Dear Parents and Guardians,
RE: FROM THE RECTOR’S DESK
The Easter holiday, as long as it was, seems like a faded memory after what has been a full and engaging three weeks of term. As always, the Trinity Term lives up to expectation with a full calendar of activities. For rugby, two away fixtures involving long travel times very quickly brought back the reality of being back at school. Thankfully, we can look forward to being at home this weekend.
During the Easter holiday a fair number of boys and staff were involved in tours outside the country. There has been some very positive feedback from these tours and I am delighted that our players were well respected for their on and off field behaviour. It would appear that they carried both the school and Zimbabwe flag high and left very favourable impressions on their hosts. Basketball and Soccer toured northern Germany where they were involved in both training camps and games. This exposure has done much to highlight the levels of excellence expected in European soccer which, in turn, left a significant mark on our players. Rugby was held in Portugal where they played in a festival in Lisbon and then against two club sides in the north of the country. The team learnt much about their own ability, which has translated into some encouraging early season results back at home. Hockey was held in South Africa over Easter where they too enjoyed success at the St Dunstan’s Festival east of Johannesburg. Finally, Travel and Tourism were in Cape Town where they completed their AS level fieldwork study. Thanks go to the players and staff for their commitment to these tours, and equally, to all those families who supported and sacrificed some holiday time to facilitate these tours.
At the beginning of the term we welcomed a number of new staff. Winston and Glenda Holman join the school from Eswatini (Swaziland). Winston takes on the roles of Ellis Housemaster and Director of Sport while Glenda is teaching at Springvale House. In Founders, Danny and Ruth Tanser join the school. Danny will teach Physics and move into a new position as Director of Pupil Leadership. Ruth also moves into a new position as Head of Pupil Wellbeing. We also welcome, for the Trinity Term, James and Hannah Fair from the UK Midlands. They will spend time with us as part of a sabbatical programme. James teaches Geography and has played hockey for England, inclusive of two Olympics. Hannah is a historian and will be involved in hockey at PHG. Tracey Enslin joins the staff as Matron in Founders and Snell. Tracey lives locally and has a daughter at PHG. Ruth Brooke moves from PHG and joins the Chemistry Department at PHB. We wish them all a very warm welcome and hope that their Peterhouse journeys will be long and rewarding.
As we move into the Trinity Term we are very conscious that, on the sporting front, emotions can run high when watching your children play their games. While we work extremely hard to ensure that all our players show high degrees of sportsmanship and discipline on the sports fields, this is not always the case for spectators. Our appeal is that, in watching games, we set the right example for our pupils. Outbursts, inappropriate remarks towards officials, and comments which undermine the tone and composure of a game are not part of our sporting ethos. Equally, the excessive consumption of alcohol during the course of a day sets the wrong example for our pupils. Both coaches and players work extremely hard to ensure that we are at our competitive best. Poor spectator behaviour undermines all our efforts to ensure that games are played in the right spirit. Please do not embarrass your children through your comments and actions aside the sports field.
This time last year I expressed concerns to parents in a letter; as a school we have a growing usage of vapes and the ongoing issues related to the use of illegal drugs. In repeating my 2023 message, tackling these issues is our collective responsibility. We, for our part, continue to educate pupils in terms of the hazards associated with vaping and the use of illegal substances. Similarly, we will exercise our right to respond to the abuse of these substances. It should be noted that the school will, on reasonable suspicion, search and test pupils for drug use. Equally, we will institute appropriate responses to pupils who might be in breach of the schools illegal substance policies; this includes alcohol. In a similar vein, we have become aware of a growing trend towards the use of performance enhancing drugs in sport. Please note that the school will not tolerate this and will be moving to test, if under suspicion, our sportsmen. My appeal to you, as parents, is to support our efforts to ensure that we guide and support our pupils (your children) through this mine field. Again, I appeal for you to be very conscious of your children’s movements, the circle within which they socialize, and to manage pocket money so that it limits access to vaping, drugs, and alcohol. Our intention is not to be draconian but rather to heighten awareness of the real hazards of drug use and to ensure that we all recognize that we have a responsibility to educate and protect our children.
With just a quarter of the term behind us, we have done much, and a weekend away from the rigours of our competitive sports programme will be good. There are players heading off to various provincial and national trials and we wish them every success in their endeavours. Next weekend is a big one for the school as we host Falcon in hockey, rugby, and soccer. We look forward to hosting our friends and colleagues from Matabeleland, particularly the new Headmaster. We will also be hosting a number of Petrean Reunion groups and, equally, we look forward to reconnecting with both Old Boys’ and Girls’. D Block parents, I hope you are well prepared for your camp-out; some warm clothing will be essential.
Lastly, may I remind you all of the annual Kidzcan Walk/Run in Calderwood Park next Sunday (2 June) starting at 09.30 (registration at 08.00). Kidzcan does amazing work in supporting young children in their fight against cancer. Please put this event and date in your diary and support an incredible Zimbabwean charity.
With warm regards from Marondera,
Jon Trafford
Rector
