I read an article in this past Sunday`s newspaper that touched me

28 September 2012
FROM THE DEPUTY PRINCIPAL’S DESK
I read an article in this past Sunday’s
newspaper that touched me deeply. Some
of you might have heard about the five
San men in Namibia who saved an
Australian tourist from being burned in a
veld fire recently. Jane Bean was staying
in the Nhoma safari camp near Tsumkwe
and went on an excursion with the five
San men to observe how they track, hunt
and collect food. While they were out in
the field, they were caught in a veld fire.
The men tried to prevent the fire from
spreading by hastily creating a firebreak,
but with no success. Realising that they
were trapped, the men made a circle
around Jane, protecting her from the fire
with their bodies. They were surrounded
by the fire for about four minutes before
the wind changed direction and turned the
fire away from them. Four of the five men
had more than 70% third-degree burns
and three died days later in hospital. The
fourth man, Cgunta//Khao/khao, will be
transferred to the Milpark Hospital soon
where he will be receiving treatment for
his injuries. (This is the same hospital
where Pippie Kruger was treated recently.)
A number of people have made donations
to help with Cgunta//Khao/khao’s
treatment, among them Angelina Jolie and
Brad Pitt, who got involved with the San
community after a visit to Namibia some
time ago.
In a world where empathy sometimes
seems in short supply, incidents like the
one above stands out as proof that there
still is a lot of empathy in the world, as we
can see through instances where people
will put themselves out - even in mortal
danger – to be of help to another person,
in this case, someone they did not know at
all. Perhaps that is a test of empathy?
We all love and care for those who are
close to us and will generally act in an
empathic way towards them. But what
about those who we do not know and have
no relationship with? I wonder what I
would have done, had I been in the San
men’s position. Would I have put myself
in danger to save a person I hardly knew?
This reminds me of the story of a little boy
who asked his father whether it was
possible to know in advance if he would
stand up for what he believed in when the
time came. His father’s answer was that
it’s a little bit like riding on a bus: you
only need the ticket once you have to get
on the bus, meaning that we receive the
grace to deal with what we have to deal
with and to make the right choices, when
we need it, not necessarily well in
advance. So perhaps when we are
confronted with such a situation, we
might also act with courage and empathy.
Earlier this month, we commemorated the
11th anniversary of 9/11, about which
stories of heroism abound. Once again, it
was the ability of people to put themselves
in another’s shoes, which lead to actions
by the victims, survivors and helpers that
were characterised by courage, empathy
and compassion. While sympathy implies
that one acknowledges a person’s
hardship and provides comfort and
assurance, empathy has a more personal
element, acknowledging our shared
humanity and experiences.
A friend recently gave me a definition of
evil which she came across, and it
resonated strongly with me: Evil is the
absence of empathy. In a society where
we are confronted with evil on a daily
basis, the importance of this value is
constantly emphasised. Last Friday our
Grade 7 Girls attended a Sexuality
Workshop as part of their Life Orientation
Programme. One of the issues that was
raised by them when we discussed the
workshop afterwards was, “How can there
be people who produce drugs with the
express purpose for those drugs to be
used for date rape?” Again, the lack of
empathy, amongst other things, plays a
huge role in the answer to that question.
Although it is possible to teach empathy –
mostly through modelling it – today’s fastpaced and technology-driven culture has
led to more self-absorption and
narcissism, and consequently, less
empathy. As families and as a school, we
have a vital task in teaching our children
to act with empathy towards others. Part
of this is entering into conversation with
them about their own as well as others’
experiences, and sharing different
perspectives on what people might be
going through in their lives. Empathy is
so strongly believed to be a promoter of
civility and understanding that the
European Union is funding a three-year
project to build empathy in Irish children,
in hopes of a more stable future between
Northern and Southern Ireland. Our
children will be the ones who will set the
policies that will govern our country and
our world in years to come: Isn’t teaching
them to live a life of empathy one of our
most important tasks with regards to their
– and our – future?
Tania van Eeden
Deputy Principal
SCHOOL TERM AND SCHOOL TIMES
TERM 3:
Open:
Closes:
Tuesday, 11 September
Wednesday, 5 December
Heritage Day:
Monday, 24 September
Mid-term:
Close Thursday, 18 October
(Early closing times)
Re-open Tuesday,
23 October
School opening times: 7:40
School closing times:
Gr R:
Mon – Fri:
Gr 1 - 2:
Mon-Thurs:
Fri: 13:00
Gr 3:
Mon-Thurs:
Fri: 13:00
Gr 4 – 7:
Mon–Thurs:
Fri: 13:35
13:00
13:30
14:05
14:05
Early closing times:
Gr R – 3: 11:00
Gr 4 - 7: 11:30
DATES TO DIARISE:
Wed, 3 Oct: Inter House Cross Country
Fri, 5 Oct: Rosary Day Mass
School closes at:
Gr R – 3: 11:00
Gr 4 - 7: 11:30
Tue, 9 Oct: Inter House Athletics
Gr R 08:30 – 09:30
Gr 1-3 08:30 – 11:00
Gr 4-7 15:30 – 18:00
Wed, 10 Oct:
Gr 2K Mass 07:45
Thurs, 11 Oct:
First Holy Communion Mass
17:30
Fri, 12 Oct: Matric Farewell Assembly
07:45
PRAYERS
Mrs Chriss Ingram (High School Deputy
Principal) who is undergoing
chemotherapy.
Abbey Dunkerley (Gr 2C) whose Father is
recovering from surgery.
Mrs McKenzie (Gr 4 teacher) and mother
of Jamie (Gr 3L) and Erin (Gr 1L) who is
recovering from surgery.
CONDOLENCES
Amy Law (Gr 6L) and Jessica Law (Gr RL)
whose Great Gran passed away.
Caitlin Driver (Gr 3L) whose Uncle passed
away.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you
and your family.
STAFF MATTERS
We take leave of Mrs Natalie Meerholz at
the end of this school year. Mrs Meerholz
started at Holy Rosary School as a Zulu
teacher and has since taught various
subjects and grades and headed up our IT
department sharing her knowledge and
skills with both students and staff. Mrs
Meerholz has also been instrumental in
implementing several projects, such as,
Ewaste at the school which the students
have thoroughly enjoyed. We thank Mrs
Meerholz for all that she has done for Holy
Rosary School and wish her much
happiness and fulfillment in her
professional journey and future
endeavours.
RECEPTION YEAR NEWS
We were so proud of our girls at their
THRASS Assembly. Thank you for your
creative costumes.
,
We enjoyed our snake demonstration from
the Hunyani Snake Park. The girls found
the demonstration informative and they
were so brave.
Swimming: We will inform you when
swimming will start – after Sports Day.
We all enjoyed planting this morning. Our
garden looks colourful. Thank you to all
the girls for their help.
Please refer to the Sports Day letter.
GYMMASTERS There will be no
Gymmasters on Thursday, 4th and 18th
October as Dmitry will be at Nationals. He
will make up the lessons during the school
day.
Please note that the girls must come to
school in their full SUMMER uniform.
At this stage of the year we encourage the
girls to know their telephone number,
address and date of birth.
The girls had such a lovely time choosing
their plant, and the excitement on
Planting Day was palpable. They planted
their plant in their particular grade's
section. Their name was on their little icecream stick, which was stuck into the
ground next to their new plant. The pride
at making their section look so beautiful
was so rewarding to see.
Rosary Day: We will be closing at 11h00
on Friday, 5th October for Rosary Day.
Group 2 pottery will take place at 11h00.
RECYCLING NEWS
Recycling reportback:
We are grateful to our ground staff and
Jane, who prepared the beds and oversaw
the project, making sure that all the
plants were correctly planted. Thank you
to all the parents who allowed their girls to
purchase plants in order to beautify our
gardens.
Since launching our recycling project in
January we have collected 13 888 kg of
mixed recyclables and 3 573 kg of glass!
What a monumental amount! Think of all
the landfill space saved, and all the raw
materials conserved……Well done Holy
Rosary, and thank you!
Sadly, due to the holidays, our August
recyclable volume is looking a bit sad. I’m
hoping for accumulated recyclables and
that there will be a steady increase in our
volumes again.
It is so easy to recycle……..all you need is
a separate bag or bin at home for all your
recyclables: glass, tins, plastic and paper.
All we ask is that, if possible, you rinse
the items and separate the glass (for
safety reasons). Bring your bag to school
and dump it in one of the two stations
which are located at Shanahan Park and
St David Road gate, and we will do the
rest. You will be amazed at how much
you reduce your waste, AND you will be
doing your bit to save the planet. Join the
Green Movement and let’s increase our
collections.
Paula Oosthuizen
HOD: HS Geography
NEWS FROM THE ENVIRO COMMITTEE
Mrs Baart and I were so impressed with
the hard work that went into our Annual
Planting Day. The Environment
Committee girls were so professional and
ran our Holy Rosary Nursery with such
enthusiasm and competence. They gave
up their breaks and helped all the girls
pick out the perfect plant.
Mrs Kerry Pistorius
RELIGIOUS NEWS
THE FEAST OF THE ARCHANGELS
-
Tomorrow the Church celebrates the Feast
of the Archangels. The Longman
Dictionary defines an archangel as being
one of the most important angels in the
Jewish, Christian and Muslim religions.
The name angel comes from the Greek
word angelos, which means ‘messenger.’
Angels and archangels praise God in
Heaven. Archangels are signs of God’s
care and love and the Lord has entrusted
them with great wisdom, freedom and
power.
The Feast of the Archangels celebrates the
three archangels who were sent to deliver
wondrous messages or to defend goodness
against the forces of evil. These
archangels are Michael, Gabriel and
Raphael.
Michael means ‘Who is like God’? Michael
is regarded as the ‘captain’ of the angels.
He is the great protector and he is often
depicted in armour. Michael is renowned
for his fight against the fallen angel,
Lucifer. We pray that we shall always be
brave, like the Archangel Michael and
have the courage to stand up for the ideals
in which we believe.
NATIONAL BANDANA DAY
Gabriel means ‘Strength of God’. Gabriel
is the archangel who was chosen to impart
important messages from God. Gabriel
was the messenger who told Zechariah
that his wife, Elizabeth, would bear a
child, who would be John the Baptist.
This archangel was given the honour of
making the most momentous
announcement in the history of the world
when he announced to Mary that she had
been chosen to be the Mother of the Son of
God.
National Bandana Day, in aid of Cancer
awareness, is on 12 October. Girls may
wear the bandanas they bought at Pick
and Pay this year, to school on that day.
DEBS 2012
Congratulations to the Debs of 2012 for
raising R1 146 998,65.
QUEEN: Kirsten McCormack
R142 010,84
Raphael means ‘Healing of God’. Raphael
was the guide of a holy man called Tobias
in the Old Testament. Tobias later had
his sight restored through the intervention
of the Archangel Raphael.
1st PRINCESS: Kirsty-Lee Bird
R130 711,46
2nd PRINCESS: Gabriella Salgado
R115 455,85
ARCHANGEL PRAYER
Heavenly Father, you have given us
archangels to assist us during our
pilgrimage on earth. Saint Michael is our
protector. I ask him to come to my aid,
fight for all my loved ones, and protect us
from danger. Saint Gabriel is a messenger
of the Good News. I ask him to help me to
clearly hear your voice and to teach me
the truth. Saint Raphael is the healing
angel. I ask him to take my need for
healing and that of everyone I know, lift it
up to your throne of grace and deliver
back to us the gift of recovery. Help us O
Lord to realise more fully the reality of the
archangels and their desire to serve us.
Holy angels pray for us. Amen.
Mrs M. Fitzpatrick.
HOD: Religious Education.
We wish to congratulate Bontle Mametse
in Grade Three who was received into the
Catholic Church on 15 September 2012.
We pray that she will always walk closely
in the footsteps of Jesus.
Thank you for your support!
SPORTS NEWS
EQUESTRIAN NEWS
-
Congratulations to Tana Leigh Scott,
Daniella Ribeiro and Raine ScottAnderson for competing at the SANESA
Nationals held at Kyalami Equestrian Park
from the 22nd - 24th September 2012.
These girls competed against children
from Northern Cape, Eastern Cape,
Western Cape, Mpumalanga, Limpopo,
Free State, Kwazulu Natal and
Gauteng and did exceptionally well.
Tana Leigh Scott
Two Dressage tests
Performance Riding
Equitation
Daniella Ribeiro
Two Dressage tests
Performance Riding
Equitation
Working Riding
3rd & 4th
12th
1st
8th & 3rd
17th
Placed
28th
Raine Scott-Anderson
Showjumping Competition Class
Showjumping 2 Phase Class
10th
9th
The Equestrian Team has worked very
hard this year and this was the last of
their shows for the year. I would just like
to thank all the riders for their positive
and professional attitude, all the hard
work and long hours that they have put
into this sport. You have made us proud
with the way that you have conducted
yourselves at the shows and your
achievements speak volumes.
Well done to all, especially Holy Rosary
School, raising over R100 000, King
Edward School close behind with just over
R94 000 and then Dunvegan Primary and
Laerskool Oosterkruin close behind with
almost R90 000 each.
Thank you parents for your support!
ADVERTS
To the parents, a big thank you for your
unwavering support, your time and the
energy you have put in to allow the riders
to compete and get to the levels that they
have this year. We hope next year will be
even better.
KC ETHNIC DESIGNS CC T/A
KALAMAZOO INTERIORS
FOR YOUR COMFORT SPACE
151 Queen Street Kensington
CO-REG NO: 96/022853/23
VAT NO. 4750252878
Tel: 011 615 4555 / Fax:
086 629 8638
Cell: 083 229 9198
www.kalamazoointeriors.co.za
E-mail: [email protected]
Lastly, the Equestrian Team would like to
thank Ms. De Oliveira and the Staff for
allowing us to form this team and allowing
us to compete under the Holy Rosary
School banner.
If anyone is interested in joining the Team
please contact me on 082 560 9182.
Leigh-Anne Scott
Chef d'equipe
CLUB NEWS
Baking Club on Monday, 1 October will be
rescheduled as the Matrics will be using
the kitchen for exams.
Yoga on Tuesday, 9 October will be
rescheduled due to Inter House Athletics.
PA NEWS
The draw of the finalists was conducted in
the presence of auditors from Deloitte and
Touche. Unfortunately, Holy Rosary
participants were not amongst the 10
finalists, however, the school received the
Fury Motor Group Trophy for raising the
most amount of money for 2012.
According to our records there was almost
R1.2 million raised amongst all the
schools, clubs and community institutions
that took part.
-
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Restoration, Paint Technique on
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KEMPTON PARK KIDS FESTIVAL
Entertainment, fun games and various shows
will be available for children.
Various flea market and food stalls also
available.
Date: 20 OCTOBER 2012
Place: NG Kempton-Kruin, 30 Fiskaalstreet,
Glen Marias.
Time: 8:30 – 15:00. Entrance R25 per person.
All funds are in aid of the work that MES
Kempton Park is busy with in the inner city of
Kempton Park.
Our current projects include the following:
Overnight shelter
Trauma room
Feeding scheme
Food parcel project
Clothing bank
Outreach project
CPR TONER AND INK SOLUTIONS
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CALL CPR TONERS ON Tel 011 452 4096 /
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Our email [email protected]
Based in Edenvale free delivery for orders over
R1000
Free parcel postage for orders out of JHB area
Tutors @ Your Service:
Service We
come to you. All tutors
achieved distinctions in area of subject & are
reliable and highly recommended. Primary and
High School. All school subjects, including
homework supervision. Excellent results.
Contact Mandy 082 217 2077/ Theresa 083 453
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Contact Lilly Franks on 082 399 5706 or
011 024 4580 for further enquiries.
HELP FOR LEARNING DIFFICULTIES
• Balance, coordination and posture
• Reading and writing
• Visual perception
• Concentration and attention (ADD
• Inability to sit still (ADHD)
• Low muscle tone
• Anxiety
EMAIL: [email protected]
WEB: www.inpp.org.uk
TEL: Sherrian Kars (074)022 4571
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Please note: This newsletter may also be viewed
on our website: www.holyrosaryschool.co.za