Records, Running and Razors

The staff room was abuzz for the first three weeks of term.  After nine years of winning the Interhouse Sports Day, the pundits maintained that  Littlewood were now ripe for the plucking.  They had lost their good athletes, argued the experts, and were a spent force.  Mike Engelbrecht, House Head of De Villiers, was brimming with confidence.  ‘I will shave my head if De Villiers don’t win this year’ he announced to the staff room.

I love sports day.  I love the vibe, the excitement, the action.  The Headmaster’s Gazebo was positioned at the finishing line where I could see all the tense finishes as well as the high jump to my left and the long jump behind me.  Various members of the Board of Governors shared the gazebo with me during the afternoon and the generous catering of the Ladies Association ensured that we were well looked after.  My friend from the UK, Charles MacGregor, popped in for a few hours.  He had been with me right through school and it did not take him long to remind me that he had beaten me in the egg and spoon race as a six year old at Forries School. I responded by saying that I am sure I trumped him in the sack race!  Ah!  Memories.

It was wonderful to see our boys making their own memories. Jordyn Napier, against the odds and all expectations, streaked away with the u19 400 metres – winning it convincingly.  Where had he been in previous years?  I didn’t even know he could run!  Yushua Kimmie, who joined us this year from Fish Hoek, nailed his colours to the mast by winning most of the u15 events.  What a fine start to a Wynberg career.  During this time, Jean van der Merwe was setting a new record on Hawthornden for the u16 javelin.

I enjoyed the rivalry between two hockey players, Dylan Grobler and Miguel Stevens,  in the 3000 metres.  This rivalry has been going on for over a year.  I wonder who will win the school cross country next term?

Yusuf Ismail & KCR, photos courtesy Wynberg Photographic Society

However, we will remember the 2012 Sportsday by the outstanding two records in the 100 and 200 metres by the birthday boy, and captain of Athletics, Yusuf Ismail.  In both races, he broke his own record set last year.  I remember well that record being set in 1990 when Shahl de Meuter ran it in 11.0 seconds dead.  I was taking the lst X1 cricket team at the time and there was much banter in the team in the week before between  Shahl and his team mates, Dominic Malan and Craig Turvey.  It ended up as a photo finish with Shahl edging out the other two.  Their speed stood Malan and Turvey in good stead because they went on to play Currie Cup rugby - representing SWD for many years.

Now Yusuf has beaten that time by nearly half a second:  10.6 seconds.  I suspect that record will taunt Wynberg sprinters for decades.  As Peter van Schalkwyk remarked at the prize giving, Yusuf is now the fastest Wynberg boy in 171 years!  I am going to enjoy watching him in Paarl next week!

School Song

To me, prizegiving is the best part of the day.  The wind has normally dropped, there is a buzz among the boys sitting on the grass as they await to see their mates to receive their cups, the sun is going down silhouetting our own Table Mountain. It is a scene crying out to be painted. Then the day’s events culminate in the school coming together and led by their Matrics, they energetically sing the school song.  Watching this, prompted a mother to write an email to me the following day:  That’s why I love Wynberg….

And Littlewood won – for the 10^th year in a row.  The following day in the staff room, Mike Engelbrecht sportingly arrived with a shaven head.

It doesn’t pay to tempt the gods of sport!

KCR

"... brothers in an endless chain .."

Induction, Initiation: 'Look Ma No Hands!'

Dylan Long Grade 8 , Wellington House, Obstacle Course,
Sunday 22 January 2012

He's not heavy, he's my Wellington Buddy ...
Photo courtesy Joshua de Reuck

Taariq Parker with his Grade 8 buddy Kaeb Koopman

‘Look Ma, no hands’ is a refrain all mothers know well.  The pride with which the young boy announces his ascendancy to the top of the jungle gym is something which will remain rooted in his psyche all his life.  The need to be recognized as boys rise up  the social ladder to adulthood is healthy and normal.  Stultifying this recognition in  boyhood and teenagerhood may later lead to the emergence of harmful and damaging power plays in the work place and the home.

I am disappointed that initiation has become such a dirty word.  ‘Initiation’ comes from the Latin word ‘initium’ meaning a beginning.  Boys need to be initiated into the next phase of their lives – it makes them feel that they belong.  This feeling of belonging leads to self-assurance and confidence – ingredients essential in the development of a teenager.

This ‘initiation’ must not be confused with ‘humiliation’ so evident in some institutions.  A healthy and positive initiation process does wonders for the self-esteem and self-belief in our latest ‘brothers in an endless chain’. 

So, to avoid confusion, we at Wynberg refer to the process by the less emotive term of ‘induction’.  What a wonderfully encouraging and affirming introduction our Grade 8’s have had to their new school.  The Blazer Ceremony last Friday in front of hundreds of Grade 8 and Matric parents was an emotional and poignant occasion.  There were many moving moments -  from the impassioned speeches of the matric leaders to start off the Ceremony, to the moving singing both in the hall and on the steps, to the warm hugs given by a matric boys on stage to their buddies.

Being boys, they needed their physical moments as well.  The de Villiers Walk (from de Villiers Road to de Villiers Dam) was a five-hour endurance test which enabled relationships to be formed in testing circumstances.  Equally testing -for at least two houses -  was the Obstacle Course – a tortuous and demanding 30 minute crawl through water, mud and prickly bushes devised by scheming and devious hostel Grade 11’s.  The challenge was laid to teachers  and boys of all grades to take on this new challenge and nothing could possibly beat the sense of pride (relief?) which was evident on the filthy, but smiling, faces of the boys when they eventually emerged from the final trench of the obstacle course.

These ‘induction’ events cannot be one-off specials. Like the  future valedictory service or a 21^st celebration, they are markers of this stage of the boys’ lives.  All these events play a role to ensure that we, as adults, work together to raise responsible and mature young men in the years ahead.  There will be many mountains and many obstacle courses to master in the years ahead, but the positivity and enthusiasm shown by the 2012 Grade 8s has guaranteed that they had found strength and direction in their lives over the last two weeks.

I commend the Matrics on their role as mentors in welcoming these new Grade 8’s to the world of young men.

You can look at them all, Ma, both Matrics and Grade 8’s, and be proud.

KCR

2011 Matric Results at Wynberg Boys' High School

Matric results are akin to golf.  Those of us who tramp the fairways and flail regularly through the semi-rough,  seldom report being totally satisfied at the end of a round of golf.  We could always have hit one straighter, putted another one a little firmer, chosen a club better.

When I have been asked about Wynberg's matric results over the years, I invariably give the same response as I do at the conclusion of a golf round.  Whatever the score, there are always regrets.  Always a feeling of 'if only....'  We can always do better.  We can always improve.

My opinion of the 2012 results?   If only the two boys, who  eventually failed, had attended the two matric evenings with their parents and heard (and absorbed) the outstanding address by Mr Eddy when he emphasised that every academic period missed would inevitably cost a percentage of their final mark.   If only these boys had not missed so many classes. ….   Jonathan Jansen, Rector of Free State University,  in a recent newspaper article stated: ‘The requirement for passing is so low in South Africa that pupils really have to put in a special effort to fail’. It is a pity that they did not take advantage of the advice and expertise of their teachers who, after all, are like golf professionals – they only want what is best for their charges.

One of the matrics, who did well, remarked to me in the foyer on Thursday:  'Now I know what is expected, I would like to have another crack at those exams.'  While that is not possible, or desirable, it is worthwhile remembering what Jacques Kallis once said: 'You can't buy experience from the supermarket shelf' and now that the 2011 matrics have acquired (some) experience, it is beholden on them to take it with them on their upcoming journeys through tertiary institutions. 

As with golf, there are the memorable shots which ensure that we come back to the fairways again and again. I am particularly pleased that Wynberg was invited to Leeuwenhof on Tuesday 10 January to receive an award from the Premier, Helen Zille and the MEC for Education, Donald Grant.  This award was to acknowledge the fact that the school was adjudged 13th in the Western Cape.  While this is down from the 6th position of 2010, it is still a hugely satisfying achievement. 

KCR and Adi Wiegman

There were many other ‘memorable shots’ in our 2011 results. Adi Wiegman's outstanding set of eight distinctions (including a 97% for Physical Science) tells the tale of someone who set high goals for himself.  His English is an interesting one as he was only achieving in the 60's in Grade 10.  His teacher, Sharmila Gordon, tells the story of him asking frequently during the year if she would re-mark his work once he had redone it.  She was impressed that he was prepared to re-write his work over and over again - until he was satisfied that it was up to his standards.  The legacy he leaves is a similar one to David Maasch and Craig Little (Top Ten in the Grade) in that they all achieved outstanding academic results while also playing first team sport  - and at the same time proving to be quality prefects.  There is a lesson here for all Wynberg boys.

It is interesting to note how many of the Top Ten were also fully committed in other areas of the school.  Carl Bodenstein rose to second place in the grade for the first time in his Wynberg career and like Michael Bradley (3rd place), he played first team water polo right through the 4th term and the matric exams.  There is no doubt that boys need the exercise and healthy distractions during a stressful exam period.  It is all about prioritising - and these skills have been well learnt by many of our boys.

Some Matrics showed that the penny finally dropped and they returned impressive rise in aggregate from their September exams.  Leading the way for the Matric who improved the most since the September exams was Adrian Padua (12.3%). Keenan Fourie (11.7%) and Josh Fransman (11.6%) must also be commended on their aggregate improvements.  I was impressed with Cameron Bing, Kyle Maurer, Reuben Gready and Anthony Rookledge all who improved their Wynberg positions considerably since September.  Would it be churlish to wonder how all these boys would have achieved if they had put in this sort of effort during earlier years?

Other results which caught my eye were Duncan Bell who returned a distinction in History even though he only picked up the subject in his matric year.  Dean Swanich must be commended on an outstanding  99% in Accounting.  However if I was to give a Supera Moras Award for Never Giving Up, it must go to Michael Moffett who failed Maths in Grade 9 and fought hard to be allowed to carry the subject into Grade 10.  How proud we are of the 76% he subsequently achieved in Maths!

There are undoubtedly many other worthy achievements which various matrics and their parents will view with real pride – which I haven’t (yet) picked up.  As I said to the rest of the school in the final assembly last year:  Don't compare yourself to others – your results are successful  if you achieved better results than you did before.

Since 2007, we have ranged from 77% Bachelor Passes (or Matric Endorsements) to 88%.  Our 2011 result of 81% is a solid result showing that this school is on fine academic footing.  We will continue to stress the importance of a 'Wynberg Pass' - and wait for it - it won't be too long before a grade at Wynberg beats that 90% barrier for Bachelor Passes in Matric.

Three subjects achieved an average of over 70% - Art, Maths Lit and EGD.  Well done Mrs Colman, Mr Sopam and Mr Rudd!  EGD was top of the WBHS pops with regard to subject distinctions with 17 boys achieving this level and it is pleasing to see that History came in second with 13.

Every year in the first staff meeting of the year, Mr Eddy, as Director of Academics, hands out the ‘Golden Samoosa’ Award for the Subject Department which achieved the best results.  It is fitting that the 2011 Award goes to Mr Rudd and the EGD Department.

148 of our boys wrote matric and of those 111 opted to do Maths – of whom 73 (i.e. 66%) achieved a Wynberg Pass of 50% or higher.  Because of the efforts of our Maths Department, the number of boys taking Maths has increased year by year and in doing so, they are ensuring that they are tackling a subject which demands thought AND  ongoing effort.  Our results in Maths send out a clear message that academics at Wynberg is healthy.

‘Mathematics’ says Professor Jansen in the same article ‘is the gold standard for assessing the real meaning of the Senior Certificate results’.

On the exam desk of every Matric pupil, I put a quote from the poem Invictus.  It was used by President Mandela as an inspiration to the World Cup Winning Springboks of 1995:

 I am the master of my fate

I am the captain of my soul.

Now as captains of their own ships, the Matrics of 2011 must navigate through interesting and challenging waters ahead.

This round of exams is now over and, like golf, our boys must take these experiences into their tertiary institutions and learn from them. One caveat, though, is that they must not judge themselves by these marks.  Marks are not proof of character or ability -  they are merely indicators of work ethic and commitment at this stage of their lives.

Hopefully the Wynberg Brand has laid the foundations for future success in any field of endeavour.  I hope that school has shown our matrics how little they do know and that we have succeeded in shaking and disturbing their world view.  As 148 Wynberg matrics go onto the world stage, may they take with them an unquenchable curiosity and a determination to challenge and to question.

Only that way will they become contributing citizens.

KCR