Dear Parents and Guardians

Life in Cape Town has been severely affected by the ongoing taxi strike with the ensuing and deeply unsettling violence that accompanied the strike and affected so many fellow Capetonians. While our boys have been largely unaffected by the strike, some have and our staff and their families have been seriously affected. We have been monitoring the situation on an hourly basis and have told our boys to stay at home if they feel unsafe to travel to school. We have also told our staff not to take any risks and while some have been able to come to work, many could not. We have provided accommodation for staff who felt unsafe to return home to their families and meals as well as we try to help those affected by the strike.

I spoke to the boys on Tuesday at our Women’s Day assembly and told them that while the right to protest against any matter is a basic right in a democratic society, the endangering of others property or personal safety is completely unacceptable. We condemn the violence and disregard for law that has taken place in certain areas and will continue to support our staff, boys and families affected by the strike. We are hoping for a speedy resolution to the strike and have been making plans to keep essential services going, using staff who can come to work safely and using boys as well where possible. We have cancelled or postponed a number of fixtures that would require our boys and staff to travel as we would never want to place their safety at risk. Vusa activities were canceled for the week to ensure our coaches and the pupils were safe. My thanks go to all those who have stepped up to help those in need and helped around the school in these unsettling times.

Eluvukweni

The recent fund raising concert to support the Eluvukweni community build a church in Crossroads was a resounding success. We partnered with them to help them raise the last R200 000 needed to complete the project after they had raised R1,9 million themselves. This took the form of a concert in our Memorial Chapel where our music staff and boys from the Prep and College entertained a full chapel with some of the most amazing and uplifting music we have seen for some time. The Eluvukweni Choir also sang and the final hymn with combined choirs, orchestra and organ was a special moment indeed that spoke of communities that supported each other to the glory of God and the dignified continuation of His work!

My grateful thanks go to the music staff in particular for putting this concert together and making it happen. It was magnificent! My thanks go too to those who supported behind the scenes, getting our chapel ready for this event after being closed for some weeks due to the renovation of the sacristy floor. The floor has been tiled in grey and white marble, according to the original design of almost 100 years ago. It was not possible to do so then as the school ran out of funds and it is wonderful to be able to complete the project and have our chapel in all its glory for our Bishops community.

My final thanks go to those who came to the concert, who gave generously and freely and who not only enjoyed world-class music but who helped make a real difference in the lives of a church community in Crossroads. At this stage we have raised R160 000 towards the project and I am deeply grateful to all who made this happen.

Women’s Day

We have tried to add significance to our SA public holidays by reminding our boys of their significance in our country’s history. This week, we celebrated Women’s Day and we held a special assembly on Tuesday at which I spoke about the reason why the day is celebrated and we had a remarkable performance from four of our boys who sang Lloyiso’s Madoda Sabelani as a reminder to men to protect women and not to be part of the problems that many women face daily. This was a moving assembly which touched many of those in attendance and we have shared the video of the boys’ performance on our social media pages. It is well worth a look!

As part of Women’s Month, we are collaborating with our sister school, St Cyprian’s in a joint project to raise awareness and reduce stigmatization of menstruation and period poverty amongst our poorer communities in particular. Our aim is to help poor schools provide sanitary product machines at their schools that provide free sanitary towels to young girls who cannot afford these items and to give dignity to those in need.

Our boys will be addressed by the St Cyprian’s leader group next Wednesday and take part in joint sporting activities to try to raise not only awareness of but also funds for the project.  

Final Thoughts

This week’s assembly took place in the form of a Robert Gray Award ceremony in which we honoured renowned economist and OD, Haroon Bhorat for his work in the field of economics in SA and the advisory role he has played in the highest levels. This was a special moment and we were honoured to be able to recognize and celebrate Prof Bhorat’s contribution to SA society. We are proud of him as an OD who has made a difference in our country and our world.

There were no notices or message so I have attached the words I used to help our boys understand the significance of Women’s Day for your reading below.

I wish our boys well for the fixture against Wynberg, the third last match of the winter season and the second last home fixture. May the games be played in good spirit with the camaraderie and joy of school sport shining through!

Best wishes for the next few weeks.

Kind regards

Antony Reeler
Principal

Women’s Day Prayer

Dear Lord

Lord, make me an instrument of peace:

Bless all women who daily strive to bring peace to their communities, their homes and their hearts. Give them strength to continue to turn swords into ploughshares.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love:

We pray for all women who face prejudice, inequality and gender disparities. Help us to see and to face the discrimination against women in all the many forms it may take.

Where there is injury, pardon:

Comfort all women who suffer from the pain of war, violence, and abuse. Help them to become instruments of their own reconciliation and peace.

Where there is division, unity:

Forgive all women and men who let differences breed hate and discrimination. Let your example of valuing all of creation help us to see that we are equal partners in the stewardship of your world.

Where there is darkness, light; where there is untruth, truth:

Comfort all women who struggle in the darkness of abuse, poverty, and loneliness. May we stand with them in light to acknowledge their suffering and strive to remove the burdens of shame or embarrassment.

Where there is doubt, true faith:

We pray for all women who live in fear of their husbands, fathers, and forces that control their lives. Help them to be empowered to be their true selves through your everlasting love and faith.

Where there is despair, hope:

We pray for all women who live in the despair of poverty, violence, trafficking, slavery, and abuse. May the light of your love bring them hope.

Where there is sadness, new joy:

Help us to see the strength and goodness in all women and men.

Transform our hearts to celebrate the love and grace of all people.

Amen

Women’s Day Message

International Women's Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to differences and is an opportunity to build support for women's rights and participation in the political and economic arenas.

On 9 August 1956, more than 20,000 South African women of all races staged a march on the Union Buildings in protest against the proposed amendments to the Urban Areas Act of 1950, commonly referred to as the "pass laws". The march was led by Lillian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa and Sophia Williams. The women left 14,000 petitions at the office doors of prime minister J. G. Strijdom. They stood in silence, with dignity for 30 minutes and then started singing a protest song that was composed in honour of the occasion: Wathint’ Abafazi, Wathint’ imbokoto! (Now you have touched the women, you have struck a rock.). In the years since, the phrase "you strike a woman, you strike a rock", has come to represent women's courage and strength in South Africa.

National Women's Day draws attention to significant issues African women still face, such as parenting, domestic violence, sexual harassment in the workplace, pornography, unequal pay, period poverty and schooling for all girls.

So today we acknowledge those women who stood up against injustice almost 70 years’ ago. We commend their bravery and their resilience. We acknowledge that there is much to do in our society to bring equity and justice in women’s issues and we commit, as men, to do what we can to treat women in a dignified manner, acknowledging that our different strengths can be used to help each other.

I asked some of our boys to perform for us today, singing a song by Lloyiso called Madoda Sabelani (Men Heed the Call)

A translation of some of the words into English is as follows:

Men heed the call, men heed the call
Men put a stop to this
This is the danger, this is the danger, we are the danger
Men listen, men listen
The women are weeping
Woman are being killed, they are running out
Intervene, intervene, intervene

This is a truly beautiful song that exhorts all men to stand up for women, to stand beside women and to treat women and indeed all people with the respect they deserve. To stand round women and protect them if needed. To never be part of the problem but part of the solution.

(Koame Kota, Nashe Chahwahwa, Brandon Matyeba, Landa Tsobo)

Wynberg Fixtures

This weekend marks the 103 years of Rugby against Wynberg. We hope you have a wonderful weekend enjoying the camaraderie between our fine schools.
Please click here for the Rugby Progrmamme and click here for the Hockey programme. Or use the QR codes below.

St Cyprians - Bishops Sports Fundraiser

See players from Bishops and St Cyprians participating in mixed team hockey, netball and soccer matches at St Cyprians.

• Parents and everyone in our community are invited to cheer and donate, especially on the day. Food stalls, drinks, music and particularly good vibes are on the menu for the afternoon. Bring cash and we’ll happily SnapScan you too!
• We are boosting the conversation around ending period poverty and partnering with @menstruationfoundationza to raise R100 000 to provide sanitary dispensers to schools around Cape Town.
• 16 August 16h00 - 20h00 at St Cyprians.
• Please support our boys and girls for this inaugural event!

Golf Day

There are limited 4 Balls left for the PA Charity Golf Day on 17 August.  Please click HERE to register.