Dear Parents
CONNECTING AND COVID
It has been wonderful to walk around cricket matches over the last week and interact with parents enjoying watching their boys playing. The dominant comment has been, "This feels so normal again". Similarly, we hosted two functions to welcome parents new to the Pre-Prep and the Prep. The mood at both was extremely upbeat and I was also able to introduce the Principal, Tony Reeler, something that has not been possible for the last eighteen months except on a very small scale.
We are cautiously optimistic about being able to enjoy a lot more connectedness this year, something which has been much missed over the last two years and is one of our defining characteristics as a school. At the same time we have to take heed of some of the good lessons learnt over the last months from Grades N-7. While we have to focus more on some skills that we could almost take for granted at certain grade levels, we have been surprised, for instance, by the independence of boys saying goodbye to their parents at the gate and having to manage their own belongings.
On Monday there were reports about the Cabinet's decision to relax a number of Covid regulations around isolation periods, quarantining, tracking and tracing, as well as social distancing in school buildings. This is especially good news for the 80% of the school going population who have been attending school since July 2020 on a rotating basis because of the 1.5/1.0m rule. Education authorities are still assessing the effects of rotational schooling, but it has had to have had a negative effect for many teachers and pupils. We have been so fortunate with our facilities and resources to be able to continue so much of the schooling experience through this last period.
Since Monday the Department of Corporate Governance and Traditional Affairs has published amended regulations. The following affect us directly:
- testing positive for Covid and having symptoms requires seven days' isolation;
- testing positive for Covid but without symptoms requires no isolation;
- contacts of those who have tested positive do not have to quarantine unless they develop symptoms;
- no social distancing measures will apply in the basic education sector (all schools).
We now await the Departments of Health and Basic Education publishing a more comprehensive set of regulations, particularly as they pertain to schools. So at this stage, unless we are informed to the contrary, mask wearing remains mandatory, as does screening and hand sanitising on entering the school. We will advise you if there are any changes in this regard.
ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU
Each section of the school will be celebrating the life and contribution of Archbishop Tutu in different ways during the course of this term. At the Prep we will take a week to mark his life and the principles for which he stood. Our aim is to educate our boys about his life and times, his contribution to South Africa, celebrating his life as well as the values of integrity, empathy and courage that he espoused and lived.
TRANSFORMATION VIDEO
The school has sent out this video today - please do watch it. I do want to say something about the four main speakers: Tony Reeler, the Principal; Moshe Aplini, an OD, member of Council and Chair of the Transformation and Diversity Committee; Crispin Sonn, a College parent and member of the Transformation and Diversity Committee; and Suhail Khalfey, Head of School and at Bishops since Grade 4. Each of the four experiences Bishops in a different way and from a different angle but each represents a key constituency in our school community that wants a Bishops that remains actively committed to ensuring that we are an inclusive school and one that celebrates diversity.
MATRICS OF 2021
Congratulations to our Matrics of 2021 for their superb results: placed 3rd in the Province after Herschel and Westerford. Bishops received an award for Excellence in Mathematics as the top performing Mathematics school in the Province. Two of our matrics were placed in the top twenty Gabriel Dyssell-Hoffinger and Gus Farara.
Enjoy the weekend.
Kind regards
GREG BROWN
HEADMASTER
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