Dear Parents and Guardians

Welcome back to the start of the second term. I hope the longer break gave you some time with your family and that your son is well-rested after a frenetic first term. As I said to a number of new parents who were concerned at the pace of the first term, the second term tends to be one that is slightly more settled and while we have a full winter programme and an Eisteddfod to prepare for, the boys tend to be able to manage their time much better, particularly with the added focus of the mid-year examinations.

I hope that the Easter celebrations went well for our Christian community and it was a time of reflection and renewal of faith. I hope that our Muslim families enjoyed the Eid celebrations last week, ending the month of Ramadaan and that our Jewish families enjoyed marking the festival of Purim. We would also like to wish our Jewish community a meaningful Passover, which begins on Monday.

The term started with Eucharist, presided over by the Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Rev Dr Thabo Makgoba. It was a heartwarming service indeed, and we thank His Grace for being our special guest and for his support of our 175 celebrations.

Holiday news

Our 175 Hockey and Rugby Festival was a great success and thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended. My very grateful thanks go to the organizing committees and the many staff, teaching but particularly the support staff, who made this possible. We had a number of sports teams who went away over the Easter Weekend and I thank the staff who accompanied these tours, those parents who supported the teams and the boys for representing us so well out of town.

Staff news

We congratulate Mrs Julianne van Zuydam who gave birth, slightly early, to her twins and we welcome Lucy Claire and James Michael van Zuydam into our world. Both mom and children are doing well!

We welcome two temporary teaching staff members, Mrs Marion Gardener who will be covering Mrs van Zuydam’s classes and Mr Joshua Bearne who is covering Mr Abery’s classes. We also welcomed a number of student teachers and our new BSU intern, Mrs Chanel Roos to the school.

Cell phones, hair and security (from assembly)

The boys were reminded of the rollout of the conditions of the cell phone policy to Grade 11 where all boys in Grades 8 – 11 are not permitted to have cell phones in class. I assure parents that we will continue to monitor the impact of cell phones on the boys’ behaviour and make adjustments to our policy as and when needed.

Despite my call for assistance from parents to ensure boys had hairstyles that comply with our school policy, there were still some boys who were in desperate need of a haircut. We are dealing with this – the main culprits being those who shave or cut the sides of their heads very short, leaving far longer hair on top. This is simply not acceptable and is not allowed in terms of our hair policy.

Our campus is vulnerable to crimes of opportunity at times, particularly at the end of the school day and on match days when people stream in, most for legitimate purposes. It is impossible to vet all people who say they are coming to watch sport. Boys who leave valuables such as cell phones and laptops in their bags on the side of the field during play are at risk and we ask that boys leave their valuables in their lockers in their houses or give them to someone for safe-keeping. 

13-year ties

We acknowledged 51 boys who have been together since the start of their Bishops career in Grade R by awarding them the 13-year tie at our first assembly. Their names appear below.

Ackerman Award

The school held the inaugural Ackerman Award assembly, attended by Mrs Wendy Ackerman, in which we were able to acknowledge the contribution of the Ackerman family to our society through the awarding of a medal that recognizes both service and innovation. The criteria for the award are as follows:

1. The nominee must be a current pupil at Bishops.
2. The nominee must be in Grade 9 or above.
3. The achievement(s) of the nominee must be innovative by nature and in service to others. The actions and behaviour of the nominee must exemplify the values of the school.
4. While the achievement(s) of the nominee may have brought personal gain, this must not have been the driving motivation for the endeavour.
5. The achievement(s) may be over a short period of time but must have a lasting and significant positive impact on the lives of others.

School support for events

The support by our boys for the first teams in hockey and rugby during the festival and at the first home fixture has been poor. There is an expectation that all those who play hockey on the day, remain to support the 1st XI and all those who play rugby, stay to watch the 1st XV – having changed after their match into #1s. We make only the fixtures against Rondebosch compulsory at this stage and would prefer to keep it that way, but we do need to see more boys supporting the first teams.

Leadership in this regard is expected by Grade 12s who should all be setting the example in terms of commitment to school spirit. I ask that parents support this as it gives a very good impression of our school to see large numbers of boys cheering their teams on. The success of a team is not a reason to attend – this is about support through triumph and hardship, just as a family would.

Final thoughts

I remain amazed by the academic ethos of our boys and their self-motivation to do well academically. Please ensure you support you son as he begins preparation for his mid-year exams by giving him a quiet space where he can work, removing distractions such as phones and music players (which have been proven to help only if the right kind of music is played), ensuring he eats well and has plenty of exercise and that he honours his commitments to sport and other activities to keep the balance needed for academic success.

I wish you a good weekend.

Kind regards

Antony Reeler
Principal

The Good ol Days

“We live in a world in which material gain counts for almost everything, and spiritual values and principles seem to count for almost nothing. The standard by which everything is judged is the answer to the question “Will it pay? What am I going to gain from it – to get out of it?” The material side of man so often seems to be treading down and crushing out the spiritual. In public life, in commerce, even in private life, to sacrifice the prospect of personal or party gain for a principle, to deny oneself comfort or pleasure for the sake of an ideal, to endure hardship, voluntary self-discipline at the call of duty seems to be so rare a thing in our modern world that people can scarcely believe it when they see it and look at once for some lower, worldly motive.”

These are wise and considered words indeed in which the writer speaks of the desires of people to seek personal gain rather than acting out of principle.

It would be interesting if I were to ask you when these words were written. They were in fact, an extract from the sermon, delivered by Rev JHC Brooke, son of former Principal Richard Brooke at the opening of the Memorial Chapel in 1926, some 98 years ago! You would be forgiven if you thought they were written about today’s society as we look at how personal gain often trumps the greater good.

This challenge has clearly existed for centuries and remains a challenge for us today and in our futures. To seek to put the needs of others above our own and to be driven in our decision-making by greater things than “what’s in it for me…” To nurture our spiritual growth, and here I include the growth in our moral base.

And so the first point to make, and perhaps the most important, is to pause and think in our daily lives as to the purpose of our actions. Yes, we do need to look after ourselves but that, in itself, doesn’t stop us from the concept of sacrifice for a greater good.

To make my second point, I share with you words that are more well known:

“The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.”

These words were attributed to a Greek philosopher, Socrates, who died in 399 bce, almost 2500 years ago. Yet as I read them, it may as well have been someone today bemoaning the youth for what is perceived to be a lack of respect.

I do not share these thoughts in their entirety and there are wonderful examples that I see every day from working with you that proves them false. There are so many things you as young people do today far, far better than previous generations did. I look at your relationships with teachers based on respect rather than fear, your confidence expressing an opinion, your ability to question and investigate. Yet there are those who do believe in an apparent decline in the behaviour of our youth.

And so my second point is that we must also not write off current generations and look back with myopic eyes and nostalgic fondness at what is in the past. What we may have thought were “Good ol Days” are not necessarily so. And there is danger in thinking all was well – it clearly wasn’t!  

So let us not hanker after the past but use it to inform behaviour and teach lessons for the future. Let us rather celebrate where we are now, what we have now, what we can do today, how we can do it better as we shape the future.

The Ackerman Award
LUKE CARTER

This award is made in acknowledgement of Raymond and Wendy Ackerman’s selfless contribution to South African society and their support of both individuals and communities to improving the situation of others. 

Raymond Ackerman was a student at Bishops from 1944 to 1948. 

The inaugural recipient of the award is Luke Carter, at the time of the award being made, a 2023 Grade 10 student at Bishops.

The award acknowledges and recognizes Luke’s spirit of innovation and service to others.  This is evidenced by making a difference in the lives of forty children from an under-resourced background, at the Vuka Nomtobhoyi Orphanage, Langa, Cape Town. 

Whilst Luke worked in a group as part of the school’s Big Ideas programme, he was the driving force behind the venture to raise over R400,000.00.  This move shows Luke’s deep-rooted commitment to service. 

Luke is still actively engaged in the project and undertakes regular visits with supplies to the childrens’ home.  Whilst there are always changing factors at play that sometimes create a measure of uncertainty, Luke does not intend lessening his commitment the core of which is assisting and developing the needs of children who live in abject poverty. This demonstrates the depth of Luke’s compassion and dedication. 

He played a pivotal role in the formation of the 2023 Big Ideas Pilot Project, aimed to provide meaningful support to the Orphanage and Educare Centre.  His personal investment in the project extended well beyond the call of duty, ensuring that the initiatives truly addressed the genuine needs of the children at the Orphanage.

Luke furthermore saw the need to bridge cultural divides by learning some isiXhosa which enabled him to connect more authentically with the children and staff at Vuka Nomtobhoyi with the view to establishing a lasting impact. 

In this venture, there is no evidence of any personal gain; rather, a genuine desire to make a positive and lasting difference. 

In the words of Rebecca Zeppel, the educator in charge of the Big Ideas Programme at Bishops: “Luke is a true testament to the transformative power of youth-driven change and a source of inspiration for our community.”

Congratulations Luke Carter, who was awarded with the inaugural Ackerman Award at our assembly this morning, attended by Mrs Ackerman.

This prestigious award acknowledges the contribution of the Ackerman family to our society through awarding a medal that recognises both service and innovation. The first recipient is Luke Carter, who has done extraordinary work to support and fund an orphanage in Langa. Well done Luke, we are extremely proud of all your work.

Debating

In December 2023, Ben Anderson and Jacob Fried entered a global public speaking and debate competition known as “Re:Solved” which is run annually by a high school in Canada named Branksome Hall, and sponsored by a prominent Canadian free speech and debate foundation, Munk Debates.

The initial stage of the competition involved submitting a recorded speech based on research and analysis of the UN Human Rights Declaration and its modern-day relevance. The top 32 speakers were selected and split into teams of two for the debate stage of the competition.

Ben and Jacob then progressed through a series of online knockout debates all based on the central theme of “The UN”. After both progressing through their respective rounds of 16 and quarterfinals, they were paired up together for the semifinal last month and, after a tight debate against two opponents from an international school in India, they have both progressed to the final.

Finalists are given fully-funded trips to Canada from the 23rd of April to the 29th of April in order to compete in the finals to be held at the University of Toronto in the historic Hart House. It is a great achievement that at this prestigious global competition, two out of four finalists are Bishops boys.

13-Year Ties

The following boys are congratulated on receiving their 13-year ties:

Rugby

1st XV Rugby and start of the 2024 season

The College’s 1st XV had a very challenging start to the new rugby season, playing as many as six different games at three different festivals, over the course of some 18 days, which stretched from the last weekend of the first term through to the close of the Easter weekend.

The players got the ball rolling with two promising performances at the Wynberg Festival, where victories were recorded against Windhoek High School from Namibia and St Charles College from KZN. The team then came up against very spirited opposition from Michaelhouse in the first match of the 175 Festival on the Piley Rees. Early points were conceded in this game, making it hard for the boys in blue to fight their way back into contention.

Two days later, the traditional derby against St Andrews College from Makhanda dished up a spectacular match which will live long in the memory of all who followed the action. Though Bishops were trailing by some fourteen points early in the second half, they came back to win the game by a single point when scoring the last try of the match.

At the KES Festival in Johannesburg, Dale College from the Eastern Cape were put to the sword in an entertaining match which saw eleven tries being scored. A comfortable victory here was off-set by defeat against KES in the main game of the tournament on Easter Monday. Despite creating some initial pressure, our Firsts were not able to score any early points; our opposition then capitalized on a number of our mistakes which saw them to a convincing win in front of many thousands of home supporters.

A few important lessons were taken from the encounter, and, hopefully, these will inspire the team as they now look ahead to the start of the domestic season. We wish our captains, James le Feuvre and Alex Smith, and all their players, the best of luck for the challenges which lie ahead over the course of the next few months.

Hockey

Preseason Report

During the March holidays, Bishops hockey had 5 teams competing in festivals in preparation for the season ahead.

Both our U14A and U16A sides went to compete in their respective Independent Schools Festivals in Bloemfontein over the holidays.

The U14A’s had a very successful tour. They were undefeated, winning 6 out of 6 with an impressive 23 goal difference. It was a great team effort by all in the side and a great show of Bishops hockey. Special mention goes to James Arkcoll on being named midfielder of the festival.

The U16A side had a slightly tougher festival, losing a couple of players to illness and injury and ending the tour with only one player on the bench. Despite this they performed admirably winning 3, drawing 1 and losing 2. Like in U14, Bishops claimed the midfielder of the festival – well done to Litha Mbiko on winning this award. Well done to the team for a special effort on the field and for their manner in which they conducted themselves off the field.

The U16B side competed locally in the Bosch Festival. Over the course of five games, they experienced a range of outcomes, demonstrating both their strengths and areas for growth. Majority of matches were tight games, resulting in a couple of draws and some very close loses. Throughout the event, the team exhibited strong teamwork and perseverance, even in the face of challenging opponents.

The second side travelled to KZN to take part in the Michaelhouse 2nd team Hockey Festival. The team managed to keep a clean sheet for their first two games and only conceded in the 3rd game due the goalkeeper sustaining an injury. Of the 5 games played they drew 2 and lost the last 3 games. It was another competitive and challenging festival and the Bishops 2nds played their hearts out and improved significantly as a team over the 4 days of hockey.

The Bishops 1st Team Hockey played in two pre-season festivals at the end of the first term. At the Parel Vallei Festival they played 3 matches: against Somerset College, winning 2 – 0; Outeniqua, winning 5 – 0; and Paarl Boys, winning 7 - 0.

At the Independent Schools Hockey Festival, hosted by Bishops as part of the 175 celebrations, the 1st team played 6 matches. The first was against one of our traditional festival rivals, Michaelhouse, winning a tough game 3 – 1. This was followed by victories over St Charles (4 – 0), St Davids (2 – 0), St Andrews School (8 - 0), St Andrews College (2 – 1) and St Benedict’s (4 – 0).

The 1st Team takes their unbeaten record into the league fixtures of the season. The team is playing an exciting brand of hockey at the moment and encourage all of you to come and enjoy the game.

A massive thanks goes to all coaches and staff for the time they gave up to take these teams away during the holidays. Without theirs (and the players) commitment we would never be able to play in such festivals.

As all teams reflect on their performance in their respective festivals, we hope they will take away valuable lessons that will contribute to their growth and development in future matches. After a hockey filled holiday we look forward to a great season ahead for not only these teams but all Bishops hockey teams.

Cricket Award

Luke Chamberlin receives a mounted cricket ball. He took 5-25 for the U14B team against Rondebosch.

Golf

Congratulations to Jack Buckham on his appointment as the captain of Golf for 2024. We wish him and the team well for the season ahead.

Athletics

Congratulations to Daniel von der Heyden, who has been selected in the Boland Senior Athletics team to compete in the South African Senior Athletics Championships this coming weekend 19 to 21 April. Alongside Daniel in the team are world class athletes like Wayde van Niekerk (world record holder), Rushwahl Samaai (world championship medalist), Mire Reinstorf and Breyton Poole (both junior world champions), so Daniel is in good company!  Daniel will be competing in the U18 Decathlon on Saturday 20 April and Sunday 21 April. We wish Daniel every success this weekend.

Road and Trail Running

We wish to thank our outgoing Summer Road and Trail Running captain Aiden Marsh for his service to the running club, as well as congratulate Zac Miller of Birt House on his appoinment as captain for the Winter season. We wish Zac well for the busy season ahead.

Rugby and Hockey Programmes

The excitement is high: our boys are ready for this weekend’s sporting action! As always, we encourage live support for all of our sportsmen and all of their different teams.

A full list of fixtures can be found on our Bishops website and also on our Facebook page.

The links are set out below, for your convenience.

https://communication.bishops.org.za/college/sport/175BishopsRugbyProgramme.html

https://communication.bishops.org.za/college/sport/175BishopsHockeyProgramme.html