The last Parents’ Weekend is behind us and the examinations are past the halfway mark. There are three weeks remaining, before the school year for 2017 is concluded with Christmas in the Berg.

INSIDE:

SNIPPETS

INTO THE FINAL STRETCH

VISUAL ART IS FUN

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10/11/2017 I TERM 4 I NEWSLETTER

ISSUE

66

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I would like to take this opportunity to thank the School community for producing yet another great MiMs weekend. In particular, I would like to thank all the boys for their tremendous resilience, dedication and professionalism during the preparation and the event itself. We

GOODBYE TO STEVEN AND MELANIE…CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE HEAD

MESSAGE FROM OUR EXECUTIVE HEAD

INTO THE FINAL STRETCH…CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

It was very nice to meet so many of the parents during the Parents’ Weekend and to hear the positive feedback and appreciation for the effort and dedication of our staff. There is obviously always room for improvement and we take note of suggestions and concerns that were raised by our parents. Thank you to the DPA for the opportunity to talk to the parents during the DPA meeting. I trust that my request for parents to refrain from speculative rumour-mongering on social media will bear fruit. The parents of the learners who are involved in any matter that the school deems in need of intervention, will be kept informed of the circumstances. Parents may at any time request information from the school. I also want to thank the DPA committee for their leadership and the initiatives to support the school on various fronts. The Drakie parents have always been a very special group of people and the school appreciates the interest and involvement of you all.

The Grade 9 Leavers’ Dinner took place during last weekend. This was a very special event in honour of our Grade 9 boys for their contributions to the school during their careers at Drakies, but also an opportunity to pay tribute to the parents for the part they played in supporting their sons. I want to thank Mrs Linde, ably assisted by Mrs Muller, for organising this excellent event, which took place at the Drakensberg Sun Hotel.

We are now heading towards the Noël tours. The tour to the Western Cape/Eastern Cape will depart on 20 November and the tour to Zimbabwe will depart on 23 November. The choirs will return in time for a grand Christmas concert in the Pietermaritzburg City Hall on 30 November, with the prize-giving ceremony taking place on 1 December. This will be followed by CIB.

The building project for the new dining facility is nearing completion and we are looking forward to using the facility when the boys return in January 2018. During the board meeting last Saturday, the members of the board did a site visit to the new dining facility and agreed that it would be a pity if we had to use the existing (old) dining room furniture in this beautiful new dining hall. I was asked to see if the school could perhaps find a way of acquiring new furniture. Suggestions from parents, in this regard, will be appreciated.

As always, you are wished an enjoyable weekend, hampered by minimal stress and worry about the exams taking place at school. While you are spending some quality time with friends and family, spare a thought for our fraught teachers, who are marking frantically around the clock!

Anton Redelinghuis

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CONCERT STATUS

Congratulations to Brian Brits on receiving his Blue and Jabot this week:

Brian Brits

CHOIR AWARDS FOR THIS PAST WEEK

NEWS FROM THE MUSIC DEPARTMENT

Luke Brown Sean Morrick Kabo Madi Jesse Barth

COMMENDABLE PERFORMANCES

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CHORISTER OF THE WEEK

Angelo Mekonnen Stephen Barnard Seth Brown

CHOIR AWARDS FOR THIS PAST WEEK

Ntando Ngcobo

SOLOIST OF THE CONCERT

Ryan Smith

COMMENDABLE PERFORMANCES

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NEW BOY OF THE WEEK

VOICE GROUP OF THE CONCERT:

TENORS

Brian Brits

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ROCKSCHOOL PRACTICAL EXAMINATIONS 2017

Candidate Instrument Grade Result ALEXANDER BRITS GUITAR 02 M

LUKE BROWN GUITAR 01 P

SETH BROWN DRUM KIT 01 P

DALITSO PHIRI GUITAR DEBUT D

POLANE MOLOI DRUM KIT 01 M

LEFA MOTSHELE DRUM KIT 04 D

MATTHEW ROBINSON BASS GUITAR 02 M

CALEB SAKS DRUM KIT 01 M

RYAN SMITH DRUM KIT 04 P

FRANCOIS SNYMAN GUITAR DEBUT P

ANDRé WEARS-TAYLOR DRUM KIT 04 M

D = Distinction M = Merit P = Pass

Congratulations to the following boys on their results:

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NEWS FROM THE ACADEMIC DEPARTMENT

Matthew Evans handing over the grey trousers donated by the parents of DBC to ………………………. A very BIG Thank you to you all.

VISUAL ART EXAMS ARE FUN!

Geo Kirsten and his word for 2017, BUSY

Caleb Saks Ayanda Ninela

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NEWS FROM THE MARKETING DEPARTMENT

When your son is a Drakie and surprises you with a song at your wedding!

Well done Matthew Beuster.

SHARING A SPECIAL MOMENT

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Dave Rogers, Director of Business Development and Simon Stickels, Music Director from Maritzburg College with our current Headboy, Liam Muller. Liam will be attending Maritzburg College from 2018.

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NEWS FROM THE SPORT DEPARTMENT

MONKS COWL MOUNTAIN BIKE RACE

Liam Muller completed the 20km Monks Cowl Mountain Bike Race last week Sunday, 5 November and ended in the 8th place overall.

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SNIPPETS FROM THE SAN

I do like Exam Week. Due to the general character of pre-teens and adolescents, I live with a perpetual feeling that anything could happen at any moment. When the chaps are metaphorically chained to their desks, a wonderful sense of safety prevails. I should take the daily gap and do something indulgent, like read a hard copy newspaper. Don’t laugh - that really is my favourite pastime. Everybody’s different, you know (as I tell the boys ad nauseam).

One learns, however, never to take anything for granted in this place. Hypothetically, I suppose that a particularly academically driven youngster could overtax his neurons to the extent that they short-circuit. I’ve never had a case of spontaneous combustion. Gosh – imagine how thrilling all the other boys would find it. The odds are that it’s not going to happen though. Word is that the traffic through some of our precious young charges’ neurons is pretty light, even during exam time. No rush hour or system overload for them!

An interesting example of different strokes for different folks (and their doctors) emerged with the Injasuthi Choir’s pending tour to Zimbabwe. It seems that there is a lot of contradictory information out there regarding appropriate travel precautions. I have been giving out Typhoid shots left, right and center, and some fellows are also having Hepatitis A vaccinations. One young man arrived with a Rabies jab in his cooler-bag. It’s what their travel doctor gave to him. The cynic in me suspects that the pharmaceutical companies are laughing all the way to the bank.

Then there’s the debate about taking anti-malarial medication. The arguments for and against are underpinned by unwavering convictions that no amount of discussion will alter. It’s a bit like being a Nikon or Canon person. Or being in the Mercedes versus BMW brigade. It even brings to mind the staunch viewpoints evident in conversations about religion and politics. We human beings really are a funny bunch.

Not so funny, was the nasty fracture, dislocation and torn muscles (rotator cuff, for anyone who is interested) a boy suffered last Thursday. The unusual and extensive injury involved his distal clavicle - the result of a fall from a tree. Our thoughts are with Angus as he convalesces following surgery.

Sister Lianne

Glossary:

Clavicle - Collarbone

Distal - The end furthest from the midline

Rotator Cuff – The muscles and tendons holding the shoulder together

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Sabelo Mazwi

15 November

Sashin Rathinasamy

15 November

Geo Kirsten

16 November

Happy Birthday to Mrs Judy Wellbeloved for 13 November.

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DATE EVENT TIME

10 November Staff Briefing

SCA

10:20

18:00

11 November Exams

Conference – Champagne Sports

16:00 – 20:30

12 November Chapel 18:00 – 19:00

13 November Exams

Staff Briefing

Assembly

Prefects Tea

Staff Meeting

07:20

07:25

10:40

14:30

14 November Exams

15 November Noël Candles Rehearsal

Wednesday Concert

15:30

16 November Assembly

Boys Christmas Dinner

10:05

17 November Noël Prep

Staff Briefing

Conference – Champagne Sports

10:20-10:40

16:00 – 20:00

18 November Noël Prep

19 November Chapel 18:00-19:00

Calendar 10 November – 19 November 2017

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