Colin Stevens
College Principal
"It gives me great pleasure to write a Foreword to The Sagewood School Magazine for 2010 as my second year as Principal of this very fine school draws to a close.
This has been another immensely successful year and many firsts for the Sagewood family. It was also a year of the continuation of traditional Sagewood achievements; the 100% Matric pass rate of 2009, starting us off on a good footing!
In terms of the firsts; it started off with the holding of academic expectations meetings with the parents of all the grades early in the year. The next first was the inaugural Family Day which proved to be a huge success. It gave the young and old of Sagewood family a chance to come together and walk, eat and socialize together in a safe setting. The unusual variety of activities continued and as such we had the traditional Valentine's Day celebrations , The RAPS plays, and the odd learner social. The next first was the Arts and Culture Festival which once again saw all members of the Sagewood Community come together and celebrate our diverse cultures. It was indeed a day to remember!
During 2009, we also had a group of learners going to Europe on an Art Tour. By all accounts the learners enjoyed the trip and proved to be very able ambassadors for our School and Country. This year at the end of November a very big (about 40 people) are going to Egypt on an educational tour and expectations are that they will come back enriched and learned in an ancient African Culture!
Another successful Prize Giving also took place, with us being fortunate to have and ex student, Ms Thuli Shitole, as our motivational speaker. She delivered a very powerful message of perseverance, dedication and hard work to the school on that day. As an adage says: “Per Ardua Ad Astra”.
As this is also the school’s 25th Anniversary year , we have also planned a Masked Ball for Parents and Alumni to celebrate together in style before the end of the year. Our corporate partners and some golf loving parents have not been left behind and a Golf Day is also planned for the end of the year.
The numbers at our school are not always conductive for us to be competitive in many codes as our peers, but we do compete lively when called upon. And we were particularly competitive in the Girls Football where we were narrowly beaten for a semi final spot in the league. To encourage a more competitive edge and to project manage our co curricular programme, we have appointed a full time Head for this particular branch of education and as such foresee greater things to emerge from our school in the years to come!
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our dedicated and committed staff for the many hours they give to develop the various talents and other skills of our pupils and to enable them to participate in such a wide range of enjoyable events, trips and clubs outside the classroom. This magazine also contains a wide variety of art work, written articles, stories and poems. It provides an excellent showcase for our many gifted writers, linguists, artists and poets.
It is with immense pride in the pupils and staff of Sagewood College and their achievements, that I commend this engaging magazine to you. As another busy year ends I look forward to 2011 as a year to strengthen the Sagewood tradition and to initiate many other things that will make us even better.
Finally, many thanks to Mrs Sushi Naidoo and her editorial team for producing this highly quality magazine and special thanks to all the pupils and staff who have contributed articles and reports."
