St John’s Preparatory School John’s Preparatory School St John’s Preparatory School ... Happy Diwali Deepawali or Diwali ... Dylan Van der Walt

4 November 2010

St John’s Preparatory School St John’s Preparatory School Houghton Tel: 011 645 3100/ 087 550473 Newsletter Number 9

04/11 UIII Afrikaans Shared Assessment

LIII Instrumental Concert

Prestige Swimming Gala

05/11 UIII Instrumental Concert

Swimming Gala

08/11 LIII - UIII Science Assessments

LII - UII History/ Science/

Geography Assessments

10/11 Grade 2 Parents’ Information Evening

LIII Parents’ Information Evening

11/11 Remembrance Day Service

Interhouse Gala

Senior Trebles Rehearsal

18/11 UI Camp - Kloofwaters Departs

19/11 LIII & UIII Exams

UI Camp Returns




Reminders from the Diary

From the Headmaster… Introduction “It’s easier to build a child than to repair an adult!” Most parents today spend a great deal of time at work, earning money to provide for a good education as well as for a comfortable lifestyle for their children. Whilst it is important and necessary to meet these material needs, it is equally important to pay attention to the importance of their emotional needs and to the investment this requires to give them the necessary anchors for coping in their adult lives. At St John’s, we take the emotional well-being of our boys very seriously and as a result, I am deeply concerned that, more than ever before, so many boys need counselling for emotional problems. Although this is certainly not always the case, I do feel that some of these problems might be alleviated by parents spending a little more quality time with their sons. Reading a bedtime story, watching your son’s sports match or teaching him a different skill or encouraging a new hobby are very special moments in your son’s life. By spending such quality time with your son, you send him the clear message that even although you are busy, he is important enough to have your undivided attention. This investment in your son’s emotional growth will not be affected by volatile stock markets and will show steady and certain growth, and will without doubt become one of your best investments over time. Remember, fifty years from now, it will not matter what model of car you drove or what kind of house you lived in or how much money you had in the bank. What will be remembered, are the memories and happy times spent together, imprinted into your own son’s life, making him a wholesome man of character. That would be a truly worthwhile legacy.

Happy Diwali Deepawali or Diwali is popularly known as the festival of lights. It is an important five-day festival in Hinduism. For most Hindus and Indians, Diwali is the most important festival of the year and is celebrated with families performing traditional activities together in their homes. Deepavali is an official holiday in India. The name Diwali is itself a contraction of the word Deepavali (Sanskrit) दीपावली Dīpāvali), which translates into row of lamps. Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps (diyas) filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil. During Diwali celebrants wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with family members and friends.

Page 2 St John’s Preparatory School

Curriculum Our curriculum mapping is almost complete and we are confident that the changes put in place for 2011 are going to be exciting and rewarding. A complete outline of these plans will be published in the next newsletter. Sport We have certainly been lucky with the weather and it’s great to be able to play several consecutive cricket matches for a change. There have been some wonderful performances from many boys, but special mention must be made of Lorenzo Masselli’s 166 against Cordwalles. Our Water Polo Team acquitted themselves very well in an exciting tournament at St Stithians last weekend and lost to St Benedict’s by only one goal in the final. Our First Tennis and Cricket Teams, as well as the U11A Cricket Team, had a wonderful tour to KZN and a number of our boys were lucky enough to attend the Currie Cup Final and also to meet some of the players – an experience they will remember forever!

Staff We are very pleased to announce that Lynn Joubert will join the Prep as a full-time member of staff as from next year. Many of you will know Lynn from the Pre-Prep and I have no doubt that her sporting experience expertise and passion will be of great value to us. Lynn will be helping out in our morning Physical Education progamme as well as with the coaching in the afternoons. We wish her all the very best and hope that her time with us will be a long and rewarding experience. Congratulations must go to Dave Odgers who has been elected Chairman of the Gauteng Independent Preparatory Sports Committee. We wish him well in this exciting new position. Survey The results of the ‘How Good is St John’s Prep?’ survey have been put onto Communicator and emailed out to parents. Please take time to read them. We will be running the focus groups in the next two weeks and if there are still any parents who would like to be part of a focus group, please send your names to Lynn Jonsson: [email protected] Conclusion It’s hard to believe that we are only four weeks away from the Christmas holidays. In the light of my introduction and the fact that we are busy doing surveys, I wondered how many families actually sit down at the table for dinner? If you do, I applaud you, but if you don’t, try and do it at least once a week until the end of the year. You will be surprised how much fun it is and how much you learn about your children’s lives. Why do you offer material things to show me how much you care? Gifts of gold are lifeless and cold… No matter how precious and rare. These are not gifts but apologies you give, because you are not really aware… That the only true gift is the gift of yourself, in the time and the love you could share.

Patrick Lees Headmaster


Raising Confident Boys

Elizabeth Hartley-Brewer Tip 10: Make him feel he belongs Human beings have a profound need to feel they belong somewhere and to someone. Your son’s first need will be to feel loved by the two people who made him, but as he grows up, the more friends, groups and institutions he feels a bond with and can identify with, the deeper his sense of self will be. Fitting in somewhere says something about who he is and reassures him that there are others like him. Belonging to a family, a social or ethnic group, a club or school, or a place of worship also means that he is wanted, accepted and acceptable. It provides him with guidelines about who he is and how he should behave. If a boy grows up without any sense of belonging to his family or school, if he feels rejected - for example, because of heavy criticism - he is likely to seek acceptance and a sense of membership elsewhere. He will seek groups of boys who have given up on trying to please and gain pleasure and status in unacceptable ways. Advice for parents and teachers: • Tell him family stories, so that he knows his and your roots. • Include him in as many family events as possible. • Understand how fashion and uniforms can be symbols of belonging, and help him to fit

in at a level that fits in with your family budget. • Let him attend big school events such as dances, games and concerts so that he feels

he belongs there. • Be on the lookout for signs of aloneness. Suggest that he plays a sport or joins a social

club or youth group if he spends a lot of time alone. • In class, discussions and similar arrangements can reinforce group identity and make

each child feel like an equal member of the class.


15th October 2nd Team Cricket: Wonderful ambassadors for SJP! Jon Baker Jamie Benn Michael Bucher Liam Collins James Gerber David Harold Ross Bentley 74 runs against KEPS Mohale Moema 80% Class test 19th October Play Afrika Ndlovo Katleho Ramosedi Max Baard Taine Cabral Aidan Bellingan Darshan Pillay Ross Griffin Jason Batzofin Gabriel Baard Muaaz Suliman Outstanding Play Technician 28th October Miguel Gouveia 32 runs, 3 catches, 1 wicket Kieran Houlston Improved handwriting Justin Standish-White 97% Maths assessment Matthew Monteith Piano playing at assembly Michael Boyce Zulu Assessment Seth Streeter Zulu Assessment

Sporting Results 4CTea

Devlin Hugo Chris Mackie Hiren Mistry Matthew Peterson Nicholas Peterson Nicholas Rowe

Patrick Fitzgerald Raul Giannoccaro Stephen Hunt Matthew Adams Aasif Bulbulia Tamlin Love Tyler Froes Matthew Davies


2nd November Outstanding UI Project Bradley Milton Jaan Niehaus James Rumsey Gibran Sayegh Janovin Scholtz Nicholas Thiel Tiago Neto Milan Prioreschi Dylan Van der Walt Jack Gnodde 51 runs Library Book Trailer Michael Norman Gabriel Baard Matthew Nelson Waterpolo Gauteng Selected Hugh Ledlie Matthew Irvine Morena Motsiri

Nikhil Haripershad Josh Kapp Connor Labuschagne Taine Maynard Sean Fitzgerald

4CTea


St John’s A Team vs Trinity House Seniors drew 17 - 17 Juniors won 13 - 19 Overall lost 30 - 36 St John’s B Team vs St Peter’s Seniors lost 11 - 21 Juniors drew 16 - 16 Overall lost 27 - 37 Well done to the following boys who won both their games: C Williamson, O Kieser, J West, H Papageorgiou, T Grubb.

Sporting Results Sporting Results Chess

The Dorfman Junior Karate championship was held on 30th October 2010. Christopher Ching, UIIB, won a gold medal for tough kid, gold for Kata and a silver for Kumite. Nicho-las Ching, LIIV, won bronze for tough kid and gold for Kata. Well done boys!

Below is the list of boys who received Drama Team Awards: Jesse Stevens - re-award Nicholas Bielderman Kiran Govenda - re-award Llewelyn Craddock - re-award Tamlin Love - re-award Matthew Davies Matthew Adams - re-award Stephen Hunt Sibusiso Moyo Dominic Futter Stephen Maycock Patrick Fitzgerald Gabriel Baard Jason Batzofin Ross Griffin Afrika Ndlovu

Karate

Katleho Ramosedi Max Baard Taine Cabral Aidan Bellinhgam Darshan Pillay Tyler Froes Aasif Bulbulia Raul Giannoccaro - re-award Justin Chiu Muaaz Suliman Adilson de Oliviera Mpilo Mseleku Ramaano Ramokgopa Leandro Catalino

Drama

St John’s Preparatory School Page 7

Individual Achievements

Swimming

Mitchel Sinclair, Upper IIH, recently competed in the Dis-Chem Sun City Dam Swim held on Saturday, 23rd October. Mitchel participated in the U14 Boys’, 1500m Event and despite some blustery conditions, managed to complete the race successfully in 0:25:02 which placed him 22nd overall, out of 129 swimmers, and second in the 11 year age group. Well done, Mitchel!

Ross Blackwell, UIIIL, competed in the National Schools’ Rock Climbing Competition. Ross was in first place right up until the U13 Boys Super Final, where he unfortunately came off on a move which involved a long reach. The SA National Climbing Federation were so impressed by both his climbing and his sportsmanship that they have awarded him a special medal. Well done, Ross!

Waterpolo

Rock Climbing

St John’s Waterpolo first team made the final at the Saints festival. They lost by one goal to St Benedict’s. Well done, boys!



Music

Yamaha Young Talent

Jordan Sunnasy recently completed the Trinity Rockschool Grade 7 drum exams and received a distinction. Jordan entered the provincial round at the beginning of the year and was selected to participate in the national round. The event took place at Vodaworld in Midrand about three weeks ago. He won the Category "Age" and the Overall Category "Instruments". He won four gold plus for the four performances and top four platinum for the overall category. His prize was a guitar and a trip for two to Mozambique.

Jordan also entered the Yamaha Young Talent Competition about three weeks ago. In the provincial round held at the University of Pretoria, he was selected to go to the national finals which were held at Carnival City "Big Top" this past weekend. He won in the Category of "Solo Instruments". He was one of the youngest in the final round and the youngest winner (13 years), in an age group ranging from 13-25 years. His prize was a Stage Custom Birch kit.

Jordan very generously donated this drum kit to St John’s. We congratulate Jordan on all his musical achievements, and thank him for his generosity!

Dr Ben Oosthuizen

Director of Music



Hockey

Ross Bentley, Lodewijk Volkersz, James Shelton and Colin Kinghorn , LIII , played for the unbeaten D9 U/12 District Hockey Team, well done, boys!

St John’s District Hockey Players



Rowing U14 Rowing August – October 2010

During the last week of the August holiday, Robert (Peter) Fyall, Stephen Hunt, Cameron Matheson, Stephen Mavromichalos and James Mitchell attended the rowing training camp held at Witbank Dam. Little did they know that during the five days on camp they would be training harder than they ever had – completing close to 40km of rowing per day as well as a triathlon, an ergo trial and a 6km run. However, the training paid off and, under the guidance of their coach (two-time Olympian and U23 world champion, Gabriella Bascelli) the U14 age group began to see results. Their first opportunity to shine came in the form of the St Andrew’s Ergo regatta at the Spring Day Fête. Robert, Stephen H. and James won the U14 team event and James also went on to row the second fastest U14 time. The opening regatta of the season took place at Roodeplaat on Saturday, 2 October, and the u14s performed admirably. There were still too few boys to compete in the octuple (8x+) which requires 9 competitors, but the boys placed 3rd in the quad (4x+), 2nd in the double (2x) and all four boys rowed in the scull (1x) race. At each successive regatta, the U14s grew in confidence and skill, and the results testify to their tenacity and training. A few more boys joined the team as the weeks passed, with Aasif Bulbulia, Justin Chui, Llewellyn Craddock, Tyler Froes, Matthew Hayward and Muraz Suliman turning out to practice. With the increase in the number of participants, we were able to field an octuple at the Gauteng Championships, which took place over the final weekend of October. The boys all put in spirited performances, finishing third in both the octuple (8x+) and the quad (4x+). Special mention must be made of Robert Fyall and James Mitchell who placed second in the A final of the U14 double (2x) to a crew from St Dunstan’s. Gauteng Champs:

I am sure that all the boys will remember their experiences with great fondness and are eagerly anticipating the beginning of the new season. A rowing camp will be held from 4 – 9 January 2011 and all are welcome.

U14A 8x+ (octuple) 3

A 4x+ (quad) 3

A 2x (double) 2 & 8

A 1x (scull) 3 & 5

Matthew Taylor MIC Rowing

St John’s College


On the Night


On the Night


On the night...


On the Night


“Spot The Anachronism” Drawings

Lower IIT History

By Sam Harding LIIT By Manqoba Ngcobo LIIT

By Ethan Roets LIIT By Simon Shelton LIIT


Computerised Anachronism's

Lower IIZ History

By Michael Omand LIIZ

By Andrew Ray LIIZ

By Ciaran James LIIZ By Abdul Wahab Khan LIIZ


By David Cuthbert LIIZ

Lower IIZ History cont...

By Christopher Williams LIIZ


Pirate Stories LIIV

Captain Long John Gold A long time ago, Captain Long John Gold was sailing in the Cursed Sea; he saw a bottle in the water. He ordered one of his crew members to go and fetch it, when he got back with it, Captain Long John Gold saw map in the bottle. He went to this island called Khrsiten, near the country Berdanchepe. On the island are multi-coloured trees, bears, tiger and lions, all with canines the size of a one meter ruler. He asked his parrot, Michael, “Ya sure this is a good idea?” Ya want the treasure or not?” squawked Michael. There was the chest, half buried in the yellow, hot sand. Captain Long John Gold was so excited and scared. He lifted the chest open with a creak, and he found something in it that said:

He looked around, and saw a skull made out of stone. He found a loose rock in the skull, and pulled on it. Then he found another thing, but this time it said:

So he took three steps back, and there on top of the rock skull, was a golden treasure chest. He opened it in 7 seconds, and found… a box, with a big red button on top. He rowed back to his ship The Golden Attack. His crew said The Big Eight, took the box and one of them said “What’s this button do?” He pushed it and out jumped five boats, three pirates known as the terrible three, nine pistols plus a cutlass. Then they all joined up and called themselves The Feared Eleven!! Captain Long John Gold became famous and studied history. By Brendan Thomas LIIV

The Captain’s Chest Captain Blue Beard was looking through his favorite telescope. From his old and battered ship the Blue Bird he could see an island but he would have to sail for days if the wind didn’t pick up. He prayed that they would find a fresh water supply on the island. “Set a course for that island,’ he shouted to his crew, “hoist the main sail”. Suddenly a great gust of wind pushed them forward but it went as quickly as it had come. “Captain!” he looked round, it was his first mate and his best friend, “Captain, we’re heading into unchartered waters. “Keep our course!” The next day after battling ferocious seas they finally made it to the island. It was a huge place so they named it since it was unchartered. They chose to call it “Australia”. They walked up to a beach and to their amazement found a huge chest, though it

was old and broken its contents were not. Captain Blue Beard knelt down, slowly he opened the old hest, with a groan it opened. It’s contents seemed to glow, it was full of gold, medicine and a map to a hidden passage leading to a bank vault. Suddenly the were attacked by wild dogs, they got away with their booty, but barely! He bought a manor made completely out of gold when he got back to the mainland.

By Richard Graca LIIV


LII Pirate stories cont...

Captain Parrotboy and the Treasure Chest It was early in the evening on the island Captain Parrotboy was marooned on. “Blast those scurvy dogs’ said Captain Parrotboy who was collecting leaves and sticks for his tent, and then he trod on something. It was a treasure chest. “Shiver me timbers” said Captain Parrotboy in surprise. I’m rich. Yelled Captain Parrotboy . The he took his cutlass and cut the lock. Captain Parrotboy opened the chest. It was gold! “Har, har, har,” laughed the captain. He closed it and carried it back to his tent. He heard a chattering sound. He turned around, it was Killer Ants. He ran for his life. He took a flaming branch from his fire and burnt them with it. He

took some rum, which he stole from the ship before he was marooned, poured it on them and threw the branch at them. They burnt up like fireworks. He ran to his raft and sailed away. It wasn’t easy, the waves were huge, the wind was howling, the rain was pouring and the Captain was being attacked by sharks. Eventually he defeated them all. The biggest shark the captain had ever seen attacked him. He took out his pistol and shot the shark, it died and the Captain’s raft sank. Captain Parrotboy swam a hundred miles back to the island. On Sunday he arrived at the island. He would have to live his life there.

By Travis Arlow LIIV


Lower II Market Day Photo Gallery


Lower II Market Day Photo Gallery


Visit by Author Chris van Wyk

On Thursday 14 October, Chris van Wyk was a guest speaker at the Prep where he spoke about the picture book edition of “Long Walk to Freedom” which he wrote (abridged) with illustrator, Paddy Bouma. Along with the Grade 1- Upper III St John’s boys, we invited the Grade 4 pupils from Parktown Public, an inner city school, to listen to Chris. Although there must have been close to 600 children sitting, in very cramped conditions, on the hall floor, they were attentive and entranced by Chris’s wonderful storytelling and interesting anecdotes that he made so accessible to the children. St John’s raised funds to buy enough books for each Grade 4 child from Parktown Public (80 in all) to receive his/her own copy of “Long Walk to Freedom”, signed by Chris van Wyk. Pan Macmillan Publishers generously assisted by giving us a huge discount on the books too. The teachers and children from Parktown were thrilled with their copies. I really believe that those books will ignite a passion for reading in some of the children and hope that the whole experience will give them very positive feelings about reading overall. In addition, we hope these books will be treasured and remembered by the children and their families for many years to come and that their association with the joy of reading will be a life-long one.

By Nikki Sulter

Chris and Pupils from Parktown Public Parktown Public Grade 4 with their copies of The Long Walk to Freedom

Ziyanda Mananway, UID, with his copy of The Long Walk to Freedom

Oliver Tambo and Ziyanda Manaway with author Chris van Wyk. Ziyanda appears with his great-grandfather, Nelson Mandela, on the back cover of the book


Scary Tales Dressed up to frighten the living daylights out of each other last Tuesday, the Upper 1s were treated to an evening of “Scary Tales” in the Prep Library. While the boys listened to stories, the parents picnicked outside and browsed the wonderful selection of books on show from the Book People.

Nikki Sulter


On Friday 29th, October 2010 the third Phedulani Quiz was held at Vuleka School in Rosebank. Phendulani is an initiative by a number of Johannesburg schools to support under-resourced schools with reading. Each under-resourced school is supplied with up to twenty books that are read by their Grade 7 pupils. Teams of up to six pupils are then selected to participate in the quiz. Questions are asked regarding the books read and the teams work together to answer them. This year eleven teams competed in the quiz, two of which, Vuleka and Parktown Public, were supported and sponsored by St John’s. There are book prizes for all the teams and special prizes for the winners. The prizes and most of the books are generously donated by Exclusive Books. This year the standard was extremely high and it was overwhelming to see the enthusiasm for reading that was generated by the quiz. The two teams from Parktown Public and Vuleka all came in the top four!

By Nikki Sulter

Phendulani Quiz

THE LIBRARY WILL BE CLOSED FROM MONDAY 15 NOVEMBER. PLEASE COULD YOU MAKE SURE THAT ALL YOUR SON’S BOOKS ARE RETURNED BY THAT DATE.

If there are any queries please email me at [email protected]

The Gift Book With A Smile Awesome South Africa will intrigue you, make you laugh, astonish and astound you

R250 Available from

Pre-Prep and Prep Library


Notices

CALLING CHILDREN 7-15 years old Come and join us.

We will be making Christmas Crackers for all the children of Kids Haven

AVAILABLE DATES: 10, 11, 15, 17, 18, 22, 24, 25 & 29 November 2010

OR 1, 2 & 6 December 2010 SESSION TIMES:

10:00-11:00 / 12-13:00 or 14:30-15:30 VENUE: The Scrap Therapy Shop Shop 15,Riverside Shopping Centre

317 Bryanston Drive, Bryanston BOOK YOUR PLACE EARLY

Fee: R50.00 per session (incl. materials) Sheilagh 011-706-7959

[email protected] (PLEASE SUPPLY YOUR OWN REFRESHMENTS)


Notices


Notices

Soles for Souls

SECOND HAND TACKIES and SCHOOL SHOES

We’re collecting second hand shoes for Isaac Moore Primary School in Atteridgeville. Our aim is to collect a pair of shoes for each child in the school during the year. There are about 376 pupils.

Where: Please put shoes in the bin outside Brigitte's office.

How: Please wash the shoes and put them in a plastic packet tied with a knot so that we can keep the pairs together.

When: We will be collecting for the remainder of the year

About the school: Isaac Moore Primary School is in a poor community in Atteridgeville, Pretoria. The school is led by an amazingly motivated headmistress who encourages an all-round approach to education including sport, culture and education, despite having minimal funding and relying mainly on charity.

Boys News click here for the link to the Boys News. www.stjohnsboysnews.webs.com.


Notices

Sandton Route School Bus Service

Non-profit bus service in association with St Mary’s School, St John’s College, St David’s Marist Inanda, Roedean School and King Edward VII School

Kyalami – Rivonia – Parkmore – Sandhurst – Waverley – Houghton

Many thanks Linda Kleyn

SANDTON ROUTE SCHOOL BUS SERVICE in association with St Mary’s School, St John’s College,

St David’s Marist Inanda, Roedean School and King Edward VII School

2nd TERM 2010 APPLICATIONS

1 Morning and 3 Afternoon buses!

Morning bus route: Kyalami, Sunninghill, Rivonia, River Club, Parkmore, Sandhurst, Illovo, Waverley, Houghton, St John’s College

Afternoon bus route: Reverse of the morning route

including Gallo Manor and Wendywood, excluding Sunninghill and Kyalami for the two early buses

Afternoon Buses

St John’s 2:15pm, 3:45pm and 5:15pm St Mary’s 2:35pm, 4:05pm and 5:35pm St David’s 2:45pm, 4:15pm and 5:45pm

Costs per term

Return: R3000 per term (R25.00 per trip) Single: R2000 per term (R33.33 per trip)

Casual tickets available from the bus driver: R60 per trip

For Bus Timetables and Application Forms www.stmarysschool.co.za/senior/content/blogsection/27/54/

Contact: Linda Kleyn (011 803 3678 (H) / 083 484 3488)

OR Terry Wharton-Hood (011 293 600 (W) / 083 256 2711)


Notices

Art club and extra classes From the beginning of next term, Mr Poco is starting an Art Club (for LIII and UIII boys) and extra art classes for junior boys. Senior boys are encouraged to join the Art Club on Tuesdays from 14h00 -15h00 or Thursdays from 15h00-16h00. Juniors may arrange extra art lessons with Mr Poco at alternative times and on alternative days.

We hope to see the senior boys joining the Art Club to create various exciting art works with mediums they do not normally use in class, such as print making, photography, oil painting and many more. This will be a fantastic opportunity for any boy who wishes to develop his art skills.

For further information e-mail Bruno Poco on [email protected]

Italian Language Lessons

Small age appropriate classes and individual tuition of-fered outside school hours at St John’s. Experienced mother-tongue graduate teacher using communicative method of conversation, maintaining cultural ties for solid IEB foundation. Contact Lisabetta on 082 682 2859 or

[email protected]

EXTRA ZULU LESSONS

Lower III and Upper III boys. Every Thursday 13h30 - 14h00

Upper III Mrs Mashele All Welcome

Hair Dee-Lite 082 462 6813/ 011 648 6367

Dee offers excellent work for the whole family, competitive prices and the added

convenience of being on campus.

Modern cuts, colours (from R300) and hi-lites.

Kids R50

7 Elm Street (Opposite Rice Field)

Open Tuesday to Friday

08h00 - 17h00

Saturday 08h00 - 13h00

EXTRA MATHS LESSONS

Lower III & Upper III boys in Mrs Jean Clarence’s classroom

Every Thursday 13h30 - 14h00


Mother to Son

Eat your breakfast - you should always start the day on a full stomach! Remember to clean your teeth - a bright smile makes all the difference! Wash behind your ears - I can see a tide mark from here! Change that shirt - the collar looks grubby! Brush your shoes - they’re all scuffed! Change your socks - you can’t go to school in those! Take a clean handkerchief - and give your nose a blow! Straighten that tie - it’s at half mast! Comb your hair - you look like a scarecrow! Take a jacket - in case it rains! Put your sandwiches in your bag - you’d lose your head if it wasn’t screwed on! Don’t forget your school books and I hope you’ve finished all your work! Be in before it gets dark! You’d think at thirty nine and a headmaster, you would be able to make a few decisions for yourself!!

By Gervase Phinn

Documents

St John’s Preparatory School John’s Preparatory School St John’s Preparatory School ... Happy Diwali Deepawali or Diwali ... Dylan Van der Walt