EDITION 34 21 November 2019
Calling The Grade 1 boys thoroughly enjoyed their special Princes Dinner on 24 October. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening to celebrate the boys completing their first year at ‘Big School’.
Prep School Principal “Sunsets are proof that endings can be beautiful” In January we all began at the starting line and now Each year and in every grade, there are always we are nearing the finish line. obstacles in this race to overcome and positive constructive solutions need to be chosen to finish strongly. Determination and resilience are needed to reach the finish when things don’t work out as planned. Our boys need this strength of character to finish well so that they are remembered for a fine finish and a race well run.
We have the final element of the race to go, the part of the race that can count the most. As the saying goes, “It is not how you start the race but how you finish”. How will the boys choose to finish the race? Many of them will think of marks or prizes as a measure of winning the race but the manner in which they finish is far more important than the winning. The race is often about the journey and the lessons learnt along the way. This is especially pertinent for our matrics and few of our Grade 7 boys who have just a few weeks left at Clifton. These final few weeks will determine how well our boys complete their journey and the mark they will leave behind. Have the finish line in your mind and envision crossing it as Clifton Gents.
VICTOR WHITE PREPARATORY SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
News bits... Clifton congratulations to Matt Hammond (Grade 7) who played rugby for Collegians in the U13 league. The team won the cup and at the annual prize giving, Matt won Most Improved Player of the Season. Great stuff, Matt!
Clifton congratulations to Chad LeslieSmith (Grade 7). He and his dance partner, Kylie, won the Durban All Stars Silver Stargrade section in ballroom dancing and will both be competing in the SADF SA Championships to be held at Sibaya this weekend. Best wishes to you and Kylie, Chad!
Tiashan Moodley (Grade 10) has been selected as a violinist for the South African National Youth Orchestra. Congratulations, Tiashan! This is an outstanding achievement indeed!
A REMINDER ABOUT THE CLIFTON CARE PACKS In keeping with the spirit of the Festive season, and caring for our own community, the College is selling ‘Care Packs’ which can be given to the less fortunate as a token of hope. These packs can be handed out at shelters or traffic lights – wherever you might see someone in need. Packs may be purchased from the Finance Office in the Admin Block daily, from 08h00 to 15h00, at R50 per pack. Care packs are made of fabric with a picture/message painted on and contain a face cloth, toothbrush, toothpaste, roll-on/deodorant and a bar of soap.
As a member of the International Boys’ School Coalition (IBSC), we are fortunate to be able to share in the research being done worldwide to continually improve and refine how best to teach boys.
In the latest podcast shared via the IBSC website “The Experts Speak: The Digital Life of Boys”, they explore how mobile technology, social media, and the internet influence boys. In the podcast, various experts offer provocative ideas about the digital life of boys and practical solutions to some of the evolving tech challenges we face in our schools today. Click on the link to hear from psychiatrist and best -selling author Shimi Kang, social media law expert Emma Sadleir, and Laura Tierney, founder and CEO of The Social Institute. PODCAST LINK
A reminder too that the collection for the East Coast Radio Toy Story is still underway. The Prep families have been amazing and we welcome the College families to come on board!
The funds raised from sales will be used to add more Care Packs in order to repeat the initiative next year. We hope that each family will buy at least one. Should you wish to contribute a larger amount, this would be greatly appreciated. The Clifton Interact Club will also hand out 100 of these at the St Joseph's Parish on 29 November. This is a wonderful initiative from our Community Engagement Team!
FROM THE SIDELINES By Nick Lambie Oliver Cash Interview: The “Energizer Bunny” behind Clifton’s Strength and Conditioning programme Tell us a bit about your Strength and Conditioning background?
If a student leaves and wants to be a provincial rugby player, he mustn’t just be built for rugby, he must have OLIVER CASH the tools and the knowledge to go forward. The same applies to water polo, cricket or hockey. If he can leave me with an understanding of healthy physical growth and development as an adult, then I’ve done my job.
My strength and conditioning career started at Westville Boys High School, where I worked parttime under Brendan Blackburn, before Matt Wheal took over from him. Both men were mentors to me before I was offered the position of Head of Strength and Conditioning at Westville in 2014, a position I held until September 2016. In September 2016, I was offered the opportunity of Head of Strength and Conditioning here at Clifton College, and joining the Clifton family was the best decision I ever made. It couldn’t have come at better time as I What recovery methods do you use with your needed a change and a new challenge in my life. students?
What are your ‘go-to’ exercises for students and We use ice baths predominantly, directly after intenwhy? sive games across all sports. Alternatively, we use a lot of recovery swims. In order of importance they There are so many that I love. If you ask any of the are: ice baths, recovery swims, foam rolling, stretchboys who have trained with me over the years, I ing, flossing work in the gym. harp on about some form of pillar strength exercise and any form of squat exercise in my conditioning How do you keep your students motivated? programs. No matter the age, size or physical deI remind them of the little rewards and the little victovelopment of the student, squatting is one of the ries. A lot of the time the boys will come into a fitmost beneficial exercises in the book. Last but not ness session or training session, no matter the team least, a pull-up – also no matter your age, size or or sport, and feel like they aren’t doing enough or physical development, how strong or weak you are, haven’t trained hard enough. The key is to remind there are many forms of pull-ups a student can do them of the hard work they have already done on to test their ultimate pulling strength. the field or in the gym, and that they are 1 or 2% Tell us about the sports specific training methbetter than they were the day before. It’s all about ods you use for each sport? reminding them of the little victories every day, which keeps them moving forward. Sports specific training is a difficult one as so many pupils are crossover athletes. For example, a topYou are the most energetic Strength and Condilevel water polo player could also be a top-level tioning coach I have come across. Where does cricketer or hockey player. Sports specific training is all your energy come from and what keeps you a different component that’s rather challenging, but I motivated? think that each code has its own aspects of physical I’m a firm believer in walking the talk, so if I expect performance and conditioning. Each discipline has my students to come to gym and give me 10 out 10 key pillars and performance areas that benefit the day in and day out, then I want to better their perforstudents in the same way. It’s important that you mance. It’s important they see a Mr Cash who is build momentum with a student who is prepared to energetic, positive, happy and in a productive frame work hard and is well-equipped to take on the deof mind. I feel like it filters through to them, motivatmands of his sports. For me, it’s more about the eding them to come in here and be happy, positive ucation so that by the time they leave school they and productive, and thus becoming physically better know what is required of them in their chosen sport. themselves.
Some of our Grade 3 boys have taken advantage of the beautiful weather and went outside to enjoy some reading time in the sunshine.
Classifieds CHILD CARE Tersia Brenna has eighteen years of experience in supervising and teaching children from 3 months olds to 5year-olds. She also has experience with autistic and ADHD children. She is available to au pair, assist with homework and holiday care Monday to Friday and weekends from the 15 December onwards. Please contact her on 0635351952.