Dear Parents and Guardians

As we approach the end of the winter season it is a time of “lasts” for our Grade 12s and their parents. A last Evensong, a last home winter fixture and the last set of internal examinations. These are special moments that give cause for reflection and thought. Moments as we realise that our sons are one step away from a world that is so different from the world of school. I hope that our Grade 12 parents simply enjoy the moment and enjoy it with their sons, watching as they slowly but surely start their journey of greater independence.

To all other parents, I caution you to make the most of your son’s time in school. Support him and support the school. Enjoy this time as part of a community. Enjoy this part of your son’s journey.

Bishops on the international stage… (Part II)

I was so deeply proud of our boys and our school as Simply Blue and a group of five drama pupils undertook a tour to Scotland to perform in the Edinburgh Festival. To put yourself up on stage takes tremendous courage and great effort. Our boys were wonderful as they gave of themselves for the enjoyment of others. My thanks to Mrs Gardner, Mr Carletti and Mr Tucker for making this tour happen and for giving our boys this experience of a lifetime.

Simply Blue also performed for a combined function of ODs and Old Boys from Rondebosch in London and entertained a group of 70 past pupils from the rooftop of an office block! So many ODs have written to compliment the boys on their performance and to thank them for what they did to remind them of South Africa and their alma mater.

VUSA Cycle Challenge

My thanks go to Ms. Matthews, her team of organisers and those who supported the cycle challenge, held over the past weekend as a fundraiser for the project we support in Langa, the VUSA Rugby Academy. Over R530 000 was raised – a simply phenomenal amount and more than double the target! These funds will make such a difference in this project and I thank all those who made it possible. A full report with photographs can be viewed in the VUSA newsletter further down.

Early Closure

It has been a wish of ours to give our staff, boys and parents a weekend of family time in the busy life that is Bishops. To do this, we have decided to close school early at 12:00 on Friday 2 September, the first weekend after a busy winter season, and not to allow any school activities to take place that weekend. This is to allow our community an opportunity to connect as families and enjoy company together. It is our intention to try to do this twice a year – in the first and third terms. To have a weekend of family time for everyone at Bishops!

Winter Sport

This is the last home game of the winter season and I encourage parents to support their sons and his team as they take on SACS. Let us give our Grade 12 boys in particular a great send-off as they play at home one final time.

Evensong

What a joy it was to experience another Evensong and my thanks to Father Monwabisi and his spirituality team, our Music Department and ex colleague Mr Dave Ledwidge for giving us a special moment of community and togetherness. '

Final Thoughts

As I returned to SA after our recent cultural tour, I realised again the importance of the exposure of our boys to different experiences and cultures. While many of our boys may not have the opportunity to travel, we all have the chance to mix with people different to us. I encourage parents to give their boys this experience – yes to travel if possible but if not, to go into spaces that are unfamiliar, meeting people who are not part of our usual circles. Getting to know different people and different cultures removes fear of the unknown and allows us to grow as people.

I wish you all well for the next two weeks.

Kind regards

Antony Reeler
Principal

Honour

What do I want you to be? What do your parents want you to be? What do you want to be? Three questions with three possibly different answers.

When you were small you may have wanted to be a fireman, or a doctor as you played your games of pretend with your friends. Then as you grew up, your ambitions possibly changed, so too did career options, and engineering, business and other choices emerged as you prepared for tertiary study. And your parents advised you along the way or perhaps influenced you. And their choice of career or study for you may or may not have been the same as yours as you discussed the options you face or will face shortly. 

So what do I want you to be? It is simple – I don’t want you to be just an accountant or a lawyer or a doctor. I want you to be Good Men. I want you to be men of value, men of kindness as you heard in our Evensong, men of compassion and understanding of difference. Men who strive to do the right thing and when you get it wrong, try even harder next time knowing that we are allowed to fail. I want you to be seen and known as a Good Man.

There is one of the qualities of being a Good Man I wish to address today. We have been having discussions about values, what they mean, what works for you and what you suggest we adopt as school values. And I did not want to influence your initial thinking, hence my leaving this message until today. The quality I wish to talk about is honour – often thought of as old fashioned. To have honour as a value or to act honourably is to know and do what is morally right. To be a person of honour is to keep your word.

I asked you also to describe how your values translate in practise – not just fancy words that sound good. What do they mean? An example of honour.

If you do something wrong – own it.

If you are talking in class and a teacher asks who was talking – raise your hand and accept you were wrong. Take ownership for what you have done. Have the courage to take responsibility – and it takes great courage I know. Because having honour means we never have to invoke that most misused concept in any school – the code of silence. You see – you don’t like “telling on”, splitting on your mates, telling tales. And I get that. You are loyal to them. So why put your friends under pressure? Why force them to be silent? Why not be a man of honour, a Good Man? Own up so that your friends don’t have to make tough choices.

That is the first example of honour as lived in real life.

The second can be hard sometimes too. You are invited to a party and you accept the invitation. Then one of the cool people invites you to their party – one you would far rather be at. What do you do? Make an excuse to the first one and go to the one you really want to, or do you stick to your original commitment? Are you a man of your word? Are you a man of honour?

There were times when a person’s word was a contract – what you said, you did. In this world in which we live this is often ignored and people change like the weather, denying ever saying what they did.

So today I ask you to be different. Be proudly and profoundly different. Be a man of honour. Be a Good Man. Own your mistakes and take responsibility. Don’t force your friends to have to remain silent to cover your wrongdoing. And be someone whose word means something – what you say, you do.

Interact Ties

Congratulations to these members of Interact who have been awarded Interact Ties for their commitment and dedication.

Farhaan Osman
Rohit Patel
Michael Lawson
Graham Seaward
Michael Sun
Malick Majiet
Sebastiano Panieri
Thando Kumalo
Joseph Mudge
Jody Syndercombe

Service Awards for First Aid

The following matric boys have been awarded service ties for completing 4 years of service as active members of the First Aid team:
Carl Elvin-Jensen
Suhayl Khalfey
Kwon-Hee Kim
Joshua Smith
Erik Todd
Timothy van Heerden
Sebastian le Grange
Hugh van Hasselt

In addition, Carl Elvin-Jensen and Tim van Heerden are awarded full colours for their competent and dedicated leadership of the team for the past two years.

Dramatic Arts Awards

After the recent Bishops Eisteddfod and the successful tour of the production 'Tapestry of Strength' to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, we congratulate the following boys on their Dramatic Arts Awards:

Half Colours:
Lance Brilus
James du Preez
Thomas Mason

Full Colours:
Thomas Barton
Murrough Epstein
Nimba Mahlati

Rondebosch U17 Youth Cup

A squad of U17 soccer boys participated in the inaugural Rondebosch U17 Youth Cup over the long weekend, 6 - 8 August. The competition was tough, but the Bishops boys showed determination and courage as they battled it out to the end. With an even spread of 3 wins and 3 losses, the boys managed a 4th place (out of 7 schools) at the tournament, only just missing out on a podium spot. 

A special mention must be made to Thami Siko, who scored a brilliant goal from about 15 meters out to put us one up on Reddam in an exciting 2 - 1 victory that concluded the tournament for us.  
A special congratulations to Calum Daniels who scored a hat-trick in the team's 6 - 1 victory  over Hout Bay. Well done to all these boys who displayed great sportsmanship and enthusiasm.

Public Speaking and Debating

Bishops competed at the National Individual Public Speaking and Debating Competition at Parklands College. Our boys did exceptionally well, and despite it being an individual competition, they were completely supportive of one another and worked as an excellent team. Competitors were impressed by the Bishops poise, eloquence, and evident intelligence of their speeches.

Five boys won places on the South African team.

Ché Nanoo placed twelfth overall and was a finalist for Impromptu Speaking and Persuasive Speaking. Divakaran Govender was also a finalist in Impromptu Speaking and Persuasive Speaking and placed seventh overall.

Jamie Chester won the Impromptu Speaking and Persuasive Speaking categories and placed fifth overall.

Ben Anderson won the Debating category and was runner-up in both Persuasive Speaking and Impromptu Speaking. He placed fourth overall.

Jacob Fried was a finalist in the Impromptu Speaking, Interpretative Reading and Persuasive Speaking categories. He placed first overall and won the competition.

Simply Blue in Edinburgh

Simply Blue and the matric drama production of “Tapestry of Strength” have just returned from a successful tour as performers at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and in a swelteringly hot London, where Simply Blue performed at the combined Bishops and Rondebosch OD function.  We were hosted by the Reid family at Portmore House, their family estate, and performed at “The Space” venues at Symposium Hall and “On the Mile” respectively. The five performances were very well received.  In their free time the boys were able to attend other Fringe productions, but the highlight was the 75th anniversary “Military Tattoo” on a perfect evening.  While in London the boys were also lucky enough to attend the award winning musical “Hamilton”.

Interact

Vision Child and Youth Care Centre Fun Day

Please join The Interact Society on Sunday the 21st  of August for the “Vision Child and Youth Care Centre” Fun Day. The event will be held at Bishops in the Simpson Centre from 11h00 to 16h00. Join us for fun activities and games to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged children. If you would like to get involved or have any questions, please email zuhayr.mohamood@bishops.org.za.

Founders

In the spirit of Ubuntu and to show appreciation and thanks to all those who work to keep Founders House running smoothly, the Founders' Matric boys hosted all staff at a dinner in the dining hall.

The boys planned everything leading up to the evening, prepared the gifts and dining hall for the guests, served the food, and cleaned up afterwards. Travel arrangements home again were also made for those who needed them. 

Father Monwabisi joined the dinner and acknowledged the work that every member of staff contributed to the house, as well as the strong and respectful relations that our Founders boys have with those who work in the house. 

It was an evening of role reversal, laughs, service, and showed the essence of what it means to show respect to those who work to make their lives easier. 

A great evening was had by all! Floreat Founders.

Cricket

Bishops' Cricket is delighted to announce that interim head coach, Brad Barnes, following a lengthy selection process, has been appointed to the role on a full-time, fixed-term basis. Brad, a former first-class cricketer; CSA Level 3-accredited coach and, until very recently, premier league club captain, will commence duties, officially, on the 1st September overseeing all aspects of coaching at the College in both the summer and winter months.

Music

Sebastian Boeddinghaus recently received the first prize in the International Youth Music Competition in the category “Piano”. In order to enter this competition, he had to submit a video recording of himself playing a piano piece. There was an invitation for him to travel to New York to perform the piece with other first prize-winners at the New York Prize Winners Concert. Unfortunately he was unable to attend due to his matric commitments. We are very proud of Sebastian for this outstanding achievement and congratulations also go to his teacher, Mrs Erina Westgarth-Taylor.

Congratulations to Matthew Newton who recently passed his Grade 8 Trumpet exam from Trinity college in London, with  distinction. This is an outstanding achievement.

2023 Interact Committee and their roles

Below are the members of the 2023 Interact Committee and their roles:
Zuhayr Mohamood (President)
Josh Traut (Vice-President)
Rohit Patel (Treasurer)
Joseph Mudge (Head of Marketing)
Jody Syndercombe (Head of Communications)
Malick Majiet (Secretary)

Rowing

Bishops Rowing is one of the College’s five major sports. The Bishops Rowing Club offers opportunities to all: tours, camps and rowing regardless of one's capability or physicality - a truly inclusive sport.

We are proud to display our elegant sport to you and your sons this coming weekend, Sunday the 21st of August for our annual Family Day. Everyone is welcome to join!

Furthermore, we would like to extend an invitation to your boys to join us at our October camp, which will provide an excellent opportunity to learn the sport, make friends before coming to Bishops and concreting them firmly in a sport which provides so much in the way of belonging.

If you are interested in attending either event, please contact – chale@bishops.org.za

Eton Tour, Eton School, United Kingdom

Our Grade 9 rowers recently went on a tour to the UK to visit the rowers at Eton, and gain valuable training. They trained at Dorney lake, which is a breath-taking body of water, Etons' backyard and the venue for the 2012 Olympic Games. 

The purpose of the tour was to learn how to row with one blade (sweep oar). Each day had an average of three training sessions, where the coaches gave advice and held Q&As daily. Our rowers were fortunate enough to have two athletes from the British Rowing Squad, one being from the British Woman’s Quad assist with tips, advice and answer many questions our Grade 9 rowers had for them!

This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Experiencing both the culture and the rowing was a thrilling opportunity, special thanks to our parents and the rowing club for creating the link with Eton.

My School card and School Days

Please assist us as a community and raise funds for those in need where possible. Register for School Days and My School card at Woolworths, and donate by simply using your cards, while earning rewards in the process.

Please log on and register, the School Days. Once you have done this, it is automatically linked to purchases made at Dischem and other partners.

Registration is simple :
Go to www.schooldays.co.za
Download the School-Days Mobile app and join.
Join with the attached unique registration QR code. This will automatically link the supporters profile to Bishops account.
My School Card https://www.myschool.co.za/

My School card is available via registration at Woolworths – if you have a card, please remember to swipe every time you shop at Woolworths.

English Olympiad Results

Congratulations to the following boys who received gold and silver awards for the English Olympiad that was written in March:

Gold (80-89%)
Hasheel Govan

Silver (70-79%)
Michael Kruse
Stuart Whitelaw
Nimba Mahlati
Erik Todd
Ben Anderson
Jacob Fried

Bishops v SACS

A rivalry eclipsed only by its camaraderie.

Rugby

This weekend we host our local Southern Suburbs rivals from SACS for a full day’s rugby. Join us on the College campus for our last home games; the first game kicks off at 8am! Please click on the QR code to view the programme.
The 1st XV match is set for 11:30.  

Parking

Please be aware that secure parking is available outside the pre-prep at the corner of Sandown Road and Campground Road. The pedestrian gate at the pre-prep will be open for your convenience.

Hockey

Join us for our last Friday Night Lights of the ’22 season! The games at Woodlands will begin at 15:00 this afternoon, and our hockey teams are looking forward to your support.
Please click on the QR code to view the weekends hockey programme.

Old Boots

We are looking for donations of unwanted used boots for sports teams in Manenberg, boots can be dropped off in the bin outside the wind tunnel.

Soccer

We are excited to be a part of the Rohan Bloom Foundation Interfaith sports day this Sunday! Please join us and support our soccer teams on Sunday the 21st August between 8:30 and 13:00 at Herzlia. We have two teams from the College and one U13 prep team!

Cycle Challenge

The Bishops Community once again did us proud by coming together to support VUSA.  A fantastic event that raised a staggering, much needed R538,000 for the VUSA Rugby and Learning Academy.  For more info and photos of the wonderful weekend, please read VUSA’s newsletter by clicking here. Thank you so much to everyone involved, it was an excellent community effort.

Robert Gray Medal

The Robert Gray Medal 2023 Nominations are still open.  This is a very prestigious award that is bestowed on an OD by the school. To find out more Click here.

Simply Blue

Over 65 old boys from Bishops and RBHS got together in London to celebrate the 125th Anniversary of RBHS. There was a superlative performance by Simply Blue who were engaging, charming and tuneful. Thanks and credit must go to their coaches, Marion Gardner (who founded Simply Blue) and Stephen Carletti, both longstanding and distinguished members of the Bishops teaching staff.