Principal’s Message

PTA AGM 2020: Report from the Pre and Junior School

Good evening, everyone. It gives me great pleasure to stand up here and give you news of the Pre-Primary and Junior School during 2019; but in fact, when I thought about it, there’s just too much news to share! Luckily, you get to read my weekly newsletters and, in this way, keep abreast of everything that is happening and the many, many activities in which our girls are involved. However, I would like to say the following here this evening:

The Senior School always acknowledges the fact that the grounding given to our girls in their junior years contributes enormously to the end result in Matric. In my care are children from age three to thirteen years of age, and as you can imagine, enormous milestones happen during these years. The significance of each and every milestone cannot be underestimated. We celebrate all these milestones.

For me the most important thing is that life is happy in our Pre-School and our Junior School. Happy children live life to the full. They want to be at school; they want to learn; they want to please their teachers; they want to get involved in as much as possible, and they want to do well. Of course, they also want to socialise and be with their friends, but that, too, is an important part of the growth journey. This ‘want’ of the girls is nurtured and developed during these formative years by the staff here at Springfield, and is especially evident as the girls move from one phase to another – they are so well prepared and ready for each major move - from Reception into Grade One – our new little Grade Ones are already settled and secure thanks to the preparation they had in Pre-School; from Grade Three into Grade Four - this is a big jump for the girls, but our present Grade Fours are firmly entrenched in the Senior Primary already (sporting their new blazers even on the hottest days) thanks to the excellent preparation they received in the Foundation Phase; and then again as they leave Grade Seven to enter Senior School – our Senior Primary prepares them so well for their senior school years. When I interview parents who want their daughters here, I always say that we expose the junior school girls to everything possible, and encourage them to try as much as they are able, so that they can make informed choices in senior school depending on their own giftedness. So our programme is a very full one, as is evident in the school magazine, in the many, many achievements announced in Assemblies each week, and in the very full weekly newsletters.

2019 was a good year and a happy one for our girls. While our achievements cannot be measured in the same way as in the senior school, our girls worked really hard to produce excellent academic results, and we achieved very good results on the sportsfield and in the cultural arena. We are very proud of the work ethic of the girls, as well as their qualities of school spirit and sportsmanship. There is also a pervading atmosphere of love and caring – qualities both given and received by the girls.

While we can never be complacent, we are in the fortunate position of having substantial waiting lists for enrolment at Springfield, and one of the things I always say to parents is to remember that not only did you choose us, but we also chose you. And let me tell you, we are obviously making good choices, because parental involvement, which is crucial in the Pre and Junior School years, is really, really good here. I want to thank all our parents for so willingly involving yourselves in all we do. Your presence means a great deal to staff and girls – we are indeed most grateful.

At the end of last year, we made some changes to our management structure in the Junior School. We congratulate Mrs Karen Smith, one of our Grade Six teachers, on her promotion to Senior Primary Head of Department, commencing this year.

My door is always open, as are the doors of Mr Meehan, Miss Stubbs, Mrs Viljoen and Mrs Smith. Please do not hesitate to make contact with any one of us should you have anything you wish to discuss. We look forward to an excellent year together with your children. Thank you for entrusting them into our care.

Thank you.

Alison Dunn

Junior School Principal