2015 Annual Magazine

Junior School 120 Junior School headmistress’ address 120 Goodbye 123 Academic staff 124 Administrative staff 125 The Open Door team 125 Little Saints 126 Grade classes 128 Grade 7 memories 170 Grade 0-7 171 Grahamstown 2015 171 Grade 4 tour 172 Grade 5 tour 173 Grade 6 tour 174 Grade 7 tour 175 Environmental club 176 Chess club 176 Nativity play 177 Junior Primary production 178 Senior Primary production 180 Music 182 Sports 186 The St Mary’s Foundation 192 Community affairs 194 Parent Teacher Association 202 St Mary’s Old Girls’ Association 206 School prayer 212 2 Chairman’s address Prizegiving address by Nigel Carman 16 October 2015 To our guest of honour, Mr Frederick Swaniker, founder and and enthusiasm, and for the diverse special skills and experience chairperson of the African Leadership Academy, Ms Deanne which each of you brings so willingly for the benefit of the school. King, head of St Mary’s, Mrs Des Hugo and the staff of St Mary’s, colleagues on the Board of the school, and on the Board of the Last year, on this occasion, I asked the question: so what makes St Mary’s Foundation, parents, a great school? How do we know friends, girls of St Mary’s and most when we have been successful? Is it especially, the matric class of 2015 sufficient to have excellent matric – welcome to this assembly of the and sporting results? Or is it about school in celebration of the year the sort of people we help the girls that is drawing to a close and the to become when they leave the achievements of many girls who, school? in one way or another, and on their own terms, have excelled. One of the outcomes of the strategic planning process in It is, of course, right that we should which we have been engaged celebrate excellence by the giving during the course of the year has of awards and prizes. But we should been to answer those questions not forget the involvement and categorically: we must be judged achievements of many, many girls by the sort of people we help the not only in the classroom, but also girls to become when they leave St outside it, who may not, tonight, Mary’s. receive an award. Every girl, looking inwards and disregarding Rowan Williams, the former the noise of others around her, Archbishop of Canterbury, has will be able to recognise her own written: “Church schools are as achievements; and in recognising concerned as any other school to them will be able to be proud of equip pupils for lives marked by the person she is. We celebrate also rapid change, global competition with you. and insecurity. But Church schools know in their viscera that this is not just about acquiring skills The girls, supported and encouraged by their teachers, continue and good examination results. It is about forming people who to excel in the multitude of activities in which they, and their have the moral strength and spiritual depth to hold to a course, teachers, engage. By all the local and international benchmarks and weather ups and downs.” in which we participate, the standards and results of teaching and learning throughout the school are excellent. In art, music With this in mind, we have placed a strategic focus on the and drama, and in the many co-curricular activities in which the teaching and learning that takes place and the resources, human girls participate, they achieve wonderfully. and other, necessary to achieve our fundamental educational philosophy. The staff are now engaged in the next phase: The school is financially secure and through prudent a process to examine how and what they teach, but most management has been able to afford the major infrastructure importantly, for what purpose. This process is an ongoing one projects of the past few years. While we do not plan any and I will write more about it in due course. major infrastructure projects for 2016, the demands of major maintenance must continue to be met and we do need to rebuild To the matrics of 2015: our capital reserves so as to ensure that the school has the ability to invest in infrastructure for future generations, just as Some 50 years ago, on 28 August 1963, Martin Luther King Junior we enjoy the investment and foresight of past generations. delivered his extraordinary “I have a dream” speech, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. The school is undoubtedly in a very good place. For this, on behalf of the Board and the whole St Mary’s community, I thank “I have a dream,” he said, “that my four little children will one Deanne King and the staff for their committed contribution. To day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour all my colleagues on the Board, thank you also for your support of their skin, but by the content of their character.” St Mary’s School 2015 magazine – Senior School 3 Board members Back: Deanne King, Nigel Carman (chairman), Revd Jaques Pretorius, Maryanne Lansdown, Andile Mazwai, Loyiso Nongxa, Alan Pullinger, Angela Mackay, Yvette Bowden, Les Vercellotti Front: Thandi Chaane, Des Hugo, Azar Jammine Insets: Rt Revd Steve Moreo, Dawn Mokhobo, Flavio Maraschin, Rob Dow, Graeme Codrington In a month or two, you will have completed your matric exams and will have left the school. My dream, the school’s dream, for you, is that you will have learned here to judge people not by the colour of their skin, nor by their status or possessions, nor by the outward trappings of success, but by the content of their character. Most importantly, our dream is that each of you will have learned to judge your own self, not by the colour of your skin, nor by your status or possessions, nor by the outward trappings of success, but by the content of your character; by the values of honesty and faith, of generosity and compassion, of humility and determination, of self-respect and of respect for others; that you will recognise your privilege and accept the responsibility that goes with privileges. As David Brooks, a New York Times columnist, has written, don’t build your life by being better than others, but by being better than you used to be. Then, you will find within yourselves and, in many ways, by yourselves, the courage to be the person God made you to be. Be proud of who you are. Let the school be proud of you, and of what you make of the opportunities and challenges ahead. Go well. Nigel Carman Chairman: Board of directors St Mary’s School 2015 magazine – Senior School 4 Head of school Prizegiving address by Deanne King 16 October 2015 Good evening, Mr Frederick Swaniker, Mr Nigel Carman, of a demanding co-curricular programme because it enhances members of the school Board, teachers, parents, friends and St character development: it encourages self-belief and expression Mary’s girls. and it teaches one to collaborate, all of which better equip individuals for the workplace. We have also placed emphasis on Happiness is a common pursuit for human beings but it is a state community and working for society, because this places value that is often elusive. It certainly is a state that we pursue at on citizenship and tolerance. We are proud of our programme St Mary’s. Martin Seligman, the father of positive psychology, and our purpose in educating resilient women. But as the identified three elements of happiness: world changes around us, so must we positive emotions, engagement and bravely embrace the changing trends in meaning. He, like Victor Frankl, global education, which seek to create believes that humans want meaning scholars who have the courage to fail and purpose in life. In other words, in their attempts to create and search serving something that you believe for solutions – an approach that may is bigger than the self. This does not be problematic, when the influential guarantee happiness, but it is difficult to culture in which we work sees failure as find happiness unless you feel that what failure. Our challenge is to see failure you are doing is significant. as learning. This philosophy of learning crystallised for me at the National A school plays a significant role in Coalition of Girls’ Schools conference providing a foundation on which life is in June, when listening to Amy Lietke, built. St Mary’s has been such a school Professor of Industrial Design, Rhode for many generations of women, and Island School of Design. Her message it has never ventured from its original was that scholars and students need to purpose of educating girls within be good at failing, they need to learn to the Christian Anglican tradition. The fail often, and fail forward – failing is a purpose and character of our school positive thing when creating and looking are inextricably linked with our name. for solutions. The founders opened St Mary’s School with the purpose that it would be a school to educate girls in the My concern for St Mary’s is that if our girls seek only way of Mary, and to further God’s work and purpose in what was achievement and recognition in academics, sport or cultural then a mining camp but now, this city. As Mary trusted God and activities, the purpose of these endeavours is undermined. gave herself to faithfully follow God’s plan for her, so do we live Education, involvement and participation should not be focused out this charism of Mary and faithfully follow our purpose – to on achievement, but on personal development and growth.

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