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 [email protected].
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