At this time of year, a team of Junior School teachers meets to discuss, design and review the timetable. These meetings are animated and strenuous, and every aspect of the girls’ schedules is carefully evaluated, turned round, and looked at from different angles to make sure we are making the most of our time, teachers and facilities every day on campus. Unsurprisingly, the value of some timetable slots is undisputed and their place in the timetable is unassailable: one of these is chapel; another is assemblies.

In our weekly assemblies in the Junior School (Thursdays for Junior Primary, Fridays for Senior Primary) teachers and girls gather to sing, reflect, celebrate, disseminate news and notices, and to pray. I share assembly duties with my two deputies, Di Gordon and Lauren Howden, as well as the heads of the two phases, Agotha Clarke and Kerry Gibbons.

Throughout the year in the Junior Primary, different grades host theme-based assemblies – Ms Rogers’ Grade 2 class recently presented a delightful programme of humorous choral verse on school-related topics – and in the Senior Primary, the Grade 7s read out notices relating to the co-curricular programme, congratulate their teams, and co-ordinate inter-house activities and events.

In addition to the piece playing concerts held over the year for musicians in both the Junior and Senior phases, the girls are also given opportunities to perform in assembly and the teachers take time to present awards and certificates to the girls or to commend them on their achievements, both in and outside the school curriculum. In next week’s assembly, for example, we will congratulate our Grade 7 U14 rowers on an impressive debut performance at Gauteng Champs and we will award Kimaya Shah-Naidoo (Grade 7) her gold certificate for being named runner-up in the 2022 South African Nestlé Nespray South African Maths Challenge.

Oh, and before I forget, one of our newest assembly traditions involves Ms Elk handing out birthday books to the girls who have donated a volume or two to our library. This practice gives the girls the opportunity to see their names inscribed in their book (or books) and to read them before they are put out on the shelves for all the other borrowers to enjoy.

The content of our assemblies is often suggested by discussions and developments on campus and beyond, and we try to achieve a good balance of instruction and entertainment, all the time subtly (or not so subtly) reminding the girls of our core values, broadening their understanding of our community, and encouraging, motivating, inspiring, cajoling and coaxing them to make the most of their opportunities, to keep trying, and to support and recognise each other – all of this with good will, courage, and a sense of humour! We invite the girls to participate in our discussions and the intensity and volume of the discussion fluctuates according to the girls’ level of interest and engagement.

To give you an idea of the range of topics addressed with your girls, the Junior Primary class assemblies have included themes touching on generosity and friendship, children of the world, the power of smiling, the A-Z of our heritage, and myths and legends. In the Senior Primary, the teachers have presented on everything from local heritage sites, fashion designers and other young trailblazers, to book-banning, Human Rights Day, Desmond Tutu, influential women musicians, incivility and the importance of R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

In a recent assembly, in response to the good news that one of our Grade 7 girls, Laila Fowler, made the under 13A girls cricket team for Gauteng, I spoke about women’s cricket (played since around 1745), showed the girls some archival footage of mid-century women’s matches, drew their attention to the short-lived presence of cricket at St Mary’s, looked at cricket’s connections to the suffragette movement, and considered this year’s ICC Women’s Player of the Month nominees for October (Pakistan all-rounder Nida Dar was announced as the winner). Howzat!

SARAH WARNER
JUNIOR SCHOOL HEADMISTRESS