The 2023 Chronicle

in July. They were Damian Watson, Seth Segal and beginners Luvuyo Tsibani, Shail Rajkumar and Oliver Thompson, who were chosen for the junior team. Oliver Thompson went on to be selected for the provincial team and took part in the national tournament in December. Results of this tournament will be published in next year’s Chronicle. Having qualified for the SA delegation in 2022, Luke Kaufmann took part in the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships in April this year. He did not have far to travel, as the competition was hosted by Clifton Durban, which was simultaneously a shame, but also very convenient. Luke did exceptionally well, coming 31st overall, and eighth in the world for debating. Following this success, Luke qualified to be awarded Honours for Debating and Public Speaking. Luke then travelled back to Durban in September, along with Damian Watson, Seth Segal and Boitumelo Motsepe, to participate in the National Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships. Luke made it through to three out of four finals, won the Impromptu Speaking category and finished fifth overall in the competition. Seth Segal had a fantastic three days at NIDPSC. He also made it through to three finals, won the Persuasive Speaking category convincingly, and finished as the runner- up in the whole competition. Both he and Luke were selected for the SA delegation which will travel to Canberra, Australia, next year to participate in WIDPSC 2024. Seth, too, is a worthy recipient of Honours for Debating and Public Speaking. Next year will see a greater focus on public speaking in general, and we hope to enter various competitions to give the boys in the programme more exposure and opportunity to stand up and speak in public. We also reintroduced a public speaking category to the interhouse Cultural Week, and this was a popular decision. The Interhouse Debating was once again well supported by both boys and staff, and it ended up being a rigorous competition. East took the honours in the senior division, while the beginners from McCormick won the junior competition convincingly. Once again, my thanks to all the staff who gave up their time to adjudicate this event.

I am so grateful to Mrs Dale Lynch and Mr Anele Cebo for their invaluable support this year, especially during the league. It would be impossible to run this programme at all without their help. Finally, I would like to pay tribute to the senior boys in the programme this year. They have lead this group and been fantastic examples to the younger boys. They have helped them to prepare for debates, run Monday meetings and held workshops to teach the other boys public speaking and debating skills. I look forward to helping them grow these mentorship roles in 2024. Their contributions will be significant – I am in awe of their talent and skills.

HOUSE CHALLENGE 2023

D

uring the last week of the third quarter, the cultural and sports departments collaborated in the inaugural House Challenge – an interhouse competition which lasted a week. The points gathered for the various competitions count towards the overall Todd Cup Winners for 2023. The goal of the event was to enhance the awareness of the arts and to provide all the boys with at least one opportunity to participate and score points for his House. The week commenced with the very successful Two Schools in Concert with Hilton College’s music department on 15 June. Antoinette Sithole – sister of Hector Peterson – addressed the boys on 19 July, sharing her experiences and memories of the Sharpeville Massacre. The boys watched the play Country of No Heroes on Thursday morning, 21 June. An overwhelmingly positive response followed the week, and the hope is that it can grow into a bigger event in 2024, which will allow for parents to attend and support their sons.

2023 RESULTS MUSIC Solo singing: Junior

Contemporary Instruments: Junior 1. Nicholas Hornby (Ralfe) 2. Connor Hatfield (West) 3. Stefano Benassi (Mackenzie) Contemporary Instruments: Senior 1. Kofi Asumaning (McCormick) 2. Rory Steyn (Tatham) 3. Joe Gilson (West)

Classical Instruments: Junior 1. Zhengfei Li (McCormick) 2. Connor Maitland (Ralfe) 3. Bernard Rossouw (West) Classical Instruments: Senior 1. Samir Dookie (Tatham) 2. Ian Graham (Baines) 3. Alex Vries (McCormick)

1. Luneziwe Mshengu (Pascoe) 2. Nate Ross-Kent (Founders) 3. Max Oliva (West) Solo singing: Senior 1. Xabiso Ngcime (Mooi) (West) 2. Bradley de Klerk (McCormick) 3. Isa Shabalala (East)

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