Senior School

Grade 9 English/History tour to Simonstown

Grade 9 English/History tour to Simonstown: last week, the Grade 9s went on a tour of Simonstown, to further understand the setting and historical context of their English setwork "The Girl from Simon's Bay", World War II and the impact of the apartheid government's forced removal policy and other discriminatory laws.

The day started with a short tour of the St Francis of Assissi Anglican church (inaugurated in 1814) given by Reverend Rodney Uren and Mrs Mary Kindo, and a prayer for the families that had been forcibly removed. Between 1965 and 1973, over 70% of the congregation were moved to areas including Ocean view, Wynberg, Gugulethu and the Cape Flats, which resulted in the church being closed for a few years. The pupils were moved to see the three stained glass windows that were installed to honour the displaced congregation. After visiting the church, the pupils were given guided tours of the SA Navy Museum and Amlay House (the Simonstown Heritage Museum). While at the SA Navy Museum, they shrieked through a simulation of being shelled while taking refuge in a bomb shelter and explored the inside of a submarine and the view from a ship's bridge. Seeing shells, weapons and models of the ships that they have been reading about gave them valuable insights into wartime Simonstown and the war poetry that they have studied this term.

The tour of Amlay House, organised by Mr Farouk Khan and the Davids family, was a moving account of the past and its impact on the present. Mrs Patty Davids (nee Amlay) was born in the house, which had been her family's property since it was built in 1858. She married and lived there with her husband for a few years before they were forcibly removed in 1975. When the family was able to return in 1995, the Davids converted the bottom storey of the house to a museum. Their generosity and Mr Khan's historical insight allowed our pupils a fascinating insight into the rich history of the people of Simonstown, its vibrant Coloured community and South African Muslim culture. A walk to the Noorul Islam Mosque was followed by delicious icecreams and some time relaxing on Watersedge Beach.

Our Springfield pupils' empathy and enthusiasm throughout the day made us proud. In the words of Mr Khan "Beautiful day. Beautiful guests. What more could one ask for?"

Allan Gray Entrepreneurship Challenge 2021

In this VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world, it is vital that we enable our students and youth to deal with the changes that they face with optimism and to thrive no matter the challenge they encounter. This is at the root of all entrepreneurship education. We must ensure that we enable the youth of our country to see life through a different lens, one that allows them to problem solve in difficult times and seek to add value to the world around them. The Allan Gray Orbis Foundation seeks to add value to entrepreneurship education in any manner possible.

The Allan Gray Entrepreneurship Challenge is an online, gamified learning platform that is open to all high school learners in South Africa (Grades 8 to 12). In 2021, there were 447 teachers, 223 NGO’s, 52 Government Institutions, 1093 Entrepreneurs and 7 535 students registered to take part in the challenge. The game stretched over 5 weeks and Springfield Convent registered 64 students altogether. The first week was an introduction to the game and there were no prizes for this week of game play. The results for week 2 to 5 are as follows:

Week 2 winners:

10. Christine Birrer - R750

Week 3 winners:

5. Francesca Quercia - R1 500

8. Jenna Everett - R550

9. Anna Lumby - R550

Week 4 winners:

1. Grace Sellick - R2 500

1. Jenna Everett - R550

Week 5 winners:

1. Francesca Quercia - R550

2. Jenna Watkins - R550

We are extremely proud of Francesca Quercia in Grade 11 who was awarded 16th position overall and R3 000 worth of Allan Gray unit trusts and Hyeongyeong Son in Grade 12 who was awarded 8th position overall and R5 000 worth of Allan Gray unit trusts. The following learners ranked in the top 100:

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Well done to our Springfield Surfing team that has entered into the High School Surfing Competition. They are currently 4th on the leaderboard and we are proud of their enthusiasm and effort.