Termly Reflection 

“Take time every day to look at the sun through the leaves or the wind on the water.” Rory Randall

Great advice. And even better when the leaves become the vivid crimson that our ubiquitous Japanese Maple produces every year. It was when taking a particularly good look at those leaves that the branches came into focus. Shiny on the top side. Odd that. Well, at least until one considers how very many Clifton children’s hands, feet and bottoms must have been through those same branches to have polished the bark to a standard that any army corporal would approve of. Attach a giggle, a deep meaningful chat or a moment of calm reflection to those children and you have a sense why the tree has become so iconic to so many…. and there will be many more, happily.

The maple may have been a small seedling in the Spring Grove Arboretum when Esmonde Dowse and his 18 Clifton Durban friends arrived at Spring Grove Farm in May of 1942. How fortunate we were to have Mr Dowse and his daughter, Mrs Alison Hughes, pay the school a visit in the week of our Founder’s Day. To walk with and listen to his fondly told stories, and to pore over photographs of the early days was quite something. Perhaps just as impressive is to know that the traditional games and activities (bobsledding, conkers, marbles), as well as the Dining Hall serve as silent sentries guarding those traditions.

As also seems to be traditional, it has been another fulfilling term at our precious school… and there has been much growth, aside from that seen on the sports fields or in the classrooms. Our Clifton Trust has ensured that the Usher House and Grade 4 building projects have continued smoothly, along with the exciting start to the building of what will become Clifton’s creative hub around and including what some of our old(er) boys may recall what was referred to as ‘Treverton Dorm’ some decades ago.

A snapshot of the term ranges from the Pre-School ‘Duiker Dawdle’ through Top Woods to a Senior Primary hike into the Kamberg. School outings to such places as Zingela, the Nelson Mandela Capture Site, Shongweni, and Nyala Pans have ensured learning beyond the classroom, as has honouring Youth Day. Some children have played ‘real’ rugby and hockey matches for the first time. Boarders continue to feast on a veritable smorgasbord at their Sunday brunches (and also possibly ensuring that some of the less-official nocturnal athletic challenges are upheld before the evening chills become too Baltic). Exams, outdoor learning days, time at Cliff’s Dam, Marimba performances, Grade 7 play, bobsledding and conkers have ensured our children (and staff) have really taken every opportunity to celebrate life at every turn… what a gift.

Our termly Cognitive Enrichment Advantage (CEA) focus for the Junior Primary included Selective Attention, Working Memory, Self-Change, and Feeling of Challenge, while the Senior Primary focused on Feeling of Competence and Self-Regulation. These tools equip our children for the increasing demands and challenges of life, and have been actively integrated into our classrooms, onto the sports fields, and within boarding life. 

So, with the term drawing to a close, as the first frosts and light mists carpet the fields in the quiet of morning, the peace that always has been at Clifton since the days of Esmonde Dowse remains… well, until that first Hadeda cry, of course. Here’s to Rory Randall…