To all Parents, Old Boys and Members of the Prep Community

FROM THE HEADMASTER

Dear Parents, Old Boys, Staff Members, former Staff, Friends and Boys,

The Friday morning arrival of the Prep branded helicopter piloted by Old Boy Matthew Gilmour and Matthew’s Grade 3 teacher Christine Knatten, Preppy in full uniform, and myself accompanied by a photographer from the press, was preceded by a whole school chanting of D – P – H- S which set the tone for a morning of great excitement and fun for the entire school. Matthew enjoyed the occasion all the more, it being his birthday, the school all sang Happy Birthday to him, followed by Happy Birthday to Preppy and two Prep Boys Lusanda Mdlalose And Steven Pretorius who also celebrated their birthdays on 12 March. The boys enjoyed an extended break with treats generously sponsored by Vitamin Water (ABI)
Once more I would like to thank Matthew and the Gilmour family for making this unique event possible for the enjoyment of the school and adding to the celebration of the School’s Centenary.

Matthew and the Gilmours have very generously offered five prize flights in their helicopter from Virginia airport to Balito and back for three passengers. These prizes will go to the first five people who make a Five thousand rand contribution to the DPHS CENTENARY FOUNDATION fund after the announcement was made of these prizes at the Centenary dinner on Friday night. After my first helicopter flight on Friday I would wish for everyone to enjoy the same experience. We have already had one R5000 donation since the dinner! On route to Ballito, if visibility allows, you will be able to view the new international King Shaka airport.

I have had letters of thanks and congratulations from Old Boys, Guests and Parents who attended the Centenary Dinner and were very impressed by the quality and friendliness of the occasion. The décor was superb, the food was excellent, entertainment highly enjoyable, the Prep boys – gumboot dancers and choir gave their usual inspirational performance and Aaron McIlroy as always highly amusing and entertaining. Later in the evening a Prep Old Boy was seen to be doing scholar patrol duty ensuring the safety of all who were leaving. There are so many parents and staff members who need to be thanked for making this event so successful. Leonie van der Westhuizen who headed the team is to be congratulated and thanked for a truly memorable evening.

The Headmaster’s ‘jump meter’ keeps climbing and I thank you all for your contribution!

Notes
Please note that Monday is a holiday and this weekend is a long weekend.
To accommodate BEANLAND CUP results, the final Prep Patter of the term will be published on break-up day Friday 26 March.

RICHARD NEAVE
Headmaster

CONGRATULATIONS

Gareth Simpson was chosen as Rugby Captain 2010.
Riley Hardwick won a badge for coming first in Motorcross.

MUSIC PROGRESS CONCERT TUESDAY 16 MARCH
Congratulations to all the musicians who played in the Music Progress Concert. Many new musicians performed for the first time. It was pleasing to hear the progress that has been made by previous performers and most encouraging to listen to DPHS exam candidates offering their interpretations of pieces which they will present in their respective instrumental exams later in 2010.

CALENDAR

RECEPTION UNIT NEWS

Yet again, another busy and fun-filled week for the Grade 0s!

There was great excitement on Monday morning with the arrival of four one-day old chicks which will spend the remainder of the term at our school, after which they will go back to the farm with Nolca Lushaba. They are part of the nature and interest table, complementing our theme of ‘Easter’.

On Monday, the boys were very fortunate to join the Grade 4s to watch Lloyd Bristow and his family of dogs. They thoroughly enjoyed the presentation which was highly entertaining, educational and full of energy.

On Friday, the Johannesburg based theatre company, will present their programme to the school and our boys will be joining the Junior Primary pupils at Main Campus. This is always a superb production which promotes interest and enthusiasm in books.

JUNIOR PRIMARY NEWS

Friday was a particularly enjoyable occasion for the Grade Ones. As it was Letterland Day each boy arrived at school dressed as a Letterland character of his choice and they then created a special Letterland snake during the morning. To add to the excitement of the day, the Prep branded helicopter landed on the field and the whole school was there to welcome it and enjoy a treat.

The Grade Three’s theme work this term has incorporated a study of the rocky shores of KwaZulu-Natal and the boys were fortunate to enjoy two related outings this week. On Monday they spent a very educational morning at Treasure Beach. A combination of the pleasant weather, low tide and informative guides ensured that the boys saw a wide variety of creatures in their natural environment and added many interesting facts to the already good knowledge which they had acquired in the classroom. They then visited uShaka Marine World on Tuesday. The activities included a puppet show as well as a guided tour of the aquarium where they were given the opportunity to observe creatures living in the deeper waters. As usual the visit to the dolphin show at the end of the morning was for many of the boys the highlight of this worthwhile outing.

MERIT AWARDS

Congratulations to this week’s recipients!

Junior Primary Paper Recycling Challenge – Recyclers of the Week

• 1st Grade 2 Marklew (8m 05cm)
  
• 2nd Grade 1 Vosloo (3m 85cm)
  

SPORT

RUGBY

Results

Fixtures

Tea will be served from 15h30 to 16h15 in the functions room

GENERAL

Excitement from the boys has resulted in some wonderful writing during the last few days:

Our Centenary
In this groundbreaking year, DPHS has become a hardwearing school teachers, pupils and parents alike, I feel it is a historic year and we should seize it. This fine institution has sparked the passion of myself and many other pupils and teachers. My uniform is not some tatty white shirt, old tie, grubby shorts and withered blazer; it is a symbol of the standards that I uphold in my school days. The friendships I have developed with the teachers and pupils was, and is a valuable experience that I shall treasure forever. The schools interesting traditions and teaching methods have been the standing highlights of my so forth academic career. The spirit of this school along with its outstanding traditions is a thing we can trust. In my years at DPHS, along with its morals and values I feel that I can openly say that the school and everything within it that from our humble beginnings…… better fortune has followed!
Christopher Gilmour: Grade 6 A

The Day the Helicopter arrived
It was a great day when a helicopter arrived on the school field. Imagine every day a helicopter arrives at your school then it’s just normal, but a helicopter with the school logos on it and in it “Preppy”, the school mascot, Mr Neave, a newspaper reporter and an old boy from Prep, Matthew Gilmour, who was the pilot. I heard a loud noise and the whole school heard the blades revving loudly. We saw two at the same time and I got mixed up with them. It took quite a long time for the helicopter to land. It hovered above the field – dust flew everywhere above the pitch. When they finally landed we saw “Preppy” waving and jumping up and down excitedly. Rees Stiemens, Connor Allan and I were holding a giant cupcake. Grades 0 – 7 were clapping, crying D.P ….. H.S. over and over and at the end doing the Mexican Wave. Mr Neave gave a good speech. We sang Happy Birthday to “Preppy”, Matthew and two other boys. One boy from each class got to see the helicopter: from my class it was Jarred Laggar. The ground staff and some ladies stood in front of the helicopter and had a picture taken. It may have taken a long time, but I loved every second!!
James Kenny :Grade 5 Donaldson

NEWS FROM DHS

I had a great time at the Prep Centenary Dinner last week. Everything was magnificent and it was a wonderful evening. Thank you for the invitation. It was great to catch up with old faces, and spend time chatting. Aaron McIlroy was the cherry on the top-simply hilarious.

Saturday saw our first official Rugby fixture. The 1st XV was captained by Prep old boy Kyle Eysele, and put up a wonderful performance against a powerful College team. The final score of 22-36 to College did not reflect just how close the game was, and school lead for a large part of the game. In fact all the teams on the day gave an excellent account of themselves, and it is clear that the changes we have made this year are bearing fruit. We have a new head of Rugby, and a number of new players across the age groups. The coaching structure has been improved, and we are confident that the improvements off the field will result in an improved performance this year. We realize that we will not change everything overnight, but anyone who watched our sides play on Saturday will attest to the improvements.

On another note our Head Boy, David Prinsloo, an ex-Prep boy, has a lead in the Girls’ College play this week. Most nights are already sold out, but the weekend has a few seats, I believe. It will be a great show.

Regards
Dave Magner
Class of 1968