Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. Psalm 27:14

Courage comes in many forms and in many different situations. One of my favourite stories of courage is about Corrie Ten Boom a Christian Dutch lady who along with her sister and many other Christians in Holland helped to save Dutch Jews from the Nazis during World War Two. However, she and her sister were betrayed and were sent to Ravensbrück Concentration camp, where her sister succumbed to the beatings the guards inflicted upon the inmates of the camp. Corrie survived and amazingly God sent her back to Germany to minister to the German people. After a service she conducted in a church in Germany a man came up to her and she recognised him as one of the guards who murdered her sister. She said:” But I remembered him and the leather crop swinging from his belt. It was the first time since my release that I had been face to face with one of my captors and my blood seemed to freeze…

He had become a Christian and said, “I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well.Fräulein”–again the hand came out–“will you forgive me?” And I stood there–I whose sins had every day to be forgiven–and could not. Betsie had died in that place–could he erase her slow terrible death simply for the asking? It could not have been many seconds that he stood there, hand held out, but to me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do. For I had to do it–I knew that and the message that God forgives has a prior condition: that we forgive those who have injured us. “If you do not forgive men their trespasses,” Jesus says, “neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”… And still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion–I knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. “Jesus, help me!” I prayed silently. “I can lift my hand. I can do that much. You supply the feeling.” And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me and as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes. “I forgive you, brother!” I cried. “With all my heart!” . For Corrie this was an incredible act of courage and faith to forgive someone who had taken her sisters life. We need to take that step of faith and courage knowing God will do the rest. Take courage today in the one who loves you the most.

In spite of the miserable weather the Parents' Council hosted a very successful Golf Day on Friday. 33 four-balls had signed up for the day and all turned up to face the elements. I am not sure if it was due to bad weather or bad golf, but there were one or two four-balls that did not hand in their cards at the end of the day. This day is renowned for its prizes and once again it did not disappoint. There were prizes for every player. I would like to thank the committee of Rae Griesel, Leisl Kreigish, Kerry White, Les Hanger, Anthony Kerdachi and Colin Heads, for all they did to pull off such a successful event. Thank you also to the sponsors, prize donors and players for supporting us yet again.

The Club TMC (previously know as 150 Club) draw for a free Second Term's fees was done at the Golf Day. It is not often that the winner is present when the draw is made so it was really special that the winner Dean Leyden was present in the audience.

The 2016 school magazine will be released later this week. One copy per family will be issued to the eldest or only child. This is a magnificent production of well over 200 pages that truly does justice to a flourishing school. Congratulations to the editor Kim Hooper and the liaison staff in the different phases – Penny Thompson (HS), Annette Sewchuran and Barbara Taljard (SP) and Colette Jagles and Deni Hornsey (FP). This is an immense task and your effort and attention to detail is truly appreciated. 

 

We shall begin our series of mental meanderings of the 8 Cs this week. I choose to begin the series by focusing on COMPOSURE.

Composure, noun - the state or feeling of being calm and in control of oneself.

Many of us face many challenges, daily. I have had many opportunities to observe and celebrate incredible depths of composure demanded of our young people in the last fortnight. But first, John Maxwell asserts that when interviewing candidates for vacancies, he ALWAYS interviews their ATTITUDE first, then the skill-set. His justification for this is simple: good skills can be taught, learned and acquired; not so when dealing with someone’s attitude.

For many, it is easy to remain composed and manifest a positive attitude when things are convenient and going well. But what happens when we face significant challenges or obstacles? Do we then feel justified to lose our composure and play the “blame-game” in these instances?

We have seen and witnessed an appalling lack of accountability in recent years from high profile people, both local and international. A loss of composure says nothing about the person(s), event(s) or circumstance(s) the person blames; it says much, though, about that person. Dealing calmly with difference, conflict, otherness, disappointment, challenge and dissonance is a critical life skill and competency for our young people.

Our 1^st XV rugby boys – a comparatively young team this year – provided an outstanding lesson to all in attendance this past Saturday in their titanic match against Kloof High School’s impressive 1^st XV. With the memory of last year’s 60-0 drubbing at Kloof, this young team met this year’s match with incredible attitude and composure. When Kloof scored an unconverted try to take an 11-5 lead with 15 minutes to go, many of us thought the floodgates would open and Kloof could potentially romp away to victory. Not so for our young charges. They kept calm, backed their preparation, regained and maintained control of their structure, and finished the match with an outstanding team try in the corner in the final seconds of the match to lose the match 11-10. Whilst the scoreboard did reflect a loss, I think they won. They won my respect, and the respect of their much-fancied opposition.

Manifesting composure in the face of immense challenge garners respect and trust. Also, composure builds bridges, and bridges are in dire need in our increasingly-polarised world today. 

 

We trust all those in Mothering roles were shown appreciation yesterday. Never underestimate how valuable your role is, whether father, mother, guardian or grandparent in moulding young lives and developing a feeling of belonging and self-worth.

All matches and extra-murals have started in earnest and our teams have been punching above their weight in many instances. Thank you to our Sport and Cultural staff and coaches for the commitment and dedication which goes into our Extra-curricular programme.

In addition we have been busy with some pupil focus groups with open-ended discussion involving a cross section of children, in preparation for our IQAA visit on 1 June. The discussions have been interesting, as a Primary School child sometimes has a misperception of what can fit into our extra-curricular programme or what is meant by some concepts. So far, while there are some things we need to take cognizance of and endeavor to do, the feedback from the pupils has been helpful and enlightening. Over the next few weeks we will be collating all IQAA information and using this to improve what we do.

You, as SP parents, have not been invited to any focus groups as our results did not indicate there was a need for a parent focus group to take place. Please do remember though that I have an Open Door policy and will always make the time to see you if you have any concerns of any nature, having used all the correct channels we have in place. The staff are also readily available through e-mail etc. and will always endeavor to work with you in the best interests of each and every child.

School will end earlier on Friday 19 May at 12:45 for the JP and 13:00 for the SP as we are hosting the Inter-schools cross country here on Friday with pupils arriving from 13:15 for a 14:00 start. We are hoping the earlier closure will alleviate the traffic congestion which may still occur. We are doing our best to reduce the impact and apologise for any inconvenience the busyness of our campus may cause.

Just an early “thumbs up” about the Christian Arts Festival in the week 22-26 May. There will be a bonfire evening on Thursday 25 May from 18:00 to 20:00 in the HS quad area to which families are invited to attend. The school choirs will be performing. It will be a barn style format with people bringing their own picnic baskets and camping chairs and will be open to the TMC community.

During next week there will be a civvies day on Thursday 25 May with the only cost to you the parent being providing an item/ bag/ some old good used clothes as per the e-mail sent out by our Outreach co-ordinator, Mr Phil Lanz. We do ask your support for this.

Wishing you all the best for the week ahead- stay warm!  

 

Let me start off by saying how encouraged I am by the number of children participating in sport and their attitude towards it. Our philosophy towards sport in the Foundation Phase is healthy body, healthy mind and vice versa. I believe it is important for our children to be exposed to a variety of sports and not to try and make them specialise too young as this often leads to burnout or loss of interest. We are extremely lucky in South Africa as we still believe in allowing our children to play outside and to run, climb and explore/discover as we realise the importance of allowing children to be active every day.

Research shows that physical activity stimulates growth and leads to improved physical and emotional health. It has also been proved that highly active children are less likely to suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer of the colon, obesity, and coronary heart disease later in life. Exercise is also a known stress reliever. Some children experience as much stress, depression, and anxiety as adults do and because exercise improves health, a fit child is more likely to be well-rested and mentally sharp. Even moderate physical activity has been shown to improve a child’s skill at Maths, reading, and at remembering facts.

I firmly believe that sport and not exercise alone, gives a child more than just physical well-being; it contributes to a child’s development both psychologically and socially. Sport creates an important learning environment for children, often affecting the development of self-esteem and self-worth. Research done by Dr. Glyn Roberts of the University of Illinois, shows that “It is also within sport that peer status and peer acceptance is established and developed.” One way children gain acceptance by their peers is to be good at activities valued by other children, says Roberts.

Please keep encouraging your children to involve themselves in sport at school as involvement outside is wonderful in achieving some of the mentioned goals, but school sport is important in the development of the whole child.

Kobe Bryant: “Sports are such a great teacher. I think of everything they've taught me: camaraderie, humility, how to resolve differences.”  

 

Weekly Achievers 

Kindly sponsored by Wetrock Adventures - visit www.wetrockadventuresco.za for further info. 

Please send us photographs of your children enjoying their Weekly Achiever vouchers at Wetrock to tmc@thomasmore.co.za.

Irish Dancing

Congratulations to Amy Marks, Emily de Klerk, Danielle de Moor, Naomi Easson, Rachael Easson, Stephanie de Moor and Samantha Parker for participating in the National Creative Arts Youth Festival at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre this past weekend. What a spectacular treat for those watching the dancers from the KZN Academy of Celtic Dance at the "Love of Dance" on Sat 13th May.

Equestrian

Congratulations to Tyler Jelf (Grade 10), riding her horse Newlook's Curlins Cousin, who won their 1m show jumping speed & precision class on Saturday at Shongweni Club at the Triple P Showon. Well done Tyler.

Congratulations to Naomi Easson who received 3rd place in a show jumping competition in the 30cm Novice division.  Well done Naomi.

Karate

Congratulations to Tahir van Ryn who has been selected to represent JKA KZN Karate at the National Championships in Johannesburg.  We wish him all the best.

KZN Hockey

Congratulations to the following pupils who have been selected to represent KZN

KZN Coastal U16B Team: Jordan Miekle, Ligudu Mashige

KZN Warriors (U16C) Team: Konke Sibisi

Non-travelling: Akuse Mhlanzi

KZN Impis (U18C) Team: Keagan Olivier

Non-travelling: Brandon Davies

U18B girls' team: Tatum Olivier and Robyn Phipps.

SP U10 Girls' Soccer

Group 1: Played 4, won 2, drew 1 and lost 1

Group 2:  Played 4, Won 1, drew 1 and lost 2

HS Rugby

TMC U15B vs Kloof U14A - Lost 19 – 13

TMC U16B vs Kloof U15A - Lost 29 – 12

TMC 1^stTeam vs Kloof – Lost 10-11

HS Girls’ Hockey

TMC U14A vs DGHS – Won 2-0

TMC U16A vs DGHS – Lost 2-0

TMC 1^stTeam vs DGHS – Won 1-0

TMC U14B vs DGC – Lost 2-0

TMC U14A vs DGC – Lost 2-0

TMC U16B vs DGC – Lost 3-1

TMC U16A vs DGC – Drew 0-0

TMC 2nds vs DGC – Won 7-0

TMC 1^stTeam vs DGC – Lost 1-0

HS Netball

TMC U15A vs Werda – Won 34-5

TMC 2nds vs Werda – Lost 9-10

TMC 1^stTeam vs Werda – Won 26-14

HS Boys' Hockey

TMC U14A vs Curro Hillcrest - Won 1-0

TMC U14A vs Sisonke - Drew 0-0

TMC U14A vs Grantleigh- Won 3-1

TMC U14A vs Kloof HS-Won 3-0

TMC U14A vs Hillcrest- Won 3-0

TMC U14A vs Crawford NC- Won 3-0

TMC U14A vs Crawford LL- Lost 1-0

TMC U16A vs Reddam Umhlanga - Won 3-0

TMC U16Avs Curro Hillcrest - Won 1-0

TMC U16A vs Kloof HS - Drew 0-0

TMC U16A vs Crawford NC - Won 1-0

KZN Top 10 B-league Boys' Hockey Tournament: Lost to Kloof in the Final to finish in 2nd position

TMC 1^stTeam vs Vryheid HS -Won 2-0

TMC 1^stTeam vs Reddam Umhlanga - Won 2-0

TMC 1^stTeam vs Port Shepstone - Won 2-0

TMC 1^stTeam vs Ashton International - Won 1-0

TMC 1^stTeam vs Felixton - Drew 1-1

TMC 1^stTeam vs Hillcrest - Won 1-0

TMC 1st Team vs Crawford NC- Won 2-0

KZN Top 10 B-league Boys' Hockey Tournament: Beat Felixton 2-0 in the final to win the tournament.