Dear College Parents

 

This morning in assembly we were entertained by our 20 piece Jazz Band ensemble. They played two pieces from their repertoire which they will be performing at the “Starlight Classics” at Vergelegen on the 3^rd March. It was a real treat to listen to such an accomplished performance and a very uplifting way to start the day!

 

 

Water Crisis

A few weeks ago we sent out a detailed notice regarding our plan to take Bishops largely off the “water grid” in the next few months. There was concern expressed in some quarters about us storing potable water in our storage tanks, please note that we will be storing water from our water treatment plant in case of an emergency. I am pleased to report that work is well under way to direct borehole water to all our toilets. Unfortunately this has resulted in a great deal of trenching for the piping needing to be laid so for a while the campus will look rather untidy! We have contracted a company to build and install our water treatment plant which should be operational in 5-6 weeks. Even if “day zero” never arrives the measures we are taking will have a long-term benefit for the school and the environment.

 

We continue to irrigate our fields from our boreholes on a constrained basis. What is not often understood is that the majority of water which is put on to fields for irrigation goes back into the underground aquifer (up to 90% from the information we have).

 

There has been much comment on social media about schools continuing to play sport. As I have said before, sport is a key part of our curriculum and we need to continue, even on a constrained basis. We have partnered with Heathfield Primary School who have long been part of our cricket outreach programme and they will be using our fields on a weekly basis.

 

I would like to finally mention that we have had a visit from officials from the city and they are happy with our plans and the provisions that we are making.

 

Term Dates

The term dates for 2019 are attached. Please note that the shorter 1^st term is beyond our control, we have to align ourselves, by and large, with the state school calendar for sports purposes. We do start the year a week later than the state schools which I am sure everyone welcomes because it would have been a very early start to the year!

 

Joint Investment Evening

 

The OD Union will be hosting a Joint Alumni Investment Evening on Thursday 22nd February.  Hosted by Carrick Wealth, this event was initiated by William Grose (Old Hiltonian), son of  Northern Province Branch Secretary, Simon Grose (1977F) and Rashay Makan (Old Greys').

The invitation can be viewed here.

 

Please see the attached assembly notice which highlights our boys performances in a variety of activities, as well as my message to the boys today.  Photos of today's assembly awards can be viewed here.

 

In closing, I came across this excellent article which was published by NAIS (National Association for Independent Schools in America) on “Teaching Boys to Become Compassionate Men – On and Off the Athletic Field”.  I am sure you will find it informative and interesting.  To view the article, click here.

 

Have a wonderful weekend.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Guy Pearson

PRINCIPAL