Dear Parents
We have a number of special farewells at the end of the year so I am going to quote from what I said in my Prizegiving speech this morning:
“Mike Bosman retires as you know, as Chairman of Council at the end of this year after completing his 7 year tenure. He has been an extremely busy and involved Chair, meeting with the Principal on a weekly basis, managing the affairs of Council, attending other committee meetings on an ad hoc basis as well as attending as many functions as possible and always being available on the other end of a cell phone. During his tenure we have also seen the Jagger Hall renovations completed, the Raymond Ackerman Centre at Woodlands built and he has been instrumental in the Bishops Trust’s launch of the 175 Campaign. The first capital project of this campaign will be the Prep Learning Centre and Library which we hope to start building - after all the design work and consultation is completed- in the 2nd half of 2018. On behalf of all of us here I want to thank Mr Bosman for his support of the Prep and Pre-Prep, for his time and effort in the service of Bishops and wish him and Sabine well as he has time for other exciting and new projects.
Regrettably, our Chaplain, Father Terry, has not been well and so leaves us at the end of the year. This has been a very difficult time for Father Wilke, his family and his colleagues as we have struggled together to reach the best decision. We are grateful to Father Terry for so much, not only for his spiritual leadership, his Chapel Services, Assemblies, his attendance at all our functions but most of all for his care for us. Within our community he has prayed for us, baptised, prepared for confirmation, married, buried, counselled and always been there. He has a particular gift for assisting those suffering or dealing with bereavement. So many families will attest to that who have experienced his kindness, quiet compassion and pragmatic sensibility in times of crisis and grief. Thank you for this all. Thank you for being there for us. Thank you for bringing the Word of God to us in such an open and inclusive way. We wish you better health as you have to time to rest and pursue other interests. But this is just farewell as you will be living down the road and know where we are. Go well, Terry. God Bless.
We also have three very special teachers who retire from the Prep today after many many years in education, Di Judge, Lynne Adelbert and Sue Burgess – together they have spent 67 years at Bishops. Mrs Adelbert and Burgess 19 each and Miss Judge 29 years.
Miss Judge has worked under 3 headmasters, taught in most grades, I think the only subject she has not taught is Xhosa , managed many responsibilities, one of the most notable being tennis. She has been a wonderful and kind colleague, with a great sense of humour. She is very energetic, efficient, pragmatic and straightforward. She is planning to travel next year as she really enjoys doing so but has also not ruled out teaching for a few years in another part of the world. Miss Judge, thank you for your loyalty to Bishops, for the effect you have had on countless number of boys over the years and the collegiality. Enjoy the retirement: I know it will be busy, full and no doubt very interesting.
Mrs Adelbert has worked at both Prep and College, all 3 of her sons went through Bishops, she has been involved in many, many College and Prep dramatic productions and musicals and since 2009 has been Head of English at the Prep. She has taken boys to great heights both in the classroom and on the stage; who can forget Bugsy Malone, Seussical, Guys and Dolls to mention just a few. She has been an advisor to many and wherever there has been public speaking on the part of the boys of any sort for an event she has been there coaching, cajoling, satisfied with only the best that each boy is capable of. Lynne Adelbert is creative and inspirational, full of life and so spirited. I don’t think retirement is ready for her – I have no doubt that she will learn another language ( she is currently learning Xhosa), take up photography or become a sculptor, read countless books, sort out Simonstown where she will be living and travel the world. Lynne – thank you. It has been a privilege.
Mrs Burgess came from Rustenberg Girls’ Junior towards the end of the last century (does sound very long ago) and so enjoyed teaching boys that she never left. She has been Head of Maths for more than a decade and the department has flourished under her leadership as we can see in our boys’ success in so many Olympia. People forget that both Mrs Adelbert and Burgess have been part – time because they have put in so many extra hours. Mrs Burgess has run a tight ship, really extended our boys laterally and I know the last thing she will tell Mr Groom and me before leaving is to make sure we keep working at the boys’ problem solving. She has been a great colleague, fun, kind and a quiet leader on the staff. I will miss her wisdom – whenever she asked me if I had a minute I normally knew that she was going to tell me something that I would rather not hear at that stage, but it had to be said, and it always actually helped to improve matters and the school. It’s difficult to imagine her retired but I know she will be busy, living between here and Prince Albert where she has a house and her daughter and rushing across to the States following her son and his family just to name a few things. Thank you, Sue, for your passion for Bishops and its boys.
A College boy sent a message to me a few months ago decrying the fact that I could let these 3 special ladies go. We are certainly sorry to see you go. We will miss you. Hambani Kakuhle.
I want to wish our Grade 7s well as they leave us. You have been a very happy and good group of boys ably led by the Heads of Houses and Head Boy, Daniel Neuhoff. As I said at the Leavers’ Dinner it has been a pleasure to work with you. May God Bless you and all other boys and their families who are leaving.”
We bid farewell to Nic Venter who has interned here this year while completing his Masters through Penn State University; also to William Butler who has stooged. Both have thrown themselves into life at the Prep fully and have been very popular with and appreciated by the boys.
Thank you to all staff and you, the parents, for what you do for our boys. They are extremely fortunate.
Please keep Rowan Piorkowski in your thoughts and prayers as he undergoes further treatment during the holidays.
Some arrangements:
- Reports will be up on myBishopsLife today, which will include the form class your son will be in next year. I attach a list of the Form teachers here.
- Arrangements for the first week of next year can been seen on the live calendar on the website.
On behalf of all the staff, I wish you a very Blessed Christmas, safe and relaxing holidays and a Happy and Peaceful 2018.
God Bless.
Kind regards
GREG BROWN
HEADMASTER |
