Month: August 2013

Paul comes to Northwood from Curro Private School in Nelspruit where he is the Academic Headmaster, having previously been the Deputy Principal of Penryn College, Nelspruit.  He commences at Northwood on the 1^st January 2014.

 Paul has an outstanding organisational and managerial track record within secondary education with wide ranging leadership experience.  His key skills include human resource marketing, financial and strategic management.  Paul has Degrees in Human Resource Management (BA) and Economic and Management Science (B.Com) as well as an Honours Diploma in Education (Cum Laude).

 His speciality experience includes the following key areas of responsibility at a leadership Level:

• Academic performance and achievement.
• Discipline.
• Staff performance and development.
• Sports and Cultural management.
• Boarding House management.
• Outreach and community upliftment.
• Department Head and Curriculum Leader of Business Studies and Economics.

 Paul is a qualified rugby coach and referee and has coached both cricket and rugby at high school first team level.  Paul plays golf to a single figure handicap.

 Paul is an avid lover of sport and extra mural activities and their role in the development of boys at high school.

 Paul is married to Wendy and they are looking forward to joining the Northwood community.

Mr P McAvoy

Principal

To all the parents of boys at John Bruyns House,

I would like to take this opportunity to say farewell.  It has been a privilege to take care of your sons for the past five years.  I have watched the boys develop over the course of their stay at the Boarding Establishment and have come to see them as my own.  For the most part, I can honestly say that your sons have done me, and yourselves, proud.  Thank you for your support and co-operation throughout the time I have spent at John Bruyns House, it is greatly appreciated.  I will still be a member of the Northwood staff and will continue to take an interest in all the boys. I wish them all well for the years ahead.  I would like to thank the masters and Mrs Kayat, who so ably assisted me and trust that they will continue to provide the excellent care for your sons that they have done throughout my tenure as Superintendent.  I would also like to extend a warm welcome to Mr Llewellyn Bragin and his family who will take over from me as from the 1st of September.  I trust he will enjoy his stay and will receive the support and co-operation of the parents.  Thank you to the management and Governing Body of Northwood for giving me this opportunity, I look forward to monitoring the future progress of John Bruyns House.  God Bless.

 

Congratulations to the following pupils who have been elected as Prefects for 2014.

Shasteel Bridgmohan

Wallace de Lange

Tevin du Toit

Warren Ferguson

Derek Fitzgerald

Dean Fouché

Tyler Hale

Brent Haviland

Clayton Holland

Paras Juta

Chad Katz

Shane Kennedy

Muhammad Kolia

Duran Krummeck

Lindokuhle Langa

Jean Paul Langedyk

Brandon Lippiatt

Rowan Maggs

Phehello Makgoe

Minenhle Mchunu

Kabelo Motloung

Ross Muil

Ivan Ndlovu

Riccardo Papini

Jamie Pillay

Shaylen Pillay

Darshil Ramchander

Yetish Ramsurrup

Matthew Robinson

Gregory Slater

Ryan Stanley

Garryn Stephens

Ryan Symington

Nathan van Wyk

Muhammad Vawda

Daniel Willis

Gregory Wright

Journey Comes Full Circle

FORMER Sharks assistant coach Grant Bashford has gone back to school, accepting a contract at Northwood as the school’s first team rugby coach.

It’s a journey that has reached full circle for Bashford as he is an old boy of the school and taught there for 13 years.
Bashford was part of the Sharks coaching set- up under John Plumtree who was asked to leave the union last month. He is still under contract until the end of this year with the Sharks but relished the opportunity to stay in rugby, albeit at another level.
“That’s the life of a professional coach,” he said. “While the going is good, it’s a job everybody wants, but sooner or later, there reaches a point where you are out of contract and it’s back to the start.
“For me, it’s great to still be involved in rugby as a coach and the timing of this venture could not have been better.”
Focusing on a business where he is in partnership with another Northwood old boy, Bashford is relishing the opportunity to divide his time between this and coaching, plus spend more time with his family.
“Professional coaching is disruptive when it comes to family life. Time away from home, regular commitments — they all add up,” he said. “Now I can spend time with my three boys — Dale (13), Ben (8) and Mitch (3) — and watch them progress to and through high school before considering another high-profile coaching position.”
Bashford acknowledged he had received some offers after leaving the Sharks, locally and internationally. At the end of the day, while the lure of big money was always present, he opted to step back from the big time for a while.
“I have the credentials for coaching at a high level and this will stand me in good stead in the future. As long as I can stay at the coal face of rugby, at any level, I will be happy,” he said.
The appointment at Northwood came about through the school’s strong Old Boys Club.
“I was asked whether I would consider coaching at the school and was keen to return to a place I know well,” said Bashford. “I met with the old boys and the headmaster and I officially start on September 1.
“I have met with the players and had one session with them. It’s far too early to gauge anything yet, but now is the time to work toward next season. It’s a refreshing challenge and I look forward to it.”
Knowing that schoolboy rugby is a “big game these days,” Bashford is under no illusions that he needs the right people and players to ensure that his team and the school remain competitive and be respected.
“Obviously we want great results and want to provide strong opposition for the traditionally strong local rugby schools,” he said. “As time goes on, we will get the right players in the right areas and move forward.”

Bashford Stats
• Played cricket and rugby for Natal. Was a wicket-keeper, batsman and scrumhalf.
• Never had much opportunity for the Sharks as he was understudy to Kevin Putt.
• Was on the bench for the 1993 Currie Cup final in Durban against the Lions.
• Joined the Sharks in 2006 as coach Dick Muir’s assistant.
• Worked with John Plumtree from 2007.
• Took Sharks to Currie Cup glory in 2008 v Bulls in Durban and 2010 v Western Province in Durban.
• Lost Super Rugby final in 2007 v Bulls in Durban and 2012 v Chiefs in Hamilton.

Courtesy of The Witness

Article by:  David Knowles

On Friday morning some of our grade 10 students were able to listen to, and interact with questions and answers with Dr Kamalesh as he chatted to them about his career as an Orthopedic Surgeon.  Dr Kamalesh said he was very impressed with the type of questions asked by our students,  and that it showed maturity and lateral thinking ability. He also encouraged the boys to study and work hard at their chosen subjects, yet still make time to have fun! We thank Dr Kamalesh for taking time out of his busy schedule to share his knowledge and inspire our students.

Northwood HSA is celebrating 100 years of Bollywood entitled A Knight with the Stars on the 23 and 24 August 2013.  The show will showcase popular dance and songs from the 1950’s to current.  The cast includes boys from Northwood and girls from Danville, Northlands Girls and Crawford School.  The spectacular event caters for both young and old.  For further information please contact Tel:  (031) 5636501

 

Well done to all the boys who participated in the last Mongoose Spur School Series race. Northwood once again showed up in great numbers holding the Northwood name high. With the biggest team on the day, our boys won R750 in Spur vouchers. This brings our total prize money to R1250 for the series so far.

Top results for the race:

Sub-Junior:

Cayde Muldoon -6th

Ethan Bigger -9^th

Junior:

Aaron Bigger      -7th

A huge thank you must go out to Aditya Power Solutions and Mr Amanlal Kumkaran for the sponsorship of our new gazebo. Your generosity is very much appreciated.

The next race will be held in Hillcrest on 7 September 2013. We look forward to another great turnout and some enjoyable mountain biking.

Northwood’s School show, Spotlight, that was cancelled due to the power failure last night, will take place this evening. Time: 19:00 for 20:00 to accommodate all our Springbok rugby fans. Tickets are still available at the door. Please share this post and support the cast who have worked tirelessly to put on a world class production. Please call Jenni-Lyn Van Niekerk if would like to purchase a ticket at R120 – bring your own food and wine – Supper Theatre Style. 084 564 0863

Northwood will be hosting a Cricket Festival in honour of Shaun Pollock, cricket legend and Northwood Old Boy. Shaun has agreed to put his name to the Festival which will be known as the “SHAUN POLLOCK U/14 CRICKET FESTIVAL.”

There are 10 schools from around the country participating in the 3 day Festival. One of the schools participating in the Festival is the KZN Development u/14 team. The festival is from the 21 – 23 September. Games will be played at both Northwood and Northlands Senior Primary of which Shaun is also an Old Boy.

Shaun will open the Festival with a cocktail party on the night of the 20th of September where all the boys, their parents, coaches, management from the schools and other community members will be present.

Northwood’s main cricket oval is currently named the “SMITH OVAL” and on the first day of the festival the Oval will be renamed the “SHAUN POLLOCK OVAL.” Shaun will address the boys before the first games and engage with them at a question and answer session. As you can see, it is going to be a fantastic event and with all 10 schools committed a very well supported one too!