» The President’s Award

St John’s College was honoured to host the Gold Award Ceremony of the President’s Award and to host HRH Prince Edward on 13 October 2006.

The President’s Award with its patron, Dr Nelson Mandela, inspires young people to commit themselves with energy, enthusiasm and hope to achieve goals in significant areas in our society.

The Award is founded on service, skills and physical recreation, adventure and all aspects of personal development. The enthusiasm for the concept of the Award has been outstanding. 156 boys received Bronze Awards in 2006, while 38 completed the Gold Award. From learning to play a musical instrument, to mastering a new sport, to physically demanding adventures, to bricklaying, the boys have thrown themselves into the challenge of attaining these awards.

2007 activities for The President’s Award

• St John’s College pupils lend a hand at Logwood Village
  As part of the Golden Eagle Award of the President’s Award, a group of St John’s College pupils visited Logwood Village, a home catering for mentally disabled adults in the 2007 April school holidays

  Connor Mace reported on his experience:
  “I went to Logwood expecting to see exactly what I had been told -‘mentally disabled people!’ I know that, along with everyone else, our limited views of what we thought we would experience were changed instantly. On arriving at Logwood, we were split up into smaller groups who would rotate jobs every day.

  Over the five days we were at Logwood, we met the residents who were all very different, apart from their handicap. One resident in made an impression and we discovered that he had accomplished more than most of us - he had run in the London Marathon - something I know I would never be able to do. Meeting someone like that is a life changing experience as you come face to face with a person whom most people would regard as one of God’s imperfections, which is a complete misconception. One of the resident’s mother said that it had been the best thing to have happened to her as she had learnt more since the birth of her disabled son than she had ever learned at school. She said that life had not been easy and had not been prepared about what a mentally disabled child would entail.

  I was very moved by the story of how one resident, now grown man, used to break down and with frustration as he was not like other kids and could not do what they did. What was most moving though, is that he knew he was different and, being religious, was incredibly angry with God because God made him this way. Instead of making him completely disabled which would make him oblivious to his differences, he was aware that he was different and wished that he was either normal or more disabled so that he did not have to go through the pain of being aware that he was so different to others.

  Once this had all hit me like a ton of bricks, the small jobs that we had to do around seemed quite insignificant, yet as it was said, it was one of their highlights of the year.

  We proceeded to pave a driveway, paint a house, construct a bocci court, take the residents out to the Botanical Gardens and we even ‘inherited’ a disability for a day such as becoming blind, deaf or physically impaired. The work was tough and let me just tell you that I have a new respect for people that mix cement! But as I said earlier, it was something so small in the bigger picture, but it brought the residents of Logwood so much elation. I bet the work we did there is in use right now and will be for quite some time. Seeing them getting so much happiness only from meeting us and shaking our hands made me feel as if I got more out of it than they did”.

• Community Service at John Wesley Methodist Mission School
  As part of the President's Award and for community service towards the Golden Eagle award, seven St John's boys visited the John Wesley Methodist Mission School in Manguzi, Kwa-Zulu Natal, near the Mozambique border. The school had recently moved premises as the local municipality needed their previous grounds. Their new playground was nothing but sand which soon changed when seven boys designed and constructed a brand new jungle-gym with swings in the bare playground from 10 to 14 April this year.

  Lorne Hallendorff, Pierre Rossouw, Jonathan Hock, Dinand Bezuidenhout, Andreas Pfeffer, Matthew Sully and Trevor Neves stayed at the local Methodist church in the Manguzi community and spent their days sawing, digging and drilling. The materials were financed by St John's parent, Mr Stevens of Smith's Mining Equipment and the boys brought tools from home. The boys erected: a climbing net, net bridge, suspension bridge, two rope climbs, four swings, balancing stumps, a seesaw, a roofed platform and a balancing beam with a net. They also donated stationery, a synthetic cricket mat, a bowling machine and balls, sports equipment, a computer printer and speakers and 26 boxes of Easter eggs.

  These dedicated boys said that it had been a very rewarding experience and would happily return to assist the school in other ways in the future.

  An extract from a letter sent to the headmaster of St John's College by Mr Alan Stuart of the Mission school: "We thank these young men for their hard work and dedication. This is a group of spirited, enthusiastic and imaginative individuals. They are a credit to your college and to their parents. Special thanks to St John's College for instituting this community service programme which has benefited our school over the past three years."

• Drakensberg Hike – APRIL 2007: Sonja Parnell
  05h00 dawned beautifully clear over the Ukhahlamba's Amphitheatre, KZN, on Monday 16 April 2007 as the Inkwenkwezi Adventure Camps staff rose to make final packing arrangements. "Aah, perfect!"

  The next 5 ½ hours was charged with the mixed feelings of excitement and nervousness as the 22 boys from St Johns College (plus 1 brave girl) made their way from Johannesburg and eventually up the winding road towards the Sentinel car park. Here the first challenge for the boys began - repacking their backpacks to fit in the 6 days worth of food, cooking and cleaning equipment and of course the tents!

  Surprised that with some rubrics cube type packing it all fitted, backpacks were strapped on and after a quick brief we set off, destination Tugela Falls. Taking into consideration the size of the group, that most of the boys were novice hikers and not all of them were confident to go up the tricky-with-a-full-backpack-on Chain Ladder, we decided to split the group. Eleven boys went up The Gully, which proved to have its own physical challenge, while the rest went up the chain ladder. The groups met up again at the Tugela Falls enjoying a spectacularly clear view of the surrounding peaks and the valleys 900m below. Spurred on by a pending thunder storm we headed for our camp site about 3.5km away and arrived there just after 17h30, setting up camp in the dusky light and chilling air. Soon camp was a bustle with boys joking, chatting and huddling around their gas stoves, cooking their supper. One hour guard duty shifts were assigned and by 22h30 camp resumed the stillness of the mountains as the cold of the night sent us crawling into our tents and sleeping bags.

  Tuesday 17th provided a beautiful sunrise over The Eastern Buttress with the promise of a clear and sunny day. Breakfast was enjoyed between sips of piping hot tea and coffee after which camp was disassembled, and the boys briefed for the day's requirements. The navigating group went over the route with the lead guide and leaders from each group were identified for the day, something that became a daily ritual.

  Group dynamics were starting to change, with smaller groups starting to emerge, which interestingly enough were not necessarily the groups that the boys had chosen to be in for cooking and sleeping arrangements. Just after lunch, and about ½ way through our distance for the day, the weather was clearly changing and wet weather gear donned. From here we saw some character starting to develop as my only other female companion, Philippa Nettleton, just wanted to be finished with this. The long slog up the steep gully in the cold rain was indeed strenuous and enough to make anyone opt for a steaming cup of hot chocolate and a Jetmaster log fire, indoors at that. But 2 boys stayed at Philippa's side, sometimes chatting to her, sometimes just walking silently next to her, sometimes waiting for her, but always there. Together Jody Odgers, Christian Sittman and Philippa got to the top of that first long and steep climb, and the others that followed. Bernard Steyn too showed amazing overall perseverance as he pushed on.

  Eager to get out of the cold and rain we pushed on to Mbundini Abbey and settled for the evening where the rain lifted enabling us to have a very early supper but chased us back into our tents by about 20h00. There we rubbed weary muscles, treated blisters, rubbed aching feet and reflected internally (I suspect as although torches in the tents were on, noise levels were low) on the day. Guard duty continued as per the previous night, resulting in stronger bonds developing between groups and individuals.

  Wednesday 18th and the general feeling was one of resuming control again. Comments like "I'm learning to handle this beast (the backpack)" started to creep in to conversations with the boys. Conditions were cold and the mist made navigating tricky but under the watchful eye of our leading guides the navigating group had a great opportunity to experience walking on bearings, checking the map, when possible, for landmarks that appeared as ghostly shapes, there one minute and gone the next. The importance of keeping together as a group became a reality and teamwork and leadership skills were demonstrated by the boys in checking to see that team mates were visible and accounted for at all times. Naturally our walking pace was slower than it had been and those boys that had been taking a bit of strain managed to find their second wind. With a very festive atmosphere around camp that night and the sound of the source of the Orange River trickling not far from us, the feeling of being on top of the world, well at least the Drakensberg, was certainly true.

  Thursday 19th saw 2 boys, Jonathan Hock and Nick Heyns celebrating their birthdays. Waking just before sunrise I strolled over to the edge of the escarpment following a torch light that I'd caught glimpse of, only to find the 2 of them wrapped together with a sleeping bag and boiling water for their Milo. Unbeknown to me, they had arranged to do the last guard duty shift so that they would be up to watch the sunrise and the thought occurred to me that if the whole hike was only for this moment, for these 2 boys, then it was worth it.

  We continued our 4th day in good spirits in spite of the initially good weather changing to mist again, but grateful that it was not accompanied by rain. We almost did not make our targeted camp site but decided to make the most of daylight and pushed on till almost 18h00 when we reached our spot along the Kwakwatsi River, below Mlambonja Pass. After setting up camp and another rather refreshing dip for those brave at heart (uh, that excluded me), rain set in for the night, clearing at some point and leaving what must've been a clear sky and plummeting temperatures. We awoke to ice stiffened tents and began the procedure of scraping the ice off with our spoons.

  We continued our 4th day in good spirits in spite of the initially good weather changing to mist again, but grateful that it was not accompanied by rain. We almost did not make our targeted camp site but decided to make the most of daylight and pushed on till almost 18h00 when we reached our spot along the Kwakwatsi River, below Mlambonja Pass. After setting up camp and another rather refreshing dip for those brave at heart (uh, that excluded me), rain set in for the night, clearing at some point and leaving what must've been a clear sky and plummeting temperatures. We awoke to ice stiffened tents and began the procedure of scraping the ice off with our spoons.

  Saturday brought closure on what started out as a tough journey, "never to be repeated", but ended, through the toughness, as a journey of self discovery, with some of the "never to be repeated"s changing to "perhaps I will try this again after all".

  Every boy contributed to this hike. Some were quiet, some were always high spirited, but all were caring, taking extra load from those that needed help carrying equipment, giving an encouraging word, an encouraging presence. I have already mentioned a few names but feel that the entire group demonstrated great team work, operating as little groups within a larger group. Philippa did a great job as the only female participant, and the boys did a great job of welcoming her into the group and treating her appropriately.

  Some comments from the boys:

  "I enjoyed getting away from things and enjoying a trip. Though the hike was tough and sometimes hard I enjoy looking back on it. Spending time with friends too." – Morne

  "Was an interesting experience i.e. exerting, but fun in the end. Some beautiful sights and scenes." – KB

  "Difficult but definitely worth the hard work. The views made the trip." – Christian