Author: stagingnwoodccdevcoza

Over the Easter weekend a large group of Northwood’s rugby contingent took part in various festivals.

The u14A team were at Parktown and played 5 shortened formatted games. The boys went unbeaten and had 5 massive victories over St Johns, Randburg, Fourways, St Davids and Pretoria Boys High respectively. One of the few unbeaten teams at the tournament, they managed to rake in a total of 251 points (averaging 50 a game for) and only conceded 17 (averaging 3 against). The boys are currently sitting on 7 games unbeaten with a win to Kearsney and a draw to Westville prior to the festivals.

Northwood’s u15A side were also at Parktown and were 2 points away from also being unbeaten. The team made it tough for themselves against St David’s on day one, but came away with a precious victory. Day 2 would see a highlight for the boys getting a great 24-17 win over Pretoria Boys High. Unfortunately, the final day saw the boys lose a closely contested game to a “better on the day” Saint Stithians team, 10 -12.

The u16A team travelled to Jeppe’s u16 Rhino Festival and came away as the only unbeaten team at the festival. The team had good victories over Litchenburg and Die Anker, however the highlight was definitely their 19-17 victory over the tournament favourites, Helpmekaar, on their final day.

The 1^st side found themselves at KES once again and on day 1 did well to beat Muir College 50-7. The second game saw the Knights up against a large Ben Vorster team who had dominated from day one. With an extremely slow start and a strong reflection at half time, the boys bounced back to a respectable 38-28 loss. On the final day the Knights had drawn hosts and Gauteng powerhouse KES. The boys were up for the challenge and definitely earned a 10/10 for effort but just couldn’t finish off some well worked opportunities. The final score was an 18-8 loss, a massive turnaround to the past 4 years’ performances at the festival. With up to 12 grade 11’s on the field at one stage it was always going to be a big ask for the boys to pull off such an upset but they can definitely hold their heads up high. With such a young team and a great u16 side coming through, 2019 is already lining up to be a great year for the Knights.

A special mention must go out to all the boys from the u15B and C teams who represented the u15 Barbarians at the Northwood u15 festival. Going down by very close margins against other A teams from around the country, there is no doubt the entire age group comes away stronger for it and ready to tackle the rest of the season.

Lastly, thank you to all the coaches, learners and families who, as always, sacrificed precious family time to invest in the teams they are part of. With 12 out of 15 victories over-all during this period we can all be extremely proud of our young men in not only their on-field performances, but also the manner in which they conducted themselves off the field throughout as well.

Mr J Scruby – Head of Rugby

Northwood is proud to announce the appointment of Mr Paul Viljoen as Headmaster.  Please see the attached letter from the Governing Body detailing the appointment.

Announcement of Headmaster

The Northwood 1st XI travelled to Kearsney for the match on Saturday the 17th March. The derby game started as predicted with both teams coming out firing, however it was Liam M from Kearsney who thunder-bolted a shot into the Northwood backboard around 10 minutes into the match. This woke Northwood up even more and not long after that, Zinzan G reversed pressed, turned-over a Kearsney defender and seconds later linked up with Chris S to finish what he started by diving and deflecting the ball in at the back post. The second half saw a scrappier affair taking place, and with heightened frustration levels of the players, the game didn’t find another level. Even after Campbell D had the chance of the game which Taine B miraculously saved and Northwood too had a chance that saw the Kearsney upright rattled with just 3 minutes remaining, the game played out to a 1-1 draw. Well done to both teams.

After many years of fantastic, large-scale musical shows, this year the much anticipated Northwood Musical takes on a somewhat different track.

In celebration of the considerable amount of yet-to-be-discovered talent that Durban North has to offer, Northwood presents “So You Think You Can Sing?” – a singing competition open to Durban North learners in grades 6 to 12.

This event gives learners the opportunity to learn, experience and of course, perform in the same large-scale production that Northwood has become known for.

Singers will compete in front of venerable and knowledgeable judges, well known in the Durban Music Scene – John Ellis (front man Durban Band, Tree 63), Tori Du Plessis (songstress and performer), Rosa de Castro (Head of Vocal Vibes Training Studio), as well as guest judges – all for incredible prizes.

Singers advancing to the later stages will receive one-on-one coaching with industry leading professionals (including Northwood’s own Andrew Sutton!) and gain invaluable skills.

Proudly sponsored by the Campus of Performing Arts Durban, Vocal Vibes Training Studio and Toms Music Durban, final prizes include microphones, recording time and scholarships!

When asked about the change in format, Producer Russell Scott had this to say: “We really wanted to open the wonderful experience of the Northwood Musical to the greater community, making it a truly Durban North event, all the while keeping the same top-notch large scale musical production value we are proud of!”

Preliminary auditions take place on the 12^th & 13^th March for Grades 6 – 9 and on the 15^th & 16^th March for Grades 10 – 12, starting at 3pm at Northwood, and are open to Grade 6 – 12 learners from all local primary and girls’ high schools. A R60 entry fee will be required.

For more info email nwoodsing@gmail.com

Prospective parents and pupils are invited to view our academic, cultural and sporting facilities with a presentation detailing our school’s ethos and history.

Registration and Tours begin at 5:30pm.

For further information please email:  marketing@nwood.co.za

Congratulations to our class of 2017 on their matric result achievements.

Our 2017 Dux, Kaamil-Inaam Naicker placed 2nd in Umlazi, and 7th in KZN heading up a group of 3 other students(Yashil Morar, Nabeel Hussain and Farhaan Essop Ahmed.) with 7 A’s, and 10 students with 6 A’s. Overall, 20% of our students achieved 3 or more distinctions, with 96% qualifying for further tertiary study, a fantastic set of matric results!

Thank you to our teachers and parents for your continued support and encouragement. To our Class of 2017, well done and we wish you all the best on your future endeavors.  We look forward to productive 2018.

A message from the acting Headmaster, Mr Mark Rich “I am very pleased with the results and am proud of our boys who have worked hard and shown commitment throughout the academic year. I wish you well as you embark on further study, travel and work opportunities.”

Northwood is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Thomas Barry who takes up the position of Deputy Headmaster in the 1^st term of 2018.

Aside from his current position of Head of Academics and Curriculum at Curro Nelspruit since 2013, Mr Barry has considerable teaching and managerial experience, having held positions both abroad and locally.

“My teaching and managerial duties abroad and especially in South Africa at Hoërskool Middelburg, Penryn College and Curro Nelspruit, have made me realise that it is my duty to assist young people in equipping themselves for life after school.  Life beyond school requires tenacity to attain success.  And it is for this that learners should be prepared to become balanced adults who fill their places in society by positively contributing towards a more constructive co-existence for all mankind.”

On visiting Northwood a few weeks ago, Mr Barry expressed his excitement and enthusiasm for the task ahead, and was impressed by the passion that staff, students and Old Boys had for the school. “I believe that Northwood has the people, facilities, traditions and infrastructure to be “The School Of Choice”, not only in Durban or KwaZulu-Natal, but also in South Africa.”

Having been a former boarder himself at Hoërskool Zeerust, as well as being a house master at two different schools, Mr Barry believes that a boarding establishment should be a home away from home for every boy. “I strive not to be judgmental or prejudiced towards other people because I believe that “there’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face”. I see myself as a very objective viewer of my environment and the people contained therein.”

A keen sportsman, both in coaching and playing, Mr Barry occasionally finds time in his busy schedule to work on his golf handicap, in the hopes of someday attaining a single figure.

We look forward to welcoming Mr Barry to the Northwood family, and in the further strengthening of our capable Senior Management structure.

Northwood is pleased to announce the appointment of two fine gentlemen who will add massive value to Northwood School, in particular to our water polo and swimming programme. From January 2018, Jacque Richter will join Northwood as an Educator as well as Master in Charge of Water Polo. Jacque is a former Grey College boy where he captained the school’s 1^st team and also started playing for the Free State men’s team in his matric year at Grey College. His representation in the Free State Men’s team continued until 2015. From 2010 to 2014 Jacques was the 1st team coach at Grey College as well as the Master in Charge during which time the sport grew tremendously. Jacques was also highly involved in the water polo programme of the  University of the Free State where he was elected as Chairman of Free State Water Polo. More recently Jacques spent time at Michaelhouse as their 1st team Water Polo coach as well as being  involved in rugby, mountain biking and sailing.

Another gentleman who has been involved in water polo at Northwood in the last few months, and will continue his role at Northwood on a full time basis, is Jean Le Roux. Jean brings extensive knowledge to the table and our boys have already seen the benefits of his involvement. Jean went to St Johns College where he captained his 1st team water polo and the “A” swimming team. Jean represented the National Men’s Water Polo team from 2003 to 2010. In that time he was also the 1^st team water polo coach at King Edward VII and more recently 1^st team coach and Master in Charge of Water Polo at Durban High School with impressive achievements at both schools.

We welcome both gentlemen on board and look forward to an exciting and productive 2018 Aquatics season.

Our current Director of Aquatics, Mr Hadyn Skinner will unfortunately depart Northwood at the end of 2017. We thank him for his work ethic, dedication and service, not only to Aquatics, but in many areas including the Boarding Establishment and the classroom, and wish him well on his future endeavors.

Since January last year, Northwood has been offering Advanced Programme Mathematics (AP Maths), as an internal subject. The National Senior Certificate (NSC) no longer offers an Advanced Maths course, and so the students register to write the one subject through the IEB.

The three- year course is being offered from Grade 10 at Northwood. This year, a group of four students were our first Matrics to write the AP Maths examination. We sure hope all their hard work pays off !

Discipline was the name of the game.

Right from the outset of our 1st team match vs Westville, our boys stuck vigorously to the game plan. They were up for the challenge and fought every single ball to restrict Westville to 214/9 in their allotted 50 overs.

Mpumelelo Xulu and Jeremy Martins bowled very well upfront, followed up well by Slater Capell, Samkelo Gasa and Jordon Eddy.

Andile Mokgakane bowled well, and earned himself a call up to the KZN provincial men’s team who played against North West on Sunday.

Jeremy Martins had the best figures of 10 overs, 36 runs, 3 wickets.

Slater Capell (44) and Ali Hamid (16) got us off to a good start.

Alvin Charadza (85 not out) and Jordon Eddy (65 not out) batted superbly to finish off the game with 10 overs to spare.

Northwood out played Westville from a discipline point of view. Our boys stuck to the game plan relentlessly. And gave a top performance by a top team.

In closing, our first team has been on a good stint by winning 5 games in 9 days. So far unbeaten in 6 games which includes KES VII.

Mr D Van Wyk

Director of Cricket

Northwood recently held their annual Speech Day to honour those matric boys who have achieved academically in this, their final year of school.  We were honoured to have Mr John Steenhuizen, an Old Boy of the school and current DA Chief Whip as our guest speaker.  It was a poignant day, as it was also Mr McAvoy’s last Speech Day address as Headmaster.  Please click the link to view:  SPEECH DAY ADDRESS 2017

Our new Head Prefect and Deputy Head Prefects were announced for both the School and John Bruyns House.

Congratulations to:

Kiav Sunderlall (Deputy), Marco Dalle-Vedove( Deputy), Cameron Ciaglia (Head Prefect), Nicholas Deeb (Deputy) and Luke Bricknell (Deputy)

The Head Prefect and Deputy Head Prefects for John Bruyns House are:

Khaya Mazibuko (Deputy), Mbasa Zozi (Head Prefect) and MacMillian Mudara(Deputy)

Northwood’s top academic achievers from the 2017 class:

Tuvir Jugganath placed 3rd overall in the grade, Kiash Arjun achieved Proxime Accessit (2nd in Grade) and Kaamil-Inaam Naicker was Dux (1^st in Grade)