Today's message focuses on three disparate but important matters.

#blacklivesmatter

The media is filled with outrage over the racist and brutal murder of George Floyd. South Africans, too, are outraged and are in solidarity with #blacklivesmatter. This kind of bigotry is pervasive throughout the world and there have been countless victims of this blatant racism. One of our own citizens, Collins Khosa, tragically died at the hands of our security forces. Questions are being asked as to why his death was not the catalyst for #blacklivesmatter?

June is Youth month and on June 16 we will remember the 176 black youths who died at the hands of the police. Acts of racism and unfair discrimination must never be overlooked or ignored. Don't wait for a critical volume before you react.

#blacklivesmatter

Policy updates

We have all witnessed the announcements relating to the reopening of schools. National departments are in conflict with Provincial departments and ISASA tries, valiantly, to represent the interests of Independent Schools somewhere in between.

In a memorandum dated 2 June, ISASA's concluding instruction is as follows:

"We will provide further information to member schools once we have communicated with the DBE. In the interim, learners in grades 7 and 12 may return to schools that are in compliance with the applicable health, safety and social distancing requirements."

Their continued interaction with the DBE is aimed at seeking clarity on the process to be followed to gain approval for the phased return of other grades to schools. I shall continue to communicate the outcome of ISASA’s meetings as relevant information becomes available.

It's all about the place

The sheer joy that emanated from the Study Hall on Tuesday morning was something to behold. The presence of the Matric and Grade 7 girls on campus was both revitalizing and restorative. During break time I watched girls, from my office window, exploring the gardens and enjoying their freedom. What a delight that was for me to see.

We have set aside Tuesday and Wednesday of next week to invite the girls in Grades 8 to 11 to spend the day at school. The Grade 8s and 9s will have their opportunity to be taken through the orientation programme on Tuesday and, of great importance, they will get to engage with their friends. Wednesday will be the turn of the Grade 10s and 11s.

In the new term all girls will be invited to return to school. However, if we are to remain compliant with the physical distancing norms, this will be on a 'timeshare' basis. In other words, certain days will be allocated to specific grades.

For those at school, the delivery of learning right now is not much different from the previous few weeks. Within the pupil and staff body, there are individuals who, for their own health or the health of those in their homes, are required to stay at home. This platform allows for all in the community to participate and be included in the learning process. During the Matrics’ first lesson on Tuesday, some connectivity glitches presented themselves, but these were attended to by the IT support team.

So why bother coming to school when you can receive similar learning at home, and in your pyjamas?

Futurist and educationalist, Terry Heick, speaks of the power of place when he says, "a curriculum void of place, is void of context, and therefore empty of meaning." He continues to differentiate between location and place using the analogy that 'location' may refer to where something happened, but 'place' reminds you of how it made you feel.

Delivery of the curriculum in situ allows for meaningful interactions between pupils and with teachers. Schooling at Springfield is learning in a place that awakens your spirit, feeds your soul and is therefore filled with meaning.

PENNY MULLAN

Head of School

We celebrate with joy as our school gradually re-opens

This week we have welcomed the Grade Seven and Matric girls back to school. It has been a joyous time, after nearly ten weeks of a closed, silent school, to again experience the presence of young people.

Last week, as we prepared for this re-opening, we received a letter from Sister Kathy Gaylor, one of our own Dominican Sisters, who is National Chairperson of the Catholic Board of Education. This is a quote from her letter:

In that poignant message on Easter Sunday, Pope Francis said “How many people every day are exercising patience and offering hope, taking care to sow not panic but a shared responsibility. How many fathers, mothers, grandparents and teachers are showing our children, in small everyday gestures, how to face up to and navigate a crisis by adjusting their routines, lifting their gaze, and fostering prayer.”

Re-opening our schools is an act of hope. Education orients us towards the future of our children and our society. If our hearts are open and full of compassion, we may yet hope, and move for that change that can be for the better – for all humanity and the societies we live in, and for the one world that is our common home. Let us remember: “Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary.” (Benedict XVI).

We are in week nine of Term Two, and at the end of next week, the tenth week of the term, teachers and pupils alike will enjoy a much-needed three-week holiday. We are very keen for this holiday to be as stress-free as possible, so we have decided to put something special in place for our Grade One to Six girls next week. To help them adjust to the “new normal”, we will be offering a short orientation session for each grade during the course of next week. You are invited to bring your daughters in to school for a 90-minute session, where they will experience a full orientation both in the hall and in their classrooms, going through procedures for the re-entry to school, as well as spending some social (distancing) time with their classmates.

Here is the schedule for these sessions next week:

Tuesday: 09:30 to 11:00 (Grade 4)

11:30 to 13:00 (Grade 1)

Wednesday: 09:30 to 11:00 (Grade 5)

11:30 to 13:00 (Grade 2)

Thursday: 09:30 to 11:00 (Grade 6)

11:30 to 13:00 (Grade 3)

This is an invitation for all who can make these times next week; however, there will be further orientation at the beginning of next term, so please do not worry if you cannot make next week.

Orientation for all girls in Pre-Primary will happen in the first week of next term.

At the end of this term, a full orientation video will be sent to all families in the Pre-Primary and the Junior School for you to peruse during the holidays.

Full details of next week’s sessions will be sent in a separate letter to parents at the end of this week.

Last Sunday we celebrated the great feast of Pentecost. “May the God of hope fill you all with joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).

ALISON DUNN

Principal Junior School

There was great excitement in the corridors of Springfield Junior and Senior as we anticipated the arrival of Grade 7 and 12 students on Tuesday morning. In so many ways the mystery of the Trinity is brought into a tangible reality as no school is complete without the three very significant components of staff, pupils and parents. The very blessing of the Trinity made this reality true for us. While many of us worked at school for the past three weeks, our school lacked something very special in my opinion. It lacked the heart and spontaneous energy of young people.

Tuesday the 2nd June...a day to remember!

The Senior School RE Team spent about 10 minutes with each of our Grade 12 classes and similarly Mr Meehan spent time with both Grade 7 classes to welcome the pupils back through one of our very significant threads of Dominican ethos, namely our spiritual thread.

This is what we shared with them

Welcome back Matrics, Class of 2020

Welcome back Grade 7’s

You’ll be defined by the tenacity of spirit you’ve shown through a really unprecedented time in global history. This courage that you show in your capacity to be present today is testimony to your tremendous power to carry on with a sense of faith in your ability to walk this journey.

As the Springfield RE team we’d like to assure you that you’ve been carried in prayer throughout this lockdown and we’ll continue to do so throughout this coming year. You have our word.

We acknowledge you….we respect you ….we bless you….

Setting the scene for prayer

• Let us honour the sacred space we occupy. We acknowledge this hallowed ground, 149 years in existence.
• Let us reach our arms outward to connect with the person on either side of us
• Let us visualise a multi-coloured ball of thread that we throw into the midst of our gathering. These threads bind us together.
• Let’s light a candle to acknowledge God’s presence with us, our source of strength and refuge.

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