We say goodbye and thank you to some members of the Senior School staff who have served Springfield well.
Christopher Davids started working at Springfield in September 2012 as a Workshop assistant and later as a gardener/groundsman in the high school gardens contributing to the beautiful convent gardens.
His wife has not been well and his resignation will afford him the opportunity to care for his wife. We wish him and his wife well as they navigate a path to her recovery.
Annelise Steenkamp who was due to retire last year remained at the school for the unusual year that 2020 has been. This enabled her to complete her 25th year at Springfield. She has served as an example of reliability and dedication to the school and its pupils.
Over the years the successes of many high school musical productions hinged on her abilities and countless extra hours of rehearsals. Her abilities as an accompanist have been the secret to many favourable outcomes of our instrumentalists, singers and choirs, and she has taught our most advanced Springfielder pianists.
We shall sorely miss her keen dry wit, selfless good nature and dedication to education.
In any organization, there are people who are unsung heroes. Norma is one of those people. When I think of Norma I think of her thoughtfulness. Nothing is too much to ask. To quote Doreen Scott, who worked with her for many years in the front office, "Norma keeps on going through thick and thin, is kind and comforting with a calm manner and is a good compassionate listener."
Norma began work as a secretary at Springfield fourteen years ago, and has worked tirelessly ever since, helping everyone who comes into Reception, from pupils needing comfort to staff and parents needing help. Norma is meticulous and organized and can always be relied upon to get a job done. Lesley-Ann De Wet had this to say about Norma, "These past couple of years have been a joy to work alongside Norma. I'll miss the laughs in the office and the afternoon tea chats."
As a community, we are going to miss Norma and her positive attitude and caring nature. We wish her well as she retires and hope that she enjoys having more time to spend with her family and friends, as well as on her own endeavours.
At the end of this year, Dominique Dumont will be leaving Springfield after 8 years of teaching Maths, Maths Literacy and AP Maths at Springfield. Dominique leaves us to enjoy time with her family and especially her two small children, who will most definitely keep her on her toes.
Dominique has been an integral part of the department for many years now. It has been wonderful to work in a team with her and her contribution to our department will be missed. The interesting and creative questions that she always had up her sleeve to add into an exam paper will most definitely be lacking once she has gone. What we will miss most in our department is Dominique’s sharp sense of humour and her many puns that we have laughed about together.
There were countless mornings over Dominique’s time at Springfield where she was out on the road with the cross country girls. Being an accomplished athlete, she was a great guide and role model for the girls and there are many of them who will have great memories from those early morning adventures.
Dominique’s enjoyment of being in the classroom will no doubt bring her back into the profession at some stage. But until then, we wish her all the best for some well deserved family time.
Robert Henning joined the Springfield staff as a part-time teacher to begin the Information Technology department. He saw through his initial group of pupils with gusto and this saw the subject grow over the years that followed and he became a full-time member of the Springfield family. Over the past years, Rob has pushed for greater ICT integration across all subjects and has also been responsible for training the staff who have embarked on making use of ICT in the classroom.
This is but one of the many reasons that the staff were able to transition more smoothly into the distance learning programme this year. His contributions on both the IT and ICT committees have been instrumental in developing Springfield into a more IT-friendly environment - and now we won't ever look back!
With IT firmly established at Springfield, we wish Rob and his family all of the best as they embark on their new adventures overseas. May God bless the Hennings with the fulfilment of their hopes and dreams, and may He hold them in the palm of His hand.
Valmarie Calthorpe has been at Springfield for 8 years and in her administrative roles at both the Junior School and Music School, she has coped with a wide and varied Job description. She was instrumental in establishing the transition and operations in the new Music Annex when it opened and has had to solve numerous conundrums in terms of timetables and venues. She will be travelling between Durban to be with her husband and Spain to look after her new granddaughter. We wish her every happiness in the future
Morag has transformed the role of counsellor at Springfield since joining the staff - initially she worked at the junior school before moving over to the senior school full-time. As the school grew, Morag grew the department and now there are two school counsellors in the senior school alone. She was responsible for many initiatives at the school - arranging speakers on pertinent topics for both pupil and parent talks, running groups for girls after school and inviting parents to ‘Coffee with the counsellor’ sessions - to name but a few.
Morag has been a ‘mother’ to many girls and staff members. She has gone above and beyond to counsel hundreds of troubled girls over the 16 years she has worked at Springfield. There are several girls (and sometimes staff!) who would not have made it through to Matric if they had not had Morag encouraging, counselling and supporting them all the way.
Morag’s way of nurturing her charges is practical and down-to-earth: she usually starts by making a cup of tea for them. She has spent time in the hospital emergency room on the weekend to be with one of her ‘girls’ during a testing time and plenty of weekends fielding calls from parents!
For staff having a tough time, not only did she have a wise word or words to offer but she often arrived with a cooked meal, a small gift or encouragement and emotional support. She has often helped staff doing long invigilations by bringing tea and giving us small breaks .
Nikki Going in particular remembers the following incident, “I will never forget when the cleaning staff accidently threw away my entire box of July marking (before I had written a single report or entered a single mark). Morag arrived with yellow gloves at six in the morning and dug through the rubbish to find my marking.”
True friendship,indeed!
Morag can truly be considered a person of integrity. She has always stood by her ethics and been scrupulously honest, even when her honesty and insistence on doing the right thing has come at a personal cost.
Morag's passion for creating beautiful quilts meant that many members of staff received a personalised, beautifully made quilt to celebrate an important occasion like the arrival of a baby, marriage or retirement. (Or even Kim’s adoption of a dog!)
We will also remember her whacky, irreverent sense of humour that could make us all laugh, sometimes in the most difficult and painful times.
Like any nurturing mother, she loves to bake, and we have all been grateful recipients of her baklava, chocolate muffins, and her piece de resistance, the yummiest chocolate eclairs!
We have truly been lucky to benefit from her wisdom and friendship and we know that we will miss her … and the chocolate éclairs!
For many of us, it has been an honour to know her, work with her and be her friend.
Dear Parents
For those parents wishing to place a pre-order for their daughters next term, please complete the order form and email to sean@foodstheatre.com by Friday 04 December 2020.
VERY VERY IMPORTANT - Please ensure that your daughter’s name and grade as well as a contact number are also entered on the order form.
Payment can be ether by EFT or Snap Scan
Our banking details are:
A/C holder - S G Keyser Bank – ABSA Wynberg Account number – 9089098372
There are no pre-orders on the last day of term.
Sean contact details are:
0823060345
Tel – 021 797 9637 ext. 245
Many Thanks
The Tuck Shop Team
With the Grade 8 - 11 yearend assessments having wrapped up, a very challenging academic year is coming to an end at Springfield and indeed, at schools around the country. The final reports for the year are due to be released via the parent portal on Ed-admin on Friday, so I thought it might be useful to share some insights into the calculations of the marks, which have been regulated by the Department of Education in an amended format for this year.
In Grades 8 and 9, the school-based assessment completed during the year counts for 80% of the final result, with the year-end assessments counting 20% of the mark. In Grades 10 and 11, the ratio is 60% for the school-based assessment and 40% for the year-end assessments. As you can see, there is less of an emphasis in the weighting on what would traditionally have been called examinations in a normal school year, with a greater emphasis on the learning completed during the year.
Pupils who have been absent for valid reasons will have had marks estimated according to the school policy we have in place for instances like these. A class average is not used; rather, the estimate is based on the work actually completed by the pupils themselves during the year
Tomorrow, we will hold the formal promotion and progression meetings to discuss the pupils’ movement into their next grades, as well as the support they might need in 2021 to achieve their level best after the very welcome rest this December holiday promises.
The Grade 12s remain on campus to complete their exams through 15 December. We wish them every success over their final papers.
See you all next year, and may this festive season be a blessed one for you all!
DAVID FICK
Head of Academics
Grade 9
On Wednesday and Thursday last week, Grade 9's enjoyed an English Department outing to Simonstown, based on their setwork "The Girl from Simon's Bay". The novel is set in Simonstown and tells the story of a young coloured woman and her struggles to find love and advance her career as a nurse, against the background of World War 2, Apartheid and the forced removals in Simonstown.
The girls were given a guided tour of the Simonstown Naval Base Museum, where they were able to see the impact of war on Simonstown, climb inside a replica submarine and see models of many of the ships described in the novel. According to many of the girls, their most memorable experience was of "the bomb room" where the sounds of being shelled are replicated with terrifying accuracy.
The girls were also very blessed to have a guided tour of Almay House (bulit in 1858). Almay House (also called the Simonstown Heritage Museum) was the family home of Mrs Davidson (nee Almay), who was born in the house. She was married here and spent the first few years of her married life in the house, before her husband and whole family were forcibly removed. Mr Davidson interrupted his 88th birthday celebrations to talk to the girls about his experiences of growing up in Simonstown during the war and then Apartheid and the forced removals of the 1950s. According to the girls, Mr Davidson't talk was "very moving" and “the Amlay House talk was emotive and eye opening. It was a huge privilege to listen to first-hand stories from someone who experienced the events they described." Mr Kahn also told the girls a great deal about Simonstown's history, and the history of Apartheid.
The girls then met in St Francis of Assissi church (the oldest Anglican church in South Africa) where Reverend Rodney Uren and members of the Church Council told them about the history of the church and explained the origin of the beautiful stained glass windows, installed in memory of the 10 000 people (out of a population of only 12 000) that were forcibly removed from Simonstown. Reverend Uren also prayed with them for the victims of the removals, of GBV and those who have fallen ill or died during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We rounded the outing off with a brisk walk to a gelato ice-cream shop and Watersedge and Seaforth beaches, where many of the girls swam and paddled. The girls said that they had enjoyed a perfect mixture of "fun and learning interesting stuff".
Listening to the talk in Almay House
Mr Davidson, talking to the girls about his experiences of growing up in Simonstown
Enjoying ice creams at Watersedge beach
Enjoying the tour of the Simonstown Naval Base Museum
It’s a fast-moving game of business domination – a strategy game, in which you have five weeks to compete for the top spot by launching your own business, take calculated risks in the gaming world, launch marketing campaigns – and ultimately to generate sales and revenue. Along the way, you’ll also make useful contacts that may open doors when the time comes to test your entrepreneurial flair for real.
We’ve turned entrepreneurship into an animated 2D world of excitement where you just might get to rule the business world. Plus, you stand a chance to win amazing prizes!
May the best CEO win! 💪🏻
The Top 20 learners in each week will take away their share of R90 000 in cash vouchers across the 5 weeks!
At the end of the game, runner-up winners (in positions 11-20) will each receive Allan Gray unit trusts to the value of R3 000 each!
Runner-up winners in positions 4 to 10 to walk away with Allan Gray unit trusts to the value of R5 000 each!
The top learners in positions 1 to 3 will each win an incredible entrepreneurial package valued at R40 000!
Don’t forget to take part in our business pitching challenge in week 5! The runner up will receive R30 000 in business funding, while the winner will take home R45 000 to start their own business.
English Department
English Alive is a National publication that receives thousands of entries and selects very few, so to be published is a huge achievement - and it is not the first time for Claire, as her work was also published last year.
YET AGAIN
there’s a whisper
as the blade hits its new victim
perpetuating our patriarchal system
slicing away something deemed unnatural
but seen on men is completely rational
men should be men
and women, girls yet again
there’s a murmur
as hot wax rips out robust hair
leaving behind something all too bare
wincing at the pain it inflicts
but ignoring the women it restricts
all to ensure our femininity is kept in check
only if society knew its effect
men should be men
and women, girls yet again
there’s a voice
as legs untouched peak out
waiting without a doubt
for judgement
shame
scrutiny
knowing their ignorance will hit brutally
because hair is not beauty
rather removal is my duty
and somehow femininity is tied to hairlessness
all due to society’s stupidity, even carelessness
men should be men
and women, girls yet again
there’s a shout
as overgrown underarms
sound society’s alarms
because somehow body hair has grown into an identifier
as if I owed a clarifier
but my hair isn’t reflective of class or gender
and I won’t stop until they surrender
because this hairless ideal
is completely unreal
calling for women to conceal
what was theirs to reveal
hair needs to be normalised
and society r e o r g a n i s e d
a new form of education
to lead to the creation
of women’s emancipation
that cries for our liberation
and as I begin to stray
from the things of yesterday
they continue to say
men should be men
and women, girls yet again
now there’s a scream
then another
and another
many more yet to uncover
it echoes in my head
and like fire, it spreads
they shriek
men should be men
and women,
girls yet again
Claire Campbell
Grade 11
Mikaela Hughes (Grade 12) has also written a piece "Self Love" to be published in next year's edition of English Alive. Congratulations, girls!
Self Love
When the self-help guru on Instagram
posts a story about self-love
and puts a diet on the next slide -
I have to laugh.
Because her very existence is a contradiction.
But then again,
I frequently find myself commuting
between the island of self-love
and the pits of self destruction –
never quite reaching the destination
because I exist in the in between.
Always ready to validate another’s body
but never ready to validate my own –
because the idea
of accepting the earth of my body
means accepting all her seven wonders
but also
her faults.
It means recognizing the scars
and knowing that they can form valleys
that can give life to others
as long as I continue
to nourish and grow.
When I was eight years old,
that was the first time I learnt
that bodies had price tags.
Sitting in the playground
comparing the size of our wrists –
saying that smaller meant that
you would actually get kissed
Someday.
That life is just one big rat race
where we’re constantly scrambling on
trying to fit in
trying to be thin
trying to match the Miss South Africa size model on the runway
as though our bodies
weren’t designed for
food.
We live in a world of shrinking women –
told to speak out
but to stay small.
Because what good is an angry woman if she isn’t good to look at?
Why is it
That the only people whose stories hold any weight
Are the same ones
Who weigh nothing?
It’s learnt behaviour.
Hereditary,
like how our mothers were told to slim down
to fit inside
their wedding gown –
they give us a smaller plate.
How am I meant to love
the expanse of this body
when every blemish, every cut, every scar,
every ounce of cellulite
that clings onto my body
I have been programmed to hate
since I first left my mother’s womb.
The internet taught me
my first words
that
Ladies don’t eat a lot.
No one
will love you if you’re unattractive
so please
don’t finish your plate.
Mikaela Hughes
Grade 12
The Music School staff wish all a blessed season of joy and fellowship.
"The Christmas Song" played by Andrew Bentley and Kelsey Groenmeyer.
It seems like yesterday that I arrived at Springfield filled with excitement and high hopes for 2020 Sport! Sadly, our sport was hit hard by COVID19 and the year has been disappointing, to say the least. But whilst it has been a most difficult year for sport, it has also brought to the fore the fact that our girls need the outlet of sport for social connections as much as for their physical and general well-being. To a team player, not being part of a team for a whole season has created a vacuum that has been hard to fill. The fact that so many of our students have told me how much they have really missed their sport and their team has been heart-breaking. Hopefully, next year will be kinder to Springfield sport and we will be able to launch with alacrity in January 2021. A huge thank you to those of our girls who signed up for term four, 2020 Sport. They were really quite keen beans and it has been wonderful to watch their improvement, especially in Diving and Indoor Hockey.
Sign up forms for Sport 2021 have been sent out to all of our learners. We need to plan in advance in order to assess numbers so that we can be sure to engage the services of sufficient coaches to ensure that everyone who signs up can participate. The deadline for signups is 7th December 2020.
Wishing all of our girls a holiday filled with fun and physical activity. I hope that you return to Springfield next year physically and emotionally stronger and ready to embrace your Sport in 2021.
Please see below the letter that went out to our community recently. We would really appreciate your assistance.
COLLEEN REED
Head of Sport