Dear Parents and Guardians

Spring is almost upon us (well officially at least!) and with the sign of new life all around us, we keep hoping for new life for us as individuals, and as communities, as we continue to deal with the challenges we face every day.

Our Grade 12s started their Mock Matric exams today and we wish them well for this time. Practical advice for parents of boys writing exams is to make sure they eat well, they rest well and get enough sleep and exercise. These three simple things can go a long way to get your son through what is often a stressful time for him (and for you!). In addition, having a quiet place of study, free from distractions including technology, is important but so is maintaining connections with family. Keep encouraging him and show him that you believe in him.

Please try to eat at least one meal every day together as a family. I know in these busy times it is tempting to eat on the go, while studying or watching television. My mother always insisted on a meal a day as family time, a tradition we have continued with our own children. It is a joy and a delight to engage with children over a meal, watching them grow in body but also in mind as they contribute more and more to conversations. These are special times that will go before you know it. Cherish them and create this special mealtime as a family tradition.  

Covid-19

It was with great relief that my wife and I received our second Pfizer vaccination last week. As a school, we are supporting vaccinations as a means of protecting ourselves and our communities, and allowing a quicker return to the new life we want to live. I cannot encourage parents enough to vaccinate. While it remains a personal choice, all the evidence I have read and advice I have been given points towards vaccinations as the safest way of getting us through this pandemic. The Bishops influence is extensive and we have the opportunity to use this influence, all of us, to get as much of our community vaccinated as possible.

Numbers of Covid infections in the school have dropped significantly and we are pleased to see this downward trend at school and in the Western Cape as well. When we made the decision to restrict sport last week, it was based on medical advice and with the very best intentions. We are blessed to have a number of medical experts to advise and guide us and value their input when making decisions. I had the pleasure of speaking to one of the Covid advisors to government who was very complimentary of the manner in which we had made our various decisions and supported what we did. My thanks to the boys and our community for their patience and understanding.

School News

We congratulate Mr Willem Steyn on his appointment as House Director of Founders House. Mr Steyn has years of experience in traditional boys' schools, including a number of years at Bishops and in boarding as the Assistant HD of White House. He knows traditional boys' boarding well and we wish him and his family all the best for this new chapter in their lives. 

We will be playing a full winter fixture against Rondebosch this weekend and we hope for a safe return to sport for our boys. I know many are dying to get back on to the field and I wish them all the very best for a successful weekend. The matches will, once again, be streamed live on all fields with the links that have been sent out to parents this morning. We try our best to provide a high-quality experience but every now and then there may be technical issues. We ask for your patience as we do our best to provide this service to you. The First XV match will be televised on Supersport and will be aired at 12:45 on Channel 211. Please note that, sadly, we are still not permitted to have spectators.

Transformation

Something that emanated from the ongoing discussions around transformation in the school has been the desire to recognize those boys in our school who live out the African ideal of “ubuntu”. Many of our boys go out of their way to make others feel worthy, to share this spirit of connectedness and interdependence, particularly across lines of difference such as race, gender, economic circumstance, sexuality and so on. We are going to recognize one such boy each year through an award, made at Valedictory. This award, known as the Ubuntu Award, will come from nominations made by boys and staff and hopes to serve as an inspiration to others to make our community one where we build each other up and do our best to live our lives as connected human beings. 

Final Thoughts

My thoughts went out to the many hardworking teachers and pupils in the public sector who have the possibility of losing their much-needed September holiday. We have been able to keep our academic programme going and do not feel the need for any additional time. In fact, what is truly needed is a good break at the end of these ten weeks for our staff and boys. Our holidays will thus remain as published, with school breaking up on Thursday 23 September and returning for the final term on Tuesday 5 October.

I wish you well for the upcoming weeks.

Kind regards

Antony Reeler
Principal

What if China played rugby?

Why are the Jamaicans such good sprinters? Why does South Korea produce so many exceptional female golfers? Why are the middle and long-distance champions in the Olympics almost always from Kenya or Ethiopia? Why does Egypt continue to produce such top-quality squash players? Why is New Zealand consistently good at rugby and statistically the best sports team on the planet?

These questions fascinate me. Even more so when you look at the population figures of these countries and the pool of available people to select from.

If you compare this with China (2 billion), India (1,5 billion) and the USA (350 million) you would think that these mega-countries would be winning everything. The logic surely must be that the more people one has to choose from the better chances one has of being the best. But this is not the case.

So what makes these smaller countries good? What makes them better than a country with so many more people than them?

There may be factors such as environment and training conditions – certainly that plays a part in middle and long distance running where high-altitude countries have an advantage as athletes have to train their bodies to live on lower oxygen levels.

There is also the factor of success breeding success and the wealth of role models to admire and copy. Four of the top six women golfers are South Korean. And in Jamaica there must be hundreds of aspiring Usain Bolts and Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryces.

But two other factors stand out for me – culture and desire.

Countries create a culture of success and achievement in certain activities. They support people to be successful and they share their success to inspire others. They set high expectations as part of that culture.

But with culture must come desire – a deep-seated desire to do your best.

In Egypt, which is not a rich country, if you make it in squash there, you can feed your family. Similarly in Sri Lanka, an island of 20 million people which produces remarkable cricketers. This desire is borne out of circumstance.

So what is our culture at Bishops?

As a school, we set high expectations of our staff and boys and many times these expectations are reached or even surpassed. We expect you to do well and you often do. But school culture and country culture is not enough.

You need your own personal driving desire. You need to find what motivates you to perform at your best. And I am not just talking about sport but your studies, your music, your drama and art. It can be extrinsic, motivated by outside factors such as escape from poverty or tangible reward such as medals and trophies. Or it can be intrinsic, the satisfaction within that makes us feel good about ourselves and when we have done well. Either way, a desire to do well is vital, within a culture conducive to high performance, to succeed.  

“Success is peace of mind that comes from knowing we have done our best to be the best we can be.”

John Wooden

Bishops Inter-House General Knowledge Quiz

After an absence of many years the Bishops General Knowledge Quiz was re-introduced this year as an Inter-House event, held on 11 August. Each house entered a team of six boys, which had to include two juniors, and answered 100 questions set by quiz master, Mr Eric Lefson. The lead was tightly contested throughout the competition, and ended with a 3-way tie for 2nd place. After a run-off the final four placings were: 4th White, 3rd Kidd, 2nd Birt and 1st Gray. Well done to Gray on winning the Eric Rosenthal General Knowledge trophy for 2021.

Annual SAIIA Quiz

Nine Bishops boys participated in the annual SAIIA School Quiz (Robert Kotze, Ben Anderson, Eric Todd, Daniel Kushner, Stuart Whitelaw, James du Preez, Suhayl Khalfey, Zuhayr Mohamood and Michael Ritz).  Bishops usually hosts the Quiz in the Mallett Centre but due to Covid regulations the Quiz was online this year.  92 pupils from all around the Peninsula took part in the event.  Robert finished 5th and received a prize of R1000.00.  Ben placed 8th and Eric and Daniel tied in 10th place. 

Debating Achievements

The following boys recently made Bishops Debating history:

Saleh Ameen
Ben Anderson
Jacob Fried
Milan Sandri
Landa Tsobo

The above boys have all made one of the four junior provincial teams, which means we have a Bishops junior debater in every single junior provincial team. A special mention for Milan and Jacob, who only started debating a few weeks before the championships, while Saleh and Landa also deserve applause as they only started debating this year.

These boys, under the guide of their coach OD Robert Dugmore, went on to win the Rotary debating championship finals on Monday. They have won a cash prize, of which they will donate to charity. 
We would also like to congratulate Nimba Mahlati for being chosen for the senior provincial debating team.

Interact Committee for 2022

Suhayl Khalfey - President
Liam Peterson - Vice President
Robert Kotze - Secretary
Aadam Jaffer - Head of Communications
Zuhayr Mohamood - Treasurer

Well done to the following boys who have been elected as the new Interact Committee for 2022.

Sports App SOCS

We have had a number of queries about My Bishops Life and the SOCS App – please click here for earlier communication sent, where everything is explained in detail for your convenience.

Bishops Travel Agent

Peter Kilpin, from Bishops Travel, has just returned from a site visit at Shearwater Explorers Village Victoria Falls, where he has negotiated a Great special for the Bishops Community.

Book your accommodation at The Explorers Village Victoria Falls  - Situated 400m from the Victoria Falls Rainforest in panoramic bush surrounds.

3 night package : R3300 per person sharing
2 night package : R2650.00 per person sharing

Our packages include:

• Accommodation in a standard chalet
• Breakfast daily
• Return airport / hotel transfers
• A luxury Riversong cruise

Upgrade to a deluxe chalet for R150 per person per night.

Book with Bishops Travel before the end of September and get a further 10% discount on our already discounted rates.

Contact Bishops Travel for your booking :
Tel: 0712437082
Email: bishopstravel@suregiltedge.com

Accelerated Art Tie

We would like to congratulate Michael Kruse on obtaining his AAP Tie.

Interact Ties

The following boys have been awarded the Interact tie for their significant contribution to the club and its beneficiaries over the past few years: 

Thomas Barton
Adam Clarke
Haydn Dempers
James Flint
Aadam Jaffer
Rob Kotze
Dayne Levick
Daniel Neuhoff
Uzuko Mnyombolo
Zuhayr Mohamood
Liam Petersen
Kiran Pillay
Craig Ressell  
Joshua Traut

All Rounders Ties

Congratulations to the following boys on being awarded an All Rounder's Tie:

Aidan Brand
Gavin Dingley
Alexei Pouroullis
IIyaas van Graan

Fencing Epee Champs And Half Colours

Aidan and Daniel Richards competed against each other in the Epee Club Champs finals and Aidan won in a nail biting finish 15-14. Both Fencers have also been awarded their half colours for fencing.

Congratulations to the two boys on their half colours:

Half Colours:
Aidan Richards
Daniel Richards

Music Certificates

This year was the first year in which the Royal Schools Theory exam was written online. It was quite a process and the boys had to write with a camera on them for the duration of the exam.

Congratulations to the following on their excellent results:

Jake Holwill – Pass
Rohan Murray-Cooke – Merit
Geoff Hudson – Merit
Daniel Foulkes – Merit

Distinctions were awarded to:
Nicholas Basson
Caden Chuang
Jordan de Sousa
Arun Nayer
Robert Veldtman

Music Colours

The following boys need to be congratulated on achieving Colours in Music.

Half Colours:
Sebastian Boeddinghaus
Felix de Bruin
Kwon Hee Kim
Nimba Mahlati
Matthew Newton
Liam Petersen

Full Colours:
James Griffiths
Nicholas Pabst

Royal Society Essay Competition

Congratulations to Gus Farara and Tom Withers for achieving third and second places respectively for a Science essay competition organised by the Royal Society.  This is the second time that Gus has been a prize winner.