Horizons Term 3 2016 FINAL 3 LARGE PDF

HORIZONS 

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The Ridge School Horizons Term 2 2016 1

WINTER AT THE RIDGE 

There’s something about June and July in Johannesburg 

that makes being in bed the only place you want 

to be. By this time of year, I don’t know about you but 

all I can think about is what’s coming soon, shorts 

and T-shirt weather, kids swimming all weekend, 

colour in the garden, rain, long lunches and dinners 

outside, longer evenings and gym in the light- or gym 

at all! 

But while the cold and the dark will soon be behind 

us, it’s good to remember that winter in Johannesburg 

is not all bad. At home, we have all made the most 

of fireplaces, red wine and movie-watching weather. 

And at The Ridge, in this winter term, we have made 

the most of the lovely sunny, dry days on the sports 

fields and going on outings and the time indoors on 

stage and in class. 

EDITORIAL 

Regardless of how much we feel the cold our boys at 

The Ridge really live the quote, “People don’t notice 

whether it’s winter or summer when they’re happy.” 

I am lucky enough to be able to see this happiness 

in my boys at school and at home. There’s nothing 

better than when I hear Jude and Zach reply to, “How 

was your day at school?” with “Amazing!”, “Lovely!” 

With the Grade 0 outing to the Bird Park; Grade 2 

outing to Maropeng; watching Romeo & Juliet; Mandela 

Day veggie planter box painting and Park Care 

Old Age Home outings; Poetry recitals at assembly; 

music practise for Founders’ Day Assembly; 

Founders’ Day fun; and most importantly (according 

to Jude) the Grade 2 Knights and Castles Feast 

Day, it’s fair to say that we have heard “Amazing” and 

“Lovely” a lot this winter! 

You’ll read about and see more of these and other 

activities and events in this term’s edition of 

Horizons. Enjoy! 

Thank you Mr Stanley, Board of Governers, teachers, 

support staff, class moms, moms, dads, families and 

boys for a happy term. In celebration of Nelson 

Mandela’s birthday this term and as we head into the 

long holiday: 

Tread softly; breathe peacefully; laugh hysterically. – Nelson 

Mandela 

Wishing you restful, safe and happy holiday. 

Anton Pretorius 


HEADMASTER’S REPORT 

HEADMASTER’S 

REPORT 

As we approach the end of what 

has been another engaging and action-packed 

2nd Term here at The 

Ridge it is my great delight as headmaster 

to focus attention on our 

Grade 7 boys. 

Traditionally, and perhaps arguably, 

as one would expect, the middle 

term provides our senior lads with 

the most expansive opportunity of 

their final year to share their many 

talents through a large variety of 

school-based Grade 7 programmes 

and activities. Looking back on the 

past three and a half months, one 

is able to identify so many learning 

experiences through which our 

crop of senior boys have been able 

to demonstrate their excitement to 

participate; to lead by example; to 

offer support to others - both internally 

and externally; to enjoy the 

pleasures of developing their music 

and acting skills; to make the most 

of being able to compete in a diverse 

array of inter-school fixtures; and to 

show their Right Stuff attitude and 

spirit in ways that have certainly left 

their mark. 

My congratulations and commendation 

go to our Grade 7 lads who 

have successfully flown The Ridge 

flag in taking on, negotiating and 

delivering in so many of the key areas 

of their 2nd Term experience. 

Some notable achievements: 

• the impressive mid-year examination 

results attained by so 

many 

• some amazing Science Expo 

projects prepared and presented 

• learning to lead through the 

SALT programme 

• demonstrating a willingness to 

serve through their chosen leadership 

assignments 

• helping to facilitate a hugely 

successful ‘Hampers for Hope’ 

collection 

• some big-hearted, competitive 

and, on occasions, character-building 

inter-school rugby, 

tennis, cross-country, soccer and 

chess encounters 

• combining their performing 

arts’ talents to impress the audiences 

during the Romeo and 

Juliet stage performances 

• being prepared to practice and 

put in the hours as members of 

the choirs, or the Marimba, Jazz 

and Rock bands, or in preparation 

for their music exams and 

the upcoming music tour 

• being alive to opportunities to 

develop and build on their inter-class 

friendships 

• showing the expected maturing 

of character and willingness to 

listen as they recognize and respect 

the mentoring and guiding 

roles played by their teachers 

With only three months left of their 

time here at The Ridge, and on 

behalf of all who have enjoyed getting 

to know each unique individual 

who together make up this fine 

group of young men, I wish them 

continued success, a strong finish 

and loads of happy memory-making 

moments as they prepare to put the 

cherry on the top of what has been 

an impressive year. 


STAFF PROFILES 

CHRIS VERSTER 

He followed his father (as a SACS old boy) and began his 

schooling at SACS Junior School. In Grade 6, he moved 

to Rondebosch Boys’ Preparatory School and then on to 

Rondebosch Boys’ High School where he matriculated 

in 1995. At school, Chris took his sport very seriously 

and represented WP in rugby, cricket, junior athletics 

and squash. He still holds a few records on the athletics 

track and holds the record for the most number of points 

scored in a season for RBHS Rugby at 1st team level. 

After school Chris was afforded opportunity to play professional 

rugby in Portugal and Italy, also experiencing 

life in the UK. From 1998 – 2000, he studied at the 

Cape Town College of Education where he qualified as 

an Intermediate and Senior Phase teacher. He was immediately 

offered a position at The Grove Primary school, 

where he met his lovely wife. After a year and a half, he 

left the Grove to take up a position at Wynberg Boys’ Junior 

School. Chris climbed the ladder at Wynberg and 

was promoted to HOD where he was the Grade 7 leader, 

Head of Maths, MIC of Rugby and in charge of Staff 

Development and Training and Interns. 

After six and a half years at Wynberg, completing his 

FDE (Educational Management), Chris left for his Alma 

Mater, Rondebosch Boys’ Preparatory school. He continued 

to grow professionally and became a prominent 

member of the executive where he was in charge of Pastoral 

Care and then as Head of Discipline. 

After 7 and a bit years, Chris and his family decided to 

take on a different challenge, to leave the life in Cape 

Town and experience the big smoke, and that of The 

Ridge. 

Chris has been married to his wife, Lindsey, for 12 

years. Lindsey is an experienced Intermediate/Senior 

Phase teacher as well as being involved in Learning Support 

for some 20 odd years. They have two beautiful 

children, Joshua (turning 10), in Grade 4 at The Ridge, 

and Kyra ( turning 9), in Grade 3 at St Katharine’s. 

One of Chris’ proudest achievements was being a part 

of a group of 6 who took part in The Wines to Whales, 

three day mountain bike stage race, in order to raise 

funds for a Grade 2 boy at RBPS who contracted leukaemia. 

Chris completed the race in just over 21hrs, 8 

months after he had his own hip replacement. Together, 

the group raised around R300 000. 

Mr Verster’s input into The Ridge’s SALT program has 

been invaluable. He has brought a passion and energy 

to the program, which has been seen in the dedicated 

and enthusiastic manner in which the Grade 7 leaders 

have taken to their mentoring roles wihtin their SALT 

groups. 

That is him in a nutshell! Who knows, this dedicated, 

passionate and caring man, could have something else 

up his sleeve…watch this space! 


JUSTIN WARDLE 

I know one reads the usual cliché about no school day 

being the same as another, but it really is the case with 

us school teachers. The only constant is that alarm 

clock in the morning and the promise of an exciting 

adventure awaiting; especially when one spends a day 

with young boys. 

Over the past 17 years that I have been teaching music 

a little over half of that has been in a boys’ primary 

school environment. From the Eastern Cape where I 

grew up, attended school and university (and first started 

teaching) to Cape Town, where I was most recently 

teaching, being able to share the joy that is music with 

children is indeed a privilege. I really enjoy the sense of 

community being a teacher affords me in my job and 

I am very happy to have joined The Ridge School this 

term. 

THULUSILE ZULU WEDDING 

UMEMBESO 18 JUNE 2016 

I couldn’t believe it, I was so excited and worried at 

the same time because of the amount of people that 

we were expecting, Nathi (my husband) comes from a 

big family, our friends from Johannesburg and friends 

from back home. But deep down I knew that my aunts 

were going to do their best to see that my day was 

successful. 

At around 12pm the Ngwenya’s arrived, neighbours, 

friends and family members were ululating outside. 

The Ngwenya’s came in to formally announce their 

arrival and asked my family to take me outside the yard 

so they could dress me properly as their daughter-in-law. 

The Ngwenya’s started giving my family gifts, blankets, 

groceries, clothes etc. 

STAFF PROFILES 

A theory class, a whole grade, then Choir. More Choir, 

some piano boys and then Orchestra. Waiting for the 

Grade 6’s to finish changing after break and hurry 

along to watching the Grade 1’s tearing across the lawn 

to get to music with such enthusiasm: “Mr. Wardle! 

You’ll never guess what…”, Hearing the boys in Junior 

Choir give a perfect rendition of a piece that transports 

you to another time and place, Grade 2’s arriving and 

then off to Wind Band… Just a few snippets of my life 

at The Ridge. 

From enjoying learning a new song with the Grade 1’s, 

to watching a Grade 7 boy perform with success and 

maturity in his last concert or show at school and every 

step in between is one of the truly magical moments in 

my day, week, term and year at school. 

When they started calling out names, I got so emotional 

because they started with my mom’s name, my eldest 

aunt had to take the place of my mom. It is every 

girl’s dream to have her mother present on such happy 

days. All I could think about was my mom and how she 

would have felt if she was here. 

Everything went well on the day. We went on to have a 

private after-party with close friends and family in the 

evening. 


IN AND OUT THE CLASROOM 

GRADE 0 OUTING 

TO BIRD PARK 

The Grade 0 boys visited the beautiful 

Monte Casino Birdpark on 

Friday 15 July . The boys had a 

walk around the park looking at 

the amazing variety of different 

bird species. To top it all off, they 

were then treated to a magnificent 

bird show, highlighting some of the 

more interesting bird species kept at 

the bird park. A great day out! 

GRADE 3 READING 

TO HOPE SCHOOL 

The Gr 3 boys went to read to the 

Gr 2 and 3 children from The 

Hope School recently. It was a really 

meaningful experience for all concerned. 

The children at The Hope 

School have been encouraged to 

“drop everything and read” by the 

Education Department, so this was 

a great opportunity to do just that! 


GRADE 2 KNIGHTS 

AND CASTLES 

GRADE 4 MATHS 

CAKE SALE 


On Wednesday the 27th of July the 

Grade 2s celebrated their Knights 

and Castles theme in medieval style 

at a grand feast which was hosted 

in The Ridge School dining hall. 

Dressed as Kings and Knights, 

Barons, Peasants and more, the 

boys dined on cuisine inspired by 

the middle ages – complete with 

kiddies wine and champagne! The 

dancing and festivities culminated 

in a knighting ceremony led by the 

guest of honour, King Stanley. 

Jacqui Haddow 

The Grade 4s held the annual 

Maths Cake Sale at the end of 

the term. The boys were required 

to make 6, edible treats and bring 

them to school to sell to the Grade 

3s. The making part of this exercise 

was done as an introduction 

to capacity and measurement and 

the selling of the goods was done 

as consolidation to the section that 

the Grade 4s completed on money. 

A variety of delicious, homemade 

items were bought in including 

millionaire’s shortbread, coconut 

ice, cupcakes and plenty of chocolatey 

brownies! Most of the boys 

sold out, and those who didn’t ventured 

to the Grade 7 classrooms in 

a rather entrepreneurial attempt to 

sell off the last of their goods at a 

discount! Definitely the favourite 

Maths lesson so far! 

Denny Surgey 


GRADE 5 PROJECT 

BASED LEARNING 

GRADE 6 

MATHEMATICS 


The Grade 5 boys experienced an 

exciting a different way of learning 

at the end of June, namely, 

Project Based Learning (PBL). 

This type of learning, students are 

constantly active: a project engages 

their minds and at the same time 

helps them to develop critical 21st 

century skills. Students learn how 

to take responsibility and build 

confidence, solve problems, work 

collaboratively, communicate ideas, 

and be creative innovators. With 

PBL, doing the project itself is the 

learning, not the end product only. 

The boys were tasked with creating 

a new and different menu for 

lunch time at The Ridge, taking 

into account nutritional needs of 

boys, healthy eating, budget and 

want versus need. The Grade 5 

boys took to the task in true Ridge 

fashion: enthusiastically, motivated 

and innovatively. 

Anton Pretorius 

iSCHOOL PRESS 

TEAM 

The Ridge won the first iSchool 

Press Team campaign for 2016 with 

a short iMovie news report on the 

Salvazione Care to Learn day held 

in the first term. According to the 

judges the team did a great job with 

regards to the choice of music, clear 

sound throughout the video, variety 

of images and wonderful interview 

shots. The team comprised of Tom 

Granig, Alex Robins, Luke Badenhorst 

and Tyler Doran. Follow this 

link to access the video itself. 

With the Euro 2016 underway and 

The Ridge soccer season about to 

kick off the Grade 6M Maths class 

decided to see if they could construct 

a soccer ball using various 

polygons. They started the task by 

building a variety of prisms and 

pyramids and then extended their 

constructions to the Platonic solids. 

This proved to be a slightly more 

challenging task especially with the 

more complex 3D shapes such as 

the dodecahedron and the icosehedron. 

Eventually a brave group 

of students progressed to building 

a soccer ball otherwise known as 

a “truncated icosehedron”. Along 

with building this shape with 32 

polygons and 90 elastic bands they 

also were able to deduce that Euler’s 

formula still held to be true. 

They tested this proof using lots of 

post-its and quite a few adjustments 

to their calculations. Hopefully 

the next time they kick a soccer 

they will see from a mathematical 

perspective why it is known as the 

beautiful game. 

Daniel McLachlan 


GRADE 0 

MANDELA DAY 

The Grade 0s decided to decorate 

wooden planter boxes for their 67 

minutes of service. These boxes 

were given to the Grade 0 children 

at the Hope School. The idea was to 

initiate a garden project to help supplement 

the diet of the learners at 

the school. The Hope School children 

were involved in planting the 

boxes and will water and take care 

of their growing plants. 

GRADE 5 

MANDELA DAY 

The Grade 5s decided that for 

Mandela Day we would make Santa 

Shoeboxes for under-priveledged 

6- years olds. The Grade 5s were 

extremely generous and created 

beautifully wrapped gift boxes. 

MANDELA DAY 

Thank you to the parents who 

helped with the organisation and 

went to The Hope School to assist 

the children with their gardening. 

The photographs are testament to 

the joy that was derived by all the 

involved participants! One of our 

most worthwhile Mandela Day projects 

thus far. 

Sarah Behr 


MANDELA DAY 

GRADE 3 

67 MINUTES FOR MANDELA 

The Grade 3 boys went to the Delta Environmental 

Centre on Monday 18th July. It was a worthwhile 

experience as we not only completed 67 minutes of 

service but learnt about the environment too. 

The Grade 3s arrived early and had a talk about the 

way in which humans can negatively (or positively) 

affect their surroundings. There were various habitat 

displays as well as information about how we can stop 

polluting the earth. After a very informative talk, the 

boys put on gloves and headed into the park with 

staff and education officers from the Delta in order 

to clean certain sections of the park. We concentrated 

on the picnic areas and we certainly cleaned up a lot! 

We found many items from old umbrellas and shoes 

to general litter. After the boys had spent more than 

their 67 minutes cleaning up, they were tasked with 

placing the litter into the correct recycling bins. This 

was possibly the most important part as it showed how 

little actually needed to be “thrown away”. 

Di Wellard 

I was excited to go and clean up Delta. I was very 

nervous because I forgot my indemnity form. I 

had to phone my mom, it was very scary. I had just 

minutes to spare and luckily it came just in time. 

So off we went on the bus. The bus ride was thirty 

minutes long but it felt like an hour. I sat next to 

Oliver and Dan. When we got there I was excited 

to see what humans could do. Delta Park is a lovely 

park. We had a talk to show us about the environment. 

Geoff showed us how we could understand 

the environment better. He said that if we took one 

of the important things of life away, we would ruin 

the world. He made a pyramid to explain that. If 

humans got taken away it would make it better not 

worse. So we need to make humans be better for 

the world. 

Then we went to the museum. We went into a dark 

room to listen for animal sounds. There were a lot 

of animals. But the animals were fake. Then I did 

not want to see - my phobia …. spiders! 

Then we saw that humans in modern days waste 

more water than the olden days. Then we saw more 

animals. Then we saw how many things can be 

made from a tree. After that we ate. It was delicious. 

Then we cleaned up the park. It was very big. I 

loved helping Delta Park. We found some really 

dirty stuff. After that we split up the stuff into the 

correct bins, washed our hands, and went on the 

bus ride back to school. 

Sebastian Newton-King Grade 3W 


ART 

Henri Matisse Exhibition Exploration, 

Standard Bank Gallery, 

Johannesburg 

Henri Matisse was a French artist. 

He painted, he printed, he made 

sculpture, and he used paper to collage 

his paper cut-outs. He is best 

known for his bright colours which 

are very expressive, and he was a 

master designer. 

“I found the exhibition fascinating: 

all the many different types of artworks 

made by the same artist, was 

amazing and interesting.” Jasper 

Hersov 

“I loved how he used his scissors to 

cut into the paper to make shapes.” 

Nick Wahl 

“This experience was an amazing 

one. I wish I could come to see it 

again.” Nico Setterberg 


“From the moment I held the box 

of colours in my hand, I knew this 

was my life, I threw myself into it 

like a beast that plunges towards the 

thing it loves.” said Matisse about 

the gift of paints his mother gave 

him. Matisse loved art so much that 

he even told his fiancé “I love you 

dearly, mademoiselle, but I shall 

always love painting more.” 

And so it was, with these quotes 

in mind, that the Grade 7s greeted 

the Matisse exhibition on a chilly 

morning in downtown Joburg, with 

much anticipation and excitement. 

We didn’t know what to expect, and 

so I was overwhelmed by the boys’ 

comments on the bottom of their 

Matisse Scavenger Hunt and Drawing 

Challenge sheets: 

“The artworks were interesting, 

marvellous and I loved all the videos, 

quotes and descriptions by 

Henri Matisse.” Daanyaal Thokan 

“Exquisite, mind-blowing, incredible 

to have the opportunity to see 

such masterpieces.” Tom Krause 

“Dreams, expression, inspired all in 

one exhibition, where expression 

and feelings are let loose.” Faizaan 

Wazar 

“I thought the art and sculptures 

were the best, much better than at 

my house.” Oliver Mitchell 

“It was an amazing experience that 

I will remember for the rest of my 

life.” Ben Morrison 

Ben also drew an amazing impression of 

one of Matisse’s Aquatints. 

“I love how simple, but amazing his 

artworks are!” Thomas Granig 

“He thinks of things no one else 

would think of.” Joe Clucas 

“I found this very inspiring, as even 

though the art works are simple, 

they make a beautiful picture.” Will 

Stewart 


ART 

Look What We Made! 


Boys get up to all sorts of creative 

mischief in the studio on Wednesday 

afternoons. Here is a little taste 

of some of the projects that have 

sprung from the best classroom at 

The Ridge! 

• Bakang Seobi (Grade 7) made 

a very arty backpack, which Jason 

Short is helping to demonstrate. 

• Aiden Leech (Grade 4) is making 

a set of giant dentures, perhaps 

for the BFG? 

• Daanyaal Thokan (Grade 7) 

painted a golden guitar, with a 

very modernist background. 

• Nic Venter (Grade 7) is very 

proud of his wolf howling at the 

moon, and so are we Nic! 

Nicci Kurz 


MUSIC NEWS 

‘Vivace’, ‘energetico’, prestissimo and ‘accelerando’ are 

all Italian terms which seem to describe our music and 

our life at The Ridge. We are busy preparing for our 

various events and cannot wait to share what we have 

done with you all at the various events. At the beginning 

of the term we welcomed Mr Justin Wardle to our 

department. He is a real asset to our department and 

has already made his mark. Welcome Justin, we are so 

happy you have left the Cape to join us, and we wish 

you a long and happy stay at The Ridge. Ms Astrid 

Small has remained on our staff as a piano teacher. 

She is loved by the boys and we are so delighted she is 

still with us. Our department continues to be a happy 

and busy place. 

Founders Day 

Our annual Founders Day celebrated and show-cased 

some of the music our boys have been busy with. The 

choirs lead the celebrations, and started the day beautifully 

marking The Ridge’s 97th birthday. 

Astrid Small 

Huge congratulations to Astrid Small to one of our 

piano teachers. Astrid Small received an award for 

achieving the highest marks and best First Degree in 

the whole of the Faculty of Arts at the Nelson Mandela 

Metropolitan University.This is a fantastic achievement 

and we are thrilled to have her in our department. 

Music Tour to KZN 

Our boys and girls from St Katharine’s are hard at work 

and getting ready for our combined music tour to KZN 

at the beginning of Term 3. The excitement is mounting 

and the preparations are going really well. 

MUSIC 

Music Exams 

External Music Exams, (Associated Board, Trinity College 

and UNISA) seem to take place throughout the 

year. The results of these exams will be made known 

as soon as they are available. We have entries ranging 

from Initial to Grade 7 on almost all instruments. 


MUSIC 

WHAT INSTRUMENT SHOULD 

MY SON PLAY AND WHY? 

Before we know it, it will be next term and our younger 

boys will already be thinking about the excitement 

of starting to play a musical instrument, but which 

one? 

I am often asked “What instrument is right for my 

son” and, “when can he start lessons”? 

These are difficult questions because there are so many 

factors to consider. One cannot really have ‘one rule 

for all’ but there are some guidelines. The first question 

is why learn to play an instrument at all? And the 

next are, which one, and at what age? 

We, at The Ridge, believe intrinsically that playing 

music is one of the most wonderful gifts and pleasures 

one can ever be involved with. I have over the years 

thought about this a great deal, and I believe more 

than ever, that music is essential to human well-being. 

I recently came across this quote from Emory in the 

US. “Learning to play an instrument before the age 

of 9 or 10, I believe will, at some point keep cognitive 

decline at bay later on.” I have no proof of this, but 

when I think of the joy music has given me, and the 

musicians I have come across of all ages, music provides 

something very special. I believe it matters not at 

all if one pursues music into adulthood, learning music 

as part of one’s development just gives one another 

dimension. Now... which one? And when? 

Here are some pointers which you may find helpful. 

• What instrument does your son wish to learn? 

We expose our boys to a wide variety of musical instruments 

and they invariably have a very good idea about 

which instrument they would like to learn to play. He 

has to want to play that instrument. 

• Does he wish to play in an ensemble? This is 

like team sport, where one is playing with others in an 

ensemble. Choose the instrument accordingly. 

• We begin tuition from Grade 2. There is probably 

no RIGHT age but we feel this is a good age from 

a developmental perspective. ‘Prodigies’ or musically 

gifted children develop primarily as a result of various 

factors. There is usually great parental support, inherent 

/ inherited musicality, excellent teaching and regular 

and thorough practising EVERY day. Did you read 

“The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” by Amy Chua? 

• Don’t learn too many instruments. I always 

say, Yehudi Menuhin managed very well on just one 

instrument, and so does Sting! Down time and play 

dates are also very important! 

• Practise makes perfect. There will be little 

progress if no good constructive practising takes place 

at home. 

I urge you all to come and listen to your sons perform 

at our various concerts over the year. I constantly marvel 

at what is achieved by our children from one term 

to the next! 

“Some people think music education is a privilege but I think 

it’s essential to being human.” Jewel 


MUSIC 

MUSIC REFLECTIONS 

One of my greatest joys is observing the progress and 

achievements of our former Ridge musicians as they 

make their way through their senior schools. These 

boys become so much part of our lives in the music department, 

and remain in our hearts long after they have 

left us. I have been fortunate to attend various senior 

school concerts this year, and to my utter delight, these 

bands and choirs are full of ex-Ridge boys. I am enormously 

proud of them all! This is testimony to hard 

work and good instrumental teaching. Their obvious 

enjoyment is evident and tangible. 

Pendo Masote has just participated in, and won the National 

Grahamstown Music Competition and was also 

awarded the prize for Best String Player overall (all age 

groups). We miss him hugely but are thrilled that he 

is doing so well and achieving so much. He travels to 

Europe soon for a competition, and will be taking part 

in the Hubert van der Spuy music competition in Cape 

Town later on this year. 

We have also been treated to two visiting choirs performing 

at The Ridge in the last couple of weeks. Kearsney 

College Choir performed for the school magnificently 

whilst in Gauteng, and in amongst the predominantly 

KZN boys was a former Ridge boy. The St Andrew’s 

College Choir from Grahamstown gave a pre-tour performance 

just prior to flying to Russia to compete in 

the World Choir Games. To my utter joy there were 4 

former Ridge boys in the choir. I hear that they won a 

Silver Award, congratulations indeed! 

…And finally... 

“Support music every day because there isn’t a day when 

music won’t be there to support you! Hayley Williams 

“Music expresses that which cannot be said and on 

which it is impossible to be silent.” Victor Hugo 

Janet Fox Van Der Poel 

Director Of Music 


GRADE 7 PLAY 

ROMEO AND JULIET 

Director’s message 

Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare’s most famous 

and tragic love stories, a story about two teenagers who 

fall in love but as we often see on screen and on stage, 

the path of true love is never easy: “...for never was a 

story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo”. 

The Montagues and Capulets are two feuding families, 

whose children meet and fall in love. Despite their 

strong commitment to each other, there were just far 

too many obstacles standing in their way for them 

to live a happily ever after love story. Their untimely 

death ends the feud between their families, and brings 

peace to the city of Verona. With an abundance of 

drama and action, family rivalry and forbidden love, 

this play was an exciting venture to undertake with our 

Grade 7 boys. 

We had many eager boys who were interested in being 

part of the production, and this exquisitely written 

play gave us an opportunity to include many of the 

Grade 7 boys on stage. While we adapted the script to 

a more boy-friendly version, we kept the script and the 

costumes traditional. 

We wanted the boys to engage with Shakespeare’s 

beautiful poetic language, and the traditional costumes 

and props, kept in line with the era, giving boys an opportunity 

to have fun with their roles in the play. The 

production has a classical interpretation, with some 

subtle modern touches, but it is still the same timeless 

story of “a pair star crossed lovers”. 

Romeo and Juliet has been retold many times before 

and all around the world, but here at The Ridge our 

Grade 7 boys entertained us with their very own 

version of the classic story of Romeo and Juliet. It was 

wonderful to see many boys showcase their talents 

both on and off the stage and the cast willingly and enthusiastically 

participated in the play. It was clear that 

they boys enjoyed the process and what they achieved 

was truly admirable. 

Urvasi Naidoo 


SPORT PHOTOS 

RUGBY 

TENNIS 


MOTHER’S DAY LUNCH 

The Ridge Mothers’ Lunch this year was a tremendous 

success. On Saturday, May 30 th , the 

Channon Anniversary Quad was turned into 

a magnificent al fresco dining area where over 

250 women enjoyed an afternoon of ‘Gin & 

Jazz’. The brisk but beautiful day provided the 

perfect setting to get together and share delicious 

food from Sandy’s Kitchen, drinks from 

Hope Gin and Warwick Wines and stunning 

jazz from Ziza Muftic, a music teacher at The 

Ridge, and friends. 

PARENT ASSOCIATION 

Many generous donations were made by the 

likes of Air France/KLM, The Four Seasons 

Westcliff, Polish Nail Spa, Oaklands Country 

Manor, The Mask and Annie Mac for the 

raffle. Almost 4000 tickets were sold and over 

R60,000 raised to go to The Ridge’s Outreach 

programs. 

Our thanks to the Grade 2 class mothers for 

making this an amazing day and one that 

won’t be forgotten. 



FOUNDERS’ DAY 

The annual Founders’ Day celebration took place on 

the 30 July. The day started with an incredible, jampacked 

formal assembly in the Nicholson Hall. We 

were treated to a fascinating speech by Greg Maud, 

who rowed solo across the Atlantic Ocean. The Choirs 

and music were once again inspiring. Once the formalities 

were over, parents and boys alike, rushed to 

the fields for the festivities. The boys were treated to 

seemingly never-ending jumping castles and games. 

Parents were spoiled with delicious food, fine wines 

and excellent company. 

FROM THE ORGANISER - HELEEN BALL 

The Ridge School’s 97 th birthday, and as per tradition 

we host the annual Founders’ Day celebration, where 

The Ridge School community, comes together, to 

celebrate the wonderful family to which our children, 

teachers and parents belong. 

The theme for Founders’ Day this year is “The Tree 

of Diversity”. Whether you are a boy, who excels in 

Chess, Rugby, Mathematics, Soccer or Music, the 

Ridge School embraces each boy just as they are. 

As the organizer of the event, my main aim is to 

ensure that everyone has a thoroughly enjoyable time. 

Obviously, this will be impossible to accomplish, without 

a fantastic team of people to support me (not to 

mention the blueprint of the Founders’ Day manual 

generously given to me by Annie Mackenzie). 

As a Founders’ Day team, we need to organize food 

vendors, the beer garden (sponsored by SAB), live 

entertainment, the retail market, décor, sponsors, JOC 

approval (our favourite) and many more… But the 

most important is the ‘Funzone’, where the boys can 

literally play non-stop for 6 hours. 

After many hours of planning, meetings, endless 

admin and limitless patience, we find the big day one 

week away. All the parents are now hard at work drawing 

up duty schedules or planning the Book & CD 

stall, the Sweetie stall, Homebake stall and even the 

‘toss the toilet roll in the the toilet” stalls! 

With a lot of excitement and prayers for the weather 

to be great, the Rose field starts transforming into 

a carnival affair. Chris Perumal and his incredible 

ground staff are responsible for this. Daniel, Kenny, 

Emmanuel, Elliot, John and Isaac are definitely the 

heroes of Founders’ Day. Without them, there would 

be no Founders’ Day. 

As the day arrives, there is great anticipation, and a bit 

of nerves. But the Founders’ Day team, together with 

hundreds of helpful parents, know that all their hard 

work will pay off. 

And with the first drop of ice melting on the field, we 

know that it is going to be a beautiful day. 

A special thanks to: Cheryl Sparks, Joe Kotwal, Chris 

Perumal, Jen Herman, Shereen Garde, Cindy Stoutjesdyk, 

Debbie Thomas, Sarah Steyn, Nadia Khan, 

Wendy Hansen, Jackie Dewey, Sadia Cassim , Carl 

Chemaly, Fenella Johns, Cobie Labuschagne, Kath 

Robins, Heidi Gresty, Cath Joyner, Natasha Fuller,Julie 

Wearne, all The Ridge Parents and all the amazing 

ground staff. 

Heleen Ball 




SCHOLARSHIPS 

MILES JACKSON 

MAKES IT THREE 

IN A ROW FOR 

THE RIDGE 

SCHOOL 

The Boxer Scholarship is far more 

than just a reward for previous 

scholastic excellence. It is a platform 

for future success and service. 

It is about expansive personality, 

indisputable character and possessing 

vast future leadership potential. 

It requires a unique view of the 

world; one that is not focused on 

personal achievement. So what 

exactly is the Boxer Scholarship? 

The following definition has been 

supplied by St. Andrew’s School: 

The ‘Boxer’ Scholar is selected on the 

basis of remarkable leadership qualities 

and potential, combined with significant 

all-round achievement. With a 

new ‘Boxer’ Scholar being selected for 

each Grade 8 intake, the ‘Boxer’ Scholarship 

is making a dramatic impact not 

only on the boy selected, but on College 

as a whole. 

The rigorous application process is 

a personal challenge for any 13 year 

old who is bold enough to apply. 

Responses to questions like ‘Who 

is my hero?’, ‘Why would you like 

to attend St. Andrew’s?’ and the 

all revealing, ‘Why should you be 

the next ‘Boxer’?’ are expected to 

be answered in a well-articulated, 

genuine response in the boy’s own 

hand writing. This is step one. 

Step two of the application is being 

invited to sit for an academic exam. 

After the exam results are recorded 

and ranked, the list of nearly one 

hundred boys is reduced to less 

than a dozen finalists! 

The ‘cream of the crop’ are then 

invited to an interview at St. 

Andrew’s in Grahamstown. These 

twelve exceptionally worthy candidates 

will sit with a panel of senior 

educationalists from the school 

as part of the third and final step. 

The panel’s sole objective is to dig 

deeply into the boy’s character 

and explore who he really is, what 

drives him, what excites him and 

finally what future potential this 

young mind has to offer the world. 

A daunting 45 minutes awaits each 

boy in which they are scrutinised 

and challenged. 

Elliot Apps, the 2016 recipient, 

described his emotions after his 

interview as being different to 

what he expected. “It was not in 

fact daunting or awkward at all. 

The panel (which consisted of our 

College and Prep headmasters, 

vice head, school psychologist and 

a very senior master) were there 

to encourage me and afford me 

a platform to speak openly about 

myself. I was able to share my life 

experiences, my challenges and my 

dreams for the future, with really 

caring and genuine people who 

live and breathe education and can 

see deep into the authentic “boy in 

me”. It was like talking to family.” 

St. Andrew’s select an expansive 

all-rounder, a substantial individual 

who has habitually created and 

capitalised on every opportunity 

available to him. Apart from the 

pre-requisite academic rigour 

stretching back as far as grade 4, 

he must have outstanding character 

references in The Ridge’s 

“confidential report”. The rest is 

up to him. They are looking for 

the unusual and the unique – not 

necessarily the traditional tenets 

of strong academics, cricket and 

rugby. 

At the end of the interview, one of 

the panel asked a question that has 

become somewhat of a tradition – 

‘What does the St. Andrew’s motto 

Nec Aspera Terrent (Difficulties Do 

Not Dismay Us) mean to you?’ 

This may seem easy to explain if 

you are mature and have had the 

benefit of many curve balls being 

sent your way, but for the twelve 

young men faced with this question, 

the answer is not an easy 

one. Most of these boys have not 

yet faced great difficulty in their 

lives and many of them hopefully 

won’t until much later. So how do 

they answer? Well, that is one of 

the great mysteries of the ‘Boxer’ 

process. 

by Joe Kotwal 

The Ridge School recipients of the 

‘Boxer’: 

2015 Andrew Coxwell 

2016 Elliot Apps 

2017 Miles Jackson 


OLD BOYS REUNION 

On 29 June 2016 The Ridge hosted an old boys reunion. 

The evening was extremely well attended with 

old boys from as recent as 2015 to as far back as 1934 in 

attendance. The purpose of the evening was to reunite 

our old boys and inform them of all the wonderful 

developments taking place at The Ridge. Many of our 

old boys hadn’t been back to the school since they completed 

their final year and this was a great opportunity 

to reminisce. 

OLD BOYS 

The evening was opened by Richard Stanley, who 

presented a brief update of the school in it’s modern 

context. He was followed by James Clucas, the Chairman 

of The Ridge School Board of Governors, an old 

boy himself, and now a parent. James spoke about the 

future of The Ridge and more specifically about the 

upcoming centenary in 2019 and finished off with outlining 

the value of having a strong old boys network. Joe 

Kotwal, the Marketing Director ended the formalities 

by highlighting a few of the upcoming old boy events 

later this year. After the speeches were concluded the 

old boys enjoyed a light supper and a few drinks whilst 

catching up with former classmates and one or two staff 

members. 

To ensure you don’t miss out on any events in the, 

please visit the school’s website and update your details. 


MAKING 

THINKING VISIBLE 

On Monday the 18th July, we had 

a cohort of 60 enthusiastic and 

apprehensive parents join us for a 

“Making Thinking Visible” evening 

held in the Auditorium and 

HOTSPOT 2. The parents ranged 

from Grade 0 to Grade 5, and 

were introduced to the thinking 

routines through some theory, but 

more focus was put on the practical 

side where the parents experienced 

first hand what their son is 

exposed to on an every day basis. 

THINKING SKILLS 

Some of the routines that were used 

were a “Zoom In”, “See, Think, 

Wonder”, a “Chalk Talk” and 

“Headlines”. Prior to the start of 

the evening, parents were asked to 

respond with a sticky note in terms 

of their expectations for the evening, 

as well as reflect on the evening 

on their way out. 

Now that the parents have been exposed 

to these routines, we believe 

that the parents have a comprehensive 

understanding of what ‘Making 

Thinking Visible’ is all about. We 

hope to run more of these evening 

sesisons in the future, as both parent 

and teacher can join together in 

the best interests of their students 

and sons. 

Nick Diana 


WHAT THE STAFF ARE LEARNING 

COLLABORATIVE AND 

INDEPENDENT THINKERS 

During the April holidays I completed an International 

Bachelorette course on Developing Independent 

and Collaborative Learners. The Senior Prep profession 

development afternoons, held during Term 2, 

allowed me the opportunity to present some of the 

information which I found particularly fascinating and 

relevant. It focused on 3 main areas including Intrinsic 

and Extrinsic Motivation, Independent Learners and 

Collaboration. Below I will outline some of the topics 

covered: 

Motivation 

Incentives and rewards may have their place in getting 

people to do things they are reluctant to do but do 

they really help to motivate people? 

Students should be praised for hard work and not for 

attainment in order to develop a growth mind-set. 

Independent Learners 

Does our current model of education encourage 

learners to be independent or do we simply help them 

to find ‘the right’ answer? Some strategies to promote 

independent learning include: 

• Allow students to make decisions about how 

they learn 

• Ask open-ended questions 

• Talk less, do more! 

• Model behaviours and attitudes which promote 

learning 

• Organise student-led conferences 

• Ask for feedback 

• Encourage goal-setting and reflection 

• Don’t over-plan, allow them to explore 

• Focus on leaning, not work 

• Test less 

Collaborative Learning 

The key to working collaboratively is to provide students 

with a group goal while maintaining individual 

accountability. This can be achieved by: 

• Not designating a particular person to provide 

feedback 

• Insisting each student provide evidence of their 

contribution 

• Assessing students individually 

• Students need to learn it can be a good thing 

to disagree during class discussions, provided it is done 

correctly and respectfully 

This course certainly provided me with relevant and 

practical ideas for improving my classroom instruction. 

Gaining a better understanding of motivation, independent 

learning and collaboration will help me to get 

the most out of my class. I have also been able apply 

many of my new found strategies to my own life and 

am now striving to adopt a growth mind-set in all that 

I do. 

Mike MacFarlane 


JUNIOR PREP SNAPSHOTS 


SENIOR PREP SNAPSHOTS

Horizons Term 3 2016 FINAL 3 LARGE PDF

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