Another week has brought us to the end of month 2 of the year, and (thankfully) we’re starting the downhill slide to winter.

J Leslie Smith & Associates hosted our monthly JLS 2-4-2 Nominated Mixed Pairs on Tuesday. The weather held and we had a lovely turnout with every one enjoying the morning. Congratulations to the following winners and a big thank you to our sponsor JLS:-

First Prize – Craig Whitby & Cindy Bro
Second Prize – Koos Marais & Lisa Nagel
Third Prize – Allan & Sharon Willey
Plate Prize - Dave & Grace Mainprize
Plate Runners Up – Bob Chetty & Londiwe Mvelase

On Wednesday afternoon we hosted some of the NIBA players for their practice and received the following wonderful feedback “Our training was fantastic. The ladies were so impressed about how lovely the club looked. Steve had everything ready for us, offered us tea. The greens were brilliant faster than ours in Clark's own words. They were a dream to play on.”
What a pleasure to have them practice on our greens and we look forward to the possibility of hosting them again in the future.

Friday saw 16 teams entered into our monthly SGK Nominated 2 Bowl Trips competition. Whilst a rather HOT day there was lots of great bowls played and amazingly all three toucher prizes were taken within the first three minutes of the competition. Well done to Mary Steytler, Tara Janse Van Rensburg and Colin Norris on their super-fast touchers!

Congratulations also must go to:

First Prize – Craig Whitby, Tara Janse Van Rensburg & Mark Taylor
Second Prize – Allan & Sharon Willey & Koos Marais
Third Prize – Rick, Ed Sharpe & Shayne Knott
Plate Prize - Colin & Pat Norris & Lisa Nagel aka “Team N”
100 Club Winner – Barry Fairbrother

On Saturday Kevin Palmer & Wendy Smith played their Club Mixed Pairs game against Malcolm & Liz Tait. What a fantastic game! Kevin and Wendy went into the last end 2 shots down and managed to just sneak in a win by picking up 3 shots on that final end. It was certainly nail biting and well done to all four players!

As usual, we have some exciting things coming up. Keep an eye out for details on our Friday Night Lights which will be played on the first and third Friday of every month, as well as our all day competition which will be sponsored by J Leslie Smith & Associates, along with Oakleigh Funeral Home. That will take place on the 21st of March and there will be some great cash prizes up for grabs!

That’s all for this week… see you on the greens!

FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Tuesday, 21 February : J Leslie Smith Drawn 2-4-2 Nominated Mixed Pairs. Tabs In 08h15
Friday, 24 February : SGK Nominated 2 Bowl Trips. Tabs In 08h45
Wednesday, 1 March : Halfway Toyota Drawn Trips. Tabs In 13h15
Saturday, 4 March : Greendale Spar 3 Bowl Trips. Tabs In 13h15

Regular tabs in times are:-
Tuesdays at 08h15
Wednesdays at 13h15
Saturdays at 13h15.

Visitors are always welcome. For more information contact Wendy on 071 353 2866

Coaching by registered coaches is available: Contact Colin or Bernice on 071 164 3162 for further information.

Pictured here: Shayne Knott with Barry Fairbrother who was the lucky winner of our 100 Club

More about Umgeni Waterfall Bowling Club

Our Treverton Pre-Preppies Outdoor Classroom keeps expanding! A new Mud Kitchen has been developed and is an absolute HIT with our Pre-Preppies.

So much learning is taking place as they measure, mix, sell and barter their way around the play/learning space. Play is learning. Play is growing. Play is developmentally appropriate for our tiny tots. Mathematic concepts, scientific concepts, language skills and social skills are all exercised and grown as they relish the idea of being a chef and running their own businesses. Providing proper tools and themes are simple yet effective to encourage and expand a play area into a play/learning sphere.

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Connect with your local Hi-Q in uMngeni by calling 033 330 3515 or drop in at 37 Main Street, Howick.

“Change is possible. And a well-crafted film with a powerful message shown to a relevant audience can be a catalyst for positive change in society.” This is the big take-out from alumni of the inaugural online Film Impact Screening Facilitation Course offered by Cape Town-based media organisation Sunshine Cinema and the UCT Centre for Film and Media Studies in 2022.

Its success, along with the growing need for societal shifts, has resulted in the course becoming an annual feature on the film and social justice landscape. The 2023 online course will run from June 1 to December 8, 2023. It will equip participants with the skills and knowledge needed to use film as a tool to initiate meaningful discussions and have a positive impact on societal issues.

South African Sihle Hlophe, graduate of the course who is Executive Producer at Passion Seed Communications, a film-driven social enterprise said, “The course…affirmed what I have always believed – that film is an effective tool for social change. I am inspired by the filmmakers who are using their films to create paradigm shifts, influence changes in policy, hold people in power accountable, and change the lives of their documentary subjects. Through the course, I had the privilege of meeting some of these filmmakers such as Rehad Desai, Anita Khanna, and Emily Wanja.”

Hlophe hopes that her recent award-winning film “Lobola, A Bride's True Price?" will bear the fruits of the course having secured five impact screenings around the country with Sunshine Cinema: “The impact campaign of “Lobola” is aimed at empowering women with important information about their marital rights, men too. This course has helped tremendously in developing a strategy for this.”

Le Roux Schoeman, a video journalist and editor working for the faith-based NGO Kerkbode, and an alumnus of the course said that he had “very little understanding of how content "lands" in real life ... in the communities where it was shot, for instance. So the course concept (How to facilitate screenings) appealed to me as a natural extension of working with video on social impact and human interest stories.”

Another alumni New York-based producer Debbie Walters said “A powerful takeaway for me was that change is brought about by ordinary people every day. When we look at change as a process rather than an event and position ourselves as part of the solution rather than just restating the problem, there is great power in what we can do even as one person. When it comes to the change I'd like to inspire within the film production community itself., I'm looking forward to sparking conversation about what is happening within my own community by creating safe spaces to encourage dialogue.”

Ugandan creative Denis Onyodi, whose vision is to impact his “world through creative and relevant visual content” did the course in 2022 and said that the overall take-out for him was that he got an understanding of the impact eco-system and how he could have a lot of control over this to achieve the greatest impact for his work.

A highlight for Denis was “meeting like-minded professionals from Kenya, South Africa, and South America and being able to discuss areas of shared interests.”

Kenyan producer, Joan Njeri said, “Figuring out how to do an impact campaign and the practical side was really interesting for me. Anyone who has a goal to work in a community should do this course.”

“The course is open to anyone wanting to learn more about how to use film as a means to make change,” explains Sydelle Willow Smith Sunshine Cinema co-founder, and lecturer. “These could be locally-based issues for example service delivery or gangsterism, or bigger global issues such as climate change, and food security. But what is vital is that people, once having watched a film, are able to have robust and open discussions with a facilitator, with the aim to help or galvanize a community into positive action.”

Well-known story-tellers, film producers and directors, activists, writers, community leaders and university lecturers who have used their skills to effectively make change will be lecturing the course.

Participants will learn the methods and processes for hosting impactful screenings and will leave with a toolkit and a network of peers and mentors to support their future efforts.

There is a fee for the course, but several scholarships are available to participants who merit the opportunity.

Applications must be in by 31 March 2023.

For more information or to enroll visit
https://sunshinecinema.org/2023-uct-impact-course-application/

Pictured here: Sihle Hlophe

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The Treverton College Interhouse Gala went on despite the threats of rain. Campbell, Harland and Jonnsson swam gave their best. However, one House gave it their all. Well done to Harland on your win.

Congratulations to the following on their awards:

Most Improved Swimmer - Craig Jelliman (Top)
Snr Victor Ludorum - Jarred Van Alphen (Below LHS)
Snr Victrix Ludorum - Sienna Reese-Lombard (Below 2nd from Left)
Jnr Victor Ludorum - Zach Rhapson (Below 3rd from Left)
Jnr Victrix Ludorum - Sienna Marx (Below RHS)

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"The series of infusions has made a significant difference and the outcome exceeded my expectation. This has been the most effective treatment I have tried... My anxiety is almost completely gone. I can go for a walk. I sing along to songs. I don't ruminate on negative thoughts as much. I find myself not wanting to sleep all the time. I enjoy spending time with my family now. I have more motivation. I don't look in the mirror and think I look hideous any more." KetaMIND Patient, Umhlanga Clinic *Patients’ true identities have been protected.

Your nearest branch is in Hilton, call 087 702 8542.

We’ve definitely had weather for ducks and not bowlers recently!

Unfortunately the rain seems to have been tuned into our tabs in times each day and so we haven’t been able to get on to the greens too much in the last week. Of course it hasn’t put too much of a damper on The Midlands Hillbilles who are always up for a bit of a “kuier” and a laugh regardless of the weather.

Our Hillbillies are the social bowlers in our club who join us every Wednesday, starting between 4.30 and 5pm. This is a great crowd to join if you’re just looking for a fun social game of bowls, or if you’re new to the game and want to get a bit of knowledge and experience, but without any pressure.

Aside from normal trips and fours formats, you can quite often find them playing a few rounds of Last Man Standing which always gets quite festive. The great thing about Last Man Standing is that even the most inexperienced of bowlers will still be able to play and have a really great time regardless of skills. As long as you’re not the furthest away from the jack you’re still safe!

Also, The Hillbillies are a really friendly bunch, so if you’re not sure of the rules or have never rolled a bowl there’s always someone who is willing to guide you and help you along. They definitely fit the description of a “social club with a bowling problem”. The only word of warning we can give is that the laughter and jokes do sometimes get a little loud, but then as the old saying goes, if it’s too loud you’re too old.

Hillbillie membership is R600 per year, and tabs fees are then R20 per Wednesday. Visitors are welcome at R30 per game and for any prospective bowlers we always have some club bowls around that can be used on the day so no need to spend money on your own bowls whilst deciding if it’s the game for you!

For any additional information please contact Wendy on 071 353 2866, or alternatively come along one Wednesday afternoon and see what it’s all about.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Tuesday, 21 February : J Leslie Smith Drawn 2-4-2 Nominated Mixed Pairs. Tabs In 08h15
Friday, 24 February : SGK Nominated 2 Bowl Trips. Tabs In 08h45
Wednesday, 1 March : Halfway Toyota Drawn Trips. Tabs In 13h15
Saturday, 4 March : Greendale Spar 3 Bowl Trips. Tabs In 13h15

Regular tabs in times are:-
Tuesdays at 08h15
Wednesdays at 13h15
Saturdays at 13h15.

Visitors are always welcome. For more information contact Wendy on 071 353 2866

Coaching by registered coaches is available: Contact Colin or Bernice on 071 164 3162 for further information.

Pictured here: Our club President and one of the founding members of The Midlands Hillbillies, Kevin Palmer, proudly displaying a Hillbillie trophy!

More about Umgeni Waterfall Bowling Club

SAT goes digital for SA students

South African students taking the SAT this year will be part of the first cohort to complete the tests digitally. The shift from written to digital tests comes into effect in March, alongside other key changes, including significantly shorter wait time for results, and the use of an adaptive question model. For local high school students looking to study in the United States, taking note of these changes is essential as they prepare for a new testing format that they have not been exposed to before.

“The SAT is a standardised tests that acts as a student’s benchmark against other applicants. International students, like South Africans, can benefit from taking them to increase their chance of admission, as they are a well-recognised scoring system for many US universities – and a common prerequisite to entry,” says Rebecca Pretorius, Country Manager at Crimson Education, a global mentorship company that helps students with the complex application process to top universities abroad.

While digital testing opens up a number of possibilities, it does not mean that students will be able to complete their SAT at home. The tests will still be conducted at designated testing centres across the country, where they can be monitored by examiners. Those sitting their SAT will have the option to either use a supplied device, or to bring their own. Having all students sit the test in one venue also decreases the chance of load shedding causing issues.

“Technical issues are likely a big concern for local students, with load shedding stages often shifting quickly, and without advance notice. The digital SAT has catered for this, by including a fail-safe that saves data in case of technical problems. This means students can take the tests, with the peace of mind that their progress won’t be lost if load shedding hits,” says Pretorius.

Along with the shift from written to digital, there are a number of other changes to the SAT format. The most notable is that the test will only be two hours long, instead of the standard three hours, and it will be adaptive. This means that certain questions will be based on each student’s answers in previous sections. While the content will not be changing, the questions will be quite different to previous SATs.

“There will be four sections – two reading and writing sections, and two maths sections. The second section of each topic will be based off of the previous answers each student gave. Not only will this make the results more precise, but it will also mean students receive their answers in a matter of days, instead of waiting weeks,” says Pretorius.

With the changes coming into effect in March, it is fundamental that students remember how important preparation is. “Strong academics is the most important component of successful admission. The SAT showcases a student’s problem-solving abilities, and are unlike tests that South African students have experienced before. Unique test-taking strategies, and preferably working with a tutor, are needed if local students want to get a top score on the SAT,” says Pretorius.

The registration deadline for the next sitting of the SAT is the 7th of April, 2023, with the test taking place on the 8th of May. Students looking to prepare can download Crimson’s free Mini SAT Practice Test, which includes sample questions, answers, and explanations. The practice test helps students get a better understanding of what they’ll encounter on the SAT and how best to strategise for each section. Crimson also hosts regular events with expert speakers and regular, free SAT Masterclasses.

Crimson’s personalised mentoring approach is designed to help students gain admission into the Ivy League, Oxbridge, and other top universities around the world. Their university admissions and application counselling model connects students to the world’s best tutors and mentors to deliver individualised support to students to reach their personal education and career goals. For more information, visit www.crimsoneducation.org/za.

With the chaos of January out of way, we are now well and truly settled into the rhythm and routine of a brand-new year. A new year is always a good time to set new resolutions, targets, and goals that you hope to achieve over the next few months.

In a corporate environment, creating lasting change is crucial if managers want to maintain sustainable growth. Lasting change is essentially modifications that are widely accepted by and fully integrated into the organisational culture and processes, resulting in a new status quo.

Not only does it ensure that the business remains consistent in their processes and management structure, but lasting change also provides for a constant review of how you approach and prepare to tackle challenges.

Mariet Visser, coach, trainer, and the co-founder of We Do Change - is on a mission to empower others to transform and enrich their work lives with lasting change. She shares six invaluable tips on how businesses can do exactly that during this year.

1. Stay abreast of technology
The business and economic landscape is constantly evolving, fuelled by a growing emphasis on digital transformation and globalisation. Added to this are the needs and expectations of your customer which are also changing with the pace of technology. To remain relevant and retain a competitive edge, organisations must adapt and respond as quickly and efficiently as possible to meet the fast-paced changes that come with living in an inter-connected world.

2. Be deliberate and measured
Approach change in phases or incrementally, rather than all at once. This will lessen the shock and not overwhelm the organisation and its people, and thus mitigate the likelihood of change fatigue. Lasting change is more likely to be sustainable if the changes that have been introduced are accepted and adopted by the people in your organisation. This will help create a sense of positivity and excitement, and lead to increased performance and a retention of talent.

Remember to regularly reflect on the changes and refine and adjust where necessary to ensure that they are sustainable and are achieving the desired results.

3. Avoid a culture shock
The last few years have presented us with unprecedented and unusual challenges, leading to a fundamental shift in our working habits and lifestyle. Many businesses have embraced the convenience of remote work, but it is now crucial that we pause and reflect on its effects and understand and evolve our ways of working. Organisations will require a fresh collaborative approach to employee engagement, fostering connection and a sense of belonging, to accommodate these shifts.

4. Adopt a safe-to-fail manner
Lasting change can be established by gaining agreement on the opportunities for improvement, brainstorming small yet measurable experiments to achieve the desired results, and executing such experiments in a safe-to-fail manner.

These are essentially small experiments which are tested in a low risk-controlled environment, to reduce the chance of fear holding us back from trying and not getting it right the first time around. Once an idea has been tested and possibly enhanced through the testing process, applying this to a larger portion of the organisation will be easier as people will already know what potential results to expect from adopting this change.

5. Don’t leave anyone out
We already know that communication is key when implementing any form of change but so too are the people in an organisation. People want to know they have job security, and opportunities to upskill and train so they have the necessary capabilities to effectively implement and adopt the changes.

People in the organisation play a crucial role in the success of lasting changes so make sure you are communicating to all stakeholders, including employees, customers, and partners, who may either be affected by the change, or have influence over it. Clarity in the process creates certainty which aid in people embarking on the change.

6. Lead by example
Not doing so will severely impact the change becoming lasting or make it short-lived. Effective leadership can help to build buy-in, create a transparent and shared vision for the change, and drive successful implementation and adoption.

To achieve lasting and impactful change, it is imperative to take people on the journey, connecting them with the why and involving them in the how.

To read more about WE DO CHANGE or to engage with one of their experts visit: www.wedochange.io or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Deep in the Umkomaas Valley near Richmond, a team from "Working for Water" came across a very large snake, a Southern African Python, that had trouble moving.

Now this same team had done a snake course with Nick Evans- Snake Rescuer, and they were concerned that this snake seemed to have trouble moving... what to do...?

They decided to be proactive, bundle the snake into a maize bag, and carry it out of the valley to someone who could assist... that happened to be Terry Tedder. 

Terry then contacted FreeMe Wildlife to assist, drove the snake all the way to Hilton, where we met.

We love what we do, and how we do it.

But we can't do it alone. Please visit our website for ideas on how you can help: www.freemewildlife.org/support-us

Caption TOP: This is a large snake... but something not quite right with it... only the head and about 1m behind the head is moving, the rest of the body seems "dead".

Caption RHS: This is what the "Working for Water" team found while they were working in the Umkomaas Valley... they were concerned for the snake and decided to take action, put it into a bag, and carry it to help

Weather reports indicate that cyclone Freddy will make its way over parts of South Africa over the weekend. The affected areas (Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and Northern KwaZulu-Natal) have been advised to adequately prepare for strong winds and heavy rain. Animal owners are reminded to ensure that their animals have adequate protection from the effects of cyclone Freddy as well.

A cyclone can be terrifying for animals, who have no way of understanding what is happening, and will depend on their caretakers for protection. Animal owners are advised to bring pets indoors or ensure that the animals have strong, suitable shelter from the elements, as well as access to clean drinking water and adequate nutritious food. Careful consideration needs to be given to keeping animals in enclosures in the event that floods occur.

Animal owners are further advised to have emergency contacts, such as local veterinarians, police department, and SPCA details close at hand in the event of a disaster. We advise that locals should make use of social media disaster groups to keep track of developments and stay informed.

SPCAs in the areas at risk have been advised to be proactive in informing animal owners to protect their animals- herds should be moved to higher ground, and provisions should be made for animals held in enclosures.

For animal emergencies, the public is advised to contact their local SPCAs or other animal welfare shelters directly.

About our local SPCA

Home fragrances are in stock at The Ugly Duckling. Choose from Black Forest, Flamingo, Franjipani, English Rose or Ocean Breeze.

'A pleasant fragrance in the home elevates your experience and restores calm and serenity. We have a lovely range of fragrance oils to bring some beautiful scents to your home.' find your home fragrances at The Ugly Duckling.

Join our award winning rental teams in our PMB, Hilton and Howick offices.

We are looking for a dynamic person to join our rental department. Experience in residential property would be an advantage.

For further details please email your CV and a covering letter to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

More about Pam Golding Properties

'We are so excited to welcome Grace Botha, nee Sonjica, Head Girl 2009, who joins the Howick High School team to conduct and train our Choir. Age Quod Agis, Grace!' shared Howick High School.

Durban’s much-loved FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY heads to Kenya on 24 February for a two-week exchange project with Nairobi and Siaya based DANCE INTO SPACE. The exchange comes out of a large project headed by Dr. Lliane Loots (Artistic Director of FLATFOOT) and Prof. Yvette Hutchison (Warwick University, UK) that is setting up a network of African choreographers, researches and dancers called the African Disability Dance Network (ADDN). Funded by a two-year grant from UKRI – AHRC, that will be officially launching digitally on Tuesday 20 February.

Alongside a portfolio of award-winning performance work, FLATFOOT’s integrated dance work has seen it nationally spearhead work with dancers with Down Syndrome, and its numerous programmes with dancers with physical disabilities. FLATFOOT travel to Kenya to share and learn from sister dance company DANCE INTO SPACE (DIS) headed by Ondiege Matthew. DIS, whose work has seen them collaborate with artist from Birmingham Rep (UK) and whose work is supported by Amnesty International, offer a mission to share artistic skills with people from all walks of life and to create work that cross all sorts of borders – both physical, cultural and social.

Loots and Matthew met first in Nairobi in 2019 and have kept a strong connection over the lock down years and now finally get to meet in a dance studio. Loots says, “I cannot begin to say how excited I am by this opportunity to work with Ondiege. He is a man whose dance work and vison are blazing trails in Africa. While our friendship is strong, being able to move together and share creative energy is a dream. I remain so humbled by Ondiege’s agenda to create deeply humanising integrated dance practices in Africa – I am looking forward to learning from him!”

Loots travels to Kenya with three of the senior FLATFOOT dancers, Sifiso Khumalo, Jabu Siphika and Zinhle Nzama, where they will engage a full daily programme of shared classes and training and begin to work on joint choreography with their Kenyan counterparts.

In a rounding off of this exchange, Matthew and some of his DIS Kenyan dancers will travel to Durban, South Africa, to the JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience (hosted by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu Natal in 2024 to share their work with South African audience and dancers.

Pictured here: Lliane Loots and Ondiege Matthew – a “selfie’ taken in Nairobi in 2019

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Harvard Electrical supply products which are manufactured both locally and internationally and are fully compliant with recognised safety standards and specifications.

Harvard Electrical is the only ELECTRICAL WHOLESALER in the greater Howick area.

'We had a very successful weekend in Port St Johns doing a steri campaign for #TAWI. Thanks to the TAWI team for feeding us and looking after us, as well as organising the venue and getting the dogs there, and to Ursula and Tony of Sea Castle Lodge for putting us up, it is so nice at the end of a hard days work to come back to a hot shower and comfy bed.

We sterilised 62 dogs and 1 cat, as well as Dr Lee performing an emergency ceaser on a little dog with one huge pup inside, she would have surely died if we weren't there. She was sterilised at the same time.

Tyson and Isaac also dewormed and gave rabies vaccinations on many other dogs and pups during the day, and Dr Dave Watson treated 1 dog with TVT after spaying her. A few teeth were pulled and nails clipped. It was a good weekend.' shared Dr Lee Pachonick.

More about Midmar Vet Clinic

Pictured above Dr Lee Pachonick and Dr Dave Watson in action.

Pictured below: Sterilised dogs in recovery.

All community members are invited to an information morning with our various Security companies, Neighbourhood Watch Co-Ordinator’s, CPF Sub-forums and Emergency Response companies.

Date: Saturday 18 February 2023
Time: 10h00 – 13h00
Venue: Open field opposite the Howick Community Church

The idea is to get the community to sign up with a security company and hopefully subscribe to the UCSI to help us install more cameras, as well as meet our Security companies, Neighbourhood Watch Co-Ordinator’s, CPF Sub forums and Emergency Response companies in person.

Thank you to the Howick CPF for this proactive community event.

News supplied by Knight Security Solutions