v Table Contents of The Head’s Message ………………. 1 Junior School News …………….. 2 Senior School News ……………… 4 Library reads ……………………… 10 Counselling Centre ……………… 11 Sports News ………………………… 12 Page 1 Dear St Mary’s community, often in their own time. I say to them “Thank you for your care and professionalism.” Community I have rejoiced with the recognition given to the We have reached the end of the first term of school by the Epoch Optima Trust and the Allan 2016. Gray Orbis Foundation. The former have given us a large grant to develop an AP Maths Visual This term started with the admin offices opening programme which can be used nationally. Mrs on 4 January. It has been a time of heat and drought for the country, a term in which the Eiselen will be on sabbatical next term to bring country has seen unprecedented political turmoil, this to fruition, and Mrs Shaw, who has been assisting in Mrs Labuschagne’s absence, will a term punctuated and abbreviated by half-term move to take her classes. The latter have again and the Easter break. Everyone I speak to mentions the relentless pace of life, made all the listed us as one of their Circle of Excellence more real as parents struggle with tough Schools. Both of these reflect the standing of the school as one which is leading change in our economic conditions and the uncertainties of the country. As Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu times. It is almost with disbelief that we consider we are in April and a third of another year has said “the type of school they said could not exist.” passed. I have once again been so proud of the spirit of our girls, not just because they won the Spirit What have been my highlights? Trophy (again) but because our teams throughout I have been most encouraged by the response to the school are hugely spirited. The Head Girl’s our marketing effort and the interest in the school rallying cry for the school “We rise by lifting at all levels. Open Day was an exhausting others” certainly epitomises the school. reminder of how this school operates together as I have been glad to hear that our school camps a community with the whole school saying “There have taken many of our girls to where they have is something special here!” not been before in experience, physical I have been delighted with the way in which endurance, and interaction. I have also seen the newness has emerged despite the busyness of fulfilment the Grade 9s have felt being introduced the normal term, with the Valentine’s Weekend to new skills during their “Create Distinction” Sport Festival of Tennis and Squash, the Eco- programme. A school I visited in England called market recently held, and the Whole School this “Compelled into Experience.” Outreach Day. I heard a comment from a new member of the community - “This really is a I have once again seen students who have really been battling, begin to triumph academically, and I family!” say to them “Never ever give up….it is GRIT that Our educators have made sure that they remain counts.” firmly in touch with best practice through many I have been pleased with the balance of joyful curriculum meetings (both external and internal) and conferences with the broader educator enthusiasm and discipline which characterises the school, knowing that there will always be those Page 2 who need support in correction, something this an understanding of the blessings we have and school does firmly yet lovingly. “Separate the the necessity to share with others. “It is certainly person from the action” is advice much missing more blessed to give than to receive.” from this world. We have moved triumphantly, with the Church During this time we have welcomed two new staff from the Epiphany, through Lent and Good Friday babies into the world, but have also suffered with and celebrated Easter. We have shared the members of the community who have lost loved fullness of the human condition with our Lord. ones. Almost every day I hear of the celebrations “The Lord is risen, Allelujah.” and sorrows which characterise our human But my chief highlight of the term has been the condition. I have also personally been uplifted by shining eyes and unsolicited hugs, the evidence of triumph and dashed by adversity. “Stars only joyful giftedness which continually surrounds us shine through because of darkness; joy is only all. It has been a hard term…..and these things known juxtaposed with sorrow.” have carried us through. We have been extremely busy with charitable Thank you all…enjoy the holiday. events. Throughout the school, there seems to be The Revd Canon A Paterson Head of school Grade 0 0Grade 0 at St Mary’s DSG is a very busy place! We have learnt a lot this term through the fun baking on Colour Days, in Our Body and Germs presentations and activities, and have watched the miracle of life as baby chicks hatched from eggs right before our eyes. We have also had a special time with our Dads as we drummed the night away. Mrs Fiona Pienaar Head of Grade 0 Page 3 Safety in the Junior School From Grade 0 to Grade 7 age appropriate e-safety is taught to all girls. Lessons are used to watch videos and make posters. Discussions are held about using technology and the Internet safely. We encourage our girls to report any unsavory sites which they find at school and to do the same at home. Nobody can be with their children all the time so education by parents and teachers is vital. They need to know what is expected by parents and teachers when they use the Internet. We have, on the St Mary’s DSG website, a Techno Girls page where staff members are requested to put links to websites they need the girls to do research from; we do not encourage them to just do Google searches. Our online programmes such as Purple Mash, Mathletics and Khan Academy should be accessed via Techno Girls. Technology is a poor substitute for personal interaction and it is everyone’s task to ensure their children can communicate in the real world with real live people. At St Mary’s DSG we do not allow cell phones and do not have a usage policy, but at home parents need to set rules about using cell phones. Phones should be charged in parents’ room at night, to avoid disrupted sleep patterns as children feel they have to see what is happening all around them. Parents need to see what messages and photos are on their children phones, monitor how long their girls spend using technology and set limits. They must be aware of what messages are sent and received, and need to check their child’s phone. Cyber bullying is not acceptable and children need to know how to handle this. Children of all ages acquire their behaviour from what they see people around them doing, and in this day many parents and teachers are so engaged with digital devices that children see no problem with this, such as driving and talking on the phone, answering phones during Chapel services or concerts, stopping in the middle of a conversation with someone to answer a call. We want our girls to be safe at all times and discussion about dangers, technology and other areas, is a must in every family. MRS ANDREA HUNDERMARK ITC . Page 4 GRADE 6 CORE SKILLS TEST Our Grade 6 girls will again be writing the IEB Core skills test on Friday, 22 July 2016. The purpose of the test The IEB Grade 6 Core Skills Test was developed to determine whether Grade 6 learners, at the end of the intermediate phase of schooling, have attained sufficient cognitive academic proficiency to engage with the demands of the following years of education. It provides a benchmarking moment in the learning pathway where its formative, diagnostic intention is to have a positive, qualitative impact on teaching, learning and assessment in the schools that write the test. The focus of the test The test is non-curriculum-based. It focuses on skills and outcomes of learning that are developed within one or more specific learning areas but that are applied outside school in non-learning area specific contexts. In short, the focus is on the skills required for effective operation in life and society that are expressed through the Critical and Developmental Outcomes of the National Qualifications Framework in South Africa. These include visual literacy, critical reading of texts, acquiring information from a variety of sources, articulation of own voice, problem solving, manipulation of data, understanding numbers in context and so on. Mrs Janenne van der Merwe HEAD OF LANGUAGES ENGLISH DEPARTMENT “Don’t be a fool! Reading is cool!” Reading is an important outcome in the English Learning Programme. From the mouths of some of our Grade 10 learners: “A reader lives a thousand lives before she dies. A non-reader only lives one.” “We love reading because whenever we read it feels as if we are taken to a whole different universe. Reading the famous classic Great Expectations by Charles Dickens is like going on a journey because we ourselves go through the journey of growing up.” Page 5 “Through reading we expose ourselves to new experiences and information. We understand the world better through the words of others, and it inspires us to be creative and innovative. We can relate to the expectations of Pip in Great Expectations because we experience the same.” “Knowledge is a gift.