11/01/2012
“With God, every moment is the moment of beginning again”
I would like to welcome boys, parents and staff back to the 2012 Academic Year. The Grade 8 boys, the Grade 12 leaders and over 50% of the staff departed for Parnassus this morning. The boys have arrived safely and the camp is underway. I have no doubt that the boys will have a rip-roaring time and I look forward to meeting our Grade 8 parents at Saturdays Parents' Meetings.
The Grade 8's and the remainder of our boys will formally start the academic year with an assembly at 7:30 on Monday, 16 January 2012. Our Grade 10 and 11 boys are reminded of their “pre-school sessions” in Maths and Science that are scheduled over the next three days:
Wednesday, 11 January
8:00 – 11:00 Grade 11 Maths – Paper 3
8:30 – 11:30 Grade 10 Science - Scientific Method and SI Units
Thursday, 12 January
8:30 – 11:30 Grade 11 Science – Graphs and Equations of Motion
Friday, 13 January
08:00 – 11:00 Grade 11 Maths – Paper 3
I extend a warm welcome to every one of our new boys, in particular our new Grade 8's – each one of whom is an important part of the biggest Grade 8 cohort in the history of the College. It is my greatest hope that each boy will very soon find his own special niche at the College and soon come to feel that he is truly a valuable and valued part of the College community.
Welcome back too, to the Class of 2012 – our smallest matric group in recent years! I would like to wish the Grade 12's the very best for this, their final, and what is generally regarded as the most important year of their school career. Many challenges lie ahead of you and I wish you God's richest blessings in achieving each one of the goals you have set yourselves.
Our boys won't admit it, but they love the start of a new school year. You see, in the eyes of our boys, each new school year provides the opportunity for a new beginning. It's one of the delights of being a schoolboy! It is an opportunity to “start over” and to leave behind the disappointments of the previous year. In many respects, the new school year brings with it feelings similar to the healing joy and spiritual restoration that follows in the wake of the Sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession.
In her book Beginning Again, Catherine Doherty writes as follows:
“I love confession. When you hear the words of absolution fall on your ears, it is like salve on your wounds. The forgiveness of God envelops you like a mantle, for the confessional is the altar of mercy. Only Love could devise such a wonder. At any hour, our souls can be washed clean and whiter than snow by the most holy sacrament of Penance. We can become little children again, newly baptized. We are like innocent babies again when we leave the confessional. Think of what this sacrament of confession means. Our Lord gives it to us to bathe our souls and make them alive again, resurrecting from sin in a mercy that knows no end until we die.”
Whether or not they have been to Confession over the festive period, boys will return to school at the start of the year with very similar feelings. Each will have a list of personal (often private) resolutions: to improve their academics, to try their utmost to get selected for the top teams, to be more actively involved in all aspects of the school and possibly not to annoy a particular teacher quite as much as they did last year - and, of course, to have as much fun as possible in the process.
My sincerest hope is that – with their staff and parents’ support - these resolutions will be sustained as long as possible and that each boy will come to find the strength needed to meet the demands that are made on his abilities and talents.
St Benedict's has a very proud tradition of providing an outstanding, holistic education for its boys. It is something we have been doing most successfully for fifty-four years. St Benedict's is also very demanding of its boys – certainly, it will not be difficult to find a "gentler, less rigorous” school. We have high expectations of our boys: they must study hard, participate in compulsory sport and other co-curricular activities, and maintain high standards of behaviour.
We also actively encourage parents to remain actively involved in the educational process of their son. Parents are invited to be full partners in educating their sons by attending meetings with teachers, participating in and supporting school activities, particularly those in which their own son is involved. The result is a dynamic environment and community where teachers and parents work in concert to provide opportunities for boys to explore, learn, mature, and develop a sense of who they are.
We are blessed to start the year with a full staff complement and we extend a warm welcome to the following staff members who joined the employ of St Benedict’s at the start of this year – many of whom come into “growth” posts:
- Mrs K Ashworth – Afrikaans Department
- Mr S Chriwa – Gymnasium and Sport
- Ms M Coetzee – Head of Visual Art
- Ms G Cook – Head of Maths Literacy
- Mrs A Dunn – Head of Accounting
- Mrs M du Plessis – Afrikaans Department
- Mr Patrick du Plooy – Science Department
- Mr D Edwards – History Department
- Mr S Edwards – RE and Accounting
- Mrs C Esterhuizen – Head of Physical Science
- Mr O Guyonnaud – IT intern and Rowing Coach
- Mr G Mbangeni – Sports Coach
- Mr R Stonier – RE and Drama
- Mr L Thaba – Sports Coach
Brief biographies of our new staff were published in our final newsletter of 2011. Welcome, one and all. I wish you a long and richly rewarding stay at St Benedict’s.
A STUDENT’S PRAYER FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR
We give you praise, O God,
for everything that is new and beautiful,
for everything which holds promise and brings us joy.
Bless us as we start this new year
with our friends and teachers
Help us to make the most of every chance we have to start afresh.
May we show love to one another and to all.
May the new beginning of this school year
remind us that you give us chances to start over again and again.
Help us to forgive others
as we receive your forgiveness.
Help us to learn and to work together.
Help us to listen when we should
and to know the best words when we speak
and when it is better not to speak.
We thank you for our friends
Help us to be good friends this year.
Help us to be patient
with ourselves and with others.
Bless our school and keep us safe.
Be with us as we travel each day.
Help us to be aware of your love
shown to us in the people around us.
Bless all those who care for us
In school and at home.
Help us show our care for them
and to say sorry when we need to.
May the Blessed Mother Mary protect us
And help us to live as well as we can
Giving thanks and glory to God as she did.
RELIGION AT ST BENEDICT’S
Over and above the quality academic, sporting and cultural programmes, resources and facilities, St Benedict’s is rooted in the fertile soil of the history of the Catholic Church. Our overall approach at St Benedict’s is informed by the distinguished and time-tested traditions of Catholic Education.
The following times are set aside daily to pause, to pray and to reflect:
- 07:00 – 07:20 Staff prayers in the College Oratory
- 07:20 – 07:30 Morning Reflection and Prayers at Line-up
- 12:00 Praying of the Angelus
- End of Day Praying of the Confiteur
In addition to these daily prayers, the College will celebrate First Friday Masses on all First Fridays that fall within the school calendar, Holy Days of Obligations are observed throughout the year and boys will attend a Grade Mass once a term and go on an annual spiritual retreat. Parents are most welcome to join us for any of the masses. Please watch the newsletter and consult the school calendar to keep abreast with dates and arrangements.
2011 GRADE 12 MATRIC RESULTS
Congratulations to the Class of 2011 on their excellent Matric results. The results are the “cherry on top of” what proved to be an extremely successful year. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the boys the very best for the future and encourage them all to pop in on a regular basis to keep us updated with their progress.
For comprehensive feedback on our boys’ phenomenal achievements, please visit the following links:
2011 ACADEMIC PRIZEGIVING
Our 2011 Academic Prizegiving will take place in the college Hall on Thursday, 26 January 2012. Invitations to the prizegiving will be issued to boys during the course of next week.
SCHOOL TIMETABLE
St Benedict’s College operates on a ten day cycle which consists of two 5-day timetables: one for a “Blue Week” and another for a “Red Week”. Unless indicated otherwise, the first and third week of every month is a “Blue Week” and the second and fourth week of every month will be a “Red Week”. School will commence next week with a “Blue Monday”!
Integrated Day Sports sessions are as follows:
- Grades 10 – 12: Last three periods on a Tuesday and Thursday
- Grade 9: Last three periods on a Monday and period 6,7 and 7 on a Thursday
- Grade 8: Periods 5, 6 and 7 on a Tuesday and a Friday.
Up until the start of the Winter Sports seasons, Grade 8 and 9 boys will have preseason Rugby and Hockey training during the last two periods on a Wednesday. Boys are required to wear the red, white or blue school T-shirt and blue school shorts. These T-shirts will be on sale at Parnassus on Sunday and are also available from Mrs Walker in the Sports Office: R120 for 3.
SCHOOL TIMES
The College starts at 7:20 each morning and closes at 15:00 on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays; 13:05 on Wednesdays and 14:30 on Fridays. Buses depart for homeruns ten minutes after school closes with the exception of Wednesday afternoons when no homeruns are provided.
Parents are requested to ensure that their sons arrive at school on time each morning. Late comers (between 7:20 and 7:30 are placed on break detention and boys arriving after 7:30 are placed on Level 1 Detention.
SCHOOL FEES
Parents have very limited time left to make use of discount offered by paying annual school fees in advance in January. The deadline for these payments is 27 January 2012.
School fee payments at St Benedict’s are paid in arrears and are due in the month they are billed. January fees are payable by 31 January 2012.
As a general rule-of-thumb, staff and management at St Benedict’s remain uninvolved in matters related to the collection of school fees. Concerns in this regard are addressed by our Finance Office and are escalated to the Treasurer of the Board of Governors – Mrs Kim Breet. Mrs Breet’s contact details are available from the Finance Office and are released to parents at the discretion of the school bursar and Executive Headmaster.
Parents are requested to ensure that that they pay school fees by the due date – this avoids the need for a telephonic reminder from our Finance Office. I have yet to receive a complaint about our Finance Department from a parent whose school fee account is up to date!
BELIEVE IN BENNIES
In addition to paying their school fees timeously, parents can assist in the development of St Benedict’s by supporting one or more of our “Believe in Bennies” campaigns. Please visit the following link for further details: Believe in Bennies
Certainly, I would encourage all parents to become Millennium club members and to make use of the consumer incentive programs.
TEXTBOOK AND STATIONERY LISTS
Parents who have not yet sourced textbook and stationery requirements for the 2012 Academic Year are reminded that the required lists are available for download at the following link: Textbook and Stationery Requirements.
COMMUNICATION
Parents are encouraged to read our weekly newsletters. You will receive an email reminder each Friday. Also be sure to visit other sections of our website to remain abreast of what is happening in the College. In particular, I would encourage you to visit the Academic pages which contain assessment dates and plans and the college calendar on a regular basis.
Should you have a particular query regarding your son, your first port-of-call is one of his two Year Heads. Issues which cannot be resolved by the Year Head are escalated to the appropriate Deputy Headmaster.
GRADE
|
DEPUTY HEADMASTER
|
YEAR HEADS
|
CLASS
|
REGISTER TEACHER
|
|
12
|
Mr D Jeffrey |
Mrs U Smith
Mr J Brouard |
12B
|
Mr R Sileno |
|
12E
|
Mrs G Cook |
|
12F
|
Ms J Will |
|
12J
|
Mrs K Ashworth |
|
12M
|
Mrs I Eckert |
|
11
|
Mr D Jeffrey |
Mrs S Peatfield
Mr C Brand |
11B
|
Ms M Coetzee |
|
11E
|
Mr M Amiradakis |
|
11F
|
Mrs F Holpert |
|
11J
|
Mrs U Visentin |
|
11M
|
Ms C Wright |
|
10
|
Mr M Nel |
Mrs A Stothard
Mr P du Plooy |
10B
|
Mr R de Reuck |
|
10E
|
Mr S Edwards |
|
10F
|
Mr R Stonier |
|
10J
|
Ms J Hoggons |
|
10M
|
Mr B Chalmers |
|
9
|
Mr T Craig |
Mr E Mathey
Mr R Ramsurwaj |
9B
|
Mrs J Lourens |
|
9E
|
Mrs M du Plessis |
|
9F
|
Mrs D Clarke |
|
9J
|
Mr D Edwards |
|
9M
|
Mr J Sileno |
|
9T
|
Mr J Voigt |
|
8
|
Mr T Craig |
Mrs M Coetzee
Mr A Evans |
8B
|
Mr C Tomsek |
|
8E
|
Mr K Rahme |
|
8F
|
Mr G Davies |
|
8J
|
Mr M Moses |
|
8M
|
Mr D Roff |
|
8T
|
Mr B Tennant |
Classes at College level, have the following "names":
B - Benedict
E - Eugene de Mazenod
F - Francis
J - Joseph
M - Mary Immaculate
T - Thomas Aquinas
Where a response is necessary, staff will endeavour to respond within 24 hours.
SECURITY AT ST BENEDICT'S
Observant boys and parents would have notice that we have switched security companies and trust that the new company – 24/7 - will be better equipped to meet our needs. There will be some teething problems and I request that parents be as patient as possible for the first few weeks of school. The arrangements that I have requested be put in place are aimed to improve the safety and security of our boys and staff and the long-term benefits will certainly outweigh any initial inconvenience.
During the December holidays, an additional 36 CCTV security cameras were installed on the campus. These, too, will play an important role in improving safety and security and will certainly go a long way, I believe, in resolving any incidents of petty theft.
In this regard, parents are requested to assist us by (a) ensuring that your son’s property is easily identifiable; (b) insisting that your son makes use of the bag racks provided for the storage of kitbags during the school day; and (c) reminding your son that theft, tampering with another’s property and being in the possession of stolen goods are all very serious offences at St Benedicts and that boys – if found guilty - will be expelled after a first offence.
TRANSPORT SERVICES
St Benedict's offers parents assistance with transport to and from school. Full details regarding the routes covered and the costs involved can be viewed at the following link: Transport Facilities.
If you have any queries regarding transportation, you can email them to wilsonr@stbenedicts.co.za
SCHOOL TRACKSUIT
Parents are reminded that we are in the process of rolling out a new tracksuit and are actively discouraged from purchasing the old tracksuit. The new tracksuit will be available for purchase by College boys from May 2012. I will be sure to keep parents informed of details.
CRICKET
A private Cricket Coaching programme is in place for boys enrolled at the College. Parents who wish to make use of this service are encouraged to book online. Please visit the Cricket section of our website for further details.
There will be a Cricket Parents Support Group Meeting on Wednesday the 18th of January at the Top of Basils starting at 18h00.
WINTER PRE-SEASON TRAINING
All Grade 8 and Grade 9 boys are reminded that winter pre-season Hockey and Rugby training will take place in the last two periods of the school day every Wednesday for six weeks.
SPORTS FIXTURES
Thursday, 12 January
09h00-11h00: Cricket Training Camps for all age groups in the cricket centre
Saturday, 14 January
Rowing
08h00: Senior Rowing Regatta at Roodeplaat
Wednesday, 18 January
13h30: U14 Cricket Trials (Boys to meet on the hockey oval)
Basketball vs St Alban’s College (Away), All teams
Fixtures to be confirmed
Friday, 20 January
Golf
15h00: A Team (Home) at Royal Johannesburg
15h00: B Team (Away) at Dainfern Country Club
15h00: C Team (Away) at Benoni Country Club
Saturday, 21 January
Basketball vs Jeppe (Away)
Above fixtures schedule will be confirmed
Cricket vs Jeppe Boys
Home Games at SBC
09h00-17h00: 15A, 16A
09h00-13h00: 14B,
Away Games at Jeppe
09h00-17h00: 14A, 1ST team
Rowing
08h00: Junior Rowing Regatta at Roodeplaat
Waterpolo vs Jeppe Boys (Away), All teams
Fixtures to be confirmed
Monday, 23 January
Cricket vs Jeppe Boys
Home Games
15h15-18h00: 15B, 15C 16C (All 20/20 Games)
Away Games
15h30-18h00: 2ND team
Tuesday, 24 January
Cricket vs Jeppe Boys
Away Games
13h30-18h00: 2nd Team
1st TEAM CRICKET TOUR
During this past weekend the 1st cricket team took part in the annual Cornwall Hill Cricket Festival which was hosted by Boland Landbou Agricultural High School celebrating their 50th annivessary whom are based in Paarl in the Cape. The weather forecast was set to be extremely hot throughout the festival.
Bennies faced Hoerskool Nelspruit in a time game on day one. Nelspruit batted first and set a challenging target of 212. Jaques Roux with 3 wickets for 37 runs in 15 overs and Kieran Varkevisser with two wickets were the pick of the bowlers. Our batsmen got off to a great start and by drinks were 110 for 3. We were well set and needed 113 in the last 25 overs with seven wickets in hand. Nelspruit fought back with some great fielding capturing early wickets after the drinks break. St Benedict's carried on chasing the target but decided to stave off some excellent quick bowling at the death with Kegan McCullough and Christopher Worthington holding up the fort to make sure of a well earned draw. Matthew Smit scored a superp 65 runs and was abley supported by skipper Christopher Keeling in scoring 34.
Day two also a time game ,our opposition was Hoerskool Menlo Park. On a slow flat wicket including the outfield St Benedict's posted 161 runs. A brilliant 89 runs from vice captain Kieran Varkevisser and 21 runs from skipper Christopher Keeling were the only two batsmen to get among the runs. Hoerskool Menlo Park went in to bat and were soon in trouble. Ciaran Burks was up for it and bowling with sheer pace and determination had the Menlo batsmen hopping in their crease. Losing wickets at regular intervals Menlo stood at 105 runs for 9 wickets. Victory for the Bennies boys was one ball away. Jaques Roux plugged away accurately at one end and the seamers rotating at the other end created many opportunities. However we dropped a handful of catches only to see Menlo snatch victory by one wicket. Burks with 5 wickets for 42 and Roux with 3 wickets for 32 were the chief destroyers with the ball.
On day three we were up against Paarl Boys in a 20/20 game as well as the elements. A game played in Wellington where the temperature reached 41 degrees by 11h00. On a very flat barron wicket St Benedict's managed to post 71 runs. Paarl then went into bat and Ciaran Burks picked up two early wickets. In the extreme heat it seemed as if both teams were struggling. Great fielding soon had Paarl Boys sitting on 29 runs for four wickets. However the small total did not pose a major threat for the locals and they managed to reach their target with five wickets down.
The last day of the festival saw our boys against Paul Roos Gimnasium, the team of the festival. Losing the toss on a dormant wicket and once again very hot conditions, the Bennies boys led by skipper Keeling came out charging. Paul Roos had no answers to a brilliant fielding and catching display. Paul Roos were 51 runs for 9 wickets at the drinks break. Again the last two batsmen as in the Menlo game stuck around and grinded along to set a target of 123 runs. Ciaran Burks and Brandon Acutt picked up three wickets apiece and Wesley Swart and Tyrone Haefliger each capturing two wickets. St Benedict's started off by losing 3 quick wickets before Christopher Keeling and Matthew Smit fought back. A couple of soft dismissals making the run chase ever so harder, after the brilliant work done in the mornings play. Matthew Smit soldiered on and top scored with 38 runs. We ended up being bowled out for 98 runs.
Overall the Bennies boys played some excellent cricket during the four days with numerous contributions from all the members in the touring squad. The Cornwall Festival allows our boys the opportunity to prepare for the rest of the cricket season. The College first fixture will be played against Jeppe Boys on January, 21 at Jeppe Boys.
“MIDMAR TOUR – SWIMMING AND WATERPOLO
Please note that the Midmar Swimming & Waterpolo Tour will take place from Thursday 9th February to Sunday 12th February. All swimmers and waterpolo players will be required to participate as these are official school fixtures. An official letter will be handed out to your sons next week, which will cover other tour details.
Itinerary is as follows:
Thursday 9th February
- Depart for Durban at 05h00
- Arrive in Durban at 14h00
- Waterpolo matches from 14h30-17h30
- Check-in at accommodation, after matches
Friday 10th February
- B Gala at St Henry's from 14h00-17h30
- A Gala at Westville Boys High School from 18h30-21h00
Saturday 11th February
- Light training session in the morning
- Afternoon off
Sunday 12th February
- Check-out accommodation at 05h00
- Depart for Midmar at 05h30
- Swim Midmar Mile (various age groups) from 07h00-13h0
- Depart for Johannesburg at 13h30
- Arrive in Johannesburg at 20h30
God's richest blessings to all for 2012!
To God be all the Glory!
Andre Oosthuysen
Executive Headmaster
