EDITION 18 6 June 2019
Calling
Executive Headmaster
Dear Clifton Family On Monday 3 June, we officially opened the Heritage Centre, situated in Founders’ House, and launched the Heritage Trail. The Centre was created last year, but we have linked its official opening to Harry Stubbs’ birthday, which was on Sunday 2 June. The Trail is comprised of eight information boards placed at strategic points around the whole campus, which will allow those following the Trail to follow the School’s history, from its original founding in 1924, up to the latest developments. The last board is situated at Founders’ House. Accompanying the tour, will be a brochure and diagrammatic map, created by local artist Nikhil Tricam. There was a small gathering of guests at the opening on Monday. In my welcoming address, I made the following comments: “It is really wonderful to see the campus, and these magnificent buildings in which our boys are taught, turned into a living museum through the development of the Trail. Of course, we do need to emphasise that the Heritage Trail is only the beginning of our vision! As we build the concept of “heritage” in the school, there will be other activities and tasks to work on,
some of which will not be glamorous or flashy! Building up and maintaining the Old Boys’ archive database is one such task that comes to mind. We will look to expand the Centre into the rest of Founders’ House, add to the Trail, and develop the Archives. Mr McCabe will also be responsible for producing the history of the School (both Prep and College), from our starting point in 1924. The purpose of the activities and tasks we have in mind is to celebrate Clifton’s history, particularly as we move towards our Centenary in 2024, and the 21st year celebrations of the College in 2023. What a Founders’ Day it will be in 2024! Having said that, we also need to be clear on two things: Firstly, that as we speak of “heritage” and the “legacy” of our founders, we must also look to the future. There is the cliché about standing on the shoulders of giants, but there is an element of truth in that. Yesterday was the birth date of Harry Stubbs – and I wonder what he would say if he came back now? What a legacy he has left us. Mr Stubbs certainly left his mark on Clifton, and on the Durban landscape! We hope that future generations will also look back on what we are doing, with the same degree of pride and admiration. “Heritage “has been defined as all the things that make us
who we are, and “legacy” involves looking back in order to build a future. We create legacies in order to reflect on what has been achieved, to appreciate what we have, and improve on what we have by driving ourselves to the next level. The second thing to remember is that whilst we may actively honour those who have left their mark, there are other, unsung heroes – the teachers and admin staff, the builders who laid the bricks, the groundsmen and cleaning staff, the kitchen staff, sports coaches and bus drivers, and a whole web of supporters – who gave of themselves so that the school could strengthen and grow. Amongst these supporters are, of course, parents and old boys, and the many former teachers who spent time here. We acknowledge all who have made a contribution and left their individual mark”. On that note I would like to acknowledge and thank all those involved in the creation of the Heritage Centre and the Heritage Trail, including Mrs Jane last few years, resulting in some wonderful Maasdorp, Mr Mike Foxcroft and Mrs Nikki friendships between both pupils and staff. We look forward to our trip to Gauteng next year. McRobbie. Furthermore, during the College Assembly on Monday, I wished the College gentlemen all the best for their examinations and assessments, which start today. I trust that they will achieve the marks they deserve! At the same time, I urged them to work Thank you to the artist, Nikhil Tricam, as well as to hard to achieve success, with the reminder that “you our finance people, Mr Mark Montgomery and Mrs can’t have a million-dollar dream on a minimumKate Field, for finding the budget allocation! To Mr wage work ethic”. Tony Kinnear – thank you for the design of the boards, and similarly to Mr Alan Michel for the Warm regards management of this project. There have been various attempts to record the History of Clifton over the years. To all those who have worked on the history of the school, going back into the mists of time, thank you.
A special word of thanks to Mr Shaun McCabe – this project has been his personal “baby”! As a fellow historian, and one with a particular interest in schools’ histories – I recognise his passion! All credit to him for taking this dream and turning it into a reality. I think the Centre is a vast improvement on what was here a year ago, and the Trail will enhance the campus experience. By way of conclusion to this week’s message, I would like to express my gratitude to all our parents who hosted boys from St David’s last Friday night and Saturday. This is a good fixture for us, and the DAVE KNOWLES relationship between the schools has grown over the EXECUTIVE HEADMASTER
Meander... On Friday Messrs White, Knowles and Mezher will be at the Prep rugby matches being played against Highbury on the Whitehead Oval. On Saturday Mr Boniaszczuk will be at the Horizon Maths Awards Ceremony at Star College. Messrs Mezher, Goedeke, Bresler and Knowles will be at the College hockey matches being played away at Hilton. Mr Ravenscroft is away at a conference in Johannesburg.
Congratulates... Connor Buck (Grade 10) who has been selected to swim with the SA Open Water team in Toulouse, France on the 30 June 2019.
Anthony Traicos (Grade 11) on being selected to go through to Provincials for Debating. This will be taking place from 14 – 16 June and we wish him all the best. Congratulations also go to our senior Debating Teams (Clifton 1 and 2) for making it through to the Quarter Finals of the Durban Coastal Debating League.
Sven Paton (Grade 8 Royal Schools Voice) and Tiashan Moodley (Grade 8 Royal Schools Violin) passed their examinations with excellent results, both achieving Honours. Sven is the Head of Choir at Clifton and the Head boy of the the KZN Youth Choir and Tiashan is Concert Master of the KZN Youth Orchestra. Fantastic results, gentlemen!
Declan Jackson (Grade 5) who was selected for the KZN Biathlon team. Declan will now be going forward to the SA Championships. Excellent stuff, Declan!
Nicholas Taylor (Grade 3), who competed in the SA Nippers Championship. Nicholas won a host of trophies as well as 9 gold medals, 1 silver medal and the trophy for Victor Ludorum. Wow, Nicholas! Keep it up.
These seven Clifton surfers who made it into the top 25 KZN Schools Individual Seedings: 1 5 10 11 12 21 22
Karl Steen Luke Perreira Matt Coetzer James Ribbink Ben Ribbink William Pearce Connor Alves
The Clifton Surfers for their Standout surfers: excellent results at the HEAT 1: heats on 31 May: Clifton A - Karl Steen 16.5/20 HEAT 1: Clifton A - Luke Perreira 1st: Clifton A 11.5/20 553 points HEAT 2: 4th: Clifton B 136 points
Well done on an excellent season, gents!
We also congratulate Thomas Starr (Grade 5) on his selection to the KZN U12A rugby team. Tom Brown, one of his coaches, accompanied him to the capping ceremony at the Shark Tank.
The Clifton A team placed 1st out of 18 competing schools for the 2019 season, with the Clifton B team placing 11th.
Clifton congratulations to the following 32 hockey players who have made various KZN Coastals Teams: U18A Justin Wood Branson Bertasso
U16A Brett Anticevich Dario Reddy
U14A Justin Gatonby Kyle Thomas
U18B Nikim Rotham Matt Strous Jonathan Munro
U16B Ross Montgomery Daryl Lotter George Tattari
U14B Ben Aylward Kieren Brown Joshua Kennedy Romashan Pillay
U18C John Munford Alex Kerr Spencer Klue Byron Kraus
U16C Nathan Fouche U14A Combined Team Joshua Northend Joseph Rey Connor McKenzie Mitchell Tillard
U14C Robert Hammond Nathan Shotland U13 REPRESENTATION Daniel Hompes U13C Dwalalethu Mkuzo U13C Murray Hall-Jones U13B
Congratulations to the Clifton coaches who will be working with the teams in various capacities: Trent Bauer: KZN U13 Head Coach, Richard Nienaber: KZN U12A Assistant coach, Grant Bowles: KZN U12A Head Coach, Geoff Thomas: KZN U14A Coastals Manager, Keagan Hezlett: KZN U16B Head Coach, Andrew Dunn: KZN U16B Assistant Coach, Keegan Pearce: KZN U18A Head Coach. Well done, gentlemen.
The artistic representation of Clifton by Nikhil Tricam, which is being used as the map for the new Heritage Trail. The red numbers indicate where the information boards may be found.
Cameos On Tuesday 4 June, Clifton hosted Dr Lieb Liebenberg, the leading researcher on Mind-Brain-Education (MBE) in South Africa, along with the CEO of ITSI. MBE is a interdisciplinary study of Cognitive Science, Psychology and Education. Dr Liebenberg addressed some key Neuromyths, which eLearning companies use to pitch their products. All of the content was research that was backed by schools and colleges from around the world. “The Left brain vs Right Brain theory is complete nonsense. Are you telling me that when a learner wants to be creative the Left Brain takes a nap and then when the learner wants to be logical the left brain wakes up and the right brain takes a nap?” - Dr L Liebenberg
He acknowledged that his research would upset some people, especially those who are making money off of these ideas. The event was well-attended by various schools in the greater Durban area and concluded with Mr Boniaszczuk sharing Clifton’s eLearning journey.
The Grade 3 Creative Club boys have worked hard all term learning how to sew - using buttons, tacking and blanket-stitch - to make their owlets. Well done, lads. These look fabulous!
Andrew Sparks and Jono Munro (Grade 12) spoke to the Prep boys at assembly about their ‘music journey’ from when they were in the Prep up to where they are now in Grade 12. They told personal stories of how they managed the academic demands they faced, as well as their commitment to the many other co-curricular activities in which they participated. It was wonderful to see them engaging with the younger boys who will soon be following in their footsteps.
Mrs Munthree kindly shared this photo of our Prep boys which she took at the DND chess weekend. Thanks for flying the Clifton flag for us, lads!
The Nelson Mandela University’s Govan Mbeki Mathematics Development Centre recently ran a Math Art Competition, in line with the international trend of STEAM (incorporating Art into Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). The 3 artworks below were entered by Clifton gents. Left to Right: Christopher Geils (Grade 11), Ryan Finlay (Grade 12) and Matt Williamson (Grade 11).
Ryan’s piece made it to the final round with Matt and Christopher making it to the semi-final round.
Clifton gents will be holding a Night Market, the proceeds of which will go the SABMR. Please email: lkriel@cliftonschool.co.za for further information if you would like to book a craft stall.
The Grade 1 boys have been learning all about money. Shops were set up in the classrooms and the boys used their paper money to buy items. What fun!
Grade 2 boys learning how to do French Knitting during their club activities.
Our Grade 1 boys had a wonderful time at the Flag Animal Farm!
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.
HOME OFFERED FOR AN UNLOVED ‘ORBITREK’ Mr Mezher is prepared to offer a permanent home to an unwanted Orbitrek exercise bike. Tel: 082 808 6880
Old Boys
Clifton Old Boys, brothers Chris (2014) and Michael McGlynn (2017), have been selected to represent SA at the World Swimming Champs in South Korea. The first time in SA swimming history that brothers are representing SA at World Champs competing against each other in the same race!