What You Need to Know from Second Term
Academy School 2018 has been an incredible year at our school, and the first three weeks of our second term have been very encouraging.
David Handyside, one of our additions to the staff this year, has fully made his transition to the role of principal, and he is the perfect fit. He is well respected among staff and boys, a clear communicator, and he has the heart for the job. We received great response and attendance from our parent meeting & open house a few weeks back, and we are looking for more ways to include and involve parents in the boys’ school experience. We will send midterm reports in two weeks time, and we are hoping to create accountability among our boys and their scores throughout the term as a whole.
Ubuntu Football Due to the drought and a lack of fields, the regular league season has been pushed back by ten weeks, and the current schedule is for an abbreviated league format starting in June.
However, our coaches have worked hard to book artificial turf fields for practice, and we have been able to schedule friendlies on most weekends, which is no small achievement in our current crisis. Over the Workers’ Day long weekend, we played in the 64 team “Salt River 7s” u12 tournament. We entered two teams, with the younger u11 based team making it through to the quarter finals, while our other team made it through to the semi-finals. The boys played some really excellent football and won many admirers through their conduct on and off the field. The player of the tournament was our very own Xavier Jodamus, a center midfielder with great creativity and goal scoring throughout the weekend.
Ubuntu House Our home away from home for 31 boys continues to be one of the most exciting contexts for growth and mentorship.
The number of boys in the house is quite stretching, but it has opened the door for great leadership from our older boys which helps give the smaller boys examples and role models to follow. Our house parents (Gerda and Louwrens Scheepers) and house managers (Shawn Buck and Yannick Sop) are incredibly loving and committed family to the boys in the house, and their work is a true calling. Last week the boys in the house celebrated all of the April birthdays, a really sweet time for everyone in the house to come together as a family.
Ubuntu Cape Town FC Our professional club has had a very exciting first season in the National First Division, including a multitude of highs and lows.
We were the only NFD team in the NedBank Cup Quarter Finals, having beaten two PSL teams to get there. Although we lost to Free State Stars on penalties after drawing the game in extra time, our giant-killing campaign generated fantastic exposure for our work on all levels. Overall, this season has been filled with growth, endurance, and learning for players and coaches. We believe the atmosphere at Ubuntu Cape Town FC is set apart from other clubs, not only in the NFD but in professional soccer in South Africa. We played our final match of the season last Sunday, one that would ultimately determine our relegation standing and whether or not we remain in the NFD next season. After a remarkable victory, the Ubuntu family celebrated.
Ubuntu Alumni Jesse Donn and Luke Fleurs both started for Ubuntu Cape Town FC in the final match of the season, playing exceptional football.
The next day, they both flew to Johannesburg to join the South African U20 Men's National Team for camp to prepare for their 2018 U20 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Mozambique. The first leg ended in a 1-1 draw, and now they are getting ready to play the home leg this Sunday in Rustenburg. We are so proud of these two and all they have accomplished this season.
