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TUESDAY 20 June 2023
Dear Parents

The 2nd term has really passed quickly or maybe we have moved quickly and busily through it. Our Grade 7 boys arrived back from KZN last night, exhausted but having enjoyed a wonderful time away for six nights, hosted by other schools and a weekend at an adventure camp. By all accounts an experience to stand out as a highlight of their Prep career.

Our U13A rugby side head to the Independent Schools Rugby Festival in Gauteng on Friday and we wish them much success and enjoyment over those few days.

FAREWELL
We also bid farewell to Russell Drury, who leaves us now. He has been Head of English, started drama classes at the school in 2018 and been Assistant Housemaster of Charlton. He also worked at the College for a number of years. We will certainly miss him as a kind, caring and uplifting colleague and teacher. Nothing has ever been too much for him in terms of going the extra mile – a characteristic we have all benefitted from.  He moves to Sydney, Australia to join his wife who has already moved there to take up an employment opportunity. We wish them both well in this new chapter in their lives.

Mr Lehahn Esterhuizen has been appointed in his place and he will start next term when we will introduce him to the community.

REPORTS
Reports for the first semester will be available on myBishopsLife on Thursday morning. This report is a very detailed account of your son’s progress and achievements over the first semester. Please do go through it carefully with him – it also includes advice and recommendations for improvements and areas of growth which will be very useful for him in setting his goals for the second half of the year. Please see more in this respect under TAKE Note.

INTERNATIONAL PRIDE MONTH
We have recently erected a third flagpole at College (outside the administration block) for the purpose of flying flags and symbols associated with a cause or a moment that should lead us to pause and think. The Pride flag is being flown for three days this week. Please click HERE for a link to the Principal’s letter providing some context in this regard. It was sent out to College parents last week.

I wish our boys and staff a very happy and relaxing break; if you are travelling, safe travels and a very happy holiday. Hopefully there will be an opportunity for all our families to spend some extra quality time together, even if only over weekends without sport.

School opens next term on Tuesday, 18 July.

Best wishes

Kind regards

GREG BROWN
HEADMASTER
DIARY Dates
Wednesday 21 June 2023

End of Term 2

Time: 11h30
Boys to wear No 1s

Please note that there will be no Aftercare available

Tuesday 18 July 2023

Start of Term 3

Extra-murals begin
Boys to wear No 1s

Wednesday 19 July 2023

Senior Inter-house Hockey

Time: 14h30

Thursday 20 July 2023

Junior Inter-House Hockey

Time: 14h30

Friday 21 July 2023 Rugby U11A and U13A leave for Beaufort West

Time: 10h00
Saturday 22 July 2023 Rugby Practice for all teams except U13A and U11A

Time: 08h30 to 10h30
Venue: Lutgensvale
Wednesday 26 July 2023 Grade 4 Parent Talk on Digital Citizenship (Pam Tudin)

Time: 19h00
Venue: Jagger Hall
TAKE Note
Academic Reports

The Grade 3 to 7 Semester 1 Academic Reports will be released to your son’s profile on MyBishopsLife on Thursday, 22nd June. Reports may be accessed by selecting Reports from the Academic menu on MyBishopsLife.

To view a breakdown of your son’s Semester 1 marks (Grades 4 – 7), please select the Academic menu and choose Marks from the drop-down provided. On the Marks screen, please click on each listed subject to view a detailed breakdown of your son’s results. 
If you have any concerns or queries, please contact your son’s form or subject teacher at the beginning of next term.

For your convenience, click here to log into MyBishopsLife Prep & Pre-Prep. Should you experience any login issues, please email portal@bishops.org.za

Bishops Blue Pages

Please click HERE for the latest edition of the Bishops Blue Pages.
PA News

Please click HERE for 2nd Term PA Newsletter. We encourage you all to read this to keep yourselves informed of the PA activities.

Soccer Season

Please take note of the upcoming changes in our sports schedule as we transition from the rugby season to the soccer season.
The rugby season will come to an end on 26 August after the Rondebosch match. Soccer season will commence on Monday, 28 August. Soccer will be compulsory for all boys.
It's important to note that all other extracurricular activities, except play rehearsals, will stop once the soccer season starts. We want to give the boys the opportunity to fully focus on soccer and make the most out of the season.

The practice and match days for the different age groups are as follows:

  • U9, U10, and U11 teams will practice on Mondays and play their matches on Wednesdays.
  • U12 and U13 teams will practice on Tuesdays and play their matches on Thursdays.
  • U9 -13 soccer players will also be involved on these two Saturdays; the 9th and 16th September.
  • U10 – U13 dress code is the Bishops white top, blue shorts, rugby or hockey socks with boots.
  • U9 play barefoot or in takkies, with the Bishops white top and blue shorts.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the upcoming season, feel free to contact Xolani Mathyeke on xmathyeke@bishops.org.za.
We look forward to a successful soccer season ahead!

Mandela Day Clean-Up

VUSA will be hosting its annual Mandela Day clean-up in Langa. This event aims to instil the values of active citizenry in our children whilst honouring the legacy of Nelson Mandela.

Event Details:
Date:                  Monday 17 July (to accommodate the boys during their school holiday)
Time:                  Meet at 08h45 at the Langa Sports Ground in Bitterhout Street for a 09h00 start
Duration:             67 Minutes of cleaning
Gloves and black bags will be provided.

Our primary goal is to bring communities together and make a positive impact on the Langa Quarter.
In case the weather is chilly, we have partnered with Shoprite, who will be bringing their soup truck to keep us warm. We will have various games and activities to entertain the children throughout the morning, ensuring it's a fun-filled experience for everyone.
We will also have the braais going and serving boerie rolls at lunchtime. If you and your family plan to attend, please click HERE to let us know and indicate if you would like us to cater for you.

By participating in this Mandela Day clean-up, we not only pay tribute to a great leader but also demonstrate our commitment to building a better community. Let's inspire our children to become active citizens who make a difference.
We look forward to seeing you on 17 July.

Bishops Charity Golf Day

The Bishops Parents' Association and VUSA Rugby & Learning Academy invite you to an exciting day of golf at our annual Golf Day event. It will take place on 17 August 2023 at the magnificent Clovelly Golf Club. Whether you're an avid golfer or a newcomer to the sport, this event promises to be a day of fun, networking, and friendly competition with all proceeds donated to fantastic causes. 

To secure your 4 ball, please click HERE.

NEWS
Grade 7 Tour
The Grade 7 boys and 10 staff returned last night from a very enjoyable education, sport and adventure-based tour of KZN. This annual highlight allowed every boy in the grade the opportunity to go on a tour and showcase their particular skills. We visited Clifton School and St Charles Prep where we held a music concert, played a multitude of sports and made friendships while staying over at hosts’ homes. A visit to the uShaka aquarium, the Natal Sharks Board and Phezulu Zulu cultural village ensured that the boys had a good learning opportunity. They ended on a fun note by going to the uShaka – Wet ’n Wild and the fabulous Sugar Bay Adventure Camp at Zinkwazi, north of Durban.
Grade 3 News
The Grade 3s had a great outing to the Two Oceans Aquarium last week which was both enjoyable and educational. Please visit our Facebook page for more photos.
Grade 4 News
The Grade 4s have been having a great time. They made these beautiful Roman shields in art class recently and had loads of fun in science class making balloon rockets. Please visit our Facebook and Instagram pages for more.
Grade 5 News
The Grade 5s did group presentations on Ancient Egypt over the course of three days. They produced amazing drawings of Pharaohs and brought Egyptian snacks as part of their presentations. This was a collaboration between Art and Social Science. Well done, Grade 5s on your great work!
Charlton House News
The Charlton Grade 5s recently went to Grand West with Mr De Sousa and Mr Drury where they enjoyed an evening of ten-pin bowling followed by burgers at Spur. Good fun was had by all.
Weekly Winners

Rick the Bear was awarded to the U10C team this week for a great win vs RBPS.

Artists of the Week: The Grade 3s are learning about the ocean in class and they made seascapes out of paper and cardboard in art this term. (They learnt that every seascape and landscape has a background, middle ground and foreground.) The following boys were chosen this week for their vibrant seascapes:

3B Oliver Grave, Finnan Mackenzie, Cooper Payne and Thomas Saunders
3P Sam Evans, Thomas George, Khaya McCann and Alex Turck
3S James Campbell, Rishi Chagan, Owen Fitzgerald and Pravar Naidoo

Please click HERE to view all the artworks.

Congratulations to all these boys!

Outreach News

Last Wednesday afternoon, our Grade 4 boys came out in numbers to engage with VUSA U10 kids at Total Ninja. It was a superb day filled with joy, happiness and high energies from both sides. Many thanks to Fika Madubela for co-ordinating and the Grade 4 reps and Nikki Matthews for assisting in pulling this off. Thanks also to all the Grade 4 rugby coaches who helped get the boys from Bishops to Total Ninga and stayed to chaperone.

For civvies day on Friday 9 June, we asked for clothing donations. Thank you very much to our boys and parents who donated a bumper crop of gently used clothing for The Haven Night Shelter. Your generosity is greatly appreciated!

Spelling Bee Championship 2023

From aardvark to zygote, we had some hard-fought battles this year! The Spelling Bee is a fun opportunity to develop self-confidence, public speaking skills as well as the ability to thrive under pressure.

Congratulations to the following winners of the 2023 Spelling Bee Championship:

Max Bohm, Carl Muller and Zakariah Raja who tied, Tristan Antelme and Nathan John who tied, Nathan Venn, Ande Mogotlane, Liam Khoury, Jack Bousfield, Ethan Lee Pan, Luke Eedes, Jack Stansfield, Evan West, Umar Saloojee, Josh Mafunda and Luca Grunenwald.

Special mention to Ethan Lee Pan (Gr5) and Ande Mogotlane (Gr4) for winning their class Bee 2 years in a row! Bee season is officially over, we wish you a bee-autiful winter holiday and the buzz will return in 2024!

    BISHOPS PREPARATORY SCHOOL
Fir Road, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7700
Phone:+27 (21) 659 7222 | Fax: +27 (21) 659 7227