The Anchor Issue 4 June 2015

The Anchor Issue 4 June 2015 Dear Maris Stella families and friends As we come to the end of another term, we need to say Another Old Girl and now Grade 2 teacher, Jessica goodbye to some staff members and wish others a happy Gregg-Macdonald, married Calvin da Silva just before maternity leave. the end of term. Jessica and Calvin, we wish you much love and happiness. We say goodbye to Mrs Nicole Bas- son. Nicole is a Maris Stella Old Girl and has been a teacher in the Prep Phase for the last four and a half years. Nicole and her husband, Jon- athan, will be taking up teaching posts in Saudi Arabia and we wish them every happiness. Mrs Chantal Diaz and Mrs Megan Kidd are both expecting babies very soon. Mrs Natasha Tsouris and Mrs Ni- cola Fickling are expecting their babies a little later on this year. For Chantal Diaz, Megan Kidd and Nicola Fickling this will be their first baby, Natasha Tsouris has a little boy, Noah, who is two years old. God bless all of you….enjoy this sacred time! We are looking for- ward to seeing pictures of your newest family members! Since our half-year examinations came to an end, our school has reverted to its normal busy schedule. I thank all our parents who have supported our recent meetings and events and our teachers who provide many opportu- nities for our girls to develop holistically. The articles in The Anchor echo the many activities that Maris Stella offers as well as the passion of the girls, teachers and parents. I wish each Maris Stella family a happy, safe holiday. [ Warm regards Joan Schmidt Page 2 The Anchor - Issue 4 Marie Biscuit Coffee Shoppe The decision was taken earlier this year to move the It is hoped that the funds raised by the coffee shop this date of the Marie Biscuit Coffee Shoppe from the last year will go towards landscaping and paving the area two weeks in May to the last two weeks in June. This under the big tree opposite the swimming pool. Pre-school outing to Mitchell Park There was a great buzz of excitement from the buses as the Pre-school girls were getting strapped into their seat belts: the day for their excursion to Mitchell Park Zoo had finally arrived! A gorgeous peacock greeted us on arrival, and the girls were in awe of his spectacular fan of feathers. We even had one of the girls very deter- mined to pluck a feather and take it back to school as a souvenir! We bustled around the park in our organised groups and admired all the different birds and their beautiful array of colours, as well as all seems to have been a very popular move as it has given the other animals. The many of our “not-so-old” Old girls, who are home from tiny monkeys and enor- university for the holidays, the opportunity to pop in and mous tortoises also at- visit us, whilst catching up on each other’s news. tracted a lot of interest. For the past two weeks the Parlour Room and Front After viewing all the Verandah have been abuzz with happy voices and much different creatures laughter as classes, groups of friends, and parents and the park has to offer, daughters have met for a cup of coffee or a tasty lunch. we broke for a quick We are very grateful to Mrs Lolly Chisholm, her mother picnic on the grass. The girls were rav- enous after exploring the park, and were thrilled to finally be able to enjoy their special "treat" in their packed snack. We returned to school and enjoyed singing songs on our way back on the bus. The peacocks definitely left a last- ing impression on our girls as was evident when they recreated their inspiration in the art area. The following week the girls were still talking about their fun time at Mitchell Park! Mrs Gina Callaghan, and all those others who have as- sisted in serving in the coffee shop, as well as in prepar- ing and providing the tasty treats. In 2014 the Coffee Shop raised an amount of R25995-55. This money was used to install digital drop safes in many of the classrooms throughout the school. Page 3 The Anchor - Issue 4 Junior Primary Father’s Day Grandparents’ Day Father’s Day gave many dads the opportunity to spend time in their daughters’ classrooms. There were many impressive creations made by our dads – Well done and thank you for making this time special for your little girl. Grade 3B – Back in the eighties life was excellent! They entertained us with the song “Working Nine to Five.” Grade 3H – Took us back to a time where there was no vio- lence – they entertained us with some Michael Jackson moves “Beat It!” Page 4 The Anchor - Issue 4 Grade 2G – “Splish, Splash” and our girls were taking a bath! Grade 2D – This class really do have their eyes on the sea. Not only could they move and groove, but they sure could do They were “Surfin’ USA” and just keeping the teachers in- the twist. formed that they needed some time for surfing. Our girls kept the grandparents entertained and they helped us take our families on a trip down memory lane. Grade 1P – A tear was brought to our eyes as we listened to “Because your loved me – Whitney Houston”. Our Grandparents’ Day was hosted by our famous “DJs” Grade 1S – “The Beetles” took us by surprise! Page 5 The Anchor - Issue 4 Prep Mother’s Day Grade 4 Family Braai Mom's and daughters enjoyed a morning picnic at Mitch- On Friday 15 May our Grade 4s had a family braai on ell Park to celebrate Mother's Day. Thank you for em- the field. It was a beautiful, starry evening filled with bracing the spirit of the day and wearing some wonderful fun and laughter. It was great to see so many families. and weird hats. We were blessed with beautiful weather Our Grade 12 mentors had organised a “photo booth” for and amazing eats! the girls as well as face painting and music. So a real fun time was had by all the children, posing to have their photographs taken and running around with their beautiful painted faces. The parents enjoyed socialising and it was particularly Fairfield Dairy Report nice to see the “old” Maris Stella parents engaging and Earlier this year, the Grade 5 girls went to visit Fairfield welcoming the “new” parents. We are certain that a good time was had by Mums, Dads and all the children! Dairy. The girls learnt about the daily routine of the cows, were shown where they were milked and also saw the baby calves. After lunch, they boarded the bus and headed to the factory in Howick. They learnt how yoghurt was made and the different processes various dairy prod- ucts had to go through, before the final product reached the end of the conveyor belt. They also watched an in- formative slide show which taught them many facts about the whole dairy process. Page 6 The Anchor - Issue 4 Grade 4 Muddy Paws Outing In June Grade 4Z and 4B went on two separate out- ings to Muddy Paws Farm in Crestholme. The girls had a wonderful time learn- ing lots of new and interesting things! They had the opportunity to make their own soap with glycerine, colour- ing, perfume and poppy seeds or lavender buds. They also picked their own bunch of lavender to take home. The girls were shown many herbs growing in the garden and they then had an exciting time participating in a scavenger hunt. This proved very interesting, as some of the herbs were not in flower, which made identification more difficult. The girls also enjoyed making their own butter from a jar Prep School Father’s Day of cream. This involved lots of muscle power to shake the jar until a yellow ball of butter was formed. They then got The Prep School held their Father’s Day Assembly dur- to enjoy their creamy butter on a slice of bread. ing the Second Term. Our dads were welcomed with hot coffee and rusks, which warmed them against the chill of The girls learnt about propagation and planted their own the morning air. They were able to enjoy these refresh- slip of lavender to take home. ments while listening to the musical talents of our ma- rimba players. This was a wonderful outing and a fantastic time was had by all! The theme for the assembly was Our Dads being the light in our lives; guiding us and helping us”. The Grade 7s offered their dads creative solutions during times of load-shedding and the Grade 4s shared anecdotes about their dads when Eskom turns our lights off. The Grade 5s piece called “Things I hope my kids will say about their dad” was thought-provoking and the Grade 6s entertained their dads with a song called “Daddy when the lights go out”. The highlight of the assembly, of course, was our Prep Choir whose voices were like angels sere- nading our dads. We pray that God may hold each one of our dads in the palm of His hand this Father’s Day on Sunday 21 June. Page 7 The Anchor - Issue 4 Prep Choir It was a busy month for our Maris Stella Prep Choir. On Wednesday, 20 May choirs from all over Durban gathered at Maris Stella to celebrate the Joy of Music.

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