MESSAGE FROM THE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL

Dear Parents and Guardians

Government announces phased reopening of schools

We have finally received clarity from the Minister of Education that the Grade 12 and Grade 7 pupils may return to school on 1 June 2020. The intention is to phase in the whole school over a period. It is possible that the Independent schools may be given some latitude with regards to the phasing in process, but we await further direction from the Minister on this.

Currently we are busy preparing the school in order to make it as safe a place as possible. ACS has secured the services of a registered Occupational and Safety Practitioner, to take us through each step of the compliance process. Our goal is to comply with the very stringent health and safety requirements that have been set down by government. We are also updating and finalizing all our protocols and policies. Part of this preparation includes the training of all the staff.
We will be sending out further information before school opens and the girls will be fully briefed on all the safety procedures on their first day back at school.

Kind regards

Neville Workman
Principal

RELIGION

It has been forty days since Jesus astounded His Apostles and disciples by His Resurrection. Now, after the last time of ministering to them, He must return to His Father in heaven where Jesus fervently desires to make heaven our true home as well.
But first Our Lord must commission His Apostles, and by extension His disciples as well, to go forward and spread His teaching once they’ve been baptized by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. 
As we approached, Ascension Thursday yesterday, let us remind ourselves of His commission to us, His disciples, to spread the Good News of love, understanding and healing to all through our teaching.  During these challenging times we are experiencing, your constant prayers and communication with the young people you teach has been an opportunity to reassure, to reinforce and to resonate God’s love and understanding of their situation by walking and sharing together as the anxious Apostles and disciples must have done after the Ascension. 
As the schools start to slowly re-open may we continue to hold each other in prayer and know that, although Jesus’ ascension meant He was no longer physically present, He did not leave us alone. The Holy Spirit was sent to strengthen and guide us at all times.

CSO Office

"What's something about the eye that most people don't realize?"  
"The eye doesn't see. The brain sees. The eye just transmits. So, what we see isn't only  determined by what comes through the eyes. What we see is affected by our memories, our feelings, and by what we've seen before.” ― Brandon Stanton, American author.
During these difficult times, there are so many things we are not seeing. We are not seeing our friends on the playground, we are not seeing our grandparents and extended family, we are not seeing the outside world beyond our computer screens. When we don’t see things for a while, we start to miss them, the caring smile of a good friend when you join them for a cup of coffee, the reassuring nod from a teacher when you are struggling with a math question, the thumbs up you get from your hockey coach when you’ve scored the winning goal. 
These are the things which we cannot see and which we miss, simple things which we really took for granted in our daily routines. But it’s the memories and the feelings that are important, the memory of sharing that delicious cup of coffee and chatting to a good friend, the feeling of that reassuring hug you received from your teacher when you finally got that math problem right, the elation you shared with your hockey team and coach when you scored that goal. 
God sees it all. Every single last detail in our lives is seen by our Lord and creator, every hidden tear, scowling face, clenched fist, sad face or happy smile, our God sees, and cares about. We can’t see God. But we know He is there and that He is with us. We cannot see air or the wind, but we know they exist, we can’t see love, but we can feel it and we can live it. Our God lets us know that He is with us, even if we can’t see him. Through the beauty of nature, the love for a child, the sense of knowing what is right and what is wrong, these are all ways we can ‘see’ and ‘feel’ our Lord. 

I once saw a little girl in the supermarket who had been separated from her father. She had been distracted, had wandered off and suddenly found herself alone. For those few minutes that she waited with the security guard for her dad, she was very frightened and felt lost and alone. The relief and comfort on her face when she was reunited with her father was heart-warming, and it reminded me of when we all sometimes feel lost and alone. Jesus’ disciples must have felt like this when he died, they could no longer see him, and were afraid of what might happen. Even though Jesus had told them what to expect, I can imagine how scared and overwhelmed they must have felt, just worries, anger and fears because we cannot see or feel God. 
This is when prayer is so important, and the words which God gave to us in the Bible, words which we can see, read and apply to our own lives. It is not always easy, but there is comfort and hope in knowing that we are loved, and that if we are ever like that lost little girl in the supermarket, our Father will always find us.


Catholic Schools Sunday Facebook link from the Church of the Blessed Sacrament

https://www.facebook.com/251868678301817/posts/1808791085942894/?vh=e&d=n

During Catholic Schools week, our girls from Assumption are usually busy with charity work for our communities, but as it was not possible this year, the Primary school girls decided to share the ways in which they have been helping around their homes, each in their own way showing the love and care that they have for their families. Some of our girls also completed beautiful art crafts for Catholic Schools Week. Well done Assumption girls! 

HIGH SCHOOL NEWS

ENGLISH EXPERIENCE

Grades, 11 & 12 Pupils and Parents/Guardians

Unfortunately, due to the reasons e-mailed to us on the 21 May (below), the webcast will now be rescheduled to Friday, 12 June 2020 between 15h00-17h30.

The English Experience’s managing director, Nicola Stone, would like to confirm that the live webcast has been rescheduled and will now be streamed from 15h00 to 17h30 on Friday 12 June 2020. This decision has not been taken lightly, but the original date (Tuesday 26 May) coincides with the funeral of a close relative of the English Experience family, who recently succumbed to the Coronavirus. Many teachers have also expressed concern that the original date and time was inopportune for students busy preparing for, and writing, prelim examinations. We hope that you will find the new, earlier time on a Friday afternoon more suitable. We remain excited to be bringing you this value-packed webcast. We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused and to thank you for your understanding.

A panel of experts will be discussing the IEB prescribed set works. Author Craig Higginson will be joined by a panel of expert guest speakers, including literary luminary, Digby Ricci; leading Shakespearean authority, Professor Chris Thurman; top South African futurist and author, Graeme Codrington, and renowned therapist, Hanan Bushkin (PhD).

This event is for our students in Grades 11 and 12, because the expanded format of the webcast features insightful presentations on IEB 2020-2021 Grade 12 prescribed works, including The Dream House, Anthony and Cleopatra and The Tempest, together with a thought-provoking presentation on 2025: the future of careers and work and expert advice on Managing stress and anxiety in uncertain times.
As a result of this postponement, we will continue to receive payments until the 3 June 2020. Kindly pay via an electronic funds transfer, using the banking details below:

Account Name:  Assumption Convent School
Bank:  First National Bank
Branch:  Bedford Gardens
Branch code:  252155
Account number:  59630038353
Reference:  Daughter’s Surname + Eng webcast
Cost:  R100.00

Apologies for any inconvenience caused. If there are any further queries, do not hesitate to contact us or the school bursar via email, during office hours.

Yours faithfully

The English Department

CULTURAL AND SPORTING AWARDS

Due to Covid19 and the lockdown, our girls will unfortunately not be able to fulfil the goals they have set for themselves for term two in sports and cultural activities. Cognisant of this fact, the Awards Committee will endeavour to ensure that no one is disadvantaged and that all participants will receive due recognition. In this regard, the Colours Committee will strive to see that each pupil is allocated the points she would have earned, had she been given the opportunity to fully participate in her chosen field.

Awards Committee

A MOTIVATIONAL MESSAGE – ANTHONY HOPKINS

https://www.facebook.com/1788002544802765/posts/2638745923061752/?vh=e&d=n

HIGH SCHOOL SPORT

High School 1st Team hockey 2020

• Captain – Genevieve Reid
• Vice Captains – Gabriella Moreira and Courtney Oosterlaak

Mr Lydall

RIMARY SCHOOL NEWS

 The Grade 1 girls have been learning about percussion instruments of the orchestra. They have been experimenting with various sounds and textures in order to create their very own unique percussion instrument. They have enjoyed playing together ‘virtually’. I am so proud of their creativity! 

Mrs Quinn

GRADE 2

Our Grade 2 girls had loads of fun getting yucky and sticky whilst making mud. We have learnt all about ‘Germs’ and how easily they are spread.

Masks are an essential item during the lockdown. The Grade 2s had so much fun making their own masks, using an old sock! 

Mrs Sheerin

GRADE 4

Using our English reader, Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White, the Grade 4 girls embarked on a journey discovering and researching different spiders. They presented their speeches this morning in small online sessions and we were so impressed with their creativity and confidence. Well done to all the girls for your positive approach. We certainly learnt a number of new facts too!

Mrs Swanepoel

GRADE 5

Grade 5 pupils created their own PowerPoint (slide show presentation) of their own version of Aesop’s Fable “The Tortoise and the Hare” with stunning results. Pupils had to create their own script in dialogue format. For Prepared Reading they also created their own impression (through drawing) of the same Aesop’s Fable. 

Mrs Ritky

FUNKY FRIDAY HAT DAY

OUTREACH PROGRAMME

Bianca Naudé in Grade 7 who is captain of Outreach with donations for the SPCA Germiston.

PRIMARY SCHOOL SPORT

Thank you to all the parents and pupils who have been taking part in the Physical Education Programme. It is incredibly important for us to stay active in order to stay strong and healthy during this time. 

FOUNDATION PHASE PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Thank you to all the parents who have sent through videos of their daughter’s completing the PE activities.

SENIOR PHASE PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Well done our Grade 4 – 7 girls who are on the second week of their Fitness Program. It is a tough programme, that requires a lot of physical and emotional work. Keep up the good work girls.

View our girls keeping fit, click on the link below.

https://www.facebook.com/490865964395871/videos/2648562975402542/

BABY STEPS 2 ASSUMPTION

Dear Parents                                                                                                               

I hope you are all well and keeping safe in this time. I think we are all full of emotions and feelings of uncertainty. One thing I can assure you of is that we are doing everything in our power to ensure a safe environment for your child to return to. All staff are undergoing training on Covid management, back to school protocols and general health and safety. 

We have heard that we could possibly be able to open our doors during level 3 but have not yet received confirmation of the exact date. Look forward to offering you the best service possible but need to make sure we are abiding by the law. Please be patient for just a little while longer. When our doors do open, please remember that we will still be offering our @home learning programme for those families who choose to stay at home. If have not completed the survey that went out, please do so as soon as possible. 

   

Visors - We will be selling option A and B, both for R50. Option A will fit over any hat and can be used in and out of school. Option B is fitted to school hat with a zip, so can be removed easily when not needed. Will advise drop off and collection of hats when Assumption Convent is open.

Thank you for all your support, stay blessed!

Kind Regards

Tracey Urquhart
Baby Steps 2 Assumption Principal

CATHOLIC PRAYER WEEK

Please be advised that Esquires online facility is available for school uniform. Check it out on www.esquires.co.za. Esquires will be open for deliveries from 1 June 2020.  7 Days delivery time from date of order and some stock items limited due to lockdown. Parents can also order via email on email address: eyedeas@worldonline.co.za. Orders will be packed and will be ready for collection from 1 June 2020 when the shop will reopen. No returns policy unless in original packaging and items are unopened. 

OUR COMMUNITY PAGE

FROM THE DESK OF THE PRINCIPAL...

Neville Workman would like to congratulate Shené de Rijk who matriculated from Assumption Convent in 2009. Shené obtained a degree in education and taught for a few years before deciding to return to full time study. She completed a BA (Psychology) at the University of Johannesburg in 2019. During lockdown she was notified that she had been awarded the Faculty Prize for being the top undergraduate student in the Faculty of Humanities at her graduation. Shené is currently completing her BA (Honours) in Philosophy at UJ.

Shené attended Assumption Convent from Grade 0 to Matric and attributes her love for learning to the caring and dedicated staff, and the nurturing environment during her formative years at Assumption Convent School.