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 a rmation, 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, sacri ce, 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 Scienti c 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.
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
A good time was had by all and the Drama department would like to congratulate the girls on their hard work and involvement.
By: Mrs Gillian Oosthuizen Senior School Teacher English & Dramatic Arts
SENIOR SCHOOL | PG 9 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
Grade 10 - Life Sciences
Using model building to make theory more understandable in Life Sciences.
Often the more theoretical concepts, such as the molecular structure of substances, are di cult for pupils to grasp. In order to make the ideas more accessible for this generation of visual learners, model building can be useful. Innovative lessons have had the Grade 10 pupils “building proteins” and the Grade 11 pupils out on the lawns “building hearts” and acting the part of blood as it pumps through the heart.
Life Sciences Educator Head of Science & Technology
Grade 10s (left) building a model of protein (right).
SENIOR SCHOOL | PG 10 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
Senior School - Lent Blanket Drive
“For it is in giving that we receive” – Francis of Assisi
During the time of Lent, the Senior School girls continued the tradition of knitting and crocheting blankets. The blankets were collected and donated amongst the St Mary’s DSG Outreach focus areas. This year 376 blankets were collected with St Andrew House completing 192 blankets! We would like to thank all the St Mary’s DSG community members for all and any contributions made!
Heads of Houses
House Captains: Jessica Strydom (St George House), Khanya Nxomani (St David House), Odirile Mahlangu (St Patrick House) & Jessica Frohlich (St Andrew House).
SENIOR SCHOOL | PG 11 Accolades Tea Speech - The Meaning of Being Truly Educated
Most people would most certainly agree that to be educated and attend school is one of the greatest privi- leges in life. However, so many of us because become so obsessed with achieving good marks that we end up forgetting the real purpose of an education. According to Wilhelm van Humboldt, a German philosopher from the 18th century, the core principle and requirement of a ful lled human being is “the ability to inquire and create constructively, independently and without external controls”.
This is what is known as a true education - the ability to develop your own ideas and creative thoughts from the knowledge and skills that you learn at school.
Achieving good marks is important, because it shows a certain level of self-discipline, diligence, commit- ment and perseverance; but nowhere near as important as what you do with the knowledge that earned you those good marks. According to lecturers in leading world universities such as MIT and Oxford, they often tell their students that "it's not important what we cover in class, it's important what you DIScover outside of class".
In other words, you should always be encouraging yourself to think beyond what you learn at school – because then you will have acquired a true education, and the intelligence that will guarantee to take you far in life.
I hope to see even more girls at the next Accolades Tea, and the one after that and the one after that - because in fact, continuous e ort, and not necessarily strength and intelligence, is the key to unlocking our true potential.
By: Hannah Venter Grade 12
SENIOR SCHOOL | PG 12 Head Girl’s Report - Term 2
This term is all about empowering new beginnings: a fresh start in our individual lives and in the life of the school as a collective. Sport is at an all-time high and continues to progress as the weeks go by. The sweat , hard work, and long hours endured by our athletes are re ected evidently through their outstanding perfor- mances. The academic dedication is well on its way. More and more new faces are present at Accolades Teas each and every week. Beautiful music continues to oat throughout the school, resonating within us.
Finding a way to juggle all our commitments has been challenging, yet it has gifted us with the opportunity to learn from our past experiences. We continue to stay strong, through the guidance and nurture of the support systems within the school : teachers, counsellors, boarding mothers and even each other . The presence of a shoulder to cry on, a motivator , or merely just a listener. The girls have managed to maintain their bright illuminating smiles, joyful laughter and energetic dance moves . A fresh sense of positivity radiates throughout the school, making it even more of an uplifting and empowering environment.
Important necessary discussions about diversity and equality are arising in the school, during this term in particular. The Circle of Healing has grown, each session being more constructive and productive than the one before. Girls are beginning to listen, openly share their stories and experiences and embrace the rich diversity of our school: establishing a sense of compassion, understanding and e ective communication within our community. This is an opportunity for us to learn how to address and express the real-world, prevalent issues South Africa is still facing to this day. These are practical lessons we will de nitely utilise, after leaving the gates of St Mary’s DSG, in the years to come.
Looking around me, I recognise and acknowledge the immense growth our school has experienced – and I am certain it will continue to ourish even more from here on. For this is the year of igniting a positive, empowering change within ourselves and within the depths of our school.
By: Dineo Maleho Head Girl
SENIOR SCHOOL | PG 13 Squash
NJSA Squash Closed 19-21 May 2017
U 13 Girls A Deneil Beukes 1st Ashton Weir 2nd U 13 Girls B Surina Singh 2nd Olivia Lang 3rd U 19 A Sascha Steyn 5th U 19 B Ilana Jacobs 5th
High School League Friday 5 May 2017 DSG C1 Menlo E 13-5 DSG B1 Menlo C 1-16 DSG C1 PHSG C 6-12 DSG C4 PHSG D 2-16 Friday 5 May 2017 DSG B2 Sutherlands 16-1 DSG C5 Menlo F 1-16 DSG B1 Menlo C 1-16 DSG C4 DSG C5 3-13
Senior League
Centurion 1 Lost 16-0
SPORTS AND RECREATION CENTRE | PG 14 Tennis
The tennis is under new management. New Head Coach, Wikus Myburgh, has changed the training structures and made them more performance orientated.
Wikus Myburgh is the only o cial tennis coach in South Africa who has a current world ranking. He still plays professional tournaments.
We have a strong junior group and the U13s dominated a few league games at the end of Term 1. We are looking forward to see our junior group develop as there is much potential.
Some of our senior league teams are currently playing league matches: they have shown hard work and improved drastically. All the matches we played are all close even against strong schools’ A teams.
Term 2 kicked o with a bang as the girls went straight into hard practices after coming back from a long break. Aside from working hard on drills that are match and performance orientated we have also spent a lot of time on tness and injury prevention.
Mr Wikus Myburgh Head Coach
SPORTS AND RECREATION CENTRE | PG 15 Horse Riding
“No hour of life is wasted that is spent in a saddle” Winston Churchill
The St Mary’s DSG Equestrian Team rode in their rst quali er on 4 and 5 March at Misty Meadows. As usual, there was a buzz in the air, not only of ies, but the energetic vibration radiating from all the riders.
The results are fantastic and varied in category only exhibiting the raw and fearless talent our riders possess. The following riders achieved results in the top 3 of their categories:
RIDER CATEGORY PLACED Sabrina Higgins Dressage 1st Jordan Reinecke In-Hand-Utility 3rd Tatum Zeghers Equitation 1st Showjumping 1st Oliver Smith In-Hand-Utility 2nd Ashleigh Grabow In-Hand-Utility 2nd Performance Riding 3rd Anya Roesto Equitation 2nd
Special mention must be made of Jenna Mortimer, a novice in the St Mary’s DSG Equestrian Team, who achieved a 1st place in the Showjumping category and a 2nd place in the Equitation category.
The rst quali er has come and gone and the riders faced di culty with the woeful weather that presented itself on the weekend of 13 and 14 May. But, true to their nature, the girls booted and saddled up, ready to face whatever the wind blew their way. Sadly, it was not to be,as many of the events were cancelled because of the danger posed by the wet and sodden ground. A few brave souls did compete and I congratulate Jenna Mortimer, Jessica Garnett, Ashleigh Grabow and Jordan Reinecke for their daring (or stupidity, some might think!)
SPORTS AND RECREATION CENTRE | PG 16 Earlier this week the matric portfolios headed up a ‘1st Team Recognition’ during break on Friday 19th May.
Huge congratulations are given to the following ladies for making it into the 1st team Equestrian:
Sabrina Higgins, Jhan-Marì van den Berg, Tatum Zeghers, Olivia Smith, Jordan Reinecke, Anya Roesto , Rummana Ismail, Ashleigh Grabow, Hannah Meyer and Jessica Garnett.
They are commended for all the hours of training, to develop their own skills and those of their horses as well. It is a strenuous and spellbinding relationship that is formed, maintained and adored by the rider and their large and sensitive partner.
SPORTS AND RECREATION CENTRE | PG17 NETBALL May 2017
Netball is a game that requires team work like no other. From goalpost to goalpost every member of the team is needed to be successful. The overriding vision of Netball at St Mary's DSG is to ignite in each player a passion for the game that will continue long into their adult life. As girls start to develop this passion it is inevitable that their skills will only improve.
We strive to source the best coaches who suit not only the ethos of the school but have their own passion for the game. As always, change might cause some di culty but ultimately shows the way forward. By embracing the change in coaching sta we have seen tremendous growth and a level of play like never before. In the rst term we prepared for the season by having more trials than in previous years to enable the players to prove them- selves over a longer period of time. This also helped the coaches to nalize which teams are most suited for their method of coaching.
After the rst few training sessions the girls realised that they have the opportunity to prove themselves and to build new relationships not only with the coaches but also their teammates. We kicked o quite early this year by having our rst friendly match against Hoërskool Oos Moot.
The festival teams trained diligently to prepare for the Roedean, St Stithians and St Andrew’s festivals lurking around the corner. It was a wonderful experience to represent St Mary’s DSG at the festival as our younger age group girls played their hearts out each game and proved to be the next generation of rst team players. With minimal rest between the games and limited sleep between the days, the girls bonded as a team and also used this opportunity to learn new skills, gain tness and enjoy the festival thoroughly. Phenyo Motshele and Masego Moloabi are commended on being exceptional leaders at the St Andrew’s and St Stithians festivals. The team was a true representation of St Mary’s DSG by having an excellent attitude especially when facing a di cult match and outstanding discipline that was noticed by various schools.
Congratulations go to Phenyo Motshele and Carlé le Roux for being selected to go through to the second round of Gauteng trials and have been awarded Half Colours.
The league season began promptly upon our return to school for the second term. The league season is a total of eight weeks packed with many friendly matches, 7 league matches, 2 playo matches and the addition of various festivals and B-Team Tournaments for our top sides.
SPORTS AND RECREATION CENTRE | PG 18 We have successfully completed our rst three league matches and the results are as follows
St Mary’s DSG Sacred Heart Kings College Bryanston Dominican Convent
U14 A Won Won Won U14 B - Won - U15 A Won Won Won U15 B - Won - U16 A Lost Draw Lost U16 B - Won - U19 A Won Won Lost U19 B - Won Won
Junior Netball – May 2017
The Netball season started o in March with mini netball and senior netball clinics, hosted by our coaches. It was a good start to the season.
Netball numbers are good with the following: U7 – 23 girls U8 – 35 girls U9 – 15 girls U10 – 25 girls U11 – 28 girls U12 – 23 girls U13 – 23 girls
We sent 11 girls to Tshwane U12 and U14 Netball trials on 15 March. We are proud to announce that Zite Okonjo was chosen C position for U12 and Onka Koikanyang GK position for U13.
SPORTS AND RECREATION CENTRE | PG 19 On 25 March the U10 – 13A and B teams took part in the Loreto Queenswood festival. It was a lovely festival and next year the C and D teams will attend this festival.
On 28 March we played against Prestige College with following results:
28 March 2017 vs Prestige Home Age group A B
u/10 3 - 0 W 11 - 1 u/11 6 - 2 W 2 - 0 W u/12 9 - 3 W 6 - 1 W u/13 9 - 7 W 7 - 1 W
From 6 – 8 April, we played in the St Stithians netball festival. It was an excellent festival and fun was had by all!
This year we again played in the D4 netball league. The rst league match was played on 4 May against Woodhill College. The results were as follow:
4 May 2017 vs Woodhill at St Mary’s DSG Age group A B C u/10 2 - 1 W 12 - 2 W 8 - 1 W u/11 4 - 1 W 10 - 0 W 10 - 0 W u/12 9 - 5 W 10 - 2 W u/13 11 - 8 W 9 - 11 W 0-9 L
SPORTS AND RECREATION CENTRE | PG 20 On 6 May we played our rst Mini netball festival at Southdowns College. Good netball was played by all. On 9 May U10 – U13 played against Midtream Ridge away. These were tough matches! On 11 May U10 -13 played against Southdowns at home. These were also tough matches, and great netball was played by all. On 16 May we played another league match versus Paratus Primary. It was an away game, with great results.
17 May 2017 vs Paratus Away Age group A B
u/10 6 - 7 W 6 - 3 W u/11 14 - 7 L 5 - 4 W u/12 21 - 2 W 6 - 0 W u/13 20 - 7 W 11 - 2 W
On 20 May U7 – 13 took part in the Ocean Basket Netball festival. The U7 – 9 teams played well and fun was had by all. The U10 -13 teams played extemely well. We are very proud of them all. Here are the results: U10 won Silver U11 won Silver U12 won Gold U13 won Bronze
SPORTS AND RECREATION CENTRE | PG 21 On 23 May we played against Uitsig Primary at home. This was another league match. The results were as follow:
23 May 2017 vs Uitsig Home Age group A B
u/10 8 - 3 W 3 - 8 L u/11 5 - 5 D 13 - 1 L u/12 13 - 5 W 16 - 1 W u/13 9 - 16 L 19 - 10 W
On 3 June we are hosting a Mini Netball festival. 1On 10 June we are hosting our annual U12/13 DSG Junior Netball festival. We are so looking forward to all the fun!
SPORTS AND RECREATION CENTRE | PG 22 Junior School Hockey Our Junior School teams have had a busy start to the season. Our teams are participating in the Johannesburg league. This year, the league has included quadrangulars, where schools play up to 3 matches in an afternoon. Our teams have played well and displayed good sportsmanship. Well done to all the girls who participated!
Date Opposition U10 Teams U11 Teams U12 Teams U13 Teams
19/5 Kingsmead U10A drew 1-1 U12A won 2-0 U10B drew 0-0 U12B won 1-0 U10C drew 0-0
APPS U10A won 4-1 U12A won 1-0 U10B won 2-0 U12B won 2-0
Roedean U10A drew 0-0 U12A loss 0-2 U10B loss 0-1 U12B drew 0-0 U10C loss 0-1
26/5 Kingsmead U11A drew 0-0 U13A won 2-0 U11 B drew 0-0 U13B drew 0-0
APPS U11A loss 0-3 U13A won 1-0 U13B drew 0-0
Roedean U11A drew 0-0 U13A won 3-0 U11B won 1-0 U13B loss 0-1
Mini-Hockey
Our Mini-Hockey teams have been playing their hearts out on Saturday mornings. They have participated in Mini-Hockey Festivals at St Paulus and Tyger Valley College. Unfortunately, our St Mary’s DSG Mini-Hockey festival was cancelled due to rain. No o cial scores are kept but our girls have played extremely well and displayed excellent skills and team work. Well done to all the girls who participated!
SPORTS AND RECREATION CENTRE | PG 23 Senior Hockey Senior hockey league comes to a close on 2 June 2017.
We have played ve league xtures against Sutherland, OosMoot, Centurion, Montana and Zwartkop, with only Pretoria North still to play. The 2017 league has shown a growth in numbers with an U18 C team now also playing in friendly xtures on a weekly basis.
Our results have been exceptionally pleasing this season. We see an overall structure and/or game plan develop- ing – a St Mary’s DSG brand of hockey. Our rst team is also currently unbeaten in their league.
In April three teams took part in festivals. St Mary’s DSG ended 28th in the St Mary’s Waverley Festival, 8th in the Bloemhof U16 Festival and four of our U14 A players were selected for a touring team to Malaysia later this year.
Eleven players were selected for provincial hockey teams, with Ziko Petse being selected for the Gauteng U14 team – a wonderful accomplishment. • Anza Nebotalo • Thando Mothiba • Natalia Maina • Ziko Petse • Luyanda Mhlana • Lebo Mateta • Reitumetse Nyakale • Angel Nkosi • Bernice Seymour • Jaime Marais • Dimpho Petse
The growth in our numbers has allowed for more coaching sta , which includes a tness and conditioning coach, a goalkeeper coach, as well as a coach focusing on strikers. Having specialist coaching has delivered satisfactory results – especially with the selection of Luyanda Mhlana as a goalkeeper for North Gauteng U15A, as she had started as a B team player at St Mary’s DSG in 2016.
SPORTS AND RECREATION CENTRE | PG 24 From the Parents’ Association...
It’s been a while since we chatted. 2017 is ying past at neck-breaking speed.
We have had some exciting developments with regards to the new rules of the St Mary’s DSG Parents’ Association. On 16 May 2017, at a general meeting of the parents, the new constitution was approved by the parent body. These rules will now be placed before the Governing Body for consideration. We will keep you informed of this process.
February was a busy month as the St Mary’s DSG Parents’ Association hosted the following events: The Parent cocktail party on the 3 February to welcome the teachers and parents back to school. Snacks and drinks were served and provided the parents and teachers with an opportunity to mingle and get to know each other. The 2017 St Mary’s DSG Parents’ Association Committee members were introduced to the school.
The Grades 0 & 1 function took place on Friday 17 February, an enjoyable and ful lled event to welcome new families into the school community.
On 26 May 2017 the St Mary’s DSG Parents’ Association hosted the Junior School Trivia Evening. The competition was strong and the top 5 teams were very close in points. We wish to thank the sponsors who provided wonderful prizes for the top 3 teams in the children and mixed categories and for the spot prizes. The sponsors were: Curious Minds, Victoria Line, Vintage Vista, Italian Club Pretoria, Modern Italian Kitchen, Gallo Precast, Dip & Snip, Bounce, Inbloom, Ster Kinekor, Aroma, Moo Moos and Bazaruto.
My School: We thank all parents who regularly make use of their MySchool cards. Further, we encourage those parents who are members of the MySchool project but have not yet registered St Mary’s DSG as a bene ciary to consider doing so soon.
For non-members, please join the MySchool project. You can complete the forms either manually or on line by logging onto www.myschool.co.za . Additional information is also available on the website. Forms can be obtained at the school and when completed, they can be returned to the Junior or Senior School o ces for onward submission to MySchool. www.myschool.co.za
Mrs Lizelle Reineke Chair: St Mary’s DSG PA
FROM THE PA | PG 25 Positive Discipline that Makes Sense
The word discipline means to impart knowledge and skill – therefore, to teach. Parents’ aim with e ective discipline must not be to punish or control their children, but rather to implement e ective ways to set limits and instill self-control in their child in order to guide them on their way to becoming responsible adults.
The following key concepts are vitally important in the process:
1. A good relationship with your child Discipline starts with a constructive, positive relationship built on trust, and lled with love, respect, recognition and encouragement. Spend time with your child, be interested in her, listen to her, and encourage her to make choices.
2. Limits: structure, consistency and predictability Limits, routine and structure lead to consistency and predictability and help children to feel safe. They must know the rules and must realise that their choices have consequences.
If a child chooses not to obey, she must realise that it was her choice and that she will have to face the consequences. Consequences may be something like restricted iPad use, time-out, not going to a party or not getting all her pocket money. Children need to learn that calm words and not yelling and hitting are the best way to solve problems. They must realise that they make choices and their parents will just remind them (in a calm voice without getting aggressive) of what they chose and of the outcome, e.g. “Megan, you chose not to hang up your wet towel, and therefore you chose to use a wet towel tonight.”
Make sure that they know the rules, as well as the consequences, well in advance. Be consistent. Remind them once, and implement consequences if they do not make the correct choice according to the rule.
3. Reasonable expectations Remember to take your child’s age, developmental level, environment, personality and temperament into consideration. Try to understand the reason for the misbehaviour. Children misbehave for di erent reasons such as:
• Wanting attention • Looking for power • Wanting to get revenge • Displaying inadequacies
THE COUNSELLING CENTRE | PG 26 Refuse to feel hurt, ght, get into a power struggle or get back at her. Stay calm, remind her of the rules and consequences and rather help your child to take responsibility and experience success. Catch her while doing something good and be on the lookout for positive choices that you can encourage, reinforce and praise. Help your child to feel proud of herself. If she takes responsibility and accepts the consequences of wrong choices, she needs to be praised – we all make mistakes!
If you need more information or want to discuss the topic further, you are very welcome to contact any one of the psychologists at the school.
Compiled by Mrs Marthé Pienaar (Educational Psychologist)
THE COUNSELLING CENTRE | PG 27 CONTACT US: www.stmarys.pta.school.za Tel: 012 366 0500 Email: [email protected]