Dear Parents and Guardians

We are halfway through the first term and what a busy term it has been! I have been delighted with how the new boys have fitted in to Bishops and received many positive comments from parents in this regard. Again, I urge that parents help their sons with time management and planning. I promise that the busyness settles down and that once good routines have been established the boys flourish.

175 Trilingual Public Speaking

It was a pleasure to host this event as part of our 175 celebrations. Seeing a full audience of young people speaking passionately on using lessons from the past to inform behaviour in the future (the general theme of the competition) was inspiring and uplifting. This is, we believe, the first time that a trilingual language competition has been held and we are proud to be a part of an event that celebrated the three main languages of the Western Cape.

Our thanks to Sygnia for sponsoring the event and for their support and to Mrs Schultz-Mofokeng who organized the whole day, with help from staff colleagues and our wonderful PR boys in Grade 11. A very successful day indeed!

Matric results

It was with pride that we received the news that we have been recognized as the top music school in the Western Cape, following the recent matric examinations. This is a wonderful effort from our boys and their teachers and I commend our musicians on their achievement.

School events

Last year, we experienced challenges with school attendance, particularly towards the ends of terms when boys were taken out of school for extended holidays or stayed at home, saying that there was nothing going on at school! We have a full programme of activities, mostly academic but also special events such as Eisteddfod at the end of the second term, that are vital parts of the all-round experience that makes Bishops special. Even if boys are not competing in the Eisteddfod for example, they have an opportunity to watch so many varied performances and to grow as a person through this unique experience. We do expect our boys to be present at all these events and ask parents for their support of the school and all we try to do, making sure their son(s), attend school until the final, official school day.

We will be tightening up on attendance at these times, but it is far more preferable that boys attend because they want to, realizing the importance of the event in the bigger picture that is Bishops, not only to support the school but also for their own personal growth. Please make it clear to your son(s) that school activities continue until the end of term.

Projects

I can report that the new learning commons project is still on track for its opening on 19 July 2024 and that building is progressing well and on budget. It is hard to believe that we are almost there in terms of this special project and that our boys and staff will, very shortly, be able to experience the new facility as part of their Bishops experience. The end will definitely be worth the pain!

We will be embarking on a long-awaited project of building a rowing training facility that will be constructed to allow for land-based training to take place in a simulated environment. This project has been the dream of many rowing committees at Bishops who have made an enormous effort to raise the funds needed for the project and we are delighted that plans have been approved and financing secured for it to start once the summer sports programme is completed.

We will be continuing the security upgrade of our perimeter fence by embarking upon phase 2 of the project, replacing the fence along Sandown Road.

We have adopted a cautious approach to further load shedding plans as the ones currently in place seem to be working well. We have had teething problems with certain areas and have worked hard to resolve these. Coupled with power provision has been, in some cases, issues of water pressure and plans have also been made to rectify the situation.

Upcoming events

Parents are urged to check the school calendar for events, but highlights will be the upcoming Quadrangular, a four-school athletics event, hosted by Bishops as part of the 175 celebrations, to be held at Lutgensvale on Wednesday 28 February. The day afterwards, I will be travelling to Gauteng to watch our boys in action at the SA Rowing Championships as well as the three Water Polo festivals that will be taking place.

Our annual Founders’ Day will take place on Friday 8 March, starting with a whole school assembly at which our Grade N to 12 boys and staff will gather to celebrate our heritage and history, while looking forward to the future. This assembly is followed by a number of activities, including the traditional sports matches against our alumni from the OD Union.

175

The two projects that are running quietly in the background are the stained glass project and the 175 wines. You are encouraged to support these by clicking on the relevant pages on the 175 tab on our website. We have already raised enough to cover the cost of one of the three windows and are looking to parents and benefactors to contribute towards the windows by please donating on the webpage. It will be a special moment indeed when we are able to unveil the three windows, completing all the windows in the Brooke Chapel, while also consecrating the building as a place of religious significance in the Anglican Church.

Final thoughts

The President has announced the day of 29 May as the day of the general election. I urge parents and those pupils who are eligible, to register and to vote in these elections as part of our responsibility as citizens in a democracy. If your son is old enough to vote, it is important that he understands the significance of the moment in his life journey.

I wish you well for the upcoming weeks and thank you again for your support of your son and the school.

I have attached, as usual, this week’s assembly which dealt with focusing on why organisations do what they do being of greater significance that what they actually do. I hope you enjoy the read!

Kind regards

Antony Reeler
Principal

What, How, Why

Some years ago I came across the work of a leadership expert called Simon Sinek whose work I found fascinating. His comments and thoughts can be found on various websites and he has given a number of interviews and Ted talks, but one of his talks inspired me in particular.

Sinek spoke of organisations and what makes them successful and he shares a three-circle model – a small circle inside a medium circle inside a larger circle. The larger circle represents the “What”, the medium circle the “How” and the smaller and innermost circle the “Why”.

Many organisations communicate and think from the outside in – they know what they are, they largely know how they do what they do but are not too sure and cannot clearly articulate why they do what they do. He used the example of Apple – bear in mind that this was presented many years ago – and talked of their success and what made them different from other companies.

If Apple was an ordinary company, they would communicate from the outside in – “we are a computer company that makes great computers” (the what). “They are easy to use” (the how). “Do you want to buy one?” But, according to Sinek, Apple have always communicated differently. The have started with the innermost circle – the “why”. They communicate like this. “We believe in thinking differently and challenging the status quo (why). We make our products simple, easy to use and beautiful (how). We happen to make computers – want to buy one?” (what)

Successful organisations know why they do what they do. They have a purpose, a belief, a set of values that drives everything they do. Sinek says that people don’t buy “what” you do, they buy “why” you do it.

Let us take this to Bishops. We are a school (the “what”). We have great teachers and wonderful material to work with in our boys (the “how”). And we think we do this well (perhaps the “why”). But many schools have this – they know who they are and have great staff and boys. So what makes us different?

What if we started from the inside – from our purpose, what if this was our “why”?

We believe in people and their individual worth. We believe in caring deeply for those in our school that they are known and loved through our pastoral programme. We believe in doing things for the right reasons, based on good personal and educational values. We believe that teenage boys can make mistakes in a safe space and learn from those mistakes. We believe the purpose of discipline is not to punish but to change behaviour. We believe in developing critical thinking skills. We believe in stretching our boys thinking so they can exceed their own expectations. We believe our spiritual growth is as important as our physical and must be a cornerstone of our school. We believe in the all-round development of our boys, giving them multiple opportunities to grow academically but also in sport, music, drama, culture. This is what makes us different from other schools. (why)

We employ people that will carry these beliefs forward and live them out in their work. We encourage boys to accept the challenges that come with having high expectations and to strive for excellence in all they do. We speak often of our values and how our activities must always align with our values. We hold regular chapel services as part of our daily lives. We recognise and celebrate achievement equally in all activities, holding events such as Eisteddfod where we stop school for over a week to celebrate the arts. We resource and build our house system to give our boys identity and belonging. (how)

And, by the way, we think we are a great school – want to come here or work here? (what)

We need to start with our beliefs and our purpose. We need a clear, articulate vision as to why we exist. I have come up with some ideas as to our “why”. Perhaps you have more – I would love to hear what you think.

Think about your purpose, your “why” and what you believe in and use that to determine who you are – not the other way round.

“He who has a “why” to live for can bear almost any “how”.”

― Friedrich Nietzsche

Music Certificates

The following boys achieved a distinction (a mark above 87%) for their Trinity College Music exams. Congratulations to Julian Pilkington - Grade 6 vocals for Rock and Pop; and to Justin Pillay - Grade 8 Percussion.

Accelerated Art - Award

The following boys need to be congratulated on achieving the Accelerated Art Programme Tie:

Grant Weich (11)
Naethan Mol (10)
Michael Whitelaw (10)
Oliver Howie (10)
Julian Boeddinghaus (10)
Morris Hochstenbach (10)
Samuel Crookes (10)
Oliver Briggs (10)

African Relations Society

The African Relations Society tie was awarded to: Matthew Kriel (for loyalty and dedication to our society)

Art Colours

The following boys are congratulated on achieving Colours in Art:

Full Colours

Michael Lawson
Grant Weich
Edward Cruise

Half Colours

Thomas De Waal
Andrew Raubenheimer 
David Lewis
Connor Fletcher
John van der Watt

Water Polo

A distinction tie is awarded to Jordan De Sousa who was selected for the South Africa U18 Water Polo team after the IPT in Gqeberha in December 2023.

The Cape Town U18A Team; Jordan De Sousa, Ross Stewart, Thomas Truter, and Non-travelling reserve- Bryn Parry
Cape Town U16 Team; James Malan, Matthew Fenn, Michael Mafunda, Timothy Young.

Cricket Awards

The following boys receive a signature bat for scoring a century:

Kashief Joseph 104* (55) for the 1st X1 against Rondebosch Cricket Club
Adnaan Lagadien 112* (57) for the 1st X1 against Rondebosch
Ibraheem Taliep 174* (110) the U14A team against Wynberg Boys
Raa’id Arendse 127 (111) for the 2nd X1 against Pearson
Imraan Leith 117 (76) for the U15A team against Pearson
Luke Hofmeyr 101* (73) for the 3rd X1 against SACS

The following boys receive a mounted cricket ball for taking 5 wickets or more in a match:

Ben Koenig 6-29 for the 2nd X1 against Paarl Gim
Joze Louw 5-22 for the U14A team against Paarl Gim
Waco Bassick 5-26 for the 1st X1 against Grey High
Luke Furter 5-22 for the U115B team against Wynberg Boys
Yakhani Siwundla 5-4 for the U14A team against Paarl Boys

WP Ladder: Squash Invitational Closed Tournament

Congratulations to the players who participated in the closed tournament at WPCC to determine their rankings for SA Youth Squash.

This is a positive start to the year.

U19A:
Tristan Swanich (3rd)
Nicholas Basson (4th)
Alexander Savva (8th)

U19B:
Rohan Rossouw (4th)

U16:
Kiyan Govender (3rd)

U14:
Ismaeel Darsot (4th)

Squash Tour

The Squash XI had their first domestic tour since 2019. They made their way to St. Andrews, Bloemfontein and participated in their annual festival. 20 Schools were invited across the country and it was an absolute pleasure to be part of the 30th consecutive festival that they have hosted. We played 5 matches. The results as follows:

• Westville (lost 5 – 1)  
• Queen’s College (3 – 3, but win overall in games (12 – 11))
• St Andrew’s B (3 – 3, but win overall in games (11 – 10))
• Selborne College (lost 6 – 0)
• Parktown Boys’ High (won 6 – 0)

Well done to the team and thank you to Mr. Mogodi for accompanying them.

Interhouse Gala Results

A very big thank you to everyone who made this year's interhouse gala possible. A special thank you to all the timekeepers, Mr. Wallace and Mr. Reeler for their support and to Mr. Shaun Abrahams from Maintenance who prepared the pool and set up. 

The results are as follows: 
U/14 overall winner:  Birt House
U/16 overall winner:  Kidd House 
U/19 overall winner:  Ogilvie House
Fastman: White House

Final house placements: 
8. Mallett
7. Founders
6. Gray
5. White
4. School
3. Ogilvie
2. Kidd
1. Birt

SA Schools Swimming Championship

Luc Bestel and Rhys Haupt will be part of the team representing the Western Cape at the SA Schools Championship taking place in Gqeberha from the 19th to the 21st of April. We wish them all the best and are proud to be represented by these two excellent swimmers.

Fencing

Joshua Diggle (O) has been selected for the South African team in cadet foil for the All Africa Fencing Championships in Egypt from the 1st to the 7th of March 2024. We wish him the very best for the competition.

Bronze Medal in WP District Chess Trials

Congratulations to Max Craig on winning the Bronze Medal in the recent WP District Chess Trials. As a result of his excellent performance, Max has been awarded his WP District Colours. Very well-done Max.

136th Buffalo Regatta

The Buffalo Regatta was a success for the Bishops Rowing Club.

Bishops crewed the most U16 and Open boats of any club at the competition and left an undeniable mark on the community.

Notable results were as follows:

The U16s achieved 3rd place in the Coxless Four and 4th place in the Coxed Four.
In the open category, the first eight placed 7th overall winning the B Final and 6th place in the Coxed Four.
The 2nd 8 placed 1st in the Coxless Four.

Congratulations to the club!

Physical Education (PE) at Bishops Diocesan College

Physical Education classes at Bishops are designed to promote the physical development of students in grades 8 and 9. These lessons are held once every two weeks and are overseen by SPW Strength & Conditioning (S&C) Coaches. The focus of these sessions is on teaching fundamental movement skills and exercise techniques, with the aim of preventing injuries, improving training effectiveness, and enhancing sporting performance. Additionally, by introducing gym activities at an early age, students may develop a lifelong interest in maintaining physical health.

Who attends PE Lessons?

• Gr 8 and 9 learners.

How often do learners attend PE?

• Once every two weeks.

What takes place in PE?

• Physical Literacy: Learners are taught fundamental movement skills (Squat, Hip Hinge, Lunge, Jump, etc.) and exercise techniques (Goblet + Back Squat, Bulgarian Split Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press, etc.). This information is reaffirmed and expanded on during their sport science theory classes which take place during their scheduled LO lessons.
• Resistance Training Program Implementation: Learners perform exercise programs, that comprise of the previously taught exercises & movement skills, under the supervision of the SPW S&C coaches.
• Conditioning Games: Learners participate in activities, such as ultimate frisbee, link tag, netball, etc., that foster aspects of physical fitness, teamwork, coordination, reaction time, etc.

What are the benefits of exposing these learners to the gym as early as Gr 8?

are the benefits of exposing these learners to the gym as early as Gr 8?

• Reduce likelihood of them injuring themselves both in the gym and on the field/court.
• Help them train more effectively.
• Encourages them to take an interest in their own physical health.
• Increases their likelihood of engaging in resistance training at a younger age.
• Improves sporting performance.
• Prepares them for senior sport, during which a certain proficiency in the gym is expected.

Will introducing weighted exercises to young learners hinder their growth?

• Introducing weighted exercises to young learners can be both safe and beneficial, provided that it is done under appropriate guidance and supervision. At the Bishops gym, the SPW coaches prioritize teaching correct techniques in a supervised environment to minimize the risk of injury. During PE classes, we carefully monitor each participant's form and execution, stressing the significance of proper technique. By instilling these principles from an early age, we enhance their physical capabilities and encourage a culture of safety when these boys train independently and with their sports teams.