Dear MCC Family,
Introduction
As we look back at the year 2020 and at the last month we marvel at God’s goodness that has followed us throughout this period. Psalm 23 v 6 reads “…goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…..”. We draw strength from that promise in times of trouble. We continued to see the goodness of God during the course of the last month.
This newsletter covers the events and successes of the last 6 weeks as well as looking forward to 2021. The month of November saw the return to physical school of Forms 1 and 2 as well as the completion of public examinations by Form 4, L6 and U6 students. Sadly we said good bye to our U6 leavers who, having completed their 6 years of high school education, now embark on a variety of career paths.
Career Planning – Unifrog
Choosing a career path is never an easy process and over the last few years we have walked with the students from Form 3 options through L6 subject selection culminating in our recent introduction of the Unifrog platform that assists students to select interest areas that are best suited to their abilities as well as their interests. We hope that this process will equip our students to make the right career choices and set them up for a successful future where they can be both successful and fulfilled.
End of Year Academic Results
In spite of all the disruptions of the year we managed to continue delivering a good standard of education. The culmination of this were the end of year examinations which were written by the Form 1 to 3 students. Reports for all Form 1, 2 and 3 pupils are now available through the Senatical Parents Portal. Please make time to review teachers’ comments and your child’s marks for this last academic period.
The pass rates attained by form were 85% for Form 1, 51% for Form 2 and 88% for Form 3. These were pass rates for students who passed 5 or more subjects. As the majority of form 2s wrote English Maths and Combined Science check point exams whilst some wrote DELF French and a few wrote HSK Chinese exams the ability to obtain more than 5 passes was compromised as the subjects written in public exams were not examined in the end of year internal exams. This gives necessary context to the pass rates.
There were some very pleasing performances with commendations given.
Speech Day 2020
On November 26 we conducted our first ever combined virtual and physical speech day. We overcame the Covid-19 restrictions and technical challenges to host a successful event and credit goes to our functions team led by Mrs Deysel and our technical team led by Mr Somerai. We were honoured to be joined by one of our esteemed alumni Mrs Fadzisai Gukuta (nee Musa) who inspired students with her energy and passion.
2021 Stewards
The highlight of our Speech Day was the appointment of stewards for 2021. This was after a process of voting by all students who wished to do so, deliberations at staff meetings and directors meetings as well as a rigorous interview process. Below is the full list of 2021 stewards.
Headgirl – Zandile Sibanda
Headboy – Edmos Dube-Mabeza
Deputy Headboy and Head of Academics & Library Committee (Boy) – Alban Sianaga
Deputy Headgirl and Head of Marketing, Dress & General Conduct Committee (Girl) – Panashe Magadza
Head of Kestrel House – Lostancia Mudzengerere
Head of Eagle House – Shaun Sigauke
Deputy Head of Kestrel House and Head of Environment, Health & Safety (Girl) – Mufarowashe Dhitima
Deputy Head of Eagle House and Head of Marketing, Dress & General Conduct Committee (Boy) – Kudzai Garwe
Head of Hospitality & Welfare Committee (Girl) – Diya Keshav
Head of Hospitality & Welfare Committee (Boy) and Head of Bateleur House – Tirimunashe Shumba
Head of Culture & Entertainment Committee (Girl) and Head of Bateleur House – Genalyn Gazi
Head of Culture & Entertainment Committee (Boy) – Russell Zvavamwe
Head of Assembly Committee (Girl) – Kaylee Ncube
Head of Assembly Committee (Boy) – Leon Msipa
Head of Media and Identification Committee (Girl) – Tinevimbo Chaibva
Head of Media and Identification Committee (Boy) – Simeon Tivavenge
Head of Missions Committee (Girl) – Matshidiso Chivasa
Head of Missions Committee (Boy) – Kundai-Karl Mpame
Head of Sports Committee (Girl) and Head of Crown House – Elizabeth Msipa
Head of Sports Committee (Boy) and Head of Crown House – Ngonidzashe Mareverwa
Head of Discipline & Locker Committee (Girl) and Head of Martial House – Natasha Jones
Head of Discipline & Locker Committee (Boy) and Head of Martial House – Takunda Denga
Head of Academics & Library Committee (Girl) – Samantha Mpepu
Head of Environment, Health & Safety (Boy) – Anotidaishe Chinanayi
The leadership group of this stewards team was bolstered by the appointment of Hostel Heads and Deputies outside of the top group of College Heads and Deputies. This is in recognition both of the leadership potential in this group of students and the need to be extra vigilant in ligt of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is also important that I remind all that this list represents only a small part of our leadership team. There will be many more student leaders during 2021. The U6 students who will not be stewards, the incoming L6s and the peer leaders in each form will form a wider leadership group that will help to foster a strong College culture based on our Eagle’s Creed and the Lord’s example of servant leadership.
Sports & Clubs
Through the CHISZ Sports Directors we obtained permission from the SRC to be allowed to engage in safe sporting activities in a phased approach. Sports such as swimming, cross country and tennis were cleared whilst others such as cricket, soccer and basketball were not cleared but non-contact skills and fitness training in sports such as these were allowed. This was a positive development that allowed students to engage in a healthy lifestyle in line with our Eagle’s Creed. Most clubs also resumed their normal weekly meetings.
We hope to engage in more sports next term with fixtures having been finalized for cricket, athletics and tennis as we move into the next phase of the return to sports. We ask that parents to ensure students bring their own equipment such as tennis rackets, cricket bats, pads and other essential equipment to avoid sharing and limit risk.
2021 – The Year of Flourishing
I am looking forward to 2021 almost as a young child looks forward to his father coming home with goodies, because we have a Father who loves us and desires to give us good things. I look forward to all the goodness the Lord has in store for us. For us as a College 2021 will be a Year of Flourishing. In 2021 we will draw inspiration from Colossians 3:23 which encourages one, that in everything we do to “work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” We will flourish, building on our foundation, which is, our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and grow in our understanding and application of our MCC Eagle’s Creed. Because of Christ and His love for us we shall continue to soar on wings like eagles, we will run and not grow weary, we will walk and not be faint.
We are Eagles and Eagles flourish even in the middle of the storm. The storm that is Covid-19 continues to rage on and the more it does the more we put our trust in the Lord. As the apostle Paul declared in Hebrews 10v39 “we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.” We will prevail as Eagles always do.
During the course of next year our devotions, assemblies and spiritual formation programmes will be organized into monthly themes based on our Eagle’s Creed. Below are the guidelines for the monthly themes that will guide us during the year.
January – A focused Eagle
February – God is at the center of everything I do
March – A responsible citizen
April – Teachable
May – Secure
June – Adaptable
July – A critical thinker
August – An exemplary leader
September – A confident team player
October – I engage in a health physically active lifestyle
November – I ride the storm
December – Once and Eagle, always and Eagle.
Goodbyes
Sadly we say goodbye to Miss Ndhlela and Mr Somerai at the end of the year. Miss Ndhlela has been with the College for 18 years having trained as a teacher at the Midlands Christian Training Centre (MCTC). Mr Somerai has been in the establishment since Grade 1, attended MCS then MCC before moving onto MCTC after which he returned to the College as a teacher. Both have been key members of our management team and we wish them well in their career moves. As an institution we celebrate the success they have had whilst here and pray that the Lord will continue to bless them with further success in life generally and their work in particular.
We also said goodbye to Miss Levison in August and Miss Magadza in December. Both filled in key gaps on our staff and had a significant amount of impact in a very short space of time.
In addition we said goodbye to the U6 students. As is our tradition we held a farewell lunch for the leavers appropriate for the Covid-19. Below are a couple of pictures from this event. Some of our younger students will continue their studies at other institutions particularly those outside the country who have been affected by travel restrictions. We wish their parents could find a way to maintain their association with the College and if that is not possible we pray that they will adjust well to their new schools.
Parent Consultations
During two consultative meetings our parents approved our 2021 fee structure. The 2021 Term 1 fee structure was emailed separately for parents’ attention. During the course of the term we have had several consultative meetings with parents on a variety of subjects. Meetings regarding fees, virtual programmes, preparation for physical school resumption and Covid-19 measures among other pressing issues provided for the opportunity to build the partnership between staff and parents. Our use of Survey Monkey to generate surveys to get parent feedback further enhanced this interaction.
This level of consultation will continue in 2021. One of the positive spin offs from the Covid-19 has been the ability to communicate virtually allowing us to interact more often with parents and other stakeholders. Had things been normal we would have probably only managed two or three physical meetings. We would like to encourage more parents to participate in these interactions between College management and parents. The health of any private educational institution is reflected by the health of its interactions with its parent body.
Parents Assembly Resource Center Project Update
We thank the Parent body for their continued support of this project. On December 10 a pre-tender site visit happened for the foundation level of the PA driven Resource Centre project. We are excited by this development and look forward to the appointment of the contractor and the foundation level construction commencing in the new year.
Office Opening Hours
The office will be opened every working day until Monday 21 December 2020. We will reopen again on 4 January 2021. We will be closed from 22 December 2021 to 3 January inclusive of those dates. Working hours will be 8am to 4pm on the days when the office will be open.
Conclusion
In conclusion I would like to thank all students, parents, staff, board members, alumni and other stakeholders who have made this difficult year more palatable. Being new to the institution I really felt welcomed by the whole College community. The parent involvement, though virtual in the main, underpinned the reality of the partnership between the College and the parent body. Our interface with parents is made easier through the Parents Assembly Committee (commonly referred to as the PAC) led by Mr Robert Tombindo. This is a group of parents who sacrifice their time to ensure a positive relationship between parents and the College. We also thank our board led by our Chairman, Mr Caston Musa, for the sound advice they always give us as we look to run a sustainable and successful institution.
We look forward to a continuation of these healthy relationships as we look to mold successful Eagles. I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and blessed New Year. A lot of us will be happy to see the end of 2020. For those who will travel to different locations we pray for safe travel. God bless you all and see you next year.
Yours sincerely,
T. L. Mkhosana
Headmaster
