PRIMÊRE SKOOL WILLEM POSTMA (t) 051 436 2730/1 (e) pthysn@wpps.co.za Nuwe personeel by ons skool vir 2017
Tweelinge Ons het twee pare tweelinge wat die jaar ingeskryf is in Graad 1 by Willem Postma.
Wian Geldenhuys, Gerdus Geldenhuys, Riana Fourie en Dalene Fourie.
Cliné Payne en Matthew Hardenberg.
LAERSKOOL PRESIDENT BRAND (t) 051 422 4941 (e) mariana@presidentbrand.co.za PBS Wydingsdiens 2017 Gedurende die eerste week van die nuwe skooljaar woon die hele PBS die jaarlikse kerkdiens in die Ouditorium van NG Kerk Pellissier by. Die geleentheid was gelei deur ds. Adel Strauss.
President Brand presteer tydens die SA Skaakkampioenskappe Mangaung o/10A (SJ Odendaal, Christiaan Odendaal en Garran Grace) en Mangaung o/14A (Imché Venter en Jeandré Coetzee) wen goud in hulle onderskeie afdelings.
010A Christiaan Odendaal, Garren Grace, SJ Odendaal.
0/14A Jeanré Coetzee en Imché Venter. Bordpryswenners tydens die SA Skaakkampioenskappe: VOOR: Imché Venter. AGTER: SJ Odendaal, Garren Grace, Carissa Boje.
Graad 7 leerders by die kerkklok.
ST ANDREW’S SCHOOL
PBS se Victor Lodorum en Victrix Lodorum
Altus du Plessis en Ladene Liebenberg.
(t) 051-444 1612 (e) oba@sasb.co.za
PHOTO Seth Adam, Saint Andrew’s Photographic Club.
Josh Human
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When Josh Human won the U16 Victor Ludorum title at the Free State Aquatics Championships towards the end of 2016 it was the latest sign that his arrow in the swimming ranks is firmly on the up. Like his late father, Craig, and his uncles, Clifford and Philip, he is a Saint Andrew’s schoolboy. Now his coach, Brent Holmes, has also joined the school. Holmes is also the man behind the outstanding success of Oranje and the Neptune Aquatics Club. Josh first came under his guidance in Grade 5 when he followed his sister into swimming. Holmes remembers him as a “naughty, small and extremely determined”. It was clear that he possessed great talent, but Josh also liked rugby (his father played for the Free State U20 team) and so split his time between the sports. However, after he and Holmes had a sit-down Josh decided a year-anda-half ago to focus solely on swimming. “I realised I could go places in the sport, when I started practicing properly,” Josh admits. He has since set his sights very high and hopes to represent South Africa at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. He is set to matriculate in 2019. Holmes says it would be a tough ask for Josh to qualify for Olympics because he had started swimming relatively late compared to most other top swimmers. Speaking frankly, he says Josh is not on target to make it to Tokyo 2020, but that could change. “He is progressing rapidly and as long as that upward curve continues, in a year’s time we might have to sit down and say it is now realistic and something
AWSUM NEWS JANUARY 2017
to aim towards.” Holmes says. Josh’s weekly training programme includes 11 two-hour sessions in the pool, daily half-hour sessions in the gym and 10km on the road. In addition, on his own, he puts in an hour after each practice to focus on his start, turns and underwater work. “I think he is starting to understand what sort of commitment is needed. His times in the 50s have been fantastic. His 100s have been improving and his distance swimming has been improving quite a bit. As a complete package, he is on the right path,” Holmes says. While Josh believes his best shot at success in future is the 100m backstroke, Holmes is intrigued by his all-round ability and suggested his charge could become a top 400m individual medley swimmer. At this stage, he says, it was too soon for Josh to specialise. At Saint Andrew’s recent Inter-house gala, Josh tried to better George du Rand’s under-16 50m backstroke record. Du Rand holds three South African records in the stroke and was a world record holder in the short course 200m. It was close, but Josh came up just short, finishing 0.3 outside of Du Rand’s mark. Josh commented: “I messed up in the end. Instead of finishing properly, I was waiting and I couldn’t find the wall because I took a stroke too few.” Nonetheless, coming so close to Du Rand’s mark will serve as further motivation, he says. “I definitely want to have an international swimming career.” The talent it appears is there. Now it will come down to hard work and making the most of opportunities.