Thomas More College Newsletter

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Thomas More College
News from the Horse's Mouth

14 November 2016
Newsletter 37

Letter from the Editor

Please find the Scripture for the week here.

Some points of particular interest in the expanded sections below include:

Shane Cuthbertson - updates parents on the roadworks on Pioneer and Sykes Roads; and shares some info on the strategic planning session held over the weekend with our Board of Trustees.
Barbara Taljard - wishes the HS pupils and Grade 7s well for their exams which begin this week; and shares the last week of term, early closing times for Primary School pupils.

Stock Shop - New Uniform purchases

All pupils needing new uniforms for 2017, especially those going in to Grade 1 and Grade 8 please contact the Stock Shop as soon as possible to secure an appointment to kit out your child.

The diary is open and appointments will be available from 1^st November. The Stock Shop will be closed from 10^th December up until 12^th January. The shop is open in January for top ups and last minute purchases only, and as this is a very busy time we ask that you do not leave full uniform purchases until January as we cannot guarantee stock availability.

Please call the Stock Shop on 031 764 8640 / 082 4601 688 during Stock Shop trading times or email us on stockshop@thomasmore.co.za, and we will get back to you.

Mini craft market at the Carol Service - please refer to News/Resources category of the communicator to find out more.

Editor Picture

Have a great week,
Kim Hooper
Marketing Manager

The Thomas More Education Trust

The Thomas More Education Trust is an initiative of Thomas More College and works in partnership with the College. The Trust is registered separately as a non-profit (NPO) and public benefit organisation (PBO) and runs independently of Thomas More College. The Thomas More Education Trust has already seen a number of pupils through Thomas More College and on to tertiary education, as well as a number of teacher interns and assistants.

The objectives of the trust are:

Funding of primary, secondary and/or tertiary education of previously disadvantaged South Africans;
Funding of South African teacher internships;
Creating a financial conduit through which current pupils of Thomas More College may demonstrate their social responsibility and participate in the general educational upliftment of previously disadvantaged South African communities;
Providing short-term financial assistance to deserving pupils of Thomas More College.

The Thomas More Education Trust offers donors an opportunity to become involved in the upliftment of previously disadvantaged individuals and communities. Donations primarily provide education to previously disadvantaged South African children, but also support Black teacher interns and, in certain selected cases, provide short term financial assistance to existing pupils. The trust is a well-managed, controlled and audited conduit for investment in the future of South Africa through the education of our children.

An investment, made by donors to the Trust, entitles businesses to:

A tax deduction;
BBBEE points in the Socio-Economic Development category.

Should you wish to support pupils or teacher interns in need, please contact Claudia Levarelli, the Thomas More Education Trust secretary, on (031) 764 8646 or clevarelli@thomasmore.co.za who will furnish you with all necessary info.

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Scripture for the week

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness” Matthew 5:10

The eighth and last beatitude is really the most difficult as it deals with persecution. If we live the life Jesus teaches us to live I don’t think we will be very popular. He never said ‘come to me and your troubles are over’. We are called to be the conscience of humanity and that can be very unpopular, as it often incurs the wrath of many.

Jesus never told us to seek persecution but if it comes we must regard it as a blessing. In verse 12 we are ‘to rejoice and be glad’. Why are we to ‘rejoice and be glad’ because Jesus tells us that our reward is in heaven and if we are persecuted because of ‘righteousness’ we therefore are ‘blessed’. Lastly, our joy comes from identifying with Jesus; if it is because of Jesus (verse11) we are persecuted. It is interesting to note that over the centuries when Christianity has been persecution it has always increased in numbers.

Shalom (peace)
God bless
Rev. Martin Easson
Chaplain
measson@thomasmore.co.za

Whole School News

I have been contacted by Esor Construction explaining why there has been no activity on the Pioneer roadworks for the past two weeks. They have been told to stop working until a dispute is resolved between the Business Forum and Ethekwini Municipality. Esor are very keen to carry on with the project but their hands are tied. With all the rain that we have had, work on the roads would probably have been intermittent in the last few weeks anyway. At least we can be grateful that there is a hard surface and that we do not still have the gravel road during this dispute. During this period of examination traffic should be a whole lot quieter so there should be no unexpected traffic disruptions.

Over this past weekend the Board of Trustees has been engaged in strategic planning. The world of education is in a state of rapid transition and although we are only two years into our current five year strategic plan we felt that some changes were necessary. We believe that we have made some necessary adaptations to identify new areas of risk and have put new measures in place to ensure that we continue to deliver high quality relevant and affordable private education.

Shane Cuthbertson
Executive Principal
scuthbertson@thomasmore.co.za

Primary School News

Thanks to all parents who supported the last “Toppies 'n Tots” Golf Day on Friday, albeit in miserable weather! Those playing still had slippery fun, especially our Grade 7 group for whom it is their last “Toppies 'n Tots”!

Please note Senior Primary sport and school extra murals officially ends on 26 November, with the Saturday cricket matches.

This time of the year marks exam time for both our High School siblings and extended family and for our Grade7s who start with their full programme on Thursday this week. We do hope they are applying themselves to their studies with all the busyness of completing academic work, and the matches still to be played. We wish them all strength and pray God will be in their hearts to give them peace to apply their knowledge, in their eyes to be able to read with insight and understanding, in their hands to give them strength to complete the tasks ahead and in their minds to think logically and apply what they have learnt. We wish them God’s richest blessings for the upcoming exams.

Please also take note of the following: The compulsory Sport and Cultural Awards evening is on Friday 2 December at 18:00. Our Christmas Carols evening is on Sunday 4 December at 18:00 (not picnic style), with a Christmas craft market prior to this from 16:30.

There will be earlier closing times for the Senior Primary in the last week of term, namely Monday 5 December at 12:30 after the Final Assembly, which is an awards ceremony for the fourth term, and at 12:45 for the Senior Primary on Tuesday 6 December.

Tuesday evening is our compulsory Speech night year end prize giving at 18:00 in the Habberton Hall.

The last school day of the year for pupils, namely Wednesday 7 December, ends at 11:30, with the SP aftercare staying open until 12:30. These times are being issued to you early so provisions can be made.

Thank you to all those who gave so generously towards the love boxes and the staff Christmas hampers – it is much appreciated! It is still not too late to send in things

Best wishes to you all for the week ahead.

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

Academic Achievements

PS Weekly Achievers

1B	Tristan Clark - for his enthusiasm and commitment to the play even though he was sick. Raquel Cairns - for dancing and singing beautifully in the play.
1K	Alessandro Buccimazza - for being part of the play despite being really sick. Andrew Kemp - for being such a willing partcipant during practices and on stage.
1P	Phoebe Bothma - for overcoming her fears and dancing beautifully on stage. Evan Du Plessis - for being so well behaved up in the gallery. I am so proud of you.
2D	Connor du Plessis, Seth du Toit and Kai McCormick - for their superb behaviour in the gallery, lovely singing and dancing.
2J	Micaela Fernandes - for giving of her best and doing so well in the play. Ryan Mackey - for being such an enthusiastic participant in the play.
2R	Ethan Pieterse and Katie Morgan for coping so well through the concert even though they were not feeling well.
3B	Jamey Sack, Laura van Tonder and Ella Randle for their vocal solos that they performed so beautifully.
3P	Charlotte Howat - for being an expressive dynamic donkey. Björn Bekker - for being such an assertive, well-spoken innkeeper. Aiden Conradie - for knowing the script so well and playing a confident role as Naz.
3R	Brunton Bigalke - for playing his role as Judge Grumps so well. Emily Moran - for entertaining us all as such an expressive innkeeper. Duff de Necker - for his vocal solo as Stanley.
4dP	Tyra-Jayde Coetzer - for being so kind and caring to her class mates.
4M	Ross Hofmann - for his enthusiastic approach towards his school day and for always going the extra mile.
4F	Miguel de Freitas - for his diligence, effort and charming manner.
5vL	Courtney Cadle - for her excellent result in her English Language test as well as her kind, gentle nature.
5P	Torin Wright - for becoming more responsible and for being so helpful in the classroom.
5L	Samuel Schmitz - for his excellent Maths test result.
6B	James Daniel - for his positive attitude toward his school work.
6M	Jessica Smith - for her warm friendly smile and positive attitude.
6H	Leo Barnes - for his pleasant attitude and gentle nature.
7M	Michaela Kapnias - for working really hard at great personal challenges.
7S	Alex White - for getting herself well prepared for exams.
7C	Ashleigh Heenan - for her positive attitude and good manners.

Mathletics

Congratulations to Liam Oets, Isabella Fuini and Jaime Butler for achieving their Gold Mathletics certificates.

Cultural/Outreach

HS Music

Congratulations to the following musicians:

Kellen Daniels - passed her Grade 7 Trinity College of London Pop & Rock Drum exam with Distinction

Daine Ric- Hansen - passed his Grade 6 Trinity College of London Pop & Rock Drum exam with Distinction

Rory Camp - passed his Grade 3 Trinity College of London Pop & Rock Drum exam with Distinction

Cameron Buchanan - passed his Trinity College of London Pop & Rock Drum exam

SP Music

Congratulations to the following SP Musicians:

Saien Moodley - passed his Trinity College of London Pop & Rock Drum exam with Distinction

Imani Motsoahae - passed his Trinity College of London Pop & Rock Drum exam

Julie-Ann Ireland - passed her Trinity College of London Pop & Rock Drum exam

Ballet

Congratulations to Elisabeth du Buisson for receiving a medal for performing in the Cecchetti Gala Performance.

Sporting Achievements

SP Toppies 'n Tots

Year Winners – Blake Kerdachi Memorial Trophy – Josh and Leon Breytenbach

Term 4 Winners – St John Batchelor Trophy - Hayden and Jason Brimelow

Hacker Award – Smith Trophy – Sue Lee

Freshee Award – Engelbrecht Trophy – Richard Doyle

Longest Drive – Boys – Brad Ballack

Longest Drive – Dads – Richard Browning

Closest to pin – Boys – Michael Sim

Closest to pin – Girls – Megan Brimelow

Closest to pin - Dads – Barend Steyn

Closest to pin - Mums - Lydia Muhl

U9A Cricket vs Northdene

TMC made 136/7. Luke Patterson top scored with 44*. Northdene made 68/5 with Zipho Mgidi taking 3/7. TMC won the match.

Karate

Congratulations to Rogan Jaggard on receiving a medal for taking part in the Inter Club Karate Championships, and Connor du Plessis for coming first in his age group at his first Karate Tournament. Well done boys.

Swimming

Congratulations to Emily Morgan on receiving a medal for swimming in the Lake Eland Mile. Well done Emily.

Equestrian

Congratulations to Emily Mason who received two rosettes for show jumping at Hawkstone. Well done Emily.

SP Girls' Water Polo vs Durban Girls' College

U11B vs DGC U10 A 1-9 lost

U11 A vs DGC U11 A 2-11 lost

1^st team vs DGC 1^st team 1-13 lost

SP Boys' Water Polo vs Clifton College

U11 A vs Clifton U11 A 1-8 lost

U11 A vs Clifton U10A 3-5 lost

1^st team vs Clifton 2^nd 1-8 lost

1^st team vs Clifton U11 A 5-4 won

Cycling (MTB)

Congratulations to Anvia Bredenkamp who competed in the last event of the 2016 ROAG Quattro Setries at Gooderson Monks Cowl on Saturday. She won her age category and was the 3rd lady overall to finish the 20km race. Well done Anvia.