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Dear Parents
COVID UPDATE
The number of absentees/remote leaners has been a lot lower than last week's. We have had 2 boys test positive at the Prep this week and one at the Pre-Prep. Thank you for always informing us of the circumstances around your son's staying at home whether it be due to quarantining or any other reason. Covid has severely limited our contact with parents and I think it is something we are all missing. On site parent-teacher meetings and even occasional opportunities to chat have simply not happened. However, please do feel that you can contact your son's Form, subject teachers or Housemaster if you have any concerns, probably best via email which can always be followed up with a telephone call if necessary.
SPORT
The boys (and coaches) were very happy to play their first inter-school hockey matches this term against Wynberg Boys. We hope to play our first rugby matches next Saturday and we are in contact with SACS and medical specialists about this. As we return to competitive sport, please ensure that if your son has had Covid, he is cleared by his doctor to play matches and that his coach is informed.
TRANSFORMATION PROCESS
The Transformation Sub-Committee of Council is busy working through the school's Diversity and Transformation Policy and will be publishing its work as soon as the process is complete.
We have looked at our language offering across the school and decided to expand isiXhosa from 2022. While boys at the Pre-Prep have had exposure to isiXhosa we are now going to formalise this and will have a part-time teacher teaching conversational isiXhosa from Grades R - 2. At Prep all boys take isiXhosa as a second additional language (SAL) from Grades 3 - 7. From next year, Grade 7s will be able to choose isiXhosa as a First Additional Language (FAL) in place of Afrikaans as they are able to do in Grade 8 at College.
In Grades 7 and 8 those who take isiXhosa as an FAL will then take Afrikaans as a conversational SAL. And those who take Afrikaans as an FAL will all do isiXhosa as a conversational SAL. This is an innovation in that all boys will now do both isiXhosa and Afrikaans until the end of Grade 8. It is hoped that this can be further rolled out to Grade 6 and 9 in 2023. English continues as the medium of instruction offered at Home Language level.
This is a strong commitment to the three languages of the Western Cape giving our boys the opportunity to communicate better across language groups and gain a better connection through language.
We will be providing more information to our current Grade 6 boys and their parents in due course.
Stay safe and take care.
Kind regards
GREG BROWN
HEADMASTER
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