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Hierdie leerders is deur na die ATKV finale rondte. Dit is ‘n ongelooflike prestasie en ons is baie trots op elkeen van julle.
The following students have made outstanding achievements:
en het
aan die
Elna Olivier, Heike Venter, DJ Olivier Hanco Harding, Rowan Macdonald, Jurgens Booysen, Ruben Potgieter. Hierdie seuns het hul NKZN kleure verwerf vir rugby toe KZN proewe gaan deelneem en Hanco Harding het toe KZN 0/12B span gekry.
Kayden Bentley, Tiyana Kemp and Mvelo Cele represented Amajuba District at the KZN Inland trials in April 2023 in Pietermaritzburg. They made our school proud and earned a place in the KZN team.
Baie geluk aan Mev. D. van Dyk wat verkies is as die o.13C dogters spanbestuurder.
Siyalesihle Nhlapo made the KZN athletics team that competed in Pietermaritzburg in March at the SA Primary Schools Track and Field Championships.
Well done Siyalesihle! We are proud of you.
Well done to Jonathan Ellison who represented KZN at the Curro National Robotics Competition today at Woodhill College in Pretoria. Jonathan came 3rd overall, defeating all odds! What an amazing achievement! Thank you to Mr Darren Ellor for accompanying Jonathan to this prestigious event!
As a school we are extremely proud of Jachin Naidoo in grade 10, who is “walking the talk” right to the ATKV Redenaars National (Afrikaans First Additional Language) final round 18 August in Cape Town.
Well done on this phenomenal achievement
Baie geluk aan Heino wat deelgeneem het aan die SA Kickboxing Waka SAKA Nasionale Kampioenskappe by Lephalale. Net 21 deelnemers van KZN het gaan deelneem en ons is baie bly vir Heino se prestasie. Hou so aan! Ons hou duime vas vir die afwagting of jy die volgende rondte gemaak het.
Baie geluk aan Josua Badenhorst wat verkies is tot die u.13A KZN Sharks span Congratulations to Samkelo Msibi who made the KZN Sharks u.13B team! Good luck with the upcoming Craven week! The Drakies are extremely proud of you!
Baie geluk aan Janu Badenhorst wat Drakies by die ATKV Redenaars te Port Natal verteenwoordig het!
These rugby boys were selected to represent the Sharks KZN u.18 invitational XV rugby team 2023.
Sambulo has been selected to take part in the Final Round of the Applications Olympiad. The finals will take place 1-4 July 2023 in Stellenbosch, Western Cape.
Empangeni High School Choir has been crowned as champions of the KwaZulu-Natal Province in the ABC Motsepe South African Schools Choral Eisteddfod, in the African Piece (Pitse tsa tlhogo by H.K Pule; obtaining position 1 with 80%. Western piece (Gloria, from Mass in C minor, K427) by W.A Mozart; obtaining position 1 with 82%. Female Voice (Ntombi Nto!) by Weziwe Vandala Moya; Obtaining position 1 with 87.67%. Male Voice (Disdainful of Danger) by G.F Handel obtaining position 2 with 79.67%. EHS Choir is going to represent the province of KZN on the upcoming national competitions in July. Gauteng Provice here we come!
Mvelo Cele, Tiyana Kemp and Kayden Bentley
Siyalesihle Nhlapo
Samkelo Msibi and Josua Badenhorst
Heino van der Westhuizen Janu Badenhorst
Sisanda Ndlovu (o.12), Mila Truter (o.12), Mev. D. van Dyk en Luan Lens (o.13).
Jonathan Ellison
Jachin Naidoo
Thandolwethu Mkhize Muziwandile Khawula Sizwe Jali Sambulo Zikhali
MAKE IT GREAT. MAKE IT BIG. MAKE IT WORK. MAKE IT SIMPLE. MAKE IT HAPPEN. MAKE IT IMPORTANT. MAKE IT POWERFUL. MAKE IT SOAR. MAKE IT AWSOME. MAKE IT UNFORGETTABLE. MAKE IT PROUD. MAKE IT CREATIVE. MAKE IT BETTER. MAKE IT LAST. MAKE IT INSPIRING. MAKE IT BRILLIANT.
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Players nowadays train with heavy weights from a young age. What is your opinion on that?
It’s an important topic. One must distinguish between weights and exercises using your own body weight and stretching. Any exercise that utilises your body weight is 100% effective and can contribute to your conditioning. However, when it comes to weights in the gym, you need to be careful as they can potentially damage your growth plates. If you’re training with weights, I recommend supervision and advice from a specialist or expert. Some young people’s growth plates close at an early age (around fourteen or fifteen), while others’ close at a later age (seventeen to eighteen). It’s very important to be cautious about starting weight training too early without proper supervision and advice from an expert.”
What do you think about the level of school rugby in South Africa compared to the rest of the world?
“I believe our school rugby is at a high and professional level. There are very few other countries’ school rugby programmes that can compete with ours. If you look at what some overseas schools invest in their rugby programmes, some of those schools spend more on rugby than some of our smaller local Currie Cup unions. Considering that, it’s incredible how good we are. Different countries have different development programmes for young players. Many of our successes at the senior level stem from the fact that our contact skills are developed at an early stage in school. In contrast, some overseas countries’ school programmes focus more on ball skills and individual abilities. It’s important to note that there is no right or wrong player development programme. Each country does what they believe works best for them”.
Is there an age at which young players should start establishing themselves in a position?
“There is no fixed recipe. You shouldn’t be nervous if you haven’t established yourself in a position yet – it will come to you. There are international players who played in different positions until they made it to their national team, even in their final year of school. In France, a player like Mathieu Bastareaud plays as a flanker for Toulon in some matches and as a centre in others. He represented France as a centre.”
What should primary and high school learners focus on in terms of game and technical development?
“Work on your skills as much as you can. You can never have too many skills. You can’t spend too much time on skill development. Players with vision are always noticed. Look at Lionel Messi, for example. He has crossed the field 676 times in the FIFA World Cup final, identifying the spaces and opportunities around him. From an early age, develop the habit of constantly observing what is.”
Scan QR code to watch a video of Lionel Messi scanning the field:
Contracting after school has changed a lot. What is a good route for young aspiring players to take for the best chance at success?
“There are several routes that can be followed, but three of the most common ones are as follows: The most common route is playing for your school’s first team, as well as participating in Craven Week (possibly also SA Schools). You get noticed by agents; you join a Union’s academy and play for their provincial junior U19 and U21 teams. Then you move up to the senior competitions (Currie Cup, URC, etc.) and eventually get selected for the Springboks.
The second route is playing for your school, continuing your studies, playing in the Varsity Cup, gaining exposure, and then being selected for a provincial junior U19 or U21 team, leading to a contract with a Union.
The third route is through club rugby, where you may be noticed for your good performances for your club and then invited to your Union’s training sessions, potentially earning a chance to play.”
Let’s talk Springbok rugby. It was recently mentioned that as a group, you were actually more focused on 2023 and that winning in 2019 was a bonus. What do you say?
“You are 100% correct. When our coaching team started in 2018, Springbok rugby was at a low point on the field (in terms of results) at that time. To turn things around and have a chance to win the 2019 Rugby World Cup, we had to come up with a plan that would give us a chance. We decided to play to the Springboks’ strengths, which included being physically dominant. Now, five years later, despite losing a lot of time during the Covid period, we’ve had a chance to increase the depth of players in all positions and work on individual skills. Many factors come into play, and success cannot be guaranteed, but we are in a good position. However, there is still hard work ahead to put the final pieces in place before the start of the World Cup.”
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1.
THE FAMOUS WHISTLE
The first game of every world cup to date has been started by the same whistle. The whistle is nearly 100 years old.
2. 1987 The first rugby world cup was hosted between New Zealand and Australia in 1987 - a championship in which New Zealand won.
3. 142 - 0
Australia holds the record for the largest winning margin, beating Namibia 142 - 0 in the 2003 championship.
4. YOUNGEST PLAYER
The youngest player to appear in a world cup final was Jonah Lomu in 1995 aged 20 years and 43 days.
5.
7. With 15 tries to his name, Jonah Lomu holds the most world cup tries ever scored in a Rugby World Cup.
8.
The most tries scored in a single match was by Marc Ellis who scored six tries against Japan in 1995.
9.
The youngest player to win the Rugby World Cup was Francois Steyn in 2007, aged 20 yers and 159 days.
6. OLDEST PLAYER
The oldest player to appear in a Rugby World Cup match was Diego Ormaechea of Uruguay, aged 40 years and 26 days.
10.
The record for the most drop goals scored in one match is held by Jannie de Beer of South Arica who kicked 5 drop goals against England in 1999.
The record for the most overall penalty goals kicked at the Rugby World Cup is held by Jonny Wilkinson with 58 penalties.
Head Girl shatters school academic records and earns white blazer
The recent Awards Assembly at St Dominics Newcastle was a celebration of our learners’ achievements in the academic, sport and culture pillars of the school.
A historical moment was Head Girl, Dia Singh receiving a prestigious white blazer for her 10th Honours re-award. This was a first for a learner at St Dominics Newcastle.
“St Dominic’s Newcastle has a proud history of excelling at academic, sporting, cultural and leadership activities, enabled by its dedicated staff,” explained Dia.
“As I progressed through the different grades at school, I saw learners clad in black blazers and realised that to receive one, a learner must exceed at
either of the aforementioned activities. This achievement is known as the Honour’s Blazer. I knew I had to have one.
Excelling at playing the piano and my continued academic efforts paved the way for my first honours. Qualifying for my first honours in Grade 9 was surreal!”
Throughout her school career, Dia has excelled and achieved her colours for culture and academics, which has eventually led to this historic moment.
“I tend to set higher standards for myself adopting a “reach for the moon” approach,” she confessed.
“There have been a multitude of prodigious individuals at St Dominics with a range of
talents and the institution continues this proud tradition. Through years of diligence and hard work I was informed I had shattered a new school record. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined to be the recipient of the school’s first White Blazer; an honour bestowed upon reaching your 10th honours achievement.”
Dia has conveyed her immense gratitude to the school’s Executive Head, Mr Chad Moses, and the school staff for acknowledging and recognising her achievements.
“I leave my fellow and future learners with this message: If you believe in yourself, you can achieve it. Hone your skills and sharpen your mind and you can achieve your goals.”
On Saturday, 6 May we hosted the SPAR Girls Hockey Tournament at St Dominics Newcastle. With preparations and set up starting early on Friday morning, the sports department from St Dominics were very eager to get this tournament underway! The facilities were ready to go by Friday evening at 21:30 and everyone got to have some sleep before the big day.
On Saturday we started setting up from 06:00 to ensure that our facilities were ready for action. The teams started arriving from 07:30 and the weather was quite chilly compared to the sizzling hockey action about to be seen on the Astroturf. Teams were hyped-up and keen to
do their best to contribute to getting their team into the finals.
The St Dominics team dominated its pool from the get go! With incredible results throughout the rest of the tournament, St Dominics did not give up and kept working hard to get their first SPAR Northern KZN Region Cup. St Dominics ended up facing Ferrum High School in the final and what a match it was! Both teams played their hearts out and the match ended in a draw, taking it to 8-second shootout. The 8 second shootout was very dramatic, but the captain of the St Dominics side, Ciana Captain ensured her team tied the
shootout and forced a round of sudden death.
It was once again Ciana Captain who took her shot at goal in the sudden death round with the utmost confidence and was successful! Ferrum was not as fortunate, and the two back to back goals of Captain won her team the final of the Northern KZN Region SPAR Hockey Tournament!
St Dominics will take part in July at the KZN SPAR Girls Final, which takes place at St Marys DSG in Kloof.
We are very proud of all the girls and wish them all the best with the finals!”
A good rule of thumb is to have your children’s eyes examined beginning around age four. Your child’s eye doctor can help detect refractive errors such as nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism as well as other conditions.