Inter Schools Cross Country Meeting on

Wednesday 11 August 2010

Dear Parents

The recent one-day strike in the public sector caused a good deal of disruption and at the time of writing – there doesn’t seem to be much progress towards a resolution of the wage dispute. We watch developments with great interest as our Independent Schools are inextricably linked with State Schools. Whatever occurs in the State sector has spill-over ramifications in the Private sector. On the employment side, we have to ensure that we remain competitively favourable in terms of salaries whilst at the same time being mindful of trying to remain as affordable as possible. Unlike State schools – we receive no subsidy whatsoever and we have no other stream of income aside of our school fees, hence the importance of fee collection. We appeal to all parents to ensure that all fees are settled – no matter how small the outstanding balance. Every Rand counts. Sadly, across both sections of the school we experience unacceptable debt situations. We will always try to be reasonable in difficult times, but we draw the line when we hear of families travelling overseas or purchasing luxury cars whilst their account remains in debt. We will be left with no alternative but to start asking frequent fee offenders to find alternative schooling for their sons. Fortunately, we can do this as we have substantial waiting lists.

We gain little advantage and certainly no pleasure when we hear of the difficulties our colleagues in the State sector face. We depend on a strong State education system to keep us from becoming complacent about our own standards. We enjoy our sporting contact with children from State schools. Of course those who suffer most in wage disputes are the children. I fear for those preparing for their school leaving examinations. Any prolonged ‘stay-aways’ will ultimately adversely affect those children’s chances of gaining entrance into universities and thereafter fulfilling their employment aspirations. We hope that an amicable settlement is reached soon so that normality is returned in State schools.  

Prep History in the making?

This weekend sees our Prep school play contact rugby for the first time. It is therefore prudent that I pass on to you some ‘sighters’ as to what you can expect.

We are playing in 5 different age group festivals at different schools. Our boys have been working hard on gaining skills towards playing their first game but have never played a match as such. We therefore need to have realistic expectations.

One thing we have noticed though is that (as predicted) we are picking up more injuries than we did when playing ‘touch’ rugby. At the risk of sounding alarmist - injuries are sadly almost inevitable in contact rugby. We have been assured that each venue will have the requisite medical personnel in attendance including an ambulance should the need arise.

Rugby can sometimes stir dim memories in Dads! Former (exaggerated) glories are recalled and expectations of Junior on the field become the focus of that bygone enthusiasm. Being a physical game – there are strong exhortations to players to ‘get stuck in!’ Please remember that your son is not Pierre Spies yet! We respectfully ask that you don’t embarrass the following people with inappropriate behaviour or comments: your son, our coaches, your wife and importantly, yourself! 

We hope that our boys will enjoy their first taste of the realities of this great game. Like the Trinidad Olympic bobsleigh team – we are ‘work in progress!’

The Cowboy And Saint Peter

A cowboy appeared before St. Peter at the Pearly Gates. 'Have you ever
done anything of particular merit?' St. Peter asked.
 'Well, I can think of one thing,' the cowboy offered.  

'On a trip to the Black Hill in South Dakota, I came upon a gang of bikers who were threatening a young woman.  I directed them to leave her alone, but they wouldn't listen.  So, I approached the largest and most tattooed biker and smacked him in the face, kicked his bike over, ripped out his nose ring, and threw it on the ground.  I yelled, 'Now, back off or I'll kick the daylights out of all of you!'
St. Peter was impressed, 'When did this happen?' he asked.

'Couple of minutes ago,' the cowboy replied.

Enjoy your weekend!

Rick Wilson

Sport

Rugby

Venues for rugby fixtures on Saturday 14 August

Under 9 – The Ridge

Under 10 – St David’s

Under 11 – Pridwin Prep

Under 12 – Waterkloof House Prep School

Open – St John’s Prep 

Hockey

On Monday 16 August hockey season begins.  There will be hockey practice during Phys. Ed periods.  Boys must provide their own sticks, gum guards, and multi-studded shoes.  No 6-studded or blade boots are allowed on the Astroturf.  The Inter house Hockey will be held on Thursday 19 August.

Hockey Practices start next week as follows:

Monday

Under 8’s from 13:00 – 14:00

U/11’s from 14:00 – 15:00

Tuesday

U/7’s from 13:00 – 14:00

U/10’s from 14:00 – 15:00

U/12 ‘s from 15:00 – 16:00 

Thursday

U/9’s from 13:00 – 14:00
3^rd and 4^th teams from 14:00 – 15:00

1^st and 2^nd teams from 15:00 to 16:00

Holiday Clinics - Cricket and Hockey

Cricket Clinic

Monday 30 August to Friday 3 September

U/8, U/9, U/10 08:00 – 09:30

U/11, U/12, Open 10:00 – 11:30

Cost R50 per day

Hockey Clinic

Monday 30 August to Friday 3 September

U/9, U/10 10:00 – 11:00

U/11, U/12, Open 08:30 – 09:30

Cost R50 per day

Dress for Cricket: Hat, sun block

                              U/8 – Bat, ball

                              U/9 – Open – Full cricket equipment and ball        

Dress for Hockey: Shorts, shirt, hat, sunblock

                              Multi-studded boots (no blades or 6-studded boots)

                               Gum guards - compulsory

 Tennis Championships

Tennis Championships U/12 Doubles Results

The Inter House tennis results were as follows: 

1st The Bishops

2nd College

3rd Benedict

4th Osmond

 Athletics Trophy

If anyone would like to donate an Athletics trophy please would they contact Mr Castle.

Reflection

How Much

There once was a man named George Thomas, a pastor in a small New England town. One Easter Sunday morning he came to the Church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Several eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak.

“I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me, swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the lad and asked, “What you got there son?”

“Just some old birds,” came the reply.

“What are you gonna do with them?” I asked.

“Take them home and have fun with them. I’m gonna tease them and pull out their feathers to make them fight. I’m gonna have a real good time.”

“But you’ll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do then?”

“Oh, I got some cats. They like birds. I’ll take ‘em to them.”

The pastor was silent for a moment. “How much do you want for those birds, son?”

“Huh??! Why, you don’t want them birds, mister. They’re just plain old field birds. They don’t sing – they ain’t even pretty!”

“How much?”

The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, “$10?”

The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He placed it in the boy’s hand. In a flash, the boy was gone. The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free.

Well, that explained the empty bird cage on the pulpit, and then the pastor began to tell this story. 

One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. “Yes, sir, I just caught the world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used bait I knew they couldn’t resist. Got ‘em all!” 

“What are you going to do with them?” Jesus asked. 

“Oh, I’ll kill ‘em.” 

“How much do you want for them?” 

“Oh, you don’t want those people. They ain’t no good. Why, you’ll take them and they’ll just hate you. They’ll spit on you, curse you and kill you!! You don’t want those people!”

 “How much?”

 Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, “All your tears, and all your blood.” 

Jesus paid the price.

The pastor picked up the cage, he opened the door and he walked from the pulpit.

THANK YOU JESUS. Not all of us hate you. Your loving children.

Father Chaka Motanyane

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Forthcoming Events

 August 16 to 30 August 2010 (click here)

Notices

MOBS London Event

All Marist all boys are invited to attend this event, so if you fing yourself in London in september, please feel free to join in. If you knbow of a Marist Old Boy in the UK, please forward this invitation to him.

Term 3 closure:                  Friday 20 August

Term 4

Start:                                      Monday 6 September

Close:                                    Wednesday 1 December

 Half term:                              Normal closing Wednesday 20 October 

                                                Return to school Tuesday 26 October

Public Holiday:                   Friday 24 September (Heritage Day)

 School re-opens Wednesday 12 January 2011

Click here for 2011 School Calendar

Dedicated Ironing Lady/Domestic

Due to our relocating abroad at the end of the month our honest, hardworking dedicated ironing lady, Mary, is looking for part-time or full time work either ironing or doing domestic work.  South African by birth, Mary is an outstanding person who is honest, dedicated, considerate, is always on time, prepared to go the extra mile and is always ready with a smile.  We recommend her highly and would be more than happy to supply a reference.

Mary : 072 064 8023

Charlotte Coetzee : 083 268 1762

Garden Cottage to Let

Furnished garden cottage in Sandhurst for a single person – available for rental from 1 September. Evening meals provided on request. Please contact Alexandra on 082 805 0966.

 Simply Managing Academic Related Tasks.....               

SMART is a revolutionary, new learning system that is changing the way individuals learn, process and retain information. The programme has been developed in South Africa by sociologist, author, mother and academic Dr Mariam Seedat-Khan. The five week programme is based on an extensive review of empirical evidence in the related fields of education, neuroscience and cognitive development. SMART understands specific learning needs, challenges and desired outcome for individuals. SMART introduces a series of accurately matched learning techniques that meet the needs of the unique learner. The programme can help you realise your full potential. Please feel free to contact Dr Mariam Seedat Khan on 0837879495 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; visit the website www.simplysmart.co.za 

   END

Swop Shop

The swop shop has relocated to the room adjacent to the Design and Technology centre; facing the pool.

As from next week, bearing in mind it is midterm break; the swop shop will be run on a 5-day basis and the hours will be run on an interim basis until the end of March. We trust that the parents can optimize their drop-off and collection time with the new proposed times:

The swop shop will place more emphasis on the quality of stock.  Substandard quality can be donated to the PTA (this is already happening) or the parents can make use of the clearance sale which will take place after midterm break and before end of term.

The new swop shop team comprises of:

Charmaine Brogden     This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 079 091 1544

Lorraine Yoko                This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 082 672 9105

Should you be interested in assisting with the swop shop please contact us to put your name on a duty roster.

Dear Parents 

As you may or may not know, MySchool is an initiative that raises money for Schools through the swipe of a card.  It can be used at a growing number of outlets and when you swipe the card, 0.5% of the value of your spend is donated to the school of your choice.

If you do not have a card, for yourself or for any member of your immediate and extended family, please complete an application form, available from the Prep office.  You will need one for each new card which means even more funds raised for our beautiful school.  Please return this to the school as soon as possible so we can ensure that you get your card.

Making St David’s your beneficiary school will enable us to raise funds for infrastructure development for the benefit of all the boys in the school.

If you already have a card linked to another beneficiary school and wish to change this to St David’s, please reply to this email and we will do what it takes to get that changed.

Finally - If you do have a card and regularly swipe it for the benefit of St Davids – we really appreciate your help.  Thank you so much!

All emails in this regard to be sent to Mrs J West at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Kind regards

St David's PTA