OLD HERSCHELIAN NEWS 2016 1 2 Contact Us Catch up on all the news at www.herschel.org.za/alumni Keep us informed of any change of contact details by completing the “Update Details Page”. Locate Old Herschelians by using the “Locate Friends” form. Join the Lady Herschel group who meets monthly at a different venue each time. Find us on Facebook www.facebook.com. Search for “Old Herschelian Association” and click “Like”. Email us on [email protected] 2016 Committee President: Mr Stuart West Vice-president: Corinne Symons (Dicey) 072 947 1974 [email protected] Chairman: Prue Crawley (Borton) 082 820 1751 [email protected] Treasurer: Diana Burns (Dicey) [email protected] OHA Member of Council: Kristina Miller [email protected] Secretary: Lucy Bailey (Burns) 021- 6707500 [email protected] Committee Members: Daphne Beames [email protected] Zeanne Duminy 073 3078874 [email protected] Tania Johnstone (Peck) [email protected] Justine Macdonald (Peters) 082 479 2203 or [email protected] Amy Paterson 082 217 7224 [email protected] Tamlyn Prevost (McKeag) 083 459 2220 [email protected] Mandy van Dugteren (Noakes) 083 228 0449 [email protected] Barbara Vintcent [email protected] 3 DATES TO DIARISE Thursday 16th February 2017 18h00 OHA Cocktail Party (R30) (acceptances only to [email protected] by 7th February 2017) Friday 17th February 2017 11h00 Founders Day Service at St Saviour’s (acceptances only to [email protected] by 7th February 2017) 12h45 AGM in the Dining Room 13h00 Lunch in the Mary Jagger Hall (acceptances to [email protected] before 7th February 2017) May 2017 OHA Winter Dinner (R150) – for all Old Herschelians, Staff and Friends of the school September 2017 Golden Girls Tea in the Archives – for all Old Herschelians who have celebrated their 50 year reun- ion or more REUNIONS TO LOOK FORWARD TO 1967 50 years Patsy Louw [email protected] 1977 40 years Rose Bishop [email protected] 082 6782924 1987 30 years Lucy Bailey [email protected] 082 7760093 Christie Thornton [email protected] 083 4565788 1992 25 years Candice Noakes-Dobson [email protected] 083 5210385 1997 20 years Tamaryn Scarterfield [email protected] 082 7723850 OHA OFFICE HOURS Contact Lucy Bailey [email protected] during the term. 4 LETTER FROM STUART WEST At the beginning of 2016 I announced my theme for the year, “The joy of learning.” Looking back at this year, I guess it was not the year of learning I had envisaged in January. I had envisaged debates on classroom methodology, the dangers of over-assessment, the value and purpose of homework, the growing levels of anxiety in our girls and how we could help our girls engage more critically with cur- rent global and national issues. I wanted our staff and girls to be released from having to treat academ- ic curiosity and joy of learning as enemies of competence and achievement. This year, however, has involved the learning of a very different kind. This year we have been tested, challenged and shaped by a set of challenges that we could not have predicted in January 2016. These have forced us to stand as the Herschel family in the eye of each storm and find, with God’s grace and the resolute insight of wise councillors, a way - often rather scary and tenuous at times - through the storm to the other side. And so the joy of learning gave way to the necessity of learning, the learning about life and about ourselves as a school community and Herschel family. We have learnt what it means to be a family in the midst of unspeakable allegations, in the midst of deep hurt, in the midst of personal tragedy, in the midst of relentless diseases that take hold of loved ones, and in the midst of complex and challenging storms. We have begun critical conversations about racism, racial prejudice, what it means to be a multi-faith community within an Anglican Church School and the importance of identity and being valued and acknowledged here at Her- schel. We have learnt, and are still learning, that to be a family we need to see each other more clearly, listen to each other more carefully, engage with each other with less fear and challenge each other with more courage, boldness and vulnerability. Above all, we want a school where our girls can say: “At Herschel, it is okay to be me.” Haruki Mura-kami, a contemporary Japanese writer, comments: “And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.” Part of the reason that I chose the theme The Joy of Learning at the start of the year, was because Council had very generously agreed for me to attend the first ever Global Forum on Girls’ Education, hosted in New York, in February this year. I was so excited to be part of a conference of 950 delegates, which would focus on the strength, benefit and best practice of girls’ schools around the world. I returned to Herschel with bold ideas and affirmations of how we are, and yet could be more of a world class girls’ school. Firstly, independent schools in America manifest their independence by designing and implementing a uniquely- tailored liberal arts type curriculum for their students designed to be highly relevant, enriching and to intentionally move away from a reliance on standardised testing. They want their girls to engage with contemporary issues, to be academically articulate, and to confidently present their learning and understanding, in a variety of creative and relevant ways. I have returned convinced that we must assert our independence by continually challenging our- selves to find ways to redefine the curriculum we teach, to find creative ways to present and assess learning, and to entrench the expectation of critical thinking skills and thoughtful, robust academic discourse to ensure that strong, caring, risk-taking, relevant and articulate young women leave Herschel to make their mark. There is no doubt that we are a world class girls’ school. The recent nomination of Emily van Heerden (OH 2010) as the Bishops Rhodes Scholar to Oxford is recognition of this. Emily said: “I am forever grateful for the world-class education I received at Herschel and at Stellenbosch University and I hope to be an ambassador for both Herschel 5 and South Africa whilst at Oxford. My days at Herschel taught me to always strive for excellence and to learn in or- der to make a difference.” Our research also shows that Herschel Alumni thrive in academic life beyond school. Old Girls studying at local uni- versities tell us that their robust work ethic and confident research and academic writing skills are as a result of their Herschel heritage. Alumni, armed with a Herschel Matric, continue to get offered places at international Uni- versities and we have Old Herschelians currently studying at Harvard, Cornell, Oxford, Edinburgh, Bristol and many other American and European universities. A second consistent and urgent theme of the conference was the importance of prioritising the inner lives of girls. Arianna Huffington, of the Huffington Post, pleaded with schools to equip young women to fight against the contin- ued, bewildering silent casualties of women in the workplace, and the dysfunctional equation between burnout and success for many career women. She said we have to teach our girls, while they are still young, how to pur- posefully manage their lives and find that critical balance between their driven work ethic, their desire for relent- less achievement and their personal wellbeing. This was supported by the most profound talk of the conference, The Myth of Effortless Perfection. The presenta- tion emphasised that we have to help our girls face the monster of this myth, a myth that seduces girls into thinking that consistent success and uber-achievement are attainable for all, effortless for some. So they slave away behind the scenes, working unbearable hours across multiple commitments, competing for honours, comparing them- selves against peers, ruthlessly driving themselves to achieve at all costs, all the time trying to maintain the mask and pretence of effortlessness perfection, all the while, fighting the growing anxiety within. At Herschel, we must create more opportunities for our girls to find balance within the complexity of their inner lives. We must prioritise the opportunities, skills and times for reflection and self-care. We must teach them to reg- ularly look behind the mask, assess their inner lives, demand of themselves, balance, and, if necessary, have the ability and permission to ask for help. We must continue to build an environment where it is okay to say: “I don’t have to be perfect. I won’t expect that of myself any longer.” And so, 2016 has indeed been a year of considerable learning as well as a wonderfully enriching and productive year. As the year rushes to a close it is right and fitting to reflect on all the learning, magic and wonder that is gen- erated on the Herschel campus and applaud the staff for their profound investment and creative leadership. It is a remarkable school and it makes a profound difference. I thank Prue Crawley for her dedicated and passionate leadership as Chair of the OHA and for her service to Her- schel through the Council and OHA over the years.