Preparatory Newsletter No 4 2013

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12 April 2013

St Johns Preparatory SchoolSt Johns Preparatory SchoolHoughton

Tel: 011 645 3100/ 087 550473 Newsletter Number 4

12/04 Break Up for Easter Holidays

07/05 School Begins

20/05 Let The Children Sing

21/05 Parents Information Evening



Reminders fromthe Diary

From the Headmaster

Take a break. Sometimes you need to stop, take adeep breath, and empty your head. Haruki

Murakami, 1Q84

I cannot quite believe that the first term is almost at

a close it certainly has been an incredibly busyterm for boys, staff and parents alike. Weve hadassessments in every subject, cricket matches, waterpolo matches, basketball matches, Chatterbox,camps, many hours of community service, amagnificent Supper and Song, a successful athleticsseason and ending with a glorious Inter-HouseAthletics Day last Saturday. Staff have attendednumerous conferences and workshops, completedthe IQAA evaluation process and contributed to thesuccess of another fantastic Easter Rugby Festival. I

have entertained so many deserving boys for a 4CTthat I have almost lost count.

Looking back, I am not quite sure where or when wehad time to fit all of the above into our normal schoollife during these past 13 weeks, but we did; and Icongratulate and thank everyone who gave of their

time and supported us and the boys to achieve this.

Next term will be equally busy, so now is the time torelax, enjoy the break from packing lunch boxes orfinding parking first thing in the morning, fromdiscovering that your boy has a project to hand inthe next morning or needs six loo rolls for D&T - andall of this while trying to manage your own job. As aparent myself I know all too well the stresses thattest us on a daily basis, even though we do ourutmost to avoid them.

So during the next few weeks, Iwould urge you all just to enjoythe break and relax so you canenjoy the time you have withyour son. Whether you aregoing away or staying here inJohannesburg, make time andengage with him whether it issimply going to the movies, apicnic at the dam, visiting thePlanetarium or kicking a ballaround these are the pricelessmemories that are forged andremembered by your son in hisadult life and can never bereplaced. Remember, there is no

meeting or appointment moreimportant than your son. Youcan always organise anothermeeting, but an opportunitymissed with him is gone forever

and boys do grow up so quickly.


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Page 2 St Johns Preparatory School

In our household, we normally try and make a list of things that we would like to do inthe holidays. Some may cost money, some may not all realistic in terms of being ableto be achieved and all wanted by one or all of my children. Everyone gets to choose onething that they would like to add to the list, and having a varied age range in the family,it sometimes makes for interesting reading! It may be a round of golf, listening to

music that my daughter loves and we loathe, a sleep over, cooking a meal together,going up to the nets, playing a card game, going out for coffee and a milkshake,creating a vegetable garden or painting nails (not myself of course nor my boys!). There

is something on the list that will make each member of our family happy.

So to close, I wish you all a wonderful holiday and I look forward to seeing you all at thestart of the Trinity Term and to hearing all about your and your sons various happy

holiday encounters, adventures and tales.

True happiness arises, in the first place, from the enjoyment of one's self, and in thenext, from the friendship and conversation of a few select companions.

Joseph Addison

Patrick Lees

Headmaster


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IBSC Action Research Programme 2012/2013:

Fostering creativity in boys through their use of digital technologies

The International Boys Schools Coalition (IBSC) initiated the programme of ActionResearch in Boys' Schoolsin 2005. Each year, teachers from around the world apply tobe part of this programme, and work collaboratively online for a year, on a particulartopic. Their findings are presented at the annual IBSC Conference. Last year theconference was held in Melbourne; this year it is being hosted by St ChristophersSchool in Richmond, Virginia.

Expert Geoffrey Mills (in Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher (2ndedition), explains that: Action research is any systematic inquiry conducted by

teacher researchers, principals to gather information about how their particularschools operate, how they teach, and how well their students learn. This informationis gathered with the goals of gaining insight, developing reflective practice, effectingpositive changes in the school environment (and on educational practice in general),and improving student outcomes and the lives of those involved.

This year, the global team has been researching ways in which boys creativity mightbe enhanced through the use of digital technologies. There are 45 global participants,divided into three online teams. My team members include: Ben Marr (Scotch College,Melbourne); Ian Fisher and Christina Braid (Crescent School, Toronto); Peta Gresham(Kings School, Sydney); Peter Holt (Dr Challoners Grammar School, UK); EricaSprules (Sterling Hall, Toronto); Bruce Collins (St Albans, Pretoria); Andrew Katz(Roxbury Latin School, Boston); Patrice Dixon (St Georges, Vancouver); James Balmer(Fairfield Country Day School, USA); Stephen Feldman (Belmont Hill School, Massa-

chusetts) and Nathan Staas (Barker College, Sydney).

LookThinkAct

Reflect


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Their projects range from using Gamemaker software to enhance problem-solvingskills; using digital story telling tools to facilitate creative writing; using various mobileand tablet technologies in creative design processes and music composition; and usingsoftware to develop integrative thinking skills; to using a variety of online programmes

to facilitate French teaching.

The team works collaboratively online over a period of a year, sharing their findings and

holding discussions on this Google site:

The projects are nearing an end now and team members will each submit a 5000 wordresearch paper next week, for publication by the IBSC. I am looking forward to editingthese 12 papers and I know I will be learning a great deal along the way as I work

through them. No doubt there will be much of interest to share with our staff next term!

Margot Long

Email: [email protected]

Note:

Examples of reports by previous action research teams can be found on the IBSC

website: http://www.theibsc.org/page.cfm?p=285


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Athletics Season 2013The athletics season this year has been an interrupted one. The duration of the seasonwas very short and the first meeting against St Benedicts was cancelled due to bad

eather. Our tabloids afternoon was also cut short as the new lightning warningsystem sent us off the field.

We used the morning lessons to focus on teaching the skills required for the differentevents. This means that each boy was given the opportunity to participate in all thetrack and field events. During the afternoon lessons, the coaches were set at differentstations and the boys were given the opportunity to go to any of the events in which

they wanted to improve.

The boys could practise, improve their times and distances, and also challenge for aplace in the team. We successfully competed with the likes of St Peters, St Davids andPridwin. Our teams out-performed all these teams in the A and B field events, with highjump and shot put being our strongest events in all age groups. We were equally

matched with all the other schools in the track events.

We ended off our season with a very successful Inter-House Meeting on Saturday 6

April.

Well done to all our St Johns boys on a fantastic athletics season!

Mr Joe Xaba

MIC Athletics

[email protected]

4CTea 2013Outstanding Manners to a Parent

Donato Moodie

Won both Chess Matches

Khavish Govind

Excellent History Assessment

Max Mukami Andi Qu

Outstanding isiZulu Assessment

Chilima Nkanza Max Mukami Watipa Chitondo

Zaydan Moti nTando Brummer Miles Li


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The UII boys have been studying Ancient Egypt. Here they are showing off their ownAncient Egyptian artifacts.


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There once was a boy named Brian

Who had a mishap with the iron

Whilst ironing his sock

He got quite a shock

Poor Brian he ended up dying

Limerick by Spencer Clarke

There once was a crazy young wolf

Who had a great father named Poof

The unfortunate father

Fell head first through lava

And that was the end of old Poof

Limerick by Graeme Gush

There once was a guy named Mike

Who had a really big red bike

The bike got sold

For two tons of gold

And that was the story of Mike

Limerick by Nicholas Papadakis

There once was a cow named Pilk

Now he liked to drink his own milk

One day he drank himself dry

Then he had to eat pie

And that was the end of his milk

Limerick by Taylor Williamson


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I Am Poems

By Timothy Martin

By Reece Wilford

By Dexter Harding


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By Nicholas Papadakis

By Henry Rochester


11/30By Alex Barrow

By Nick Koutromanos


By Keagan Lion-Cachet By Matthew Chow

What My Friends Think Of Me

By Darren Lowery


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In the Michaelmas Term later this year, over half-term, twelve of our boys willrepresent the U11B cricket team at the inaugural Beaulieu Preparatory 20/20

Cricket Tournament.

Pool fixtures will be played on Friday 25th October and the play-off fixture will takeplace on Saturday 26th October. This will be followed by a prize giving and awardsceremony.

The squad will be finalized by Monday 14th October and further details will be

provided to the parents of the selected boys.

We look forward to participating in this exciting initiative.

Sean Logan

MIC Cricket

Cricket


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Cricket U10B vs Norwood Primary

Ben Macqueen and Corijn Van De Loosdrecht

The opening batsmen for the 2nd XI vs The Ridge


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A victorious 2nd XI vs The Ridge on Pre-Prep Field

U10A Cricket Team before departing for an away fixture


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U11A Cricket Team

3rd XI before departing for an away fixture


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Farewell to Ms Maitland


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Page 20St Johns Preparatory School

Kloofwaters Camp 2013

This years camp was very different in many ways. It was the first time in my life that I

came down with a very strange and unwanted illness called Home Sickness. At first I

was fine but then I started to feel sad. This years camp was longer than ever before!5 days. I felt sad at night and I missed my mum. This didnt stop me having tons of fun

during the day though.

I loved our day visit to Maretlwane. We jumped off high rocks into clear water pools

with a waterfall. We met Mr Nic and saw his house.

Another different experience during this camp was being able to sleep outside under

the stars. We saw bats and listened to the sounds of the night. It was awesome.

By Ethan Berriman

The Upper IIs arrived at Kloofwaters by bus and spent 4 nights there. Some of the fun

things that we did was a river challenge where we were tied together by rope and walked

through a river. We also had to build our own shelter and spend the night in it. My

favourite part of the trip was the hike up to the kloof and we abseiled down on a steep

slope. We also visited Maretlwane and jumped off a 5 metre high ledge into a pool of water

below. I cant wait to go back next year for more fun in the bush!

By Alex Wiltshire


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Individual Achievements


Karate

Well done to Nicholas Koutromanos, Dino Koutromanos, Matthew Chow,and Matteo Paparella, who all passed their Karate gradings!

SoccerDino Iozzo has been selected for the Olympia U13 Football Team which will compete inLloret De Mar, Costa Brava Spain. Well done, Dino!

SwimmingPeter Buckle competed in the SSA Regional Gala in Pretoria this weekend. There were62 clubs and about 1000 swimmers taking part. His results were as follows:

100m freestyle - 2nd, 50m freestyle - 1st, 50m back - 1st, 100m fly - 3rd, 200m IM -4th, 50m breast - 5th, 400m free relay - placed 5th out of 12 in U12 age group 200mfree relay, placed 4th out of 14 in U12 age group. Well done, Peter!


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UI Grandparents Tea


The Upper I boys didn't realize how much fun could be had doing History, while at thesame time delighting their grandparents. They had to interview either their granny orgrandpa and enjoyed finding out, for example, where they went to primary school, who

was their first date and what is their oldest possession. The boys then presented theirfindings in the form of a poster and a speech to their grandparents. It was quite evidenthow the grannies and grandpas really enjoyed listening to and watching theirgrandsons in action. This was followed by a cup of tea and an opportunity for them toexpress their gratitude and appreciation for a wonderful morning spent at the school.


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Easter Egg Raffle

The giant Easter egg very kindly donated by Mrs Bollini raised R8645 for the KES

lightning fund.


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3rd Prize Mrs Rimmer

2nd Prize Timothy Milton

And the winner is Carl Leathwhite


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Despite the big improvement in the Lost Property the number of items that are notmarked continues to be a problem. We once again appeal to the boys and parents to

ensure that all items are marked. This facilitates the return of lost items and alsomakes the managing of the process much easier.

St Johns Lost Property - Before and After!


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Renowned British author

Author of the bestselling teen spy series Alex Rider,the humorous detective series Diamond Brothers,the spine-chilling Power of Five books and hisbrilliantly adapted series of myth and legends will beaddressing the boys of the Prep and signing copies of

his books.

Date: 23 May 2013 from 9amWhere: Rene England Hall, St Johns College

Contact: [email protected]


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iCare

Whilst we hope and anticipate that all boys will feel able to approach their teachers or amember of staff should they feel that something is wrong, we understand that this will notalways be the case. Some boys may feel unsure of how to approach a staff member orunsure of what they should say. For this reason we are continuing to use the iCare box,which is now located in Mrs Powells office. We also have an electronic version where boyscan contact the Pastoral Care Team at [email protected] . The Pastoral Care teamis hoping that the boys make use of these initiatives to highlight anything that they CARE

about at St Johns Prep.

The aim is to provide the boys with an alternative avenue to voice their feelings aroundhatever may be on their minds. This extends beyond the reporting of just peer

difficulties (such as bullying) the aim is to further enhance the quality of the St Johnsexperience. All notes placed in the box or sent via email will be treated confidentially and

actions instituted where possible.

We ask that you encourage your son to make use of the iCare initiative so that we can

make his day all that he hopes it can be.

Hugo [email protected]

AFRIKAANS TUITION

Is your son struggling to communicate in Afrikaans or having difficulty mastering thebasics of the language (oral or written)? I am qualified to assist in both of the above areasand would be available to provide the necessary tuition between 15:00 and 18:00 on

Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at St Johns Preparatory.

Tuition will be provided on either a one-to-one basis or in group situations, lessons willlast for an hour. Progress will be regularly monitored and pupils will be expected to

perform certain tasks and complete basic written assignments.

Tuition fees for individual lessons are R250 per hour and R150 per hour for groupsessions.

Should you be interested in the above, my contact details are as follows:

Graham Carroll

Tel : 011 534 1224

Fax : 011 534 1225

Cell : 076 858 9420

Notices


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St Johns Preparatory SchoolPage 29

Notices

Art club and extra classes

From the beginning of next term, Mr Poco is starting an Art Club (for LIII and UIII boys) and extra art classes for juniorboys. Senior boys are encouraged to join the Art Club on Tuesdays from 14h00 -15h00 or Thursdays from

15h00-16h00. Juniors may arrange extra art lessons with Mr Poco at alternative times and on alternative days.

We hope to see the senior boys joining the Art Club to create various exciting art works with mediums they do notnormally use in class, such as print making, photography, oil painting and many more. This will be a fantastic opportunity

for any boy who wishes to develop his art skills.

For further information e-mail Bruno Poco on [email protected]

Italian

Language

LessonsSmall age appropriate classes and individual tuition

offered outside school hours at St Johns.

Experienced mother-tongue graduate teacher usingcommunicative method of conversation, maintaining

cultural ties for solid IEB foundation.

Contact Lisabetta on 082 682 2859 or

[email protected]

EXTRA MATHS

LESSONSLower III & Upper III boys in

Mrs De Langes classroom

Every Thursday 14h00 - 15h00

(Teacher recommendation only)

Shop At St Johns College

New opening times from 28th January 2013Tuesday and Thursday: 7am to 3pm

Monday, Wednesday and Friday: 10am to 3pm

For stationery and labels, as well as all your sports clothes, jerseys, bags and socks


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Wise words from Mr Mack

Playing the game.

Say to yourself:-

When Neils bowling, were all bowling. When Neils bowling, we are his arms, legs, histoenails and feet. When Neil gets a wicket, we all have a wicket. When he does, patyourself on the back, clap your hands and say: Well done, Neil for I am heart of Neils

heart.

And so it is with fielding and batting. Do the same for yourself and for every player in

your team.

Dont say to yourself: When will I get a turn to bat or bowl?

Your turn will come.

When it does, remember: there are ten other hearts beating in mine, loving me,

trusting me, and believing in me, never criticizing me.

Remember:- in our team, we are all important, there are Everest, to be climbed butthe most important player is the one who bats last, scores the last run; bowls last;takes the last wicket; takes the last catch; secures the last run out.

Say to yourself; If I am ever dropped from the team, it really, really doesnt matter. Imstill part of St Johns. Ill find my way back.

Play hard to win; but dont think about winning, dont think about losing. Think aboutone thing: this one ball right now. This ball I am facing (if Im batting). This one ball Iam bowling. This one ball I, or someone else, is fielding. Back up your team-mates,

your fellow batsman, your bowler, your fielders. One ball at a time. Play one ball at atime.

Enjoy the game; love it.

P raise your team-mates; encourage your team-mates; make them better than they are.

Respect and recognise your opponents. They are your comrades and friends of the

future.

Dont just give your best. Give all of yourself. Give more than your best. If you getbowled out for a duck, say to yourself: I can still win this game by stopping one run,

by taking a catch or even with a run out.

Never, never give up.

If we ever lose a game, so what! Say to yourself: It was like falling asleep. Well wake uptomorrow.

Say to yourself, and dont ever forget it: My coach says I am a wonderful player in awonderful team at a wonderful school. Finally, dont ask who wrote these words for

the writer of these words is the goodness and worth singing in your hearts.

Neils and every boys coach at St Johns

Preparatory Newsletter No 4 2013

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