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THURSDAY 28 September 2023
Dear Parents

OUR DRAMATIC PRODUCTION: LORD OF THE FLIES

Friday saw the last night of a very successful run of Lord of the Flies. Adapted for the stage from the novel by William Golding, it was first performed by a Prep school in England a number of years ago.

It deals with the themes of belonging, care for others or not, ego, vulnerability and honesty, the possibility of a return to the wild impulse versus rules and accountability;  demanding a great deal of the cast who really had to go into themselves to do the script justice.  And they did, producing an excellent version of a very challenging story.  Congratulations to them all, not only for their dedication and long hours they put into rehearsing, but also for their mature and successful rendition. Congratulations too to Caroline Duck, the director, and all the staff who assisted.

A huge thank you too, to our audiences – parents and boys – who supported the show and made up the full houses on all three nights.

HERITAGE DAY
Friday also saw us observe Heritage Day with a special assembly, class activities and a Grade 5 food fair. Boys were encouraged to dress or bring objects that told something of their heritage, necessitating, I am sure, a lot discussion at home. We had Scottish, Ukrainian, American, Xhosa, Zulu, English, Chinese, Irish, Zambian and many more. After assembly each class had a discussion and boys explained something of their heritage, nationality, religion, culture, language, etc, and some really fascinating discussions ensued.

The special assembly was dedicated to the isiXhosa culture and heritage.  Dr Mndende, a Professor of African Studies at Nelson Mandela University, spoke on the isiXhosa culture, explaining the rites of passage, family relations and the simultaneous belief in an overall Creator and respect for the ancestors. A wonderful lady, she told the boys that she was old enough to be their grandmother and even though it was a long talk, she kept their interest. Siya Kawana, a postgraduate music student at UCT, explained and demonstrated a few traditional musical instruments, bows originally adopted from the Khoisan many years ago.

From the boys there were musical items and a tribute to Steve Biko, all in isiXhosa.  Assembly ended with a traditional war cry song which the boys loved and exited Jagger Hall while singing it. Our boys really embraced the opportunity, singing with gusto.

For someone like myself, at school in the 60s and 70s, it was an emotional morning as I saw how far we have come as a society and school and acknowledged again how disadvantaged I and my contemporaries were, growing up in a systemically divided and dysfunctional society.

1st TEAM CRICKET TOUR
We wish our 1st XI well as they travel to the Cape Schools Cricket Week where they will play their traditional Eastern Cape rivals, Dale, Selborne and Queens College in three days of cricket.

END OF TERM
Best wishes to our boys and staff for a happy and relaxing holiday and, for many, no doubt plenty of rugby watching and a very happy Orange River trip for those families going on it this year. Thank you to you all for your support over the winter season; the lifting, supporting over many afternoons and Saturdays and, of course, the ongoing encouragement.

School starts next term on Tuesday, 10 October and it will be a normal school day with summer extra-murals in the afternoon.

Best wishes

Kind regards

GREG BROWN
HEADMASTER
DIARY Dates
Friday 29 September 2023

Term 3 Ends

Time: 11h30
Boys must wear No1s

PLEASE NOTE: NO AFTERCARE AVAILABLE

Tuesday 10 October 2023

Term 4 Begins

Boys must wear No 1s

Extra-murals start. Please click HERE to view the Term 4 Extra-Mural timetable. It is also available on the Parent Communication Page.

Friday 13 October 2023 Charlton Grade 4 Outing

Time: 19h00
Further details to follow
TAKE Note
Grade 4 - 7 Third Term Academic Progress

As you know, we do not have a report in the third term, but you are able to monitor your son’s progress throughout the term by viewing his marks on his profile. Please see this reminder as to how to access his marks on myBishopsLife -Select the Academic menu in MyBishopsLife and choose Marks from the drop-down provided. On the Marks screen, please click on each listed subject. If you have any questions, please contact your son’s form or subject teacher directly.
MySchoolCard

We hope that those of you who have a MySchoolCard are swiping it at every opportunity! If you do not already have a MySchoolCard, please apply for one as soon as possible. The application form is available HERE. For more information, please visit www.myschool.co.za.
NEWS
Lord of the Flies
Last week our production of Lord of The Flies played to full audiences and standing ovations. Very well done to all involved! Please visit our Facebook page for more photos.
Grade 4 News
The Grade 4s have been learning about strengthening structures and ended off by building their own using spaghetti and marshmallows last week. We suspect quite a few marshmallows were eaten in the process.
Heritage Day
To celebrate Heritage Day, boys and staff dressed in clothes or brought items along reflecting their cultural heritage which were then discussed in class. It was truly a very special time of sharing for all involved. Please visit Facebook page for more photos and our Instagram page for some video footage.
Art News
The Artists of the Week were chosen from Grade 5. The boys drew sketches of Lizzie Mpambela and Lameez Walker who are nick-named the Art room “Angels” because they make magic every day, turning the Art room from a messy space back into a neat and ordered place to create in. We thank them very much for what they do! The boys learnt how to blend skin toned pastels to show light and dark areas on the face. They worked on repeat patterns in the background and some boys used stencil prints.

The following boys are to be congratulated for their very successful projects:

5B Jack Bousfield, Alex Breslin, Leo Constantinou and Rupert Pfaff
5P Oliver Ferrao, Seth Lunn, Emaad Raja and Samuel Yazdanpanahi
5S Phoenix Jordan, André Kuys, Jake Reed and Martin Truter

Well done to these boys. Please click HERE to view all the artwork.

Music News
It was wonderful to have 3 College boys entertain us at the Wednesday Music Concert this week. James Grieve (cello), David Handley (violin) and Ben Karlein (piano), who were in their Grade 7 year at the Prep in 2019 played a movement from a Schumann Piano Trio after which they each performed a solo piece. The boys and staff enjoyed the high standard of the works performed by the boys and it was an opportunity for us to see the development and progression in these talented young men as they journey towards their matric year in 2024. We hope to include other College musicians occasionally in future concerts to inspire our Prep musicians.
Past Prep Boys Reception
A reception was held last night for the Grade 7 class of 2018 who are now in matric. They joined us, along with their parents, and had a wonderful evening reconnecting with their Prep teachers. They were treated to a slideshow of photos from their grade 7 year and a tour around the school and were also very impressed with all the upgrades to the Prep campus.
    BISHOPS PREPARATORY SCHOOL
Fir Road, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7700
Phone:+27 (21) 659 7222 | Fax: +27 (21) 659 7227