Dear Parents  

After a week of much competition, some more subtle than others, I was reminded of a great article written by Helen Wills that really resonated with me, entitled - Raising a good sport, she writes about how to cheer your child on without creating a must-win monster. I share some ideas from her article. Raising a child who is humble in victory and gracious in defeat is a challenge every parent has to tackle. It’s a lesson that has to start early and it usually has to be continued for a number of years and in many forms.                      Sport is known to build character but it is also highly revealing of character. Sport is a great place to learn many of life's best and also its most brutal lessons, so encourage your children to participate. Most sports will teach your child about failure, how to fight back, be patient, develop a work ethic, practise perseverance, be brave and - a difficult one for youngsters - to take pleasure in the performance of others, including opponents. Keep talking. Keep communicating your values and attitudes. Try to have regular chats after sport - in the car on the way home or around the dinner table after a game. Talk about incidents as they arise - "What did you think about the way that guy threw down his racquet?” Then give your feelings. Don’t overanalyse: Be careful not to rehash every detail of any game - overanalysis can give the message that it's more important than it really is.Be Positive Young players need to be enjoying themselves. They need encouragement. Be Balanced - piling on the praise is not a good idea either. A warm smile, pat on the back or a "well played" is okay. If you start raving about his passes or telling him he's the best, you're putting pressure on him and setting him up for failure. Like parent like son - if parents have the right attitude to children's sport, then the appropriate attitudes will flow naturally from there to the children. If you shout the odds from the side-line and show huge disappointment when they lose, if you shout at each bad shot that is played, they will learn this too. Watch your reaction when you are watching a game on TV where your favourite team is losing. Be nice or go home - every season the Principals of a group of schools in Cape Town get together to compose a letter to urge parents to refrain from rude and aggressive comments and behaviour on the side-lines at their children's sports matches. Avoid criticising a coach, ref or player in your child’s presence. It’s not a race- Children shouldn’t get into competitive sport too young. When they are little the emphasis should be on fun, movement, variety, social and skills development  Leave your baggage by the door - we all know this on a conscious level but may still subconsciously project our unlived dreams or unrealistic expectations onto our children. Understand yourself and your children's abilities and limits. If it isn't fun, it isn't worth it - Try to nurture the spirit of play in your child. If games and sport become stressful or unpleasant, kids will give it all up as soon as they can. When you lose, don't lose the lesson - Humour, persistence, concentration and generosity create not only good competitors but also good people. The real winners are the children who develop a good sense of self and build a lifelong love of fitness, sport and exercise. I do hope you find the information above helpful as you navigate your way through the journey of nurturing your son to be a good sport.

Wishing you a great weekend. Take full advantage of the little bit of lovely weather that is left! Wishing Mrs Doris Lottering the happiest birthday today. 

Kind regards

SHARLENE GROOM
HEAD:PRE-PREP

Some of our boys will be running in this event hosted by Bishops. Races will start at 4.30pm @ Lugtensvale Fields. Runners have been notified. All the best to all those competing.

This beautiful school is 174 years old! We look forward to some fun, celebrating this wonderful day.

 Family Chapel Service

This will be our first family chapel service for 2023.  We welcome ALL those that are new to Bishops. All parents are free to join us in the Memorial Chapel. Please be patient while the College boys leave the chapel, before you enter.  No eating or drinking is allowed in the chapel. The service will last approximately half an hour.     

Thank you to all the incredible parents who have signed up to assist the VUSA creche programme. Their presence has not only provided additional support to our staff, but it has also created a warm and welcoming atmosphere for our children.  Thank you, ladies, for giving your time and energy to our Dalukhanyo children and for your deep care and concern for the community its children.  For more information on VUSA, please visit our website (https://www.vusarugbyacademy.com/) or contact Nikki Matthews at the Trust office.

The Lord be with you

Mathew 4:1-11
Last week we took time to make promises to God and recommitted ourselves to live in accordance with His will. Now, just a week later we read the story about the temptation which is found in the Gospel of Mathew 4:1-11. This is when God spent time in the wilderness trying his best to live up to his promise to the Father by fasting and praying. This tug-of-war continued for 40 days and nights.
During this week's lesson we reflected on how we are sometimes challenged and tempted. There are times when we think that we can get away with things that are whispered to us and display some behaviour that our parents, teachers and peers are not even aware of. These are all temptations that we face. We discovered how much self-control we have over these beautiful and strong bodies God has given us.
Please click here to watch the video that we shared with the boys, demonstrating temptation and how difficult it can be.
We pray to God for the uniquely abled bodies He has given us. He trusts us to be responsible with them so as not to harm ourselves or others around us.
Amen

Our Grade 2’s continue to, ‘Keep doing good..’ with working on greeting passers by and generally trying to be kind and thoughtful towards others. We are delighted with the boys who have been awarded Gentlemen’s Badges and encourage all boys to keep on striving to be the best they can be. In art the boys have been working on pieces titled ‘Under the magnifying glass’. These detailed beauties have taken them a few lessons to complete! Our sandpit crew is always hard at work at break time, constructing tunnels and trying to dig to the ends of the earth. When you empty their sand filled pockets at home, you know it’s been a great break at school!

We were so grateful to our VIP guest last week, Andy Taylor, who came to speak to the boys all about coral.  The Grade Ones thoroughly enjoyed their outing to the Two Oceans Aquarium as we were able to learn more about sea life and recycling. The teachers also loved listening to the boys’ riddles as they presented clues on their secret rock pool creature. Our collaborative mural is progressing as we were able to add our sea creatures where the boys focussed on paper tearing to improve our fine motor skills. This week we are working on rolling scrunchies with tissue paper.