Headmaster's Message

Dear Parents

I would like to take this opportunity to extend a warm 'welcome back' to all our Glenwood families. A special word of welcome to all our new families and pupils who are starting the Glenwood journey for the first time. Also afford me the opportunity of welcoming new staff to this vibrant and exciting school. Marna Myburgh is the first Old Glenwoodian who has joined our teaching staff. She will be teaching English and Afrikaans in the Preparatory school. Greta Benade, a much acclaimed and accomplished music teacher, has also joined the Prep staff - just watch our choirs this year! Our College also welcomes Rebecca Coertze and Philip Vercueil to the English Department.

Congratulations to our Matric class of 2018 (and also the hard-working teachers). They did Glenwood proud and kept our 100% pass rate intact. Special mention must be made of our top achiever, Dané Botha, and also Áedán Cumming, who both received a “full-house” of 7 distinctions. This group attained an average of 1,7 distinctions per candidate.

The school is already in full swing and these first two weeks have been hectic. Many of our inter-house activities have already taken place and I have been impressed by the talent and enthusiasm on display. A reminder to parents that it is compulsory for every pupil to take part in at least one extra-mural activity per term. Please help and support us in this regard. We have a wide range of activities on offer and we encourage our children to find the one that best suits them. Not everyone can make the cricket team or get into the choir but we do endeavour to create as many opportunities as possible for our pupils.

A number of our College and Prep pupils will be visiting Myanmar from 7 - 17 February on a special outreach programme. We wish them well on this amazing adventure. The College Music Department will also embark on an international tour to Belgium in April. They, the Marimbas and the Voice Ensemble, have been practising diligently and promise to give a good account of themselves.

Our Grade 8 Orientation has also reached its climax and it has been heartening to see the positive attitude displayed by the “GREENIES”. These pupils have shown what it takes to be blue-blooded Glenwoodians and we welcome them into the fold!

I look forward to 2019 being a year filled with opportunity. Make the most of what this year has to offer and encourage your children to embrace this wonderful opportunity you have given them.

LITTLE GLENS CORNER

It’s that time of the year again for Little Glens: back to school and back to reality! 14 January 2019 was the first day of school and we were so excited to welcome our families back. We had a lovely display and warm welcoming at the entrance of our school; we were all delighted to meet new families and children joining Little Glens. The year started with a colour explosion! All the children in Grade 000-0 have been coming to school with great excitement to see what their teachers and friends have dressed up in to represent the colour of the day, a different colour each day of the week. Teachers and children have spent quality time chatting about the colour throughout the day inside and outside the classroom, leading to great debates about different tones of colours and mixing them, too.

PREPARATORY BULLETIN

future world changers

You only get one first day at school and what a great school in which to have it.

Glenwood House had the privilege of welcoming a new group of Grade 1 learners into our family.

The big day arrived and was filled with great excitement and nervousness. Little people walked, smartly dressed, into their classrooms, eager to get on with things like math and homework, while parents took in how grown up their little ones have become. A photo booth was set up to capture the special milestone. Great fun was had throughout the day and everyone left with big smiles.

We can’t wait to see what these future world-changers will do.

“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.” -Fred Rogers

Preparatory house captains

Glenwood House School Preparatory is proud to announce their house captains for 2019. They are, from left: Wido Rudolph and Carmi Lewis (Montagu); : Gabi Vakis and Shane van Eeden (Courtenay); Abigail Powell and Blake Crankshaw (Wellington).

Glenwood House / Living Ball Myanmar Outreach Tour

Glenwood is very excited about its first delegation of pupils to embark on an international outreach tour.

Early in February eleven pupils from Grade 7 – 9, and two teachers will ‘set sail’ for the shores of Myanmar (previously known as Burma) to visit a number of orphanages.

This undertaking was born out of a partnership with the Living Ball organisation and its founder, Mr Manie du Toit.

Living Ball has a network of South Africans living in Yangon and has begun establishing a ministry involving several local orphanages and schools in the city. Part of Manie’s vision is to involve young people in his ministry and to instil in them a passion for reaching out to the lost, hence, the partnership with Glenwood.

The tour will depart on 7 February and will return on 17 February 2019.

We ask you to pray for this trip: that it would be a life-changing experience for our children and that they will be able to share their experiences with their friends on their return.

The people attending the trip are: Kassidy Head (Gr 7), Ann-Louise Coertze (Gr 7), Gugu Zumbire (Gr 8), Maria Zumbire (Gr 8), Seke Zumbire (Gr 8), Tristan Scholtz (Gr 8), Tiaan Hugo (Gr 8), Cara Smit (Gr 9), Lara Durant (Gr 9), Christian Vercueil (Gr 9), Owen O’Sullivan (Gr 9), Mrs Eunice Ann Coertze (Prep School Teacher), Mr Philip Vercueil (College Teacher), Mr Manie du Toit (Living Ball Founder)

COLLEGE CAMPUS

life saving season 2018/2019

Nearly 8 months ago, 24 Glenwood college students set out to join forces with the Eden Lifesaving crew to serve on the beaches during summer. Hours of intensive training over more than a 5-month period ensured that they were well-trained, prepared and equipped to be an asset to our local beaches, lagoons and public pools over the festive season. First aid level 3, CPR, fitness tests, swimming drills, signalling, rescue planning and team work were among the important aspects of their training and qualification.

This is the first time Glenwood House has had an organised group of students participate in serving on our local waterways. Their commitment, ability to work well in a team and general helpfulness was commended throughout the season. In order to be able to work during the season, each life guard had to complete months of theory training, pass several fitness and swim qualifications, and importantly, complete at least 30 hours of voluntary, community service under the supervision of an experienced life saver.

Our Glenwood learners joined teams along the coast, from Herolds Bay through to Wilderness, and assisted in preventing many drowning situations and helping those who got into trouble in the water. Thankfully, due to the preventative measures taken by the lifesavers, there were only a few emergency situations that required further medical intervention.

The life skills, responsibility, commitment and character that lifesaving builds into the lives of our young men and woman is priceless and I know the memories and experiences they have is a worthwhile exchange for the holiday time they each sacrificed to keep our beaches, tourists and locals safe over the season. Well done to each of them. We are very proud of your efforts and sacrifice these holidays. We are grateful that the school now has many Life Guards around our campus to assist at our various pool events throughout the year.

No matter how educated, talented, rich or cool you believe you are, how you treat people ultimately tells all.

Mr B Powell (Lifesaving co-ordinator)

Glenwood Canteen Says “Choose to Reuse”

Did you know that 40 billion disposable plastic eating utensils are used in the US every year? It’s reasonable to assume that South Africa has a similar addiction to single-use plastic. Globally, very few of these items are recycled and millions of tonnes of this litter ends up in landfills polluting our planet’s air, soil, food chains and ground water.

Students, teachers and parents making use of Glenwood House Canteen will notice some changes in the coming weeks. The school has decided to ditch the single-use plastic cutlery in an effort to cut plastic waste. The plastic forks and spoons which are currently available for eating hot food, salads, pastas and chips will be phased out in the next few weeks. We are strongly encouraging our school body to “Choose to Reuse” for the sake of the planet.

The Environment Society is selling eco-friendly reusable 'sporks' as an alternative to the disposable plastics. These stainless steel 'sporks' are lightweight and easy to clean. They fit in a child’s pocket or lunchbox and sell for R30 each. The 'spork' can be labelled with the student’s name by painting a strip of nail varnish or writing on duct tape.

'Sporks' are available for purchase from Mrs Clare van Rensburg’s classroom. Alternatively, students may bring their own fork or spoon from home or they can purchase a reusable plastic 'spork' from Mambos, Plastics for Africa or Game. Gavan and Ally Helling at the Glenwood House Tuckshop say they are also happy to sell the 'sporks' until the plastic cutlery is phased out. Gavan said he never could imagine drinking a cold drink without a plastic straw until the students pointed out that it wasn’t necessary. He says he is fully behind the initiative and hopes students will bring their own utensils to the tuck shop.

The Environment Society was awarded the Global Decade Eco-School award for their actions in 2018. The group was praised for tackling waste-management issues at Glenwood House School and in particular their ‘war on single-use plastics’. “The flagship project that really stood out and made an impact was on waste reduction and especially single-use plastic,” said WESSA Project Manager, Dr Cathy Dzerefos. Glenwood House encouraged all the students to bring reusable water bottles to school, ditch the plastic drinking straws and look at ways to cut their single-use plastic consumption in an Instagram Selfie Competition. Dr Dzerefos commented that the Enviro Society’s vision should act as an inspiration to other schools; “While I was assessing their file I was lifting out sections to email to other schools to encourage them to think and do as has been demonstrated by the Glenwood Enviro Society.”

One of the main aims of the Environment Society for 2019 is to encourage the school population to quit using disposable plastics, such as grocery bags, water bottles, coffee cups, straws and single-use cutlery. Students and parents can read more about this concept by using the hashtag #IQUITPLASTICS. We hope you join us in our efforts to ensure the health of our planet and “Choose To Reuse”!

Showcase 2018: THE GLENWOOD ROCK!

The stage is a place to showcase one’s talent and that is exactly what the learners of Glenwood House College did as performers in The Glenwood Rock! Over a third of our College learners transformed into prop-makers, choreographers, back stage-crew members, make-up artists, stage managers, technical experts, sound engineers, poster and ticket designers, banner creators, ushers, artists, dancers, singers, recital masters, Thespians and … true SUPERSTARS!