I am delighted to inform you that Andrew Dunn and his wife Nicole are the proud parents of a baby boy, Nathan Graham Dunn. Nathan was born on Monday afternoon and both he and Nicole are in good health.

Candyfloss to Biltong

This week, our Pre-Prep was transformed into a place of enchantment and wonder as staff and boys celebrated the joy and magic of reading.
Received wisdom has it that the functional skills underpinning a good education are the three R’s - reading, (w)riting and (a)rithmetic. Over time, contemporary skills, like resilience and collaboration, have attempted to insert themselves into this trio, yet the three R’s remain the bedrock of education.

The value of reading cannot be overstated. There is a substantial body of evidence that proves that children who read for pleasure, enjoy better learning outcomes compared to those who do not. This can be a challenge for reluctant readers, however, we must persevere.

In this preparatory phase of learning, our goal as parents and teachers, is to develop a habit of reading for pleasure. Some boys are still enjoying candyfloss texts which are light and easy to digest, others are able to read substantial works that are well beyond their chronological age. A golden rule is that all reading has nutrition. Celebrate the small wins and encourage the habit.

Read aloud to your son as often as possible. Boys enjoy being read to, even though they might not always admit it. This often encourages them to return to the text independently.

The point is that reading needs to be nurtured and placed centre stage throughout a school career. All too often, this most essential of skills and habits is assumed to be developing quietly and untended. This can sometimes be the case, rather more frequently it is not.

So, instead of buying Sam the latest online game this month, a trip to the local bookstore may give you a much greater yield.

Reading still really matters.

Kind regards

LESTER LALLA
HEADMASTER

Van der Bijl House Cake Sale

Time: 10h30 to 10h50
Venue: Jagger kitchen
Please see further details under Take Note

Top Schools Hockey

Friday Times: 14h00 to 22h00
Saturday Times: 08h00 to 18h00
Sunday Times: 08h00 to 15h00
Venue: Somerset College

VUSA 24 hour Cycle Challenge

Time: Friday 4/9 at 20h00 to Saturday 5/9 at 20h00
Venue: Piley Rees Field

Soccer Programme - Interhouse

Time: Monday to Thursday - please refer to MyBishopsLife for the day and time details
All boys are involved

Please click HERE for the fixtures
Boys to wear House T-shirt, blue shorts, blue hockey/rugby socks, trainers and shin guards

Grade 4 Parents Coffee with Lester Lalla

Time: 07h45 to 08h45
Venue: Mitre

Please click HERE for the invitation

Bramley House Games Evening

Time: 18h00 to 20h00
Venue: woodlands Pavilion

Soccer Programme - Interschool

Time: Monday 14 September to Thursday 17 September
Please sign your son up HERE should he wish to participate in the fixtures.
Both interclass and interhouse matches will be taken into consideration when selecting the final teams.
Fixtures are on MyBishopsLife.
Boys to wear white PE top, blue shorts, hockey/rugby socks, trainers and shin guards.

Family Chapel Service

Time: 11h00 to 12h00
Venue: Memorial Chapel
Boys to wear No 1s
Parents welcome to attend

U13A Day/Night Cricket match v Wetpups

Time: 17h00
Venue: Frank Reid

End of Extracurricular Programme

Van der Bijl House Games Evening

Time: 17h30 to 20h30
Venue: Woodlands
Please see further details under Take Note

U13A Cricket match vs Groot Drakenstein

Time: 08h00
Venue: Franschhoek

Waka Waka Soccer Tournament

Time: 08h00 to 15h00
Venue: Lutgensvale
8-a-side teams
Trophies & medals up for grabs
Food & drinks available
Ages: U8, U10 & U12
R3000 per team (10 players)

Create your own team and sign up today! Follow the link here

M2W Woodwinds Games Day

Time: 16h00

Van der Bijl House Games Evening

We look forward to a fun evening for our VDB families.

Date: Friday 18 September 2026

Time: 17h30 to 20h30

Venue: Woodlands

Please click HERE to complete the form if you would like to join us. The deadline is tomorrow (Friday 4 September)

Author visit

Our Grade 3s, 4s and 5s are in for a treat! The authors of the book series entitled "The Worst Week Ever!" will be visiting our school on Wednesday 16 September, all the way from Australia. According to our Librarian, Miss D, it's the second most popular book in prep!!

You probably would like to know which is the most popular? It's a comic book called "Bunny vs Monkey". 🐰🐵😀As long as they are reading, we say!

Carnival

The Bishops Family Carnival is less than 5 weeks away!

Entrance tickets and game stall tokens sales start next Thursday 10 September.
A link to the online sales will be emailed to parents through this newsletter next week. Tickets will not be sold at school. Tickets are limited so keep an eye on your inbox!

A reminder to please pop into the VUSA 24-Hour Cycle Challenge this weekend and bring the family. The weather forecast is looking great, and there will be plenty happening throughout Saturday.
Join us for our first potjie competition, food trucks, a bar for guests over 18, fun activities, a kids’ chill zone, jumping castles, live entertainment, massages from JEM Therapy and, of course, we’ll be screening the rugby.

For the latest updates, please visit our event page: https://www.vusarugbyacademy.com/24-hour-challenge-2026. You will find the team leaderboards, full event programme, vendor menus and other useful information there.

We also have some fantastic raffle prizes up for grabs. Tickets cost R50 each or R450 for ten, and you do not need to attend the event to enter.  All winners will be contacted after the event.  To purchase raffle tickets please click HERE.

Thank you once again to the wonderful Bishops community for supporting VUSA. Proceeds raised this year will go towards renovating our dining area in Langa, where 160 to 200 children are served a hot meal after attending our programmes each day, as well as purchasing academic materials for our new after-school SEED programme.

We hope to see you there!

In other music news, a few of our musicians walked across the road to perform a special morning concert for the residents of Fairmead Retirement Village on Wednesday. The concert formed part of our Music Department's "Practice for a Purpose" campaign, through which we are raising awareness and donations for Hannah’s Place of Safety while encouraging our boys to use their music to serve and connect with their community. The Fairmead residents were a wonderful audience, and it was lovely to see how warmly the boys and their music were received.
Well done to the boys who participated in the concert: Vir Singh, Kimon Christodoulou, Nikhil Sam, Aarik Sukha, Nicolas Crew, Hudson Kettlwell, Nicholas Hart, Max Garcia-Warner, Daniel Hobbs, Kwamena Sam, Adam Khan, Adrien Marsal, and Minggu Xiao. Thank you also to our music staff: Miss Jacobs, Mr Burton, Mrs Sheard, Mrs Gray, and Miss Stanton for accompanying the boys. We are very proud of our young musicians and hope to visit again soon!