preparatory newsletter #1 of 2013

7/29/2019 Preparatory Newsletter #1 of 2013

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1 February 2013

St Johns Preparatory SchoolSt Johns Preparatory SchoolHoughton

Tel: 011 645 3100/ 087 550473 Newsletter Number 1

01/02 New Parents Tea

Prep Immunisations

UIII Eye Tests

LIII & UIII English Assessments

04/02 Chess Matches

05/02 Parent Information Evening:

Sex Education

08/02 LII & UII English Assessments

LIII & UIII Maths Assessments

11/02 UIII Camp

LIII Camp

Chess Matches (Juniors)

12/02 Headmasters Assembly

15/02 LII & UII Maths Assessments

18/02 Chess Matches (Juniors)

19/02 Housemasters Assembly

21/02 HALF TERM

Reminders fromthe Diary

From the HeadmasterWelcome back to all our boys, and an extra-specialwelcome to all Upper I boys, all new boys in othergrades and to all our new staff - may your time at St

Johns be long, and one of fulfillment and joy.

On behalf of everyone at the Prep, I would like tocongratulate Mr Cameron on his ordination as aDeacon last Saturday. Several of our staff membersand parents had the privilege of attending this veryspecial service at St Marys Cathedral.

On Wednesday, I listened to Mr Cameron deliver hisfirst sermon at the College Mass. He reminded theCollege boys and girls how fortunate they are to bepart of a school with such a rich history. Moreimportantly, he reminded them how privileged theyare to be part of a church school and how significantthat is and what it actually means.

St Johns was founded by the Reverend JohnDarragh, the Rector of St Marys Church (nowCathedral) in 1898, when the city of Johannesburgwas just 12 years old. In 1906, due to difficultiesduring the Anglo Boer War, St Johns was taken overby the Community of the Resurrection (anAnglo-Catholic order of missionary priests and lay

brothers). In 1934, the Community of theResurrection handed the school back over to theDiocese of Johannesburg and the Reverend NobbyClarke was appointed as its headmaster. In 1954,Dean Yates became the first headmaster who wasnot a priest, although he was a lay minister. And soit can be stated that for the first 60 or so years, StJohns has been owned by the church as well as ledby a priest and now, it seems the school hastravelled the full circle. The Diocese still owns theschool and we are extremely proud to have a Deacon

leading us again many congratulations to you, MrCameron.

This made me wonder whetherour Prep boys understand whatit means to attend a faith-basedschool and what a privilege it is.In his book, Why not the BestSchools?, Brian Caldwell talksabout Spiritual Capital, which

he defines as the strength ofmoral purpose and the degree ofcoherence among values, beliefsand attitudes about life andlearning (Caldwell, 2008:241).Faith-based schools can be seento promote diversity as well asraise student achievement. Butmore than anything, I feel veryblessed that the church providesthe very foundation and

structure for everything we do atSt Johns and epitomises whatcommunity truly is.


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Page 2 St Johns Preparatory School

In every decision we make, we are guided by the church and its lessons and this hasbeen so ever since our founders the Rev John Darragh and the Community of the

Resurrection, built the solid foundations of this school over 115 years ago.

Earlier this week. I became quite despondent when I discovered that some of the boyshad a negative attitude towards what was being taught in their Divinity for Life lesson,and in fact, showed very little respect for our Chaplain. This was certainly not what our

founders would have wanted.

We are determined to continue making changes to ensure that our chapel services andour Divinity for Life curriculum remains relevant for our boys. However, any changesneed to respect our rich history and Anglican traditions which have stood the test of

time for 115 years.

For example, this year, the Upper I boys will follow a programme before they areadmitted to Communion at the end of Lower II. We are also examining ways of adaptingour liturgy to make it more boy-friendly so that the boys may better understand its

underlying message, no matter what faith or belief is actually practised at home.

However, whilst we do respect all religions and we hope that all our boys and familiesdo too, we are nevertheless an Anglican school and we do expect our boys to becomefully involved in our Divinity for Life curriculum. I would encourage you all to speak toyour sons about the significance of spirituality and to back your decision of sending

them to a school like St Johns, knowing full well that it is an Anglican school, guidedby a strong church compass.

Our forefathers must have done something right over a century ago for this school to behat it is today and I believe it is our duty to ensure that it remains that way for

generations to come.

May I wish you all the very best for 2013.

Patrick Lees

Headmaster


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Dear Patrick

It is with great pride that the Sue Lubbe and Friends Trophy has to be handed to a

school that has gone the extra mile and your school has been nominated as a finalistfor this trophy we will be in touch as soon as we have had our first board meeting forthe year and the board nominates the school. The 3 top schools have been nominated

but now it is up to the board to make their final choice!

Congratulations and Sue Lubbe and friends are proud to be connected to your school.

Also a very special thank you to your shoe box project and the parcels that wereceived from your school! It was received with such jubilation and a tear or two! Themain homes that received parcels were Huis Talje in Bela Bela a home for thedisabled that are mainly abandoned! It was given to the children that were not

profoundly disabled and could enjoy the parcels! We also handed a few to learners ofvarious schools that I have been working with as individual families that are sodesperate where both parents have lost their jobs and the children would have had avery bleak festive season if it had not been that the parcels were given to their childrenand through collections of food during the festive season we were able to make a huge

difference to individual families with food too!

Well done to St. Johns College, you guys are awesome!

Much love and respect.

Sue Lubbe.


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From the Eagles study...

Getting organised

Being organised is possibly one of the most valuable gifts you can give yourself andyour son. When your brain is organised, it is not struggling to keep track of many,many small details and so can focus more on the important aspects of school, likegetting homework done properly, focusing in class, effectively planning a project orspeech. Knowing things are packed, written down or already done allows the brain tobe calm. A calm brain ensures your son has a happy day!

There are two main areas to being organised:

Outer or external organisation

This involves time management, making check lists, packing bags the night before

and always being aware of what is to come (the bigger picture).

The Lower and Upper IIs have been busy for the last two weeks getting to grips withcalendars. They have been shown how to display three months at a time, each monthfilled in with important academic dates (in red), afternoon sport (in blue), other extramurals such as music or karate (in green) and birthdays, sleep overs and other funthings in any other colour they like. The boys know it is a work in progress, and thatsome things will change. They understand they need to add items or cross out itemsas life runs its course. But the two most important rules are to display three months

at a time, and the academic dates (assessments, project due dates, speech to be done)are written in red.

The Upper and Lower IIIs will be starting this course next week.

Please display these calendars where you and your son can see them every day.

Inner or internal organisation

The other aspect of being organised is to be able to deal effectively with the

information given to you internal organisation; your thoughts.

The younger boys have already been introduced to Thinking Maps, and the older boys

ill be covering these in detail soon. There are many different kinds of maps, each onedesigned to help organise the information according to what is needed. The boys willbe introduced to all of them. These are to be viewed as tools for thinking, and, assuch, should be flexible. Not all of them will suit all boys, but if each boy understandshow hethinks, he will be able to decide which maps suit him best. There are many,many other kinds of frameworks, mind maps and tables out there to choose from, butthe ones being used now have been proven to be extremely effective. It is a start

*****


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Ollie the Organised Octopus has been used to help keep organisation top of mindwith the boys. When things get out of hand, ask your son what Ollie might do he

willfind an answer!

No one is perfect, and no one has a perfect system. However, making a start in one

small area, such as displaying calendars, is a huge step towards becoming organised.Being disorganised leads to high levels of anxiety, and this, in turn, can lead to allsorts of behavioural problems. It is also not a habit that may come easily to many ofus. Like all good things in life, it needs hard work and commitment.

So, at the start of the year, when our thoughts often turn to making new resolutions,to trying to do something differently or to trying to improve our life style, I challenge

you to take up the quest of Being Organised!


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Prep Reading Challenge 2013


This year we are trying something different with reading in the Prep for LIIs - UIIIs. Theboys have been set a challenge to read a large variety of literary genres and

participate in a number of reading-related activities. With every book they read andactivity completed successfully, they will gain points for themselves and for their class.

Below is a copy of what each boy has been given to help him with this challenge. Pleaseencourage him to read, but allow him to make the choice as to what he reads. Theemphasis is more on the reading and its enjoyment, rather than the competition i.e. hedoesnt have to read a 500 page book that he is not enjoying just to get the points.Rather let him read many short books, if he enjoys them, and eventually he will comeup with the points. Please contact me if you have any queries.

Nicky Sulter

011 645 3119

[email protected]

Prep Reading Challenge 2013!

Name: _______________________ Class: _____________

Challenge Possible points

Read ALL the books in one/two/three series.Points awarded for level of difficulty and num-

ber of books.

E.g. Wimpy Kid2 points per book orLord of the Rings10 points per book

Read five non-fiction books, one of which is a

biography or autobiography, on any topic that

interests you

2 for ea book up to 150pp10 for ea book over 150pp

Read ten magazines on a sport or hobby that

interest you

2 points ea

Watch five movies based on a fiction book 1 point ea

Read three books from which a movie has been

made5 points ea

Read five +++ graphic novels or comics 2 points ea

Read at least three classic novels (see the liston \\tutu\prep) 15 points ea


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Read five picture books 2 points eaRead two novels by a South African writer 10 points ea

Read an Afrikaans or isiZulu book or magazine 15 pointsOnce you have completed the above, keep reading lots

of books of your own choice. They also count.

5 points ea

Write a book review for the school newsletter -

see\\tutu\prep Library Reading Templates for

guidelines

15 points

Write an acrostic poem on one of the characters in

your book -see\\tutu\prep Library Reading Templates

10 points

Write a pithy post-it note review for a book and stick

it on the cover for others to see

5 points

Bring your membership card from the Public Library 10 points + fizz pop

Create your own book cover for a booksee\\tutu\prep Library Reading Templates

15 points

Recommend a book or series of books to your friend 2 points (if they read it)

Ask one of the teachers or your parents about their

favourite book(s) now and when they were growing up

15 points

Write a book/movie review, comparing the pros and

cons of the book versus the movie (\\tutu\prep)

15 points

Give a friend a book or e-book voucher for his birthday 5 points

Donate one of your favourite books to the library on

your birthday

5 points

Read a passage from a book that you have found mean-ingful. Explain why you chose that passage 10 points

Give a talk at assembly to persuade boys to read a book

you have enjoyed

20 points

RULES: The Challenge runs from the beginning of the Christmas holidays 2012

until the end of October 2013 all books read during that time will

qualify. NB: 50 bonus points for completing ALL the activities above

You cannot use the same book(s) for different categories

There will be prizes for winning classes each term and for the winning

reader of the year. All the templates and recommended book lists for

these are on\\tutu\prep under Library Reading Templates


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SPORTS CAPTAINS - EASTER TERM 2013

4CTea 2013


Basketball

Captain Thami NondoVice Mike Ontong

Chess

Captain Brendan Thomas

Vice Hraklis Papageorgiou

Cricket

Captain Shaun Jacobs

Vice Ethan Chilvers

Golf

Captain - Bradley Dunbar

Swimming

Captain Stefano Cavalieri

Vice A Simon Shelton

Vice B Luca Allasio

Waterpolo

To be announced later in the term

For Settling In So Well At Their New School

Deckland Nichols

Liam Petersen

Kgosi Mashugane


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Page 9St Johns Preparatory School


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A Home to Heal Abused Women and

their Children

Little Saints of Bethany

13th December 2012

ST JOHNS PREPARATORY SCHOOL

Attention : Dave Odgers

Dear Dave and Karen,

On behalf of all our beautiful little children and their mums, I would like to thank you very much for the verythoughtful and beautiful gifts for all the children and their mums. Thank you for making Christmas so special for

them.

Please convey our gratitude to all the mums and children who contributed towards this magnificent donation.

Thank you for making Christmas so memorable for all our residents.

It is only care and kindness such as yours that we are able to make Bethany a place people can really call Home.

Presently we have 24 children and 26 women in our Home and the joy of watching the women fulfill their dreamsis just so rewarding. It is quite amazing that no matter how hopeless and helpless people feel when they arrive, wecan always find their potential and talent, and work from there. What has become very obvious to us is that every-one, no matter how uneducated and emotionally destroyed, has a talent. It is such a privilege to be able to do this

work and bring about a sense of self worth.

It is only ongoing support and kindness such as yours that enables us to meet all the needs in our Home.

Thank you for making a difference.

From all of us at Bethany we wish you and your families a very blessed Christmas and a New Year filled with love,

peace, joy and happiness.

God bless you all.

Best wishes,

Bridget Edwards

Manager

Bethany is run by the Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian and Roman Catholic Churches

and the Family of God Community

Vision: To create a caring environment in which abused women and their children find healing through Gods love

58 Millboum Road

Bertrams 2094

POBox 16612

Doornfontein 2028

Tel: (O1l) 614 -3245

Fax: (011) 624 - 2647


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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 or un-sure 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 Meirim

[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 group

sessions.

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

Graham Carroll

Tel : 011 534 1224Fax : 011 534 1225

Cell : 076 858 9420

E-mail : [email protected]

Notices


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St Johns Preparatory SchoolPage 13

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)

St Johns College Shop

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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OUR STRENGTHS

Once upon a time, the animals decided that they should do something meaningful to

meet the problems of the new world, so they organized a school.

They adopted an activity curriculum of running, climbing, swimming and flying.

To make it easier to administer, all of the animals took all of the subjects.

The duck was excellent at swimming. In fact, he was better than his instructor.However, he made only passing marks in flying and was very poor at running. Sincehe was so slow in running, he had to drop his swimming class and do extra running.This caused his webbed feet to become badly worn, meaning that he dropped to anaverage mark in swimming. Fortunately, average was acceptable, therefore nobody

worried about it - except the duck.

The rabbit started at the top of the class in running, but developed a nervous twitchin his leg muscles because he had so much makeup work to do in swimming.

The squirrel was excellent in climbing, but he encountered constant frustration inflying class because his teacher insisted that he start from the ground up instead offrom the treetop down. He developed cramps from overexertion, so he ended up with

a C in climbing and a D in running.

The eagle was a real problem student and was severely disciplined for being anon-conformist. In climbing class, he beat all of the others to the top, but insisted on

using his own way of getting there!

The principle here is that we each have our own strengths and need to be workinghard to maximize them, not handicap our potential by becoming good at something

that isnt natural for us.

Author Unknown

preparatory newsletter #1 of 2013

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