Dear Parents and Guardians

A warm welcome to you all at the start of the year. I would like to welcome especially those parents who are new to Bishops and hope that you enjoy being part of the Bishops community and that your son thrives in his new school.

Our term has started well with our Grade 8 Orientation before term started and then with our traditional Eucharist to mark the beginning of the new year. I have been pleased with how the first week’s programme has run and thank all those who have been involved in setting up our start of the year.

We welcomed two new staff members to the College, our Deputy Principal Mr Trevor van Niekerk and our Admissions Officer Ms Dawn Hutton. Both have settled in well and we look forward to their contribution to our school in the future. We also welcomed a number of new interns and stooges to the College and boarding houses.

I urge parents to make sure they look at the school calendar and the 175 calendar in particular, both of which appear on our website, to ensure they are aware of events that are being planned for this special year.

Academic

Our NSC results were released last Friday and separate communication was sent to all parents in this regard. I am very pleased with the performance of the Class of ’23 who obtained some excellent results. Particularly pleasing was the increase in Bachelor rate which is always a good indication of the quality of the results. We commend all those who did so well and wish them the very best as they pursue the next chapter of their lives.

Our AS results were also released and, again, I am very pleased with the results and commend those who are part of the first cohort of A Levels on their efforts.

Our annual academic prize giving will be held as usual in the assembly slot on Friday 2 February where we can acknowledge the achievements of the Grade 8 – 11 boys from 2023.  The prize giving will start at 08:00 sharp in the Memorial Chapel and should be finished by 09:00 after which there will be light refreshments on the Chapel lawns. Boys will be back in class by 9:30. A list of boys who are winning prizes will be emailed to the boys concerned by Wednesday, 31 January. Parents of prize winners are invited to attend should they wish to do so.

Sport

Our year started well with the hosting of the 175 Peninsula Cricket Festival at which 10 teams, both u15 and 1st XI, played matches over five days. The festival was a great success and my thanks go to all those who made it possible and who supported the teams. My compliments to the 1st XI for their exceptional results, winning a full house of five games and to the U15As for the courage and determination they showed in successfully defending low totals three times!

 As the first event of the 175 year, this was a very special moment indeed.

Assembly

At the opening school assembly of the year, I addressed the boys on using reflection as a means of learning and shared with them part of my personal experience using reflective practice. I have attached the assembly for your interest and possible use at home! You will see what I mean when you read the text.

This week’s assembly will be taken by Mr van Niekerk as he introduces himself to the boys and shares some of his thinking with them.

175

Our special year began with a strong emphasis on the significance of the year as a celebration of this milestone. We have been deliberate in our thinking and planning, trying to be outward looking as we celebrate our being part of the Cape Town and South African community.

Apart from the festival, we launched the stained-glass window project which has enjoyed great support thus far. We will send out a reminder under separate communication shortly to encourage those who wish, to donate to the project.

Please do look at the calendar of events to see what we have planned for the year.

Closing thoughts

I read an article recently that gave me much food for thought and I share a quote from that article for your interest. In his piece by Adam Grant comparing empathy with compassion titled  “There’s a Reason You Feel Overwhelmed and Immobilized” that appeared in the New York Times earlier this year, Grant said “The most basic form of compassion is not assuaging distress but acknowledging it. When we can’t make people feel better, we can still make a difference by making them feel seen.”

I wish you all well for the term and for the year ahead. May your son enjoy his time at school this year, may he be actively involved in all we offer and may he grow as a young man on his journey to adulthood.

Kind regards

Antony Reeler
Principal

Assembly message: What did you learn today?

One of the most commonly asked questions to school-going children by parents is “How was your day?” I am sure you have lost count of how many times you have been asked this as you were picked up from school or fetched from the boarding house for the weekend. It is a combination of concern on the part of the person fetching you, a hopeful conversation starter or a genuine interest in how a person is feeling.

The response usually doesn’t generate what the person asking the question is looking for. Most responses are along the line of “fine” or “ok” – noncommittal, neutral answers that discourage further conversation. Seldom does this question elicit the response it is looking for. Seldom is there a deeper engagement that takes place.

Some years ago, my son started something in our family that has had a significant impact on our conversations. We were sitting down to an evening meal, the four of us, and he asked me “Dad, what did you learn today?”

This was a different question now from “How as your day?” This question forced me to stop, to think and then to respond with something that had happened to me that I learned from. It could have been a new thought from an inspiring passage in a book, it could have been a new skill like a special move in my golf swing that I believed was going to solve all my problems. It could have been that I learned not to trust someone. It could have been a way of motivating a boy or staff member to perform better. It could have been a better understanding of the situation in a particular country that was in the news or an election that was coming up. Either way, whatever it was, the question caused me to reflect and created conversation.

And so, the question was asked of each family member, at most meals, particularly when conversation was low. And every time, the response created deep and meaningful further conversation and discussion. 

The asking of the question became a bit of a joke at times, but every time we tried to answer it honestly despite the initial eye-roll!

As this was my son’s “thing” and he no longer lives with us, it doesn’t happen as often at the supper table, but I still do it most days. When my day is over, just as I am preparing to go home or even when I climb into bed at night, I try to remember to ask myself what I learned that day. Just to spend a minute or two reflecting on my day and what it was that I wanted to remember from the experience of the past 16 hours or so.

One of the world’s greatest cricketers, Sir Richard Hadlee, used to do a similar thing. Every time he practiced, before he took off his boots, he would force himself to ask the question about his skill development – “what did I learn at this net session or what did I learn from the day’s play?” He reckoned that if he practiced or played five days a week, for 30 weeks of the year, that was 150 new things he was learning every year.

In the same way, if you ask yourself every day what it is that you learned today, you take one thing with you per day, 365 things per year, 1825 things in your College career. That’s a lot of things to learn and that can help you!

Self-reflection is a wonderful tool for personal growth.

American preacher TD Jakes said this:

“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always be where you’ve always been.”

I wish you well on your journey of self-discovery, self-improvement, honest reflection and growth.

So – what did YOU learn today?

Academic Awards and House Trophies November 2023

Grade 9:
Academic Tie

Grade 10
Academic Tie

Academic Jersey

Grade 11:
Academic Tie

Academic Jersey

House Trophies November 2023

Most Improved Grade/House: School Grade 8
Best House/Grade: Birt Grade 8
Winning House Academic 2023: Ogilvie

African Relations Society Tie

African Relations Tie is awarded to Jonty Bresler for service and loyalty to the society.

Art Colours

Congratulations to these boys on their art colours:

Full Colours:
Michael Lawson
Grant Weich
Edward Cruise

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

Cricket

The following awards were made to 1st XI cricketers for outstanding individual performances during the Peninsula Cricket Festival: Bowling awards to (a) Peyton Leigh for 7/45, including a hat-trick, against Hilton and (b) Tiaan Louw for 5/7 against Pretoria Boys. Opening batsman, Adnaan Lagadien, receives a mini-bat in recognition of his record-breaking 218* off 173 balls against Hillton. Adnaan batted for 260 minutes (over four hours at the crease) and hit 17 x 4s and 12 x 6s. Adnaan's 218* eclipsed the 217* scored by 1st XI opening batsman, Haldane Murray, v SACS on the Frank Reid in 1989 and, is to the best of our knowledge, the highest individual score ever registered by a Bishops' cricketer. A quite outstanding achievement.

1st XI captain, Kashief Joseph, enjoyed a particularly fruitful holiday with regards his performances on cricket fields at various locations around the country. He travelled to Makhanda in the week before Christmas as a member of the WP u19A cricket team and returned a man-of-the-match performance of 72 v Free State. His performances with the bat in the Eastern Cape earned him a call-up to the Southern Superstars team that competed in the annual CSA Cubs Weeks in Stellenbosch during the first week of January. He duly repaid the selectors' faith with a knock of 143 v the Coastal Conquerors from KZN. Kashief, in recognition of his u19 provincial selection, is duly awarded Colours for cricket.

The annual Bish-Bosch 1st XI day-night T20 was, despite the threat of load-shedding, staged - without interruption - before an enthusiastic crowd of thousands - on the Frank Reid on the afternoon and evening of Wednesday, 24 January.
Rondebosch won the toss and opted to bat. Bishops, in Peyton Leigh's 50th game for the 1st XI, did well to restrict Rondebosch to 146/5 in its allotted 20 overs. The game, thereafter, was dominated by Bishops' opening batsman, Adnaan Lagadien, who struck a brutal - and undefeated - 112 off just 57 balls [4 x 4s and 12 x 6s] {at an astonishing strike-rate of 196} as Bishops cantered home by seven wickets with 26 balls to spare to record its first win in the Bish-Bosch fixture since 2019.

The 15A and 1st XI cricket sides participated in the Bishops-hosted Peninsula Cricket Festival from 09.01.24 to 13.01.24. The 15As gave a good account of themselves with losses to Hilton and Affies being offset by hard-fought wins against St David's, Waterkloof and Pretoria Boys. The 1st XI enjoyed an outstanding week on the Frank Reid with wins against Hilton (185 runs); St David's (208 runs); Affies (six wickets); Waterkloof (seven wickets) and Pretoria Boys (117 runs) seeing the team record a five-from-five win ratio (the only one of the competing 20 x teams to do so during the festival).

175 Peninsula Cricket Festival - Day 3 results

A summary of results for Day Three (50-overs-a-side matches):

U19 matches:
 
Bishops v Affies
 
Affies 146 all out
Bishops 148/4 [Lagadien 60]
Bishops won by 6 wickets.
 
Rondebosch v Pretoria Boys’
 
Rondebosch 223 all out [Neill 65; Ball 51]
Pretoria Boys’ 89 all out
Rondebosch won by 134 runs.
 
Wynberg v Hilton
 
Hilton 133 all out [Burman 55]
Wynberg 138/2 [Hansen 61*]
Wynberg won by 8 wickets.
 
SACS v Waterkloof
 
Waterkloof 270/9 [Cronje 52]
SACS 178 all out [Salie 57]
Waterkloof won by 92 runs.
 
St Charles v St David’s
 
St Charles 277/6 [Wellman 120; Honiball 52]
St David’s 281/5 [Manack 87; West 54]
St David’s won by 5 wickets.
 
U15 matches:
 
Bishops v Affies
 
Affies 241/8 [Labuschagne 74; Barnard 51]
Bishops 86 all out
Affies won by 155 runs.
 
Rondebosch v Pretoria Boys’
 
Rondebosch 312/4 [Brooks 71; Fourie 64; Limbada 52]
Pretoria Boys’ 89 all out
Rondebosch won by 223 runs.
 
Wynberg v Hilton
 
Hilton 232 all out
Wynberg 200 all out [Smith 87]
Hilton won by 32 runs.
 
SACS v Waterkloof
 
Waterkloof 117 all out
SACS 118/5 [Waggie 56]
SACS won by 5 wickets.
 
St Charles v St David’s
 
St David’s 89 all out
St Charles 90/5
St Charles won by 5 wickets.

Water Polo

Our 1st water polo team has had an incredible start to their season. They beat SACS in the 1st SACS night series game, 11 – 5, the same game Thomas Truter earned his 100th cap.
The team is currently on a tour at the St Andrew’s water polo tournament, where they had a successful first day, with two close wins against St Stithians 10-8, and against SACS 11-10 in very exciting games.

Climbing Captain for 2024

Swimming

Luc Bestel (9 K) does swimmingly at the WC Championship Swimming Gala

During the holidays, Luc participated in the Western Cape Championship Swimming Gala. He has improved on his times, made finals for his events and medalled in the 200m backstroke, as well as the team relays. Well done, Luc!

Cheer Leaders

Congratulations to our new Head Cheer Leader, Sihle Dyosi. We look forward to your team supporting our boys on the field.

Kilimanjaro

Our 2024 trip to Kilimanjaro is going ahead, and the tour leaders are close to booking tickets. Please contact Phil Court (pcourt@bishops.org.za) if you would like to join this trip.

Andrew Betty Selected for Yale Young Global Scholars Programme

Yale Young Global Scholars (YYGS) is an academic enrichment program for outstanding high school students from around the world. Each summer, students from over 150 countries (including all 50 U.S. states) participate in one interdisciplinary, two-week session at Yale’s historic campus.

After a rigorous application process and going up against tough competition from around the world, Andrew Betty (Grade 12 Birt), has been selected to attend the Politics, Law, & Economics Programme at Yale University during the June/July Holidays. Congratulations on this fine achievement, Andrew!

New Boy Heritage Test

The 2024 winner of the Frank Reid Shield for the New Boy Heritage Test is Ogilvie House.

Bishops Sports Performance and Wellness Programme

Bishops developed a comprehensive Sports Performance and Wellness programme (SPW) in 2020. The programme aims to achieve a holistic development of the boys by addressing their conditioning, performance, wellness, and injury management. The programme spans across all three campuses, tailoring its approach to each developmental stage: Pre-Prep, Prep, and College.
Commencing at Pre-Prep, the programme focuses on developing general gross motor skills and hand-eye coordination. This solid foundation evolves through to the Prep and then to the College with more specialised conditioning programmes at the College for the various years and sports offered at Bishops. At the College specifically, the SPW team is involved in various areas of the school day. These are:

1. Sports Performance and Wellness testing with Grades 8, 9 and 10 twice a year.
2. Sports Science Life Orientation theory and practical classes.
3. Dual athlete monitoring and management
4. Wellness monitoring and management
5. On-field and in-gym conditioning for individuals and teams
6. Sports-specific testing and data analyses
7. Injury management plan

The SPW programme demonstrates continuous growth, relentlessly seeking avenues to positively impact Bishops students' physical and performance well-being, ensuring a seamless progression from Pre-Prep to the pinnacle of their academic and athletic journey at College.
Sports Performance and Wellness video