Headmaster's Message

Wearing the Jersey with Pride

It was a very sneaky question which I posed to the Grade 11’s at their Camp last week. At one point, we were discussing what factors would hold them back from having a memorable Matric year. Regardless of the fact whether they would be elected to official school leadership positions, I urged them to take the opportunities on offer at the school - especially to seize the chance of serving on one of the many committees on offer at the school. I presented to the Grade a whole host of leaders who never needed a badge, or a blazer, or braiding to signify to the world that they wanted to make a difference. Ordinary people like Mother Theresa needed no badge, nor did 14 year old Malala, nor did the Suffragettes and definitely not Rosa Parks in her seat at the back of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama.

Taking on causes, learning to to persevere when times are tough, persuading others to embrace the realisation of their vision, will enable them to develop the vital attributes to make their final year of school very special. At the same time, these attributes will prove to be immensely beneficial in their lives ahead.

‘What about our Matric exams?’ asked one girl.

It was then I threw in my sneaky question. ‘What is more important - Matric results or learning to become a good human being?’

She paused and then hesitatingly offered ‘…..being a good human being….??’

Some girls nodded approvingly but by far the majority frowned. They could just imagine parental faces when they were blithely informed that their daughters wouldn’t be revising for exams in October, they would be concentrating on becoming ‘good human beings’.

I put them out of their misery by explaining that it was not an either-or situation. One of life’s essential skills is to learn to put everything in perspective. With good planning and preparation, a willingness to take mentors on board and to listen to their advice, as well as displaying a readiness to delegate, they would set themselves up to experience a momentous and memorable Matric year - the 149th year in the history of Springfield.

With these skills, they would be equipped to return even better Matric results and at the same time to develop a set of skills which would enable them to make a significant difference to their communities in the years ahead.

They would also have earned the right to wear their 2020 Matric jerseys with pride.

Keith Richardson

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Message from Ms Dunn

24 July 2019

Dear Parents

Yesterday morning I had the privilege of playing the organ in our Chapel for the funeral Mass of one of our Dominican Sisters, Sister Kathleen Boner. Our Region Prioress, Sister Francis Krige, gave a very moving eulogy to Sister Kathleen, who had been a remarkable woman – as a Dominican Sister in South Africa, she was a university History Professor who wrote a book, which I have on my bookshelf here in my office, called Dominican Women: A Time to Speak. Another name for the Dominican Order is The Order of Preachers, and in her eulogy to Sister Kathleen, Sister Francis quoted from the speech given by the newly-elected Master General of the Dominican Order, Father Gerard Francisco Timoner, who spoke about all of us in the Dominican family – which includes you and me – being preachers. “St. Dominic formed an order of preachers”, he said. "It is not what we do. It is who we are. Mission is not what we do. It is who we are. And if that is clear, everything will just follow. We are preachers even when we are not preaching. We are preachers even if in our old age, we can no longer speak. We are preachers even if we are not ordained. We are preachers even if we are sick. We are preachers even if we are doing serious research alone in our rooms. We are preachers when we are helping the less privileged. We are preachers. That is our identity."

As the funeral ended, and Sister Kathleen was laid to rest in the graveyard here at Springfield, there was a glimmer of sun shining, despite the rainy weather of earlier in the morning. May this gracious, brilliant and spirit-filled woman, one of our own family, be at peace in her heavenly resting place. We salute you, Sister Kathleen.

May all our girls educated in this Dominican School learn to preach – and, in the words of Sister Kathleen, find a time to speak out and make their voices heard.

I ask you to keep the Dominican Sisters in your prayers.

On Friday this week, we celebrate the feast of St Joachim and St Anne, the parents of Mary and the grandparents of Jesus. On Monday at Assembly we thanked God for all our grandparents who are such special people in our lives. We also spoke about the love and respect we need always to bestow on the elderly. I chose for the girls to sing the hymn This little light of mine at Assembly, to remind them that they are light in the lives of their grandparents.

Alison Dunn

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Letter from the Board Selection Committee

To all Springfield Parents

As you are aware we embarked on the search for a new Head of School for Springfield in January this year.

The Selection Panel engaged the services of headhunters, Academic Partners to assist us. It is a complex task finding someone of faith who has the appropriate professional qualifications, intellectual acumen, integrity and emotional intelligence to lead a school like ours. In addition, we seek someone with strong leadership skills who can continue the model of excellence at Springfield but who is also able to make it a 'school of influence' as Mr Richardson's challenge to us has been.

After a very thorough and extensive search process, which included interviewing two potential candidates, the Panel offered the position to one of the candidates, who after reflection, indicated that for personal reasons that a move to the Cape was not possible.

Encouraged by Sr Rosemary, we reflected further on the process thus far. Thereafter we decided to engage in a renewed search process as of last week.

What this means is that a new Head of School is unlikely to be in place by 1 January 2020 as we had envisaged. Mr Richardson has agreed to continue holding the reins until a new Head of School is appointed next year.

As Chair of the Selection Panel, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Richardson for agreeing to remain with us. His leadership thus far has made an enormous difference at Springfield. He leads with enthusiasm, integrity and above all, a passion for educating young people.

We know that it was not an easy decision for him to continue at Springfield given his commitment to the Principals' Academy. So we extend our thanks to him and his wife, Pippa.

Finally, thank you to all staff who continue to work extremely hard to provide a holistic education to all Springfielders and of course thank you to you as parents for entrusting your daughters to our care.

Yours Sincerely,

Judith February

Chair: Selection Panel

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Weekly Inspiration

Micah 6:8

“This is what Yahweh asks of you, only this: to act justly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly with your God.”

We give thanks:

This day we give thanks for the life of Nelson Mandela.

He led a nation on a long walk to freedom.

He fought for reconciliation and not retribution.

He argued for peace in place of war.

Lord, we give you thanks for Madiba.

When other surrendered to darkness he kept faith with the promise of tomorrow.

He envisioned a path to “heal the wounds of the past... “

...with the intent of constructing a new order based on justice for all.”

His work inspired the world.

Lord, we give you thanks for Madiba.

In his time, the powers and the principalities reviled Jesus.

The leaders of great nations in our time called Mandela a terrorist and a communist.

Powerful interests stood up for white supremacy during the Apartheid era.

Mandela stood up for the least of these.

Lord, we give you thanks for Madiba.

Death is not the final victory.

Nothing can silence the voice of Nelson Mandela - not Robben Island, not death.

His words are eternal.

His voice will echo throughout time.

Lord, we give you thanks for Madiba.

Let us have an ounce of his courage.

Let us have an ounce of his faith.

Comfort those in South Africa and across the world who mourn.

Let the work of Nelson Mandela continue in us.

Lord, we give you thanks for Madiba. Amen.

We pray:

· That our nation learns to accept that all of us, irrespective of race, ethnicity, gender and nationality, are children of the same parent (Mt 6:9) - Lord hear us…

· That the new government in power reconnects us to God’s kingdom and its values (Mt 6:10) - Lord hear us…

· That God gives us the courage to reject leaders who will lead us away from God’s will (Mt 6:10) – Lord hear us…

· That we open our hearts to ask for forgiveness for our failings as a nation (Mt 6:12) – Lord hear us…

· That pervasive corruption will give way to the rule of God’s righteousness (Is 9.7) – Lord hear us…

· That our leaders govern with the fear of the Lord and God grants them wisdom (Sam 23:3) – Lord hear us…

· That our nation enjoys prosperity and our leaders ensure that this prosperity benefits the common good and not just a few elite (Jer 29:11) – Lord hear us…

· That God gives us the courage to reject leaders who enrich themselves at the expense of the poor (Deut 17:16) – Lord hear us…

· That God gives us the courage to elect leaders who govern with values, convictions, wisdom and understanding (Deut 1:13) – Lord hear us…

· That our country experiences an end to political violence and political assassinations (Is 60:18) – Lord hear us…

The SACBC J&P commission, together with the SACC and other faith communities, has called for prayer for the healing of South Africa, asking God to intervene in the current political and economic situation.

Prayer for South Africa

Lord we present our country South Africa before you.

We exalt and bless your name for all the blessings, the graces, and love that you have given to us as a nation.

Our country is now weighed down by many social, political and economic problems.

We pray for a spirit of conversion in our nation and its leadership;

that all hearts may turn away from greed and corruption and work for justice and peace.

Protect all those who are speaking out against greed, patronage, and corruption;

give them the wisdom and courage to be the voice of the marginalised.

Renew our nation and its leadership by the light of the Gospel.

Help us to live out the values of your kingdom.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

God bless Africa. Guard her children, guide her leadership and give her peace.

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Academic News

Provincial debating at UCT

We are very proud of our senior team (Rose Mitchell, Mikaela Hughes, Katherine Ward, Alexandra Bouch and Cara Ronan), shadow speaker Saffiya Moolla and junior team (Olivia Fuller, Morgan Leak, Kate Thomas, Rachel Muller and Angelique Cohen) for their impressive performance in four very challenging debates. Mrs Zimmermann, Mrs Ryan and Ms Going were impressed by the girls' ability to convincingly argue topics like "This house would make union membership compulsory for all workers" and "This house regrets the narrative that women can have it all", despite having to sometimes speak against their own beliefs. All three teams won two rounds and narrowly lost two rounds. We wish them all the best in the coming weekend's competition at UCT upper campus. All supporters are most welcome.

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Cultural News

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Outreach News

Last Thursday grades 9 to 12 commemorated Tata Madiba on Mandela Day with a knit-a-thon. Grade 9, 10 and 12 got together and had a jolly time in the Centenary Hall. The tech crew arranged some background music and it wasn’t long before needles started clicking away! Even though the Grade 11s were away on camp – girls took their knitting equipment along and participated eagerly. “Knitting squares on Mandela Day was a phenomenal experience that brought our grade together. I have never seen a large number of girls get ecstatic over knitting. Knowing that collectively we’ve made a difference in the lives of others, is truly rewarding and something we should always strive for.” – Caitlyn de Mink “Knitting seemed to be exactly what our grade needed on camp – a time-absorber when there’s no signal, a way of helping someone else feel loved and an activity which the grade bonds over (mostly through the horrible mess-ups)” – Nina Holling “My experience of knitting was amazing! I loved learning a new skill and using it to make something for someone else.” – Isabella Ward “I really enjoyed knitting for Mandela Day because although I only knitted on square, to know that the square will be part of something big made all the hand cramps and work worthwhile.” – Thato Miya Squares can be handed in in the Outreach Donation box at the Outreach board until Friday, 26 July. They will be distributed to be sown together in blankets and donated to Sinothando Home for abandoned children. We kindly ask if you would consider a donation of R20 if you took a ball of wall and this can be handed in at the office. Also remember to take your needles back to the office if you signed them out – you are allowed to purchase them for R20. Thank you for your enthusiasm, girls and staff!

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Sports News

We recorded a win across the board in our hockey fixture against Edgemead this past weekend. Well done to all our hockey teams on a great start to the term.

The team that needs to be singled out this week is without a doubt the U14A team. This team have shown such resilience this season and it was a pleasure to watch them score and celebrate their first goal on Friday afternoon. They are an example to us all of what sheer grit and determination is all about. They have accepted their defeats this season and worked harder, accepted their drawn matches as improvement and continued to work hard and eventually celebrated their win on Friday like champions. Well done to all the girls in this team on a great team effort. We are very proud of you!

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Springfield is Proud of

These 5 girls participated at the South African Junior Championships for rowing and achieved the following results:

• U19 Club Doubles (2X)
  • 1st - Jennifer Van Niekerk & Emma Dore
  • 2nd - Dana Prodehl
  • 3rd - Tahlia Rossouw
• U19 School Pairs (2-)
  • 9th Cait McCann & Tahlia Rossouw– in this field they competed against the leading SA girls rowing schools and Springfield was 9^th in the country out of a field of 16 and the time achieved in the heats was a record for the club
• U19 Club Pairs (2-)
  • 1st Cait McCann
• U19 Club Coxed Quad (4X+)
  • 1st - Cait McCann & Jennifer Van Niekerk
  • 2nd - Dana Prodehl, Tahlia Rousouw & Emma Dore
• U19 Eights (8+)
  • Cait McCann , Tahlia Rousouw, Dana Prodehl & Jennifer Van Niekerk

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