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Paint the Town Red Fun Swimathon
For the past few years, the PTA has been experimenting with the PTTR brand in an effort to come up with the formula for an event that best suits the needs of the St Mary's community.
This year it was decided to link the event to aquatic events. Junior girls competed in a traditional Swimathon and raised funds through sponsorship. Senior girls competed in a Raftathon with each of the four Houses entered. The girls were provided with a list of suitable materials and items that could be used and, under the guidance of their House Captains, the Form III girls built the rafts. Each team had to ferry all the members of their House across the pool in a given time.
Parents appreciated not having to pay an entrance fee to Paint the Town Red, and the coloured wristbands that entitled children unlimited access to many of the playpark activities also proved to be a hit. A few of the attractions necessitated a charge - for example the water balls - which proved very popular on what turned out to be a sweltering day. No one was complaining about the weather and we were all grateful for the sunshine, as rain would have spelled disaster for the Fun Day.
The traditional red currency - preferred for security reasons - was accepted by all but the market vendors. Aside from the playpark activities, the Junior grade parents organised a number of fun stalls including a Coconut Shy, Fishing, Sand Art, Face Painting and Beading.
There was plenty to eat and the parents of the St Mary's Rowing team made sure the crowd was well fed with egg and bacon rolls, chicken pregos, pizza and other delicious offerings. The bar opened at noon and did a brisk trade. Various other goodies were available including Fego coffees, Mini-melts, Chip n Dip, and Mini-donuts.
The Grade 7 parents ran a very successful tea garden serving tea in fine bone china with pretty teapots and a delicious array of cakes, muffins and brownies.
The various Rock bands in the Junior and Senior School, as well as the Jazz Band, put on a very popular concert and a certain member of the staff was spotted doing a solo dance on stage at the end of the day.
One of the highlights of the day was the Raffle draw which took place after the musical interlude.
Finally, a market with a range of merchandise, from olives and olive oil on the one hand to jewellery and vuvuzelas decorated in the colours of the various World Cup teams on the other, offered a great way to pass the time and spend money!
Shop till you drop, and help St Mary's with every cent you spend!
This is a painless way of donating funds to St Mary's when you shop. Use your MySchool card (valid at Woolworths, Stax, Waltons and many more stores) at the till point when paying for your purchases and the store donates a percentage of the sale to our School.
Makro cards work in a similar way, although only the Makro store in Woodmead participates in this scheme. St Mary's benefits greatly from these initiatives.
For more information or to sign up call Les Campbell at 082 424 0360 or call Sharon San in the Senior School office 011 531 1800.
Encourage your friends and relatives to link their cards to St Mary's too!
Project Edge
The building is largely finished and is in daily use but, as some of the staff and the Senior girls know, the builders are still on site. Although taking occupation of a building with an unfinished concert hall/theatre at its heart has been a challenge, everyone knows that it will be worth it in the end.
This Performing and Visual Arts Centre, known throughout the building phase as Project Edge, is a fantastic facility that bears testimony to all the thought and planning that went into the architect's brief.
New parents should be reassured that the building was designed to be as green as possible, and existing trees were replanted (courtesy of PTA funding). The bottom of the ‘old' swimming pool, previously on that site, now serves as part of the concert hall floor. The water from the old pool was pumped through to the new pool, which is now an established feature on the St Mary's campus.
The building will be officially opened in August and, in the years to come, those fortunate parents who still have school-going daughters will enjoy concerts, recitals, plays and workshops in the auditorium, ingeniously designed as a concert hall that can be adapted to a theatre at the push of a button - or two.
Parents who would like to purchase a commemorative tile or one of the chairs in the auditorium should contact Gillian O'Shaughnessy, the Foundation Officer for details. Naming rights for classrooms, and indeed the building itself, are still available.
Meet the Board cocktail party
The PTA's first official function of 2010 was to host the Meet the Board cocktail party. A number of parents, old and new, availed themselves of the opportunity to meet not only with members of the Board but also Deanne King and Des Hugo, Heads of the Senior and Junior Schools, and many of their staff. Gina Lamparelli welcomed everyone and Nigel Carman, Chairman of the Board, and Rob Dow, the Finance Director, addressed the gathering. Head Girl Shirley Ward spoke from the girls' perspective and a slide show capturing the daily life of St Mary's was shown throughout the evening. If you missed it this year, make sure you attend the event next year.
Making a difference with Mzansi
For a number of years, St Mary's has been involved with Mzansi, a company that recycles used ink cartridges. Since the world is currently in a ‘Go Green' stage, the girls in both the Junior and Senior Schools are learning to do their bit for the environment. The Mzansi project makes our girls aware of the benefits of recycling. Also, it provides them with the opportunity to do something for those less fortunate as the funds generated are donated to charities of the girls' choice.
Parents can assist by sending used cartridges to School via their daughters. The PTA co-ordinates the Mzansi collections and these take place once each term. The money received is allocated by the PTA to the Junior School and the Houses of the Senior School.
Connie Mashaba is running the Mzansi recycling project and can be contacted on 082 900 7633.
Car park etiquette
In an ideal world, we'd have a bigger car park with plenty of parking bays and none of us would get frustrated at drop-off and pick-up time. Sadly, until a major donor steps forward, and the neighbours decide to sell their properties to St Mary's, that is the stuff of dreams.
In the meantime, while we're waiting for our dreams to materialize, please drive with extreme caution.
You are also requested to obey traffic signs, as well as the security guards and St Mary's personnel.
The following guidelines apply to everyone.
- Accept a card from the security guard irrespective of the number of times you visit School each day, or whether you are stopping for only 30 seconds. The procedure is in place for a reason and the guards are simply following instructions.
- If you are not offered a card, you should request one. You should also immediately call the office and report the fact that the guard is not following the procedures which are in place to keep your children safe.
- There is a procedure for lost cards. Please follow this and do not try to negotiate with the security guards.
- Treat security guards, St Mary's traffic officials and other personnel with courtesy.
- Follow and obey traffic instructions e.g. turn left and not right when you exit the gate on Burn Street in the morning after drop-off.
- Do not park or stop in front of the NO STOPPING zone.
- The speed limit is a maximum speed! Please do not exceed it.
- Give pedestrians the right of way, especially in bad weather.
- Always exercise extreme caution when reversing. Little people can be difficult to spot and once injured, it won't matter whose fault it is. As the driver you would - or should - take responsibility
- Stop and park in demarcated spots only.
- Allow other parents to reverse into the traffic stream.
The contentious bump in front of Smogs cottage is specifically designed to slow drivers down, especially as it is on the approach to Little Saints, where the tiniest members of our St Mary's community are housed. If you are in a 4 x 4 you need to proceed slowly, and if you're in a sedan - especially the low-slung variety - you need to advance very slowly if you want to avoid damaging the chassis of your vehicle.
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