The Chronicle 2022

ENGLISH

Head of Department: Mrs Tanith von Mayer Staff: Mrs Mary McMichael, Mrs Gemma Blew, Mr Doug Rodger, Dr Bernice Borain, Mr Grant Ball, Mrs Sally Cahill and Mrs Peta Roberts Advanced Programme English: Dr Bernice Borain, Mrs Peta Roberts and Mrs Gemma Blew Part-time Staff: Mrs Katherine Cass, Mrs Leigh Kotze, Mr Herman Visagie and Mrs Wendi Erasmus Intern Staff: Mr Jayden Gengan, Mr Thabani Mchunu, Mr Sifiso Shabangu, Mr Simeon Goddard and Mr Anele Cebo A SUMMATION OF THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE 2021 IEB ENGLISH EXAMINATIONS: YEAR NO. AVE A B C D E % A, B, C 2021 110 74% 29 46 30 5 0 95,5% 2020 108 70% 15 52 34 7 0 93.5% 2019 100 70% 8 49 36 6 1 93% wande Dlomo was the top Michaelhouse achiever with 93%, while Jaden van der Merwe and Jadin Jordaan must also be commended for their 92% and 90% respectively. These results placed them in the top 1% nationally in the IEB examination for English Home Language – an admirable feat. Our 2021 aim of converting more B into A symbols was actualised and 26% of Michaelhouse candidates achieved an A symbol for English Home Language, surpassing the IEB statistic of 17%. Further Studies English continues to be offered as an optional extra to the boys and the results are as follows: K Our seven candidates were the last of Mr Peter Dennyson’s legacy and they were fortunate to have experienced his wisdom, humour and gentlemanly character. Our results are a credit to him. The study of Further Studies English is recommended as an extension for boys who have an enthusiasm for English (and English literature in particular) as the IEB syllabus provides them with an opportunity to engage with challenging poetry, prose and drama / film which will enable them to respond to literature in its broadest context. The course begins in B Block and is examined by the IEB in November of the boys’ A Block year in the form of a three hour paper requiring three essays: the first, a response to prose and drama / film; the second a response to chosen schools of poetry; and, finally, a creative and philosophical response based on their own personal reading history. YEAR NO. AVE A B C D E 0 0 0 % A, B, C 2021 7 2020 8 2019 1 71% 74% 74% 1 2 0 3 4 1 3 2 0 0 0 0 100% 100% 100%

Boys are also given an opportunity to enter the English Olympiad - a challenging programme of self-study culminating in an open-book examination. The 2022 theme was A Brave New World and the anthology consisted of poetry, prose, plays and short stories. Thirty three Michaelhouse boys participated in the 2022 competition, against candidates from 277 national and international schools, and our most notable results were six silver and eight bronze certificates. This is an enriching exercise; one which we will continue to promote in the English Department. At the beginning of the year, we welcomed Mrs Sally Cahill to our team. Her enthusiasm for teaching English and her passion for Michaelhouse guaranteed a valuable and valued addition to our Department. Sadly, we bade farewell to Dr Bernice Borain at the end of the first quarter. She returned to St John’s Diocesan School for Girls, having had a brief stint in the Michaelhouse English classroom. She was instrumental in guiding the department through the TEAMS-times and her innovative teaching practices inspired the rest of the techno-terrified English teachers. As a result, Mrs Peta Roberts joined us in the second quarter – an excellent and experienced teacher who has already, in a relatively short period of time, contributed a great deal to our team. We were just enjoying some consistency in the English Department when Mrs Gemma Blew announced her resignation. In 2023, she will be joining the Uplands crew. She is a fiercely loyal, hard working and positive person who lives by her high set of morals. The number of extra hours she invested in the success of her students cannot be counted and the impact that she has had on all of us cannot be quantified. She will be greatly missed. The A Block set works are dictated to us by the IEB. The 2021 novel was The Dream House , authored by the Old Michaelhousian, Craig Higginson. The novel journeyed the boys through the narrative about Patricia and Phiwayinkosi, set in the Kwazulu-Natal Midlands during the 90s. Its “poetic style and extraordinary tenderness, [tells] a story about the state of a nation and a deep meditation on memory, ageing, meaning, family, love and loss.” (Goodreads) This was coupled with the Shakespearean drama, The Tempest . The rest of the Blocks are exposed to a combination of African and Western literature – this remains a focus and we enjoyed reading a variety of texts. Our most notable addition to 2022 was the C Block module choice. At the end of D Block, the boys chose between the following modules: American Literature, African Science Fiction or Sport Literature. These individualised modules, comprising of a novel, film and poetry, reinforced the claim that an improvement in results is likely when boys have some autonomy in their studies. The C Block average improved significantly and we are looking forward to a similar trend in 2023, where the choices are: Murder Mystery; Sport is Life; and World’s Apart. A special mention needs to be made of our Murder Mystery novel, Lightseekers written by Mr Femi Kayode, a Michaelhouse parent. This will be a special experience for all involved.

It was hoped that, once the chaos of Covid-19 had been eclipsed,

60