Quarterly Edition 1: March 2016

Quarterly Edition 1: March 2016
Editorial
Welcome to our new quarterly publication of Horizons. In
the past, a monthly edition of Horizons was unable to convey
enough of the content we wanted to bring you. A new
quarterly edition aims to provide more content over a variety
of events and topics showing life at The Ridge.
The end of Term1 marks a significant milestone for me; I have
now been at The Ridge for 1 year.
“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language
And next year’s words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.”
T.S. Eliot
And what a beginning it was! From meeting the wonderful
Ridge staff, my class of very special boys, and each of the spirited sports’ teams that I have the pleasure of being part of.
Some of the highlights from my first year:
The B-team soccer tour to Penryn College in Mpumalanga. It
was wonderful to see the soccer boys in a relaxed, yet competitive environment. It was a pleasure to meet coaches from
other schools and experience the famous Uplands Festival.
The astounding Oliver production. Simon McBurney said “In
the theatre, we’re all charlatans and liars and scavengers and flyby-nights.” In Oliver, the boys became singers, girls, ophans,
stagehands, and sound and lighting technicians with such commitment, dedication, and enthusiasm that I think even their
parents struggled to recognise them!
There are too many wonderful experiences of my beginning
at The Ridge to describe here. That is the beauty of a newsletter, like Horizons, which serves to describe and document the
many-varied lives of our boys at this amazing school: the various Inter-house competitions , Reading Breakfasts, Art shows,
Music displays, sports matches, field trips, and the list goes on.
We have a bumper packed edition this quarter:
• Our Headmaster’s message
• A new segment in Horizons - a message from the
Board of Governers
• An introduction of our new staff at The Ridge from the beginning of 2016
• A look The Ridge staff in our popular ‘Day in the life...’
section
• ‘Care to Learn’ information which reports on our
interactions with Salvazione School this term
• A closer look into what’s happening in a few of our grades, Grade 0, Grade 5, and Grade 7
• Fireside Tales
• Happenings in the Media and Art departments
• Photo gallery of some of the Interhouse Sports events
in Term 1
• A feature on The Lighthouse and its Learning Support
staff
• Old Boys’ News
And then, a self-indulgent last page is a gallery of some of the
amazing photos taken out and around our beautiful school.
Enjoy the read!
by Anton Pretorius
One of my fondest periods so far at The Ridge was cricket
season in the Term 3 2015. I had such an enthusiastic and talented team – U11B that I was amazed that these boys were
in the B-team. And although, I can only imagine how good the
A-team must have been, for me, my cricket team was the best
in all areas. This year, I was lucky enough to get another team,
U10A, that was just as dedicated and enthusiastic. Although
many results did not go our way, the boys never dropped their
heads, never doubted themselves, and that their hard work
was going to reap the rewards. True Ridge spirit.
As teachers we get so used to seeing the boys within the
school environment – structured and formal. At our Grade
5 camp, I was delighted to see the boys in a relaxed and fun
environment. I got to see them as you, their parents, see them;
fun, funny; passionate; naughty, caring, honest and enthusiastic.
My wonderful family - Rebecca, Jude (in red),
Zachary (in green and gold) and myself.
From the Headmaster
Dear Parents,
It struck me during the last few days as we began to put finishing touches to what has been a busy and pulsating, but happy
first term, that the ancient phrase, ‘time and tide wait for no
man’ can be felt to resonate with so much that we
experience here at The Ridge. It has been another one of
those all-embracing starts to the year that has simply flashed
by. The pace of it has been largely due to an operational
programme of events and happenings that has clearly kept
boys, staff and so many parents on their toes.
‘Time’ ... Busyness in itself is not necessarily always a good
thing, but when, as in our case, it applies to an extension of
learning that adds substance and variety to what the children
are experiencing in the classroom, then it’s as well to make the
most of the daily adventures lest one misses out.
The parent/teacher Academic Meetings a few weeks ago
would have provided you with the chance to hear firsthand
just how well your lad has embraced all that has come his way.
In this context, it is not only about how your boy is coping in
the classroom that requires scrutiny but, as importantly as this
stage of their schooling is, to understand something of how he
is reaching out to take advantage of the wider learning experience. Attitude, behaviour, self-organization, awareness of and
respect for others and for his environment, good manners and
a host of other aptitudes are honed and refined during these
early years when a child’s character is forming. It is due, in no
small measure, to the exposure to all that the fuller educational package here at The Ridge offers that these skills-for-life
foundations are able to take root.
‘Tides’ ... One of the things that we are acutely aware of in this
boy-oriented institution of primary learning is that we need to
stay abreast of the times in which we live and, as such, to be
alert to new opportunities to look after the specific 21st Century learning needs of each individual boy. Recently held JP
and SP curriculum management meetings focused discussion
on how best to absorb and make good use of these exciting
change opportunities while at the same to maintain a semblance of balance and primary perspective before allowing the
‘tide’ to totally overwhelm us all.
Notwithstanding the relentless passage and pulse of time and
tide, we remain committed to protecting a primary,
boy-centred teaching and learning environment. With the
1st Term now a thing of the past I would like to bring attention
back to our boys and to some of what the ‘knowing and growing’ experience might have meant to each of them during these
past fourteen weeks.
During the opening assembly at the beginning of the year I
shared a poignant story of the Pencil Maker. This parable
serves well to illustrate the wonder of individual uniqueness,
the potential that lies inside each boy, learning how to cope
with some of the ‘sharper’ lessons of life that school days will
offer up, and the importance of relational connections as they
receive instruction and guidance from parents, teachers and
their Father God.
The story of the Pencil Maker resonates with us all in the
following ways:
• Everything you do will always leave a mark
• You can most always correct the mistakes that you make
• What is important is what is inside of you
• In life, you will undergo painful sharpenings, which will only
make you better
• To be the best ‘pencil’ you must allow yourself to be held
and guided by the hand that holds you.
I trust that the April holidays will provide for each Ridge family some important reconnection time and the opportunity
to share the joy and delights of togetherness that such family
moments offer up; sadly all too seldom given the relentless
influence of ‘time and tides’ on all our lives.
Go well, safe travels and God bless you all.
Richard Stanley
From the Board
As we near the end of the first term I have been reminded
just how busy our boys are. Joe, our middle son, is in Grade 7
this year. For most of this term between Joe and our youngest
son,Tom, in Grade 4, we had to have our boys up at the school
early every morning of the week. This naturally led to very
long days and busy schedules, especially in Grade 7, where
the boys seem to start the year at a frenetic and often overwhelming pace. Why do we do this to our young chaps you
may very well ask?
It is a great question and one that got a significant amount
of coverage in our recent strategy session that took place
between the board and senior staff on the 9th March as we
set out our top priorities for our school over the next three
to five years.
We started the session by reviewing the vision and values of
the school that have already been established by the team(s)
that have come before us. If, like me, you have not read the
Ridge Charter for a while, I urge you to take a few minutes to
find it on the website and give it a read. This gave us an excellent platform to work from. It enabled us to look forward as
the school heads towards its Centenary and we have new, and
an ever increasing number of, demands on adults and children
alike in the South Africa we are living in.
I believe that the risk with these strategy sessions is that you
end up with a lot of back slapping, a number of intangible
wishes and no plan on how, what or why.With this in mind we
worked hard on coming away with a maximum of three specific goals from the session. This is much more difficult than
it sounds. We could easily have come away with ten, but what
chance would we have on achieving any of them if this had
been the case. Our three, in no particular order, ended up
being:
1) Finance and fundraising:
It is very difficult, if not impossible, to achieve the best for the
boys and the school unless the school is in a strong financial
position.
2) Transformation:
This was the one goal that featured prominently amongst all
the sub-teams that were established in the strategy session. It
is an issue that is extremely relevant. It is important that it is
handled effectively by the school as we move forward in the
country that we live in.
3) Producing a well balanced, all-round boy:
In order to achieve this our boys need to have exposure to
many different facets of school life. Naturally the priority is
academics, but we believe a Ridge boy should have exposure
to sport, culture and outreach in sufficient doses of each to
impress the socks off the person who interviews your boy or
reads through the CV of your “known and grown” boy when
that time comes. Boys who can contribute in an all round way
to their respective high schools are a real asset to their school
and the greater community. There is a fine line as to how this
will best be achieved for our boys without simply overloading
them.
The next step in this process is for Richard and his executive
to work through each of these goals, at their offsite meeting
in early May, and come back to the board with the “How”.This
is a difficult but essential part of ensuring that we can achieve
these goals.
I am sharing this with you to ensure that we, as a board,
remain completely transparent as to where we intend to
guide our school. We fully recognise that the parents and staff
need to work as a team to get the very best out of our
product: your boys. I want to again thank our board and executive for their tireless and selfless commitment to our school
as we strive to take it from “Good to Great”!
James Clucas
Chairman of the board
New Staff
Joe Kotwal
After spending over 12 years Parktown Boys’ High School
as an educator, sports organiser, coach and later on as head
of marketing and admissions, I found myself looking for my
next challenge. I never dreamed that I would find it so close
to home and in such an amazing environment.
Personally, I have a keen interest in sport: I’m actively involved in running, cycling, hockey and golf. I have an
incredible family - my wife, Louisa, who is also an educator;
and a little girl, Annabella, who is four years old and loves
unicorns, fairies and speckled eggs!
I hope to bring a refreshed take on The Ridge by showcasing
to parents and potential families what an amazing school it
is. I hope to highlight the wonderful work done by the boys,
staff and parents reminding them that The Ridge is a special
place and it should be celebrated.
that sport must be accessible to every learner in the school
with a focus on cognitive development and social skills.
What people might not know is I am involved in coach development around the province through the Gauteng Cricket
Board and Cricket South Africa. In addition, I am a
provincial cricket coach and have been for number of years. I
have also been involved as a schools cricket administrator as
vice – chairperson of Gauteng Schools Cricket association.
I am a keen sports enthusiast and I particularly enjoy the social aspect of participating and officiating sport. I love interacting with people – be it spectators, participants or officials.
Sarah Behr
Reuben Mandlazi
My name is Reuben Mandlazi. I was born 30 November 1977
in Soweto Johannesburg where I studied and completed my
studies. I was employed by Gauteng Cricket Board as a coach
and Soweto cricket area coordinator for 7 years before I
moved on and joined St Stithian’s College. While there I acquired my BEd and Honours degree in Sports Management.
During my stay at St Stithians I was involved in the teacher
training internship programme.
I am at the Ridge School to add value and make a difference
in the lives of the boys in the Junior Prep section. I wish
to encourage active participation through long-term athletic
development despite a child’s ability or background. I believe
After being born and raised in Hillcrest, Kwa-Zulu Natal, and
attending school at St Mary’s D.S.G in Kloof, I decided to
move up to Gauteng to pursue my dreams and study towards my Education degree. I completed my B.Ed Foundation Phase at the University of Pretoria, and continued to
complete my Honours degree specialising in Learning Support. Whilst studying my Honours I spent a year doing an internship at Waterkloof House Preparatory School, Pretoria.
Being a part of The Ridge community allows me the opportunity to teach and grow alongside gentleman who are
respectful, passionate, and eager to learn. The Ridge boys’
passion and pride for their school is inspiring, and thus instills an even greater desire for me to be involved in each
boys’ growth and development throughout their journey at
school. I am blessed to also be on the learning side, learning
valuable and often humorous lessons from the Grade 0 boys
every day.
There are so many reasons as to why teaching is said to
be one of the most rewarding jobs; however I have one favourite that never tires. There is no greater day than when
a teacher bears witness to a “lightbulb moment” in one of
her pupils, and a concept that has taken weeks to be grasped
suddenly makes sense. Those movements are what fuel my
passion for teaching.
Astrid Read
My name is Astrid Read, wife to Craig Read, and mum to
newborn Talia Ava Read. I am the new member of the dynamic Lighthouse team, filling the role of Academic Support
Specialist and Remedial Therapist at the school.
With Durban as my home town for a few years, I had the
wonderful opportunity to work as a Learning Support Teacher and Remedial Therapist at Highbury Preparatory School.
I assisted in setting up a Learning Support Centre and
worked as part of a team of specialists, collaborating daily
with teachers and therapists, and liaising regularly with parents - not unlike my new role at The Ridge.
On returning to Johannesburg, I was employed at Roedean
School in 2015 where I taught Grade 1 and practiced as a
private remedial therapist. As much as I enjoyed my role as
class teacher, I missed working as an integral part of an academic support team on a daily basis. Taking up the position
as Learning Support Teacher and Remedial Therapist at The
Ridge has allowed me to work as part of such a team once
again.
Carmin Groenewald
My name is Carmin Groenewald and I am married to
Nathan Groenewald. We have three beautiful daughters:
Zoe, Lemile and Shyloh. Nathan is a Science teacher at
Crawford Preparatory; Zoe is an Honours Student at the
University of Johannesburg studying Graphic Design; Lemile
just started at the University of Pretoria pursuing a degree
in Biokinetics; and lastly Shyloh is in Grade 5 at Crawford
Preparatory.
Prior to joining the Ridge family, I had been teaching at
Parkview Junior School for 10 years, and before that at
Cavendish Primary School for 14 years. Both these schools
are co-ed, so coming to The Ridge has been very interesting
and delightful with only boys. I have a lovely class and both
the parents and the boys made me feel at home on the first
day. The staff are amazing and I am surely going to enjoy this
wonderful experience.
My interest in and passion for learning support began in my
student days, when I worked as a special needs facilitator
to children finding it challenging to cope independently in a
mainstream or inclusive environment. As a result, on completion of my teaching degree, I opted to further my studies.
With the completion of an Honours degree in School Guidance and Counselling, and the commencement of a Masters
in Educational Psychology, my career in academic support
and remedial therapy commenced. Since then, I have been
privileged to experience working as a teacher in a mainstream classroom, a private remedial therapist, and as an academic support teacher, all of which have been invaluable in
growing and developing my skills in the field of education and
more specifically, academic support.
I am excited to be part of The Lighthouse journey and I look
forward to the journey ahead as a member of The Ridge
family.
Day in the life...
Tessa MacMurray
My days teaching Grade 2 are a lot like falling down Lewis Carroll’s rabbit hole, there is always an adventure to be
found and it rarely stays hidden. I get to inhabit the special world of 7-year old boys where Maths is still fun and
wonderfully mysterious, rulers are only ever used as swords,
reading is time travel and a single day can feel like a year or
a split second.
I have wanted to be teacher since the age of 8, coincidentally
the age of the boys who depart my class and head to Grade
3 at the end of the year, and even on my toughest days (as I
sit eating my habitual piece of dark chocolate) I remember
that teaching is both my privilege and purpose.
“I think Miss MacMurray does her homework and changes
into heart or kitten pyjamas. Then she eats rice and soup for
dinner. She goes to bed early so she can be exciting at school
the next day.
Mulalo Selamolela
“In the evening I think Miss MacMurray has meetings. She
probably reads a lot, like school magazines. She probably puts
a sheet on her pillow so all the feathers don’t come out”
Adam Ball
“In the early morning I think Miss MacMurray jumps out of
bed at 5am, has strawberry pops and puts on a dress. She
gets to school where the boys are climbing in the trees and
joins in the fun.”
Christopher Chapman
“Miss MacMurray teaches us lots of fun stuff.We learn about
ice-cream.”
Sam Sargent
Darshan Mistry
My typical day as Darshan Mistry – not so mysterious any- Before long its 4:00pm and time to knock off and the journey
more, I guess! My day starts at 5am from Monday to Friday, back home begins until tomorrow when I get to do it all over
again. Like they say time flies when you’re having fun.
weekends start much later and end earlier, thank goodness.
I travel a long journey to get to work and some days it seems
as if I drive to Durban. The drive is worth every moment, as
when I get to work I remember what a special place I work at.
The Ridge School is just an amazing place to be. The environment, staff, boys and parents are so supportive and friendly.
My work day starts off with greeting all the lovely ladies and
gentlemen in the admin block who make my day and give me
something to look forward to.
Once I get into my office the real work begins, it is really exciting but busy. I am learning new things every day in my role as
the marketing coordinator. The position is absolutely fantastic
so are the fun things I get to do such as drive the golf cart
around school, taking parents on school tours and taking photos where and when needed.
Care to Learn
Care to Learn is a new concept to The Ridge, courtesy of
Mr Stanley. The purpose of the initiative is to provide learners
with the opportunity to serve and be served by people that
may be different from them: either in status, age, class, race,
gender or any of the “isms” of society. Each term, this day is
set aside in the school calendar in order to provide learners
with the opportunity to interact, on a meaningful and deeper
level, with learners from a designated institution. This is done
with the hope of cultivating friendships and breaking down
prejudices, with the intention of widening the boys’ worldview.
Salvazione Christian School was a natural choice for our first
Care to Learn day, and it proved to be a fun-filled yet
poignant day. As one walked through the two campuses one
saw engaged and happy children, full of hope for the future
and what it held in store for them. The teachers were also
hands on, making sandwiches and organising and supervising
activities. But most interestingly – simply getting on with the
job at hand and fulfilling their vocation.
Thank you all for getting involved, from the wonderful mothers who helped orchestrate the day, to the respective school
heads, for all the many donations. Thank you to the kitchen
staff, and to Mr Perumal in particular. It takes a lot to make
this ‘machinery’ work as efficiently and effortlessly as it does,
and everyone has his or her part to play.
by Moketsi Motsepe
Grade 0 Grandparents’ Tea
What’s happening in class?
Grade 5
Term 1 has been nothing short of a huge
educational adventure for the Grade 5s.
From labelling the human skeleton to trying to start fires using sticks and tinder.
From silent reading to creative, energetic
speeches. From learning about the brain to
discovering the countries of Africa. From
Fireside tales to traditional stories and fables. From researching this year’s Olympic
games to creating spreadsheets for business.
No doubt these Grade 5s have had a fun
and educational term.
What’s happening in class?
Grade 7
Grade 7 Newspaper Project
In their English lessons this term, the Grade 7 boys were
tasked to create subsections of a newspaper, in keeping with
one of the themes explored this term, ‘”Current
Affairs.” In addition to understanding the role that newspapers
play in society; the boys were taught the structure and layout
of a newspaper, and they also learnt how to write articles, using the appropriate features, for example, a lead article and a
letter to the editor.
The boys had a choice of creating a “Community” newspaper
or “The Ridge” newspaper, and all their articles/tasks had to
follow their chosen theme. Most of articles/tasks were completed in class, and once their teachers had a look at their
work, they then had to collate all their pieces of work and
create a newspaper.The Grade 7 boys worked in collaboration
with their IT teachers, in their IT lessons; and used the brief
from their English teachers, to produce their final project.
In total, the boys created four pieces of work and had to ensure that the front page of their newspaper, resembled that
of a newspaper. The boys produced some impressive and outstanding work, and we were delighted that our cross-circular
venture proved to be successful.
by Urvasi Naidoo
Fireside Tales
After supper children would sit around the fire and wait for
granny or grandfather to start telling stories to them. These
included folktales, riddles, historical events, music and dance.
Sometimes a grandfathers would use this time to pass on the
clan’s culture and traditions to his grandsons. He would also
relate stories about their experiences as mine workers. He
would make the children chant the songs and slogans they
used to sing underground. Gumboot dance was a popular dance for mine workers and grandpa would sometimes
stomp his feet on the ground in rhythm and ask the children
to imitate him.
It is in this breath that The Ridge School is embracing this
custom. We try to revive this African custom by bringing back
what we call Fireside Tales. In this event we celebrate our different cultures and the fact that we are different. As we render all those African cultural items, boys realise that indeed
we are a ‘Rainbow’ nation.
The evening has become extremely popular to the community of the four schools participating, namely, The Ridge School,
APPS, St Katharines and Salvazione. They dance, our boys
get to learn African rhythms, music, poetry, dance, traditional
dress, African choreographing and drum beating.They also get
to understand various cultures – all the dos and don’ts of each
and every culture they get exposed to. It is such a wonderful
experience for the boys that they will always remember.
by Zanele Zuma
From the Art Department
Matthew has always been a keen cartoonist, and
over the last 3 years I have seen how his art work
has moved from merely illustrations, to works
with much deeper insights and meanings. Matthew
recently produced a work in his free time, which
illustrates just this. He has taken the concept of
childhood imagination and constructed a beautiful
and playful piece, which also makes reference to art
history. He has referenced the famous Dutch artist,
Piet Mondrian. Mondrian set about in the 1920’s,
composing simple work which spoke of
universal beauty, using primary colours and black
line. He is considered one of the founders of Modern Art. Matthew has layered his Mondrian composition with photographs of clouds which he
personally took. These clouds are then painted on
to show what his imagination has seen forming in
them. It is a game some adults, myself included, still
like to play. In this way Matthew’s work appeals to
a wide
audience, be it an art history buff, imaginative adult,
or playful child. Matthew’s work is
successful because it shows determination, good
craftsmanship, originality and creative thinking.
by Nicci Kurz
Matthew Grealy- “Childhood”, 2016, acrylic paint and photographs on canvas.
From the Media Department
Hooked on Books…
I would really like to rename this article HOOKED ON
STORIES, but that would be undermining the professional
company - Hooked on Books - who enthralled every child
and adult in the hall. Three dedicated young actors acted out
six books each to the Junior and Senior Primary boys. Their
ability to read an audience and to embrace the enthusiasm
in a calming manner, is to be applauded. Nearly every boy
wanted to volunteer to assist in the story telling, which tells
a story of its own altogether...
Our boys enjoy being in the limelight and are not afraid of
acting. The love of story-telling is alive and well in 2016.
Needless to say, every title, including the book of poetry, is
out on loan...
by Bev Schultz
World Book Day/Reading Breakfast
An air of anticipation hung over the Media Centre in the
week ahead of our World Book Day/Reading Breakfast celebration on Friday, 4 March. We drew on resources posted
on the official World Book Day webpage, and shared author
interviews, drawing tips from our favourite illustrators, advice
on writing both humorous and mystery stories from the likes
of the Mr Gum author, Andy Stanton and the very thrilling
and suspense-creating Charlie Higson, with the senior classes. There was no shortage of ideas on favourite books and
characters – the dress-up theme for the day. What we didn’t
know, was, who would be coming in character, and what a
colourful, imaginative, creative, fun-filled school of boys,
two spectacular dads and staff showed up on Friday morning.
With no disrespect to our mums, we are always bowled over
by the number of supportive dads who come along, and this
year was no exception.To quote from a song immortalised by
Louis Armstrong, we could all be forgiven for singing, “What a
wonderful world.” For a short hour, in the tranquility of our
quads, we could all forget about the angst of the world and
indulge in some shared reading and conversation and Ubuntu.
Thank you for your support.
by Bev Schultz
Sport
Inter-house Gala
Inter-house Athletics
Jayden Pikkiri - Rising South African
Tennis Star
Jayden Pakkiri recently won the prestigious boys under 12
Gauteng Central Tennis Championships as well as the Gauteng
East boys under 12 Tennis Championships. In both tournaments, he displayed a dominating performance having not lost
a single set throughout both tournaments. Jayden travelled to
Switzerland last August (2015) to be trained by Melanie
Mollitor (mother/coach of Martina Hingis - former women’s
world number one ranked player) as well the junior coach
of Stanislas Wawrinka (current men’s ATP ranked 4th in the
world). Jayden benefitted immensely from the expert coaching
and as an added bonus he defeated the junior boys under 12
world number one ranked player 6-2; 6–1 in a practice match.
Jayden is coached by his dad Damian Pakkiri (teacher at The
Ridge and who is currently an ATP Certified International Tennis coach).
Grade 6 Sizzling Summer Soccer
The Grade 6s have started a 5-a-side break time soccer league:
four teams battle it out each break for supremacy. There is
much action and excitement as they put their heart and soul
into each game. The question is who will be the ultimate
winner?
by Luca Genovese
The Lighthouse - Learning Support
The Lighthouse team
A new look at the curriculum
The Lighthouse multi-disciplinary team consists of an internal
school Educational Psychologist (Candice Fletcher), two remedial therapists (Astrid Read and Jan Mallen), and an action
researcher (Mike Workman). They are supported by external
educational psychologist (Nefeli Sfetsios), occupational therapist (Angela Petersen), speech and language therapist (AnneRi Brits), and physiotherapist (Jeanette Bensted-Smith). As
the internal academic support, Candice Fletcher, Astrid Read
and Jan Mallen are actively involved on a daily basis, working collaboratively alongside the class teacher or in a small
breakaway group to provide curriculum based intervention.
In addition they are available to provide small group or individual therapy for boys in these grades who require more
individualized intervention.
The benefit of the integrated nature of academic support
provided in this way is threefold. It enables a more holistic
view of the boys, whilst catering for their specific academic needs through individual therapy, as well as ensuring the
consolidation of knowledge and skills in a classroom setting.
It also fosters a whole class approach which enables one
to consolidate vulnerability in learning and extend areas of
strength for all boys. Most importantly it allows optimal opportunity for pupil-centered communication between teachers, therapists and parents, linking The Lighthouse with the
school’s teaching and learning environment on a daily basis.
The cohesive team provides the platform for the sharing of
specialized educational knowledge, skills and resources. An
open channel of communication and support for the parent
community has been established, and a number of topical
presentations have been given.
One of the key areas that The Lighthouse is actively engaged
in is curriculum development.This does not negate in any way
the National Curriculum, but rather evaluates and contextualizes it, so that it relates to the needs of the school community and the global world. To this end, the Curriculum Unit,
that is an integral part of the Lighthouse, has been engaged
in some exciting innovations. Recently, Action Research. This
is described by Mike Workman as a cyclic process involving;
implementation, critical reflection and continued change and
is proving most successful in introducing co-teaching as an
alternative approach to learning support. This move is making classroom facilitation more inclusive and accessible to all
children. Findings generated from the action research have
clearly indicated excellent results for both learning and teaching. Research has also been undertaken into the relationship
between English and a child’s ability to solve mathematical
problems and think at an abstract level. Presently, a survey
is being undertaken to gather information from high schools
on ways to develop a closer working relationship between
primary schools and high schools and to ensure thorough
preparation in the critical core subjects of Maths and English.
Old Boys’ News
Oscar-winning Filmmaker
Honoured
Jon Blair (1967-69) was recently awarded a CBE in the
Queen’s birthday honours for his services to film.
Although as a young child he thought he would follow his
father into medicine, Jon instead turned his attention to writing and journalism, inspired in part when he was just 14 by a
school project in his native South Africa for which he interviewed Nobel prize-winning author
Nadine Gordimer, thanks to an introduction by his mother.
He subsequently went on to work as a war correspondent,
playwright and TV producer and director. He was also the
co-founder of the cult satirical puppet series Spitting Image –
and a documentary filmmaker, winning accolades for each. He
has won most of the major honours in his profession including an Oscar for his documentary Anne Frank Remembered,
and a BAFTA for Schindler: The Real Story, ten years before
Steven Spielberg brought out the blockbuster Schindler’s List.
Spielberg was to borrow heavily from Blair’s documentary
as a research resource. Amongst his other awards there’s a
Grammy, two Emmy’s and a Robert F Kennedy Journalism
Award. Jon has not shied away from producing work about
the country of his birth. One of his early big breaks was his
play about the death of Steve Biko, The Biko Inquest, which
was performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company in London and which he then directed in New York. He also made
the first TV documentary about the 1976 Soweto Uprising,
There Is No Crisis! And in 2007 he collaborated with Shakespearean actor Sir Antony Sher on a documentary about
crime in the country of their birth, Murder Most Foul. He
says this film caused a very hostile reaction from some South
Africans, along the lines of “who are they, living in England, to
tell us what’s wrong with our country?” But he holds that independent voices are necessary to shed light on society’s ills.
In his early career Jon says it was during an extended contract with Thames Television that he learnt most about his
profession. In particular he cites the team on the current
affairs series This Week as being very influential on his later
work. He bemoans the lack of such contracts now, which
he believes militates against new talent gaining appropriate
mentoring and practice alongside experienced professionals.
At St Paul’s Jon edited the boys’ magazine Folio, for which he
wrote of his experiences staying at the Rowton House for
the homeless in Hammersmith Broadway. This he claims was
an early venture into social realist journalism, feeling that a
lot of Paulines lived very privileged existences without knowing much about the environment around them.
Jon also got himself into hot water with High Master Tom
Howarth when he wrote a piece about the local state
schools in Barnes, comparing their facilities to those at the
new School on Lonsdale Road. His article included the then
incendiary suggestion that St Paul’s share its resources with
those less fortunate. Howarth’s response was to censor any
mention of such a proposal. Inspired by the old Rhodesia
Herald, which left blank spaces whenever Prime Minister Ian
Smith’s censors made cuts, Jon published his article leaving
similar blank spaces where Mr Howarth redacted the piece.
Today of course the school proudly shares many of its facilities with the community. “My subsequent career as a bit of
trouble-maker was no doubt partially forged while I was at St
Paul’s!” As he puts it, “It was the late 60’s so it was only natural that I went on to study revolution at the London School
of Economics which was the hot-bed of student revolt back
then”.
It has been said that it is Jon’s empathy with his subjects that
makes him such a compelling filmmaker. It’s a trait he sees
as emanating partly from his South African upbringing. “You
can’t come from that place without an understanding that social environment is what makes people.” Referring to some of
his past work in Brazil and South Africa he says: “You can be
born into a favela in Rio, or into the desperate slum of Mannenberg outside Cape Town, and you can actually triumph
above the odds and become an extraordinary person, or you
can become a drug lord or perhaps land up somewhere in
the middle.The people I feel most for are those in the middle,
just trying to get by.”
Jon’s wife Yvonne also works in television as the head of production of an independent production company and his children are PhD research psychologist Tanya Graham, Ben Blair
(1993-98) now a TV director, and 15 year old twins, Artie
and Louis.
Jon has the distinction of being the only boy ever to self-enroll at St Paul’s. Having been enlisted into South Africa’s apartheid-era army, Jon took his chance on a new life in London in
1966 when visiting his sister
Hilary, herself a fugitive from the South African regime as a
member of the African Resistance Movement.
Refusing to return home to his final year at school and then
the army, Jon got himself accepted at St Paul’s where he subsequently won a senior scholarship, and then phoned home
to tell his parents he wasn’t coming back. He credits the way
the School taught him History and English (with Peter Thomson and Patrick Hutton) as having influenced everything he
has done since. Jon has subsequently repaid that gift by endowing the School with the annual Blair Prize, awarded each
year to a boy showing creative excellence across a variety of
disciplines.This year the award went to Jake Curtis (2010-15),
son of screenwriter Richard Curtis. Jake has been active in
the popular Improvisation Club at the School.
For those entertaining thoughts about gaining a job in media,
Jon advises, “There’s no real ‘road’ to a job, just determination.” And on frustration with not being able to realise some
of his more daring projects, such as an all-access documentary on sexual abuse within the American Navy, he describes
getting the money not only as the last hurdle, but also as the
first and middle. He does however currently have a primetime drama series in development with the BBC which deals
with a particularly uncomfortable part of Britain’s history and
which he hopes will be ready for broadcast in 2017.
Our Beautiful School