Combined Newsletters 01 April 2022

	DATE: 01-Apr-22
Combined Newsletters 01 April 2022

FROM THE PRINCIPAL'S DESK

GENEVIEVE REID VISITS OUR SISTER SCHOOL IN NORTHERN IRELAND

Genevieve Reid (head girl 2020) paid a visit to our sister school , Assumption Grammar School in Ballynahinch, Northern Ireland last week. Genevieve is currently engaged in missionary work in Northern Ireland.

Genevieve visited the Missionary Sisters of the Assumption in their Convent (photograph 1), attended a Religious Education lesson with the first-year pupils; and joined the school leadership team for lunch. Genevieve had an incredible experience and shared her own stories of her time at Assumption Convent School Johannesburg with our Northern Ireland sisters. The attached photograph of Genevieve with a Drama group clearly shows the bond created by our shared Assumption spirit!

In 2010 Mr and Mrs Workman visited Assumption Grammar School in Ballynahinch and donated a framed picture of our School. This picture now hangs in pride of place in the main entrance hall.

Neville Workman
Principal

LINKS TO ACS

https://www.facebook.com/Assumption-Convent-School-490865964395871/

https://www.instagram.com/assumptionconvent/

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HIGH SCHOOL RELIGION

POPE’S INTENTIONS FOR APRIL 2022

Health Care Workers

We pray for health care workers who serve the sick and the elderly, especially in the poorest countries; may they be adequately supported by governments and local communities.

Lenten Reflection

REFLECT

This week we finish off the set of Lenten reflections based on Matthew’s gospel, chapter 25.

“ I needed clothes and you clothed me… I was in prison and you came to visit me…” -Matthew 25

When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they realized that they were without clothing, and they soon tried to cover up. Jesus was stripped of His clothes as part of the humiliation of the Crucifixion. Clothes are an important part of our lives! It is concerning that an estimated 152 million children worldwide are involved in child labour, especially in industries that manufacture clothing.

When Jesus visited His hometown synagogue (Luke 4:16-21), he read from Isaiah 61, and proclaimed that he came to bring “freedom for prisoners” and “set the oppressed free”. He put these words into practice. Across the world today, people face various kinds of oppression, and they long to escape sickness, hunger and systemic exploitation and abuse. We are all called to help people who live in difficulty by following Christ’s example through prayer and action.

TAKE ACTION

Downsize your wardrobe and donate your gently used clothing to local organizations that support those in need.

Befriend someone who is alone in your community.

PRAY

Pray for those who have inadequate clothing and the basic resources they need to survive. Pray for people who are ‘stripped’ of their dignity in various ways. And especially remember the millions of people who are trapped in situations beyond their control.

This reflection is adapted from: https://www.worldvision.org/christian-faith-news-stories/journey-easter-stories-hope-lent

Image source: https://www.spcchurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Lent-Fast-Give-Pray-Saint-Peter-Claver-Saint-Paul-MN.jpg

Sr Moloto

CONDOLENCES

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Abaidoo family (Bryanna Gr 10 and Jonel Gr 3) who have lost a very close family member.

HIGH SCHOOL

ART CLUB

"Our High School Art Club has started doing a monthly Art Project where the girls received a concept and have to create a piece of Art based off the concept. For the seniors they had the topic: 'Pretty', the seniors were able to choose their own Artistic Medium. The winner for the Seniors is Njoki Chomba Gr11. For the Juniors they had the topic: 'Time', the juniors were given the Artistic medium: 'Graphite Pencil'. The winner for the Juniors is Nectaria Pouroullis Gr8."

Amy Jackson

MATRIC DANCE 2022

The matric dance took place on 18 March 2022. We were met with a dazzling red carpet that paved the entrance of the enchanting gardens. Beautiful water features and white painted gazebos framed our pictures. Despite sinking into the grass with our 6 inch heels, many were not deterred in their determination to snap those breathtaking shots. Seeing the girls arrive was a treat. Their dresses sparkled while the sun began to sink, introducing us to the incredible evening that awaited us. Upon entering the venue, we were greeted with a myriad of diamonds that were delicately arranged by our MDC. Talking with others and laughing were the sounds of the night. Accompanied by tears shed during our head girl – Nomfundo’speech – the night was a heap of nostalgia and fun while we danced on the dance floor. It was refreshing to see some of the teachers – especially Mrs Visentsin – busting some moves. From secret rendezvous in the gardens to several trips to the eccentric-looking bathrooms to fix our makeup, MD is not a night we will easily forget. And we are so grateful we had the opportunity to make unforgettable memories with our peers.

Matrics 2022

PUBLIC SPEAKING 2022

Most girls dread speaking in front of an audience; however, Assumption speakers certainly have mastered the skill! On Wednesday, 16 March, our speakers challenged and inspired the audience on a variety of issues and beliefs. We thank Ms Juliet Markantonatos and Ms Chinenye Ngwu for adjudicating the junior and senior sections of the competition, respectively. We also thank, Bestaleel Lunanga, Ke’yana Chetty and Morgan Rothmann for assisting in the running of the event most efficiently.

Congratulations to the following girls:

Senior Public Speaking:

Special mention goes to Benadhi Harisinghe and Kezia Segurado who attained very high results.
Runner-up best speaker: Isabella Rocha
The Best Speaker Trophy goes to: Tracy Moukouemi

Junior Public Speaking:

Special mention goes to Chiara Szabo who spoke most confidently.
Runner-up best speaker: Mulalo Baloyi
The Best Speaker Trophy goes to: Zukisa Ncobo

Well done, PAULIST for winning the Inter-house Public Speaking 2022.

Ms Rivera

MOTHER & DAUGHTER DINNER

The Grade 8 Mother & Daughter Dinner took place on Wednesday, 30 March 2022 in our Convent Hall. The evening was thoroughly enjoyed by all. The theme for the evening was: Superheros. The atmosphere was full of excitement. Each table chose a different superhero. Thanks to all the mums who thoughtfully and beautifully decorated the tables. A special big thank you to Mrs Jones for the awesome decorations she and her team made. We were very impressed with the talent shown by our girls in their performances. The skills learnt preparing for, and taking part in, this event will surely boost their confidence for future endeavours. A big thank you to all who made the evening such a wonderful success.

Ms Mennen

JOHANNESBURG JUNIOR COUNCIL

Participate in the Johannesburg Junior Council sports equipment drive. Throw whatever you have at us and we will take it…..
Mike Singletary once said “Do you know what my favourite part of the game is? The opportunity to play.” The JJC wants to give those less fortunate than us the opportunity to participate in sport and develop their skills.
Some examples of items you can donate:

Balls (tennis, netball, soccer, hockey, rugby)
Tennis rackets
Hockey sticks
Water guns
Cricket equipment
Goggles
Cones

Any equipment that would cause recreation would be highly appreciated. All equipment will be collected in Room 27, closing date is the 27th of May.

Kiara Krchnavy

DRAMA

Grade 9E performing their scenes in class.

Ms Human

MARKETING

We have Assumption Convent School signs for vehicles similar to the ‘baby on board’ suction advert, we would be most grateful if you would support your school by placing one in your vehicle.
These are available free of charge from reception. Thank you.

Marketing Department

ALUMNI

Greetings from somewhere at the bottom of the Annapurna Massif.
My name is Neo Nhlapo, a 2009 matriculant of Assumption Convent currently on a site inspection of a hotel property that I may acquire in the near future.
My entry into Hospitality Management was circuitous to say the least as it was precipitated with a position in Group Exercise Management at a well known chain of luxury health clubs in South Africa. I was headhunted to work in the Maldives, which lead to Thailand, India and Nepal and back to the Maldives to start my own luxury wellness retreat centre. Why am I in the Himalayas?
Despite the current global climate, wellness travel has seen an upsurge and we're expanding and collaborating with other hospitality groups to offer smaller, safer and more sustainable travel experiences for the corporate and luxury traveller.
I am embarking on post graduate studies in Yoga Philosophy, learning Mandarin all the while chasing the sun as much as I can get away with under the circumstances.
Did you know? There is an Our Lady of The Assumption Church in Kathmandu?

"Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground" - Theodore Roosevelt.
This was one of my favourite quotes in matric and one that I still stand by today.
I, Skye Sheerin, was the Head Girl of Assumption Convent in 2016. I matriculated with distinctions and the aspiration of becoming a veterinarian. I have learnt that our timelines don't always go the way we planned. It was two years later, in 2018, that I received my acceptance into Veterinary Science. I am currently in my 5th year of Veterinary Science at Onderstepoort and will graduate in 2023. Assumption Convent taught me that determination and hard work always pay off in abundance. Attending an excellent school, with great morals, caring teachers and a supportive environment is crucial in the development of one's character. I will forever be grateful for what Assumption Convent School has taught me.

HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS

NETBALL FESTIVAL AND CAMP

We are proud of both the U14 netball and hockey teams that played in this festival over the past weekend. It was a fantastic weekend of netball. Friendships, team bonding, heartache, elation, and learning were all part of the three days. The team ended in a well-earned position. The u/14 team played some excellent netball and hockey.

The 2022 netball season is in full swing. Most of the preparation has been geared towards our annual camp and season. Our netball team played in a few matches over a long weekend from 24 to 27 March. On route to Camp Discovery, we stopped at Steers and Nando's where all our teams gathered for lunch as we were to only have our first meal at 18:00. In the typical Sunny hot fashion, the first day was a tough battle. On Friday, we were meant to play matches but got rained out. The girls took in all the information and drills set out to improve our style of play. On Saturday morning, our match was scheduled against the Junior Tuks girls and was not too bad considering these were university Players. The result was not quite what we wanted, but a match we equally contested in.

Overall, we are excited to see what the season brings us and are even more eager to watch the girls grow and thrive.

Mr Goeieman

ROEDEAN AUTUMN FESTIVAL

This past weekend our junior hockey and netball players had the opportunity to attend the Roedean Autumn Sports Festival. These were the first fixtures for the girls post-pandemic and we were able to introduce the girls to High School winter sports in a challenging way. All the top school in the country were represented and we had to test our will against the best.

Both the netball and hockey girls played with so much passion and came through the battles with a wonderful experience and a fire in their bellies for the league season to come.

We congratulate all the pupils who played in the festival and look forward to an exciting season.

#GoAssumption

Mr Owusu

CONGRATULATIONS TO:

Anastacia Sequeira, Tatum Lauf and Cassidy Sinclair who have qualified and been selected to represent Eastern Gauteng Aquatics at the South African Junior & Senior Nationals Competition which is being held in Port Elizabeth from the 06th to the 11th of April 2022.
Mbali Ngcobo has been selected to represent the Eastern Gauteng Junior Netball, U16B at the annual Inter Provincial Action Netball Tournament.
Kiara Krchnavy who will be attending IPT.

PRIMARY SCHOOL RELIGION

TEACHING ABOUT CONFLICT

Non-violence is a powerful and just weapon . . . which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.
Martin Luther King Jr (1929-1968)

My husband called me the other morning to come and watch something on the news. He had an incredulous look on his face, and as I watched Will Smith stride onto stage in front of an international audience and slap comedian Chris Rock across the face for targeting a joke at his wife, I understood why. Social media was ablaze over the incident. Many felt Mr Smith was justified and was defending his wife, others felt his uncontrolled anger and violence could not be condoned. We live in a volatile society where gender-based violence against women and children has been labelled another pandemic, where violent crimes are committed everyday and where school children assault each other because they are unable to deal with their anger. Violence in any shape or form cannot be condoned. It simply does not work. Our children are going to face many conflict situations in their lives, at home, at school, on the sports field. If they think that slapping, assaulting, or injuring another person is going to solve their difficulties and issues, then as educators and parents, we have our work cut out for us.

Recent studies done by the American Psychological Association’s Division of Trauma, has shown that children who witness abuse either in the home or at school carry the same risk of harm to their mental health and learning as actually suffering from the abuse directly. Jeffrey Segal, Psychologist at Adults and Children Together Against Violence, Raising Safe Kids Program, wrote “What a child learns about violence, a child learns for life. So, teach carefully.”

Having said this about violence, it seems that our society also takes great pleasure in ‘roasting’ people. This popular act of ‘roasting ’someone, in mainstream media at least, is to publicly humiliate a person in such a way that it appears funny. Roasts are meant as comedic yet insensitive jokes towards a person. I have a friend who has suffered from Alopecia, the same condition as Will Smith’s wife, her entire life, and who carries the scars of many insensitive and cruel remarks made about her condition. There is a new form of cyberbullying out there called ‘Roasting’, which experts are warning parents about and it is fast becoming very popular with teens and children. Under the hashtag #roastme, the trend involves people uploading videos or photos of themselves on social media and asking to be roasted. On platforms like Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, complete strangers are posting nasty and hurtful attacks.

A few years ago, I had a Grade 6 girl who was very upset, as she was the target of some ‘roasting’. Remarks were being made to her about her second-hand blazer, which was slightly too small for her, the car her mom drove, and the state of her takkies. Each time something was said by one of the girls, they would end off with, “Just joking, roasting you.” When I spoke to the girls responsible for making unkind remarks one became quite defensive and stated that everything that they were saying was true, and that the truth sometimes hurts. Exactly…the truth does hurt, and that is the point. Our words can be like daggers which wound and scar. When I explained to this group of girls the circumstances in which this Grade 6 girl was in, they were upset and quickly apologised. They had not known she had lost her father; they did not know that her mom was sickly and could hardly bring in an income. They did not know that putting food on the table was a struggle. This is why as parents and educators, it is so important to teach our children that before judging another person, you must understand their experiences and challenges. I once saw a beautiful quote in a book. It read “Do not judge. You don’t know what storm I have asked her to walk through.” – God

To create a peaceful world for our families, we must learn to practice nonviolence with one another in our day-to-day interactions. Ghandi taught, “Nonviolence is based on the assumption that human nature…unfailingly responds to the advances of love.” Let us show respect and love for ourselves and others by choosing not to use profanity, roasting others, gossiping, or putting people down. Let us focus on appreciation for our differences, tolerance and understanding. We need to be aware of the motivation behind our actions, the intention behind our words, and the needs of others. In this hectic world of ours, where we are facing so many challenges, we all need to listen to the words of Saint Mother Teresa when she said, “We do not need guns and bombs to bring peace, we need love and compassion.”

From the Message of Pope Francis for the celebration of the Fiftieth World Day of Peace: “Christ’s message in this regard offers a radically positive approach. He unfailingly preached God’s unconditional love, which welcomes and forgives. He taught his disciples to love their enemies (Matthew 5:44) and to turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:39). When he stopped her accusers from stoning the woman (John 8:1-11), and when, on the night before he died, he told Peter to put away his sword (Matthew 26:52), Jesus marked out the path of nonviolence.”

Prayer for Peace and Nonviolence

God of peace, be with us now as we repent of our violence and hear Your word of peace. Help us to become your holy people, that we might follow Jesus, love one another, love our enemies, reconcile with everyone, resist injustice, and pursue a new world without war, poverty, global warming or violence in our homes and schools. Amen

Mrs Bondonno

CONDOLENCES

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Abaidoo family (Bryanna Gr 10 and Jonel Gr 3) who have lost a very close family member.

PRIMARY SCHOOL

FROM THE PRINCIPAL'S DESK

First Term reports will be e-mailed on Wednesday 13 April 2022. These reports are Progress Reports to let parents know how their girls are progressing at school.

GRADE 3

The Grades 3s learnt about measurement. They learnt that life is so much easier when we know how to measure things, such as time, weight, height, temperature, length, and speed. The girls enjoyed measuring different items in and out the classroom.

Ms Faúlha

GRADE 4

In Grade 4 we have been learning about animal structures, habitats and survival. We each created a ‘crazy creature.’ A detailed report was written describing the creature, rating its chances of survival and motivating our answers.

Mrs de Rijk

GRADE 5 CREATIVE ARTS

The Grade 5 girls created unique multimedia sunflowers inspired by Vincent van Gogh.

Mrs Swanepoel

GRADE 4 - 7 ART CLUB

The girls studied the works of Norwegian artist, Edvard Munch. Using chalk pastels they recreated the composition called “The Scream”.

Mrs Swanepoel

GRADE 4 - 7 ART CLUB

The girls learned about the French artist, Marc Chagall. He was an early modernist and associated with several major artistic styles including painting, drawings, book illustrations, stained glass, stage sets, ceramics, tapestries, and fine art prints. Marc Chagall composed his images based on emotional and poetic associations, rather than on rules of pictorial logic. The girls created unique watercolour resist pieces using salt, oil pastels, and watercolours. They were very proud of their beautiful children’s book illustrations.

Mrs Swanepoel

MARKETING

We have Assumption Convent School signs for vehicles similar to the ‘baby on board’ suction advert, we would be most grateful if you would support your school by placing one in your vehicle.
These are available free of charge from reception.

Thank you

Marketing Department

PRIMARY SCHOOL EXTRA-MURALS

UPCOMING FIXTURES

Ms Tennant

BABY STEPS 2 ASSUMPTION

A busy and fun packed week was had – we had our “out of this world” dress up – a HUGE thank you to all our parents. The most incredible outfits were made, spaceships, rockets and astronauts we had them all.
We even had our very own “Alien”.
Our kiddies enjoyed a fun filled day of various activities.

A few of our Gr R girls were invited by their friends in Gr 1 to spend a few hours in “BIG” school. They had an absolute ball and had so much to tell of their fun experience.

With Easter around the corner, our kiddies are very busy with our Easter preparations and creative art activities.

1 April Happy 7th Birthday Baby Steps
12 April Real Bunnies to visit the kiddies – touch and feel
13 April “Easter Bunny” visit and Easter Egg Hunt
15-18 April Easter long weekend (we closed)
21 April 100 days of school – kids to dress up as grannies and grandpas

MOYHER'S DAY TEA PARTY

Calling all the ladies. Please book your seats for a not to be missed Mother’s Day event. Letters have gone out and all information is on our Prosum school app. Tickets are on sale, please speak to Chantal to book your seats. Celebrity guest, stalls, prizes up for grabs and more. Regretfully NO men or children allowed – this is a morning for the ladies only.

OUR WEEK AHEAD

Theme: Easter

Letter: Qq

Colour: Orange

Shape : Oval

Please ensure your children are at school by 8am sharp as learning starts taking place. It can be disruptive to the class if children arrive late and they also miss out on crucial learning. Thank you for your understanding in this regard.
If your child is sick, has a fever or a runny nose and cough please do all possible to keep them at home until they are will so we don’t spread germs. With COVID we can’t be too careful and need to take extra precaution. Thank you for your patience and understanding in this regard.
All meals and snacks are provided by the school, please do not send in any food unless arranged with Chantal – due to severe allergies etc,
Please do all possible to not send your children to school with toys from home. This can cause conflict amongst the children and we unfortunately can not be held liable if the toy is lost or broken.
Please make sure you log onto our school app. – PROSUM – babysteps2assumption (one word) should you8 need any assistance please contact Chantal.
This app will help keep you updated and connected with all the happening of the school and important dates to remember. You will also be able to view our daily photos.
Kindly note school fees are due on or before the 1st of every month. For prompt allocation, please forward POP to bs2assumption@outlook.com

Kind Regards