Message from the Desk of the Headmaster

5 years ago

MESSAGE FROM THE DESK OF THE HEADMASTER

Halfway through the thirties leaves ‘35’ school days left until our mid-year break. I keep on reminding all partners of the action packed term that still lies ahead filled with activities across all academic, extra-mural and cultural activities in all three phases in the school. Please refer constantly to the School Year planner and the D6 for the update of these activities so that our information reaches all members of our Prep community.

Staff News

Congratulations –

Miss Rebecca Hammond has recently been elected into the position of Deputy Chairperson in the KZN Provincial Aquatics structures. This provincial honour is so justly deserved as Miss Hammond has dedicated herself to galas/training/events held across school, district and provincial levels. We as DPHS are extremely pleased to note that we have a well-respected official at this committee level to be of service to our province. Well done Miss Hammond.

Mr Gareth May has again been awarded his national ‘SA’ Water Polo colours as one of the two goalkeepers in our country who have been selected. The national team will participate in the tournament that will be held in Brno in the Czech Republic later this June. We are so proud of this recognition for Mr May and to have our national team including a DPHS staff member and Prep Old Boy. Further congratulations to Michael brakspear and William Dowsett, two DPHS Old Boys on the non-travelling reserve list which is also a great honour for our school. Do our country and school proud!

Miss Paige Challis-Chandler does not have many days left as a single lady as she will very soon be walking down the aisle on her wedding day to Mr Craig Richards. There is much excitement in the air especially in this build-up to the wedding day on Saturday 4 May. I share this information now as I know there are many members of the Prep community who would also like to share their congratulations to Miss Challis Chandler and Craig. May your 9 days ahead be blessed with many fond memories with the wedding day bringing you all the joy, love and happiness in your journey of marriage. Congratulations.

Communication

We are really conscious of the fact to share information with you as a family at our earliest convenience. Please note that unfortunately there are those instances where the message is sent late due to the late notification eg. – early closure with permission being granted by the Department, the change in weather patterns disrupting our extra-mural programme as well as us, at Prep, waiting to receive information from schools/provinces hosting their events. We will continue to follow up and try our best to inform timeously. However, we do need your support too in ensuring you receive the information and that we are also aware of these important messages reaching you. Please give your full support to the following.

Asking your son on a daily basis for any letter/s/information sent.
Checking on the School D6 Communicator where our latest information gets posted.
Receiving and reading the Prep Patter.
Replying to the reply slips on notices and returning these slips asap.
Checking with the staff member/coach.
Referring to the Mothers Class Rep group message which is also used by our school to relay urgent messages.
As a last resort phone the Front Office for feedback but please use all the other points above before resorting to phoning the reception at school.

However, I must also share with you the ‘broken telephone’ message that can also cause much confusion. There have been those moments where “a parent heard a message from another parent who was not 100% sure where the message came from but then feels the need to share the jumbled message.” This normally leads to a conflict of interests with the school and the respective staff members so I urge all parents to:

Receive the message from the school via the methods listed – if you are not hearing from us then the programme continues eg. – a message will go out when extra-murals need to be cancelled due to weather.
If the school is to be ‘closed’ for whatever reason eg. – the recent Department permission before the long weekend.

Please do not share any information from a friend at another school as there may be other specific reasons as to why that school or the circuit that they are in, is closing. I am well aware of the many messages circulated outside and inside of Prep regarding the impact of the weather in getting to school on Tuesday during the recent storms. We will never compromise on the safety aspect but do wait to hear from us if the school is to be closed for any specific reason. This focus on ‘Communication’ will assist all of us as DPHS partners especially when there is that time of anxiousness or uncertainty. How true the statement is at times:

“No news is good news” which means that our “greatest show” of the Prep programme, must go on! Thank you for your continued support in this matter.

Ambassadors

We have staff and boys who will soon be involved as ‘Proudly Prep’ representatives on a DPHS tour, a district or provincial team or involved in a inter school activity eg. – Choir/Marimba Band. It is imperative that our ambassadors are prepared for their involvement not only as a participant in skills training but also in appearance, behaviour and sportsmanship. Please respect that the ‘tour’ is bigger than the individual so our DPHS standards must be maintained. This means that boys from Prep:

Need a ‘Prep’ haircut irrespective of other school players style.
Need the correct DPHS uniform whether it be in the academic arena or the extra mural involvement and team kit.

With this in mind we proudly celebrate our Ambassadors as in the:

U11 tennis squad and staff who will return to Bethlehem next week with our A B & C teams to defend their no 1 title and trophy at this National tournament.
The 1^st XV rugby squad and staff that will be involved in the Trinity House U13 Rugby Festival in Johannesburg from Thursday next week.
The District hockey trials and the rounds of trials that our boys may still be involved in.
To be Proudly Prep ambassadors during the Speech and Drama Festival where the boys will perform in front of an outside professional adjudicator, who will also visit many other schools.
The Durban Coastal U12/U13 rugby trials that are upon us next week.

All Proudly Prep partners of staff, coaches, Prep players, Prep boys and parents are to raise our level of ‘Ambassador’ role to the highest it can be especially when coaching and supporting from the sidelines. We as Prep, I can honestly state, maintain this appreciated and respected role as an Ambassador but it just needs one person to spoil the outcome for our school and our school name.Enjoy being ‘Ambassadors’ as we “Create Champions”

Prep Boys

DON’T	DO
Forget to also acknowledge their staff on their achievement.	Proudly applaud the achievements of their staff.
Slip up in forwarding information to their parents.	Ensure that all information reaches their family members.
Misbehave while on tour.	Conduct themselves as a Proudly Prep Ambassador at all times.
Become casual in their academic efforts at this stage of the term.	Ensure that quality time is given to their academics.
Drop their standards in appearance.	Give 100% attention to their appearance as a Prep boy.