JUNIOR SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

05 February 2020

Quote of the week

Make each day be your masterpiece

~ John Wooden

A message from Miss Dunn

Principal’s Message

Yesterday at break time I had two little Grade Three girls pop into my office to visit me. One of them was holding a gift that she had made: she had taken a flower petal, drawn hearts on it and pasted it on a piece of paper on which she had written – Have a good day. As she was giving me this gift, the other little girl said, “Miss Dunn, she made it, but I was the inspiration for it!”

I was so touched by these two girls, who had worked together to provide me with this hand-made gift, which I have now stuck on the door behind my desk in my office. One inspired, the other did. We can all learn from this scenario – there is a place and a job for each of us in a team, working together and believing in each other to produce the final product. And these girls have learned this at eight years old.

I’ve decided I want these two little girls on my team – to inspire and to do. I’m going to use this message for my Assembly on Monday. Thank you, Enhle and Charlotte, for making my day a really good one yesterday!

I think I’ll play this song at Assembly, too:

Alison Dunn

Junior School Principal

Headmaster's Message

Belonging

What a positive, vibrant and exhilarating week we are currently enjoying. The Grade 9’s are excited to leave for their annual two night camp in the Piketberg area while the campus has been awash over the last week or so with groups of animated Grade 7’s and their parents from various schools coming in for interviews.

Interviews take place every afternoon with girls from various schools coming to chat to me in my office for 45 minutes while their parents meet staff members over a cup of tea in the Old Library where they can ask meaty questions on any issue which they feel they would like to discuss.

I always start off by informing the girls that Springfield is not the best school in Cape Town as there are many superb schools in this part of the world returning outstanding matric results as well as world-class performances in sport, music, drama and art. After a dramatic pause as they digest this information, I tell them that their job is to research a number of schools - as not one school can possibly be the best for everyone but it is their job to find out which one is best for them individually.

Every interview goes along different lines, but at some point, I ask the question: ‘What are you looking for in a high school?’

Obviously a number of answers are returned to me, but I immediately latch on to any that refer to these points:

‘I am looking for a school with good facilities’.

I then invite them to look out of the window and immerse themselves in that sylvan and woody scene. They seldom say a word but just allow themselves to be engulfed in the calmness and serenity of the gardens.

‘Will your school prepare me for university?’

Easily resisting the impulse to rattle off matric results - except possibly to inform that two girls last year achieved 100% in Matric Art – I tell them that they will receive the greatest gift of all from our teachers, the gift of curiosity. Curiosity to explore further, to delve into issues far beyond the syllabus, to search for answers to issues which may not have right or wrong answers.

‘Will I fit into your school?’

I can think of no finer answer to this point than the one Luhlanganiso, Head Girl, used when answering the same question at Micklefield last week. She urged the girls to be true to themselves, to their culture, and to their talents. Girls, she told them, who took an interest in the activities of others; who made a point of understanding the journeys others have made in their lives; who threw themselves into the extra-mural opportunities offered by the school – would always fit in.

‘Is Springfield a friendly school?’

In order to answer that adequately, I have to turn to our girls. No advert In a newspaper with glowing words describing our school can possibly beat a Springfield girl, proudly wearing her uniform, who genuine greets everyone on the campus with a cheery smile and a warm demeanour.

Our girls are our best advert and it is up to them to role model the answer to that question.

On Wednesday this week, various young ladies from a number of grades will be doing presentations to Grade 7’s and their parents at a New Parents Information evening.

On Saturday is our annual Open Day where Grade 8’s, together with Matrics, will be guiding groups of parents around the Campus. While I have no doubt that they will have variations of the questions above to answer, it will be their demeanour, the friendliness, their positivity which will give the best answer of all – I am at this school, because I want to be here.

Keith Richardson

Headmaster

Weekly Inspiration

What a speech Pope Francis gave in his homily...

- You can have flaws, be anxious, and even be angry, but do not forget that your life is the greatest enterprise in the world. Only you can stop it from going bust. Many appreciate you, admire you and love you.

Remember that to be happy is not to have a sky without a storm, a road without accidents, work without fatigue, relationships without disappointments. To be happy is to find strength in forgiveness, hope in battles, security in the stage of fear, love in discord.

It is not only to enjoy the smile, but also to reflect on the sadness. It is not only to celebrate the successes, but to learn lessons from the failures. It is not only to feel happy with the applause, but to be happy in anonymity. Being happy is not a fatality of destiny, but an achievement for those who can travel within themselves.

To be happy is to stop feeling like a victim and become your destiny's author. It is to cross deserts, yet to be able to find an oasis in the depths of our soul. It is to thank God for every morning, for the miracle of life. Being happy is not being afraid of your own feelings. It's to be able to talk about you. It is having the courage to hear a "no". It is confidence in the face of criticism, even when unjustified.

It is to kiss your children, pamper your parents, to live poetic moments with friends, even when they hurt us. To be happy is to let live the creature that lives in each of us, free, joyful and simple. It is to have maturity to be able to say: "I made mistakes".

It is to have the courage to say "I am sorry". It is to have the sensitivity to say, "I need you". It is to have the ability to say "I love you". May your life become a garden of opportunities for happiness ... That in spring may it be a lover of joy. In winter a lover of wisdom. And when you make a mistake, start all over again.

For only then will you be in love with life. You will find that to be happy is not to have a perfect life. But use the tears to irrigate tolerance. Use your losses to train patience. Use your mistakes to sculptor serenity. Use pain to plaster pleasure. Use obstacles to open windows of intelligence. Never give up .... Never give up on people who love you. Never give up on happiness, for life is an incredible show.

~(Pope Francis)

Gill Stubbs

Head of R.E.

Office Information / Calendar events

WEEKLY INFO LETTER 05 Fbruary 2020

**DATES TO REMEMBER**

READER’S WAREHOUSE BOOK SALE

In the Centenary Hall Foyer (Thursday 6 February from 8am – 3pm and Friday 7 February from 8am – 1:30pm)

Wednesday 12 February – Junior Primary (Grade 1 to 3) Fun Gala starts at 8:30am.

Friday 14 February – Grade 1 and Grade 5 Teddy Bears picnic starts at 10.00am.

Friday 14 February - Pre School Sports Day and Picnic on Thomas Field starts at 09:00.

PTA Cake Sale hosted by the Grade 5, 6 and 7 on Friday, raised an amount of R6617.80. Thank you for all your support!

Junior Primary

Pre School

Pre Reception - Mrs Ruscoe's class

Counsellor's Corner

Springfield Poster Reflect and Reset term 1.pdf

To book on Quicket directly please follow the link:

https://www.quicket.co.za/events/96715-2020-vision-reflect-and-reset/#/

Tech tip

Tech pearl of wisdom #21:

The e-learning industry has grown tremendously over the past few years.You don’t have to leave your child to play a mindless computer game. Instead, encourage your kids to download and play educational Apps.

Tech pearl of wisdom for this week: Tech Tip #22:

Create a strong password, is the first rule of online safety. And at last nights very informative Cyber Safety talk, it was brought to our attention that NO English words are safe to use as part of a strong password. So, start putting our other official and foreign languages to good use.

Our girls' proud moments

PTA

Music

Springfield Convent Choir Tour 2020 Fundraiser Concert

Mike & the Harmonix will be performing A Tribute to ABBA at Springfield on Saturday, February 15, as part of the Senior Choir Tour fundraising efforts. The show will also feature special guest appearances by 1980’s icons “Michael Jackson”, “Tina Turner”, “Bob Marley”, “The Beatles” and “Queen”.

Mike (of the McCully Workshop and Buccaneer fame) and his band promise an evening of fun, laughter, song and dance as they bring ABBA to life with all the well-known favourites such as Waterloo, Money Money Money, Take a Chance, Dancing Queen and Mamma Mia.

The show will be simply the best, one that you can definitely take a chance on, so don’t worry about a thing ‘cos it’s gonna be a kind of magic… and you’re welcome to twist and shout.

Tickets: R150 for adults, R80 for scholars and under 10s are free of charge.

Gates open: 3.30pm

Band performs: 5 to 7pm

What to bring: picnic and refreshments along with picnic blanket/camp chairs etc.

A raffle with lots of awesome prizes will also take place on the day.

Bookings: www.quicket.co.za