The year began with an Assembly at 7.30am on Wednesday morning, 9 January 2019.
Head Master, Mr Pinheiro, welcomed the Boys and Staff back to School and wished them all the best for the year.
He then gave a report back on various items:
Project Pegasus:
Security cameras – 109 cameras have been installed and these are all up and running, with a few more to be added soon.
New phone system – this is fully operational; callers now have the option to choose which department they wish to go through to.
New Intercom system – the arrival of a switch from overseas is holding up completion of this project up, but we expect it to be up and running by the end of January.
Biometrics – this system is working and fully functional, the fingerprints of the Grade 8s are in the throes of being captured.
Cambridge Nonpareil Academy Construction:
Construction on the upgrade is behind schedule, completion is expected by the end of January, in the interim the AJ Human Room will be used by the Academy.
NewBridge Construction:
Construction on this site is ongoing and should be completed by the end of January.
Indoor Cricket Centre Upgrade:
An extensive upgrade on this facility was started at the end of last term and completed this week, it is now fully functional and looking good.
Tuckshop:
Tenders were requested at the end of Term 4 2018 and Flava was awarded the contract for a new tuckshop. The facility is being upgraded and is nearing completion, with approximately 80% done. The menu is impressive with healthy options. Payments can now be made with cards.
Blue Lockers:
The lockers have been moved and rearranged, they are no longer on the ground floor and will be allocated and arranged by grade and stickers allocated to the boys. In addition, a new system is in place, the rules of which are available on the D6.
Sick Bay:
The Sick Bay has been moved up to the 2nd floor, in the Admin passage. The Admissions office moved to the old sick bay at Reception.
New Staff:
We welcomed 7 new staff members:
Mr M Jansen van Rensburg – Maths, Maths Lit, History
Dr S Clifton – Physical Sciences
Mr A Dudas – LO, Grade 8 Discipline Head
Mr W du Plessis – Marketing
Mrs J Hamilton – English
Ms J Jacobs – Maths, Maths Lit
Mr H Siyaya – Intern
Grade 8s:
Mr Pinheiro welcomed the 200 new Grade 8s to the DHS Brotherhood. He stressed that no initiation was allowed, however, the Grade 8s do need to understand they should respect the seniors who have earned their rites of passage. He said DHS is a family orientated school and every boy has the right to feel safe at our School.
Elective Programme:
The Elective Programme will start on 4 February. In the interim, 7 academic periods will be held per day.
Matric 2018 Results:
Mr Pinheiro said he was disappointed at the bottom end of the 2018 class as there had been a number of failures. However, he was exceptionally proud of the Top end – 9 boys received full house of distinctions. These boy had been interviewed by the SABS and each of them mentioned the amount of work and sacrifice it took to achieve these results. They also mentioned they worked hard from the beginning of the year.
Book Checks:
Book checks are to be held throughout the year and Mr Pinheiro himself will be checking some of the books. He said the boys need to take pride in their work and books.
1st XI Cricket @ Grey High:
The 1st XI Cricket team had had a very successful tour to the Grey PE Cricket Festival with 3 out of 4 wins, including against Grey High and Grey College. He said he was very proud of their results and particularly proud of the compliments he had received on the boys’ behaviour. Well done, Gentlemen!
May this year be an amazing journey for all!
