23 March, 2018
Looking Back as We Move Forward
58 years ago South Africa’s apartheid police opened fire on unarmed and defenseless people, killing 69 and injuring even more, including children, for a peaceful demonstration against the pass laws - a form of internal passport system designed to segregate the population by requiring them to carry pass books when outside their homelands or designated areas. The Sharpeville massacre marked the turning point in South Africa’s history because the South African people did not cower, instead continued to work hard until the end of apartheid. On Wednesday, as is the case every 21st of March, South Africa celebrated its Human Rights Day, in remembrance of Sharpeville massacre. We salute the generations of the people who fought and triumphed against apartheid. And we do so while challenging the current generation to put more efforts and work for sustainable peace in our various societies. This historic day in South Africa is important to us not only for the reason that Waterford was established in clear and expressed opposition to the South African apartheid regime and its laws of racial segregation, but also because Waterford played a small yet significant role in the struggle for racial equality in the Southern Africa region, educating the families of Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Desmond Tutu, Nobel prize-winning novelist Nadine Gordimer, the first President of Botswana Sir Seretse Khama, and the revolutionary leaders of Mozambique Eduardo Mondlane and Fernando Honwana. Today, we continue to lay the foundation for our students to become responsible citizens who have the skills, knowledge and a sense of purpose to provide leadership in both Africa and the world.
UWC Day
We are only 2 weeks away from UWC day. In accordance with our UWC Day theme, which is, “Freedom is…” and since we are celebrating the centenary of Nelson Mandela, Our form 1s and 2s have been taking part in the “67 Blankets for Mandela” Initiative. Students have been knitting and crocheting squares, which will be combined to make a blanket. We would like to appeal to other members of the community to dig out their knitting needles and crochet hooks and begin knitting blankets or squares for blankets. Wool, knitting needles and crochet hooks will be gratefully accepted. Further details will be forthcoming. Please check the “67 Blankets for Mandela” for more information on this initiative. If you have any queries please feel free to talk Mr. Tony Pontuti, who is the person in charge of this initiative, here on campus. His email address is tony.pontuti@waterford.sz
Davis UWC Scholars program Report
The 2018 Uniting The World annual report of the Davis UWC Scholars Program has been published:
We join the rest of the UWC movement and take pride in being a part of the world’s largest privately funded international scholarship program. Davis UWC Scholars have been invited to express their gratitude by emailing Shelby and Gale Davis at shelby.davis@davisuwcscholars.org
Easter Break
Please be reminded that school will be closed for the Easter break. Classes will end on Wednesday the 28th of March and buses will depart school for Johannesburg on Thursday the 29th of March at 06:15 am and return form Johannesburg on Monday the 2nd of April.
Waterford Travel Links
Easter & End of Term 1 2018
Please note that the links below are on the school website and on the intranet. Travel links will close on Monday 26 march 2018 at 8am.
Transport to and from Johannesburg:
Transport to and from King Mswati III (Sikhupe) Airport:
Form 5 History Trip
Yesterday morning the Form 5 history class left for an educational excursion to Johannesburg. They will visit various historical sites to include the Hector Pieterson Museum, Khumalo Street and the Mandela House Museum on Vilakazi Street in Soweto. They will also visit Gold Reef City Theme Park for the Gold Mine Educational guided tour and their “Jozi’s Story of Gold” on the discovery of Gold and its socio-economic impact. They will attend a lecture and watch a video on these topics. This trip is in line with the syllabus as the students cover South African history and cover topics on the foundations of the apartheid state, why the National Party won the elections in 1948, the main features of the apartheid system, socio-economic and political impact of the apartheid system, internal and external opposition including the Soweto uprisings, Sharpeville massacre and other factors leading to the collapse of the apartheid regime. The students are accompanied by Mrs. M. Muyambo and Mr. A. Gambe. They will be back on Sunday.
From the Asia Week Team
Yesterday marked the beginning of the 2018 Asia week. The Asia Week team has lined up a series of events to celebrate the week. Everyone is invited to come and get a true experience of Asian cultures and traditions. Here are some of the events happening during the week:
Friday, 23rd March: Asian Concert Night/ Cultural evening in collaboration with Phoenix Fundraising initiative in Assembly hall starting from 7 pm. It is open to everyone. If you would kindly like to give some donations on the door, we would be happy to have it.
Saturday, 24th March: Asian sports: Kabbadi, Cricket, Table Tennis and Badminton games. Activities start at 11:00 am until 2:00 pm.
In focus session and presentation on India Pakistan Conflict in the assembly hall starting at 3:00 pm followed by screening of a popular Indian film “Haider” which is about the same issue in collaboration with Cine club for the Shakespeare week.
Sunday, 25th March: Yoga and Meditation in the amphitheater, starting at 10:00 am.
Indian and K- pop Dance workshop, followed by some other workshops from China and Taiwan starting at 3:00 pm in CCLD.
Monday, 26th March: In focus and presentation on South China Sea Conflict by South East Asian students starting at 4:30 pm .
Tuesday, 27th March: - Asian food theme day. The marimba group will perform in cafeteria during lunch.
Wednesday, 28th March: Closure and Holi Festival, starting at 2:00 pm in the sports field.
Please come and enjoy!
P.S: - An Oscar nominated Mongolian film “Mongol: Rise of Genghis Khan” and an Oscar winning Iranian film “A separation” will be screened in the Assembly hall on Sunday depending on the schedule. Please keep checking the notice board.
Fees
As we rapidly approach the end of the term, we once again remind parents of the importance of fees being paid before the term ends. We re-iterate our policy of not carrying arrears into a new term. All fees should have been settled by or before the end of the term. Our policy also states that fees are to be paid at the beginning of the term; however we are more than happy to enter into a payment plan on condition that the fees for that particular term are settled before the start of the following term.
The Bursar will withhold reports and could possibly exclude pupils from returning for the new term if there are outstanding fees still due. If you have a payment plan please contact the Bursar (bursar@waterford.sz ) and/or Tricia Fraser (pfraser@waterford.sz ) If you are unsure as to what is outstanding, please call our accounts office at +268 24220866.
If you have any questions please call the Bursar (+268 24221807) or Tricia (+268 24221639)
Entrance Testing for Admission in 2019
Last week Saturday we had entrance testing on campus for the Forms only. We will now focus on regional entrance testing and the dates and venues are listed below. These dates and times are also available on our website. Please register siblings and spread the word to families and friends.
The Regional Entrance Testing takes place as follows:
For any information on entrance testing and/or admissions, please contact the Director of Admissions at careers@waterford.sz
Sporting Activities
We congratulate all our teams for their great performances.
Reminder: Important dates:
Any Questions?
If you have any questions and feedback, please don’t hesitate to drop me a line at principal@waterford.sz If the question is of broad interest I will publish the question (with the permission of the writer and without the name) and my reply in the newsletter.
Kind Regards
Stephen Lowry
Principal
