THEME OF THE WEEK: DETERMINATION
From Scripture:
So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.
When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.
Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
Genesis 32:24-26
Jacob was a man of real determination, with a firmness of mind and spirit and unyielding courage in the face of personal hardship and danger. Tough, tenacious, and fiercely relentless, Jacob pursued his divine mission with unflinching resolve.
A prayer
Most gracious God, Your son Jesus Christ sat among the teachers in the temple at Jerusalem
Listening and asking questions, And all were amazed at his understanding;
Grant to College a like spirit
That all who teach and all who learn may together grow towards that wisdom and love which comes from you
Through Jesus Christ our Lord
Amen
Thought for the Week: DETERMINATION
Click here to watch Monday’s assembly
The past two weeks we have looked at ‘Facing Adversity’ and dealing with ‘Stress and Anxiety’.
Today we are going to look at the theme of ‘Determination’
There are two Thoughts for this Week which link to the theme of determination.
A Chinese proverb says ‘Fall seven times and stand up eight ‘.
What does this actually mean? This simple proverb comes from the Zen tradition and upon first reading it appears to be a quote about resilience. It does speak to the importance of persevering in light of the various “falls” and failures we face in our lives. While we are sure to face failure along the way to our goal, we must continue to get up and keep trying.
The other is a quote “The greatest oak was once a little nut that held its ground.”
“Great oaks from little acorns grow” is an old English proverb. ‘Every great oak was once a little nut that held its ground” is a modern take on the proverb, meaning that a person who holds to his or her ideas can accomplish great things.
Both are pertinent examples of determination
Our 6th Formers commence their very important Trial Examinations this week and they will need to show considerable determination and resilience to see this through to the end to be the best that they can be. We wish them every success!
The rest of you need to continue showing determination as we progress through the remainder of the year coming to terms with the impact of the Covid pandemic. The numbers of positive cases within the school continue to peak in various forms as well as in the province .
For those of you possibly feeling disheartened by what lies ahead, there is some encouraging news. It is now thought that only a third of the difference between grades can be attributed to IQ. Once you are in the workforce, IQ will account for only 25% of the difference between your job performance and that of others. So the intelligence you were born with is important, but there are other key factors that will help you succeed no matter what your IQ. The essential ingredient appears to be determination and grit.
Mozart worked for months perfecting a symphony and a poet often can write as many as 70 drafts before deciding that one poem is good enough. Malcolm Gladwell researched that it takes 10 000 hours of practise to achieve mastery in a skill.
Research study has indicated that students who are praised for their intelligence give up quickly when they experience failure, while students praised for their effort keep on trying to succeed even when they find it hard.
MUSIC ITEM
S Msibi will now play ‘Gavotta’ by Vivaldi on the violin.
CULTURAL AWARDS 2021
Today we acknowledge a number of boys who have shown determination and grit in various cultural aspects of school life and this is what we expect of all College young men.
It is now my pleasure to announce a number of Cultural Awards for 2021. Many of these boys will not be present at assembly and the awards will be distributed through the houses
Full details are listed here
Congratulations to all these boys who have shown significant determination through very difficult times.
SPORT
Cricket:
Congratulations to A Simelane [Snow] who has been selected to represent the SA U19 cricket team in a national competition starting shortly.
Rugby:
The 1st XV and a 2nd XV played against Hilton at Hilton on Saturday in appalling weather conditions. Both teams displayed superb grit and termination as well as pride as they come to terms with extreme weather such as lightning, bitterly cold, sleeting rain and afterwards snow. The 2nd XV suffered a narrow 0-8 loss whilst the 1stXV beat the much vaunted Hilton team in 14-10 in a grueling affair after leading 6-0 at half time. Congratulations tgo the both teams, coaches and support staff.
The full 1st XV match report can be found here
Unfortunately there have been very few opportunities for sport of late. We are going to try our best to have some house activities as soon as possible. Going forward, as far as the winter codes are concerned only the senior 1st teams and possibly 2nd teams will play v Glenwood etc. Our 1st XI hockey and rugby 1st and 2nd XV play Glenwood next Saturday away and our 1st XI soccer play Westville away. We wish them every success.
Details about other sporting activities will be communicated in due course.
Pro Aris et Focis