21st December 2022
Dear Parents and Guardians
RE: MCC Headmaster’s Newsletter 3 of 2022
Our Theme
As we look back on the year 2022, the Year of Re-establishing Our Identity In Christ as well as the third term just past we are thankful for what the Lord has done in our institution. Our identity as a private Christian institution under the auspices of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is something we take much pride in. Having faced many challenges during the last 2 to 3 years we were very grateful for the opportunity we had this year to reconnect with who we are, more than conquerors, God’s special possession, Children of God et cetera. Walking in the footsteps of Christ has been very important for us as an institution and as individuals. The guiding principle is for us, our students and parents should be always to ask the question, “what would Jesus do” in each situation we may find ourselves. Whatever that answer is that is what we should endeavour to do as it highlights who we are and whose we are.
Celebrating Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) Re-Accreditation
The year 2022 was a memorable one for the College in that we welcomed the ACSI re-accreditation team who visited our school and spent 4 days interacting with staff, students, parents, management and board members to assess our processes, personnel and systems. At the end of this period they recommended that MCC be re-accredited by ACSI for another 5 years which was much cause for celebration. This is an achievement for the entire MCC community and highlights the international standard of education we are offering. I look forward to further developing the goodwill that exists among all our stakeholders as we work to grow our international reputation further.
Academic & Staff Matters
We celebrated the elevation of one of our own, Mr Sachinda to the position of Headmaster of Kyle College at the beginning of the term. His appointment is testament to the fact that the College continues to develop good quality Christian educators tasked with spreading our brand of servant leadership across the country and beyond. With the departure of Mr Sachinda Mrs Deysel assumed the role of sole Deputy Head and Mrs Sango took on a more senior role as Director of Studies tasked with reviewing our curriculum to ensure that it remains relevant to the needs of our learners and global developments. We also welcomed Mr Mahachi from Edrovale College who joined our staff for the term after the departure of Mr Chigudu who left the country.
In 2023 we look forward to welcoming Mrs Mudiwa who joins us from Peterhouse. She brings with her a wealth of knowledge in the area of Travel & Tourism as well as French both of which will now be offered at AS and A Level. This gives our already extensive curriculum additional scope to the benefit of our Eagles. We also celebrate the elevation of Dr Bachisi to the position of Director of Culture & Identity taking over some of the functions previously performed by Mrs Makoni who will take on less management responsibility to allow her to focus on teaching more Biology classes.
As an institution we have taken the deliberate decision of safeguarding the future of Christian education through our professional staff development programmes. This includes programmes facilitated by both internal and external experts in a variety of fields relevant to education and private enterprise. As part of our staff development we have continued to assist in developing future teachers enrolled at various institutions as well as facilitating the orientation of qualified graduates making a career change to follow their passion of education. Both groups work under close supervision of our fulltime staff in line with best practice in the education sector. We look forward to developing a strong pool of competent internationally adaptable and locally relevant teachers through this strategy.
Sporting Achievements
Our Eagles continued to soar in the area of sports this year. During the course of the year we celebrated with the following students in their national recognition.
Zimbabwe Age-Group National Representatives:
Sean Mandaza – Zimbabwe U17 Boys Hockey, Daniel Chakanyuka – Zimbabwe U19 Boys Hockey, Passmore Mabukwa – Zimbabwe U19 Boys Hockey, Tadiwanashe Mutero – Zimbabwe U19 Boys Hockey, Lashal Murairwa – Zimbabwe U19B Boys Hockey, Joana Mushede – Zimbabwe U18B Girls Hockey, Nokutenda Tombindo – Zimbabwe U17B Squash Team, Kinah Ntuli – Zimbabwe U17 Cricket, Nkosilathi Magazi – Zimbabwe U17 Young Warriors Soccer Team, Anotidaishe Muchada – Zimbabwe Junior Golf and Hannah Pombo – Zimbabwe U20 Netball.
ATS Select Representatives:
Hannah Pombo – Netball, Emily Ndewere – Netball, Kunashe Chipenzi – Netball, Nkosilathi Magazi – Soccer, Tawananyasha Takaendisa – Girls Basketball and Tanatswa Sisimayi – Girls Basketball.
Zimbabwe Platinum Sports Select Representatives:
Patrick Munangagwa – U18 Soccer, Tinotenda Muchimwe – U18 Soccer, Asher Mashungupa – U18 Soccer, Nkosilathi Magazi – U18 Soccer, Tererai Chikwanda – U18 Soccer, Wyne Kwanisai – U18 Soccer, David Zishumba – U18 Soccer, Louis Mukumba – U18 Soccer, Anaye Chizana – U18 Soccer, Karl Makahamadze – U18 Tennis, Tanatswa Mlauzi – U18 Tennis, Deon Kunjani – U18 Tennis, Joana Mushede – U18 Tennis and Jessica Manhambo – U18 Tennis.
Some of these Eagles had the opportunity to go on tour with their teams and gained invaluable experience during these tours. We look forward to more national representatives at different levels in 2023.
Cultural Performances
We continued to grow on the cultural front with the senior choir, senior band and senior boys mime group obtaining honours during the allied arts programmes. Karl Makahamadze and Sharon Marangwanda continued to excel in Moot Court & Debate being part of the national teams in both disciplines. They were both part of the team that won the virtual global Moot Court competition as well as the physical European championships held in Romania. The Upper Six Gentlemen mime team obtained national honours during the Allied Arts festival along with Sharon Marangwanda and Theodore Masi. Tashinga Denga was selected into the 2023 National Debate team and we look forward to seeing this team compete next year.
Part of our cultural programme is evident in the many clubs we offer. One of the more active clubs is the Journalism Club. Attached is their publication, The Eagle, which showcases the work of young journalists. We encourage all students to continue developing their many talents in the clubs of their choices.
Lifeskills Achievements
We welcomed eight new drivers through our partnership with Zebra School of Motoring this term. We encourage all parents to take up the opportunity to equip their teenagers with this most valuable skill of driving. The joy of being driven by one’s child is an experience all parents yearn for and this programme turns this yearning into a reality.
One of the key life skills we develop as a College is leadership and once again we hosted the Global Leadership Summit (GLS) event. The main headline of this year’s summit was once again Craig Groeschel who is a regular and inspirational speaker. The general idea of ensuring that each student attends at least one GLS conference during their enrolment at MCC is to ensure that our Eagles are equipped with leadership skills that give them the edge over other students. The summit builds on other programmes we run to develop Eagles who are capable of riding the storm, not by avoiding storms but rather by learning to use the storms of life to lift themselves above any circumstances.
The F3 camp at Zambezi Holidays in Marondera late in term 3 stretched the F3s physically and intellectually. The camp focused on endurance, ingenuity, teamwork and discipline among many other necessary skills. As a College we pride ourselves with moulding Eagles who are both tenacious and creative.
Recognition for Departed Eagles
Term 3 was particularly difficult for the College with the loss of Mr David Musa as well as one of our Upper 6 students Munashe Sibanda in addition to the loss of our U14 rugby coach and former student Munyaradzi Mugabe. Mr Musa was the founding headmaster of MCC and we owe a lot of what the College is today to his hard work and dedication. Earlier in the year he and his family had just donated some inspirational leadership books to our library.
Munashe’s death was particularly difficult for all the students and staff as everyone in the College knew him and had seen him the previous week. The students put together a fitting tribute to him and the attached eulogy is an indication of the immense talent he possessed and the inspiration he was to his fellow students.
Mr Mugabe was one of three siblings to have passed through MCC and his love for the College was evident in his willingness to come back and coach our young rugby players. The club rugby tournament held at Gweru Sports Club in his honour was attended by the majority of MCC rugby players.
Just yesterday, we received the sad news of the passing on of another alumni, Joshua Mukori, the son of Dr C Mukori, one of our school’s consulting doctors, in a road accident that also claimed the life of the brother of our alumni, Tinashe Murove. We grieve with the Murove and Mukori families at this sad time.
To the families of those we lost during the course of the term and year you are in our prayers. We ask that the Lord continues to strengthen and comfort you all. Our thoughts and prayers are also with the students and families who have lost parents and grandparents during the last few months. May the Lord continue to walk with you all as you navigate these difficult times.
Thank you
I would like to thank the class of 2022 as well as our outgoing stewards for their 6 years of service to the College. I hope their learning curve has been an upward one although they may have all experienced a few small dips on the way up. I wish them all the best and pray that they will remember all the life lessons they have learnt during their time with us.
Our parents have come through for us as a key stakeholder group through provision of financial resources and attendance at school functions led and encouraged by the tireless ladies and gentlemen of our Parents Assembly Committee (PAC). We thank the PAC and all parents for their contribution to the cause that is our resource centre. To date parents have raised USD150,000 for the project and we are now at the stage where the project funds are sufficient for the commencement of the first phase of construction.
We continue to encourage all parents to view their contributions not as a cost but an investment into their children’s future. Our children are the most important treasures we have as parents and we only have a limited window of opportunity in which to invest in them. We recently held a parents fees meeting which was well supported and we thank parents for approving our fees proposal for 2023 which will help the College to continue providing quality education for our children.
The Year Ahead
We look forward to 2023, ‘The Year of Celebrating God’s Faithfulness’ based on Lamentations 3 v 22-23. The writer of this passage of scripture reminds us of God’s faithfulness and mercy after earlier on lamenting how bad things were. Let us also take our eyes off the hardships around us and fix them on His faithfulness. There is much to be thankful for even in the midst of the storms that sometimes confront us. Let us constantly be reminded how good God has been to us in the past.
We look forward to welcoming our new Form One and Lower Six students in the new year. The students who have already enrolled look set to contribute to the growth of the College in line with our vision. There is an encouraging depth of talent in the academic, sporting and cultural fields. We are also privileged to welcome a highly accomplished group of young assistants in our gap year and attachment students.
During the course of next year we look forward to our first theatrical production in a few years, a joint rugby tour with MCS to Zambia, a Girls hockey tour to South Africa and cricket tour to South Africa. Not to be outdone, various clubs and classes will be planning local and international trips of their own in the new year. This is the part of our institution, complete with the holistic education opportunities, that we missed during the COVID 19 years and we are grateful for the opportunity to experience education in its fullness. We look forward to the exposure that these activities will present for our expectant Eagles.
As we move into the new year we continue to strengthen our leadership team. The team that will work with me in leading the College this coming year includes:
Deputy Head – Mrs C Deysel
Director Studies – Mrs F Sango
Director Men’s Affairs, Discipline & Hostels – Dr M Chawira
Director Ladies’ Affairs – Mrs R Mudiwa
Director Examinations – Mrs M Muzondo
Director Culture & Identity and Acting Sports Director – Dr I Bachisi
I wish them all well as they serve the College and the Lord in 2023.
I WISH YOU ALL A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR. KEEP SAFE AND STAY BLESSED.
Yours Sincerely
TL Mkhosana
HEADMASTER
