Calling
EDITION 7 28 February 2019
Clifton College Valentine Concert...
A celebration of love through music.
Preparatory School Principal “Playing sports offers everything from physical activity, experiencing success and bouncing back from failure, to taking calculated risks and dealing with the consequences (of) working as a team and getting away from the ubiquitous presence of screens. Our (teenagers) need sport now more than ever.” Miner, Julianne W. “Why 70 percent of Kids Quit Sports by Age 13.”
The Washington Post, 1 June 2016. Dear Parents Once again we have started the year with a very busy sporting schedule, and it is fantastic to see the extent to which our boys at Clifton participate in the variety of sports on offer. One of our goals is to encourage all boys to participate in at least one team sport, as we value significantly the benefits of being part of a team. Through team sport, boys learn to work together to face challenges and to find solutions cooperatively. Each member of a team has an important role, and our coaches work hard to foster this, motivating boys to strive for personal excellence within the context of working for the greater good of the team. We want our boys to be the best that they can be as players, as team members, and as part of the wider Clifton community, both on and off the field. Furthermore, as educators, our role is to instill a love of sport in our students. Consequently, while winning will always be valued, our sport pedagogy focuses on the process and not the outcome. We do not measure the success of an event by the scoreboard, but rather by what the team members have achieved together, and their attitude towards winning and losing. In addition, research shows that a significant factor in determining the success of future sportsmen is that they have fun playing sport in their junior years. This is often forgotten, hence our “sport for life” philosophy of Clifton which aims to give every boy an opportunity to grow as a sportsman and a team player, and to have fun playing sport. Our coaches are teachers who have a passion for the sport they coach, and experience in playing for a team. Their success is not measured by a win/lose ratio, but by their enthusiasm, and the passion and motivation they instill in their players throughout the year. One of the challenges sport coaches continue to face is that they are often assessed out of the context of teaching and learning. Sports matches are performance-based indicators and are not necessarily indicative of the process involved in coaching young children. As we move towards the winter season, we would like to appeal to parents to continue to support and trust our selection process. Teams are never set in stone, and there are always boys who move between teams with ease. We aim to make selections so that boys compete at an appropriate level and continue to enjoy their sport, while maximising participation across each age group. Recommended viewing: TedXTalk,s featuring John O’Sullivan: “Changing the game in youth sports” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXw0XGOVQvw Yours faithfully
VICTOR WHITE PREPARATORY SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
Meander On Saturday Mr Knowles will watch the cricket matches against Michaelhouse in Durban. Mr Goedeke will be at the cricket, water polo and basketball matches being played against Michaelhouse. Mr Bresler will be with his cricket team for their match. Messrs White, Mezher, Ravenscroft, Boniaszczuk and Knowles will be joined by Mrs Achmad for the Grade R to 7 Open Morning. Mr Ravenscroft will also be at the cricket matches being played against The Ridge who are down on tour from Johannesburg.
Congratulates... The North Swell Surf Club who made history in the Sea Harvest Interclub Surfing at Muizenberg Pavilion on Saturday (February 23rd), when they became the first surf club from KZN to win the title. Clifton gents James Ribbink (Grade 9) and Karl Steen (Grade 12) were part of the winning team. Nineteen teams representing fifteen surf clubs from the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KZN participated.
The Clifton Old Boys and current Grade 11’s who were selected to the KZN Junior Lifesaving squad, to compete in Cape Town on 13 April: Matthew Maroun (2018), Travis Misdorp (2016), George Edward, James Matthews and Conna Steadman. Clifton is arguably the strongest Lifesaving School in South Africa at present. At the KZN Junior Champs, the following Old Boys and current boys performed extremely well too: U15 Luke Achmad, Karl Berger U17 George Edward, Conna Steadman, William Pearse, Guy Brookes, James Matthews, Simon Taylor, Matthew Doyle, Scott Cliff, Lloyd Geddie U19 Matt Maroun, William Dowsett
Dwalalethu Mkuzo (Grade 7) who has been selected to the KZN U13B Tennis Team.
Noah Ditz and James Parry (Grade 11) who have been selected to represent KZN U18 in the 2019 SA National Water Polo Tournament to be held in Johannesburg from 13 to 17 March.
Best wishes to you and your team, Dwalalethu!
Lance Leslie-Smith who played at the Mthembu Memorial Chess Tournament and won the high school section after winning all 5 rounds!
The Clifton Prep First XI team members who received their White Cap whilst on tour in Grahamstown: (Left to Right) Samuel Sibande, Jason Adams, Yaasir Shaik, Timothy Saulez, Daniel Hompes, Joshua van Biljon, Richard Castle and Damian Marais
Mrs Doyle who does some amazing work with the pupils from Isobonelo High School. Pictured here are some of the matric pupils making Esters during their Science lesson. Thank you for the work you do for our community outreach, Mrs Doyle!
Cameos The Grade 4 Lifesaving Club enjoyed some ‘hands on’ experience with the equipment at the Marine Lifesaving Club.
We were delighted to welcome Clifton Old Boy and cricket legend Barry Richards back onto the campus to show him the new Heritage Centre. He recalled stories related to some of his COB peers on the honours boards. Barry is keen to get in touch with other Clifton Prep Old Boys from the 1950s and 1960s to discuss plans for our centenary celebrations in 2024. Mr Mezher also assured him that every effort would be made to regain the Richards Procter Trophy from Highbury! He was delighted to hear of the cricket facilities our boys currently enjoy at Riverside and Durban North College. Barry used to travel by tram from Florida Road to Hoy Park to practice and play his matches. As always, we are tremendously grateful for the support Barry gives to his prep alma mater. Thank you, Barry.
The members of the 2019 XIII Club. Front and centre are two of our red ants who will join their big brothers as members of the XIII Club in 12 years time!
A reminder of the Open Morning for Grades R -7.
This event is to be held on Thursday 25 April 2019 in the Ken Mackenzie Hall from 18h00. The price of the ticket is R200 per person. This includes your entrance, entertainment and a delicious meal. The boys are buzzing with excitement as they prepare their works of art for ‘Living Bold’!
Looks back... Some old pictures of Lambert Road and Stubbs House. Our grateful thanks to the Grindrod-Whitley Family for sharing these with us. Left: The stately Stubbs House where it all began! Left bottom: The view down onto Lambert Road from Stubbs House. Bottom: Lambert Road Terrace.