Our Class of 2020 Matric tie.
The final countdown has begun. We celebrated the last stretch for our Matric Class of 2020 with the presentation of our new Matric ties.
Congratulations to the new student leaders for Gr 12, 2021. May you and the rest of the leadership team have a blessed, happy and successful year ahead.
With the Grade 12 pupils having commenced with their trial exams this week, the entire school community at Springfield wishes each and every one of our Matrics only the best as they embark on completing this rite of passage of their academic year. While this is a stressful time for all of them, this is a learning experience that will equip them to manage their final exams in November and December that much better. If you find yourself passing the Music Hall or the Study Hall over the next few weeks, please maintain an atmosphere of calm and silence that will help the Grade 12s to give this set of exams their best shot.
With the Grade 12s writing exams and the COVID-19 Disaster Act having moved to Level 2, we are able to facilitate more pupils in the lower grades on any given day and expect to see everyone in class, excepting cases where pupils have comorbidities or other extenuating circumstances, in which case families need to have applied to Mr Quinn with the relevant details. The letter and form that were previously sent about these applications via the D6 app also appear in this edition of the newsletter.
Further to this, when Grade 8 - 11 pupils have tests, assignments or other activities scheduled for a Consolidation Day, they are expected to be at school to complete or take part in what has been planned for them. Arrangements will always be made with the safety guidelines outlined in our SOP applied to the situation.
For parents who would like to connect with their child’s subject teachers, there are online meetings scheduled over the next two weeks. Pupils should attend the meetings along with their parents. Bookings can be made at this link.
We’ve frequently shared information about the free parent webinars that Elevate Education have held for parents and are going to be running the Study Skills workshops in Grade 10 and 11 that would have been completed earlier in the year with them over the coming weeks. If the pupil in your care needs some stronger support in general tutoring skills, Elevate also offers one-on-one coaching as per the flyer pictured here. This process kicks off with a free consultation from their side to assess your child’s needs and this programme is open to any learner in any grade.
Goodie Tutoring, a company who spoke to our Grade 11s on the Anzisha Prize Tour in March, are also offering a tutoring package. Their package includes one-on-one sessions that are bought in a package, but which can be quite flexibly split across siblings and subjects over the course of a month. Please see the flyer below for their contact details.
Finally, The Teachers without Borders Foundation, which seeks to supply free academic resources to all school students across South Africa, shared this video with us. Should you be interested in what they have to offer, the video will give you an indication of the resources they have available as well as the overall vision for their programme. In their words: “While education is a basic right, those attending schools from less resourced backgrounds have struggled to gain access to this basic right due to the effects of COVID-19. We believe that by sharing resources to those less fortunate than ourselves, this spirit of Ubuntu will assist the next generation of South African leaders.” In that spirit, please feel free to share this resource with anyone you know who might find it useful.
DAVID FICK
Head of Academics
The grade 10 Accounting girls participated in a Colour Accounting workshop on Wednesday 19th of August. This program has been developed to assist the South African FET Accounting curriculum with a visual 3D physical Accounting learning experience. Many thanks to Miss Abrahams and the Teachers Plus Foundation for presenting this worthwhile workshop to our girls.
NANETTE GIBBON
Head of Accounting Department
We are very proud of the 43 girls who wrote the 2020 English Olympiad. They attended a series of evening workshops where they discussed a range of texts in the "Aftermath" anthology and focused on the theme of "consequences". In the light of the COVID-19 global pandemic, this was a particularly relevant topic. More than half of the girls were awarded Silver medals, and all of them have considerably developed their writing and critical thinking skills. We would particularly like to congratulate Hayley Marais, who was awarded a Diamond medal and was placed 88th in several thousand entries in this prestigious national competition.
Hayley Marais
Thank you to the families and individuals who contributed towards our COVID Care grocery drive. The outpouring of support to families in need has been amazing, showing once again that Springfield cares.
We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who attended the Springfield Blood Donation clinic on Tuesday, 28th July. Despite foul weather, building work, many students having to make a special trip into school and a global pandemic, the clinic did very well in terms of donations. 28 full units were donated and 6 new donors signed up. Thank you for contributing to saving the lives of 84 people. These statistics are impressive for a small school under normal circumstances. Under current conditions, it is an illustration of the huge generosity that is typical of the Springfield community. On another note, if you have recovered from COVID-19, you may be eligible to be a convalescent plasma donor, which is a treatment where the plasma from a person who has had COVID-19 is used to treat people currently infected with the virus.
Times have changed, but generosity has not. Aimee Minnaar with Ms Going (before COVID), Aimee Minnaar donates at the July 2020 clinic.
Instead of our Third Term Quarterly Concert, our talented students and their dedicated teachers created an online concert. Please like our Springfield Music School Facebook page to see all our music posts and especially our online concert series.
Dear Parents
Anxiety is our body's normal response to a perceived threat/stressor. For some of our pupils, this period of Covid-19 and lockdown has resulted in heightened levels of anxiety. Many teens lack the coping skills needed in order to manage their anxiety. Prolonged feelings of anxiety can negatively affect an adolescent's general functioning including mood, school attendance, retaining of information and/or social engagement.
If your daughter is currently struggling with or has a history of anxiety, I encourage you to attend the zoom workshop next week Tuesday (1-09-2020) from 6pm-7:30pm which will be focusing on equipping you with tools to help your daughter.
The title of the workshop is 'Raising Warriors: Managing anxiety and building resilience in families."
You would have already received an email with the following zoom details:
Meeting ID: 590 594 9474
Passcode: March03202
HILDA KATITO
Counsellor