Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

I hope everyone survived the first week back at school. With this term being so short it will inevitable be an even busier one. We have to find the time for so many things in life but we often neglect to spend time with God and of course when we begin to stress and worry about things, we suddenly realise that we have left out God. The Bible tells us that Jesus Himself took time out to spend in prayer “After dismissing the crowds, He went up on a hillside by Himself to pray”. Matthew 14:23. Like Jesus we need to spend some time alone with our creator God in prayer and reflection and the benefits of that are, we will find our hearts and minds refreshed and ready for a new day.

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We are four days into the new academic year and things are in full swing. The Grade 8 Orientation Programme ended on Friday with a moving ceremony in which the pupils took to the stage in front of the assembled High School on Friday to pledge their commitment to the school and its values.They seem to be an outstanding group and we can look forward to 5 wonderful years with them. The Matrics spent Friday afternoon and Saturday on leadership training and all indications are that they will lead the school with distinction this year. The Matric jerseys were given out on Friday and even in the current sweltering weather many Matrics were wearing their jerseys with pride this morning. I walked around the school quite a bit in the first three days and everyone looked focused and settled. The obvious exception was the new Thom Teenies Créche, where there definitely were a few tears.

Long Walk planning started last term and meetings begin again this evening. This is a monumental event to pull off and we need in the region of 700 parents to help on 5^th March. That is almost one person per family, so PLEASE make yourself available. The appeal letters will go out shortly.

The Coffee Shoppe renovation has begun and we excitedly await the re-opening on 15 February.

 

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Thomas More College does not allow the grass to grow under one’s feet. I am thrilled with the buzzing energy manifested across the College from day one. Purpose, passion and promise abound. Our Grade 8s enjoyed a dynamic orientation programme last week thanks to the outstanding efforts of Mrs Cowie, Mr Jeffrey, Summer Robertson, Jared Swift and their team of matrics. One-Act Play auditions have taken place, sports trials have come and gone, fixtures have been played, and it’s only the first Monday of term!

Our Grade 12 leadership weekend was outstanding. I thank Mrs Mckenzie and Mr Conradie for facilitating this programme. The Matrics were taken through a number of leadership techniques and engaged in demanding team-building exercises. I will be meeting every Matric during breaks in the coming weeks and I look forward to exploring their theme of UNITY AT TMC 2016 with them in these chats.

I remind you all about Prizegiving this coming Thursday evening in the Habberton Hall. This is a prestigious, compulsory College event in which we celebrate the outstanding achievements of our students last year. I look forward to seeing you all there and sharing some fundamental wishes I have for our time at our home away from home, Thomas More College. 

 

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 We trust your child has already settled into class and is happy to be back at school. Certainly our Grade 6 and 7s in general seem to have enjoyed their Grade trip and can now settle into the school routine.

We hope to see many of you at the info meetings this week. On Wednesday, those parents invited to attend the English and Maths small group Grade 4 meetings will meet in Mrs du Plessis’ classroom at 17:15. The general, but vital info talk will take place in the hall at 18:00. After visiting the classes to hear what the class teachers have to say, your evening should be over at about 18:30/45. We hope some of you will also offer to be class parents, serving the school in a different way.

Mrs Roberta Ramasamy, Mrs Candice Mordecai-Jones and Mr Gary Balarin, HOD Culture, have organized the choir camp this coming Friday afternoon- a wonderful way to break the ice and already get involved in a world of music!

“Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try!”

We hope to see this in action next Tuesday, 2 February at 17:00, with the children participating in and supporting our SP Championship gala and to see a good turnout at all our sports which start today.

Wishing you all the best for the week ahead. May we maintain a positive start to the year. We look forward to working with you in 2016 once again, as partners in your child’s education.

 

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It was lovely to see familiar faces of both children and parents at the start of our term and to be greeted with cheery smiles and warm hugs. The children have all settled really well and we are proud of the calm and relaxed atmosphere. Well done to our new parents who have bravely let go of one or two children who are finding the “goodbye” in the morning a little difficult.

After the holidays, especially such a long one, it takes a while to get back into the swing of things and Nikki Bush has some sound advice for us.

Sanity-saving secrets

• Bring back regular wake up times
• Make sure your children go to bed at the same time each night and get enough sleep
• Eat meals at the same time each night
• Try and eat at least one meal a day together where you all connect with each other (switch the TV and cellphones off)
• Get back to each member of the family doing their allotted chores
• Resume reading bedtime stories to your pre- and primary school children
• If you have more than one child, make sure you settle the rules around who sits where in the car on the way to school so that you don’t have a major negotiation or fight on your hands every morning.

Wishing you a happy week.  

 

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Weekly Achievers 

To resume on 01 February 2016.

None to report this week.  

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Girls' Indoor Hockey

TMC U14B 1 St. Henry's U14A 3

TMC U14A 1 Danville U14A 3
TMC U14A 3 St. Mary's U14A 2

TMC U16B 5 Amanzimtoti U16A 1

TMC U16A 1 St. Mary's U16A 5

Boys' Cricket

TMC U14A 100/7

Kloof U14A 101/3

Kloof won by 7 wickets.

Kloof U15B 54/9 (Ireland 3/9, Bashford 2/1). TMC U15B 55/4 (Parker 15, Loxley 19).

TMC won by 6 wickets.

TMC U15A 145 all out (Blythen 21, White 23). Kloof U15A 139 all out (Naidoo 3/48, Edwards 4/36, White 3/32)

TMC won by 6 runs

2nd Kloof 149 all out (Watts 4/21). 2nd TMC 141/9 (Lutz 56).

Kloof won by 8 runs.

Cycling

There have already been Provincial cycling events in 2016 and TMC cyclist have started the year with some great results.  Well done to all our cyclists.

2016 KZN Time Trial Championships

U14 Boys - Travis Stedman (Gr8) = 2nd

Mitchel Potgieter (Gr8) = 3rd

U16 Girls - Tiffany Keep (Gr10) = 1st

Courtney Smith (Gr10) = 3rd

U23 Boys - Devon Smith (Gr12) = 4th

2016 KZN Road Race Championships

U14 Boys - Travis Stedman (Gr8) = 2nd

Mitchel Potgieter (Gr8) = 3rd

U16 Girls - Tiffany Keep (Gr10) = 1st

Courtney Smith (Gr10) = 3rd

U16 Boys - Reece McCallum (Gr8) = 2nd

Joshua Clipstone (Gr9) = 5th

U23 Boys - Devon Smith (Gr12) = 7th

2016 KZN Track League 2

U12 Boys - Keagan Brand (Gr3) = 1st (3km; 1km and 1500mts events)

U16 Girls - Courtney Smith (Gr10) = Leading U16 girl over all events.

Equestrian

Congratulations to Joshua MacDougall - he has qualified for his Federation Colours at the 49th South African Junior National Equestrian Tentpegging Championships which was held in Beaufort West, Western Cape from 12 to 15 December 2015. Well done Joshua and all the best for the SAETA Youth Festival this year.