Dear Parents and Guardians

I do hope you enjoyed the last newsletter with the many stories of activities on Mandela Day. We have spent some time as a school reviewing the exercise and this is something that we feel is well worth trying to do on an annual basis. My thanks once again to all parents who supported this most worthy initiative.

The long-awaited opening of the Ubuntu Learning Centre was a wonderful event. We were very grateful to His Grace, the Archbishop of Cape Town who blessed this new building for our use. My thanks go to Mrs van Schalkwyk who coordinated the team behind the project, our Chair of Council Mr Crispin Sonn for his support and special guest and OD, Prof Haroon Bhorat who was our guest speaker on the evening. This project, over a year in the making, will be a wonderful addition to our campus and a valuable place for teaching and learning.

The Centre has been closed again for two weeks while various snags are resolved that were caused by weather delays. There is still much work to be done on paving and the surrounds which could not be finished in time and we are hoping for full occupancy at the end of next week. We intend to hold an “open day” for parents to view the new facility – something of which we are very proud!

175 News

Apart from opening the ULC, the evening was used as an opportunity to launch the updated school history.

 As part of our 175th celebrations we commissioned the writing of a “History of Bishops, the past 25 years”. You may know that in 1999, at the 150th anniversary, a full school history was published in book format of the preceding 150 years. Our current project has been to add the next 25 years to that. For this project we have launched a website, rather than a book. The current History was written by retired Bishops Senior Vice Principal, Michael King, who was at Bishops for 25 years. He has been researching and developing this project for the best part of a year, and we are very proud to introduce his 175 Online History: 1999-2024 https://history.bishops.org.za/

This history is told as a narrative through “chapters” outlined by each of the Principals during this period. There are also specific articles delving deeply into particular areas of Bishops, from sport to culture, spirituality to technology. In addition, there are also the usual lists, which indicate all the important categories at Bishops, from staff to Head Boys and more.

We hope you enjoy this retrospective of the past 25 years and encourage you to read this new and valuable update on our school.

We held the 175 Celebration Music Concert this past week – a joint celebration of music with College and Prep. What a wonderful event this was and a joyous celebration of music and musical talent in a special space – our Chapel. It is wonderful to be able to glorify God as such and I thank all who made this possible, our staff, parents and boys in particular. Well done indeed!

Finally, the last piece of 175 news is that we will be consecrating the Brooke Chapel and unveiling and blessing the new stained glass windows in the first week of the fourth term. This service will be conducted by the Archbishop and will be held in the Brooke Chapel itself. As this is a very small venue, we are severely restricted in terms of numbers of guests so have been able to invite very few to the actual service. We will be livestreaming the service for all so encourage those who cannot be accommodated to watch online. This is a truly special project for our 175th year and if you haven’t read about the windows on our webpage, I urge you to do so to understand the significance of the imagery and the acknowledgment of three wonderful human beings.

https://college.bishops.org.za/175/175StainedGlassWindow.html

My very grateful thanks to all who donated to the project to make it possible.

IBSC 2024

The annual International Boys’ Schools Coalition conference took place this year at Harrow School in the UK. I was fortunate to be able to attend along with Mrs van Schalkwyk and Mr Chris Ekron (who presented at this conference). This was a very good conference, held at a school slightly older than our 175 years, having been founded in 1572! Guest speakers included Jazz Ampaw-Farr on Teachers as Everyday Heroes, Ben Fogle on Preparing Our Boys to Lead Lives of Exploration, Contender Charlie on Leadership Lessons from Shakespeare’s Henry V and Nigel Owens who spoke of his intensely personal journey encouraging us in promoting diversity and inclusion in boys’ schools. He spoke specifically of the pressure he faced of accepting himself for who he was as a gay man being greater than refereeing a World Cup Final! In addition, there were a number of workshops to attend and many valuable lessons learnt.

Some of my takeaways included:

• A deep sense of pride in what we offer at Bishops and the world-class experience we provide for our boys. We can stand proud alongside the best in the world.
• Teaching boys not “what” to think but rather “to think” and “how to think” when it comes to global issues that cause much debate and difference of opinion.
• That boys’ schools are places where boys are more able to show compassion and their caring side.
• Encouraging boys to be themselves and to be 10% braver in everything they do.
• Reframing the question “what do you want to be when you grow up?” to “who do you want to be when you grow up?”
• Hearing of significant steps taken globally to teach responsible use of cellphones, in many cases restricting use thereof and working with parents to help children manage devices better at home.
• Remembering that schools are for the boys and that everything we do must be in their best interests.
• Allowing students from minority groups voices in small, safe focus areas.

This was an inspiring time for me and my colleagues and we are very grateful to have had this opportunity.

One of the phrases I heard I used in my first assembly to the boys when I returned when I spoke to them about humility and I attach this assembly for your interest.

I wish you well and hope that the weather of the past few weeks has abated for now!

Kind regards

Antony Reeler
Principal

Humility

One of our five core values as a school is humility, defined in our Values Statement as follows:

Humility

Having a modest view of one’s own performance. Recognising personal ability and privilege yet not being boastful, understanding that others may not be in the same position. “Not thinking less of oneself but thinking of oneself less.”

At the recent IBSC conference, one of the keynote speakers said something that resonated with me regarding humility. Ben Fogle is a broadcaster, traveller and adventurer who has rowed the Atlantic with a partner, crossed the Antarctic on foot, run across the Sahara and climbed Everest. A self-proclaimed poor academic, Ben spoke to us about his life, how he found his own strengths, how he surrounded himself with experts when he lacked certain skills and gave us some insights into why he does what he does. But the comment he made that stood out for me was about why he climbed mountains.

“Climb the mountain so that you can see the world, not so the world can see you.”

This mountain to which he refers can be literal but can also be figurative – they can represent the challenges we face along our lives. I liked the idea of a literal mountain – where you stand on top of the world, looking out over a new perspective and gaining new insights and learnings. But the part I liked most was what he said that our reasons for doing so should not be for public acclaim but a quiet, personal satisfaction of achievement.

When we do well, when we undertake something remarkable and succeed, whether it be climbing a mountain, scoring a crucial goal, performing a difficult piece of music in public, keep humble, keep your perspective. Motivate yourself to do things, not because you want public recognition and applause but because you want to learn and grow as a person.

It is not easy in our world today, due to the bombardment of media giving us images and videos of people singing their own praises. I find that so shallow and prefer the quiet one who has tackled a task for personal reasons, who acknowledges the help of others in their journey, who does not look for glory, save the inner feeling of satisfaction at a task well done. Who supports his team in their collective quest for success.

One of my favourite quotes on success defines this as “the peace of mind that comes from knowing that we have done our best to be the best we can be.”

So keep humble in all your achievements but keep striving for personal goals and challenges you set yourself.

 “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.”

 Ernest Hemingway

Additional Academic Awards June 2024

Congratultions to the following boys on their academic awards.

Grade 9 
Academic Ties

Tristan Brunton
Brent Cowden
Aidan Edwards
Joe Edwards
Kiyan Govender
Ben Honigwachs
Jesse Morgan

Grade 11
Academic Jersey

Massi Hunt

Distinction Ties for Matric Public Speakers

As Immanuel Magongwa and Caden Chuang were away on matric study leave when their distinction ties were awarded, we wish to take this opportunity to congratulate them on representing their country at the World Individual Public Speaking and Debating Championships in Canberra, Australia and to award them their distinction ties, congratulations to both boys on this excellent achievement.

All-Rounder's Tie

Congratulations to Luke Carter, Zuhayr Sirkot and Firoz Ebrahim on achieving their All-Rounder's Tie for their achievements in the academic, sporting and service areas of the school.

Across The Alps

The 2024 Across the Alps Science Tour to Italy, Switzerland, and France during the June holidays was a whirlwind adventure! With thirty-one boys, one brave girl, three passionate science teachers, and countless iconic landmarks, we explored cutting-edge science at CERN in Geneva, summited Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps, scaled the Eiffel Tower, visited the Vatican City, and much more. Highlights included building particle detectors at CERN, sledding down snowy slopes, and an e-bike ride along the ancient Appian Way. From learning about the chemistry of wine-making in Italy to a Ferrari wheel-change challenge, our European Summer was filled with unforgettable science, culture, and adventure.

Water polo

The following boys played for South Africa in the holidays.
James Malan, Tim Young, Michael Mafunda and Matt Fenn represented the U16 SA side who played in the World Water polo champs in Malta, with Matt and James captaining the side and Michael being the Vice Captain, which is an impressive achievement in its own.
Tom Truter represented the U18 water polo side in the World Champs in Buenos Aires.

Interhouse Table Tennis

On Wednesday, the 17th of July, 21 of Bishops’ finest Table Tennis players took to the Mallett Centre to battle it out in the first Interhouse Table Tennis competition since 1996.

The boys battled it out over three open rounds which saw them muscle it out for the playoff berths.

A highlight of the evening was a rally between two highly skilled players, Luke Wakeford and Rohan Murray-Cooke, battling out what was supposed to be an 11-point game to a split 22-20 as neither side could attain a two point lead until then, bringing to mind memories of John Isner and Kevin Anderson’s 6hr "rally" at Wimbledon in 2018.

The competition was tough and close but ultimately, a champion had to emerge. In third place overall after battling it out against Ogilvie, is Kidd House.

In second place was Jack Buckham, Rayan Kader and Tristan Swanich’s Mallett House with a cumulative 169 points across all their games.

In first place, Arman Patel, Gabriel Comitis and Joe Phillipson’s Birt House with a cumulative 193 points across all their games.

Well done to all involved and a special thanks to Arman Patel whose brainchild it was to reintroduce this spectacle of the most played sport at Bishops into an interhouse competition format.

Blues Bash

The Blues Bash will be held on 7 August 2024 at St Cyprians in honour of Women’s Month.

This is a mixed team sporting event whereby all proceeds are donated to the MENstruation foundation to end period poverty. Please join us at St Cyprians from 16h00 – 21h00 for friendly matches of Hockey, Soccer, Netball and Basketball. Families are encouraged to attend, to enjoy the food and drinks, and to support a worthy cause.

My School Card Rewards

For any parents that are not aware, Bishops is a member of the My School Card initiative, and while we enjoy the benefits of being a recipient, our membership also ensures that we contribute at large to the foundations that the My School card programme supports.
We encourage all parents to own and use the My School card at participating partners.
Get a free card online http://www.myschool.co.za/ or simply phone 0860 100 445. You can also get a card at any Woolworths store.
Please ensure that you nominate Bishops as your beneficiary, and swipe every time you shop.

School-Days

Please also register for the Dis-Chem loyalty programme, which is a cardless process.
Click on this link Bishops Diocesan College Registration Link and select your school as a beneficiary. Use the App to access other partners such at booking.com, Netflorist and more.
School-Days mobile App
www.schooldays.co.za

Injury Reporting and Management Process

Ensuring the health and safety of athletes is our top priority. Here is the detailed process for reporting and managing injuries within our sports program:

Friday evening: Initial injury reporting
Injuries should be reported to managers/coaches immediately after they occur.

Concussions
All suspected or confirmed concussions must be reported by the manager using the injury report link as they happen or immediately after the game.

Sunday morning: Injury report link distribution
Managers should send the injury report link to the players’ group. Players are required to report all injuries sustained and are reminded to attend the injury assessment during the Open Period on Monday at 12:45 pm at the physiotherapist’s practice.

Monday Open Period: Injury assessment
All injured boys must attend the injury assessment during the Open Period on Monday. The physiotherapists will document the following information:

Boy’s name
Sport
Age group
Injury sustained
Severity of Injury

Tuesday: Finalising and distributing the injury list
By 10:00 am, the injury list will be finalised.
By 14:00 am, the injury list will be sent out to the different sporting codes.
Boys will classified into one of four categories:

Mid-week injuries
Any boy injured mid-week must report to the San Sister. The San Sister will collect the same information as outlined in the Monday assessment and update the SPW team on WhatsApp.

A reminder to please support the VUSA 24 Hour Cycle Challenge which will be held on Piley Rees on the 24-25 August!

• Check out our Cycle Challenge Video,
• Pick a team to support
• Sign-up a team
• Come down to the Piley Rees on the day to cheer on the teams.

Enjoy live entertainment, jumping castles, a magic show, activation stands, a pop-up bar, and more.
We are also seeking prizes for our winning teams and raffles items (vouchers, hampers, product, experiences – no items are too big or small ). If you have a business and are looking for marketing opportunities, we expect over 1000 participants as well as spectators at this year’s event including the Bishops Community, Corporates and several Southern Suburbs schools. The event will once again be live-streamed in order to share your brand far and wide. Please take a look at the sponsorship proposal. Your involvement and support will help make this event a great success.

VUSA Market Day - 17th August

Our VUSA children have been hard at work preparing for their upcoming Market Day on the 17th of August! In collaboration with Capitec Bank, they've been participating in entrepreneur workshops to hone their business skills. To support their efforts, we are collecting recycled items which will be used for their market day projects. If you have any of the following items at home, please could we ask you to drop them off at The Mitre or the Prep reception:

• Cardboard
• Old Newspapers
• Wooden Frames
• Old Pieces of Material
• Metal Cans
• Plastic Bottles
• Egg Trays

Your contributions will greatly aid our young entrepreneurs in bringing their creative ideas to life. Should you wish to support the event, it will be held at the Langa Sports Ground, Bitterhout Street, Langa from 8-12.30 AM as part of our Derby against Wet Pups.

Thank you for your continued support of VUSA and our community initiatives!