For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: Ecclesiastes 3:1

A warm welcome back to everyone for the third term we are especially thankful for the safe return of all the tour groups. I say this at the end of every July holidays but where has the year gone? We will be wishing each other Merry Christmas just now!!! Time moves on and our lives are constantly changing whether we like it or not, but the one consistent truth is that God does not change He is the same Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. It is a huge comfort to know that in this ever changing world that God is consistent in His promises to us which are found in the Bible: ”The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever” Isaiah 40:8.

 Welcome back to the third term. I hope that the pupils are well rested and up to the challenges that lie ahead.

I am afraid that our turn has now come to experience the full impact of the Upper Highway pipe line project. Our patience is going to be tested this week as there are now disruptive roadworks on our portion of Pioneer Rd. The tar has been dug up and there is now a gravel surface which is narrower and rougher than we are used to. The roadworks will take place between 8AM and 4PM. During this time stop/go barriers will operate in Pioneer Road allowing only one-way flow. Two way traffic will be possible outside of these times. The Willingdon Road bridge was scheduled to be closed until Monday 25th July but this is fortunately now open in the mornings. Early morning drop off will experience some disruption, but the real problem will be the pick up at lunch time. Please leave for school early in order to avoid considerable frustration. I am assured by the contractors that there will be considerable progress this week and there will hopefully be a new tar surface by Monday.

We are gearing up for Country Fair over the next two weeks. The traditional grocery collection Civvies Day is on Tuesday 26th July. We have not asked for a lot of help so please give this project your wholehearted support. We also appeal to those who have not yet sent their Tombola item to do so on the 26th.

As usual there have been a number of small projects on the campus during the holidays:

· We have unfortunately had to remove a number of the small trees on the uphill bank of the Astro as their roots were growing under the playing surface. These fig and corral trees were present before the construction of the Astro.

· There has been an extension to the Music School with the addition of three new practice rooms. In the next few weeks we will also begin with the construction of a roof over the music school courtyard.

· Three new showers have been added for the use of the High School boys.

· A new tea station deck has been added to the swimming pool area. Thanks are due to water polo fundraising which contributed considerably to this project.

We await the approval of plans for two new classroom projects which will commence in the near future. The High School will get four new classrooms to replace the last four prefabs. These will be added as an additional floor to the B block in a project similar to the A block project that was completed a few years back. The Senior Primary will get 3 additional classrooms on top of the grade 7 block. These will provide more modern and spacious facilities for the senior end of the Primary School.

You will notice that the security guards have new uniforms. Our previous company Malandela has been bought out by Thorburn Security Solutions.

This will be a very exciting term in the area of Cultural activities. In one of our most ambitious productions to date, the High School will be staging Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Cats" from 13th to 16th September. This should prove to be very popular so book early. Not to be outdone, the Senior Primary will be staging "Frostbite" on the 17th and 18th of August.

 

I wish all members of the high school family a warm welcome back to school.

We had a number of trips over the past holiday season which, once again, speaks to the dynamic range of exciting opportunities our pupils are afforded to broaden their horizons: the Academic tour (thanks Mrs Brehany and Mr Camp), the isiZulu Grade 12 Tour (thanks Mama Zagagula, Mrs Mkize and Mrs Ndlovu), the Grahamstown Festival (thanks Mrs Logan and Mr Lanz Jnr) and the Climbing Trip (thanks Mr and Mrs Camp). On all accounts these trips were very successful.

Climbing trials were also held this holiday, and I know you join me in congratulating Josh Munstermann for being selected to represent South Africa at the World Champs in China in November. This is a remarkable achievement by Josh.

I also want to express my deep gratitude to Mr Phil Lanz and his army of helpers for the Pop-Up Street Store at the beginning of the holiday. While ill health at the time excluded me from the event, I was most buoyed to hear of the many heart-warming stories from the day. This is how mountains are moved!

On the staffing front, we will be bidding Mrs Cynthia Kelly farewell at the end of the year as she joins her husband in Richards Bay in a new family business venture. We will bid Mrs Kelly farewell appropriately at the end of the year. As a result of a re-structure in the sports department from two sports co-ordinators to one, Mr Steve Garrett has taken his leave of us. I was hoping to bid Mr Garrett farewell appropriately this term, but he started a new job this week and we obviously allowed him to start his new employment. In due course, we will be advertising an Assistant Sport Administrator position to assist Miss Venter who will now be Head of College Sport. I thank Mr Garrett for the passion for sport he shared with our staff, pupils and parents during his years with us, and we wish him every success and happiness in the future.

New 2017 appointments: I am excited to inform you that, after lengthy interview processes, we have employed Mr Wesley Maurice (History) and Miss Staci Carter (Business Studies) for 2017. After an inordinate number of applications for both posts, we believe that Mr Maurice (currently teaching at Westville Boys') and Miss Carter (currently a final-year intern at TMC Primary) will add tremendous value to our school and, as such, we look forward to them joining the HS community next year. Once we have filled Mrs Kelly's CAT post and the new Assistant Sports Administrator post, I will inform you accordingly.

I particularly want to wish our Grade 12s an excellent "final full term" of school! It is a time of great introspection for many of them as the reality of the "end of school" draws near. May your choices be purposeful and characterised by integrity, Grade 12s, as you prepare for your trial exams and, ultimately, your finals next term. Godspeed, friends.

In closing, the Country Fair is around the corner. Please be fastidious in bringing the required grocery items to school next Tuesday on civvies day (26th July). Please note that as the Country Fair is an unbridled celebration of our wonderful Thomas More Community and campus, I expect all HS pupils to attend and support the Country Fair.

Have a wonderful term.  

 

A very warm welcome back after our mid-year holidays and an extra special welcome to those families who are new to Thomas More, as well as to the student teachers doing prac teaching with us. We do trust that you will soon feel at home, and part of our family. To the rest of our Thomas More family, all the best for the third term of 2016! I trust you and your family had a relaxing and enjoyable holiday. Sincere congratulations to Mr Daryl Bartels, one of our Grade 6 teachers, who got engaged to Ms Nikki Trevesani, a qualified intern in the Foundation Phase and to Ms Jocelyn McDaniel our Grade 5 Maths support teacher who got engaged to Mr Mark de Swart. 

A number of our families travelled not only nationally but oversees as well. We are glad you are back safely and benefited from your excursions. This includes a number of staff members, and in particular our 1^st team cricketers and netball players and their coaches. The feedback I have received is that you all had a memorable and worthwhile tour, played excellent sport, winning most of your matches against top schools, enjoyed sight-seeing and impressed your hosts with your good manners and behaviour! We are glad you kept the Thomas More flag flying high and thank all those who made the tour possible and those who accompanied you. Our cricketers won seven out of their eight games, only narrowly losing to Papplewick, while our netball teams won eight of their eleven games losing their first two narrowly and then raising the standard, winning all their other matches bar the last game which they lost by a close margin to Eagle House, the UK netball champs for their age group.! Congratulations and a sincere thank you to all staff, pupils and those parents who travelled to support them! You did us all proud!

If you have not yet returned your Country Fair raffle form, this is due in by next Wednesday, 27 July. There certainly are some wonderful prizes to be won, also for each phase for the most raffle sheets sold as well as for the eleventh ticket raffle for those who get the free ticket for the full raffle sheet sold. Our Country Fair promises to be better than ever before and takes place next Saturday, 30 July, a compulsory school day.

The grocery items are due next Tuesday, 26 July, as per the list which was issued. This is a civvies day to thank you for this donation and also for the tombola items. These may still be sent in if you have not already done so. We are also desperately looking for every family and ideally every parent to commit to working a slot at the various stalls etc. on the day. Please contact your class rep to offer your services, which are much needed to spread the load.

SP sport does start this week with the 1^st team boys’ and girls’ hockey against Somerset House tomorrow afternoon and U12 and open relay practices on Thursday from 2:00 to 3:00 pm. We start the term with a bang, with our Senior Primary Inter-house field events this Friday morning and the track events on the Saturday morning, as per the diary card which you can download on the communicator. We look forward to parental support. All other extra-murals start on Monday only.

Next Wednesday, 27 July, during Assembly time, from 07:30 to about 08:15, there will be an Award ceremony for all those SP children who have earned a merit for effort, progress or academic attainments last term. Parents are welcome to attend.

Wishing you all the best for the week ahead and a successful, happy and healthy third term.

 

Barbara Taljard
Primary School: Headmistress
btaljard@thomasmore.co.za

What a blessing it was to be able to enjoy holiday time with such beautiful weather!  A very warm welcome to the third term and a wish for all our new families to settle well and happily.

Often in the holidays we have exciting events that take place. This holiday was no different as Ms Nikki Trevisani celebrated her engagement to Mr Daryl Bartels who teaches in the Thomas More Senior Primary. Although our Grade 1 parents have been informed, Nikki Trevisani takes up the locum position for Karin Bizzell in Grade 1 for the remainder of the year.

This term will see the usual busyness and as expected, we encourage our children to be fully participative in the school extramural programme. Being involved in a school sport is a vital component to each child’s wellbeing for the following reasons:

1. team sports not only provide social interaction and valuable skills but also a sense of belonging in the broader sense

2. for children this age, the necessary skills of understanding sharing, teamwork and team tactics provides an insight into social skills needed for life in general

3. it helps children to deal appropriately with success, failure and perseverance

4. it helps children to be committed even if they aren’t particularly good at each sport

5. it teaches resilience

6. it encourages parents to practice the foundational skills at home with children (we hope!)

7. it helps children realise that everyone has different abilities

8. physical activity is good for mental activity

9. it enables children to become more sociable in a different environment; they have to deal with different people, who may or may not be their friends.

10. it enhances communication skills both with peers and coaches.

I look forward to sharing in your child’s growth in the term ahead and wish everyone a happy, healthy term.  

 

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Weekly Achievers

Will resume next week.

None to report at present.

KZN Action Cricket

We would like to congratulate Ethan McCormick for representing KZN at the Action Cricket Interprovincial Tournament:

The tournament took place from the 3rd to the 6th of July in Edenvale Johannesburg. The team did extremely well, making it to the final and ending second in South Africa for the 11 and under age group. They were awarded silver medals.

BMX

Well done to Levi Smith (Grade 0) who took part in the BMX National Age Group series in Johannesburg from 2-3 July.  Levi competed against boys in the U8 Expert Class and rode extremely well on a very tight and technical track.  Levi was placed 1st in the U6 Expert Class in all 3 legs and was awarded 3 gold medals.

Cycling

TMC Cycling has had a great 3 weeks with the school winning the One
Movement Junior Eliminator series which was held at the end of last term, with Maritzburg College    

 2nd and Northwood Boys 3rd.  A great Team effort with TMC riders excelling in all the age groups.

There were also great results at the recent KZN XCO mountain bike champs held on the 25 June:
Cian Leveridge (Gr 10), Travis Stedman (Gr 8) and Tiffany Keep (Gr 10)
were all crowned KZN Champions in their respective age groups
Liam Theunissen (Gr 5) = 3rd Sprog
Keagan Brand (Gr 5) = 6th Sprog
Anvia Bredenkamp (Gr 7) = 2nd Sprog
Mitchel Potgieter (Gr 8) = 3rd Sub Junior
Reece McCullum (Gr 8) = 2nd Youth
Courtney Smith (Gr 10) = 2nd Youth
Devon Smith (Gr 12) = 5th Elite

The first of the KZN SPUR Schools mountain bike league starts this Sunday at Thomas More College.

All children who ride bicycles are urged to come and compete in this fun event. The riders do

different number of short laps according to their age groups.  For any further details, please contact Tim Keep 083 4007 123 or tim@pureadventurewear.co.za

Rock Climbing

Josh Munstermann has been selected to represent South Africa at the IFSC Youth World Championships in Guangzhou, China from 7 – 13 November 2016.  Well done Josh.

KZN Girls' Soccer

Congratulations to Tatum Olivier who represented the KZN Girls' U17 soccer team at the Winter Games this past holiday. Well done Tatum.