Dear Parents

Here we are – the end of the school year only three days away! May I begin by thanking you all sincerely for yet another wonderful year in the life of John Mitchell School and indeed in the life of the John Mitchell family! May you all be blessed with a peaceful, happy Christmas and a New Year filled with God’s richest blessings. To our grade 7 learners and all other learners who will be leaving our school, may your futures be bright and may life hand out only its very best to you.

 STAFF NEWS
As you all know, it is now time for our final farewell to Mr. Robert Rotteveel, our principal of 20 years. We all wish Mr. Rotteveel the very, very best in his retirement. May there be many years ahead of relaxation and enjoyment, good health and happiness, for Mr. Rotteveel and his wife. Our sincere gratitude is extended to Mr. Rotteveel for all that he has done for this school and the many, many staff members and pupils who have been in his care for these past 20 years. He has been an excellent headmaster to say the very least, a friend and mentor and has left us his legacy which will be treasured for many years to come. We shall surely miss him!

We are all very sad to bid farewell to Mrs. Pillay, our HOD Foundation Phase. Mrs. Pillay is a beautiful lady in every possible way, an excellent Head of Department and a superb teacher. She has certainly left her mark at John Mitchell School and we shall miss her greatly. Mrs. Pillay will be teaching at a school much closer to where she lives, also allowing her to therefore be close to her own children who are starting school. Thank you, Mrs. Pillay for all that you have done for the children, their parents and the staff of this school. We shall miss you so very, very much.

 AGM for 2012
This serves as an early notification of our Annual General Meeting to be held on Saturday 11 February 2012 at 13:00 in the school hall.

 NOTE OF APPRECIATION
A sincere word of appreciation to all who have contributed to Mr. Rotteveel’s gift from the children, which will be given to him at our final assembly on Friday 9 December. Thank you too, to everyone who has responded to the hamper appeal for our general workers. This is most appreciated. Donations can still be sent right up until Friday 9 December.

 ARRANGEMENTS FOR THIS WEEK AND THE NEW TERM
Tomorrow, Wednesday 7 December, school will close at 12:30. On Friday 9 December, it will close at 11:00. There is NO civvies’ day on Friday due to our formal assembly.

School reopens for learners on Wednesday 18 January 2012.

 UNIFORM STOCKISTS
I am pleased to say that our stockists have our new sports shirts available and are well stocked with our uniforms. My sincere appreciation to Mrs. Govinden Essop for the organisation of the PT shirts. For sports and Physical Education lessons our children will be required to wear the new white golf shirt with our school badge upon it and blue shorts.

 PRINCIPAL’S POSITION
Interviews conducted by the SGB and GDE officials will shortly be taking place. Once all official procedures and processes have been followed the announcement of the successful candidate will be made. However, this will most likely only be in the New Year.

I close by wishing you all God’s richest blessings for the festive season. Thank you for your support and commitment to this wonderful school of ours throughout 2011.

Yours sincerely

Mrs. J. Harmer
Deputy Principal

 A FINAL MESSAGE FROM MR. ROTTEVEEL:
It is unbelievable how quickly these twenty years have gone. The reason for that is because of every day coming to a place which I enjoyed. I was blessed with excellent staff, lovely, well disciplined children who were always eager to learn and parents who were always supportive and appreciative of everything we were doing at John Mitchell School.  John Mitchell was my life and it is going to be hard to say goodbye, but I fully realize that no one is irreplaceable and I am very confident that the next principal is going to carry on where I left off and carry the school forward.  I am very proud to be part of leaving behind a legacy where so many people were able to contribute and so many highlights could be celebrated. The name “John Mitchell” is a proud name and we have even made inroads in many European countries and America. The successes of John Mitchell School learners after matric and at university are also something to be very proud of and that has made me realise that we have done something special sending people, who can contribute to our country, into the adult world.

My best wishes for the future and I am always going to miss you.

 Yours sincerely

Robert Rotteveel

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