What keeps you awake at night?

We are living through a time where disruption and change is the norm. With that comes uncertainty and many things that we are trying to understand and discern. There are times when I am kept awake by a variety of thoughts - sometimes I do my best thinking in my ‘not-so-sleep’.

Something that I have been wrestling with are values and how these are displayed in our attitudes and our actions. In particular I have given considerable thought to comparing society’s values with those of our school. Driven by both mainstream and social media, much of society places extreme value on wealth, possessions, positions, and power. In contrast, at Springfield, when we abide by our motto, Veritas, we hope to nurture the values of compassion, integrity, respect, service, and responsibility.

There are times when our pupils may be confused or conflicted by the messaging that they receive from the different spaces that they traverse. At school this is apparent with all age groups and is often made manifest in 'mean girl' behaviour of gossip, hurtful comments, shaming and othering. Children are acute observers of the significant adults in their lives, and it is the responsibility of these adults to keep them rooted in the values that all in our school community holds dear.

At Mandela House in Vilakazi Street, Soweto, there is a plaque inscribed with an excerpt from a letter written by Nelson Mandela to his then wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. It reads:

"In judging our progress as individuals, we tend to concentrate on external factors such as one's social position, influence and popularity, wealth and standard of education…

but internal factors may be even more crucial in assessing one's development as a human being: humility, purity, generosity, absence of vanity, readiness to serve your fellow men - qualities within the reach of every human soul."

The mid-year holiday is upon us. Perhaps you will find time, as a family, to reconnect with the core attitudes that fulfil you and to speak openly about these with your daughters.

Along with the excitement of a holiday, the end of term is often a time when we need to say goodbye to some members of our community.

Mrs Jodi Dudley assisted our Counselling department while Mrs Rosa Krauss has been on maternity leave. Mrs Dudley slotted in seamlessly and I am grateful to her for the support that she has provided to so many of our girls.

Mrs Kirsty Tromp joined Springfield in 2019. In addition to her significant contributions in the classroom and to Maccy House, she has been instrumental in introducing and nurturing Economics as a new subject at Springfield. Her passion for preparing our students for the ‘real-world’ was evident in her teaching style and resulted in our girls achieving tremendous success in the Allan Gray Entrepreneurship Challenge. Not only did they perform well in this simulation, but they also received an opportunity to participate in an invaluable learning experience. Go well, Kirsty. You have served Springfield with enthusiasm and with heart and you will be sorely missed. Mr Mike Withers joins our team next term and I know that the pupils will enjoy the vast experience that he brings to the commerce subjects.

Mrs Elizabeth van Niekerk has served our English department from the beginning of 2019. She has been struggling with ill-health and has recently informed me of her courageous decision to take early retirement from teaching. We wish her much strength and healing in her future and hope that, in time, she will be able to re-join this profession that she has served so well through the sharing of her intellect, her love of the English language, and her deep interest for each person in her care. We welcome Ms Emma Chitter who joined our English department earlier this term. The team is enjoying her careful and thorough approach and I know that her students will appreciate her care and her enthusiasm for teaching.

To the students who leave us - some who are moving far and others who will experience different opportunities close to home - we wish you every happiness and success as you continue your studies. Continue to be a blessing to all and I hope that some of the lessons learned at Springfield will guide you in whatever your future may hold.

For those who may be traveling, take care and take your time. To all, let us play our part in curbing covid transmissions and in keeping ourselves and each other safe.

PENNY MULLAN

Head of School

“The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man happens to find a treasure hidden in a field. He covers it up again, and is so happy that he goes and sells everything he has, and then goes back and buys that field.”

~Matt. 13: 44

On Monday morning, in my final Assembly of the term, I spoke to the girls about the Kingdom of God, and the many images Jesus used for the Kingdom. This is the first slide of the Power Point I used:

My favourite of all of these is the first one, the text of which is at the beginning of this message today. I love this beautiful image Jesus gives us, because I see our school as the Kingdom of God, and our precious children as the treasure. What would we not do for our children?

I believe each and every parent, as well as each and every teacher, looks for, nurtures and develops the unique treasure within the children we love and teach. We dig into the fields of their lives and expose, nourish, cultivate and grow each individual treasure. Over the past few weeks, in my Sacred Singing lessons, we have been exploring the Fruits of the Spirit, and how the Holy Spirit shines out through each and every one of us as we live our lives bearing those special fruits. This picture I used ties in so beautifully with the images of the Kingdom of God.

Dear Springfield Community

We have come to the end of the second term and the anticipation of the holidays and having time to rest ignites a yearning to replenish the soul with some peace and calm.

Periods of rest are crucial to refocus and recharge. At a recent zoom meeting, discussing various issues linked to June the 16, one of the presenters spoke about the general South Arican fatigue linked to a myriad of crucial issues. She drew parallels between our need to invest in some desert time as Jesus did. Jesus also took the time to go into the desert to recalibrate his thoughts and actions. The beauty that exists in giving yourself time to be silent, and to be happy in that sacred space. I recently came across this beautiful reflection on stillness. I do hope you take time to digest it’s message.

Stillness is vital to the world of the soul. If as you age you become more still, you will discover that stillness can be a great companion. The fragments of your life will have time to unify, and the places where your soul-shelter is wounded or broken will have time to knit and heal. You will be able to return to yourself. In this stillness, you will engage your soul. Many people miss out on themselves completely as they journey through life. They know others, they know places, they know skills, they know their work, but tragically, they do not know themselves at all. Aging can be a lovely time of ripening when you actually meet yourself, indeed maybe for the first time. There are beautiful lines from T. S. Eliot that say:

'And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time.'

JOHN O'DONOHUE

Excerpt from his book, Anam Cara.

Wishing all families within the Springfield community a happy and healthy rest.

With gratitude

GILLIAN STUBBS

Staff

At the end of this term we say goodbye to piano teacher Ms Rouzanna Coxon who will be taking up an opportunity to study Jazz Piano further in The Netherlands.

We welcome onto our staff Ms Kendall Williams who is also a Jazz Piano and Teaching graduate and will be able to continue to grow Jazz Piano. She is presently teaching at Reddam House and Wynberg Boys Junior School.