82 Drakensberg Boys Choir
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18/05/2018 I TERM 2 I NEWSLETTER
ISSUE
82
INSIDE:
LIFE AFTER DRAKIES WELCOME BACK
Our tour to Europe is over. It is great to have all the boys safely back on
home soil and to see school in session once again. The returning boys
awoke to a light dusting of snow on the mountain on Tuesday morning,
proof enough that they are back in their mountain abode…what a grand
AFRIKAANS place to be!
ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE
Follow me to page 2
MESSAGE FROM
MESSAGE OURTHE
FROM
EXECUTIVE HEAD
EXECUTIVE HEAD
WELCOME BACK… (continued from page 1)
After the busyness of MiMs, the Intertour and arranging Berg School for those boys who remained behind, we find
ourselves with approximately four weeks before we commence with mid-year examinations. If this has not yet
registered with the boys, it certainly has with me!
As a result and despite the normal Wednesday concerts, concerts in Johannesburg next weekend, (which I trust, as
many of you as possible will attend), followed by a visit from the Cincinnati Boys’ Choir and a combined Youth Day
I would like to take this
performance, opportunity
all attention will to
bethank
on ourthe School community
academic programme.for producing yet another great MiMs weekend. In particular, I
would like to thank all the boys for their tremendous resilience, dedication and professionalism during the preparation and the event
itself. As
Wementioned in an earlier column, GOODBYE TOreputable,
we have invited STEVEN AND MELANIE…
Durban-based, EducationalCONTINUED
Psychologist,
FROMSteve
PAGE Mack,
1
to join us for two days of study-skills workshops. He will work with the boys from Grade 6 to Grade 9 specifically. In
addition, we shall occasionally bring on board a former colleague of mine Annamarie Kuhn, to assist with academic
support, reading and scribing for those boys who have this concession during the examinations. Annamarie taught
with me for many years at St Mary’s DSG, Kloof and with a Master’s degree in English, is quite able to underpin our
efforts in affording every boy the support and encouragement he needs during “exam season.” As she lives in the
Valley, it is possible for her to provide that extra cover, as and when we need it…a comforting thought.
To illustrate how seriously we view academic application here, consider the opinion of Steven le Roux, of Project
Literacy. He argues that children who fall behind in the benchmark of reading development, spend the rest of their
time at school, catching up. In our school particularly, students who fail to do their homework every night and who
subsequently spend less time practising reading and writing, may develop at a much slower pace. It is imperative
then in your evening conversation with your son that you assist us in stressing the importance of the effective use of
prep sessions and in getting ready for the examinations. This will be most appreciated.
Whilst we are also aware that a great deal of hard work is required for the World Choir Games, the senior Music and
Academic staff are hard at work putting in place a balanced school-day programme for the remainder of the term.
We would like to give the boys every opportunity to do well in their mid-year examinations, whilst allowing
sufficient quality rehearsal time, before we head for Pretoria.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
I was privileged during Berg School, to spend two days in a vehicle with a half dozen or so, of our Grade 7 and Grade
8 boys. We visited numerous battlefields and other scenes from the Natal campaign of the Anglo-Boer War of late
1899/1900.
2
It is not so much the significance of this chapter in our country’s history that I wish to share with you this week. Instead I
want to detail my experiences of a couple of days, at close quarters, with a bunch of 13 year-olds. I wrote glowingly, a
fortnight ago, of the deep and meaningful conversation I had enjoyed with some of the other lads. Well, this most recent
experience was different and how shall I put this…more fundamental, more down-to-earth, if you like. Herewith some of
my recollections of our time together…
Apart from the morbid fascination at the prospects of finding dead Boer or British bodies still lying scattered on the
battlefields, (120 years after the end of the war!), was the equally odd notion the boys entertained, that the guns of the
fallen would still be lying there too, just waiting to be picked up by a keen young Drakie historian.
With those expectations firmly squashed, interests moved on to a search for poisonous snakes, which apart from an
unconfirmed sighting of a rinkhals, delivered as little as the corpses and their firearms. Looking for deadly reptiles has
absolutely nothing to do with colonial history, but it did make for an interesting lunch-time diversion.
There is a direct correlation between the amount of Coke a boy drinks and the number of pit-stops he needs!
The visit to the Armoured Train site (where Winston Churchill was taken captive), taught us all a few lessons…cartridge
cases embedded in a memorial stone, are not trophies to be collected by small boys. You get locked up for robbing
national monuments!
Large freight trains, despite their massive size, move very silently indeed and tend to creep up on you quite unexpectedly!
Always look left, right and left again, when crossing a railway line. (Note: The memorial could only be reached by crossing
said railway line).
When searching for memorials in the veld know what you are looking for. Random lumps of concrete and piles of builders
rubble scattered around our battlefields are not memorials and were not there when the war took place.
The Boers were very smart indeed. Our visit to a gun emplacement in the hills above Colenso, was a highlight for the boys.
The commanding view over the Tukela River and beyond it to the town of Colenso, captivated the attention of the boys
and highlighted General Louis Botha’s tactical nous.
Spioenkop battlefield is an eerie place indeed. You do not want to spend a night sleeping on the top of that hill!
Perhaps the most important lesson were learned though, was the tragic waste of human life brought about by the war,
coupled with the schism that developed between two great nations, the after effects of which linger to this day. It was a
sobering moment when this message was conveyed to the boys on a hill where nearly 2000 men lost their lives. Hopefully
though, young minds were impacted and unspoken commitments made by this next generation of leaders whom we are
raising up in our school, to ensure that the future will be different.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
I was very pleased to receive an email on Tuesday, from a gentleman named Dave Jones, who shared the flight home with
our touring boys. This is what he wrote :
I had the pleasure of flying on the flight from Dubai to Dbn on Emirates. The choir members were sitting all around me and
were an absolute pleasure to be around.
They were polite, helpful and very well behaved. They were also exhausted and for the most part asleep within the first
hour or two.
They are a credit to their parents, the school and to South Africa.
Well done guys.
3
Last Word:
Till next time,
Greg BrookS
Executive Head
4
NEWS FROM THE MUSIC DEPARTMENT
WEDNESDAY CONCERT AWARDS
COMMENDABLE PERFORMANCES
Michael de Goede Lwenzi Sibiya Kabo Madi Reece Olsen
Angelo Mekonnen Ntando Ngcobo Dylan Palm Neo Ramalitse
Max Tanesse Henno Klopper
VOICE GROUP OF THE WEEK:
ALTOS
5
CHORISTER OF THE WEEK
Qhawe Mafika
OUTSTANDING SOLOIST
Josh Naidoo (Iza Ngomso)
6
NEW BOYS: COMMENDABLE PERFORMANCES
Khwezi Msimang Noah Coffey
Sentle Seithleko
Caleb Coffey
Kwanele Dlamini Olwethu Nkonyane
7
NEWS FROM OUR OLD BOYS
LIFE AFTER DRAKIES
Drakies leave but the bond of brothers remain, Keegan Bentley, Stephen Barnard and Nathaniel Stoffels recently
supported Liam Muller in the play Guys and Dolls at Pietermaritzburg College.
Left to right: Keegan Bentley, Liam Muller, Stephen Barnard and Nathaniel Stoffels
Old boys Liam Muller and Lefa Motshele recently played
a rugby match against one another. But it is not
important which team won, because the brotherhood
remains.
Left to right: Anthony Malunga, Liam Muller, Lefa
Motshele and current Drakie, Daniel van Jaarsveld
8
INTRODUCING A NEW BOARD MEMBER
The Drakensberg Boys Choir School is honoured to welcome old boy Wion Flett onto the Board.
Wion is a proud Old Boy (Class of’97 Head Boy and Dux) who regards his time at Drakies as one of the biggest
and most important building blocks in his life. Friendships built, self-discipline taught and experience gained
are the things he holds dearest of his time in the Berg.
Wion is currently Head of Investments at an innovative asset management firm and is busy completing his
doctorate in Business Studies. He continues his love and passion for music by singing in Richard Cock's
Chanticleer Singers (with a whole bunch of other Drakies!). His biggest achievements, though, are marrying
way above his league and being a father to two happy and healthy boys!
He looks forward to the opportunity of giving something back to the greater Drakie family.
Left: Wion when he was at the DBCS
Above: Wion currently
9
NEWS FROM THE MARKETING DEPARTMENT
The Drakensberg Boys Choir School will be represented at this Expo. Feel free to come and say hallo. The choir will be
performing on Friday, 25 May, from 16:00-16:15 and on Saturday, 26 May, from 12:00-12:15.
10NEWS FROM THE ACADEMIC DEPARTMENT
AFRIKAANS ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE
Put yourself in the shoes of a Drakie teacher, with boys arriving at the school from all over South Africa and
beyond our borders - some from as far afield as Australia. “Afrikaans” quickly becomes a reality, even a
nightmare, for some of these boys who have not had much to do with the language! How does an Afrikaans
teacher try to develop a love for the language in a disengaged learner? We try all sorts of things. During the
course of this year we have tried a diary entry after the holidays and a short creative writing piece – neither of
which engendered much enthusiasm in the boys.
Imagine my amusement when I was confronted with a diary entry starting with the words “Liewe melkery”. For a
moment I was clueless and then it dawned on me that the bilingual dictionary in my class (a true juf’ Linde
Afrikaans tool) had not been used effectively by this particular boy. He had confused “diary” with “dairy” - a
common slip up amongst English Language speakers - so instead of “liewe dagboek”, kry ek “liewe melkery”.
Communication is the key, no matter the language, and, actually, more people speak the Afrikaans language than
you would believe. According to Ethnolougue, there were 7.2 million native speakers of the language in South
Africa and Namibia in 2017. In addition, in a multi-ethnic nation such as South Africa there are many more
second language speakers of Afrikaans, something which facilitates the ability to communicate both within South
Africa and beyond her borders in Namibia and Botswana. So Afrikaans serves as an important lingua franca.
Within the UK, Belgium, Ireland, Germany, Australia and New Zealand, there are another two to five million
native speakers of Afrikaans happily spreading the Afrikaans “taal”.
We work really hard at Drakies to master all the skills we need going forward to our next phase in high school.
We focus on language concepts, reading skills, literature and the speaking of the language, and we do all of this
SMILING at one another, even if we don’t quite understand what we are reading.
Erika Linde
Erika Linde
11WHAT’S HAPPENING IN OUR VALLEY
1213
14
15
SNIPPETS FROM THE SAN
Everyone appears to have arrived back from tour/mid-term break in fine fettle. I heard mutterings in the
staff room on Tuesday that spirits were rather robust during classes and attention to punctuality was
notably lacking. Eventually Mr Bentley just made them play rugby for the rest of the day which helped to
settle everyone back in. The extra practice sadly had little effect on the outcome of our titanic clashes
against Bergville Primary on Thursday though
Needless to say, post-practice injuries abounded. I wonder if female rugby players complain as much as
their male counterparts do after training. I know where I would put my money on that one! A sprained right
ankle was the most serious injury seen, and as usual, ice was applied liberally to all and sundry.
During Thursday’s matches, the injury tally escalated. One nose got a direct hit (a boot, I think) and bled
profusely. Fortunately the red stuff rapidly disappeared into the grass, limiting the mass hysteria that is
usually triggered when the pack sight blood. Once the haemorrhage stopped, the chap insisted on returning
to play. Why, why, why? Surprisingly the nose survived but he then suffered damage to his right big toe,
placing him in the category of multiple trauma.
Speaking of multiple trauma, the post-match rugby crowd on Thursday evening was a truly sorry bunch. The
majority of the patients seemed to be suffering from crushed egos - meaning the collective prognosis is
probably good. Until the next loss, that is.
I often have boys sharing little pearls of wisdom from home with me, with one of my medical monitors
offering an absolute gem from his mother this morning. I was examining an injured wrist and he asked my
patient to rate the pain on a scale of one to ten. He then decisively stated that one needs to subtract three
from any answer from a male. So obvious.
Sister Lianne
1617
GET TO KNOW THE STAFF MEMBERS AT DBCS
THIS WEEK’S FOCUS IS ON: ANSIE DU RANDT
Ansie matriculated in Richards Bay. After school she completed a legal secretarial course but later chose to
follow a career in accounting instead.
Before joining the DBCS she worked as the Marketing Manager at ATKV Drakensvillen.
Ansie really enjoys being back in accounting and hope to stay at DBCS for many years to come. She is the proud
mother of three boys who are spread across three continents at the moment.
Max Tanesse
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Ansie du Randt
27 May
18HAPPY BIRTHDAY
André Coetsee
19 May
MOVING IN HIGH CIRCLES
Zipho Mpofu (current Drakie) with the Economic Development
Minister, Mr Ebrahim Patel. This was when Zipho and his
mother, Porthia attended the Economic Development Budget in
Cape Town.
Drakies sure do get around.
Caleb Saks
Brett Fernihough
19DRAKENSBERG BOYS CHOIR SCHOOL
Calendar 18 May – 27 May 2018
DATE EVENT TIME
17-18 May KZN Roadshow
18 May Inter House Quiz Evening 19:00-21:00
19 May Academics
Math Competition 08:30-10:30
20 May Chapel 18:00-19:00
23 May Wednesday Concert 15:30-17:30
24 May Legacy Project: Focus Group 14:00-15:00
25-27 May Clearwater Expo
25-27 May Johannesburg Tour (Whole School)
27 May Chapel 18:00-19:00
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