Friday 13 January 2023
Dear Parents and Guardians,
RE: FROM THE RECTOR’S DESK
As this letter arrives in your inbox the D Block will have had their first full day in the classroom, having completed the first phase of their Peterhouse Orientation.
I do hope that all our Peterhouse families enjoyed a wonderful Christmas break and that you were able to use the time to reconnect, refresh, and recharge for the start of 2023. The holiday has been a good time for some consolidation here at school and both our Estates and Maintenance Departments have been hard at work. The rains have certainly had their impact and all our grounds look magnificent thanks to the work of the Estates teams. On the maintenance front, we have managed to get into several areas of the school and do some sterling work. On all three campuses work has been done in repairing and upgrading a number of facilities. Most significantly, the two new Science Laboratories have been completed at PHG, and at SVH the Senior Girls’ dormitories and bathrooms have had a complete make-over. At PHB there has been a redevelopment of the Design Centre with an expansion of teaching space for Art and the creation of some new teaching spaces for Divinity and Shona. Equally, the Maintenance Department have done wonders with a classroom furniture upgrade.
With the start of the academic year, we welcome 244 new pupils to the Group. Our D Block and Grade 1 classes are bursting at the seams, coupled with a very good number of new pupils in the other year groups. To all those families who are new to the Group of Schools, welcome to our community; it is my sincere hope that your connection with Peterhouse will be both happy and rewarding. We await the IGCSE results next week, after which we will be in a position to finalise a good number of applications to Vth Form, both at PHB and PHG. We also welcome several new staff to our three schools; Mr Ike Bhana joins the Group as our new Transport Manager, while his wife Stacy joins the school as the new Assistant Accountant. At the Boys’ School, Mrs Myrna Simpson will become the new Housemistress for Dame Molly Court as well as teaching Business Studies; Mr David Makwindi, who may be known to some Peterhouse families, returns to the school in the Geography Department; Ms Abigail Davy joins the English Department to teach junior classes. At Peterhouse Girls’, Mrs Sian Rae has been appointed as Head of English, with Mrs Charity Katsande joining her in the English Department; Ms Kushinga Pfende fills in in the Art Department for this term and Mr Tapiwa Pongweni has been appointed as the new Director of Sport. Mrs Jan Matthews returns to Springvale House to teach Grade 6. Tokomborerwa Mtisi, Kudiwanashe Wazara, Joshua Resteberg, Kelcy Ndoro, Sharon Marangwanda, Nicole Chapungu and Emmanuel Nyamupingidza have been appointed Junior Masters/mistresses across the Group. There have also been some internal moves within the schools. At Peterhouse Boys’ Mr Shawn Ndlovu takes over as Director of Studies with Mr Griggs moving to Senior Master, Academic Administration. Mr Griggs will be responsible for examinations and academic timetabling. Mr Prince Chavunduka has been appointed Senior Tutor (Middle School). At the Girls’ School Mrs Nyari Chinodyaruswa has been appointed VIth Form Housemistress and Ms Kiara Cordy Housemistress for B Block. Mr Scott Jones moves from Peterhouse Girls to Housemaster at Springvale House.
Earlier this week the 2022 A Level and AS Examination results were published. Congratulations to all our 2022 Leavers on their results and we were pleased with an overall pass rate of just under 99%. We wish last year’s A Level class every success as they embark on the next step of their journey. We hope that they will be able to fulfil their post-school expectations. For our AS candidates, the results will provide them with an excellent insight into the expectations of A2; these results are an important benchmark with respect to their current academic progress and it is our hope that they will now have a very good insight into what needs to happen in the classroom this year.
On the sporting front, the 1st XI Cricket side is in South Africa. They played several warm-up games before travelling to Makhanda/Grahamstown where they are participating in the annual Eastern Cape Schools Cricket Festival. Our rowers and water polo players were at school for a pre-season camp as they have a very full fixtures programme this term. Returning to tradition, our rowers will again head off to the South African Schools Championships towards the end of this term. Please check the calendar and weekly updates of the calendar for all our school activities and fixtures this term.
In closing, may I remind you of the importance of staying in touch with the school. Of course, the first and most important connection with the school is through your Housemaster/mistress. Similarly, could I ask that medical/dental appointments (non-critical) take place in holiday time. Term dates are also published well in advance so that you can plan accordingly. Compromising these dates does put the school in a difficult position.
Please note the Parent Association contact details for the Block representatives. Please ensure that you are a member of the appropriate WhatsApp group; if not please kindly contact your Block representative to be added to your respective group.
Peterhouse Parents Association Committee 2023
Block Representatives
D Block Girls & Boys
Michelle Exton
0772 855 444/
+27 72 128 3032
mmexton@gmail.com
C Block Girls & Boys
Michelle Exton
0772 855 444/
+27 72 128 3032
mmexton@gmail.com
B Block Girls & Boys
Debbie Tselentis
0772 201 028
debbietselentis@gmail.com
A Block Girls & Boys
Sharn Hewer
0772 235 439
hewer4@gmail.com
5th Form Girls & Boys
Daina Mudimbu
0775 855 656
deemudimbu@gmail.com
6th Form Girls & Boys
Doug Marillier
0772 377 383
douglas@marillierproperties.co.zw
Other Committee Members
Vice Chairman
Nigel Weller
0772 609 871
nigelweller5@gmail.com
Member
Charmaine Saywood
0773 125 908
chartone@zol.co.zw
Member
Aaron Jani
0772 216 106
pgejani@gmail.com
Member
Tony Saywood
0776 435 544
tonysaywood@gmail.com
With the first week of the academic year coming to a close, it would appear that we have settled into our routines with relative ease and that we can look forward to a full and rewarding, albeit short, term.
With regards,
Jon Trafford