Mattersvol 17 Issue 4

St Mary’s MATTERS VOL 17 ISSUE 4 JUNE 2017 Head’s Message Page 1 Junior School Page 3 Senior School Page 8 Sports and Recreation Page 14 From the PA Page 25 The Counselling Centre Page 26 TABLE OF CONTENTS Dear St Mary’s DSG Community May has own and winter has set in. Germs are doing the rounds. Life is very busy as academic matters and sport, cultural and spiritual matters continue unabated, as they do every year at this time. A few more weeks of “hectic” and things change pace dramatically. We are very good at feeling sorry for ourselves, forgetting the hordes that have gone before us. The national psyche remains fragile. If the school were in the same place as the country I would have been red long ago! Yet no one it seems will accept responsibility! Responsibility is not a popular word. The world of lawnmower parents is catching up with us, as teenagers, and even voting age teenagers have built up little resilience to dealing with the ebb and ow of life. Youngsters (and adults) now seek continual armation, even when wrong. A reprimand is now interpreted as “shouting” for example, and self-worth becomes questioned when facing any negative experience which demands personal accountability. People want to be continually stroked and made to feel good. Self-indulgent behaviour and petulance in the absence of pleasure abounds. Ben Zander, the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic, tells the story of a visiting world famous violinist who was visiting. He gave tickets to his entire class at the Youth Music Centre. When he arrived on stage and turn to acknowledge the packed audience, the only vacant seats were those of his young students. They had chosen to “go to the mall.” Extremely upset, he complained to his psychologist wife, who remarked that he had better apologise to the class! It took him some time and some anger and embarrassment to realise that if he took responsibility he would need to say that clearly he had not “enrolled” them for the performance. He had not been able to explain to them the once in a life time opportunity that was before them and so he bore responsibility. He told them that he needed to apologise to them. Given the state of the world, it is time for adults to take responsibility and apologise to its youth for the mess they have left them in, and the example we have set! This is real responsibility! But apologising is in vogue…sickeningly so! Apologising means nothing unless accompanied by some action to make right. HEAD’S MESSAGE | PG 1 The other side of this coin is our adult responsibility to teach young people about obedience, respect, the value of hard work, honesty and integrity, the importance of balance, the need for grit and resilience in life, the importance of manners, punctuality, sacrice, and service, to say “Thank you” and “I’m sorry” and mean it. Many of you will have read Eric Berne’s book “Games People Play”. He introduced what is known as transactional analysis to the world of understanding human behaviour. His assignment of behaviours into the “Parent, Adult and Child” categories is often very useful. I must confess that being the parent to adults is exhausting, but dealing with adults who behave like children is even more so. This letter is an appeal to the entire adult nation to take responsibility, mould and model our children even when they do not like it, prepare them to be adults and ensure that we too behave like adults. The Revd Canon A W Paterson Head of School HEAD’S MESSAGE | PG 2 Grade 3s Work During our Life Skills lessons, we have been reading Nelson Mandela’s “Long Walk to Freedom”. It has provoked many emotions in and around the classroom. During our IT integration lessons with Mrs Tansell, girls created a Popplet to map their thoughts on the book. The Grade 3s were asked to respond to three thoughts; ‘I know that…’, ‘I think that…’, ‘I wonder…’ For the remainder of the term, the Grade 3s will be working on their Science Expos in which they will carry out the Scientic Method. Our Grade 3s are amazing! By: Mrs Tarryn Molver Grade 3 Teacher Head of Foundation Phase (Gr1-3) JUNIOR SCHOOL | PG 3 JUNIOR SCHOOL | PG 4 Grade 5 - Free Verse Poetry Phantom World The mist is a veil of darkness, and she runs through the deep, dark wood, leaving me behind. While frightful gures y through the falling sky, the sounds are like those in horror movies. The grumbling is like a tummy needing to eat, and hard howls are heard from the haunting house. She climbs the tallest trees, knowing I’m afraid. But scariest of all, the trees she’s climbing are the monsters! Gabriella Pretorius Myself and I When I walk my dogs I know I’m not alone, there is something following me and I might just know who it is. It’s my sly, sneaky, scary shadow copying my every move. My shadow is like a mirror, it copies everything I do. Myself and I are very close but sometimes it just scares me when it gets bigger and bigger. My shadow is so kind, it never ever leaves me. Amy Zondagh What my shadow does when I don’t look My shadow dances when I don’t look. My shadow is a statue when I turn around. My shadow is just like me, and my shadow makes fun of me when I move. My shadow shines in the shimmering sun. My shadow is a mouse; she moves very slowly. At night she tip-toes away to play, But anyway, I love my shadow. Kayla Barnett JUNIOR SCHOOL | PG 5 Grade 5 - Free Verse Poetry The Lost Shadow My shadow is lost! It’s naughty and runs away. It is as black as the night and looks just like me. It is always hungry, begging for a body. BEWARE! There is a shadow on the loose. Maloti Gongxeka The Dark Shadow There is a spooky spot staring at me from the oor It is trying to copy me. Is it here to harm me? I feel as cold as an ice block. I run to hide behind a chair, but then I see, it has followed me. I begin to shiver… Oh dear, it’s shivering too! Hanna Breebaart The Dark Knight Danger is coming to me Evil is near It follows my every move Like a blanket, it covers the sky The day is drawing darker and darker The moon smiles at me My shadow is digging down, deeper to nd me But I made it through the night. Kelebogile Malebe JUNIOR SCHOOL | PG 6 Grade 5 - Free Verse Poetry The Day Time Birds chirping, owers blooming The sun rising up ahead like the ashes from a burning volcano bright as an orange ame The sun peaks her head over the mountain and her rays slide down the soft slippery slide but just don’t worry, a new day is still to come. Kelebogile Malebe The Night Sky I stand alone looking up at the sky. It is as deep as a dark hole. The stars are a million eyes looking through me. I feel afraid! The wind howls loudly in the night, And the sky quickly turns empty. The deep dark danger of the night Makes me feel alone. Olaotse Mohala The Morning Star One early morning, I saw a bright ame smiling over the hill. The shining star shines vividly, and lls the earth with its light. The morning star is a sign of hope. It continues to glow. The morning star does not want to go into the night. Another day, the morning star will come again. Danique Creighton JUNIOR SCHOOL | PG 7 Grade 10 - Dramatic Arts On 11 May, the Grade 10 Dramatic Arts students participated in the rst of a series of workshops on Comme- dia dell ‘arte , a form of improvised theatre originating in Tuscany, Italy in the 1500s. The workshop, hosted by Ryan Dittman of Zikka Zimba Productions, focused on the embodiment of the stock characters: Dottore, Pantalone, Columbina, Il Capitano and the Zanni. The students were encouraged to expand their horizons by using their bodies in imaginative ways and develop their improvisational skills. SENIOR SCHOOL | PG 8 Grade 5 - Free Verse Poetry Phantom World The mist is a veil of darkness, and she runs through the deep, dark wood, leaving me behind. While frightful gures y through the falling sky, the sounds are like those in horror movies. The grumbling is like a tummy needing to eat, and hard howls are heard from the haunting house. She climbs the tallest trees, knowing I’m afraid. But scariest of all, the trees she’s climbing are the monsters! Gabriella Pretorius Myself and I When I walk my dogs I know I’m not alone, there is something following me and I might just know who it is. It’s my sly, sneaky, scary shadow copying my every move. My shadow is like a mirror, it copies everything I do. Myself and I are very close but sometimes it just scares me when it gets bigger and bigger. My shadow is so kind, it never ever leaves me. Amy Zondagh What my shadow does when I don’t look My shadow dances when I don’t look. My shadow is a statue when I turn around. My shadow is just like me, and my shadow makes fun of me when I move.

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