28 October 2015 Newsletter No 34/2015

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1 28 October 2015 Newsletter No 34/2015 Dear Parents, Old Boys and Friends of Michaelhouse Over the last week or so we have announced the Senior Prefects and the Heads of House. Tomorrow morning we announce the House Prefects. These are formal ceremonies that have operated here almost unchanged virtually since our origins, and follow a comprehensive process of nominations from the boys and discussions amongst the Housemasters and management staff. Over the last twenty years or so there has been a lot of discussion on the role of prefects in student leadership, with Primary Schools perhaps changing the most in this regard. Some schools have done away with leaders entirely whereas others have not changed the systems used at all. Both of these extremes are sometimes characterised by regret about the change or lack of it. Most schools using models that fall in between do so with some success. There is no straight answer, and anybody who has had a child at school in the last few years will have had an intense discussion on the matter, so heated are feelings about it. These changes are also reflected in a broader discussion in society where the role of leaders also appears to have changed. I watched with great interest the student protests across the nation. They were apparently highly effective and achieved in getting a more conservative and patriarchal leadership structure to change its standpoint very quickly. It was fascinating to watch; yet perplexing as to where the leader was? Was there a mastermind in a dark room somewhere armed with a radio and a map, and directing efforts countrywide? Or was it simply an idea whose time had come and which spread through a communal mind to achieve an objective by utilising the social media? As was the case with the Arab Spring. I am not sure of the answer, but the lack of a leader (or group of leaders) was fairly obvious. Have they lost the opportunity or will they be able to rekindle the passion created? Time will tell. The presence of a clear strategy and rallying call was critical in the success of the student movement. Everyone knew what it was that they were doing, it was clearly communicated together with objectives and a modus operandi. I have no doubt that others elsewhere too have taken note. It has been interesting to watch more traditional structures stepping into the breach created by the students post the fact. It is quite clear to me that they were not able to mobilise as quickly, nor perhaps understood the dynamics of the situation as well. Reggie Purbrick gave a message to the boys last week in Chapel. He spoke on leadership and in particular on servant leadership. One of the many good points he made was that leadership as a concept has changed a huge deal over the last forty years or so. Before, it tended to be top down, patriarchal and remote. This has now changed with the onset of social media, and the role of delegation, situational leadership and group discussion is far more important. The Chaplain also recently gave a sermon on servant leadership, highlighting how Jesus served as a servant leader to his disciples without requiring the more traditional trappings of leadership. Both were timeous,

2 thoughtful and insightful. Both highlighted the needs of leaders in stewardship and responsibility. Both led the boys away from expectations of entitlement and position. As an aside I hope you have enjoyed the efforts of the Proteas in India so far. I spoke on their delightful diversity and brotherhood at Speech Day and this has translated into a famous series win in the ODIs. Let s hope they are able to continue this in the tests as well. The reason I bring them up (apart from their triumph) is that the leadership model in the team is also a thoroughly modern one. De Villiers is the ODI captain, du Plessis the T20 captain and Amla the Test captain and, interestingly enough, each of the three plays in the other formats as well. It is a prime example of situational leadership and people leading where their specific skill set is required. Perhaps we see a future where we have different captains for different games in the Springboks set up. A forward when the game is tight or a back when a more open pattern is planned (for the one or two games in a decade where we dare to do this). Or indeed a change at half-time; which would be interesting. Those of you who have studied To 125 will know that we are looking at enhancing the boy leadership structures used at Michaelhouse. There has already been a discussion on this and we look forward to continuing these. I suspect in the end we will end up with a hybrid model of some sort that combines the formality of a traditional Prefect structure with one that is based on situational leadership. What is clear is that we will end up in a place that has more transparency, mentorship, accountability and indeed individual responsibility than the present position, as good as this is. STAFF NEWS It is with sadness that we announce that Neil Akal, the school s Laundry Manager, has resigned and will be leaving us at the end of this year to take up a position at Cowan House. We wish Neil everything of the best as he begins a new chapter in his life. ACADEMICS IEB CONCESSIONS CURRENT C BLOCK (MATRIC 2017) Mr Tim Jarvis writes: Letters have been sent to the parents of C Block boys who currently receive Michaelhouse Internal Examination Concessions. The IEB only considers concessions for candidates who have a documented history of specific learning disabilities. As the process of applying is a lengthy one, involving external assessments and considerable costs (approximately R ), the school prefers to apply only in those cases where the application has a reasonable chance of success. The assessments, required by the IEB, will be conducted during the first quarter of next year as the cutoff date for the submission of B Block/Grade 11 applications is 30 September If you have not received this letter, and your son was previously diagnosed with a specific learning disability in which professional intervention was required, and you would like him to be considered for possible concessions, please contact: Janet Emanuel (Academic Support Co-Ordinator) by at: janema@michaelhouse.org or on:

3 CONGRATULATIONS & INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENTS Athletics Captain for 2016: Aphiwe Mthalane Debating Committee 2016 Chairman: Rowan Mockler Vice-Chairman & Senior Team Coach: Christopher Dowsley Vice-Chairman & Junior Team Coach: Vincent van der Westhuizen Secretary: Nicholas Forshaw THE SCHLESINGER THEATRE PRESENTS Pink Floyd & Friends - Starring Cat Simoni Directed and devised by Paul Spence Date: Friday 6 th November Venue: Schlesinger Theatre Time: 19h30 cash bar available Tickets: R80 per person Bookings: Angela Jonsson at: theatre@michaelhouse.org or Tel: (033) between 08h00 and 13h00 daily - Bookings essential! London's 5-star chanteuse, Cat Simoni, explores her favourite genre; the iconic rock megahits of the 70's and 80's. Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Procul Harem, Queen, The Eagles, Def Leppard, Heart; all Cat's Rock favourites! Come and be blown away as Cat climbs Roger Waters' The Wall, Led Zepp's Stairway to Heaven, stops off at a Hotel called California, has A Day in the Life with the Beatles & a Bohemian Rhapsody with Freddie Mercury. My Fair Lady DVD release The DVD of "My Fair Lady" is about to be released. Filmed on two cameras and including photographs of the show, the three disc DVD is priced at R120. Please place your orders with Angela Jonsson via theatre@michaelhouse.org We wish you a relaxing half-term before the end of year examinations begin! Yours sincerely Greg Theron RECTOR

4 RESULTS BASKETBALL DATE OPPONENT/EVENT MHS TEAM RESULT FOR AGAINST 24/10 Kearsney College 1 st Lost nd Drew rd Won th Won U16A Lost U16B Won 22 0 U16C Lost U15A Lost 28 8 U15B Won U15C Won U14A Lost U14B Won U14C Lost CANOEING DATE EVENT CANOEIST 24/10 25/10 AGE GROUP AGE GROUP RESULT CANOE Dam to Dam Craig Heenan & partner SNR K2 3 3 Day 1 Alan Houston U18 K1 1 6 Daniel Dillon & Kelvin Green U18 K James Crowe & partner U18 K Carlisle Hartman & William Lyle U18 K Jason Boulle U18 K Craig Pitt & Nicholas Stainbank U16 K Thomas Erskine U18 K Warren Yoko U16 K Luv van der Westhuyzen U14 K Kai Honywill & Kyle Kennaugh U16 K Declan Clackworthy & Kian Edwards U18 K Sebastian Huggins U16 K Michael Steyn & partner SNR K Richard Bam & Thomas van der Hoven U16 K OVERALL Dam to Dam Craig Heenan & partner SNR K2 3 4 Day 2 Emanuel Zaloumis U16 K Jason Boulle U18 K1 3 27

5 James Crowe & partner U18 K CRICKET DATE OPPONENT 24/10 Kearsney College MHS TEAM FIRST BAT SECOND BAT RESULT 1 st MHS 117 all out Kearsney 121/6 MHS lost by 4 Lethu Mthembu nd MHS 187 all out Kearsney 188/4 MHS lost by 6 Richard Friend 47 James Rowles 35 3 rd Kearsney 53 all out (20 Overs) Cuan Macnab- Holding 4-8 Bruce Pritchard 3-3 U16A Kearsney 325/4 U16B Kearsney 136/8 (30 Overs) Richard Dobeyn 4-9 U15A MHS 148/8 Thomas Trotter 36 William Norton 32 MHS 54/0 MHS 159 all out Kuhle Khumalo 32 Marco Parau 31 MHS 66 all out Kearsney 149/8 Michael Brownlee 4-20 Declan Newton 3-39 MHS won by 10 MHS lost by 167 runs MHS lost by 70 runs MHS lost by 2 U15B MHS 106 all out Murray Finlay 32 Kearsney 107/4 MHS lost by 6 U15C Kearsney 126/6 (20 Overs) MHS 39 all out MHS lost by 87 runs U14A MHS 70 all out Kearsney 71/2 MHS lost by 8

6 U14B MHS 132/8 Kearsney 133/9 MHS lost by 1 wicket Tyler Grant 31 U14C MHS 87/9 (20 Overs) Kearsney 93/3 MHS lost by 7 wicket SQUASH DATE OPPONENT/EVENT MHS TEAM RESULT FOR AGAINST 21/10 Hilton College 1 st Won /10 Wynberg Stayers Festival U16A Won 4 1 U14A Won 4 1 Pretoria Boys High 1 st Team Lost 1 5 Wynberg Won 4 2 Grey PE Lost 0 6 Bishops Won 5 1 Disas Won 4 2 WATER POLO DATE OPPONENT/EVENT MHS TEAM RESULT FOR AGAINST 21/10 Port Shepstone 1 st 3 rd Won 10 2 Hillcrest 1 st 3 rd Won 14 4 Thomas More U15A U15A Won 7 3 Thomas More U14A U14B Lost /10 Treverton 1 st 3 rd Lost 9 6 Treverton 2 nd 4 th Lost /10 Kearsney 2 nd 2 nd Won rd 3 rd Won 6 2 U15A U15A Drew 4 4 U15B U15B Drew 4 4 U14A U14A Lost 3 7 U14B U14B Lost 3 4 St Stithians Stayers tournament 22/10 St Andrews Grahamstown 1 st Team - Stayers Lost 6 9

7 Pretoria Boy s High School Lost /10 St Johns Lost 0 6 St Davids Drew /10 Hilton Won 5 4 Westville Lost /10 St Albans Won 8 6 Ended 15 th out of 20 teams

S p o r t s F i x t u r e s

2 0 1 9 S p o r t s F i x t u r e s Please note: Dates are subject to change. BASKETBALL Saturday 19 January All Teams Maritzburg College Maritzburg College Friday 25 January U18/U16 Zonal Trials (Midlands