Support St Mary's School  effortlessly by swiping your MySchool card

Support MySchool: MySchool is South Africa's foremost school support system.  They contribute more than R1.5 million to schools and charities every month. 1. Apply for your MySchool Supporter Card and nominate your beneficiary. 2. Swipe your card at any of the 2500 partners nationally and a percentage of the turnover is padi out to the shool or charity of your choice, at no extra cost to you. 3. Keep a look-out for your monthly Supporter Statment to see how much money has been raised on your behalf. Card usage is the key to the success of the system: Every swipe counts! Supporters can use their card at a range of national, regional and local retail partners on the MySchool system (visit the MySchool website for more details).

Apply Now for MySchool Card It's free! Get the card and get swiping to make a difference. Or call 0860 100 445 to apply. Find local partners in my area Shop at supporting partners in order to generate funds for your school. Contact MySchool: Website: www.myschool.co.za E-mail Client Services: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Telephone: 0860 100 445 Fax: 0866 822 833

The trend internationally and in South Africa is for schools to establish a Foundation office which works at ensuring ongoing funding for capital projects as well as the development of programmes within the School.

St Mary's has been proactive and established the Foundation Office at the beginning of 2008.

Funding is required to sustain St Mary's as an institution abreast of the 21st century and to remain at the forefront of girls' education in South Africa and indeed the world.  By developing infrastructure we ensure adequate facilities for current pupils and for future generations to enjoy.  By funding Staff Development, Outreach, Pupil Scholarships and Bursaries we make a valuable contribution and social investment in South Africa and in the future leaders and shapers of our economy.

St Mary's has become one of the top independent schools in South Africa and is comparable to the top girls' schools in the world.

In countries like the United States, the top girls schools and universities receive a large portion of their income from gifts made by Alumni, primarily in the form of bequests.  St Mary's and other Independent Schools in South Africa will have to rely more and more on individuals with the foresight to make a social investment in the future of our youth.

The Foundation Office will oversee and coordinate all the fundraising activities at the School to ensure effective and efficient solicitation and management of donors and corporate sponsors.

Specified Gifts

An endowed gift is money specifically given for the purposes of the principal amount being preserved and the income derived from the capital amount used to fund various projects at the school.  The funding derived from the endowment can be allocated at the School's discretion or specified by the donor for a specific project at the School.

Endowments to the School may also be made in memory of or in honour of a loved one or friend.

A donor may offer to contribute funds for the naming of a particular building, room, space within the School or an item for use by the School.  The name would have to be acceptable to the School.

In order to receive naming rights the donation should form a significant portion of the total cost of the building or facility.

The donor funds may also be used to establish a significant endowment for the operating costs of the facility.

In the case of a corporate donor, the naming rights could be granted for a number of years and be renegotiated at the end of the set period.  These donations/sponsorships would be subject to Board approval.

It is essential that St Mary's keeps up to date with infrastructure development to ensure a world class school for its pupils.  To this end the School has, after careful consideration of the feasibility and benefits, embarked on the following projects:

The Aquatics Centre

One of the benefits of living in South Africa is that we can offer our children the opportunity of learning life skills through sports. A school like St Mary's would like to have outstanding facilities for all sports. Rowing, Hockey, Squash, Tennis and Netball have excellent facilities.

St Mary's has built an Aquatics Centre which was completed at the end of 2008.

The Aquatics Centre contains an Olympic size pool, a bulkhead which allows for a waterpolo pool and a short course competition pool.  There are six diving boards ranging from a 5m down to a half metre practice board.  There are change rooms for both genders and shaded grandstands for spectators as well as a refreshment pavilion.

Hence, the new Aquatics Centre will allow for participation in swimming, diving, water polo and synchronised swimming.

This facility will be enjoyed by our girls and in turn their daughters.

The Education Centre - Project Edge

St Mary's provides a balanced education and excels in many academic, sporting and cultural arenas. Cultural activities, such as Music, Art, Dance and Drama are firmly entrenched in the curriculum to afford a truly holistic education to its students and the surrounding community.

The School has decided to undertake a much needed expansion to its current Music, Art, Dance and Drama facilities to provide additional Music, Art, Dance and Drama teaching and practice rooms as well as additional classroom space for the language department.  The centre will house a concert hall and an auditorium with a capacity to seat 530 people.  The current school hall falls far short of this capacity.

The new classroom space will enable the school to reconfigure some of its existing facilities to provide expansion in the Junior School Grade 3 classrooms.  The Junior School will benefit from the creation of a Drama teaching classroom, art rooms and more frequent use of the existing Senior School Hall. 

It is well known that there is a shortage of venues in Gauteng that offer capacity for 500 seats.  The venue will allow for choral rehearsal space, instrumental groups and theatre space for use by the community.  The facility will have a sprung floor for dance and this will double as an experimental theatre space.

In addition to being aware of developing the broader community, the School is also cognisant of the environment and has decided to ensure that the facility is as much a "green building" as can be afforded.