Headmaster's Newsletter -- Week 1

In some ways School is the same as home: if our children are happy, we are happy.  So, it is at KES in our opening week. It has been a remarkably smooth start. Familiar routines established themselves quickly, and new ones were not far behind. The morning screening was astonishingly quick, with everyone through by 8:10am.  Classes, sports, meals, homework (!), are all in full swing and unencumbered by the protocols we have in place.  Seeing afternoon sports fill the gym, the fields, the tennis courts and track, is an absolute joy.  In this time of heightened concern, our School seems to radiate health and good humour.  Needless to say, it has been an enjoyable week!

 

Tomorrow the Grade 9s head out to Cape Split for their 16km hike, while the rest of the School gets on with their Saturday classes. Tonight is special as after prep we will celebrate the start of the School year with a professional fireworks display. It won’t last long, but it will rival anything seen anywhere!  Tomorrow night we will have an outdoor “masked” dance in the Quad. Glow sticks and Christmas lights will provide for a wonderful ambience as our boarders enjoy some social time together outside.

 

There is a French expression: “Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme choses.” Which explains how, despite all the changes we have faced, much has remained the same. Teenagers love being together. Teaching and coaching and learning are fun. Having structure and purpose in one’s day is good.

 

The summer’s drought has left Turtle Pond almost completely dry. The low water levels have revealed decades worth of refuse. To my delight, when I asked a few students if they would be keen to help me clean up the pond last night they enthusiastically said yes. We got really muddy, but on top of the expected cans and bottles, the end result was that we removed: 10 tires, two bicycles, two hockey nets (!), two shovels (good ones too), some metal shelving, and an old canoe with a hole in it. Many thanks to Class of 2021 grads Righo Etou, Sarah Bell, Jem Logan, and Svenja Priggemeyer. 

 

Many thanks, as well, to everyone who has made this opening week a success. I am still in awe of those students from outside the Atlantic Bubble who travelled alone and went into isolation for two weeks when they arrived.  The courage and commitment they have shown warms my heart.