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Trinity Term #28
St Andrew’s
Academic Newsletter | August 2018
COLLEGEDear Parents
I was invited to a most enjoyable Rowing Dinner in the Easter Term. I was struck by how egalitarian the sport was. There was a palpable sense of pride and belonging in the club regardless of age or skill. I am sure it was due to the Director of Rowing, Mr Chris Holliday’s, style and vision for the sport – one that he had so deliberately and successfully inculcated during his years of influence.
The guest speaker was Ms Carol Muirhead, the new College Business Manager, who was involved in rowing at a national level. She said the most interesting thing (well, it was certainly something I had not thought of). Rowing is the only sport in which, what you do as a beginner rower is exactly the same thing that you do as an Olympic rower – pull an oar through the water. In other sports, say gymnastics, the skills build on one another and develop and change as you compete in more advanced arenas. For rowers, years of training and pursuit of excellence involves nothing more than pulling an oar through the water better and faster. (I wondered whether this was a contributing factor to the egalitarian feel of the club!)
I immediately started thinking about whether there were any academic activities that had this unusual characteristic. I suppose that reading is similar to an extent, although not exactly. Children learn to read by decoding alphabetical symbols and linking them to physical objects. They then learn to read stories which involves the movement through time and space of people and events. One then moves on to reading for pleasure or to satisfy other emotional needs, and then to gain new knowledge and expand the mind, and then to search for or create meaning in one’s life…
Academics could learn from rowers – imagine if we put as much effort into a life-long training to read better and faster, as the rowers put into their training?
A better academic parallel to rowing is probably the Trivium. The Trivium is the lower three skills of the Seven Liberal Arts which were the extent of education during the Middle Ages, and had their roots in the first University in Athens, founded by Plato in 387 BCE.
The Seven Liberal Arts were made up of the Quadrivium (Arithmetic, Geometry, Music and Astronomy) and the Trivium (Grammar, Logic and Rhetoric). It was believed that the study and practice of these seven arts led to a “unified idea of reality”. (How education has changed!) It certainly also resulted in greater synergy between the sciences and the humanities than we have today.
The Trivium was also known as the “Arts of the Word.”
• Grammar teaches the mechanics of language to the student. This is the step where the student “comes to terms,” defining the objects and information per-ceived by the five senses.
• Logic (also dialectic) is the “mechanics” of thought and of analysis, the process of identifying fallacious arguments and statements and so systematically removing contradictions, thereby producing factual knowledge that can be trusted.
• Rhetoric is the application of language in order to instruct and to persuade the listener and the reader. It is the knowledge (grammar) now understood (logic) and being transmitted outwards as wisdom (rhetoric).
While schooling today is still underpinned by the input-process-output structure of the Trivium (much like an oar enters, moves through, and exits the water), it has probably lost some clarity of thought about this, and some balance between the three equally important dimensions.
Subject Choices for Grade 8 & 9Choosing subjects for Matric is an exciting stage in every Grade 9 boy’s school career. It is an expression of his dreams and aspirations, and I believe he looks forward to having fewer subjects, and enjoying the satisfaction of studying them in greater depth.
So often, the decision is pragmatic, clinical, scientific and utilitarian. Sensible. Functional.
I would suggest that the function of schooling is to provide our boys with a broad-based education, one which exposes them to beauty, to possibilities, to critical thinking, to creative thinking, to a diversity of views on life – these, obviously, besides the important skills of being able to read and understand substantial volumes of literature, writing in various styles and manipulating numbers and variables.
My challenge to every Grade 9: be adventurous with just one of the subjects you choose!
These are formative years for every boy, and what he studies, the sports he plays, the clubs he joins and the community engagement that he engages in will make an indelible impact on who he will be for the rest of his life.
Current Grade 8s and Grade 9s are asked to please complete subject choices for 2019 by the beginning of the Michaelmas Term. All Grade 8 and Grade 9 parents have been emailed a link to the College webpage, and it is a simple process of selecting their chosen subjects for 2019.
All the Grade 9 boys’ parents have also received an electronic copy of their Subject Choice Report from the Psychological Care Centre. This, together with the Subject Choice booklet and the various video clips on the College website, will give them valuable assistance in making the correct choice of subjects which they will take from Grade 10 to Matric.
In order to reduce the number of subjects that boys have to take in the GET phase, Grade 8 boys need to select subjects from two options for Grade 9.
All the 2019 Grade 9 boys will continue to take the following subjects:
• English• First Additional Language (Afrikaans, isiXhosa, French or Mandarin)• Second Additional Language (isiXhosa, French, Latin, Classical Civilizations, Mandarin)• Mathematics• Natural Science• History• Geography• Life Orientation/Chaplain’s Period
Plus two subjects from each of the following options:
Grade 9 Option 1: Subject Music, Drama, Dance, EMS, or Design & Technology
Grade 9 Option 2: Visual Arts, Drama, EMS, or Design & Technology
Trinity Term Reports
Your son’s report will be emailed to you, or you can access it on the SIMS portal by Friday 10 August at 13h00. Instructions on how to access the portal will be emailed to
you, or you can find them on the College website, under the Parent link.
Matric CampAlmost all boys are attending the Matric Revision Camp from 8h00 on Sunday 2 September till Tuesday 4 September 2018. The Matrics will be staying in their Houses. We trust that your son will make the most of this opportunity to begin the process of fine-tuning his preparation for his Final Examinations in October.
NSC Examination Entry FormAll Matric parents have been emailed their son’s official registration form for the IEB National Senior Certificate Examination in 2018. Please check that all the details are correct (see the “Release of the Matric Results” paragraph below) sign the form and return to the school by 5 September 2018 (the beginning of next term), by email, to [email protected].
Release of the Matric Results The results will be released on Thursday 3 January 2019. All the boys have registered a cellphone number (as per the NSC Examination Entry Form mentioned above) with the IEB, and so the results will be sent via SMS to that number at midnight. We will post a hard copy of the results to the address (Preliminary Address on the form) that has been given to the IEB, therefore please ensure that we have your correct postal address.
You can also print out a hard copy of the results by going to the website www.IEB-online.co.za – you will need to input your son’s date of birth and Examination Number. Please save the website details and your son’s examination number for future reference.
I will be available on Thursday 3 January 2019 in the College office from 08h00 till 10h00 to assist you with any queries or problems that you may have. (Tel: 046 603 2300)
Exam Regulations and Instructions to CandidatesAt the beginning of next term, your son will receive, and sign for, his official Exam Timetable from the IEB, as well as a booklet entitled “Exam Regulations and Instructions to Candidates”. I have stressed to the Matrics the importance of reading this booklet from cover to cover.
Of utmost importance, is that no boy should miss an exam. If he does, he will need to write the supplementary examination in February, and these results will only be available
in April 2019. Effectively, the whole year could be “wasted”.
So, it is particularly important that he looks after his health over the next four months – exercise to relieve stress, get sufficient sleep, and eats a regular, balanced diet.
Cambridge AS and A Level Results
These are being released on 14 August, and will be reported on in the first Headmaster’s Newsletter next term.
Work TrophiesCongratulations to the following Houses on lifting the Work Trophies for the Trinity Term. The Work Trophies are based on the average of the Application Marks achieved by each Tutor Group.
• In Grade 8, Armstrong set the pace in the Easter Term, but all the other Houses have improved this term, and Mullins House has snatched the trophy.
• In Grade 9, Merriman have retained the trophy with Mullins closing in fast.
• In Grade 10, Upper have taken their eye off the ball, and Espin have taken the trophy back this term.
• In Grade 11, Mullins continue to assert their dominance.
• In Grade 12, Mullins have muscled their way past Espin to regain the trophy.
Overall, after a break of two terms, Mullins are back in charge.
ARM ESP GRA MER MUL UPP91 73 90 96 99 92
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
WORK TROPHY T2 2018 GRADE 8
ARM ESP GRA MER MUL UPP83 87 94 97 95 89
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
WORK TROPHY T2 2018 GRADE 9
ARM ESP GRA MER MUL UPP96 104 87 65 87 100
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
WORK TROPHY T2 2018 GRADE 10
ARM ESP GRA MER MUL UPP101 100 87.5 88.0 110 86.9
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
WORK TROPHY T2 2018 GRADE 11
ARM ESP GRA MER MUL UPP92 99 84 83 110 75
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
WORK TROPHY T2 2018 GRADE 12
ARM ESP GRA MER MUL UPP92.4 92.8 88.6 86 100 88.7
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
WORK TROPHY T2 2018 ALL GRADES
TRINITY TERM ORDER DECIMUS GRADE 8 GRADE 9 GRADE 10 GRADE 11 GRADE 12 Ethan John
James Stadler
Jonathan Shamwana
Dylan Bowker
Jonathan Gouws
Zach Micklewright
Jacob Erasmus
Michael Velloza
Ignus Potgieter
Daniel Erasmus
Nicholas Lane
Rowan Rosenberg
Haydn John
James York
Peter Jarvis
Myles Boden
Africa Matshingana
Brady Henaghan
Alexander Pezarro
Kieron Baart
Aidan Reynolds
Nicholas Holmes
Justin Stoddart
Thomas Spiro
Jurgens Swart
Joss Hempel
Dominic Owen
Matthew Schaefer
Craig Macpherson
Oscar Liss
Cameron Destro
Libhongo Mazwana
Ayakha Mahashe
Christopher Poole
Nathan Graham
John Marshall
Matthew Grunewald
Philip Beynon
Daniel Roodt
Scott Cuthbert
Wesley Donald
Mfundi Leta
Alexander Plumbridge
Peter Voges
Billy Baker
Benjamin Terry
William Stewart
Matt Ferguson
James Duthie
Murray Wilson
TRINITY EXAM ORDER DECIMUS Ethan John
James Stadler
Jonathan Shamwana
Dylan Bowker
Daniel Erasmus
Nicholas Lane
Rowan Rosenberg
Haydn John
Alexander Pezarro
Jonathan Gouws
Zach Micklewright
Africa Matshingana
Philip Beynon
Ignus Potgieter
Peter Jarvis
Myles Boden
Jacob Erasmus
Brady Henaghan
James York
Nathan Graham
Michael Owen-Jones
Nicholas Holmes
Matthew Schaefer
Craig Macpherson
Kieron Baart
Aidan Reynolds
John Torcida
Michael Velloza
Christopher Poole
Willis Nsubuga
Cameron Destro
Miles Jackson
Ayakha Mahashe
Ben Kroon
Jurgens Swart
Wesley Donald
Mfundi Leta
Justin Stoddart
Joshua Million
Scott Cuthbert
Joss Hempel
Libhongo Mazwana
Michael Stavridis
Merrion Gess
Oscar Liss
Siyamkela George
Dhruv Suchak
Matt Ferguson
Sebastian McIntosh
Geir Wilson
Trinity Term Decimus
A LOVE OF WORDS
I am very conscious of how the Matrics must be feeling as they reach the end of their schooling, doing things for the last time. But I imagine that parents must be experiencing similarly conflicted feelings.I loved this poignant passage from Sebastian Faulks’ novel, On Green Dolphin Street.
“What a strange child I must have been, she thought, skipping over the sand in a world where time did not move, believing that my taste of sea air and ice-cream and salt water was definitive, that my parents were as enduring as the sea-wall. Now I see my children and I know that they are figures in a lantern show, that their sense of permanence is an illusion, because all around us time is unstoppable.”
Kind regards
Aidan SmithSecond Master
IMPORTANT DATES FOR THE MICHAELMAS TERM (Entries in BOLD affect Matrics only.)
2 September Matric Revision Camp to 4 September (Boys arrive on evening of Saturday 1 September)
6 September 17h00 Rhodes University Information Session (Auditorium) 9 September 17h00 Edinburgh University Information Session (Auditorium) 13 September 18h00 Old Prep Supper (Memory Hall) 14 September 19h00 Odyssey DSG Dance Production (Guy Butler Theatre) to 15 September 17 September John Axe Arts Week to 23 September 18 September Matric Life Science P3 (Compulsory Exam) 22 September Kilted Mile and Ceilidh (The Highlander) 23 September SAC Highland Gathering (Lower Field & The Highlander) 4 October 12h25 Matric Final Assembly followed by OA Induction and Luncheon 5 October 14h00 Inter-House Relays (Lower Field) 8 October Balloon Week
16h00 Opening of Art and Design Exhibition (Centenary Hall & Design Centre) 17h30 Confirmation Service (Chapel)
9 October 09h00 Parent-Teachers Meeting to 13h00 (Centenary Hall) 17h15 Matric Valedictory Service (Chapel) 19h00 House Suppers for all boys and Matric Parents (Clapham Jubilee Hall) 19h00 Headmaster’s Cocktail Reception for Grade 8 – 11 parents (Crossways)
10 October 14h00 Speech Day (Guy Butler Theatre) 17h30 Retreat Ceremony (Lower Field) 18h30 Cocktail Reception in Houses for all parents to 20h00
11 October 07h45 Athletics Inter-House Sports (Lower Field) to 13h00 13h00 Half Term to 18h00 on Monday 15 October
17 October 09h00 Matric Information Technology Prac Exam P2 (Compulsory) 18 October 09h00 Matric Computer Application Technology (CAT) Prac P2 (Compulsory) 21 October Positive Education Week with Simon Murray 22 October 09h00 Matric Exams begin to 30 November 26 October 07h50 Grade 10 Exams begin 6 November 07h50 Grade 11 Exams begin 11 November 10h30 Remembrance Day Parade (Church Square)
18h30 Choral Evensong commemoration of centenary of end of WW1 (Chapel) 15 November 08h00 John Jones Fish River Journey departs to 5 December 21 November 07h50 Grade 9 Exams begin 22 November 07h50 Grade 8 Exams begin 23 November 17h00 Re-opening of Norton building
17h00 Launch of the Chapel Book by Marguerite Poland 24 November 09h00 OA Tide Chapel Service and Clock Tower Parade
18h00 DB Wylde Leadership Indaba with Marguerite Poland and David Wylde (Highlander)
25 November 08h00 OA Tide Eucharist and Dedication of the Chapel Book 1 December Grade 8, 9 and 11 Outdoor Education depart to 5 December 5 December 17h00 Final Assembly and Carol Service (Chapel) (Compulsory attendance)
18h00 Christmas Dinners 6 December Travel Day 7 December Schools’ Boat Race to 8 December (Kowie River, Port Alfred)
