71 BALLROOM DANCING Our Grade 11 boys, with a small complement of Grade 10s, once again joined up with St Mary’s for the ever-popular Ballroom Dancing club. Whether it is the lure of nights out escaping the confines of the College grounds, the attraction of socialising with the St Mary’s girls, a genuine interest in learning the finer niceties of dancing or the anticipated trip back via McDonalds, Kearsney boys thoroughly enjoy this club. Interactions such as this help develop social skills in boys who often have little idea how to treat members of the opposite sex. Manners and etiquette thus practised will stand the boys in good stead in the years to come. Dance instructor Claudia Moir put them through their paces, learning such steps as the Waltz, Cha-Cha, Foxtrot and American Swing. It is no easy task keeping control of 70 charged up teenagers without being too heavy-handed or spoiling the fun element of the sessions. Our teacher is to be complimented on her easy, relaxed yet firm handling of her pupils. Our boys are also to be commended on their good manners. Ms Andrea Fri pp Director of Clubs and Cultural Activities CHESS CLUB Richard Riti once wrote: “For in the idea of chess and the development of the chess mind we have a picture of the intellectual struggle of mankind”, and this is exactly what I have seen in most of our senior players. The primary goal for the year was to try to field a strong team with the aim of winning the chess league. With most of our players being Grade 12s, we needed to take our opportunity. The season started on a positive note, with us winning our first two matches convincingly. The boys were encouraged and were given a renewed belief in themselves. The season, did however, prove challenging and after completing ten matches in the season our boys ended in fourth position. Our best win was against Pinetown Girls High when we won all our eight matches. For the boys, it is always exciting and nerve racking to play against the girls as they are known to be more focussed, yet boys are more competitive. In the eyes of the boys, to lose against girls is not a defeat to them but to the entire College. Although disappointing, considering our goal, the lessons we took away were valuable and resonate with Riti’s statement. While things do not always go your way, no matter how badly you want them to, sometimes you need to take a step back in order to go forward stronger. Congratulations to Finningley for their emphatic win of the Chess Inter-house competition. They made history, demolishing other Houses and winning all their junior and senior matches – an impressive feat. Their main senior player, Jack Savage, and their junior player, Dylan Olivier, went on to win chess senior and junior trophies respectively. Jack caused an upset by beating captain, Ketan Gopichand, who has held the trophy for the past four years. I would also like to thank our captain Ketan Gopichand, whose love of chess was infectious. He has been a pillar of strength in this club and kept the team together for the past five years. He was passionate about the game and took it seriously. He was always willing to assist with a smile. He was involved in all league matches and always helped during the Open Weekend expo. We wish Daniel de Beer, our 2020 captain, all the best. It has been a pleasure to coach these boys, who were a key to the success of this club for the past five years. I wish them all the best in their future endeavours. May the game of chess, and the strategies learnt from the game, carry them through some of their struggles in life. Mr Bongi Ndaba Teacher in Charge Cultural activities and clubs KALTRAVEL cc. We arrange corporate & leisure travel, cruising, accommodation, car hire, visas, passport applications, travel insurance. Shop B2A Meyrickton Park, 2 Meyrickton Place, Hillcrest. Tel 031-7653861. Email paola@kaltravel.co.za
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