Preparatory Newsletter No 5 2013

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4th June 2013

St Johns Preparatory SchoolSt Johns Preparatory SchoolHoughton

Tel: 011 645 3100/ 087 550473 Newsletter Number 5

04/06 Housemasters Assembly

Travelling Bookshop

Boys, Books & Braai

Squash matches05/06 Soccer vs Edenglen

07/06 LII -& UII English Assessments

LIII & UIII Maths Assessments

HONK! JHB Childrens Theatre

St Johns X1 Soccer -

Ravens Park

08/06 Soccer vs Pridwin

10/06 Chess Matches

11/06 Squash Matches

12/06 UIII Solar Powered Boat Race

Day (long Walk Pool)Soccer vs Reddam

13/06 Chatterbox

14/06 LIII & UIII Afrikaans/ isisZulu

Assessment

LII & UII Maths Assessment

17/06 Public Holiday

18/06 Headmasters Assembly

Squash Matches

19/06 Junior Inter-House Quiz

Interschool's Music Evening

(Jan Celliers)21/06 Independent School Rugby

Festival (WHPS)

1st XI Soccer Festival

LIII & UIII Science Assessments

LII & UII Afrikaans/ isiZulu

Assessments

Soccer vs St Davids

24/06 Shrek Production (Big School)

25/06 Housemasters Assembly

Squash Matches

27/06 Grahamstown Arts Festival

Reminders fromthe Diary

From the HeadmasterI have written about the studies of Professor CarolDweck before as I am fascinated by her work. I havejust read her latest book, Mindset, which has beenequally thought-provoking. It made me wish that Ihad read it 10 years ago as it would have had suchan impact on the way that I brought up my own four

children.

Carol Dweck studied the concept of failure for 40years, focusing on understanding how children andadults cope with it. She believes that people have aconsuming goal of proving themselves in theclassroom, on the sports field, in their careers and intheir relationships. Every situation calls forconfirmation of their intelligence, personality,ability / talent or character. Every situation isevaluated: Will I succeed or fail? Will I look smart or

dumb? Will I be accepted or rejected? Will I feel like awinner or a loser?

But our society and our schools value intelligence,personality, talent and character, dont they? Yes,but Dweck feels its all about mindsets. She believesthat there are two types of mindset: a fixed mindset your qualities are carved in stone; or a growthmindset the belief that your basic qualities arethings you can cultivate through your efforts. Dweckfeels that with a growth mindset, you can deal withfailure and, in fact, it is extremely beneficial for

development and so-called success.

Every parent would do anything or give anything tomake their children the best that they can possiblybe. Unfortunately, however, many of the things theydo boomerang and end up having the opposite effect.Their helpful judgements and motivation techniquescan send the wrong message. In fact, every word andaction sends a message to children about how to

think about themselves.


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Page 2 St Johns Preparatory School

It can be a fixed mindset message that says: You have permanent traits and I amjudging them. Or it can be a growth mindset message that says: You are a developingperson and I am interested in your development. It is remarkable how perceptivechildren are about these messages. We have always been led to believe that we mustpraise our children and I would agree with that, but its how we do it that is important.

Let me give you an example: You learned that so quickly! Youre so smart!If you are likemost parents, including me, you would consider this a supportive, self-esteem-boostingmessage, but in fact what the child is hearing is: If I dont learn something quickly, Imnot smart. So does this mean that we shouldnt praise? Not at all, it just means that weshould keep away from a certain type of praise: praise that places a judgment onintelligence or talent. Rather we should praise the process what they accomplishedthrough practice, study, persistence and good strategies.

Giving the right sort of praise is the one area which we can work on, but what aboutthe more complicated matter of dealing with failure? There is a strong message in our

society that we need to protect our children from failure and perhaps this is where ourhelicopter parents come in, hovering over their children to ensure they dont fail orwhen they are toddlers, dont fall. Dweck believes the growth mindset is important.When our children fail or dont do as well as we expect, we need to help them to goback and reflect. What did you do in preparation for the task? What could you have donebetter?We need to help them fix something, build a better product, or do a better joband, in the process, ensure that they are learning, developing and bettering themselveswith an attitude of self-belief and self-motivation. The child is not being judged on theoutcome, he or she is being helped to learn from the process.

In conclusion, I would like to put some questions on the table

If failure is always an opportunity to grow:

Are we willing to see low(er) marks / ratings not as an indictment of our children (or theirteachers) but as a healthy element of education? Do we believe that success is defined

less by a mark but more by a mindset?

If we must be careful how we describe talented individuals:

Are we celebrating the right things? Do we value the talent of our children more than

their problem solving, resourcefulness, resilience, creativity, curiosity or focus?

If we are to help children see that the final responsibility for their success lieswith them:

Are we confident that the best gift we can give to our children is the inner confidence inthemselves that will enable them (and us) to embrace challenges without the fear of

failure?

Adapted from the book, Mindset, by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D.

Patrick Lees

Headmaster


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Dear Prep Parents

We have completed three weeks of Trinity Term and it is pleasing to note the positiveenergy in and around the Prep. The boys are well settled into a routine and we find it

encouraging seeing the boys involvement at school.

We do offer a wide range of activities, in and out the classroom, and my sense is thatour boys are embracing these opportunities and they are making the most of all that is

on offer.

I would, however, like to take this opportunity to address a few topics:

DRESS CODE

We do believe that the Prep Cap has enhanced our uniform. It is wonderful to see theboys doffing their cap as they greet an adult, and it has certainly added value to theirmanners and general respect.Please be reminded that by Monday 4 June we do expect all boys to be wearing theirPrep Cap. It is vital that these caps are marked, as with all items of clothing.

MANNERS

We have spoken to certain grades recently about their manners. This does concern me.We are also rather appalled at the way boys speak to each other, and most importantly,how some boys are speaking to their teachers. Please reinforce this in your homes. Wedo expect our prep boys to be courteous and well-mannered at all times.

BOOK BAGS

For some time the staff have been getting increasingly worried about the size andweight of the school bags that the boys are carrying from class to class. Boys have been

getting bigger and bigger bags to carry more and more.

Unfortunately the bags with shoulder straps are not being worn over both shoulders, as

per the design, and are carrying up to 20 kilograms on one shoulder.

Notwithstanding the damage they are doing to their bodies, we feel that boys should notbe carrying heavy bags all over the school, and should rather be practising good

organisational skills, byonly carrying the books they needfor the lessons ahead.

All boys in the school have a locker in their locker room. Boys will be required to visittheir locker before school to drop off their big school and sports bags, together withthe books for the lessons after break.

At break time they will then revisit their locker and swop books, dropping off the books

they have used, and pick up the books for the lessons ahead.


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During the school morning the only bags the boys will be allowed to have with them willbe the new St Johns Prep Book Bag, and their pencil bags. This will have manybenefits:

the reduction of clutter in the corridors and classrooms

helping to preserve the boys shoulders, reduction in theft out of bags and lossof whole bags

helping to develop the planning and organisational skillsof the boy

WEBSITE

Please do visit the St Johns Prep website. We have added a staff list which shows you apicture of each staff member as well as their email address, should you wish to contact

a staff member.

Go to www.stjohnscollege.co.za and click on Preparatory. Then click on Contacts and a

drop menu will indicate the link Preparatory School Staff. ASSEMBLIES

In conclusion, we held our Headmasters Assembly on Tuesday morning. It wasonderful to see the junior string ensemble, the junior band and the cool choir in

action.

As parents, you are more than welcome to attend these assemblies, especially whenyour son is playing an instrument, or is singing in a choir. I will be placing a note onthe Communicator by the Friday before each Headmasters Assembly, so you areinformed which musicians will be performing in the following Assembly.

Please be reminded that these occur every three weeks, as they alternate withHousemasters Assembly and Tutor Groups. The next Headmasters Assembly will be onTuesday 18 June in Big School.

HAIRCUT & UNIFORM INSPECTION

Speaking of Housemasters Assemblies, these always begin with a haircut and uniforminspection. Your boys are please to have a haircut before these assemblies. A reminderis posted on Communicator the week prior to this informing you of the upcominginspection.

If they do have long hair, they will be sent to a hairdresser on the property for a haircutand your account will be debited with an amount of R60. If your son has been sent fora haircut, he will come home with a letter stating that he has had a school haircut.

If you do not wish your account to be debited, you may speak to Mr Harrison withregard to payment.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with regard to any of the matters mentioned above.Kind regardsCraig Verdal-Austin

Second Master

010 492 0116

[email protected]


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In English this term the Lower IIIs have been reading the novel Silverfin, which isabout a young James Bond. In groups the Lower IIIR boys wrote an acrostic poem on

the novel.


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Lower IIIT Afrikaans dialoog: Winkels

Matthew en Bradley


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Brandon en Nikhil

Aaron en Rhys


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Andrew en Sean

Evan en Matthew


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Alistair, Christopher en Tristan

Oliver, Andrew en Riyaadh


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Although many of us feel sorry when summer comes to an end and the chilly wintereather begins, the boys accept the change with excitement. They always look

forward to a new season of sport and tackle it with great enthusiasm.

Football must be the worlds favourite game and it is certainly a favourite at St JohnsPrep. At break, the fields are filled with mini games. Shoes or lunch boxes are used asgoal posts and hundreds of little boys organise themselves into their own privategames. It is a game that everybody can play and enjoy, no matter whether you have twoleft feet or whether you have the ball control of Messi! It encourages many skills thatcan be applied to other games the boys may play as they move up through the Prep andinto the College - quick, dancing feet, a sense and understanding of spaces andworking with the other members of their team towards a common purpose. It has beena pleasure to watch the matches and to see the quiet determination with which the

boys play, their pleasing understanding of the game and their wonderfulsportsmanship. Although our season has just begun, we have already had matchesagainst KEPS, St Benedicts, Sacred Heart, The Ridge and St Stithians. These are someof last weeks results:

U11A finished 3rd in the Wade Foster Tournament on Monday 20th May. The followingteams won their matches against Sacred Heart: U9A, U9B, U9 Bafana 3; U10B; U10United, U11C; U12B; Open 1st

These teams drew against Sacred Heart: U10A

The following teams lost to Sacred Heart: U11B and U12A

The following teams beat The Ridge: U9 Rangers 1; U9 Rangers 2; U9Pirates 7; U11D;U12C; U12D; Open 3rd and Open 5th

The following teams drew against The Ridge: U9 Pirates 6; U10 Eagles 1; U10 Spurs 1;

U11E

The following teams lost against The Ridge: U10 Eagles 2; U10 Spurs 2

Our tennis season has started and we have had a very good turnout of boys interestedin playing for the teams. In the first 2 weeks of the term, challenges were held and aladder was created. This ladder is a dynamic one and is updated each week. The boysare encouraged to keep on challenging the players above them to improve theirposition on the ladder. We played our first matches against St Peters last week. Ourfirst team only lost one match out of 9 and are congratulated on their excellent results.

The results were as follows:

1st Team: St Johns 43 St Peters 22

2nd Team: St Johns 32 St Peters 67

U11 Team: St Johns 19 St Peters 34

Squash has become a very popular sport and the courts are filled to bursting onMonday and Friday afternoons. The league started with matches against St Marys atthe beginning of the term. Although St Marys is often a daunting opponent, our teamsmanaged to beat them soundly this season. In the second week of the season, the B

and C teams played against St Stithians. The B team played extremely well to beat theiropponents quite convincingly but the C lost to a competent St Stithians team.


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Mrs De Gouveia and her cross country runners have been working hard in preparationfor the approaching season. Although cross country isnt everybodys cup of tea andsome boys really need to be pushed hard to try their best on the Friday runs, those whoare keen have used these sessions as time trials to monitor their fitness. We thank MrsDe Gouveia for getting up early on her precious Sunday mornings to encourage the

boys to participate in the monthly Zoo Trot. 62 St Johns boys (and a couple of staffmembers!) gathered for the 7 oclock start last weekend. Their keen and chattypresence must have made a wonderful impression on the other participants!

Although the rock climbing boys have been practising all year, the official seasonstarted last weekend where 26 boys took part in their first competition. Well done,boys!

Lynn Joubert

[email protected]


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Karate

Well done to the following boys who have been selected to compete at the SA JKA

National Championships to be held on the 31st of May and the 1st of June.

Luka Rajak, Milos Rajak, Max Oliver, Torin Torrente, Angelo Yang, Dino Koutromanos,Nicholas Koutromanos and Brandon Badenhorst.

Soccer

Sean Jacobs and Mike Ontong have been selected to play for the central area soccer

team. They played the festival from 23 -25 May.

Squash

James and Alex Barrow and Brad and Timmy Miltonplayed in the Gauteng champs

over the weekend. Well done, boys!

Individual Achievements

Nicholas Ching, competed in the BKI-KWF SouthAfrican National Championships on Saturday, 1June. He won a gold medal for Kata.

Nicholas has also been selected to compete in the

KWF World Championships to be held inCopenhagen on 18 October 2013. Well done,

Nicholas!


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Captains Trinity Term 2013

Soccer:

Vice-Captain: Mike Ontong

Captain: Dale Hallendorff

Squash:

Vice-Captain: Nicholas Ching

Captain: James Barrow

Tennis:

Vice-Captain: James Barrow

Captain: Brandon Vermeulen

Prep Scholarships - Remove 2014

Academic Scholarships:

Michael Mackie

Ben Macqueen

Garyn Berry

Gustav Durlind

Sam Smart

Music Scholarships:

Harry Myburgh

Nicholas Moschides

Music Exhibition Scholarships:

Warwick Roux

Thendo Mudau


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4CTea 2013

For a Brilliant Performance on Asikhulume Tuesday

Dylan Van Der Walt Rhys JurgensMatthew de la Ray Jack Lees

Riyaad Haffejee

Excellent Maths UIR

Zayaan Ismail Luka Rajak

For Reaching his Spelling Goal Twice

Marc Hersov

Team won vs St Stithians

Nicholas Ching Matthew Wong Brendan Thomas

Sam Harding Taylor Williamson Andrew de Lange

Dexter Harding Daniel Segal


Honest, Kind and Helpful Towards Others

Dexter Harding Keagan Lion-Cachet

Alex Wiltshire Joshua Sansom


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Jordan Van Der Walt, has had two very successful presentations of his Just One Bagcampaign. Spar and Toastmasters. Spar awarded him this Amaizeing

Trophy for his campaign. Well done, Jordan!


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Jordan Van der Walt with Spar MD - Brett Botten


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On Saturday 25th May 2013 Jordan was one of the guest speakers at The ToastmastersInternational Annual Conference, which took place at The Indaba Hotel in Fourways.Well done, Jordan!


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Look At Our Revamped Classrooms:

Mrs J de Lange LIIID

Mrs D Mashele isiZulu


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Mr S Logan UIIIL

Mr B Bornman UIIB


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Mrs H Baker UIIH


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All Upper III boys & their dads,

please join us for an evening of

BOOKS, BOYS & BRAAISJames Hendry, author, entertainer and guitarteacher at St Johns will talk about his book

A Year in the Wild.

This is a hilarious account of his many and variedexperiences in the bush during the time he spent

working at a game lodge.

Details:

On: Tuesday 4 June

At: 18:00

Place: Fred England Centre

(Prep Library)

Wors rolls & drinks for sale

RSVP: Nicky Sulter by Friday 31May

[email protected]


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Order form for books by Chris Bradford: Please return to Mrs Sulter as soonas possible

Sons name: _______________________ Class: ___________

No required Title Price

Young Samurai: Way of the Warrior R100

Young Samurai: Way of the Sword R100

Young Samurai: Way of the Dragon R100

Young Samurai: Ring of Earth R100

Young Samurai: Ring of Water R100

Young Samurai: Ring of Fire R100

Young Samurai: Ring of Wind R100

Young Samurai: Ring of Sky R100

Body Guard: Hostage (New Series) R100


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Page 24St Johns Preparatory School

Thank You


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iCare

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

about at St Johns Prep.

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

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

actions instituted where possible.

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

make his day all that he hopes it can be.

Hugo [email protected]

AFRIKAANS TUITION

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

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

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

perform certain tasks and complete basic written assignments.

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

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

Graham Carroll

Tel : 011 534 1224

Fax : 011 534 1225

Cell : 076 858 9420

Notices


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St Johns Preparatory SchoolPage 26

Notices

Art club and extra classes

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

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

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

for any boy who wishes to develop his art skills.

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

Italian

Language

LessonsSmall age appropriate classes and individual tuition

offered outside school hours at St Johns.

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

cultural ties for solid IEB foundation.

Contact Lisabetta on 082 682 2859 or

[email protected]

EXTRA MATHS

LESSONSLower III & Upper III boys in

Mrs De Langes classroom

Every Thursday 14h00 - 15h00

(Teacher recommendation only)

Shop At St Johns College

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

Monday, Wednesday and Friday: 10am to 3pm

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


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RULE 1: Life is not fair - get used to it.

RULE 2: The world wont care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to

accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

RULE 3: You will NOT make 40 thousand dollars a year right out of high school. You

wont be vice-president with a car phone, until you earn both.

RULE 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss. He doesnt have

tenure.

RULE 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had adifferent word for burger flipping - they called it opportunity.

RULE 6: If you mess up, its not your parents fault, so dont whine about your

mistakes, learn from them.

RULE 7: Before you were born, your parents werent as boring as they are now.

They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening

to you talk about how cool you are. So before you save the rain forest

from the parasites of your parents generation, try delousing the closet in

your own room.

RULE 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers but Life has not.

In some schools they have abolished failing grades and theyll give you as

many times as you want to get the right answer. This doesnt bear the

slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

RULE 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You dont get summers off and very few

employers are interested in helping you find yourself. You have to do that

on your own time.RULE 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the

coffee shop and go to jobs.

RULE 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are youll end up working for one.

Life Rules by Bill Gates

Documents

Preparatory Newsletter No 5 2013