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10/03/2017 I TERM 1 I NEWSLETTER
ISSUE
42
INSIDE
CHOIR AWARDS
ROADSHOW TO NATAL
BULLYING
This weekend we have our workshop with the boys on
boundaries and bullying, I received a very concise article
from one of the mothers which I thought may be valuable
to share.
MiMs PROGRAMME
Follow me to page 2

MESSAGE FROM THE
EXECUTIVE HEAD
Dealing with the bully (Wiki: How to help your child cope)
These five easy to remember bits of advice:
BULLYING…continued from page 1
I would
1.
like to take this opportunity to thank the School community for producing yet another great MiMs weekend. In particular, I
Advise your child to walk away from the bully. Bullies get satisfaction from seeing their victims react to their taunting. If your
would like to
child
thank
starts
all
ignoring
the boys
the
for
bully
their
and
tremendous
walking away
resilience,
when the taunting
dedication
starts,
and
the
professionalism
bully can lose interest.
during the preparation and the event
itself. We
2. Tell your child to ignore the bullying if he can't walk away. Sometimes your child will be in a situation when he can't walk
away, like in class or on the field. In this case, your child has to ignore the taunts and teasing to disarm the bully.
Acknowledge to your child that this is very difficult to do. It is definitely easier said than done, and your child might resist
this idea when you bring it up.
It would help if you did some exercises with your child to help control emotions. Tell your child to close his eyes and
count to ten when feeling angry or sad. Deep breathing exercises can also help control emotional responses
3. Advise your child to stand up to the bully. If a bully refuses to leave your child alone, you can encourage him to stand up to
the bully. Bullies like to pick on weak targets, and will often back down when someone stands up against them.
Tell your child to say firmly, "Leave me alone!" the next time the bully bothers him.
Never advise your child to physically attack the bully. This won't help the situation.
4. Use the buddy system. Bullies are usually more likely to go after victims when they are alone. Your child can avoid this by
sticking with a friend or classmate whenever he goes somewhere the bully might be.
5. Let your child know when to get help. If these methods don't work, your child needs to seek help from another adult. A
teacher, principal, or coach might not even be aware that there is a problem, so your child has to report it. These people can
take steps to prevent the bullying.
I trust that you will have a good weekend knowing that the boys will continue working hard towards MiMs. Their dedication
and commitment are very impressive and I know will produce great results in the end.
Andrew Stead
Andrew Stead
2

NEWS FROM THE MUSIC DEPARTMENT
Sihle Manonyane (Griffin
House - upstairs)
CHOIR AWARDS FOR THE PAST WEEK
NEW BOY COMMENDABLE PERFORMANCES
Stephen Barnard (Head of
Music)
Karabo Machepa Tjama Keta Tiaan Esterhuizen
Bokang Musi
Itebogeng Machobane Henno Klopper Alec Gibson
Panashe Manyemba
Jayden Lubbe
Jordyn Fraser
3

NEW BOYS OF THE WEEK:
Alec Gibson
COMMENDABLE PERFORMANCES: CONCERT CHOIR
Angus Sommerville
CHORISTER OF THE WEEK:
Johandrè van Heerden
Armand Kriel
Nathaniel Stoffels
Stephen Barnard
Vuyo Mcanyana
Anthony Malunga
Michael de Goede
Kevin Jordaan
Ntsako Lekula
Qhawe Mafika
Sihle Manonyane
Odirile Mokoma
Liam Muller
Katlego Phetla
Caleb Saks
Kyle Kroats
Kevin Smith
MOST VALUABLE CONTRIBUTION ON STAGE:
Caleb Saks
VOICE GROUP OF THE CONCERT:
ALTOS
Sihle Manonyane
4

ROADSHOW TO NATAL: 9 - 10 MARCH 2017
During our roadshow to Natal we visited Ashton College, Umhlali Preparatory School and Epworth
Preparatory School. The reception at each of these schools was embracing.
Thank you to Umhlali Preparatory school for hosting us on Thursday evening.
As always time was made to have some fun. The rainy weather did not prevent us from a short visit to
the beach. We had to end our trip with a visit to Rocco Mamas. This seems to have become a tradition.
Friday morning, we visited the Sunnyside Old Age Home. It was a reminder to all of us that we have the
power to make a difference. Even if it is by brightening someone’s day by giving them a rose.
Thank you boys for being true Drakie Ambassadors!
Belinda Espag
5

HA! MAN VISTIS THE DBCS
A show where fantasy, music and the deepest potential blossoms.
An extract from the Ha! Man’s website:
“between the mind and the instinctive, the flow of feeling is born..
THULE CARRY SOLUTIONS
moving in the moment
I create from within
my feelings in sounds and words and imagery..”
The above was evident when the boys had to improvise and create expressions, using their voices and
bodies to improvise and discover.
What an amazing and liberating show!
Belinda Espag
6

MUSIC IN THE MOUNTAINS 2017
We trust that by now you have received an email from the school regarding tickets for the concerts at Music in
the Mountains.
Tickets for the festival are exclusively on sale to the families of our boys, from 10 to 17 March and will open to the
public on Friday 17 March.
Please book your tickets online now at dbc.nutickets.co.za
Steven Wellbeloved
7

8

9

Well done!
There is always time for some fun!
10

SNIPPETS FROM THE SAN
GRIFFIN HOUSE NEWS
The circus is back after a brief interlude and the San has been humming. I do wish parents had more success
at returning their sons in glowing health, though. I bet that’s what they all say about me when boys go home
for holidays! No doubt we all try our best but the fact is that good wands are hard to come-by these days.
Truth be told, aside from a touch of homesickness blurring the picture earlier in the week, most boys appear
to be just fine at the moment. This was amply demonstrated by the swift and relentless backlash when I
tried to book some off sport.
Being a great believer in the many benefits of exercise, I generally only excuse those who are running a fever
or are significantly incapacitated. This time, I included several boys who have been darkening my door with
bouts of coughing as well as others who are on antibiotics.
After announcing the list, I was mobbed by chaps desperately pleading perfect health. And did they grovel! It
was so gratifying, I should try it more often. One culprit had visited me in the morning with such an extensive
litany of complaints that I had précised his symptoms in my notes as “everything”. But he begged absolutely
beautifully and it wasn’t long before I caved in. It helped that he had no observable signs of disease.
Another junior was so adamant that he wanted to play cricket – “I’ll only bat!” – that I had to invoke the
wrath of his concerned Grandmother. This failed epically in the face of his subsequent allegations that she’s
a serial worrier. After working his endearing smile and fluttering eye-lashes to the hilt, he too, was exempted
from the exemption. His tenacity bodes well for a successful future - possibly in cricket.
Fortunately, the two youngsters with stitched up feet as a result of mid-term surgery didn’t try their luck.
Clearly my resistance wasn’t quite what it should be and they may have succeeded. Things could have
become quite messy on the sports field.
Sister Lianne
11

NEWS FROM BOARDING
GRIFFIN HOUSE
Our first half term weekend has come and gone. Boys have returned looking very refreshed, relaxed and ready
for the next four weeks.
GREY TROUSER DRIVE
As a community drive, Griffin House would like to donate their grey trousers to some of our local schools, who
are part of our Legacy Project. We would like to appeal to our parents to ask if they would be happy to support
our initiative. We challenge Tungay House to join us in our drive.
The winning House would have a civvies day with a small reward.
Please could we ask you to either drop off the greys at school, or email (vayliffe@dbchoir.com), giving permission
for the boys to place their old greys in the charity box.
Enjoy your week.
Verna Ayliffe
OUR SPECIAL VISIT TO THE SUNNY SIDE OLD AGE HOME
12

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Polane Moloi
13 March
Okuhle Madondo
14 March
Matthew Robinson
16 March
Johandré van Heerden
16 March
Daniel van Jaarsveld
16 March
Keanu van Staden
17 March
13

DRAKENSBERG BOYS CHOIR SCHOOL
Calendar 11 March – 19 March 2017
DATE EVENT TIME
11 March Academics 08:00 – 12:00
12 March Chapel
SCA
13 March Staff Briefing
Assembly
Prefects Tea
14 March Cycle Tests
10:00 – 11:00
18:00 – 19:00
07:20 – 07:30
07:25 – 07:45
10:40 – 11:40
07:25 – 08:25
Aural Training cycle test (during Aural Training lesson)
15 March Mathematics Olympiad Round 1
Music Theory cycle test (during Music Theory lesson)
15:30 – 17:30
Wednesday Concert
16 - 17 March Roadshow: Free State
16 March Assembly
HiSide Conference
10:05 – 10:25
16:00 – 21:00
17 March Staff Briefing 10:20 – 10:40
18 March Choir 08:00 – 12:00
19 March Chapel
SCA
10:00 – 11:00
18:00 – 19:00
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