In This Issue

Falcon Weekly News

Weeks 1 & 2  First Term 2006

2006 Exam Results downloaded.
Outstanding Results posted by
Craig Reid - IGCSE
Craig Shaw-IGCSE
Baveer Doolabh - AS
Simakahle Lunga - AS
Sean lenton - AS
Daniel Coulson - AS
Dirk Prtichard
Sean Reid
Stephen Warth

Details Analysis of results available in next issue

Huge Demand for Form 1 places at Falcon.

Form One Students Settling in well

Work resumes at the Building Sites
Good progress at the ICT centre

Examination Results Out
Released at Cambridge Website at exactly 12 Midnight GMT , available at Falcon a minute later!
 A few minutes before midnight GMT (0200 a.m. local; time) on 19 January 2007 alarms went off in Mr. John Shaw's bedroom and in Mr. Tendeka Matatu's bedroom.  A few minutes later the two met at Mr. Shaw's office and switched on the computer.

At exactly 1 minute after midnight they logged in at the Cambridge International Examinations Website (Exchange) via the Falcon College high-speed broadband link. In a few seconds they had downloaded all the October/November IGCSE, AS and Advanced Level Examination Results.  It took the fast Laser printer less than 10 minutes to print the results A4 sized Provisional Results Information sheets for all the 152 candidates.

With all the results downloaded and ready for issuing to the students, Mr. Shaw carried on with the task of collating and summarising the results for the headmaster and staff.

The boys started collecting their results just after assembly the same morning.

Outstanding result were posted by Craig Shaw who scored 3A* grades, 5 A grades and 1 B grade and by Grant Reid who scored 2 A* grades, 6 A grades and 1 B.grade.

Mr. John Shaw, senior master in charge of exams gives Grant Reid his provisional results sheet.  Reid achieved the second best IGCSE results.

It was a busy morning at Mr. Shaw's office as he handed out results to highly curious students.

Craig Shaw poses outside Mr. Shaw's office with his results.  he scored the best results at IGCSE level.

Baveer Doolabh achieved the best results at the AS level.  He scored 4 A grades in Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Biology.  Simakahle Lunga (3 A grades and 1 B grade) and Sean Lenton (3 A grades) were second best. Daniel Coulson scored 2 A grades and 1 B grade.

It was business as usual for Baveer Doolabh who obtained 4 A grades at AS level.  He was pictured here carrying out an experiment with data loggers in the physics lab.

At the Advanced level Dirk Pritchard was the best candidates with 2 A grades and 1 B grade.   Stephen Warth and Sean Reid each scored an A grade and two B grades.

The results are being analysed and we will publish the analysis in the next issue of the Weekly News.  Early indications are that the results are much what we expected.

Huge Demand for Form 1 Places.
Forms 1, 2 and 3 bursting to capacity.
There has been a very positive development.  The demand for Form 1 places has been overwhelming with an official waiting list of about 35.  There was very little chance of taking any of them as nearly all students who had been accepted turned up. We now have four form 1 streams. This year we have had to disappoint a lot of prospective Form 1 parents. Form's 2 and 3 are bursting to capacity and a fourth stream has had to be created in Form 2.

Form Ones Settling In well
Form One students seem to be settling down well into the Falcon System. For many of them Falcon will be their home 9 months of each calendar year for the next six years, and the Headmaster attaches a lot of importance to the boys' happiness while at Falcon College.  Read more about the Falcon System by following the link below:

The Falcon System
 

It is tea-time at Falcon.  Here, Form One boys queue neatly for sandwiches in the Todd Dining Hall..  They move round their table, each taking one sandwich at a time until all the sandwiches are finished.  There is always enough for everyone and boys often have three or four takings.. Discipline, orderliness and fairness are part of our ethos.

Work at Building Sites Resumes
Work has resumed at the building Sites after the traditional long Christmas break. At the Information and Communication Technology building site, the constructors worked virtually around the clock to finish the deck that will become the floor of the second storey before the Christmas break. The concrete deck normally takes about 28 days to cure (set). It was therefore vital to finish constructing the deck before the break to ensure that it would cure while the workers were taking the Christmas break.   Throughout the holiday, when there was no rain, a worker was seen on the deck daily irrigating it.  Shayne Spalding, the consultant engineer at the site, explained that water is important  for cement to cure.

When work resumed this year, about a week after opening of the college, the deck had cured enough to enable the workers to start the brickwork for the second floor. Work at the ICT site is now about 6 days ahead of schedule.

Left: workers stand on the second floor deck.  The concrete deck is nearly cured.

Right: Work has also resumed at the gymnasium site.
The conceret mixer that had been lying idle for about 3 weeks is now back in action.

Work has also resumed at the Gymnasium and is progressing steadily. Structurally, the gymnasium is more complicated than the ICT centre because it needs a lot of steel reinforcement.  The supporting pillars are in place but a shortage of steel reinforcement in Zimbabwe delayed progress at the site.  Steel reinforcement had to be imported from South Africa.  

Giraffes delivered to Quiet Waters

Towards the end of last term a couple of giraffes were delivered to Quiet Waters. The giraffes were released into the boma at night. 

Right: two of the giraffe soon after being released from the truck in a moonlit night at Quiet Waters.  Notice the reflection of the moonlight from their eyes.

The vegetation and veldt at Quiet waters conservation Scheme is looking plush and beautiful after the early rains. 

This beautiful klipspringer stands comfortably on a rock in a thicket at Quiet Waters.

Quiet Waters is really worth a visit.