NEWSLETTER
TRINITY TERM
No 4/2014
Dear Parents
Over the past three years the use of social media has grown significantly with most
St John’s boys and girls engaged on various platforms including Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram and others. As a school we have had to deal with boys who have sent
messages/images and shared what is inappropriate, destructive and harmful. Often
the comments from the boys are either ‘I didn’t think’ or ‘I didn’t mean’. We all make
mistakes, but we have to face the consequences of our actions whether we meant it
or not.
The extraordinary opportunity for communication is appreciated by us all, but it is
important to be educated about the use of social media. At their formative stage of
life, our boys and girls need to be educated and aware about the dangers of social
media.
The first point to emphasise is that there is no ‘private’, once it is out it is ‘public’ and therefore boys and girls must
always consider whatever is posted, irrespective of who it is sent to, as ‘public’. Even forwarding, or re-tweeting
something which is not your own, but which has harmful content can have significant repercussions. The Harassment
Bill was passed in 2013 and recognises that ‘bullying’ can often happen through the electronic media and cell phones.
The victim may apply for a protection order and the consequences may involve the bully being arrested.
The school holds boys and girls accountable for what they say on social media. Their actions can not only cause
reputational damage to themselves, but also top the school. Often it is the school that receives the first phone call or
visit when one of our boys has acted inappropriately. As I have often said to the boys, ‘It does not matter whether you
are at home, on holiday or dressed casually. Your behaviour both good and bad will always reflect on the school you
belong to’.
Two other points to remember are that the digital stamp stays forever. So what might currently be cool for a 15-year
old does not look so cool when they are applying for their first job. We know companies and universities do social
audits. It might be useful for parents to conduct an audit on their children’s profiles and even to google oneself or look
at one’s own communications, recognising that ‘the right to forget’ is difficult because it is almost impossible to erase
what has been made public.
This is simply an alert to our young boys and girls to be careful and responsible. It is a call on parents to talk about
the dangers of social media, and to emphasise that the consequences of harmful and destructive messages can be
serious. We have also had parents who are angry about something that has happened at St John’s and will use their
Blogs or Twitter to communicate to all and sundry about the issue. Please rather make your first point of call the
Headmaster of the College or the Prep. Often these issues can be resolved without harmful damage to relationships.
I come up for my last term at St John’s College after 16 years. There will be several farewells and I have very mixed
feelings about saying goodbye to a wonderful school that has been my life, and has a very special place in my heart.
It has been made slightly easier because I have a new adventure ahead of me – my next venture of faith.
The Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town has established the Anglican Board of Education for Southern Africa – a nonprofit company with the purpose of supporting Anglican Church schools and building new ones like Masibambane
College, as well a galvanising parishes to get engaged in supporting local State schools. I have been appointed as
CEO of this company and will be taking up my new position in January 2015. The new office will be established in
Johannesburg, and the Chairman of the Anglican Board of Education is Bishop Peter Lee.
I am excited by this new chapter in my life and hopefully I will be able to take my many years of experience as a
teacher, and headmaster and invest it back into the wider South African community, and with God’s help, make an
impact in the lives of God’s children. I ask for your prayers and support in this new venture of faith.
Roger Cameron
Headmaster
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CULTURAL AWARDS – TRINITY TERM 2014
MUSIC
HONOURS
Ryan Mackell
Preshant Venkatakrishnan
Eric McLaughlin
COLOURS
Logan Geldenhuys
Michael Siebert
DEBATING
RE-AWARD HALF COLOURS
Pierre Joubert
Stefan Massyn
HALF COLOURS
Johann Muller
MERIT CERTIFICATE
Raees Patel
Daniel Venter
Emilio Ziniades
Suleiman Sacranie
Stefan van Niekerk
Delela Ndhlela
Ernst Hechter
Carl Belger
Raymond Barrow
Matthew Betty
Cale Gregory
ART
COLOURS
Nicholas Devonport
David Gundelfinger
Liam Leonard
Victoria Barry
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DRAMA PERFORMANCE AND BACKSTAGE AWARDS
BASED ON PARTICIPATION AND PERFORMANCE IN FEDA/RAPS 2014 AND THE 2014 INTERHOUSE PLAY FESTIVAL:
DRAMA PERFORMANCE
HONOURS
James Gooch
Eric McLaughlin
RE-AWARD COLOURS
Carla Schulze
Bernadette Burger
Alexander Korsten
COLOURS
Kayla Thomas
Matthew Rosin
Tamlin Love
RE-AWARD HALF COLOURS
Pierre Joubert
Jesse Stevens
Daniel Arnot
Matthew Peterson
Nicholas Peterson
Liam Kovel
Angus Paterson
Stefan Massyn
Herman Lubega
Mpilo Mseleku
HALF COLOURS
Emma Johannson
Hector Bartlett
Morena Motsiri
Aashish Diayar
Kiran Govinda
Jason Batzofin
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MERIT CERTIFICATES
Jason McNeil
Joshua Lipman
Simon Jones
Sipelele Mahamba
Ross Bentley
Lex Slabbert
Nicholas Bielderman
Dino Sotiropoulos
Afrika Ndlovu
Matthew Nelson
Gabriel Briar
Merlin Love
Ramaano Ramogkopa
Raymond Barrow
DRAMA BACKSTAGE
HONOURS
Matthew Irvine
RE-AWARD COLOURS
Chris Mackie
Muaaz Suliman
COLOURS
Brandon Gower-Winter
RE-AWARD HALF COLOURS
Rhys Newton-Hill
Michael Norman
HALF COLOURS
Afrika Ndlovu
MERIT CERTIFICATE
Khensani Ngwenya
Garyn Berry
Abdul Baasit-Mahomed
Tiaan Giliomee
Ross Bentley
Michael Mackie
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EAGLE AWARD - 2014
The Eagle Award is a project, initiated by the Headmaster, which encourages students of St John’s College to
participate in community service in residential settings unlike their own. This experience coincides with the
requirements of the residential project element of the President’s Gold Award. The residential project gives
participants a shared, purposeful experience in working towards a common goal with young people who are not their
usual companions. The residential project requires that participants complete 5 consecutive days of 8 hours a day of
community service in order to qualify for the Eagle Award.
The project took place over two weeks during the April holidays at two different locations: Cresset House and Cluny
Farm. Both locations are self-sustaining farms providing residential and work facilities for adults with intellectual
disabilities. Our students were able to: meet new people and build new relationships; experience life in an unfamiliar
environment by living and working with others; and enjoy the opportunity to develop their leadership skills. The
participants engaged in activities such as: baking, sewing, cooking, cleaning, sweeping, painting and many more.
A note of thanks goes to the teachers who volunteered their time during the school holidays to supervise the students
during this time, as well as to accompany them on the bus trip to the farms and back.
Congratulations go to the following 74 students who received their Eagle Awards at a formal assembly on Friday 11 th
July, as part of the Gaudy Day celebrations:
Surname
Banda
Bartlett
Batault
Batchelor
Behrens
Bhayat
Bland
Brinkmann
Bux
Burnett
Carter
Chemaly
Clarke
Devonport
Diayar
Du Plessis
Gaetsaloe
Gaywood
Geldenhuys
Guest
Gundelfinger
Harvett
Hayward
Headbush
Henson
Hulley
Itsouhou-Mbadinga
Kanjere
Kathawaroo
Kathrada
Kgole
Kolabhai
Lavers
Leesam
Leonard
Louis
Mackie
Mbuthia
McLaughlin
McNeil
Mencel
Mollett
Mota
Moyo
Mudiwa
Muller
Nair
Nchabeleng
Ngwenya
Orr
Name
Natalie
Hector
Francesca
James
Matthew
Zaid
Suzanna
Robert
Raaheel
John-Mark
Max
Jason
Tye
Nicholas
Aashish
Christoff
Lebogang
Paloma
Logan
Stephanie
David
Gareth
Emma
Kopano
Devon
Saranne
Martina
Simbai
Chiraag
Tasneem
Giggs
Mikhail
Robin
Callum
Liam
Richard
Christopher
Cynthia
Eric
Jason
Ella
Hamish
Lebo
Khanya
Tino
Johann
Kavi
Pebetse
Khensani
Alexander
Form
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House
Runge
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Nash
Clarke
Fleming
Runge
Hodgson
Runge
Hodgson
Clarke
Hill
Nash
Hill
Clarke
Fleming
Runge
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Fleming
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Thomson
Nash
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Hill
Hodgson
Runge
Hill
Nash
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Hill
Fleming
Hill
Alston
Runge
Clarke
Nash
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Clayton
Hodgson
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Hill
Fleming
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Nash
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Pan
Peterson
Peterson
Pillay
Plaistowe
Prema
Reed
Rubombora
Sacranie
Sanyika
Smit
Stanchev
Testa
Thurling
Tsiane
Tusubira Bagambe
Urio
Varghese
Voutsas
Wallschuss
Wheeler
Whitfield
Wise
Wolf
Li-Zen
Matthew
Nicholas
Kemeel
Jonathan
Kabir
Michael
Itote
Suleiman
Tafadzwa
Etienne
George
Dylan
Christopher
Rebaone
Vanessa
Clare
Abraham
Nicole
Sina
Jordan
Kyle
Samantha
Daniela
U5
L5
L5
U5
U5
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Nash
Hill
Hill
Hodgson
Nash
Clarke
Alston
Thomson
Thomson
Clarke
Alston
Clarke
Nash
Alston
Runge
Runge
Runge
Alston
Runge
Runge
Alston
Hodgson
Runge
Runge
Craig Milligan
Master-in-Charge
Music
Boys who successfully passed their music exams:
Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music
Matthew Green
Jonathon Wright
Celik Guler
Zach Bowditch
Merlin Love
Nicholas Moschides
Daniel Erasmus
Angus Paterson
Bassoon
Violin
Violin
Organ
Piano
Piano
Piano
Piano
Gr 4
Gr 6
Gr 5
Gr 4
Gr 4
Gr 5
Gr 7
Gr 8
Trinity College London
Daniel Stevens
Michael Siebert
Logan Geldenhuys
James Channon
Michael Bergh
Abram Schonfeldt
Aidan Bellingan
Jordan Williamson
Stephen Havenga
Clarinet
Saxophone
Saxophone
Saxophone
Saxophone
Guitar
Violin
Piano
Piano
Gr 6
Gr 7
Gr 7
Gr 7
Gr 7
Gr 6
Gr 5
Gr 5
Gr 7
Rock School
Khensani Ngwenya
Rowan Batzofin
Prashant Venkatakrishnan
Keshaan Singh
Ryan Mackell
Eric Mclaughlin
Stephen de souza
Aidan Gregory
Jordan Sunnasy
Guitar
Piano
Guitar
Guitar
Guitar
Piano
Bass
Drums
Drums
Gr 5
Gr 6
Gr 8
Gr 6
Gr 8
Gr 8
Gr 8
Gr 5
Gr 8
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English Olympiad
The ranking list as at 17 July:
4th
14th
31st
:
:
:
Mikhail Kolabhai Tasneem Kathrada Daniel Erasmus –
Debating
Stefan Massyn (UIV) was selected to a South African team to
participate in the Heart of Europe International Debating
Competition. The competition was held in the Czech Republic
during July.
Stefan and his fellow members of Team SA won the competition
by defeating the Canadian team in the final. They also
accounted for Romania and China in the quarter-finals and semifinals respectively.
Here is Massyn maior, posing with his two fellow SA
debaters, Cheshni Jeena (Durban Girls’ College) and
Amelia Warren (Kingsmead College).
(Note the strategically placed SJC pencilbag!)
Science Expo 2014
St John’s College entered 17 projects into the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists this year. The expo took
place on 26 July 2014 at Wits University. The boys had an interesting and succesful morning. St John’s
College earned 16 medals: 4 Gold, 8 Silver and 4 Bronze.
Gold medals were awarded to the following projects:
Escherichia Coli by Matthew Irvine and Riaghan Davies-Webb
LV
Allyl Isothiocyanate by Graeme Betty, Simon Jones and Matthew Roos
LV
Time is running out by Thomas Venter and Anton Birkenmayer
Remove
Maglectro Generation by Henri Van der Walt and Wim Burger
U IV
The gold medallists attended an elimination round on Thursday 31 July where of the gold medal projects,
E. Coli and Allyl Isothiocyanate, were selected to proceed to the finals. A number of judges at the
elimination round commended St John’s College on the projects presented. We wish the gold medallists
the very best for the International Final later in the year.
Silver medals were awarded to:
Ndolovu Toothpaste by Nicholas Moschides, Joshua Bailey and Lukhanyo Kwini
Remove
Fire Proofing Shacks by Christopher Buirski and James Barrow
Remove
LED vs Incandescent Lighting by Michael Kurzewski, Brandon Henwood
and Konke Kubheka
Remove
Wireless Electricity by Grant McDonald, James Shelton and Colin Kinghorn
U IV
Proving Projectiles by Colby Clarke, Colin Whitfield and Connor Williamson
UIV
Graffiti Moss by Ben Coetzee, Abram Schönfeldt and Gabriel Kritzinger
UIV
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Anthraquinone knipholone by Kiran Govinda and Ayrton Kapp
LV
Robotics by Brandon Gower-Winter, Daniel Venter and Matthew Adams
LV
Bronze medals were awarded to:
Household Stain Removers by Joshua Katz, Lawrence Lowdon and Andrew Gilbert
Wind Turbine Designs by Thomas Deppe and Lloyd Magee
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Fuel Efficiency by Shane Mammen and Nicholas Ching
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Road Markings Revised by Dütliff Boshoff, Thomas Lillie and Matthew Green
U IV
Thank you to the College Science Department and Natelie Gower-Winter for the guidance and enthusiasm
shared with all the boys who did Science Expo Projects.
C A Henning
HOD: Science
Sports News
Colours Awards - Winter Sports - August 2014
CHESS:
Team Blazer:
Robert Forsyth
SQUASH:
Team Blazer:
Calvin Spencer
Honours:
Tyrone Dial
Kyle Harvett
Nicholas Barker
Chiraag Kathawaroo
Piers Rodger
Liam Collins
HOCKEY:
Team Blazer:
Matthew Haselton
Brett Le Roux
Matthew Siedle
Michael Bucher
Hamish Mollett
Hugh Ledlie
Morgan Fairbairn
Colours:
Fabio Tonello
Kavi Nair
Honours:
Ndumiso Mvelase
Alastair Fletcher
Team Blazer:
Franz-Jozef Retief
Walter Malan
Simon Greeff
Colours:
Li-Zen Pan
Dylan Testa
Tijan Oberholzer
Duncan Stead
Alastair Marquis
Michael Siebert
Oliver Gnodde
Lorenzo Maselli
Nicholas Zille
Dorio Venter
RUGBY:
Athletics
Athletics Captain – 2014
Gareth Harvett
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Cricket
Congratulations to Ndumiso Mvelase on being selected to the SA U19 Cricket team to
tour England.
Hockey
Walter Pfaff was selected to the SA National U/18 B hockey team at the recent SA National U/18 IPT over
half-term.
Mind Sports World Cup
Jason Batzofin represented South Africa in the War Games World
Cup. He played Ancients, a historically based figure game, and is now
the International Ancients Junior World Champion.
Jason was selected to represent South Africa at the World Wargames
Championships in Lesotho on 28 and 29 June. Jason thus becomes
the second St John’s boy to earn Protea Colours for Wargames.
Vincent Lane was awarded that honour in 2001/2.
He, however, went one step further and won the Junior DBM division,
becoming Junior World Champion, the first St John’s boy to win that
honour.
St John's did very well at the SA Schools Mind Sports tournament on
26 & 27 July. Jason Batzofin was crowned SA Schools champion,
while Tamlin Love won the silver medal. The two finished on equal
points after two days of gaming, and could only be separated on pointback. Both were awarded provincial colours for Mind Sports. Jesse
Stevens won the bronze medal, completing a hat-trick for St John's!
This is a magnificent achievement for the club following on a one-twothree at Gauteng Schools, and Jason's win in Lesotho!
Football
Mike Ontong (Rem) has been awarded his Eastern Under 14 District Colours for the
2014 Season. He is to be congratulated on his selection as it was achieved against
very strong opposition during the trials.
He was also selected to the Under 15 Brazilian FC team to participate in the Gothia
Cup in Sweden, held from 13 to 20 July.
Judo
Tiaan Giliomee was part of the Group 3 Central Gauteng Judo A team who
participated at the South African Judo Championships in Port Elizabeth. He
won 2 gold medals, becoming the Group 3 U16 South African Champion for
2014. He will be awarded National colours for this achievement.
As a team, Central Gauteng won gold and were declared the current South
African champions.
Tiaan was also awarded a Certificate of Merit at the tournament for his
achievement during the international competition in Belgium earlier this year.
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Fly-Fishing
Matthew Dooley (LV Clarke) was placed first in his category in the Gauteng fly-fishing
trials, and has been selected to represent Gauteng in the national championships.
The St John’s Academy
The Grade 12 boys recently attended a 6 day Revision Camp at Maretlwane during their school holidays. They had
lessons for up to 7 hours a day, and never seemed to tire of asking questions and seeking help from the teachers. Mr
Nsika Dlamini and Mrs Nicky Stocks forfeited part of their mid-term break to come out to Maretlwane and teach the
Physics and Chemistry lessons. Mr Alex Junod, the Headmaster of the Wilderness School taught Mathematics, and I
taught English. Father Chris Uitzinger also spent his mid-term break with us. Apart from all of the revision lessons,
they boys also had time to have some fun, climbing, hiking and swimming. Also of great value, was reflection time
and the very moving fireside Mass Service. We regularly woke to the sound of boys singing as they prepared for
breakfast.
The Grade 11 boys went to the Spirit of Adventure for a Leadership Camp, also during their school holidays. This
camp is full of physical and mental activity and the boys loved the non-stop action that took place. Mr Derek Bradley
kindly accompanied us on this adventure.
The Grade 10 and 11 boys also enjoyed excursions to Maropeng and the very interesting Da Vinci exhibition which
was recently held in Johannesburg.
The Grade 12 boys are currently busy applying for admission into the various tertiary institutions for further study in
2015. I am actively seeking sponsorships, internships and bursaries for the boys in 2015 and would be most grateful
to anyone who could assist with the laying of foundations to equip our Academy boys to fulfil their dreams and
potential in the work force. Any offers of training programmes or sponsorships of any sort, or suggestions would be
most welcome. The Academy’s Valedictory Service will take place in the Crypt Chapel on Wednesday 15 October at
16h00.
We wish the Grade 12 Academy boys the best for their final examinations which they start writing in October 2014.
Mrs Agnes Nugent
Director: St John’s Academy
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INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRAMME: MICHAELMAS TERM

Calum Harding is currently on exchange at Hale in Perth. He will return to us on 28 September.

Matthew Hyde, a scholar at Hale, will return with him to spend the entire Michaelmas term at SJC
The following SJC U4 students will be leaving to go on international exchange during the August holiday:

James Braham to Glenalmond in the UK

Daniel Cohen to Abingdon in the UK

Quintus Kilbourn to St Albans in the USA

Brandon MacKenzie to Abingdon in the UK

Angus Paterson to Glenalmond in the UK

Colin Whitfield to Greshams’ in the UK
The following SJC U4 boys will be leaving to go on International exchange during Michaelmas Term.

Tristan Klement to Christchurch Grammar in Australia

Kwenzi Selamolela to Friends School in Ireland
We have two boys coming to us from The Lawrence School in India from 15 September to 30 October.

Jagrit Gagneja

Abhishek Gagneja
UNABRIDGED BIRTH CERTIFICATES
Please be advised that all children will require an unabridged birth certificate to travel outside the borders of
South Africa from 1 October 2014. New Immigration Regulations came into effect on 26 May 2014.
Thereafter, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) extended the date for the requirement of unabridged
birth certificates to 1 October 2014 for any child entering or departing South Africa.
An unabridged birth certificate is a full-length, detailed birth certificate of the child that contains particulars
of both parents, where possible, and their ID numbers. The old, abridged certificate issued prior to March
2013 did not contain these details. Application for an unabridged birth certificate may be made at your
nearest Home Affairs office.
An unabridged birth certificate will be required when a child under the age of 18 years enters or departs
South Africa. The unabridged birth certificate will not yet be required when children travel between 26 May
2014 and 30 September 2014. The requirement for an unabridged birth certificate comes into effect from 1
October 2014. The Department of Home Affairs will also enforce additional requirements set out
in the new Immigration Regulations when children enter or depart South Africa.
Please apply for your son’s unabridged birth certificate now, particularly if there is any likelihood
that he will be going on tour, or travelling outside the borders of South Africa soon.
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