When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?
You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honour.
Psalm 8:3-5
It is amazing how we are increasingly moving towards being disconnected from God and from one another, with our lifestyles and technology. It is affecting the way we not only see ourselves but how we treat others. We seem to be losing our dignity and - Dignity – is defined as “the quality of being worthy of honour or respect”. We seem to relegate people into some corner of our minds and dismiss their very existence. We are losing our dignity because we have lost our identity with God. Our dignity is intertwined with our understanding that God created us in His own image.
It is not up to us to judge the value of one's life. Our worth and dignity are fundamental as a person who has been created in the image of God. Our dignity and worth are directly related to our origin. We are the products of divine design and purpose, and until we understand this, we will never attribute ourselves the worth which God has given each of us. In the most unique way we are children of God from creation. Therefore our evaluation of self and others is directly proportionate to our estimation of God. Our dignity and worth are not determined by our judgment of ourselves or by someone else’s judgement of us. We need to realise how God views us, as the above Psalm 8 reminds us of the honour that God has bestowed upon us. God has crowned us with glory and honour.(With thanks to James R. Davis)
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The Country Fair was once again a wonderful event. The months of planning were rewarded and we were blessed with a gorgeous day on Saturday. This event requires a huge commitment from parents, staff and pupils and totally demonstrated the unity and dedication of the Thomas More community. Although it is a big fundraiser, this is also our biggest marketing event and we certainly did showcase Thomas More College magnificently on Saturday. I am immensely grateful to all those who made this event possible. We owe a big "Thank You" to our Country Fair Committee Chairman Gareth Curtis, and Parents' Council Secretary Rae Griesel (who is the driving force) and the talented planning team who began their weekly meetings last year. You did us proud!
Thomas More College was given some very positive exposure in the Mercury on Wednesday last week. In what was more than a half a page, journalist Justin Foxton reported on an
Assembly at the school that dealt with “Unpacking privilege and identity”. This
was an initiative of the Thomas More Current Affairs Youth Council. Foxton
praised the event in saying “Would that more schools would emulate Thomas More College and grasp the stinging nettles of our time so fearlessly ……… As the youngsters speak I find myself transported into a space that is nothing less than the new South Africa. These millennials are so clear; so passionate; more thoughtful than just about any adult I have spoken to of late. They know the issues; they care and it is clear they will be the source of the healing of our nation….. To these brave pupils, I salute you all for being willing to “go there”; for being willing to hold up a mirror to your society and yourselves.”
See the following link to the full article:
http://www.justinfoxton.com/2017/08/04/unpacking-privilege-identity/
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Our country is facing trying times, and I often wonder just how engaged (or not) our young people are with the key disposition of Citizenship. Citizenship demands us to go beyond cheap sloganeering and the stereotypical demonising of the opposition in order to win an argument. I worry that our young people are without role models on the South African landscape who value real debate and the art of listening.
Fortuitously (or so it seems in hindsight), a number of educational conferences that I’ve attended over the last 24 months have had “Courageous Conversations” as their core theme. A conversation, however, denotes dialogue, and a dialogue denotes listening and talking. It is in this context that I shared my admiration for our Current Affairs Youth Council last week. They certainly started some courageous conversations at our school a fortnight ago. Increasingly, many of our young people are struggling with concepts such as identity, privilege, inequality and equity. Yet, for all my “sloganeering” on public platforms about our young people being both game- and world-changers, my pride emanates from our young people who are prepared, it seems, to have these uncomfortable, courageous conversations.
It is one thing for schools to say the right things about what education should achieve and realise, and to package it smartly to impress existing and potential students and parents; it is quite another to live it. And so, may we continue to hold true to our ethos and Thomas More heritage of
Truth Conquers All, irrespective of just how uncomfortable or unpopular that truth may be.
Some notes:
- we bade Mr Reid Bauermeister farewell this past Friday and welcomed a familiar face in Mr Peter Mackay who will look after our Grade 10-12 IT classes for the remainder of the year. Mr Bauermeister was a fine, intelligent and committed colleague, and we wish him every happiness and blessing as he prepares for his new venture in Kazakhstan;
- I want to thank the TMC community for what was a wonderful Country Fair on Saturday. I appreciate – and am humbled by – the collective service from our staff, parents, alumni and pupils in rendering this a singularly remarkable TMC community event;
- I wish the cast and crew of This is It, the Primary School’s 2017 production and tribute to Michael Jackson, tons of enjoyment as they take to the stage this week.
I wish you all a wonderful, blessed week ahead.
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Well done to all those who received academic merit, progress and effort certificates at Wednesday’s award ceremony as well as to those who did well in their spelling bee and general knowledge. To those who did not receive acknowledgement, set yourself goals, persevere, remain focused and work hard, never giving up. Thanks to those parents who attended- it is appreciated.
Thank you for the excellent support with grocery items for the Country Fair. We value each and every contribution both to this and to the tombola stall. We were also truly blessed and thank God for the fine weather we experienced at this year’s Country Fair on Saturday- for me personally the best one to date! As usual, there was much enthusiasm among the children, and it was great to see them have fun and enjoy themselves. Well done to Country Fair convener, Gareth Curtis, Parents’ Council chairman, TC Chetty, Rae Griesel, the Parents’ Council members and their teams for all the hard work over an extended period of time. A huge thank you to all staff, class reps, parents and pupils in all phases who gave so willingly of their time and put in many hours of “duty” working on Saturday. Your loyalty, commitment and support for our school is valued, and once again exemplifies our ethos. I felt very proud to be a part of Thomas More. All in all it was a delightful day!
To all the women in our community, we salute you for the multiple roles you play and the glue you are in keeping society together, for your warmth, courage, conviction and determination in molding young lives positively and making a difference. Women’s month (not just day) is a reminder to fill your cup so that you can continue to fill the cups of others in your life. Have a fabulous Women's Day on Wednesday 9 August – and enjoy the day off! Thanks to those rehearsing for our play on Wednesday and to those teachers who have given up their day off in the best interests of our Grade 6 and 7s.
Please do ensure you book online for this year’s Senior Primary Grade 6 and 7 production, “This is it”,
based on the life of Michael Jackson, which will take place this Thursday, 10 and Friday 11 August, in the Habberton Hall at 6pm. This involves all our Grade 6s and 7s and promises to be entertaining for the whole family. Thank you to Roberta Ramasamy, Sherwin Ganasen, Lizanne Watson and Cultural HOD: Gary Balarin for all their hard work and commitment and to all our staff and those who have supported them in different ways. The production is most suitable for all phases of the school, so we would value your support.
Book Online Here
https://goo.gl/forms/HlO2viwgcIpUSVrt1
Wishing you all the best for the week ahead.
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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.
1B
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Maddison Rhynes - for being a star helper and for a wonderful
improvement in her reading this term. |
1K
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Chloe McMaster - for being diligent and committed in completing her
work. |
1S
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Dylan Jessop - for settling in so quickly and happily into TMC,
welcome to our class. |
2D
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Joshua Snyman - for settling so quickly into Thomas More and being
such an asset to the class. |
2J
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Angel Gamede - for the wonderful effort she puts into everything she
does. You are a super star. |
2R
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Rachel Beyers - for her lovely, neat work. |
3B
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Dylan Stephens - for his whole-hearted efforts with his school work.
He is growing in confidence and we love seeing his happy smiles. |
3M
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Kathryn Hodges - for settling into Thomas More so well and making
new friends. |
3R
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Violet Macgregor - for her positive attitude this week and for
settling in so well. |
4dP
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Jamey Sack - for a happier, more positive attitude and for beautiful
singing. |
4P
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Holly du Buisson - for her beautiful manners and for always giving
of her best. |
4dL
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Elisabeth du Buisson - for her mature attitude towards her school
day. |
5vL
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Jason Erasmus - for making every effort to be more organised and
having a positive attitude towards his school day. |
5M
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Jenna Alexander - for her positive attitude towards her school day
and her lovely manners. |
5L
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James Kohne - for settling into Thomas More so confidently. |
6J
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Carlota Krumhoff - for her improved enthusiasm in class and her kind
and caring nature. |
6M
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Tiaasha Naicker - for her good spirits and positive attitude towards
school. |
6F
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Keagan Brand - for the success that his commitment to cycling has
resulted in. |
7M
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Taylor Gregson - for her wonderful effort at the Inter House
Athletics and her kind friendly nature. |
7H
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Madyson Escreet - for her wonderful effort in preparing for the
school play and her kind nature. |
7C
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Shaydyn Venton - for her kind and caring nature and beautiful
manners. |
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Mathletics
Congratulations to Lauren Bigalke and Hayden Vincent for achieving their Gold
Certificate in Mathletics.
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Cultural Performance at Miss India Pageant
A big congratulations to Liam Pather who was invited to
perform at the 27th Annual Miss India South Africa Pageant on 29 July. It
is very rare that a male is invited to perform at this pageant. Liam wowed
the crowds and received a rapturous applause after his rendition of two songs.
Well done Liam!
Debating
Congratulations to our Grade 8 team consisting of Justin Keep, Jessica Mills and Rebecca de Klerk for making it through to the quarter final round. They put up a good fight but lost to Fatima. Nicholas Leisegang, Jordan Pieters and Reece Jeacocks (our Senior team) won their quarter final debate against Durban Girls’ High and Nicholas was named Best Speaker. They will be debating against Kingsway in the semi-finals.
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SP Cycling
Congratulations to Anvia Bredenkamp who took part in 2 mountain bike races recently. She represented Thomas More in the KZN SPUR School Series at Kearsney College and came first in the
U13 age category, and also won her age category at the Illovo Eston Marathon
race. Well done Anvia.
HS Cycling
Congratulations to the following pupils who competed in
the 1st race of the Spur Schools Mountain Biking Series held on the 30 July 2017.
Tiffany Keep 1st Junior
Hannah Stiebel 2nd Junior
Cian Leveridge 1st Junior
Travis Stedman 1st Youth
Mitchel Potgieter 5th Youth
Dean Gregson 6th Youth
Reece McCullum 10th Youth
Christopher Jolly 8th Sub-Junior
Justin Keep 15th Sub-Junior
SP Hockey vs Crawford La Lucia
Boys
U10A 1 -5 lost
U10B 0- 1 lost
U11A 0 - 5 lost
U11B 3 - 1 won
2nds 5 - 0 won
1st 2 - 1won
Girls
U10A 1 - 1 draw
U11A 5 - 0 won
U11B 2 - 0 won
2nd 7 - 0 won
1st 0 - 2 lost
Equestrian - Vaulting
Congratulations to Jordan Clark who has been selected to represent KZN for Vaulting,
both for SANESA and Vaulting South Africa. He will be competing at SA Champs, 22 - 25 September. Well done Jordan!
HS Boys' Indoor Hockey
U16A vs DHS - Lost 2-3
1st Team vs Glenwood - Won 4-3
HS Boys' Soccer
U14B vs Clifton - Lost 1-6
U14A vs Clifton - Won 4-2
U15B vs Clifton U15C - Lost 1-3
U15A vs Clifton U15B - Lost 1-2
U16B vs Clifton - Lost 1-2
U16A vs Clifton - Won 2-1
2nds vs Clifton 3rds - Won 2-1
1st Team vs Clifton 2nds - Won 2-1
HS Girls' Soccer
U14B vs DGHS - Won 4-0
U14A vs DGHS - Won 1-0
U16B vs DGHS - Won 3-1
U16A vs DGHS - Won 3-0
1st Team vs DGHS - Won 2-0
HS Golf
1st Team vs Glenwood C - Won 3-1
Sailing
Congratulations to Benji Daniel, Grade 11, who placed 3rd at the 29er US Nationals. 120 boats from all around the World were participating in this highly competitive regatta held in California.
Well done Benji.
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