EDITION 14 10 May 2019
Calling
Cross Country at Moses Mabhida Stadium. #RunWithUs #StayFitWithUs #WeLoveDurban
Executive Headmaster Dear Clifton Family I am writing this on Election Day, having exercised the privilege and responsibility to vote in the sixth national elections. I hope that the elections will go off as smoothly as possible, and will be declared “free and fair”. Perhaps like you, I was struck by the number of different registered parties, especially on the national ballot sheet, some of which I have never heard about. I did wonder where they have come from, but to my mind, it is a sign of a robust democracy. At Assembly on Monday, the College gentlemen heard an erudite and incisive overview of our political system and how democracy works in South Africa, from our own Mr Boniaszczuk. As usual, his talk was well researched and made a number of telling points, not least of which was the importance of exercising the vote, once the boys have reached voting age. My thanks to Mr Boni on being willing to present on this important topic. For those of you who don’t know, Mr Goedeke has been off school since Easter, when he fell ill with chicken pox. He spent over a week in hospital in isolation, as he had caught a combination of the three virus strands. Happily, he has been at home for almost a week now and is well on the way to recovery. We wish him well as he continues to recuperate. I would like to reiterate other appeals we have made for parents to be nice to our neighbours on Lambert Road, especially when there is congestion on the road at pick-up times or when there is an event at school. Whilst congestion is certainly a problem, and I understand the frustrations our parents feel when trying to navigate the traffic, one can also imagine the frustration of our neighbours when cars are parked illegally on the red lines in front of their garages or entrances. There were a number of instances reported to me by our neighbours last year, of a few of our parents abusing them when being asked to move their cars, and I discussed this with those neighbours. Whilst we do what we can to differentiate the school ending times, and disburse the collection points onto Innes Road and Rosetta Road, the fact remains that there will be congestion at times. The latest incident, on Friday afternoon, when a parent allegedly swore violently at the neighbour and threatened her (“I know where you live”), left her understandably shaken and upset. Unfortunately, she was not able to take down the details of the car, other than it was black, and that the parent was a
male. So, my earnest appeal – if you are going to park on the red lines, please be good enough to move when asked to do so – it’s a reasonable request. We would never tolerate this sort of behaviour from our boys, and we should be setting the example as adults. I am conscious that it is a very small minority of parents who might do this, but it certainly reflects badly on us as a school as well. On to happier matters – and a confession! I did take the opportunity of the public holiday today to watch the Liverpool – Barcelona match last night! What a match – and even for those who don’t follow sport or football, it was a demonstration of the power of a positive attitude, passion, belief and never giving up. As wonderful as the four goals and the defensive effort were, the highlight for me was the team, with the reserves, and the coaching and support staff, standing in front of the Kop, singing the Liverpool anthem. A feel-good moment! We look forward to next week, the sixth week of the term, and at long last, the first week when we will actually have a whole five weekdays of school! As we all know, boys like routine, and the first five weeks have been quite disrupted, with the public holidays and so on. As such, we look forward to the next six weeks, with only the last week being shorter, when there is a public holiday (Youth Day) on Monday 17 June. On that note we wish the College all the best as they travel to Pretoria for their fixture against St Alban’s. A reminder to parents about our Supporter@Clifton gear, especially the V-neck or Golf shirt, the caps and the umbrella and cushions. All are available at the School Shop at the Barry Richards Pavilion. For those College gentlemen who do not get the chance to travel, there will be lessons in the early part of the day, after which we will be doing our bit for the community, with a beach clean-up. Warm regards
DAVE KNOWLES EXECUTIVE HEADMASTER
Meander... On Friday Messrs White, Mezher and Ravenscroft will be at the Prep rugby matches being played away against Merchiston in Pietermaritzburg. Messrs Knowles and Bresler will be will be at St Alban’s in Pretoria for the College’s winter derby matches on Friday and Saturday. On Saturday Mr Boniaszczuk will be at the Horizon Maths Competition at Star College.
Congratulates... Thomas Hallam (Grade 8) for completing his PADI Junior Open Water Certification. He passed with 94% for his written exam and dived with confidence during his practical exams. RIGHT: Thomas with his instructor, Lawrence Mpanza.
Our Clifton debaters who once again came away with convincing wins over Glenwood, Our Lady of Fathima and DHS on 2 May. The results were as follows: Grade 8 topic: This house would increase the automation of labour Clifton vs Glenwood 1: Clifton won; Best Speaker: Enock Ngoie.
Junior topic: This house would incentivize urban-rural migration Clifton 1 vs Glenwood 2: Clifton won; Best Speaker: Steven Callaghan. Clifton 2 vs Fatima 2: Clifton won. Clifton 3 vs DHS: Clifton won.
The 2019 LSA Surf Inter-Provincial Championships was hosted by Lifesaving Western Cape on Saturday, 13 April 2019 at Clifton 4th Beachin Cape Town. We congratulate Matthew Coetzer, Kristian Muller, George Edward, James Matthews and Conna Steadman who competed as part of the KwaZulu Natal Team. Their results were as follows: Matthew Coetzer (U14 Male) Place Event Class 1
Board Race
1
Board Relay
1
Taplin Relay
2
Iron Nipper
3
Surf Swim Relay
4
Beach Relay
6
Surf Swim
10
Beach Flags
Khristian Muller (U14 Male) Place Event Class 1
Taplin Relay
3
Surf Swim Relay
James Matthews (JNR Male)
7
Surf Swim
Place Event Class
George Edward (JNR Male)
2
Beach Relay
Place Event Class
2
Rescue Tube Rescue
1
Run/Swim/Run
2
Single Ski Relay
2
Beach Relay
2
Taplin Relay
2
Board Race
4
Surf Swim
2
Board Relay
5
Single Ski
2
Ironman
Conna Steadman (JNR Male)
2
Rescue Tube Rescue
Place Event Class
2
Taplin Relay
2
Beach Relay
2
Rescue Tube Rescue
2
Single Ski Relay
6
Beach Sprint
7
Beach Flags
We wish Ben Bresler and Jack Aylward “Viajes seguros!” as they depart for their exchange to Argentina. Ben and Jack will be spending a few weeks at our partner school - St George’s College - in Buenos Aires. We are confident that, as they immerse themselves in the local culture, they will represent Clifton School and South Africa with aplomb!
Clifton congratulations to Romashen Pillay who was named KZNCU U13 player of the year for 2018! Fantastic achievement young man! Romashen is pictured here with Clifton Cricket Professional, Mr Wayne Scott.
Pictured left is Christiano Teixeira (Grade 7) who has recently returned from Belgium where he played in the Tura Cup Soccer Tournament. Christiano plays for the Riverside Soccer Club and has done so for the past three years. His favourite player and soccer idol is, of course, Christiano Ronaldo!
CLIFTON AND DURBAN GIRLS’ COLLEGE RAISE FUNDS FOR THE SA BONE MARROW REGISTRY Clifton decided to allocate all funds received via the MySchool programme until Easter, to the SABMR in honour of Robbie Eddles. Each time one of the Clifton community swiped their MySchool card, a percentage of their purchase went towards this fund. On Monday at DGC, Paulette Holmes and her son Joshua (Grade 12) handed over R22 000 to match the R22 000 raised by DGC. Paulette and Joshua are pictured here with Simone Gagiano (MySchool), Karen Jones, Feroza Joossub and Caley Rosenberg (DGC Parents' Association). Our grateful thanks to DGC for their generosity and support.
IN HONOR OF OUR FOUNDER, MR HARRY STUBBS On Monday 6 May, a new Clifton tradition began with a wreathlaying ceremony at the grave of the founder of Clifton School, Mr Harry Stubbs. This was to commemorate his passing on 6 May 1936. It was also an opportunity for us to acknowledge Harry Stubbs’s foundation of our school which he opened on 2 February 1924, and ran as its headmaster until his death. The wreath was laid by the Head Boy and representatives of the College and Preparatory School on behalf of the Clifton Family. We were also privileged to have Mrs Rosemary Whitley, Harry Stubbs’s granddaughter, in attendance who laid flowers on behalf of her extended family.
“The NumberSense Mathematics Programme has been created to support children’s development of a robust sense of number and deep understanding of mathematics. The programme is responsive to the developmental needs of children, is informed by current research on how children learn mathematics and provides a comprehensive mathematics solution.� - www.numbersense.co.za We have been running the Number Sense programme, developed by Aarnout Brombacher for Mathematics from Grade R to Grade 7, for the past eight years. We are very fortunate to have the developer and man behind the Number Sense Programme visiting Clifton to give a presentation on how Number Sense is implemented and the benefits it has for your son. A brilliant developer, a gifted presenter and a renowned teacher in his own right, Aarnout is always interesting and inspiring to listen to and engage with on any topic and Mathematics in particular. Please join us on Thursday 23 May from 18h30 to 20h00 in the Sutcliffe Theatre. Please sign up via the Parent Portal on ADAM.
Grade 2s enjoying Data Handling with Jelly Tots!
Happy Mother’s Day from the Grade 2 boys!
Classifieds HOUSE SITTING AND BABY SITTING Please call Amy Mezher on 064 687 5934 or email: amymez6@gmail.com if you are looking for a reliable House Sitter or Baby Sitter. Two musical groups are to perform at Clifton on 24 May. KZN Youth Choir and KZN Youth Wind band. Sutcliffe theatre at 18h30, tickets : Mrs Marietjie Roloff : 082 456 2328, Adults : R100 children R50
Old Boys Michael Maree, Class of 2012, passed his second Board Exam and will qualify as a CA (SA) at the end of 2019.
PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD TO FAMILIES YOU KNOW THAT MAY BE INTERESTED IN BOOKING A TOUR.
Our Executive Headmaster invites you to join him for a tour of our campus. Enjoy a cup of tea with us, take a walk through our campus and take some time to interact with our Clifton staff and boys.
TOUR DATE: Wednesday 5 June 09h00-11h00 Email Carol De Matteis to book: marketing@cliftonschool.co.za You are also able take a Virtual Tour of our grounds and the Riverside Sports facilities via the home page of our website: www.cliftonschool.co.za
THE INDEPENDENT BOYS SCHOOL IN DURBAN FROM GRADE R—12