News from the Horse's Mouth
20 April 2015
Newsletter 12
|
Letter from the Editor |
|
|
Please find the Scripture for the week here.
Some points of particular interest in the expanded sections below include:
Classifieds View the Classifieds here! Need an Aupair? Housesitter? Evening Dresses for Hire? Mobile Hairstylist! One Direction Tickets on Sale! and more....
Stock Shop - PS Hockey Bags Limited stock of Primary School Hockey Bags - first-come-first-served!
Golf Day - please contact Rae Griesel 031 764 8697 if you would like to donate prizes, sponsor a hole, or book a 4-Ball. Only 8 4-Balls left.
Matric Dance Fashion Show - this Thursday, 23 April at 6pm in Habberton Hall. Tickets are R40 (cash only at the door - please bring the exact amount). Bring your own picnic baskets. Limited tables available, first-come-first-served. There will be a tuckshop available.
Have a great week, |
Google Calendars for parents
We plan ahead as far as possible for test dates and sporting fixtures, and so information gets added into these areas often. For this reason, we have set up a number of different Google Calendars to allow parents and students to access information as soon as it is available, so that they may also plan ahead. We have a separate calendar for each Grade’s academic deadlines starting from Grade 5 onwards. This allows teachers to make sure that a grade is not getting overloaded with deadlines bunching up. We also have separate sporting calendars for each Phase of the school. We have included a section at the end of the newsletter to
explain google calendars in more detail. Your login details for the portal have been included in the email sent to you for this newsletter – please note the easy to use address for the portal: http://parents.thomasmore.co.za
|
| Achievements | Extra-mural Calendars | Academic Calendars | ||
| Week Ahead | Quick Links | |||||||||||||||
|
 The dove returned in the evening, holding in its beak a green leaf from an olive tree. Noah knew that the water was finally going down. Genesis 8:11 We had a bit of a chuckle at the JP assembly last Friday when I asked the little ones what type of bird brought back this green leaf from an olive tree for Noah. A hand shot up and said a Hadeda!!! Absolutely brilliant. I think at the back of Noah‘s mind he must have become a bit uneasy every time the dove came back bearing no evidence that the waters had receded. I think in our own lives we become uneasy, afraid of the ‘flood waters’ that surround us: Concerns of finance, health, our children, the state of the nation, the world. I often find that God hears my prayers and sends something or someone to allay my fears my so- called ‘dove’ arrives and hope begins to rise. When Jesus’ disciples sense the same thing after the crucifixion and Mary brings news that the tomb is empty: Can it be true? Is Jesus alive? And then He is standing amongst them (John 20:19), what joy. God knows and understands what we are going through so we need to trust Him during these difficult times. He said “He will never leave or forsake us” Hebrews 13:5-6 Shalom (peace) God bless |
|||
|
|
|||
|
Friday night saw the staging of the Matric Dance which I was fortunately able to attend. We were all nervous about the weather, having had freezing conditions just the day before, but Friday’s weather however proved to be just perfect and hundreds of people turned up to see the arrivals. The quality of the cars was absolutely spectacular. Vehicles ranged from Maseratis, Ferraris, Porsches and Rolls Royces to tractors and wheel barrows. This really was huge fun! Couples paraded in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd on a red carpet leading to the hall. The theme was Great Gatsby and the tables were beautifully decorated in black white and gold. One of the nicest things about the evening was to see just how much the pupils danced. Very few hung around outside. I would like to express my gratitude to Mrs. Brehany and Mrs. Wolmarans and the Grade 11 Dance Committee for putting the evening together. A huge thank you is also due to Mrs. Pravina Coombs, who runs the events and PR company, Thoughtfire, for the spectacular décor. Many others played a role, including our own Lynn Macdonald and the kitchen staff, Michelle Wight and Kim Hooper. It really was an evening to be proud of. Last of all I would like to complement the Matrics on their attitude and behaviour. They are a wonderful group and are leading the school exceptionally well this year.  |
|||
|
|
|||
|
 |
|||
|
|
|||
|
Parents are welcome to attend our first Merit Assembly of 2015 this coming Wednesday from 07:30 to 08:00 in the Habberton Hall, to acknowledge those receiving academic merit and effort certificates. While SP sport did start last week, there were still a few interruptions due to trials. JP sport commences this week. Please remember to re-tick the winter sports and correct grades on the communicator and to check regularly for notices re your child’s sport. We do expect each and every child to play a sport every term and thus encourage you to assist your child in making a choice. Some of the children try to do too much and this is also inadvisable, especially in Grade 7 where they face their first examinations later this term. Please note, that to give everyone a chance, children may only attend one computer club extra-mural slot. Other than that they are expected to go home after sport/ extra murals or attend aftercare. Well done to our netball girls for their good performances last week in the Action Netball and also for their positive attitude and good sportsmanship. While it is great to win, we do not wish to do so at all costs and certainly not at the expense of our integrity. Please keep checking the diary card for the Shakespeare Evening practices. All Grade 7s interested were auditioned and we look forward to their performance at the end of the month. Other than the marimba performance for the Rob Roy residents on Friday and the inter-schools cross-country at Highbury, there are only District Soccer trials on Saturday as it is a long week-end with the Freedom Day public holiday on Monday. Although the following Friday is also a public holiday (Workers’ Day), we urge you not to take off the time in between as this will impact on your child’s academics as school will continue as normal. All the best to you all for the week ahead.  |
|||
|
|
|||
|
Weekly Achievers - Sponsored by Debonairs & steers – Kloof
Weekly achievers will appear in next week's newsletter. IMAS Maths Competition The IMAS Mathematics competition is held to choose a South African team to participate in the 2015 China International Mathematics Competition which is scheduled for 27th July ~1st August 2015. Eleven Thomas More children went to the first round of the local competition with four (Jessica Thomson, Saien Moodley, Brendan O'Loughlin ,Faran Steenkamp) advancing to the second round. Faran Steenkamp made it through the second round and has been invited to be on the SA team. The team will compete against children from Bulgaria, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Macau, Nepal, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. Apart from the Mathematical side there is also an opportunity for sight-seeing and a cultural performance where each country show cases their culture and heritage. We congratulate Faran and all the others on their excellent achievement.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
None to report this week.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
KZN Indoor Cricket Congratulations to Ethan McCormick on being selected for the U10 KZN Indoor Cricket team. He will be going to the inter provincials from 29 June to 4 July in Centurion. Well done Ethan.
Equestrian Congratulations to the following children who took part in the Sanesa Q3 at Canterbury Equestrian centre near Pietermaritzburg on Saturday and Sunday: Tom Gourley on Twinkle Toes came 2nd in working hunter 70cm and 3rd in competition jumping 70cm Alex Lutz came 5th in competition jumping 60cm and 7th in Ideal time. Ashley Kenton achieved 1st places in Working Riding and 90 cm accumulator.
Congratulations to Tyler Jelf on riding Mamma Mia where she came 2nd in Prelim 1 and 3rd in Prelim 3 dressage test at Top Hat at Shongweni Club yesterday afternoon.
HS Girls' Hockey TMC U14A 6 Westville 0 TMC U14B 3 Westville 3
HS Boys' Hockey TMC U14A 1 Crawford La Lucia 0 2nd TMC 10 1st St Henry’s 12 15A TMC 31 St Henry’s 13 14A TMC 5 St Henry’s 47
Netball The following girls have made it through to the second round of Netball trials. They will now represent PADSSA at the final round of Netball trials: Alex Hanger U14 Chantelle Hannah U15 Amy Ryan U16 Nicole van Heerden U16 Anneke Steyn U17 Casey Houston U18
Sailing Congratulations to Benji Daniel in Grade 9 on being selected to represent South Africain Holland this July when he sails at the RS Tera Worlds against other international sailors. He will be one of a team of 3 sailing single-handed RS Tera Pro boats. Well done Benji.
|
|||
| Google Calendars for parents | |||
|
All of these calendars start out with basic information and then details are added as we find them out. E.g. at the start of a term, a subject test will be booked for a later date. As the time draws closer, the teacher is able to determine more fully what syllabus the class has managed to cover thus far, and will fill in details of what will be in the test at that stage. It is important to note that this information is “live” and needs to be checked regularly. We have links to the different calendars available inside our website, found under the different Phase sections. We also have links to the same calendars inside the Parent Portal. The calendars that apply can be found under each of your child’s subheadings.
The Horse’s Mouth Newsletter has all calendar links available to be able to easily find whichever calendars you need to.
How to use the Google Calendar: After you have clicked on the relevant calendar link, it will show you the default monthly view of the calendar:
There are navigation buttons at the top left to change dates easily to look back or to future events:
You are able to change the view of the calendar using the buttons at the top right to show only a week at a time, the default monthly view, or if you click on “Agenda” then you will see a list of events scheduled:
Please note – it is not a good idea to print the calendar out, as the information might get updated and you will not realize this if you are referring to a print out of a calendar at a certain point in time. To see more details about a heading in the calendar, you need to click on that heading – it will pop-up a small window giving you what details have been filled in already. This is where we have information such as which teams are playing and times, and also what material will be covered in a test/examination:
It is important to note here that it is also not a good idea to click on the bottom option “Copy to my calendar” here, for the same reason as printing, you will not receive updated information if anything changes in the live calendar. |
Back to Top
The Matric Dance last Friday was a glorious and wonderful affair and my sincere thanks go to
Candyce Brehany and Elisma Wolmarans, the Dance Committee, Lynn Macdonald
and her staff and to all others who were involved in some way. As in the past the arrivals of the youngsters was well received and there were hundreds of folk welcoming them. The kids themselves had a ball dancing the night away and from all reports were extremely well-behaved. I thank them for this.
The Matric Dance Fashion Show takes place this Thursday evening, and I
anticipate another enjoyable evening. 
"
"
"
"
"
