Dear Parents and Guardians

With exams fast approaching, a winter season in full swing and Eisteddfod prelims under way, the busyness of Bishops is being experienced by boys, parents and staff! I am often amazed at how our boys cope with this but stand by my assertion that busy boys are often successful boys who have learned how to manage themselves well. I know the upcoming exams may be a cause for anxiety with some boys and with some parents as well and wish you all well for the coming few weeks.

School Uniform

The School Shop runs the second-hand uniform program at the College. They are appealing for all saleable used uniform that is no longer required to be delivered to them. This is done as a donation – i.e. the shop does not reimburse College parents for second hand items donated. The revenue from second-hand items sold from the shop form part of the monthly payments and the annual profit the Shop remits to the school - this is in turn credited into the bursary and scholarship fund administered by the school. Please support the Shop so that they can build up adequate stocks of second-hand clothing and, in turn, support our bursary programme.

Diversity, Equity and Belonging

Our Grade 8 boys had a series of workshops, facilitated by outside experts, talking about difference, sameness, equity and bias. Initial feedback is that these workshops went well and are worth repeating. It is our intention to keep working with boys as we discuss issues and behaviours that can either build others or break them. I attended the opening of the Hamilton Mvelase Room in White House on Thursday at which this young man was remembered through the naming of a room in his honour, created for Grade 12s to relax and gather as a group. At this event, attended by Hamilton’s family and a number of staff and guests, Dr Paul Murray delivered a short address on Hamilton’s life at Bishops and the impact he had on others.

Hamilton was in Grade 11, White House in 1988, and was walking home one day with a friend when his friend was inexplicably attacked. Hamilton went to his aid and was stabbed, later to pass away as a result of his injuries. This tragedy affected not only his family but White House in particular, along with the entire Bishops community.

A bursary fund was set up in his honour and continues to support a young man attending Bishops and this week we were able to acknowledge his memory in the House in which he lived. My thanks to all who made this special moment possible and to Mr Jean Nolte, White House HD, for his initiative in driving the project. Long may the memory of this young man live on at Bishops in the Hamilton Mvelase Room.

General

Our Admissions process to fill Grade 8 in 2023 is almost completed. I am pleased with the number of applicants which is higher than last year and selection of successful applicants has been difficult. I am also pleased to report an increase in boarding applicants which bodes well for the future. Acceptance letters will be sent out at the start of next week.

We held a wonderful mid-term Eucharist last week at which Revd. Courtney Sampson shared a special message with the boys. This was a moment of celebration of the essence of our school and a confirmation of our Anglican traditions.

The Council held a strategy session last week during which we unpacked the uniqueness of Bishops and reaffirmed what was core to our existence. This was a valuable exercise, attended by Council and Executive members and my thanks go again to members of Council for their contribution to our school.

Final thoughts

At my final assembly before the exams start for Grades 8 – 11, I shared a thought with them about how important it is to do whatever we do with all our efforts and enthusiasm. I have added the message below for your benefit.

This week will be our first winter sports derby in almost two years and I wrote to parents about this earlier this week. I wish all our boys well for the fixture and encourage parents to come along to support their sons and the school. We are not streaming matches this week as spectators are allowed but are looking at the question of streaming for the future. We will keep you informed on our final decision.

All the best for the next two weeks.

Kind regards

Antony Reeler
Principal

450 lessons

In your five years at the College you will sit in this Chapel roughly three times per week for 30 weeks. In addition, there will be special occasions that fall outside these times such as prizegivings and special assemblies. In five years you will have this experience almost 450 times!

At each of these moments, there is usually a brief address from the Chaplain, Principal, member of staff or guest and that person will share a story with you or a thought that inspires or motivates or gets you to think for a brief while. 450 moments of possible inspiration!

You will not remember each moment and each message and we certainly don’t expect you to, but there will be times when a message resonates with you and sticks in your head. It may be because the speaker themselves delivered the message so well, or it may be because it just made sense. But most will be forgotten and while you may remember being in Chapel often, you may not remember the message.

I urge you to listen intently to the messages in this space and take from them what is important to you. Write something down if you have to, but this time is special and people prepare well for what they want to share. Over these 450 occasions you will find something: perhaps just one thing that changes your thinking or gets you to move in a different direction. But you will find something.

My message to you today talks to this in the form of a life lesson my teenage son taught me.

He was in my previous school (Grade 9 or 10) – I was his Headmaster. Friday assemblies were grand affairs, taking 45 minutes every Friday and filled with music and the all-important Headmaster’s address. I was on fire that particular Friday and delivered what I thought was a great message. I went home after school and casually enquired of my son how his day had been. And what he thought of my assembly… His face lit up and he said that I was great, really good. And then I asked him what I said. He said to me that he had no idea but I was great anyway!

This lesson taught me two things. Firstly, it was a lesson in humility. But the second was that it didn’t really matter as much what we did but how we did it. My words were important but not as important perhaps as the energy and passion I showed in sharing them. I have tried to remember that in public speaking but also in how I try to do things, giving all of myself.

So, there is one of the 450 lessons from this space – in all you do, do it with all of you!

Public Speaking Awards

The following boys need to be congratulated on achieving Full Colours as well as a Distinction Tie for Public Speaking:

Ben Anderson
Erik Todd
Nimba Mahlati
Michael Beaumont

All four boys were selected and represented South Africa at the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships this year. Michael Beaumont made the finals for Persuasive Speech, Nimba Mahlati was named the world champion of the ESL Section, Erik Todd made the grand final for Persuasive Speech, being ranked 3rd. Erik was also ranked twenty first overall in the competition. Finally, Ben Anderson made the debating category finals and was ranked 29th globally.

Hockey

These are the 4 Bishops boys selected to represent the Western Province Boys Hockey U18A side at the South African Nationals to be held in June.

They are from left to right: Sebastian Le Grange, Brett Horn, James Flint and Daniel Neuhoff.

U16 WP Teams

Mu’aath Ganief
James Grieve
Andrew Raubenheimer
Robert Veldtman

U18 WP Teams

James Flint
Brett Horn
Sebastian Le Grange
Daniel Neuhoff

As a part of their World Cup preparation, the South African women's hockey team will take on our Bishops 1st XI hockey boys.
Join us on 2nd June at 17h00 at the Woodlands to watch this fun encounter!

Rugby

Well done to the following boys who have been selected to take part in the Craven Week. We wish you all the best of luck.

Shaywan Blankenberg
Adam de Waal
Ronan Dutton
Rupert Holmes
Gilermo Mentoe
Haashim Pead
Fiekie Petersen
Bruce Sherwood
Nicholas Steinhagen

Touch Rugby

Four of our Bishops Grade 9 boys achieved their Western Province colours for Junior Touch rugby. They were selected and played in the 2022 South African Nationals Junior Touch Rugby tournament held in KZN in March this year. WP did very well, coming second to the home team Sharks overall.

The boys who were awarded WP colours are:
Conor Day
Andoni Augoustatos
Cayden Mushonga
Rowan Piorkowski

Two of our boys went on to be selected to train with an elite South African U18 World Cup Nationals squad.  During the course of the year, there will be another round of selection to represent South Africa in The World Cup Touch Rugby Tournament to be held in Manchester UK in 2023.

The boys selected for Touch Rugby World Cup squad:
Conor Day
Cayden Mushonga

International Ice Hockey

Well done to Oliver Beek for his outstanding achievements in Ice Hockey!

He plays for the South African U18, and U20 Ice-Hockey team and is the assistant-captain in the U18 team.

The U18 team played in the Division III world championship in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Oliver was ranked 5th in the tournament overall with 7 points. He scored one goal every game, a total of four goals. He was 'Most Valuable Player' in his first international game against Bosnia. The U20 team is preparing for the next world championship in Mexico, in July 2022, which he will participate in.

Locally, he has played for the 'Storms' senior men's team, as well as U18 and U20 Western Province team. The Inter-provincial tournament will take place from the 2nd to the 8th of July, during school holidays. Well done Oliver, keep it up!

Cableway Charity Challenge

Congratulations to Chris Hale, who won the Cableway Charity Challenge with 48 summits in 9 days! He has raised a staggering amount of money and that continues to climb! We are so proud of what Chris has achieved.

Engineers In The Making

How does one inspire the next generation of engineers?

Apart from our focus on robotics where our members solder, construct and program primo robots, we also grabbed the opportunity to collaborate with the engineering institute SAICE and build some bridges.

Some of our members have dedicated their time over the past weekend to participate in the SAICE Bridge Building Competition at Zutari (Canal Walk, Milnerton) and they performed very well. Congratulations to our amateur bridge builders: Devon Marshall, Nicholas Basson, Noah Macnab, Grant Weich, Graham Seaward, Kieran Hollis, David Lewis, Veer Daya, and Jack Buckham.

Chess

Bishops A Chess Team won promotion to the A League following a run of five victories in the Cape Peninsula Chess League. Congratulations to Rishay Thakersee, Oliver Hufton, Michael Kruse, Akshay Thakersee and Jeremy Liddle. Rishay Thakersee is the Captain of Chess for 2022.

We are hosting our first full derby fixture with spectators this coming weekend that celebrates schoolboy sport in all its glory between two fine schools. Good luck!

We ask that spectators respect the occasion by presenting our school and the event in the best possible light, showing how we welcome our opponents and respecting the officials, players and visitors.

Please click on the links below to view the programmes for the sport this weekend at Bishops. QR codes will also be available to scan at the venues.

Rugby Programme

Hockey Programme

Soccer Programme

OD Rowers

Grads of 2017, 2018 and 2019 doing Bishops Rowing proud at the Eastern Sprints in America!
Steph Pienaar (Princeton) Kalu Jay Varney (Harvard) and Nic Mcadam (Princeton)

Wishing you all continued success!

Community Events

Bish Bosh Is Back!

Bishops ODs and Bishops Rugby Supporters' Club have invited Rondebosch Old Boys and members of The Bosch Rugby Supporters' Club to join them for a U23 and U30 Bish Bosch to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Rondebosch School.  The games will be followed by an after-party at The Mitre.  Spaces are limited so save the date to avoid disappointment.

Bishops Community:https://lnkd.in/drnfzDAX

Bishops Rugby Supporters:https://lnkd.in/d3wKqCn6

ODs Bishops:https://lnkd.in/d-YAz9DJ

Community Events at The Mitre