ST John's Preparatory School: The Headmaster

St Johns Preparatory School
St Johns Preparatory School Houghton Tel: 011 645 3100/ 087 550473 7th December 2012 Newsletter Number 12
From the Headmaster

Jordan van der Walt has been invited by Professor Jonathan Jansen to be the guest speaker at The University of the Free States Medical Schools Graduation Ceremony this Thursday an immense honour.
Reminders from the Diary
29/11 30/11 I thought you may be interested in reading his 03/12 04/12 speech 05/12 06/12 Good Morning Professor Jansen, Honoured Guests and, of course, all you Graduates. Congratulations on your graduation, it is really a fantastic achievement. Hopefully one day I will be sitting where you 07/12 are. Firstly, thank you so much for inviting me here to be your guest speaker, it is a great honour! Wow, I get nervous making a simple speech to my classmates back at school, so please excuse me if I seem to look like a jibbering wreck. Speaking in front of such an esteemed audience as you is something I have never done before. By the way, if I dont make it to be the Springbok scrum-half, I would love to become a doctor or masters graduate one day. However, I think that I should start working on my school work now, as my mom and teachers are always on at me about my grades. Now when Professor Jansen invited me to speak I really thought that there was no advice I could give any adult, let alone a whole lot of graduates. But, as I am sure you do, I thought it best to obey the Professor. But, rather than giving you advice, I will try and explain to you what my campaign has taught me and if you wish, you can take what you want from it. Please understand that I am 12 years old and in no way would I want to preach to talented people such as you and in fact if I was preaching, I am sure it would be preaching to the converted. My Just One Bag project came about because of a feeling that I had in my heart, and when it comes to giving or helping, I believe that it is feeling that is important it has to come from within. We can think and devise all sorts of nice things to do for people, but if they dont come from the heart, I feel that they are meaningless. In order to give or help we need to serve and all of you now as graduates are about to do just that.
Travelling Bookshop U12 Cricket Festival School finishes at 12h00 Headmasters Assembly Prize Giving - Linder Auditorium UIII Valedictory Service UIII Leavers Breakfast Final Assembly School finishes at 10h00
You will soon be entering into what I believe is one of the most noble professions. You will be going out into this wonderful country of ours to give of your time, help people and serve communities. I believe that there is only one way for you to do this properly and that is to do it with your hearts. You have to go out there and want to serve all people because your heart tells you to. If you have become a doctor or take on any other profession for that matter because you think you are going to become rich, drive fancy cars and live in big houses, I think you have made a mistake. I have been told that being a doctor is not that romantic profession its often made out to be... its tough! I also know from my dad that the business world is tough. The only way that you are going to enjoy it and live a fullfilling life is if you want to take on the profession for the right reasons and you do it with your heart. Next year I will go into Grade 7, and my school, St Johns runs a leadership programme which is based on servantleadership. After googling servant-leadership I was very interested in some of Robert Greenleafs work and it made me think about my campaign and this country. We need leaders in this country, and I am not talking about political leaders all types of leaders.
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We are all leaders in some way or other, be it on the sportsfield, the head of a family or the captain of an industry, but Greenleaf says that in order to be a leader, you have to be a servant first. He says, The servant-leader is servant first It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve. And as I said before I believe it comes from the heart. It made me think that in a way, I have done this. When I was watching that programme about starving children in South Africa, I felt sad. I had a feeling coming from within and I was determined to do something about it. Fortunately with the help of many people we have managed to feed over a millio people to date. It dawned on me that maybe I am a leader. Yes, I am 12 years old, but because of that feeling of wanting to serve... and a few lifts in my moms car, I was able to lead. We now have thousands of children who have joined the campaign and it is snowballing. But, after reading a bit more of Greenleafs work, I realised that what I have started is just that, a start. Greenleaf asks the question, Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?" What I need to do is make sure that my Just One Bag campaign continues so that those people who are being served will one day in turn serve others as well. In his thesis, Greenleaf says that, caring for persons, the more able and the less able serving each other, is the rock upon which a good society is built. I am sure you have heard of the term, Ubuntu. For me, serving is part of Ubuntu and if we all serve, and we all have Ubuntu this country will have no rival. And so my challenge to you wonderful and talented graduates is to go out into South Africa and serve. Do it from the heart because you have a feeling inside you that makes you want to serve. Dont do it for me, dont do it for anyone else, do it for yourself because your heart tells you to. Thank you so much and I wish you all the very best for the future. May I wish you all a blessed Christmas and a very special time with your families.
Patrick Lees Headmaster
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The Gift of Giving

As the festive season approaches, I thought I would share with you just a few of the special ways in which our St Johns Prep Community has given so generously to TLC Childrens Home this year. My hope is to encourage you to continue supporting this very worthy cause in any way that you can. At present, TLC is home to approximately 30 babies and children. A further 30 children have been adopted or are being kept in a place of care by Thea and Pippa Jarvis themselves. If youd like a complete list of the childrens names and ages, please feel free to contact me longma@stjohnscollege.co.za. Regular news about TLC is also posted on their facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/TlcChildrensHome
Chapel Collections
Our chapel collections and lost property contributions have assisted TLC in many ways. This year, our boys (and one or two very generous anonymous donors) have given over R10 000 to TLC. In addition, Dr Oosthuizen and the St Johns and St Marys music departments contributed more than R6 000 from their wonderful performance in the chapel.
The Coin Challenge

HighFive,StJohns andStandardBank! Withyourdonation wewereabletopay forNappies,Formula andCerealtolastus awhile! GodBlessyouall!
We are all extremely grateful to Rob Latham and Mark Labuschagne of Standard Bank for arranging the coin challenge of the first term. Under Karen Maitlands guidance, boys collected coins to the value of R30 050, and Standard Bank doubled this sum to donate R60 100 to TLC.
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Adopt-a-Cot
TLCs funding reached a crisis point earlier this year and they were forced to close the nest the name given to the section of the home where new and often very tiny abandoned babies are given a home. The Adopt-a-Cot initiative asks benefactors to donate R100 a month and once there are 20 donors in place, a new baby is taken in. It costs the home approximately R2000 a month to provide for a new baby. Imagine the delight of our Prep school secretary, Grace Arthur, when she received this email from TLC last week.

TocontributetotheAdoptaCotprogrammeclickonthislink:
http://www.tlc.org.za
Forthosewhohavemuch
Individuals and groups of people have chosen to have donations made to TLC in lieu of gifts for special occasions. The Rhythm Bookclub made a donation to the Adopt-a-Cot programme rather than giving one another gifts at their Christmas dinner. Our Business Manager, Mr Alistair Dry, asked his guests to support TLC in lieu of gifts for his 50th birthday. He shared his thoughts: As I prepared to celebrate my 50th birthday, I became profoundly aware of how blessed I have been and am in all respects, including not lacking in goods and possessions. I could not think of a better way of expressing my gratitude for all I have than by asking my family and friends, instead of giving gifts to me, to make a donation to those who do not have the very basics in life. Who more deserving than the abandoned babies taken in by TLC?
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Providing for day-to-day necessities

Under the leadership of Mrs Sandy Peters and the class mums, and with the help of Mrs Powell, many families have given baby products, food, clothing and toys to TLC. We thank everyone for their generous donations! Our Community Service boys visited TLC with Karen Maitland and delivered 400 bars of sunlight soap. The soap is used by the home to generate washing detergent.
Hands on!
Over the years, College and Prep boys and several parents have committed community service hours to working at TLC. Their assistance has come in many forms from digging trenches and planting new vegetable gardens, building walls and paving roads, to bathing and playing with the happy inhabitants of this special home. Several families, including the Workmans, Mrs Geraldine Blackhurst at the Pre-Prep, and the Longs, help by looking after children and babies on out weekends to give the carers a much-needed break. For more info on how to do this, contact Pippa Jarvis at TLC pippa@tlc.org.za; Vivienne Gruneberg viv@tlc.org.za or Margot Long longma@stjohnscollege.co.za Please be aware that in order to look after children from the home, you need to have a Police Clearance Certificate and an affidavit stating that you are not on the Sexual Offenders Record.
2013 Calendars
Megan Carter is selling these desk calendars for TLC. There are two different calendars one with wild life pics and one with photos of children. Please contact Megan if you are interested: carter@stjohnscollege.co.za Each Prep boy has also created a pack of Christmas Cards during Art lessons. These cards will shortly be sent home and all monies raised from this sale will go to TLC. For any further info, contact Karen Maitland maitland@stjohnscollege.co.za
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Running Two Oceans for TLC Jeff Long is planning to run the Two Oceans Ultra Marathon next year (on a newly- reconstructed knee!) to raise funds for TLC. Follow this link on facebook for updates or for more info on how to get involved: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Running-Two-Oceans-for-TLC/363161460442608? ref=ts&fref=test
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Individual Achievements
Mitchel Sinclair, UIIIH, has competed in several Open Water Swimming events: Dischem Sun City Swim, on 20 October 2012 swimming 4.5km: a 3km event, finishing 2nd in the 13 &U age group and 38th overall; a 1.5km event finished 3rd in the 13&U age group out of 142 swimmers in a superb time of 21min.01sec. He was interviewed and appeared on Superswimmer, MNet. In the CGA Lion Swim @ Homestead Lake, Benoni on 4 November, a 3km event he finished 2nd in the 13&U age group and 8th overall in a time of 47min.46sec. In the Heia Safari @ Lake Heritage- Leg 1, on 18 November, he finished 1st in the 13&U age group and 2nd overall in a tight race for the line. He was interviewed and will appear on Superswimmer MNet. Well done, Mitchel!
Cycling
Tristan Butler took part and successfully completed the Momentum 94.7 Mountain Bike 2012 race. Well done, Tristan!
Hockey
Jack Montgomery and Dylan van der Walt made the district hockey team. Well done, boys!
Correction: Leo Fridjhon graduated Kung Fu Yellow Shirt at the age of 10, a first in the history of The Chinese Martial Arts and Health Centre. Leo Fridjhon was the first student at age 9 to be given permission to join the Chinese Martial Arts and Health Centre. He passed his probation graduation with flying colours, and a year later he passed his first white shirt grading into second white. Well done, Leo!
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Junior Public Speaking Competition Winners:

The annual Junior Public Speaking Competition took place on Thursday, 8th November 2012. Finalists were selected from the Lower II and Upper II classes and had to present a prepared speech as well as an impromptu speech. The competition was adjudicated by Ms Karen Maitland, our HOD of English, and she was impressed by our young orators. In her adjudication she made special mention of the standard of impromptu speeches that were presented. The results of the competition were as follows: Lower II Jamie Diesel Bronze Certificate Dexter Harding Silver Certificate Spencer Clarke Best Prepared Speech and Best Impromptu Speech Upper II Jaan Niehaus Bronze Certificate Jack Montgomery Silver Certificate and The Budding Orator Award Matthew de la Rey Best prepared Speech and Best Impromptu Speech Congratulations to all our speakers!
The winners of the Junior Public Speaking comp: Matthew de la Rey, UII and Spencer Clarke LII
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St Johns Prep Golf Championships 2012

The Prep Golf Champs were held on Friday 23rd November at Observatory Golf Club. Best gross score and School champion: Matthew Stephen. Runner Up: Bradley Dunbar. A Section Nett Winner: Kian Rose. Runner Up: Jack Lees. B Section Nett Winner: Alex Ebeling. Runner Up: Jack Montgomery Well done, boys!
Award winning author visits the Prep

Recently, our boys were very fortunate to hear one of the worlds award winning childrens authors speaking in the Prep. Although now living in the UK, after going into exile (from SA) in the early seventies, Beverley Naidoo is mostly well-known for her childrens books portraying life in South Africa under Apartheid. Journey to Joburg, first published in 1985, was initially banned in this country and only released in South Africa in 1991. Since then, it has been widely used in many of our schools. Beverley spoke about how she was inspired by her second mother, Mma Sabata, to write the story of Tiro and Naledis trip to Joburg. The boys were fascinated to learn about a period in our history from someone who had experienced it firsthand.
Mrs Beverley Naidoo with Daniel Burke
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4CTea 2012
November 2012 Cricket Jared Kietzman Kieran Houlston Jordan King Zaahid Suliman
Conquesta Assessment M Dlamini W Didloff K Motau Y Ahmid K Dix B Loxton T Myeza K Houlston J King M Nkanza J West
A Mashele T Krauss
Reading and Exceeding Spelling Goals Lebone Madalane
Dedication and Enthusiasm in History Alexi Karpodinis Lukha de Jesus
Excellent Effort and Perseverance in Dedication and Enthusiasm in History Alexi Karpodinis Lukha de Jesus
Excellent Effort and Perseverance in Sport T Krauss A Karpodinis M Blair B Swanepoel J Vosloo W Kerr-Phillips M Boyce B Shefer
Table Champs in UIIIL K Dix K Motau
Excellent Maths Result Sam Smart
Brilliant Speech Matthew Durandt
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Upper I Scary Tales

To tie-in with International School Library Month and Halloween, the Upper Ones came to be frightened and to frighten one another at our annual Scary Tales in the Library. There were some gruesome costumes as well as some rather horrible stories. The most unintentionally scary part of the evening was that when the children emerged from their first session of tales, their parents had disappeared. Many boys did not realise that their parents were actually listening to a talk in the Clarke Auditorium!
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Lower II
The Lower II group attended a superb caricature workshop by artist, Mrs Jo McLaughlin. The boys really enjoyed their first attempt at caricature and some of the results were phenomenal. Zapiro, be afraid, be very afraid!
Mrs McLaughlin hard at work
Caricature is a type of visual communication which communicates the message with exaggerated drawings. It is the briefest and sharpest way of stating a criticism. From the very beginning, it aims to address the audience to the improper parts of society. Any subject can be portrayed in a caricature. Baran Sargl
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Lower IID
In 2011, the Lower IID class grew beans on cotton wool. Thomas Cockram took his stem home and grew it into a beautiful bean stalk. He brought the beans to school this year and the 2012 class repeated the process. Tanaka Shoko and Aidan Strides beans grew the longest and quickest. We hope that we can repeat the process next year.
Tanaka Shoko and Aidan Stride with their beans
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Lower II
The Lower 2s have been reading How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell. They have designed book covers and created their own fearsome dragons, amongst other creative activities. The boys were also very excited about Our Twitter Wall. Each boy was given their own Twitter strip upon which they wrote thoughts and comments about the book. In the following photo Keagan Lion-Cachet, Tayne Beswick and Oliver Krynauw can be seen updating their Twitter feed.
The boys then designed their own covers for the book How to Train Your Dragon
By Keagan Lion-Cachet
By Andrew Geerdts
By Abdul Malik
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By Graeme Gush
By Timothy Martin
By Ronin Quinn
By Russell Browne
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By Daniel Segal
By Daniel Segal
By Khaya Ntuli
By Sebastian Shearer
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Lower II Pirate Limericks
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By Nihal Ranchod
By Spencer Clarke
By Keegan Graham
By Paparella
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Mathematics
At the beginning of this term all the Upper II and Upper III boys wrote the Conquesta Olympiad in Mathematics. Conquesta is a multiple choice primary school Olympiad organization established in 1998 in KwaZulu Natal. Our thanks go to the dedicated teachers who assisted in preparing the pupils for the Olympiad. The boys are to be congratulated on their fine results. We are extremely proud of them. Jean Clarence HOD Mathematics
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Appeal for Used Stationery We have had a request from a school in Soweto for used stationery. If you are clearing out and are in a position to give away any used stationery, please bring it to Mrs Sulter in the Library. There will be boxes in the Library office. Many thanks
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Notices
iCare
Whilst we hope and anticipate that all boys will feel able to approach their teachers or a member of staff should they feel that something is wrong, we understand that this will not always be the case. Some boys may feel unsure of how to approach a staff member or unsure 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 boys can contact the Pastoral Care Team at iCare@stjohnscollege.co.za. The Pastoral Care team is 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 around whatever 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 Johns experience. 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 Meirim meirim@stjohnscollege.co.za
AFRIKAANS TUITION Is your son struggling to communicate in Afrikaans or having difficulty mastering the basics of the language (oral or written)? I am qualified to assist in both of the above areas and 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 will last 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 group sessions. 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 E-mail : carroll@stjohnscollege.co.za
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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 junior boys. 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 not normally 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 poco@stjohnscollege.co.za
Extra Maths Lessons

Individual tuition offered
Mrs M Hauptfleisch Call 011 442 1854 083 256 7714
Mr R MacIntosh has written a book Maccey A Quest for Freedom A story of a teacher and his dog Published by Cobblecrab Publishers Parents who would like a copy are asked to contact Mr MacIntosh on 076 529 5529 Copies can also be ordered through the publishers:
info@cobblecrab.com R100 per copy
Italian Language Lessons

Small age appropriate classes and individual tuition offered outside school hours at St Johns. Experienced mother-tongue graduate teacher using communicative method of conversation, maintaining cultural ties for solid IEB foundation. Contact Lisabetta on 082 682 2859 or Lisabetta@iafrica.com
EXTRA MATHS LESSONS

Lower III & Upper III boys in Mrs Jean Clarences classroom Every Thursday 14h15 - 15h00 All Welcome
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Christmas Alphabet
A is for Angels, appearing so bright, telling of Jesus that first Christmas night. B is for Bethlehem, crowded and old, birthplace of Jesus by prophet foretold. C is for Cattle, their manger His bed, there in the trough where He laid His head. D is for David and his ancient throne promised forever to Jesus alone. E is for East, where shone the bright star which Magi on camels followed afar. F is for Frankincense, with myrrh and gold, brought by the Wise Men as Matthew has told. G is for God, who from heaven above sent down to mankind the Son of His love. H is for Herod, whose murderous scheme was told to Joseph in a nocturnal dream. I is for Immanuel, "God with us," for Christ brought man back to the Father's house. J is for Joseph so noble and just, obeying God's word with absolute trust. K is for King. A true king He would be, coming in power and authority. L is for Love that He brought down to earth God enfleshed in lowly birth. M is for Mary, His mother so brave, counting God faithful and mighty to save. N is for Night, when the Savior was born for nations of earth and people forlorn. O is for Omega, meaning "the last;" He's eternal present, future and past. P is for Prophets, when living on earth foretold His redemption and blessed birth. Q is for Quickly, as shepherds who heard hastened to act on that heavenly word. R is for Rejoice. The sorrow of sin is banished forever when Jesus comes in. S is for Savior. To be this He came; the angel of God assigned Him His name. T is for Tidings of joy, not of danger, telling of Him who was laid in a manger. U is for Us, to whom Jesus was given to show us the way and take us to heaven. V is for Virgin, foretold by the sage, God's revelation on prophecy's page. W is for Wonderful, His works and His words, the King of all Kings, the Lord of all Lords. X is for Christ. It's X in the Greek, Anointed, Messiah, mighty, yet meek. Y is for Yes, called God's Yes in His Word; God's answer to all is Jesus the Lord. Z is for Zeal as it burned in Christ's heart. Lord, by thy Spirit to us zeal impart. Author Unknown

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St Johns Preparatory School

From the Headmaster

Reminders from the Diary