A Message from the Executive Headmaster

It is the end of a particularly busy and rewarding term. I look back at a time where all our boys matured further, a time in which they were challenged to grow, to find their personal passions and to have fun in the sporting and cultural spaces while learning academically. It was a time of developing further the love of ‘work’ and the commitment to serving others that we know will define their characters in their adult lives. Whether a boy is in Grade 00 or Grade 12, and on the Sandton Campus or Alexandra Campus, he has completed the next step on his Marist journey.

Schools exist not to provide perfect performances every time, but to provide opportunities for growth. They exist within a context that needs to be explored, explained and debated if our boys are to be ready for life beyond school. Schools are primarily spaces for our boys, but the adults in our space grow too, sometimes without realising it! There are few places where people of different ages, backgrounds, faiths, abilities and interests all come together in community. As such schools are complex and diverse in their offerings, St David’s Marist Inanda perhaps even more so because of the wide range of activities we offer on two campuses. While our commitment to diversity is captured in the Diversity Statement found on our website (and recently confirmed again by our Board of Governors), and our Manifesto lists the expectations of how we work, live and operate together, I encourage each of us, as I say to the boys each holiday time, to be a blessing, and not a burden in our interactions with others. Our biggest marker of success is how we treat each other.

In the College we say farewell to Ms Chantelle Rossouw (Physical Science) and Ms Zama Madonsela (Mathematics), who leave us for St Stithians and Reddam respectively. We thank them for their service to the boys of St David’s and wish them well. At the beginning of term we welcome Mrs Fiona Holpert back from Roedean School to the Science Department and during the term we welcome back both Mrs Nicole Luis and Mrs Monique Schovell from their respective maternity leaves. We are finalising the contract for the whole school position of Director of Rugby, as well as re-positioning some Music staffing to support the ongoing growth in this area. One of the greatest strengths of our school is in the men and women who work directly with the boys, who understand their needs are different as they journey through the school, and who are committed to journeying with the boys in both the good times and the more challenging! I thank all teachers and coaches, and all those who provide support in the business, administration, advancement and estate spaces – our school is successful because of you.