4
12:10
Voice Grade 5
13:00
Lunch
13:30
Voice Grade 6
14:10
Voice Grade 7
Thursday 7 August
8:30
Piano Beginners
8:45
Piano Pre-Grade 1 Group 1
9:00
Piano Pre-Grade 1 Group 2
9:15
Piano Grade 1 Group 1
9:25
Piano Grade 1 Group 2
9:50
Piano Grade 1 Master Class
10:10
Tea
10:30
Piano Grade 2
10:50
Piano Grade 2 Master Classes
11:30
Piano Grade 3 Group 1
11:50
Piano Grade 3 Group 2
12:30
Lunch
13:00
Piano Grade 3 Master Classes
14:00
Piano Grade 4 Group 1
14:25
Piano Grade 4 Master Classes
15:05
Piano Grade 4 Group 2
15:30
Piano Grade 4 Master Classes
Friday 8 August
8:30
Piano Grade 5
9:00
Piano Grade 5 Master Classes
10:00
Tea
10:30
Piano Grade 6
10:50
Piano Grade 6 Master Classes
11:40
Piano Grade 7
12:10
Piano Grade 7 Master Classes
13:10
Lunch
14:00
Piano Grade 8
14:30
Piano Grade 8 Master Class
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Junior School
HOLIDAY RESULTS
TABLE TENNIS
We congratulate Yashka
Rabichand who competed in the
South African Table Tennis Tournament during the holidays in
Bloemfontein. Although Yashka is
only 10-years-old, she and her
partner participated in the U12
section where they received a
third place and a bronze medal.
MOUNTAIN BIKING
Once again Sarah kept herself
busy during the
holidays by participating in
many Mountain
Biking Events.
Sarah participated in 5 categories in the Youth
Mountain Bike
Sarah Ryan Festival winning
all 5 of her
events. She also received first
place in the Gooderson Drak
Gardens Mountain Bike race.
On Sunday 27 July she rode in
the “Shoot-Out” Mountain Bike
race in which she came second
overall.
TENNIS
We congratulate Vania Manchev
who played in the Coca-Cola Tennis Tournament during the holidays and was the “runner-up”.
EQUESTRIAN
Channel Lötter competed in an
Equestrian Show, hosted by
Canterbury Equestrian Centre, in
which she competed in 2 80cm
Classes and received 2nd place in
We played our first match against the Championship class.
the Cordwalles Boys and our
TWC Open A team won 21 – 15.
It is rewarding to see that the girls
participate in events not only
Results of Tennis matches
during the school term but also
played on Monday 28 July:
during the holidays.
Open A1 vs Epworth
TWC won 25 – 3
HOCKEY
Open A2 vs Wembley
TWC lost 15 – 21
Open A3 vs Laddsworth
TWC won 24 – 12
Open B2 vs Clarendon
TWC won 16 – 12
The TWC A Hockey Team played
in a Festival held at St Anne’s on
Sunday 27 July. They played very
well, drawing 3 matches and
winning 2.
Gaynor Weir
U11 A1 vs Howick
TWC won 28 – 0
U11 B1 vs St John’s
TWC won 15 - 13
U11 B2 vs Longmarket
TWC lost 10 – 19
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Senior School
HOLIDAY RESULTS
NETBALL
The U17 KZN Team had two
equal strength teams at the IPT.
Chloë Veness and Caitlin Militz
were in separate teams. The
KZN teams finished 16th and 22nd
out of 24 teams. Joné Marx
played in the U16 KZN Team and
they finished in the top 5.
Tour Team from the UK
The TWC girls hosted Park House school from Berkshire UK over the
weekend. The U17 netball girls and U16 hockey girl played the touring teams.
SQUASH
7 girls played in IPTs over the
holidays. Brit Dorning, Catherine
Barrett and Beth de Carle played
for the U19B team and they
came third. The U16B won their
section which included Tessa
Foster and Alice Comrie, Shannon Firman and Jodie Conolly
played in the U14A team and
was placed fourth.
HOCKEY
Sarah Dixon, Jemma Veenstra,
Meagan and Nicola Deenik
played in Hockey IPTs over the
holidays. The KZN Inland U18A
team finished with silver and the
KZN Inland U16 team finished
5th.
Nicola Deenik
Nicola Deenik was selected for
the SA U18B team and played
against Australia during the holidays. She also umpired the finals
at the U16 IPT.
SAILING
Five TWC girls took part in a keel
boat sailing competition in
Durban Harbour this weekend
and came second and third
respectively. The
Grade 8s who
competed were
Caitlyn de Valence
Jodie Connolly,
Nooreen Nuruddin,
Bronagh Johnson and
Sarah Joy Quibell.
Nicola Deenik
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TENNIS
HOCKEY
The TWC U16 squad played the
U17 Park House team. The girls
had patches of very exciting
hockey. The TWC team controlled the midfield which put the
opposition on the back foot. A
couple of breakaways by the opposition were successfully closed
down by the defensive team and
distributed out wide into space.
Results:
The league has begun in full swing with most of the teams having
played this week. The girls play one pro set singles and doubles
match in their respective leagues. Each match won is equal to one
point. The doubles league players play 3 matches of 7 games each.
TWC U19A
vs GHS U19A
TWC U19B
vs GHS U19B
TWC U15A
vs TWC U15B
TWC U15C
vs St Anne’s U15B
vs St Anne’s F
Cailin Harries opened the firing TWC F
line with a field goal deflection
after the 8th minute of play. Jamie
Pearce was well positioned on
the left post to score the second
goal. Sam Yeats finished the first
half scoring off a short corner to
On Wednesday 30 July TWC
make the score 3 – 0. In the secstarted the basketball season
ond half a couple of opportunities
against St John’s. Matches were
were denied by the UK keeper,
closely contested.
but it wasn’t long before Jemma
Veenstra saw the gap and scored
Nine matches were played with
two field goals. The end result:
TWC winning 5 of the games
5 – 0 to TWC’s team.
played.
won 5 – 1
lost 0 – 6
won 6 – 0
lost 0 – 6
won 45 - 18
A League
B League
A League
B League
Doubles League
BASKETBALL
TWC 1
Lost
27 – 24
TWC 2
Lost
16 - 13
TWC U16 A
Won
16 - 5
TWC U16 B
Lost
21 - 9
TWC U15 A
Lost
17 - 33
TWC U15 B
Won
20 - 5
NETBALL
TWC U14 A
Won
8-5
TWC U14 B
Won
8-2
On Saturday 26 July the U17
team played against Park House.
The TWC netball team had a
slow start to the match, but soon
settled and went on to win the
match 33 – 6. It was great to see
some of TWC young talent
getting the opportunity out on
court.
TWC U14 C
Won
9-2
SWIMMING
We wish Catherine Royden-Turner and Chelsea
Meiring all the best as they take part in the 2014
South African National Short Course Swimming
Championships next week in Pietermaritzburg.
Sport Department
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