Welcome from the Headmaster
Dear Parents
May I take this opportunity to wish you all a very warm welcome back to College and to those of you who are new, an especially warm welcome into the College family.
It is with a sincere note of sadness to inform you that we have had a few of our immediate parents pass away during the holiday period and our thoughts and prayers go out to these families at this time. There are possibly several other families who have also suffered bereavements or have friends or family ill and our hearts go out to them. I remind you all that we do have support at College through our school psychologist who is available to offer advice and guidance. Mrs Cassidy Griffiths may be contacted by Email: griffithsc@mcollege.co.za or in an emergency on Cell: 084 901 0792. Please may I stress that we all take the impact of Covid very seriously and will always adhere to the minimum regulations to stay safe and healthy.
It is indeed very unfortunate that the start of the school year for your boys has been postponed officially until Monday 15th February. As soon as the gazette and detailed regulations are received, we will be able communicate in more detail to you and your sons. As a parent and grandparent myself, I can fully empathise with the added stress this may be creating, so I wish to reassure you, that as we did in 2020, we will do everything in our power to ensure a seamless and safe return to school for your sons. We will at no stage compromise his health or well-being and we ask that you do the same out of respect to our educators who are literally in the ‘firing line’ daily, as it were.
We are confident that we can continue to provide a top-class education in 2021 and we are well prepared for it. There may well be a period of online learning, but we are confident that our staff and boys can cope with this. If there are boys who have problems accessing data etc., we will accommodate them. I would ask that you try not to stress about this and leave that up to us. You have enough to focus on as it is.
It is so important from a mental health and wellness perspective to remain optimistic that things will improve and to help you with this I share the following with you:
- Limit your social media intake
- Look after No 1 [self-care] – if you do this it will increase your happiness.
- Stay safe and healthy
- Be positive with your family members and peers
- Be grateful for what you have. Write down five things every morning for which you are grateful
- Cherish the people around you
- Ensure that you get sufficient sleep
- Try meditation and mindfulness
- Continue to be resilient
- Learn something new
- Exercise
“Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.
Thich Nhat Hanh
I wish you all a safe, healthy and happy 2021 and thank you for your continued support of your son, through this most difficult period. We wish him all the very best, hoping that he achieves all that he sets out to do this year.
God Bless
Pro aris et Focis
#Stay healthy #Stay Safe
Chris Luman
Headmaster
22 January 2021