From the desk of Mrs Sally Knowles - Preparatory Head: Junior Prep
The time has come to say farewell to my Marist family in this, my last editorial. Spanning the course of the past sixteen years I have been blessed to have worked in the Pre-Primary, Junior Prep and Senior Prep departments of St David’s Marist Inanda. This enabled me to gain an inter-departmental and whole-school perspective and has broadened my horizons to communities beyond our gates. They have been the happiest and most fulfilling years of my life.
I have been fortunate enough to have been mentored by several exceptional Prep and High School leaders, both past and present. Their leadership, mentorship and encouragement have helped me to develop to a point, both personally and professionally, where I feel ready to take up my new headship in April.
I have so many fond memories of the ten years I spent teaching in the Mini Marist department. It has been a privilege to witness the journey of so many Marist boys from Grade R to Matric and I will miss the boys and their families terribly.
It is never easy to say goodbye, but I do so secure in the knowledge that the Junior Prep team of teachers will continue to excel in educating and caring for your sons. It has been a privilege to have worked alongside such passionate, dedicated and caring colleagues. I would like to thank my team for their years of unwavering support and for all of the happy memories we have shared. St David’s has always been renowned for being a family school and I can attest to that; both as a Marist mother and as a member of staff. As with all good families it has allowed me to develop roots and to find my wings. My eternal thanks and best wishes go out to you all.
PREP NEWS
SPORT
Prep 1st XI Cape Town Tour
The Prep 1st XI enjoyed a magnificent and memorable tour to Cape Town over the mid-term break. The bare facts are that they played 4 games, won three and narrowly lost to Rondebosch. The tour was however so much more than just about the cricket.
The climb up Table Mountain in the blistering heat was challenging and character building. The touch rugby on the beach was a privilege. The coaching session at The Gary Kirsten Academy was valuable. The experience of being hosted by four different families extended social skills.
The tour will be most remembered for the beautiful scenery of Cape Town, for the many laughs that were shared and the wonderful behaviour and spirit of a special group of St David’s boys.
Shrove Tuesday and Pancake Race by Mike Thiel
I often find that Shrove Tuesday arrives before I have been able to give proper thought to the Lenten season that starts after the solemnities of Ash Wednesday. After this morning's fun I know we will settle into the discipline of Lent quickly. Many thanks again to Belinda and all who contributed towards the sale of pancakes, proceeds of which are earmarked for the Staff Giving Fund, which makes a significant difference to so many of our boys in need.
The third running of the Great Inter-House Pancake Race saw all houses with a team of seven boys (one each from Grades 6 through to 12). With the minor placings changing throughout the race there was much to cheer for, but it was Benedict who comfortably ran in as victors, reclaiming the Floating Trophy they won in 2015. Congratulations to Dave Smith and the Housemasters for organising another spirited race.
Shrove Tuesday & Ash Wednesdayby Braydon Wooley Gr 12
Shrove Tuesday was the first day back after the midterm break and was met with the energy acquired from the short holiday. The students greeted the pancake race with an abundance of enthusiasm and you could see the mountains of pancakes they had brought in support of the cause. Shrove Tuesday represents the feast before the start of Lent. Where you are allowed to eat as much as you'd like before you have to give it up for 40 days. The pancakes brought a smile to the faces of the boys from Grade 1 to Matric and the race added a much of excitement to the day's activities, this being the 3rd year of the tradition. All in all it was a day of smiles and feasting before the sacred time of Lent.
Ash Wednesday - This year marked the 76th year that St David’s celebrated Ash Wednesday.
Phyzz Festby Damien Wantenaar
Two Saturdays ago, the Matric Drama group found themselves at the annual Phyzz Fest, held at St Stithians College. The festival serves as a platform for multiple schools to demonstrate their take on Physical Theatre, and last year’s successes ensured they would be invited for a second time. Originally they planned on performing two pieces, but had to cut one piece out due to an unfortunate injury two days before opening night. Nevertheless, the show must go on, and they performed a stellar, albeit strange piece riddled with skateboards, cartoon masks, gravity defying stunts and even Donald Trump. The boys were highly successful and should be commended on their hard work and dedication. Congratulations to Garrick Pagel, Thomas Nott, Adrian Edwards, David McMaster, Damien Wantenaar, Wavela Hlubi, Mirza Hassan and Mrs Higgo.
Shavathon And Blood Drive by Luke Cryer Gr 12
Thursday the 23rd of February 2017 was a truly exciting day at St Davids, alive with the spirit of charity and giving. Both High school and Prep boys streamed into the college quadrangle eager to support both the blood drive and Shavathon. A noticeable enthusiasm was felt as hair was shaved/sprayed and blood was donated. At the end of the day it was evident that both events were a huge success with the Shavathon raising R8500 and the SANBS collecting 38 units of blood. Many thanks to the South African National Blood Service team for their services at this event and of course to all the boys, parents and staff who are always willing to give of themselves for this worthy cause. Thanks to the Peer Counsellors who assisted in the smooth running of this event.
A Team Individual Inter-High Relay Gala at St Stithians College 1 March 2017
1st St David’s Marist Inanda A
2nd Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool A
3rd St Benedict’s College A
4th Pretoria Boys High School A
5th King Edward VII School A
6th St Stithians College A
7th St John’s College A
8th Jeppe High School for Boys A
9th Parktown Boys High School A
10th CBCBoksburg
B Team Individual Inter-High Relay Gala at St Stithians College 1 March 2017
1st St David’s Marist Inanda B
2nd Pretoria Boys High School B
3rd St Benedict’s College B
4th King Edward VII School B
5th St Stithians College B
6th St John’s College B
7th Parktown Boys’ High School B
St John’s U19 Basketball Tournament by Elvis Ukpong
The St John’s U19 Tournament is one of the toughest tournaments to play in, and also the highlight of a school boy basketball experience especially for the Matrics who may play their last high school career games at this event.
Competition was tougher this year due to the fact that the organisers had decided to make it U19 tournament instead of U18 as was previously the case.
Despite playing without two of our starters (Garrick Pagel –Injured and Molemo Theys – away), our boys opened the tournament on a brilliant note by defeating Jeppe High School for Boys, Highlands North Boys High School and Reologile High School. Things did not go our way in the early hours of Day 3 as we lost to host St John’s College and Kearsney College, but the boys quickly bounced back to end the day with a resounding victory over St Andrew’s College in a match played in front of a capacity crowd at Sacred Heart Indoor Centre.
Those 4 wins out of 6 matches were enough to secure our qualification to the Bowl quarterfinals where we squared off against St Stithians College in one of our highlights of the tournament.This match was billed to settle the score as both teams had previously shared the spoils 1-1 this season. Led by our Captain, Braydon Wooley, the Inanda boys came out fighting from the jump ball and giving everything they had, emerged victorious.
By the time we took the floor to face Michaelhouse in the Bowl Semis, our boys had run out of steam. All our efforts to rally back from a slow start were not enough to deter Michaelhouse from cruising to victory.
In overall placement, St David’s was ranked 11 out of 28 schools. Congratulations to Braydon Wooley for being one of the top scorers of the tournament. Congratulations also to Lebo Mathe and Malaika Gantsho for earning their First Team Caps during this tournament.
History in the makingby Ryan Costa Gr 12
St David’s boys are awlays perfroming whether it is in the classroom or on the sports field we always produce something special. This week the school was proud to acknowledge the first ever boy to receive 100 caps for 1st Team Basketball, Matric and the Captain for the 2017 season of Basketball Braydon Wooley. St David’s Basketball programme only returned to the summer sports shedule in 2013 when Braydon was in grade 8. Over the years he has developed his game and already by grade 10, 2015, he got his first team call up and is now playing his third year of first team Basketball. This is what Braydon had to say“ It has been a great experience to grow with my Basketball career and skills alongside the Basketball programme. Starting with a few coaches and a little intrest now growing into a well respected sport in the school it has definitley been great to be apart of that since day one, and be a catalyst for growth”. Congratulations Braydon you have defintley portrayed the pillars of a true Marist man, Gentlemen, Scholar and a fantastic Sportsmen
Public Speaking
The grade 12 Trophy Team was awarded an A symbol this evening at Hoerskool Linden.
Congratulations to Merrick Hughes, Kondwani Mwanza and Luke Tollman (chair).
