newsletter 3 trinity term 2011

8/6/2019 Newsletter 3 Trinity Term 2011

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NEWSLETTER

TRINITY TERM No 3/2011

Dear Parents

Recently I received a letter from one of our matric parents reflecting on thegrowth and development of her son. She wrote

.. had come to St Johns as a young boy who disliked school, wholacked confidence in his abilities and who struggled to make friends. He hasgrown into a confident young man who knows who he is, who loveslearning, who enjoys sport and who has a group of good friends.

So in the midst of the challenges that are part of heading up a school like StJohns, I want you to take encouragement from the fact that in the area ofgreater importance the growth of individual young men, you and your staffdo a remarkable job.

In the final analysis, St Johns stands and falls by the quality of the youngmen and women we send out into the world, and it is good to know that despite the many challenges weface as teachers, and as parents, the many young men and women who leave our gates go out rightlytrained in body, mind and character to serve Thee well in Church and State. This is what is at the heart ofany good school and at the heart of all good parenting and teaching.

Recently St Johns held a review of the schools strategic plan: for five hours on a Friday afternoon andSaturday morning, this meeting was attended by approximately fifty people, representing all the varioussectors of the College from Pre Prep to 6 th Form. It included most of the members of Council andrepresentatives of the teachers, parents, Old Boys and the Church. The outcome of this valuable processwill be communicated to parents later in the year, but at this point, I would like to highlight three aspectsdiscussed at this meeting.

Firstly, one of the central concepts of our mission is that St Johns should be world-class. Generally this isinterpreted as being excellent. We pride ourselves on excellent teachers, excellent matric results, excellentmusic, excellent sport etc. If, however, our measure of excellence means that in everything we must bebetter than our competitors that we have to beat Michaelhouse or St Stithians to prove ourselves, then we

place ourselves on a competitive treadmill of exhaustion. The boys, staff and parents become exhaustedthrough trying to ensure that what we have is the competitive edge. However, I believe that excellence hasto refer to the higher values of truth, goodness and beauty. When we find these values in our boys inour activities, in our work, prayer, study and rest then we can see Gods spirit working in us and throughus for the benefit of our community. Our founding fathers, the Community of the Resurrection, were right inholding up to us Light, Life and Loveas a motto. This school has its competitive advantage in our focuson truth, beauty and goodness on excellence based on light, life and love not simply on being betterthan others. When we as a school focus on each person and on shaping the mind, body and character ofthis person, we will see excellence flowing out of their performance and who they are, and who they arebecoming.

Secondly, another critical item that was discussed at the strategic planning meeting concerned the

concepts of diversity and transformation. Our mission places the work of this school in Africaand thechallenge we face as a school is to be relevant to the new democratic South Africa, and not simply to thecolonial past out of which the school was born. Diversity and transformation are often simplified in ourminds to only refer to colour and race. However, transformation must encompass a change in our attitude


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away from separateness, comfortableness and isolation, to diversity and to the full richness of Godscreation. Our challenge must be to understand the community life that God calls us to at St Johns and inSouth Africa. This is more than simply meeting targeted numbers, but rather that we all have a sense ofbelonging, of being known and loved. It is about expressing our Christian character through showingrespect for life and recognising the richness of our diversity. We need to hold up to the world a new way ofliving together in a Christian learning community that is inclusive, respectful and honouring of all. We areon a journey of learning and growth. There will be challenges ahead, but this journey is one that has thefuture as its focus.

The third key idea I wish to raise here is the issue of sustainability. How do we ensure that St JohnsCollege is still serving Johannesburg and South Africa in a hundred years time? Sustainability refers to theway we live in our world the way our footprint impacts on others, on the environment and on the future.Geographically St Johns College is situated between two worlds : it is placed between the wealth of thenorthern suburbs, where some families are earning more than R100 000 per month, and the south, whereYeoville, Berea and Hillbrow are packed with families who have very little. The difference between rich andpoor is very evident in our neighbourhood.

Our sustainability as a College must be linked to our role in providing a quality education to the boys andgirls of this College. But we also need to consider the impact this College can have on the poverty of ourcountry. We must not, and cannot, operate in a bubble of wealth and ignore the needs of the poor. Our

sustainability cannot be ensured by only using our resources for the purposes of being bigger and better.We must seriously consider how we can contribute to the enhancement of our wider community. What is StJohns Colleges gift to South Africa? If our example is Christs sacrifice for others , then St Johns needs toexamine its budget, its spending, and its priorities. Both the Finance Committee and the Foundation needto be challenged to be good stewards of our resources, with the idea of sustainability guiding how we usethese resources.

I have said to the boys that if you concentrate on playing the game with passion, pride, commitment andcourage, the score will look after itself. But too often we focus on the score. St Johns is not about thescore - it is about the fruit. There is a wonderful Psalm in the Bible that describes a tree planted beside ariver with its roots spreading deep into the life-giving river of God. It provides shade; it is strong andhealthy, and it bears fruit in season. This must be our organic picture of St Johns College. We must

ensure that St Johns is watered, pruned and tended. It must remain true to its mission of being a world-class Christian school in Africa and rightly training young men and women in mind, body and character toserve God well in Church and State.

Edoardo Villa Sculptures

An exciting new development for St Johns College will be the arrival during half-term of the Edoardo Villasculptures. These works of art which have been generously loaned to us by the Schachat family willchallenge us to think creatively about our understanding of life. The College Council, the PA Executive andthe OJA Committee all believe that they will enhance our campus and be a valued addition to St Johns.Please read about the sculptures and their positioning on the campus. An exciting walking tour will bearranged for all interested parents and boys.

Roger Cameron


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About one hundred years ago, in response to the ethos o a British colonial school in

Arica, Herbert Baker designed St Johns College in Johannesburg. The look o the

school took its cue rom the English vernacular, a style which many o the Masters,

who had come rom England to teach in South Arica, would have ound amiliar.

The reassuring and cosy language o the Arts and Crat movement served as a part

o various boys lives, with the additions and alterations harmonising with the existing

buildings over the years. During those one hundred odd years, South Arica has

evolved into a dierent country. No longer a colony, its schools aim to serve the

diverse groups that make up the population o South Arica.

Our world is a materialistic and secular one, its citizens oten sel-centred. We need to

shit our gaze rom ourselves to make it a better place. Philanthropy is the sharing o our

lives and our resources with others, and ultimately, the giving o our hearts.

St Johns Old Boys Clayton Seager, Rally Schachat and Kyle Schachat have generously

acilitated this loan o works by Edoardo Villa to St Johns College. They w ill serve as a

wonderul extension o the rich cultural heritage that is St Johns College and we are

privileged to be entrusted with their saekeeping.

Art gives colour and identity to our lives, shaping our world view and giving depth to

our understanding. At St Johns we are enriched by a di versity o cultures and within

it we seek to identiy all that is good, beautiul and truthul. We respect the diverse

understandings and are challenged to think more deeply about our traditional views.

Art has the power to shit our minds and hearts by reminding us that not everything is

certain and absolute. It can challenge us to rethink our belies and it can broaden our

horizons to include the new. At the heart o education is a similar purpose. We need

to be inspired, to be creative, and to look with awe at the wonderul world around us.

Art helps us to look with new eyes.

While we know that St Johns will continue to celebrate its past traditions, we eel

that these challenging abstract works will inspire pupils to conront and question old

norms and boundaries.

Roger Cameron, Headmaster

E S T . 1 8 9 8

A T S T J O H N S

Vi a


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This group o sculptures gives us an opportunity to look at the main shits in Edoardo Villas career rom the early 1960s to mid 2000s. Essentially

Modernist, his work reects elements o Cubism, Constructivism and Abstraction. But he was also exposed to Arican art, which emerges in his

work alongside visual reerences to the socio-political landscape o the time.

In almost all o Villas work the human fgure is present, even at its most abstract. On one hand, the fgure is recognisable in his Cubist bronze

compositions. But in others the fgures become more mechanistic or robotic, as Villa emphasised form through abstract line and material. Here the

fgure is urther rom Henry Moore and closer to Darth Vader.

When you enter the school grounds, you catch glimpses o sculptures that might seem difcult to fgure out. But as you walk through the school and look

at each work, there are recurring aspects that emerge. The sculptures have been placed along a path that allows or a conversation between the works.

This appears through orm, structure and theme as you move rom one work to the next but also when seeing the sculptures ramed by the buildings.

In Maquette for Confrontation(1978) you can see a number o tubes o

varying heights topped with short horizontal split pipes. There is no uniormity

cross these as each is s et slightly o the vertical plane, suggesting dynamic instability

the structure. These could be people

ngaged in some kind o emotional

nsion. This sculpture is not illustrativea particular event but reects the

mpending sense o doom Villa elt

ter the 1976 Soweto uprising. The

mpression o emotional conict is clear

the series o ractured poles and

urved planes, recalling the aggression,

pture, violence and pain o that time.

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Angular at sheets intersected by pairs o straight pipes appear to explode

beyond their physical space as the sculpture is tilted onto a diagonal plane,

s i Villa captured a reeze rame o a machine on the move. War Machine(1986)

omes rom a series o works in the mid-

0s resembling the tools o war tanks,

annons and rockets wherein Villa was

oncerned about the misguided conviction

their use or power and control. The strong

ontrast between the black exterior

nd red interior o the pipes and

tark shadows intensifes the

ggressive eeling o the sculpture.

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Villas work in the late 90s was dominated by the cone which becomes

the main eature in Group I (2000). Three conical

hapes topple away rom the central axis with the upright

ones extending into pipes curving back toward the centre.

number o origami-like olded semi-circular planes draw

ymmetry into the structure. It is not clear whether the title

ers to a group o shapes or fgures. While it is easy to

erentiate between the separate orms there is also

alance and unity in their arrangement. They eel uid

nd organic as i imitating the movement o a dancer.

erhaps it is no more than a set o abstract connections,

Villas exuberant study o orm.

3

In the mid-70s Villa created a series o sculptures made

only rom sealed pipes painted in bright colours. These

depict intertwined orms suggesting relationships. The seemingly

solid pipes are visually linear rather than three-dimensional, orming

uid shapes that hint at the gestures we recognise between people.

In The Conversation(c. 1975), two vertical pipe orms painted brightgreen and orange stand close together on a marble base. Together,

they look like two people deeply engrossed in conversation, perhaps

whispering some juicy gossip or engaged in serious irting.

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Foyer of the Rene England Auditorium,

below the Alan Wilcock Vulindlela Centre

During the late 80s Villa limited his constructions to pipe orms, cut on

the diagonal and densely packed into compositions. In Looking at the Sun

(1987), the pipes are loosely arranged obliquely along a horizontal plane. Resisting

our expectation o a dark interior, Villa has painted the insides o the pipes bright

yellow and the outside black, emphasising

the shapes o the pipes and the distinction

between the dierent parts. There is no

fgurative reerence here. This work simply

explores patterns o orm, colour and line

in abstraction, and eels quite playul.

5

In Balance (2004) Villa continued with the conical shapewe see in Group I. Here the cone is split in hal vertically

and stacked base-to-base at an angle, combined with semi-circular

at sheets, pipes and caps with a triangular apex at the centre, and

suspended o a bent pipe at the base. The apex creates a ocal

point or the work, drawing your awareness to the negative space

around the work and up to the pip es radiating outwards. You are

swept up in a visual vortex where it is difcult to decide whether

the sculpture is a fgure, a hand or pure abstract orm.

6

Around 1972 Villa created a series o minimalist

works rom tensile steel sheets in zigzag

compositions. Painted in sombre colours, the sculptures

look like drawings in space as the line made by the

steel oers the only clue as to what is represented.

Looking at Vertical Movement(c. 1972) you can see that thework has a graphic, linear quality that resembles a Picasso line

drawing as Villa used the thin edge o wide steel plates to create

a shape reminiscent o cartoon movement.

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Paul Czanne said that all orms in nature could be broken down

into three basic parts: cube, cone and sphere. This ormed a

central premise o the European avant-garde. In Mother and Child(1983)

the stylised fgure, in its reduction to geometric orm, is one o the ew

places that we see Cubism maniest so rigorously in Villas work. On top

o a simple column, a ace is suggested by three planes meeting on the

spherical head. The elongated body swells into slanted hips containing

a hollow, symbolising the womb. The shoulder is juxtaposed with two

strong lines indicating her orearms, above which is a small sphere our only

reerence to a child in her embrace. With these small clues, you can imagine

a woman tenderly cradling a small child, a quiet protector.

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Like Mother and Child, Mapogga Woman(1964) is

another example o the Cubist ragmented fgure, but it

also integrates elements o a stylised Arican identity that were in

vogue in the 60s and that preoccupied Villas work at the time.

Mapogga was the name given to the Ndebele people by

Voortrekkers in the mid-19th century ater their encounter

with Chie Mabhogo who ruled at that time. The pose o this

fgure has a ormal, hieratic eel, evoking a solemn mood, like a

sentinel watching over us. The fgure is columnar, narrow at the

top becoming broader at the base, with body parts implied by a

series o shapes a sphere with protruding rod or a head and

eye, two uneven hemispheres or breasts, the curved orm

around the neck most likely reerring to an Ndebele beaded

blanket. Together, these build up an impression o the

fgure, rather than a literal orm.

9

During the 90s Villa worked with steel sheets cut into circles,

semi-circles and ovals, which he curved into sheaths.

He later combined these with solid shapes made rom joined

sections, which look like capsules or canisters, oten resembling

bombs. In Endogenous(1997), pairs o capsules are positioned

symmetrically on top o a central core cylinder and partly

enclosed by sheaths. The protruding knobs on the two ront

capsules make them look like breasts, while the sliced pipes

at the top seem like guns. Th e sculpture becomes a terriying

mechanical goddess o war a emale terminator unolding her

weapons as she enters the combat zone.

10

While vastly dierent in subject matter to other works in the group, Zurgon

(1992) combines various elements that appeared previously. Cut and bent

sheets, a owing pipe and preabricated sections

are welded together and rest on three points on a

oating base. The resulting structure looks like

something rom a science-fction movie parthuman, part creature, with a distinctly S tar

Trooper-ish helmet. It resembles a giant robotic

insect hovering over the ground, ready to take

o at any second.

11

Standing Mask(c. 2007), like most o Villas p ost-apartheid

work, is more playul. The bright colours are evocative without

detracting rom the still dominant geometric orms. A tall navy column

orms the main structure. A capsule with a green curved oval above and

blue arrow shape below could be a nose, eye (or ornament) and mouth,

while two blue curved ovals on either side might be ears or slit eyes.

Masks are used to transport the wearer into another sphere o being and,

in Arica, many have distinctive orms wi th a ace abstracted into simple

yet recognisable eatures.

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Guerriere Morente(1979), ), meaning the dying soldier, encapsulates the

atmosphere o social unrest during the late 70s, but also Villas own experience

o pre-war Italy and his concern or the uture o South Arica. This is probably the most

abstracted fgure in this group o sculptures and it is difcult to see a human orm in

these pieces o steel. But allow your eyes to blur and try to imagine a body

lying in ront o you, chest twisted and leaning on a bent elbow; head

inclined a ew moments beore death. The long bar running diagonally

through the centre orms the soldiers torso, while the triangular

point on which the upper part rests is his elbow. A short bar

with two points creates his head looking down.

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DEAN YATES

SCIENCE CENTRE

RUNGE

HOUSEOLD JOHANIAN

FRED ENGLAND

MEDIA CENTRE

DAVID QUADPELICAN

QUAD

BIGSCHOOL

COLLEG

E

RECE

PTION

DARRAGH

HALL

PARKING

AREA

CHAPEL

MITCHELL CRICKET

FIELD

LONG WALK

BURGER RUGBY FIELD

1

3

45

6

7

8 9

1413

12

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ALAN WILCOCK VULINDLELA

TEACHING CENTRE

SCHOOL

ENTRANCE

Rising Form(c.1970s) was made around the same time as

Conrontation and also reects the underlying political

nsion o the late 70s. A mixture o rectangular C

nd H-beams are stacked haphazardly at various

ngles. There is no unity or regularity in

e composition making it eel seriously

nstable as i the entire structure might

pple over at any moment. With its cut angular edges,

e work eels hostile as the slanted points are poised to

ict pain. There is no fgurative element to this work. But

does embody an emotional experience, describing to us

ow Villa elt about the unrest.

14Like War Machine, Prisoner(1983) iis also

dark and hostile but more concerned with

issues o power and control. This imposing structure is

made o many heavy steel planes cut into angular and semi-

circular shapes, welded together to construct a closed

space that is broken by the diagonal pipe and oset

point running through it. The windows into its interior

are blocked by menacing steel bars. It is hard to tell

i this is a prison or a prisoner or even a policeman

protected by a riot shield, and there is again a strong

eeling o mechanical robotic power, perhaps reerring to the

dehumanised power o state control.

15The Lovers(1980) comes out o the series o pipe-orms

rom the mid-70s. Made rom three curved pipes, the

shape suggests intimacy between two people. While the colour

is more sombre than earlier work, the red painted cut edge

with bright blue peeking out o the inside adds some rivolity.

Villa works with enormous complexity yet reduces the image to

a simple line that is as eective in communicating an experience as a

naturalistic work. This was an important approach o the avant-garde,

moving away rom realist or naturalist depiction. The eye and imagination

fll the gap, allowing the mind to interpret the whole.

16This Seated Figure(c. 1960s) is reminiscent o Henry Moores reclining

fgures. But while Moores fgures are more organic with rounded orms, Villas

retain an underlying geometric structure. Imagine Villa

working with Plasticine, rolling it into cubes, cylinders

and spheres and pushing these together in dierent

ways to create fgures. While the details are removed,

the core o the fgure remains. At the base o this

sculpture, two halved cylinders abut each other, hinting

at legs pressed together. Above them is an elongated cylinder

orming the torso, capped by a bulbous orm that could be

breasts or a deormed head. Can you imagine a demure

lady sitting on the grass?

At St Johns Pre-Prep

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References: Burroughs, E. Nel, K. & Von Maltitz, A. 2005 Villa@90Shelf & Jonathon Ball Publishers: Johannesburg. Nel, K. 2009 Edoardo Villa: Changing WorldsEverard Read Gallery & Nirox Foundation: Johannesburg. Tate Glossary http://www.tate.org.uk/collections/glossary/

Edoardo Villa was one o South Aricas pre-eminent sculptors. His creativity has been characterised by a disciplined work ethic

encapsulated in his phrase, to work is to live. Born in Italy in 1915, Villa was by circumstance South Arican. Conscripted to the army

when the Second World War began, he was sent to South Arica as a prisoner o war. He chose to remain in Johannesburg ater his

release in 1947, where he spent the rest o his lie working to ulfl his ocused artistic vision, until he passed away in May 2011.

Having understood the avant-garde lessons o his early training in Italy, his work in part looked to Europe, reecting elements

o Cubism, Constructivism and Abstraction . But he was also exposed to Arican art here, which emerged in his sculptures

alongside visual reerences to the socio-political and natural landscape. Villa was engaged with the very abric o the society in

which he was living and producing art. As Esm Berman explains, Villas work speaks not o the appearance, but the experience

o Arica.

Villas work is characterised by a powerul anthropomorphism. In almost all o his work the human fgure is present, even

at its most abstract. On one hand, the fgure is easily recognisable in primarily Cubist compositions which reerence his

early constructivist relies. But in other works the fgures become more mechanistic or robotic, as Villa emphasises pure

form through abstract line and material. Here the anthropomorphic is urther rom Henry Moore and closer to Darth Vader.

While his earlier work is more Rodin-like in that you can see the fgure, in later work the fgure is increasingly aceted as

Villa played with the steel so that the viewer now senses the fgure.

Most works reect single fgures, groups o fgures or ragments o the human body. The ragments are metonymic, standing

in or an emotional, socio-political or human experience. From tender to terriying and ultimately optimistic, these sculptures

are emotion made visible. Some are clear reerences to the political environment at the time, but or Villa they more importantly

reected the trauma o the human condition, perhaps because o his own experience o war.

His primary interest was in exploring the ormalist boundaries o sculpture. He continuously looked at developments in the

international art world and his close riends, Vittorini Meneghelli and Egon Guenther, made a considerable impact. Both were

signifcant dealers who worked with modern art in Europe prior to settling in South Arica and both collected Arican art. Cubism

was radically inuenced by Arican art and the simplifed representation o human orm ound in Arican sculpture resonated

with Cubist ideals. Both had a powerul eect on Villa, evident in his stylisation o the fgure with a robust central core. Karel Nel

says that Villa may never have quoted Arican art directly but its characteristics are nevertheless clearly discernable in his art

and there is a distinct Arican presence in his sculpture.

The idea o creating minimal orm that conveyed meaning without narrative is central to Modernism. Abstraction is essential to

this concept. Villas ascination with the possibilities Modernism oered led to his progressive move toward the abstract. During

the 1950s he started using welded steel to construct sculpture. Easily accessible and relatively inexpensive, steel allowed hi m

to create direct sculptures rather than transorming material through reductive modelling as he had done previously. At frst Villa

used remnants that he cut, bent and welded to create abstract orm. Later on he made use o at sheets and preabricated

shapes like pipes, beams, hemispheres and unnels in endless variations.

These are not statues, rozen in their representation o a historical fgure or allegorical nude. Rather your eye is swept into a visual

vortex o orm and colour, encouraging you to decode the emotion o the sculpture through your own experience. Villas sculptures

are disruptive presences flled with dynamic tension. They are austere and powerul with a sense o spontaneity so dierent rom the

traditional sculpture made by other artists at that time. His work was never overtly political but reected very clearly what Villa heard,

elt and saw in the country a response to his environment and the South Arican psyche. Perhaps this is why they are both powerul

and unsettling or many people.

Over the course o his li e Villa had 35 solo exhibitions, participated in more than 74 group shows, represented South Arica at

the Venice Biennale fve times and at the Sao Paolo Biennale twice. He was whole-heartedly dedicated to his li e project and over

the decades has created an indelible mark through the abstract works he has let behind.

E D O A R D O V I L L A A T S T J O H N SBy Karel Nel and Jeannine Howse

GLOSSARY

Abstract art means that the artist starts with some visible object and extracts elements rom it to create/

construct a more or less simplifed or schematised orm.

Anthropomorphism attributing human-like characteristics to something that is not human.

Avant-garde meaning at the oreront or innovatory, introducing and exploring new orms, or pushing

the boundaries o the norm.

Constructivism branch o abstract art ounded by Vladimir Tatlin and Alexander Rodchenko in Russia

around 1915 and inuenced by Cubist construction o scrap materials.

Cubism a new way o representing reality in art invented by Picasso and Braque rom 1907 08,

along with Juan Gris. Objects are broken up, analysed, and re-assembled in an abstracted orm

depicting the subject rom multiple viewpoints to represent it in a more extensive context. Cubism

was the starting point or much abstract art, and opened up almost infnite new possibilities or the

treatment o reality in art. A head, said Picasso, is a matter o eyes, nose, mouth, which can be

distributed in any way you like. The head remains a head.

Form reers to the overall appearance o the work its physical nature; but also the elements o shape that

make up a work. Sculpture consists almost exclusively o orm.

Metonymic fgurative language where one term is used in place o something else that it is related to o r

oten associated with, where a part stands in or the whole.

Minimalist reerring to Minimalism, a orm o abstract art that emphasises the extreme

simplifcation o orm by using basic geometric shape and monochromatic colour and usually

incorporating industrial material and products.

Modernism a broad movement in Western art, architecture and design, rom about 1850 until the

1960s, which sel-consciously rejected the past and tradition as models or the art o the present. Modernism

proposed new orms o art on the grounds that these are more appropriate to the present time.

Portrait of Edoardo Villa - Copyright Michael Meyersfeld


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CULTURAL AWARDS - MARCH 2011

DRAMA

COLOURS New award Alex de Oliviera

COLOURS Re-award Kai BrummerMichael Cloete

HALF COLOURS New award Sohini MukherjeeAlex MasianogaMichael Macklin

Kirara SatoFilip Liberda

HALF COLOURS Re-award Khathu RamabulanaNicholas ReidMurray DrydenJared Kruger

MERIT CERTIFICATES Marina CeccarelliKhanya Mashabela

Alexa RosenDanyal HukamdadWazeer Bulbulia

Gianluca AgostinettoReshard Kolabhai

Jesse DodkinsThemba Daniels

BACKSTAGE

COLOURS New award Cullum Grant

Nicholas Ambler-SmithJohn Whittle

HALF COLOURS New award Siphesihle NyembeRichard Mackie

MUSIC

HONOURS New award Kirara Sato

COLOURS New award Bryan MooreJason Smythe

Marius VermaakHALF COLOURS New award Dakalo Ramokgopa

Willie Morgan

ORATORY

COLOURS New award Michael MacklinMohammed Kaskar

Nabeel Seedat

HALF COLOURS New award Gianluca AgostinettoMohammed Ismail Bulbulia

DEBATING

HONOURS Michael Macklin


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COLOURS Re-award Scott Hunt

HALF COLOURS New award Gianluca Agostinetto

CERTIFICATES Luke QuinnLuke Reid

Jonty FletcherSbo Nene

PERFORMANCE POETRY

CERTIFICATES Thomas GeffenPieter Swart

Jamie McGraw

PRAISE SINGING

CERTIFICATES Sbonakaliso Nene

FIRST AID

COLOURS Simon Brooks

CONFIRMATION 2011

The following boys were confirmed on Sunday, 29 May 2011

Nicholas Ambler-Smith Hodgson

Mitchell Antonites Alston

Gareth Baker Clayton

James Barton-Bridges HillSean Bayley Thomson

Jack Berry Hodgson

Gabriel Botha Hill

Matthew De Barros Clarke

Benedict Didcott-Marr Clayton

Jaco Durandt Hodgson

James Eckersley Hill

Angelo Esplin Alston

Wesley Fletcher Clayton

Daniel France FlemingChristopher Hale Hodgson

Christopher Huntley Hodgson

Adrian Jennings Thomson

Conor Johnstone Clayton

Bryden Jones Thomson

Matthew Lane Hill

Matthew Lillie Hill

Stephen Mark Thomson

Dean Maxton Nash

Miguel Neto Clayton

Jacques Oosthuizen Nash

Peter Piek Hodgson

Nicholas Raal Hill

Bevan Rabie Hill

Lizo Rensburg Hodgson

Merrick Stevenson Clarke

Bradley Stocks HodgsonNicholas Tennick Thomson

Anthony Testa Thomson

Sam Theron Thomson

Aidan Thompson Thomson

Brett Van Staden Clayton

Oliver Vincent Nash

Matthew Vyvyan-Day Thomson


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INTER-HOUSE MUSIC

Congratulations to the following Houses:

1st NASH With the highest score ever 88.9%2nd RUNGE3rd CLARKE

SOLO ITEM RUNGE Kirara SatoMASS VOCAL ITEM NASHSMALL VOCAL CLARKEINSTRUMENTAL NASH

The following boys:

Jason Smythe Participated in the Roedean/Lovemore Music competition Trombone and PianoDaniel Arnot Participated in the Roedean/Lovemore Music competition SaxophoneRobin Lavers Participated in the Roedean/Lovemore Music competition - ClarinetMilan Conkic Trinity London Trumpet Exam /Participated in the Roedean/Lovemore Music competition -

TrumpetMarius Vermaak Trinity London Piano Exam / Participated in the Roedean/Lovemore Music competition -

PianoBryan Moore Participated in the Roedean/Lovemore Music competitionMichael Davies Participated in the Roedean/Lovemore Music competitionBenjamin McGraw Participated in the Roedean/Lovemore Music competitionShuo Cheng Trinity London Piano Exam / Participated in the Roedean/Lovemore Music competition

Travis Bradfield Participated in the Roedean /Lovemore Music competition Saxophone and Recorder1

stin the Woodwind section Saxophone

Stephen Maycock Participated in the Roedean/Lovemore Music competition Clarinet2

ndin the Woodwind section Clarinet

Asiri Rathugamage Participated in the Roedean/Lovemore Music competition Saxophone3

rdin the Woodwind section

Several St Johns College pupils entered for the annual music competition organised by Roedean School. Three ofour boys were chosen as finalists in the wind category, a first for any school to have three finalists in a single category.Dr Allan Thompsons pupils excelled, and Travis Bradfield (U5) is the category winner, with L4 pupil StephenMaycock placed second, followed by Asiri Rathugamage (U5). Special mention was made by Mrs Mary Williams,headmistress of Roedean School, of the excellent standard of St Johns College pupils. Miss Ilse Myburghaccompanied all three pupils.

Stephen Hunt Participated in the JHB Festival for the Advancement of Music - RecorderKaleem Ahmid Participated in the JHB Festival for the Advancement of Music Recorder. Awarded

the Anne Carroll Trophy for the Most Promising Recorder Player 14 and UnderVincent Pansegrouw Participated in the JHB Festival for the Advancement of Music RecorderBrett van Staden Participated in the JHB Festival for the Advancement of Music - Piano

Zachary Bowditch ABRSM Piano ExamRiaan de Kock Trinity London Piano ExamDaniel Erasmus Trinity London Piano ExamStephen Havenga Trinity London Saxophone ExamReshard Kolobahi Trinity London Organ ExamJohn Atherfold Trinity London Piano ExamLiam Watt Trinity London Saxophone ExamAashish Diayar Trinity London Violin Exam / Participated in the JHB Festival for the Advancement of Music

ViolinChristopher Huntley Trinity London Violin ExamRobin Lavers Trinity London Clarinet Exam / Participated in the JHB Festival for the Advancement of Music

ClarinetGrant Carroll Trinity London Violin Exam


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ST JOHNS COLLEGE INTER-HOUSE PLAY FESTIVAL 2011

The Inter-house Play Festival took place across the evenings of the 29 and 30 June. The adjudicator, MrRenos Spanoudes, was highly complimentary of the standard and commended the boys and girls of theCollege for their effort and commitment.

The results were as follows:

Best Ensemble ClarkeBest Cameo Performance Anthony Testa [Thomson]Best Original Script Thomas Geffen [Hill]Best Supporting Actor James Barton-Bridges [Hill] and Michael Macklin [Hill]Most Promising Junior Actor Travis Hornsby [Hill]Best Actor Kai Brummer [Nash] and Murray Conway [Clarke]Best Director Nicholas Reid [Nash]Best Play [Clarke]

Order of Houses:1. Clarke2. Nash

3. Hill4. Fleming5. Thomson6. Runge7. Hodgson8. Alston and Clayton

UNITED NATIONS DEBATING

The team of Mohammed Kaskar, Nabeel Seedat and Mohammed Ismail Bulbulia participated in Model

UN Debating recently. They did a fine job in representing Germany in a debate about Cote dIvoire, andwere placed second. In addition, Nabeel Seedat won a Best Speaker award. They deserve our heartycongratulations.

FIRST AID

The following boys were awarded their first aid certificates for achieving a Level-3 qualification:

Callum LeesamAhmed Jada

And the following boys were presented with their first aid ties:

Murray DrydenKevin TangBradley Chauke

These boys have shown dedication to the first aid team and have gone beyond what is expected of a firstaider.


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PETER ShaffERSTHE ROYAL HUNT OF THE SUN

The production was performed across the week of the 6-10 June in Clarke quad. The ensemble cast offorty-nine talented and enthusiastic young men and the backstage boys had all worked tirelessly throughoutthe rehearsal period to provide a fascinating and mesmerising theatrical experience. The exceptionally cold

weather did little to detract audiences from attending and the production ran to full houses.Peter Shaffer is possibly one of the most interesting playwrights to direct as the sheer theatricality of hisplays, particularly an epic drama such as this one, is hugely exciting. Much in the vein of Shakespeare,Shaffer plays with time and space and allows a directorial vision to assert itself that is seldom allowablewith more conventional plays. Moreover, Shaffer challenges us as an audience to contemplate the widerimplications of the dramatic action and so his plays become spaces for contestation, debate andnegotiation.

The Royal Hunt of the Sun is no different. The personal battle Pizarro undergoes and his intense and life-altering relationship with Atahuallpa play out against the wider backdrop of political power-play. The playpresents us with the uncomfortable truth that religion was often used as a tool to garner wealth and powerunder the guise of converting the heathen to the Christian faith. I believe that Shaffers deconstruction of

the historical facts surrounding the Spanish colonisation of the Inca challenges us to consider our Christianfaith and the way in which we use it in terms of our relationships with others.

The production was a mammoth undertaking and without substantial support, would have been impossibleto realise. As always, I am indebted to so many people who worked with me. The lighting and soundcompany were able to translate my theatrical vision into reality and Phillipa Sandilands, who workedtirelessly with the costume designers and makers, managed to complement the lighting and sound designwith visually stunning and remarkably accurate costumes. Mike Mullan assisted in creating props andmaking and sourcing set pieces that brought the era of the Spanish conquistadors and the Incan people tolife. Natalie Brmmer and her team of cast mums added the finishing touches to create the authenticityrequired for the characters to be perceived believably. Craig Morris and Athena Mazarakis worked with thecast on those aspects of the play that required intense and often ritualised physicality. Thank you too toMegan Carter, Angie Delport, Katherine Malakou, Alison Scarr, Wendy Young, Marilyn Jardine, CarolWiswall, Paul Emant, Siphiwe Vilikazi and Alan Duncan for their wonderful support.

RUSSELL UNTIEDT


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COLOURS AWARDS SUMMER SPORTS 2011

IT IS TO BE NOTED THAT THESE AWARDS ARE MADE ON PARTICIPATION IN THE SPECIFIC SUMMER SPORTS FROM OCTOBER 2010TO 5

THMARCH 2011

BASKETBALL: The team played 10 games. Won 7 & lost 3

Present awards: Team Blazer: Michael Bailey Geoffrey Allsop Mudiwa Hlongwane

New Awards:

Team Blazer: Lloyd Jubane Pele Collins Eric ManziMzolisi Dube Mike Phakathi

Colours: George Varughese Matthew Diepenbroek

Honours: Tebogo Lekubu Jesse Bulabula

CRICKET: The team played 33 matches, Won 17, drew 5 & Lost 11

Present awards: Team Blazer: Sheldon Valjalo, Edward Butler

New Awards:

Team Blazer: Bradley Stocks Bradley Dial James SurgeyNicholas-John Maree John Newsome Kyle Robertson

Colours: Jamie McGraw Jeffrey Long

Honours: Wesley Coulentianos Jason Newton

ROWING:

Present awards: Colours: Paul Malakou Full Colours: Willie Morgan

New Awards:

Team Blazer: Dimitri Theofanidis Laurence Nel Matthew Wolfe

Full Colours: James Coates Daniel Trollip Barry McNeice

Jamie Odgers

SWIMMING:

Present awards: Team Blazer: Murray BantockColours: Dylan Feldner-BusztinHonours: James Verhagen

New Awards:

Team Blazer: Patrick Tattersall

Colours: Kai Brummer Michael Cloete Francois Du PlessisJarryd Stephenson Charles Verwer Wesley AntonitesJulian Cowper Murray Bantock


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TENNIS:

Present awards: Team Blazer: Brett Rodgers

New Awards:

Team Blazer: Steven Mark

Colours: Kirk Bolland

WATERPOLO: Team results: Played 17 games this season. Won 12 & Lost 5

Present awards: Team Blazer: Andrew Forbes Charles VerwerColours: Michael Pfeffer Travis Bradfield

New Awards:

Team Blazer: Alex Kuttschreuter Dan Trninic

Niel Vosloo Roarke OlverJarryd Stephenson

Colours: Julian CowperWesley Antonites

Honours: Alex Du PlessisLloyd van der Griendt

HOCKEY

INTER HOUSE HOCKEY RESULT 2011

Senior Trophy Junior Trophy

1 HODGSON 1 HODGSON2 ALSTON 2 HILL3 FLEMING 3 CLAYTON4 THOMSON 4 ALSTON5 CLAYTON 5 NASH6 HILL 6 FLEMING7 CLARKE 7 THOMSON

7 NASH 8 CLARKE9 RUNGE (DNC)

Final Placings

OVERALL CombinedPositions

Total1 HODGSON 1 & 1 22 ALSTON 2 & 4 63 CLAYTON 5 & 3 83 HILL 6 & 2 85 FLEMING 3 & 6 96 THOMSON 4 & 7 117 NASH 7 & 5 128 CLARKE 7 & 8 15


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PROVINCIAL GAUTENG HOCKEY SELECTIONS 2011 - SOUTHERN GAUTENG SCHOOLBOYTEAMS:

Southern Gauteng U/14 A - Hugh Ledlie

Southern Gauteng U/14 B - Craig Morshead

Brett Le RouxMohammed Dasoo

Southern Gauteng U/14 C - Timothy HaydenMichael BucherMohammed CachaliaPiers RodgerLiam Collins

U/14 D Hector Bartlett

Southern Gauteng U/16 A - Kyle Lion-Cachet

U/16 B - Joshua HooperWalter PfaffJordi Sanders

South Gauteng U/18 B - Owen Newton-HillAndrew Tuma-Waku

U/18 C - Kyle Robertson

U/18 D - Nicholas Tennick

ROWING

Congratulations to Jamie Odgers L5 (Fleming) on being awarded Junior Gauteng Provincial Colours forRowing in 2011.

He will be taking part in the national trials for the South African Junior team to compete at the RowingJunior World Championships in Eton, United Kingdom.

RUGBY

Gianny Mbayo has been selected to the Golden Lions U/18 Academy team.

SQUASH

The following boys and 1 girl (6th form) have been selected for Central Gauteng:

U19 Girls: Inez Obregon (6th Form Girl) B TeamU16: Bradley Dial, Dean Maxton (A Team), Cameron Dry (B Team)U14: Tyrone Dial, Brett le Roux (A Team), Richard Louis (B Team)

Bradley and Tyrone both won their respective age groups.Dean 4th, Brett le Roux 6th, Richard Louis 10th


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St Johns won the Gauteng top schools championships for the second year in a row beating KES in thefinal. On route to the final they beat Parktown, St Stithians, Invitational Team and Northcliff. They will nowrepresent Gauteng at the National Top Schools Championships in August held in Pietermaritzburg.

The team was:

CHESS

Congratulations to Jaishil Modi - U4 Hill on being placed second in the Under 16 age group at the ChessSA Junior Chess Championships held in April. He has also been selected as a member of the Under 16SA Chess Team for 2011. This is the 5th consecutive year that Jaishil has been selected for the SA team.He has been awarded South African National Junior Colours as granted by the SA national Sports Council.

St Johns College Minimising Environmental ImpactSt Johns College launched an e-waste collection programme last year, in partnership with Miss Earth SA.To date we have recovered 1200kg of electronic waste which has been sent for dismantling and securedisposal or recycling. Members of the community are urged to make use of this facility to dispose of theirunused electronic equipment such as printers, m-net decoders, kettles, cell phones, etc.

In another partnership, with Yes Recycling (http://www.yesrecycling.co.za/) and a company called re(http://www.re-sa.co.za/site/default.asp), we are involved in recovering mixed materials for recycling.Recyclable material recovered from campus is sorted into the various waste streams and sent for recycling.In the first term, recyclables weighed in at a total of 4574kg sent away to re. Material was made up mainlycardboard, paper and plastic. This translates into a saving of about 9 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.

Yes Recyclingprovided the brandedrecycling bins which have been placedthroughout the school. The system isworking well; it has focused the boys'attention on the importance of separatingrecyclables at source and it has made thejob of the "recyclable sorters a lot easier. Italso highlights the fact that we are aware ofthe importance of minimising our impact on

the environment.

Metal racks hold large bags for recyclable Bags of recyclables ready to be taken away

1. Bradley Dial2. Dean Maxton3. Kyle Robertson4. Tyrone Dial

5. Cameron Dry6. Matthew Barker

newsletter 3 trinity term 2011

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