“I would like to be known as an intelligent woman, a courageous woman, a loving woman, a woman who teaches by being.”

~ Maya Angelou

The Brand

Last week, together with Robyn Morgan of our Marketing Department, I attended a seminar at Vega School in Cape Town. The title was ’The School Brand Ecosystem’ which went to the very core of why we exist as a school.

A Brand is something which is unique to an institution and sends a message regarding what a school really stands for. It is the ‘way things are done around here’. Every school, every business, every sports team, every product, is a Brand. Perhaps a more meaningful word for a Brand is ‘reputation’. The root of the word ‘reputation' comes from the Latin word: 'to think'. What do you as parents think of Springfield? What does Joe Public think of the school? That perception which is ‘out there’ about our school is our Brand, our reputation.

No Brand will be meaningful if it is not ‘burnt’ (Afrikaans meaning of the word) into the hearts of all our girls, all our teachers and support staff, all our parents. Every action and every decision which is made, sends out a message of what we stand for. Springfield must never fall for the common trap that matric results are our brand; or our sport results; or our buildings; or our astroturf, or our uniform. Wonderful as these may all be, they do not represent our Brand. The smiles of the girls when they greet visitors is our Brand; the effort they put into the academic work is our Brand; the resilience they show on the sports field is our Brand; the neatness with which they wear their uniform is our Brand; the sincerity and empathy of their relationships with one another is our Brand.

Of course, the best Brands are those which connect with people which is why our girls are the best version of our Brand. When they pull on their blazers every morning, they are ‘blazing’ out the word VERITAS to the world. Appropriately the badge bearing this word sits over their hearts reminding them that TRUTH is what drives them - and that is real pressure. It continually reminds them to be true to themselves. True to their family values. True to their talent. True to their humanity.

Sister Rose Commins is always telling me that our girls should spend more time in the gardens as that is an area where they are imbued with the soul of the school. She maintains it rises out of the very soil and embraces all who sit there. It leads to reflection and contemplation. Perhaps they can reflect on what message their personal brand sends out to the world. I recommend that everyone sits there at least once a week on their own, just thinking.

Our Reputation is important to Springfield. It is why so many parents want to send their daughters to this school knowing that wherever life takes them they will have the confidence and security of being inculcated with something special during their years at the school.

‘Non scholae sed vitae discimus’ says the Latin saying. Quite right too - good teachers teach for life and not only for school. Results are certainly important, but our real aim at school is to turn out confident girls who can face the world with self-belief.

Keith Richardson

WEEKLY INFO LETTER – 7 AUGUST 2019

NB*** The PTA Cake Sale scheduled for 23 August has been cancelled!

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**DATES TO REMEMBER**

Thursday 8 August: St Dominic’s Day: Mass in the Centenary Hall for Grades 1 to 7 at 08:00. All welcome to attend. Reminder of early closing as follows: Pre School @ 11am; Jnr Primary and Snr Primary @ 11:30 am. There will be no Afternoon Activities or Sport. Aftercare will be available from the end of the school day as normal for Grades 1-7. Any Pre Primary girls not collected by 11:15 will be taken to the Main Aftercare.

Friday 9 August: SCHOOL CLOSED (Women’s Day).

Thursday 15 August: Winter Team Sport Photographs will take place. All girls must please ensure that they bring their correct togs to be in the team photographs.

No togs – No photo!!

Girls must bring their school uniform to change into after their photographs.

NB***There will be NO Speech & Drama or Art & Crafts tomorrow (St Dominic’s Day).

Living Maths, Loving Maths and Pottery will start at 11:30 am (straight after school).

Friday 16 August: Junior School Art Exhibition at 13:00.

Monday 26 August: Happy Hampers go on display.

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CLICK HERE 👉 Please click here to find Tuck Shop Weekly Family Meal Form

Our (Computer monitor team and me) Tech pearls of wisdom for the week:

The applock is perhaps the most rudimentary of security apps. The way it works is that it will lock up your other apps from prying eyes. That way you don’t have to worry about someone accessing your Facebook, gallery app, or banking app. They work best when paired with a lock screen lock to give you two layers of security. Which ones are worth getting? We’ll help you out with the best applocks and privacy lock apps for Android! You can learn more about applocks by clicking here! It’s important to note that this is not an end-all-be-all solution for security. It’s good for kids or snoopy friends. However, these provide very little real security for things like stolen phones. We highly recommend continuing to use a lock screen because they are much more secure.

1. Applock by DoMobile Lab 6. Applock by IvyMobile

2. Applock – Fingerprint 7. ProAppLocker by BGNmobi

3. Norton App Lock 8. App Lock: Fingerprint Password

4. Perfect AppLock 9. Smart AppLock

5. Smart Launcher 5 10. SpSoft AppLock

Handy tip from Caitlin Gardiner Gr 7: All you have to do is hold the battery a few inches above a hard surface, such as a hardwood floor or a kitchen table. If you release the battery and it falls straight down, hitting the surface with a "thump" sound, then that means the battery is charged. A charged battery may also "stand up" on its own when dropped. On the other hand, if you drop the battery and it bounces and falls over, that means the battery is dead and will not be able to provide any power to your devices.