Dear Parents and Guardians

Our Grade 12 boys have started their Mock Matric examinations and we wish them well for the next few weeks as they write their last Bishops assessments. In addition, our Grade 11 A level cohort are also writing a “Mock Exam” as we prepare them as the first group of A level students for their final external exams. We hope both groups do their very best.

Vusa Cyclathon

This past weekend saw the third Vusa Cyclathon take place. I was delighted to see so many people support the event from Prep to College boys, parents, ODs, staff - both teaching and support, in support of a most worthy cause. To me, it wasn’t just about raising funds though, it was a community event where so many people united with a common purpose and had fun doing so! My very grateful thanks to all who took part making this the community success it was but also a financial success.

When this was started, with humble beginnings, a few hundred thousand rand was raised. Last year, we surpassed expectations, raising over R500 000. This year, we set ourselves a target of R700 000. At the time of writing this newsletter I can report with great pride that the Bishops community raised over R1 million, exceeding all expectations and hopes and providing much-needed funds for a very worthy and deserving project.

My final thanks go to all those who made this happen – our sponsors, supporters and organisers. In particular, the Vusa staff who participated so enthusiastically and two very special people, Brendan Fogarty and Nikki Matthews who worked tirelessly and without much sleep to make this happen! Thank you both for an incredible job so well done.

Council Membership

The Bishops Council held their quarterly meeting this week, receiving reports from the school management team and debating various issues of governance and strategy. We welcomed the newest member of Council, Ms Delene Mark, who joins us as a full member of Council having served previously as an observer when Chair of the Prep PA. Ms Mark will chair the Council DEB Sub-Committee.

We bade farewell to Mrs Nida Hendrickse who finishes her term as Prep PA Chair and thanked her for her service to the Prep in particular but also as an observer member of Council.

ISASA

The Independent Schools Association of South Africa holds an annual conference for its members. Every five years, this conference is combined with the Heads of Independent Schools and the Business Managers conferences and this year is the combined conference, held at the Sandton Convention Centre. I shall be attending along with our Prep Headmaster and our Chair of Council and we are looking forward to the opportunity to engage with fellow representatives from other independent schools around the country to learn from each other.

Discipline

The PA held a meeting recently at which the College Executive engaged with a group of parents to share the school’s philosophy and process with regard to discipline. This was a very good meeting indeed in which there was opportunity to share thoughts and hear concerns and ideas from parents. My thanks to Chair of Council, Crispin Sonn for chairing the meeting and to PA Chair, Bobby Couves, for arranging the meeting with other members of the PA.

It was clear from the meeting that the discipline of teenagers is not the sole responsibility of parents nor the school but needs to be a united effort, working together to guide our young men. As a school, we need the support of parents to make sure our boys are correctly attired and presented and have respect for others. As parents, we want our son’s school to exercise compassion yet act fairly and according to established processes when incidents occur.

A telling comment for me came from a parent who said that we need to remember that the vast majority of boys do indeed act appropriately and we must not make assumptions when it comes to discipline. We do need to acknowledge and recognize good behaviour which happens so often!

Final Thoughts

This week’s assembly took the form of an awards ceremony where we recognized the efforts of many of our sportsmen through the awarding of colours. I commend the recipients of these colour awards which are recorded in this newsletter. They have given us much in terms of their performances and efforts and it is a pleasure to be able to acknowledge them.

My message in assembly, recorded below, came from an experience I had earlier this week when I spent some time in our Pre-Prep and had the chance to meet a young man who wanted to tell me what he had learned. I found this a touching and inspiring moment indeed!

I wish you well for the new two weeks. I shall be away at the ISASA conference and then at the Grade 11 Leadership Camp and Mr Peter Westwood will be acting in my absence.

Kind regards

Antony Reeler
Principal

Courage

On Monday, I witnessed an act of enormous courage that I wish to share with you today. I went for my customary visit to the Pre Prep, to chat to Mrs Groom and to see what was happening with our youngest boys. It is always a treat to visit them and to see unbridled enthusiasm, with young boys having so much fun at school.

This day was different though and Mrs Groom had organized a surprise for me. The Grade Rs were doing their first orals and one boy said that he was happy to do his oral for me too. So, in walked a somewhat apprehensive 6 year-old to present his oral, on four sea creatures he read up about, and learned at least one thing about each of them. So I learned more about penguins, turtles, bull sharks and the octopus in a short but wonderful oral, skillfully told.

I reflected on my experience for many hours, wondering just how much courage it must have taken for this young man to present his work to the Principal, someone he hardly knows and someone who he sees often but has never really met. I was truly amazed and touched by his bravery.

You see courage takes many forms. It can indeed be rescuing people from burning buildings, saving lives in the sea, tackling someone much bigger than yourself on the rugby field, standing up to someone who says something inappropriate. But courage can also be saying your oral, speaking in public to someone you hardly know and telling them a story.

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 31:6

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified…, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

JRR Tolkien says

“Courage is found in unlikely places.”

On Monday I was taught a lesson in courage by a 6 year-old.

There will be many times when we are faced with fearful circumstances. They can be big, they can seem small. But no matter how big or how small, our fears and apprehensions are real. I hope to be able to have the courage to face my own fears in the same way this young man faced his, coming out triumphant when it was all done.

I wish you well for whatever challenges you face, whatever trials are in front of you and hope you have the inner strength to overcome them.

Academic Awards

Well done to these boys who received academic awards.

Grade 10:
Academic tie
Reece van Wyk
 
Grade 11:
Academic Jersey
Nic Caldwell
Robert Forrest
Rohit Patel

Music

The following boys are congratulated on achieving Colours in Music:

Full Colours
Benjamin Karlein

Half Colours:
Benjamin Swift
Bradley Calow
Stuart Whitelaw

Interact

The following boys are congratulated for being awarded their Interact ties, based on hours of service and number of events attended:

Cameron Redfern
Fayaaz Allie
Pablo Slaven
Matthew Griffin
Craig Harrod
Connor Fletcher
Michael Ressel
Luke Carter
Alex Laspatzis
Ra’eed Bhagoo

Committee 2023/2024

The new Interact Committee for 2023/2024 has been selected and we wish the following boys all the best on their new team leading the Interact Club:

President: Rohit Patel
Vice-President: Pablo Slaven
Secretary: Matthew Griffin
Communications: Alex Laspatzis
Marketing: Luke Carter
Treasurer: Fayaaz Allie

First Aid

Congratulations to the following boys for their First Aid awards:

Service Ties (3 years of duty completed)
Landa Tsobo
Yanga Soyaya
Pablo Slaven
Thomas Le Grange

Half Colours (4 years of duty completed)
Josh Traut
Christopher Leith
Stuart Whitelaw
Divakaran Govender

Full Colours (dedicated service and leadership)
Johann Steyn
Michael Comitis

All Rounders Tie

Michael Ressell is congratulated on being awarded an All Rounders Tie.

Chess

Congratulations to the following boys who have been awarded colours for Chess for 2023.

Half Colours
Yusuf Balim
Josh Egypt
Aiden Marsh
Jody Syndercombe
Stuart Whitelaw

Full Colours
Michael Kruse
Akshay Thakersee

Debating

We are proud to announce that Matthew De Jager (Gr 9 Kidd) and Daniel Bursey (Grade 9 Ogilvie) have been selected as part of the WCSDB junior squad. Well done, boys!

The following boys are congratulated on being awarded Debating Ties and Colours:

Tie
Daniel Bursey
Joshua Whitehorn

Half Colours
Luke Carter

Congratulations to the following boys with their achievements after last weekend's debating championship: 

Top Senior Speakers
Ben Anderson
Caden Chuang

Top junior speakers
Matthew De Jager
Liam Hacking

Rugby

As the rugby in-season has ended, we reflect, very briefly, not just on the results, but the progress and dedication shown by our rugby players. To an outsider, the season was poor in terms of wins and losses, but to those of us on the inside, the improvements, both structurally and skilfully, have been significant. 

Several key areas demonstrated substantial progress. First and foremost, the conditioning of our players improved a lot. The attention to technique during practices, post-injury rehabilitation, and injury assessments with player safety as the top priority resulted in far fewer serious injuries compared to previous years. This achievement is a testament to the hard work and dedication of both the Sport and Wellness Team, coaching staff, and the players themselves. 
 
The most pronounced improvements where in our C/D teams in the junior age groups, where we witnessed some of the most significant growth judging by their results against local opposition. Even more impressive was the growing number of players in the lower teams in the junior divisions.  
 
The commitment and dedication of all our players, although wins were hard to come by, suggests a lot about the character of our rugby players.  
This year marked the beginning of a new coaching structure, and this change has elevated the quality of coaching and the overall coaching framework. While we recognize that there is always room for improvement, the positive impact was evident.  
Our 1st XV team had a stunning season, winning 11 out of 17 with a positive points difference of 142, particularly in the local derbies, where the games were decided by the slimmest of margins. Other highlights were their triumphs at the St Stithians Festival, the wins away from home against all our neighbours and of course the win against our old foe St Andrews. We are very proud of our five players representing Western Province: Nashe Chahwahwa (WP C), Shaywan Blankenberg (WP B), and three exceptional talents, Haashim Pead (SA Schools), Gilermo Mentoe, and Aidan Norris (both SA Schools A), who earned their distinction ties as a result.  This is a testament to their incredible skill and the outstanding mentorship and coaching provided by our dedicated coaching team, led by Head Coach Wesley Chetty (OD 2008). 

We look forward to the continued growth and success of our players in the seasons to come. To our stakeholders thank you for the support.  

Congratulations to the following players for their awards of Colours and Half Colours at the conclusion of the 2023 rugby season:

Half Colours
Wa-keem Fortuin
Kashief Joseph
Trento Lambrechts
Lucca Mynhardt
Alex Smith
Christian Steward

Full Colours:
Nic Allison
Shaywan Blankenberg
Ayanda Bonoyi
Nashe Chahwahwa
Merlin Fransman
CJ Gordon
Richard Horton
Gilermo Mentoe
Tapiwa Nkumanda
Aidan Norris
Haashim Pead
Olo Sopotela
Zach Willemse

Distinctions Ties 
Haashim Pead
Gilermo Mentoe
Aidan Norris

Interhouse 7s

On an unseasonably hot Tuesday afternoon, the stage was set for a display of exciting rugby skills during the junior 7s finals. The emergence of talent from our junior ranks undoubtedly signals a promising future for the sport. Amidst the ‘heated’ battles, Gray House demonstrated their prowess by emerging victorious against the valiant contenders of Mallett House in the U14 final. However, School House were clearly better prepared and organised on the day, thwarting Gray's aspirations of sweeping the junior division titles by winning the U15 final. In the U16 category, the final clash featured Kidd and School House, with the boarding students once again emerging triumphant in a closely contested match. The resilient spirit of Kidd House couldn't overcome the polished performance of School House, proving the latter's dominance on the field. The U19 competition witnessed Founders House asserting their complete dominance through a commanding performance in the U19 category leaving no room for doubt as they overpowered the determined, passionate, and robust efforts of White House. U14 : Gray House U15 : School House U16 : School House U19 : Founders House.

Hockey

The 2023 Hockey Season has been a busy, but good one. The year started with an international tour and four local tours/festivals. After successful tours, the in season matches began with two tough opponents. But Bishops Hockey rose to the challenge and learnt from those matches and every other match going forward. A goal of Bishops Hockey was and is to see every boy who plays end the season as a better player than they began. It has been encouraging to see this to be true for the majority of the players this season.

Special mention must be made to one of the most improved teams this season – the U16A team for going from a 9-0 loss to SACS in term 2 to beating them 2-1 in term 3. The most successful team this season goes to the 1st team with a win ratio close to 75%.

After a challenging last fixture against Bosch, the season ended with Interhouse hockey. It was two days filled with some great hockey and some very tightly contested matches and competition. Every team gave it their all and the final standings in the junior interhouse were: 4th Birt, 3rd Ogilvie, 2nd White and 1st Kidd and in Senior interhouse Founders 4th, White 3rd, Kidd 2nd and Gray 1st.
Well done to all boys who participated and special congratulations to the winning houses Kidd and Gray.

As we reflect on the season we focus not only on the wins and losses but the life lessons that hockey has taught the boys, in particular teamwork, discipline, resilience, and the importance of never giving up. The 2023 hockey season has been a memorable one filled with ups and downs, growth, camaraderie and sportsmanship and we look forward to another successful year in 2024.

We end the season by congratulating the following boys on being awarded colours for hockey:

Half Colours
Sam Berrisford  
Oscar Blatch      
Bradley Du Toit
Christopher Gray             
Thomas Ludlam
Thomas Malan
Andrew Raubenheimer  
Albert Steyn   

Full Colours
Jack Crafford
Dylan Van Coeverden de Groot 
James Grieve     
Joshua Mettler  
Robert Veldtman             
Zac Heyns           
Ilyaas Van Graan  

This year Bishops Hockey has updated the Woodlands Pavilion to acknowledge the OD Hockey players who have represented South Africa. Thank you to Liesel Crafford and Duncan de Groot on helping get the honours boards designed, SA shirts and 1st team photos framed and installed in the Woodlands. At the end of season dinner, with the help of Tony Reeler, we took the time to unveil the new honours boards and were joined by Stuart Berry (Gray 1996)  and Pierre de Voux (Ogilvie 2004), both ODs who have represented South Africa in hockey. We are pleased to have a space to acknowledge these incredible achievements.  

Soccer

Congratulations to our soccer boys who have been awarded colours:

Half Colours
Bilaal Mohamed
Zev Oaker
Paballo Magadla
Ben Sachs

Full Colours
Lutho Cutshwa
Ollie Chevallier
Evan Noussis
Matthew Forsyth
Ben Isserow

For the Wynberg Football festival, the boys played a beautiful game where they lost to Curro in their first outing of the group stages but avenged the loss in a dramatic 2 - 0 victory in the later stage. Troy Geyer scored a free kick goal against Wynberg and Singa Mayoyo scored two goals against Curro. For their efforts, the squad was awarded the Plate Cup. Well done! For the Rondebosch Youth Cup: which took place last weekend, the boys played with tenacity and grace. We lost to Bosch because of a last minute goal in the second half, but humbled Wynberg in a stunning 2 - 2 draw. We also beat Pinelands 1 - 3. Congratulations to Ammaar Jackson who scored two goals against Wynberg, Calum Daniels who scored two goals against Pinelands and one against Eagles Performance Academy, and Nick Deckenbrock who scored one against Pinelands. Well done boys!

Golf

The 1st Team Golfers beat Reddam in their last game of the season on Monday 28 August at King David Mowbray. This result means that they win the League (South A) and will compete for the gold medal in the WP League finals next week against the winners of the North league. The team has enjoyed a fine season beating Wynberg, SACS and Rondebosch in both their home and away fixtures. 

Well done to golfers who have earned their colours:

Full Colours
Sebastian Dorward (re-award)
Adam Buckham
Michael Newton

Half Colours
Thomas Jacobs
Michael Cadiz
Jack Buckham

Swimming

Congratulations to Rhys Haupt (Gr. 8 Kidd) on attaining three personal bests in the 200m breaststroke, 100m breaststroke and 100m freestyle at the South African Short Course National Swimming Competition in Somerset West. We look forward to a wonderful swimming season!
Congratulations to Luc Bestel (Gr. 8 Kidd) on making the final of the South African Swimming Championship.

Luc swam the fastest time in South Africa for U/13 this year in a time of 2.13.11, missing the current record by a few split seconds (2.12.94)
Luc placed 15th overall as the youngest in the competition.

A Distinction tie is also awarded to Joshua Mettler, who was selected to represent SA Schools for swimming at an U18 African zone international event in Angola.

Surfing

Full colours for surfing are awarded to Josh van Wyk (Grade 11 - Kidd house) for his selection to the Western Province team for the second year running. Josh will be representing Western Province in the National Surfing Championships held in October in Jeffreys Bay.

We congratulate Josh on this outstanding achievement and wish him every success in the competition.

Squash

Congratulations to the following boys for their squash achievements:

Half Colours 
James Morkel
Tristan Swanich

Full Colours
Dylan Van Coeverden de Groot
Nic Macdonald
Nicholas Basson

Cycle Challenege

Thank you to everyone who attended and supported the 24-Hour Cycle Challenge on Saturday and Sunday.
We are thrilled to report that over R1 million rand was raised and the event was a resounding success thanks to the unwavering support of our incredible community. The VUSA 24 Hour Cycle Challenge brought together Bishops Boys, dedicated staff, parents, and ODs for a non-stop 24-hour cycling extravaganza. But this event was about much more than just cycling; it was about making a lasting impact on young lives.

One of the standout moments of the event was Grant Lottering's solo 24-hour stationary bike ride. Grant, who once faced near-death and was told he'd never ride again, proved that determination can conquer even the most challenging obstacles. His journey served as a symbol of hope and resilience for us all.

Attendees enjoyed a lineup of entertainment that included magic by Olwethu Dyantyi, live interviews with sports personalities like Tank Lanning, Rob Fleck, Matt Pearce, and, of course, Grant Lottering. The Bishop's rock band set the stage with live music, followed by a vibrant evening featuring more live music by Me and Mr Green and a dash of comedy by Kurt Schoonraad. As the night unfolded, DJ Ross guided us through a thrilling silent disco.

The VUSA 24 Hour Cycle Challenge is a shining example of what we can achieve when we come together with a shared purpose.  Thank you again one and all for your support - The event was a true testament to the power of community coming together for a great cause.  Please see THIS short clip.

Special Tribute

Raymond Ackerman - 16 March 1931 - 6 September 2023.

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Raymond Ackerman.  Until recently, Raymond was the Patron of the Old Diocesan Union.  He first came to Bishops in January 1944 as a boarder in School House, matriculating in the first class in 1948.  His college years were characterised by his activity in all spheres of school life, including a strong involvement in sports and co-curricular activities.  His desire to help others was evident from an early age and he taught in the Night School, an after-hours initiative to provide education to the support staff from the school.      

After matriculating, Raymond went on to the University of Cape Town where he graduated with a B. Com. degree in 1951.  He then went into the retail business until he took over a wholesale chain of stores known as Pick ‘n Pay, in 1966.  It is this company that he grew into the giant supermarket sector operating across several countries on the continent of Africa.  Raymond will be forever remembered for his strong commitment to the consumer, to fight against discrimination and the monopoly on basic goods, and for the way he demonstrated his strong social responsibility. 

Raymond was an enormous benefactor to Bishops and the ODU, benefiting all walks of the community—students, staff, and ODs alike.  His philanthropy earned him not only the highest awards both locally and internationally, but also the most prestigious award that his school can bestow on an OD—the Robert Gray Medal Award - for an exceptional contribution to society—which he received in 2018 as one of its first ever recipients.                

In the Diocesan College Magazine of 1948, reporting on a rugby fixture with Raymond in the backline, the writer commented: “Ackerman relieved the pressure”; “Ackerman converted”.  These words about Raymond have rung true his whole life long, always supporting, always encouraging, and always seeking ways to make the world a better place for others. 

His love of his school is characterised by his frequent visits, not only as a regular supporter of the First XV rugby team, but also as recently as earlier this year when he attended a special luncheon to honour Wendy and him.  There it was announced that an award would be made to a student at Bishops, named after Raymond and Wendy Ackerman, in acknowledgement of their selfless contribution to South African society; and recognizing a spirit of entrepreneurship, innovation, and service to others. Raymond was indeed a “mensch”, a “person of integrity, morality, dignity, with a sense of what is right and responsible.” But he was more than that as he demonstrated his support for his alma mater on a regular basis through kind words and deeds. We will miss him greatly.

We send our deepest condolences to Wendy his wife and to Gareth (1975S), Kathy, Suzanne, and Jonathan (1984S) and to all his family.

RIP, Raymond Ackerman.