Dear Parents and Guardians

As we approach the examination session, I wish all parents well as you support your son(s) through this process. I have wished the boys well and given them some advice, using a sporting analogy, which is shared below. From a parent’s perspective, please allow your son to study in a quiet space with minimum disruption. Ensure he eats well and sleeps well too, as sleep deprivation can have significant negative effect on his performance. Exercise is critical to his health at this time and if he is not playing sport regularly for the school, as sport continues during exams, make sure he goes for a walk, a run or goes to the gym to keep active. I also urge boys not to interrogate exams that have been written immediately thereafter as this can lead to higher levels of anxiety. Simply put, just support your son through this process and help him as best you can.

Eisteddfod is looming large and boys have been busy with prelims and preparation. This event is a wonderful celebration of our cultural offering and the talents of the boys and I urge parents to support their boys by coming to watch various performances when they occur. The highlight is undoubtably the inter-house singing and I encourage parents to secure tickets for this event as soon as they are on sale.

The recent Human Rights presentations by the boys in their Tutor groups was a very positive and worthwhile exercise, that gave the boys an opportunity to think about these issues and come up with a creative way of expressing their feelings. Some of the presentations were superb and we are hoping to offer them to the greater school community in time.

Discipline

Much has been said and discussed about discipline and I have spoken about our school philosophy and my personal beliefs often. We have tried to clarify and improve our own systems, and have produced a simple flow chart of process to give to parents should their son be involved in an incident of alleged serious misconduct, be it as a witness, a victim or a perpetrator. The House Director and the BSU play a vital role in this process to hold and care for those involved. My role is, as shared, as the appeal authority so while I cannot get deeply involved as the process unwinds, I will be contacting the parents of the alleged victim to assure them that we are firstly aware of the incident and secondly that we will care for their son and how that will look. We will also make sure that any statements that are taken from a boy will be done so in the presence of his parent(s) to ensure he is fully supported.

As soon as we have appointed the new Deputy Principal, we will be creating a new Deputy post whose specific portfolio will be discipline and pastoral as the two are inextricably linked. This will allow us to focus more on this area while maintaining the special relationships our boys have with the staff. By separating Sport and Discipline (as it is currently linked in one portfolio) we will allow not only for greater impact in discipline but also greater attention to our sports offering.

Staff News

The process to appoint a new Deputy Principal, arising as a result of Mr Peter Westwood’s retirement at the end of this year, is going well. The committee made up of members of the Executive, assisted by three parent members of the Council DEB committee have met and sifted the initial 92 applicants down to a list of 25, from which 6 have been granted a first interview. These interviews will take place this Saturday. As soon as we are able, we will narrow this down to two or three candidates who will undergo psychometric testing and have a second interview, this time including the Chair of Council. The process has been rigorous and thorough and we are confident we will find the right person for the job.

We welcomed this term a new permanent member of staff, Mr Mouton Joubert, who took up a position as History teacher. Mr Joubert will also be involved in the hockey and cricket programmes and we look forward to his influence at the College.

General

The term has progressed well and the boys have been busy and productive as they took on the various winter activities. My thanks go to all parents and families as they support their son(s) and the school on the weekends in particular. Many of the contests have been close affairs and I am pleased with the progress made by our boys and coaches in most areas. Sport is just one aspect of what we do but is such an important part of our school and I wish our boys well for the rest of this season.

Best wishes for the upcoming exams, the Eisteddfod and all other activities your son may undertake.

Kind regards

Antony Reeler
Principal

The game called “exams”

I find it strange that our advanced world, with all its innovation and advancement, has yet to come up with a better way of assessing ability and potential than a written exam. While my comments may come as a shock to you, exams are not always predictors of success or indeed ability and there are countless examples of people who may have struggled in exam situations yet excelled in that very field in life.

So why do we write exams then? Why do we put ourselves through the stress of trying to memorise facts or processes, repeating them in a timed environment? Simply put, we write them because that is the best way we have come up with so far as a human race. It is what it is…It remains my fervent hope that someday we will come up with a better way but for now we are stuck with them – we have no choice.

If we have no choice then, how do we make the best of the situation and how do we try to ensure that we succeed, according to our own ability? I am going to use the world of sport and try to use lessons from that world as we “play” this game called exams.

Firstly – understand the rules of the game we are about to play. Whenever we play sport, we know the conditions under which we will succeed or fail. How to score, how to defend. So too with exams, we need to know the rules and in most cases these rules are clear from past experience. So use past papers as a means of working out what these rules are and what is required to win. Use what you have learned in class or discovered on your own.

Secondly - in sport we have coaches, those who guide us and teach us as we learn the game. Strategists, planners, but also motivators. In the same way, you have the same resource to help you in the exams – your teachers. Your teachers want you to succeed, they want you to do well so they will do all they can to help you, just as a coach will want his/her team to win. They are your biggest cheerleaders along with your parents.

Thirdly – practise how you will play. I have seen many players practising goalkicking, drag flicking and free throws, succeeding time after time yet not doing so in matches. The difference being the pressure of the situation. So, put yourself under pressure when you practise. Set yourself time limits to practise a task, the time limits you will be under in the exams. Visualise the exam situation as you prepare and practise what you will be asked to do. A sprinter does not practise for the 100m by jogging round a track. He practises sprinting, his start and his finish. In the same way, reading your notes will help you but you are not going to be asked to read notes in an exam. Practise carefully and wisely.

Fourthly – find time away from studying. I know this may sound strange to you but you cannot study 24 hours a day. In the same way that sportsmen engage in activities away from their chosen sport then return to the sport, so too must you find time to exercise, read, reflect, engage with your family. Short bursts that reenergise you for the task at hand.

Finally – sportsmen often rely on luck to succeed. The bounce of a ball or a gust of wind that changes fortune. You must not rely solely on luck because that would be foolish but if luck does come your way, embrace it and use it. If a question you have prepared for comes up, use your good fortune to your advantage. If it doesn’t, use whatever means you can to fight your way through the challenge. Remember the words of that great golfer Gary Player who said “the harder I practise, the luckier I get”.

With those simple words of advice I wish you well for the next few weeks. May your hard work be rewarded and may your dreams become a reality. 

All Rounders Tie

Rohit Patel and John van der Watt are to be congratulated on being awarded an All Rounders Tie.

Any additional awards that have been made will be announced at the end of term when all the boys are back in assembly.

Rugby

Our rugby club celebrated a noteworthy milestone on Saturday 6 May, as, here at Bishops, we hosted a full round of fixtures against SACS. This year commemorates the 150th year of these traditional matches played against our southern suburbs rivals from just up the road. The importance of this significant anniversary certainly added gravitas to proceedings on the day, as we witnessed a humdinger of a game at 1st XV level … the final result hung in the balance until the final whistle, with, in particular, a thrilling second half that played out for well over forty minutes in the end. All in all, this absorbing game became a most fitting tribute to former Bishops 1st XV coach Andre Jacobs whose recent passing was remembered before the kick-off with a minute’s silence. Final score 14 - 10.

Fencing

Kieran Hollis and Joshua Diggle attended the Limpopo Open last weekend. The competition was well attended and both fencers made it through the poules of U17 foil. Kieran made it to the quarter-finals, but Joshua won gold in U17 foil. The final score was 14-6. U20 foil was tough - Kieran was knocked out in the poules, but Joshua made it to the semi-finals. A sterling performance from both fencers.

Squash

Congratulations to James Morkel who has been appointed Captain, and Nic Macdonald who has been appointed Vice Captain of Squash for 2023.

Annually, Bishops Squash participates in the Top Schools tournament. In order to qualify for the tournament, a school must win the local division. In the knock out round, Bishops beat Wynberg 4 - 1 in games and then beat SACS in the semi final, 4 - 1 in games. We then met Rondebosch in the final, but narrowly lost 3 -2. Well done to the first X who particpated. (James Morkel, Nicholas Basson, Nicholas Macdonald, Tristan Swanich and Dylan Van Coeverden de Groot).

Congratulations to Nic Macdonald, Nicholas Basson, Rohan Rossouw, Trsitan Swanich and Kiyan Govender who have been selected to be part of the Western Province squash squads for 2023. We wish them well in the preparation for the upcoming IPTs.

Congratulations to all those that have participated over the past few days in the Squash Western Province Closed Tournament. A pleasing set of results.

U14: Kiyan Govender (3), 
U16: Tristan Swanich (2), Rohan Rossouw (10)
U19: Nicholas Basson (6), Nicholas Macdonald (7)

Golf

The 1st Golf team had a great start to their season with 2 wins from 2 games.
They had a solid win over Bosch yesterday 4 -2 at Royal Cape Golf Club. Well done to our golfers!

Blue Pages

Our next edition of the Blue Pages Advertising magazine is currently in production. Please contact bluepages@bishops.org.za to book an ad.