We look forward to welcoming our boys back to this beautiful campus.
THE CLIFTON RALLYING CRY…
To help us with our strategic thinking during this time of lockdown, we have engaged with Grant Ashfield of “Leadership Works”, who has previously led the management team through the work of Patrick Lencioni and the advantages of a healthy and smart organization (“The Advantage”, “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team”, “The Ideal Team Player”). Amongst other things, Grant challenges us to think of a new “rallying cry”.
The Rallying Cry is not a slogan. Rather, it is a short-term goal, which is contextual and responsive to the current situation. It involves multiple tasks focused on “the most important thing right now”. As such it is more than a slogan, and much is packed behind the rallying cry. The rationale behind the thinking of the rallying cry is centered on these ideas: current context, our ethos, and whether it is actionable.
“A rallying cry serves the organizations with three primary functions: one, it creates an indisputable focus that transcends divisions, verticals and business units. Two: it unites those disparate parts of the company (or organization) with a purpose that is rooted in something both higher and deeper. Three: it catalyzes those companies — and the humans within — to work together in pursuit of a singular business vision. It also taps deeply into what motivates human beings at our core: feeling part of something bigger than ourselves.” (http://www.manifestoagency.com/blog/rally-cry).
Senior staff Mr Prav Iyer and Mr Shaun McCabe investigated various options, and the management team chose the following as the Clifton Rallying Cry.
Sindawonye! Together we endure & rise!
Sindawonye is an isiZulu word meaning: We are together. Community is a core belief at Clifton, and this fits our vision for transformation that sees the use of a single, powerful word. Together as a community, we are meeting the challenges of a global crisis, together we overcome these challenges and together we will succeed and emerge stronger.
It is important that we look ahead and maintain the momentum that has existed since lockdown. Only as a community, we will go forwards, and from this crisis, we will emerge stronger and better as a school, as professionals, as families and as individuals.
The greatest irony is that in isolation we have become closer and with technology we are now present in each other’s lives. Crucial to our community overcoming the current situation is working together with boys and families to meet the challenges of this global crisis. From the difficulties we are experiencing, we will change how we work, how we relate and how we live.
As a school, we are facing unprecedented challenges in the world, and as individuals in diverse communities in a complex world – these very challenges are overturning old ways of thinking, working, relating and living. With each and every hurdle that we overcome we move forwards towards a new vision for the world.
