“Just captured a deadly snake in Iounge at Westhill… Call me Mick Dundee!

Dear Colleagues,

I was sitting reading in the lounge here at home a few minutes ago when I noticed something moving on the floor. It was a snake….a brown snake (although in my colour-blind world it could have been green…maybe even a green mamba).

I assumed the worst and got my wife, daughter and mother-in-law out of that section of the house (in that order). By using survival talents that only reside in the distant DNA memory of Irish people (St Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland in circa 450 AD), I took out my longest multi-hinge braai tongs and grabbed the brown (or green) boy by the back of the neck.

He went ballistic……spitting and biting and threatening me big time. The ladies came out of hiding and took pics and then Rentia found an empty big Tastic plastic rice jar (never throw things away cos you never know when they can come in handy) and I managed to get him inside it. I am using the male gender here for there is no way that a female could have such a bad temper. You can see from the picture yourself if you don’t believe me.

Anyway, now that I have brought Westhill back from the wilds and reclaimed the house for humans and our dog Murphy (yes, you might well ask what Murphy the pedigreed Irish Kerry Blue Terrier was doing all this time – not a murmur out of him – but that has to be blamed on St Patrick too, because 450 AD is a lot longer ago in dog years than it is for us human Irish people).

I have no idea what to do with this asp. Is there anyone can help? My daughter has just told me that she put the pic on her BB status pic and someone has confirmed that it is a brown house snake which makes this story a bit of a snake in a rice jar kind of thing. (I don’t think that it makes my story any less heroic.)

Does anyone out there want a snake? Young, healthy, bad tempered.

Yours thankfully,

Tom

PS: if you don’t know who Mick Dundee is, you should go visit Australia mate!”

According to the Rekord article “… when a snake is spotted, residents should keep an eye on it while they wait for the snake handler, to save time.” They do not say what to do when a snake is striped or unpatterned. But the (quaintly named) Transvaal Herpetological Association does list a very useful number: 083 739 9303.

Perhaps the activity in the adjoining spruit has been driving snakes to new hunting/hibernating grounds. While the Form 3s continue on their journey and the seniors are well into their exams, the Form 1s and 2s have been busy enriching themselves and our environment. Under the supervision of Mrs Mandy Sutcliffe, they spent an entire day each (from separate perspectives) cleaning up the spruit. The Form 1s tackled alien vegetation and ripped out Syringas, Spanish “Bamboo” and Bugweed, amongst other undesirable plants, while engaged in a team-building exercise. The Knapp-Fisher Form 1s were declared the team builders of the day. Richard van Coeverden de Groot relates his experience as follows:

“Cleaning the Spruit

On the 22nd March the Form 1’s from St Alban’s College set out on a task for our Eco Theme Day, to clean the spruit. We started our day with a talk by Mrs Adelene Marais, from the Tshwane Nature Conservation, about different types of alien vegetation in the spruit and how we should cut the trees down. We learnt that there is a plant in the spruit that has fine hairs that goes all over people’s bodies and make them very itchy.

The Form 1’s walked to the spruit and pulled out all the Spanish Reed out of the ground – there we discovered that many hands make light work. We then picked up litter at the river and collected many bags of rubbish which was disposed of. We also cut down many alien trees with pangas and brute force. Although physically tough, we learnt a lot and had great fun. Thank you to the teachers for the wonderful experience.”

The Form 2s got down and dirty as they removed rubbish from the spruit. One can only wonder how so many tyres make their way downstream. The over-tyred winners in this contest came from Murray House. Well done to all the Form 1 and 2 boys for sorting out one of our borders. Mark Verryn gives a succinct account of the Form 2 clean-up effort:

“A day at the Spruit, fun, dirt and…litter.

So it is theme day. We arrived at school, there was a constant buzz of people talking and trying to anticipate what our task would be. We were then called in for a briefing. This was where we were told that today we would be cleaning the spruit in our houses.

The houses each had their own area of the spruit to clean. And at the end of the day a winner would be announced for the house that displayed the most teamwork.

Most of us were surprised by the beauty as we stood in awe to look upon something that was under our noses for so long that we never noticed. The constant singing of the birds and buzzing of the bees made the sound of nature that we often in our busy lives tend to neglect. The smell of fresh, pure air filling our lungs and clearing our heads. Of course there was something wrong, the beauty of this place was disrupted by the different colours of litter, this had to change and we were given the chance to help. We received the plastic bags and started heading off to collect rubbish. As we collected rubbish, others in my house found a tyre submerged under the muck and stones, we made it our mission as a house to get this tyre out, so as a house we found a lever and a pipe and with time we had dug out enough to get a grip and we eventually got the tyre out. We then had to roll this massive tyre all the way to a bank were we could lift the tyre out into the open. With some trial and error we succeeded and we then recruited more help to get the second tyre out, this took a lot more work and help. The tyre with time was out of the muck and mud and then the shouting of motivation of each other filled the air as we dragged the tyre to the same spot we lifted the other one. As we got the tyre out into daylight we all shouted in relief and pride, this was when it became clear to us that team work is essential and crucial.

After a hard day’s work we were called together and this was where the teachers were to announce the winner. After that was done some houses were disappointed especially those that came very close to winning. The reason I haven’t told the reader which house won, is because it is besides the point, the point is that we as people on this earth have a common problem and that is that global warming is catching up to us and times need to change, the point is that we, on that day, as a generation, had united to try prevent a common problem. The house that came second even though they had the most rubbish in the bag, they might have not won this competition, but they definitely didn’t do something wrong. Any of the houses that helped are all winners and I know it sounds clichéd but that is what it really is. We all came together and made a difference.

We have been privileged with something so special as the spruit and we need to use and protect it.
I hope that we can all help make this great privilege that we have a wonderful, fun and…clean place.”

The week was bracketed by high-quality entertainment. On Monday, the Student Art Troupe of Renmin University of China (RUC) charmed us with their music, song and dance. There was romance and poetry in the air, too, with ensemble, percussion and duet items bearing titles such as: “Blooming Flowers and Full Moon”, “Wind as Strong as Pine Trees”, “A Moon Night on the Spring River” and “The great Joy”. Thank you, RUC, for a riveting, polished and professional show, as well as for the gifts that were handed out.

The Senior Music Recital on Friday evening was also a polished and professional performance with poetry (“Windmills of your Mind” sung by Dimitri Leontakianakis) in the line-up of items. Our boys, once again, excelled themselves.

The first Journey group will be welcomed home on Wednesday before staff and pupils depart for their Easter holidays. Here follows a letter from Mr Hamilton to the Form 3 parents:

“HEAD’S LETTER TO FORM 3 PARENTS
The Journey is half way through….
30 March 2012

Dear Parents,

Late last night I got back from the Form 3 Journey. I had spent two days out in the vicinity of Loskop Dam and managed to catch up with each and every group on this year’s Journey. My Toyota was covered in muck from the treacherous conditions on the dirt roads after a long downpour on Thursday morning. But, the sun came out in the afternoon and the day ended well. The smiles returned, too.

I saw so much courage on these two days. I saw resilience and generosity, remarkable sensitivity and gruff stubbornness, too. Your sons are growing into manhood in the most interesting ways. There is a remarkable tranquillity among them and while there are disagreements and arguments at times, there have been no breakdowns or blowouts.

From my first excited conversations with Group 1 on Wednesday after their abseiling day; to the intimate and trusting Eucharist with Group 2 in the bush; to the honest and forthright dusk-debrief with our eclectic Group 5 after their exhausting bicycle day in the rain yesterday; to a shivery but genuine welcome from the men in Group 4 as they arrived at their last camp before solo site; to photographs and Easter eggs with Group 6 in the magical kloof above Loskop Dam (and where one boy offered to pay me big bucks for the fat off the steak I had just cooked for his two teachers); and closing with warm and engaging and trusting chats with Group 3 last night around the camp fire (eventually James Godlonton told me to leave so they could go to sleep) …. in all of those groups boys are becoming men in the most magical of ways.

Your courage is central … your care too
A huge commitment to service and education from so many of our staff is paying rich dividends again. Your belief and faith in your sons has given them a new perspective on who they are and what relationships and adulthood are all about. Truly, they couldn’t have done this without you.

It may sound trite, but your boys will never quite be the same again. This experience will have shown them how astoundingly strong, patient, courageous, resilient and self-sufficient they can be. They need never settle for being average again. With your help they won’t.

The importance of courage in parents
Dr Tony Humphreys, who spent some time with us a few years ago, said: “Courage is the essence of the heart. We all need courage at certain times and we can be supported by the encouragement of others along life’s path.”

When there is no encouragement, then it feels like there is no love, and we experience discouragement. Genuine encouragement is one of the greatest gifts we can give our children and each other.

What is always fascinating about small children is their courage to take on countless challenges and new learning. Sadly, the loss of courage on the part of so many parents and teachers results in them withdrawing from wide-ranging risk-taking and this then shadows the lives of our children.

Adults’ fear of failure has led us to largely ‘play it safe’, not risk-take. We go for the average. It is for that reason that the majority of schoolboys (and girls) attain only average results. The doubts adults have about their own competency are manifested in the discouragement of children’s efforts to do things for themselves and to take on new activities. If your son has come home with ‘bare’ school reports in the past, does this perhaps give you an opportunity to review how you have approached life and parenting? Maybe your son is using the same excuses for not becoming involved as you sometimes use for not taking up a new hobby or interest?

The opposite of discouragement is encouragement and, next to the giving and receiving of love, it is the most important aspect of bringing up a child. A lack of encouragement is certainly one of the reasons for difficult behaviour by teenagers – often they have their spontaneity and eagerness to learn discouraged. Of course, there is another extreme, in which boys are driven to learn from fear, and they become perfectionists. They suffer from over-encouragement and have also lost the adventure of learning.

Children and young people have immense courage and it is our adult responsibility to help them apply it and maintain it. The problem for some parents in encouraging their son’s independence is that they have lost their own courage, and their cautiousness blocks them from practising this essential aspect of parenting.

The importance of parents and teachers rediscovering their own courage is an important part of the Form 3 Journey. This year, for only the second occasion, each and every member of our Form 3 Class went on Journey. That means that you as parents of Form 3 Boys made a commitment to courage.

I know that for many of you it was relatively easy. Some parents were independent themselves at sixteen and expect their children to be the same. Some Dads may have seen The Journey as a substitute for the old National Service (or MK!): perhaps it is to a certain extent, except in this case the more macho a boy behaves, the more difficult his experience will be.

But for many of our parents this was a really big decision. For many of you, you had to rediscover your own courage before you confirmed that your son could go on The Journey. You work so hard to provide everything for your son and to protect him from pain and danger and you had to get past those protective desires before you could send your son on this trip. The importance of that process for you deserves huge respect and cannot be over-emphasised. Thank you.

Now that you and your son have tried something new, and seen it work, I would encourage you to continue to support each other in trying new things in the future.

It aint over ‘til the fat lady sings
Fr Andrew Nel reminded us before each group of boys left, and will do so again when they return, that The Journey is guided, protected and carried through prayer. Thank you for your prayers and let’s keep praying for the safe return of The Journey of 2012.

With God’s help you will feel the same pride and awe that I have felt over these past couple of days. From Wednesday morning, the boys that left us will return more manly. They will make you proud, too.

Tom Hamilton”

Sport commitment and Fixtures continued throughout the week. The U14A Rugby squad trounced St Andrew’s School (Bloemfontein) by winning 17 – 0. Tries were scored by Aidan Nel, Brandon Aucamp and Josh Rosenberg. We hosted St John’s (Rugby and Hockey) over the weekend. The Rugby First Team won their match (41 – 31) but the Hockey First Team was less fortunate, going down 0 – 3. Click here for the latest sports results.

St Alban’s will be hosting the U15 Hockey Festival from 04 – 07 April. Next weekend, our Hockey and Rugby sides will be participating at the KES Easter Festival. The Independent Schools’ Hockey Festival will take place at Michaelhouse, from 10 to 15 April, where our First and U16 teams will be taking part.

Our past pupil, Bongi Mbonambi (Matric 2009) was featured in both the Pretoria News and The Star during the week. The Star (Wednesday, 28 March 2012) headline ran (in big, bold print) “Bulls Give Debut to Mbonambi”, with subheading “South Africa Under-20 star to start off the bench against Stormers”. John McFarland (defence coach for Bulls) is quoted in the article as saying about Mbonambi: “He has improved immensely and he is one of the guys we earmarked during the off-season to be part of our Super Rugby squad. In last year’s Under-21 Currie Cup final he had a major influence winning turnovers, his accuracy in the line-outs and his general work-rate and that also showed when he played for the national team. He is one for the future, an extremely hard working guy and it is pleasing to se him get an opportunity at this level.” The match took place on Saturday with Bulls losing to Stormers, 17-20.

One member of our community who will not be kicking a ball, or anything else, for a while is Mr Nico du Plessis who is recovering from a foot operation. Get well soon, Sir.

Mr Mags Pather’s father, Numswayan Pather, succumbed to a stroke on Saturday. Our support and condolences go out to Mr Pather and his family as they come to terms with their great loss.

The holiday is but days away. Don’t forget to practice the 3 Rs on a daily basis: Rest, Relaxation and Rejuvenation!

Happy holidays. Be safe in all you do and wherever you go.

PG