FLIPPING BOOK CHRONICLE 2024

approaching. I can assure you that my year-end, fee-increase letter is not a perk for my role. I am very confident that prudent financial management and cost effectiveness is top of mind at Michaelhouse and vigilantly applied by an excellent financial director, namely Joni Warburton, and her highly effective bursary team. I would, however, like to highlight an uncomfortable and perhaps unclear reality, namely that school fees are matched to cover forecast operational expenses and staff salaries, and therefore any new infrastructure and increase in financial aid availability for bringing boys to Michaelhouse is directly donor dependent. In order for Michaelhouse to remain broadly accessible and representative over the decades ahead, which is fundamentally important, we see significant growth of financial-aid funding availability from the Bursary Endowment Trust as a critical success factor which has been highlighted in the Generational Plan. Decisively growing the Bursary Endowment Trust is a top priority for the Development Office, which has now reached its first-year milestone under the leadership of Fran Bolttler. The office is supported by a fundraising subcommittee of the board. A really important principle I would like to promote today is that of “paying forward” – both for boys and families who are the beneficiaries of financial aid, whether in the form of bursaries or interest-free loans, and also those who have valued their time at Michaelhouse and would like to contribute to others being assisted to attend in the years ahead. Repayments of interest-free loans are fully allocated to the next cycle of interest-free loans, which explains the importance of these being settled in full. If we can grow, develop and expand a culture of paying forward because of the opportunities that have arisen from a Michaelhouse education and access to the Michaelhouse Old Boys network for others to equally benefit, there will certainly be a significant contribution to the sustainability of Michaelhouse in the decades ahead, because of a growing Bursary Endowment Trust supporting increasing and extended financial-aid opportunities for Michaelhouse to remain broadly accessible. Service remains a cornerstone of a Michaelhouse education and it is very gratifying to see significant progress and momentum being achieved, with boys more regularly and actively involved with local communities and severely under-resourced schools nearby. More time and engagement in service for the boys leads to better awareness and empathy, with the pervasive national challenges of poverty, unemployment and illiteracy as important examples acutely visible in our neighbouring communities. Thereafter we are hoping that a culture of service develops as an important element of the learning experience at Michaelhouse. Michaelhouse takes its service responsibility and partnership with local community schools very seriously, aiming to continuously improve the leadership, infrastructure and educational outcomes of eight early childhood development (ECD) centres and 16 schools comprising approximately 6 500 learners and 250 educators. The Michaelhouse Community Partnership Trust is a registered public benefit organisation and is actively managing 13 donor-funded projects, all targeted at making an impact and difference in the lives and prospects of the learners in our surrounding communities. It is well established that effective early

childhood development has a multiplier effect on learning at primary and senior school level, which is why we have recently expanded our focus to training, development and support of the eight ECD centres serving our local communities in Lions River, Lidgetton, Zenzane, Nottingham Road and Mooi River. Literacy is an equally important priority focus area, considering that less than 40% of learners in Grade 4 in our local community schools can read for meaning in English, which becomes their primary teaching language and also learning barrier. If the work and outreach being done by the Michaelhouse Community Partnership Trust resonates with you and you would like to know more or be involved, please don’t hesitate to be in touch. I would like to close with a few words of encouragement, goodwill and support for our A Block, who will shortly be tackling their final exams and reaching a significant milestone with the conclusion of their secondary schooling and years at Michaelhouse. I sincerely hope that, overall, each and every A Blocker feels that he has enjoyed and substantially benefited from his time at Michaelhouse, that you have made good friends and benefited from the holistic educational experience, and that the values practised here will guide and support you in the years ahead. I am sure there have been a number of speed bumps and challenges on the way, but in the fullness of time those will be recognized as enduring learning opportunities which will stand you in good stead. I assume many of us followed the recent Olympic Games. Particularly for the field, track and swimming events, SB and PB were shown as icons next to the times and results for individual athletes and events, representing a season’s best or personal best time. It was striking how frequently athletes achieved these breakthroughs on the back of extensive training, practice and intensity of competition. My hope for the matric exams ahead is that each of you will do your own best and achieve a number of season or personal best results to represent the effort you have made and personal progress achieved. An overriding goal is to position yourselves to secure your first choice of tertiary study or other plans you have made for next year. Good luck to you all over the six weeks ahead! We hope you will stay in touch with Michaelhouse through OM+, Old Boys events, gaudies and actively use the Old Boys network for mentorship, recruitment, work experience and referrals. Keeping contact details updated on OM+ is a very important way to make sure the Old Boys’ Club can keep in touch and that other Old Boys can be in touch. Help that you receive from the Old Boys’ Club and network ahead can be paid forward when you have an opportunity to reciprocate, so don’t hesitate to maximise the value of Michaelhouse after you leave Michaelhouse. I conclude with a meaningful quote which has stood the test of time and which I think is especially relevant to our A Block leavers as they now contemplate new frontiers, uncharted territory and fresh challenges. To quote Confucius, the Chinese Philosopher from around 500BC: “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” I thank you. 24