As another sunny winter weekend lies ahead of us, we realise how fortunate we are to live in Durban on the warm east coast of South Africa. Despite the last few turbulent months, with a restricted lifestyle, Durban families have been enjoying more family time outdoors than ever before. Fresh air, sunshine and exercise is the panacea and we are blessed to have all of this by living so close to the sea.

The warmth and generosity of the College Commu-nity is inspirational! We were so impressed with the incredible contribution made last week towards our Community Engagement Committee’s two projects, Singakwenza and Bhambayi. Thank you to each and every one of you for enriching our community with your time and commitment to these two very worth-while and ongoing projects.

Earlier this year, College House was refurbished and this beautiful ‘home away from home’ is lookingfabulous. Mrs Lesley Small recently introduced healthy Poke Bowls to the lunch menu. Yesterday's bowl was delicious and included barley, fresh salad and feta cheese. College House offers weekly board-ing from Grade 7 but is also available to our girls on a temporary basis. Boarding is beneficial during exam times, with the 'structured' environment and less travel time to and from school. If you would like to know more about College House, please contact me.

We are delighted to announce that our printedGalleon Yearbooks for 2019 have arrived. This273-page labour of love is a record of a year in the life of our school and imparts incredible feelings of joy, accomplishment and togetherness. We give thanks to all the staff members who contributed and made this yearbook so special. The yearbooks willbe distributed next week.

The #MyFuture programme focuses on assisting Matric learners who have the potential to succeed, and whose futures are now in jeopardy due to the impact of COVID-19. The DGC Foundation encourag-es our High School girls to join a LIVE interview with Springbok Captain, Siya Kolisi, on Saturday 25 July at 09h00. To register: Listen to a South African hero being interviewed by two future leaders! #MyFuture is a partnership between Durban-based organisations: iSchool Africa, Tomorrow's Leaders in Training and the President's Award.

Have a wonderful weekend; we hope you soak up some warm winter sun and breathe in the saltyocean air – it’s life-changing!

Kelley LitkieMarketing Manager

College Chatter Issue#98

From the Helm

College MomentHome Away from Home

The newly refurbished and comfortable lounge area of our boarding school,

College House.

Click here.

Page 2 24July2020

Junior PrimaryOutdoor activities

provide our girls with exercise, movement and

story time in the sun. These sessions have

become a favourite part of our Grade 00

& Rs' day!

Coach Wilma sanitises the bats and balls between

each session so our Grade 2 girls can enjoy their

PE lessons.

Our Grade 3 girls have enjoyed learning hockey skills on the Astro, this week, whilst

adhering to physical distance protocols.

Mrs Verster teaches our girls how to balance and fly in their move-

ment lessons.

Mrs Coull cast a spell on the JP screening team and turned them all into pirates. We

are going to make her walk the plank!

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Senior Primary

Outdoor Movement lesson with Miss

Peters.

Ella Edgley in Grade 4 (6 weeks old then), with her sister Mikayla (in

Matric now)!

Arya Parbhoo (Grade 5) decided to do something special for her birthday. On

Sunday, she made sandwiches and volun-teered to help at the Dennis Hurley Centre. What a kind and thoughtful gesture, Arya.

Grade 5 girls enjoying their isiZulu lesson outdoors.

Sienna Setzkorn (Grade 6)

competed in theESP Winter

Extravaganza at Shongweni Club.Sienna and her horse, SaratogaMy Fair Lady,

placed 2nd in the 20cm A2 Speed Round. So lovely

to be backin the arena!

Mrs Grunow'sassistant takes

a well-deserved break!

SP girls display the completed toys that they lovingly con-

structed for their 67 minutes. Well done, girls. The recipients

are going to be veryappreciative.

High School

Page 4 24July2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in schools closing and pupils learning online, our girls have not had a chance to showcase their sporting talent. Our first teams have worked hard

during pre-season training and we would like to give them recognition.

This year is a dif-ficult year for the Matrics of 2020, especially for the sportswomen; what are yourpersonal experi-ences andfeelings in this regard?

Are there any outstanding players in your team that you think the public missed out on seeing them play, this year?

What makes it special to play first team Hockey at College?

What were you looking forward to the most, this year? Who would have been your toughest oppositionand why?

Matric is already a challenging year, so when coupledwith uncertainty and doubt from a global pandemic, itcan be very overwhelming. Netball is a stimulating escape from reality for me so I have definitely felt the impact of not being able to play considering I haverepresented my school and KwaZulu-Natal from a young age. While I have continued training in my own capacity, it truly isn’t the same – not much can compare to thethrill of a netball match with your team.

There are so many outstanding players in both my netball and hockey team that the public missed out on seeing, this year.

In hockey, my respects go out to the Matrics as they’ve always been the most determined and hardworking. From BB bulldozing through the whole opposition team and never giving up, to Jenna S leading our team and passing the best passes to us forwards. Nicole H adds so much to the team, she does her job perfectly without having to be too showy, along with Gabi G tackling anyone that comes her way.

In netball, we only have one Matric in our team; Nika Govender is an inspiring player to watch and I have loved playing netball by her side for three years. She’s the most dedicated and hardworking player, and she won player of the match in our Action Netball finals at the beginning of the year.

There is this unique bond that you build with your teammates. I have been in the first team since Grade 9 and the bond that I have built with my team-mates is absolutely amazing. Even the girls who have left DGC still keep in touch because we formed a sisterhood. The bond that you create with your teammates does not just show off the field, but also on the field.

Our Lady of Fatima – they have an excellent range of players and are very competitive.

I was looking forward to playing in the action and outdoor league and, hopefully, win-ning both leagues.

Nika Govender - 1st Team Netball

Amanda Holmes - 1st Team Hockey & Netball

Bulelwa Mzimela - 1st Team Hockey

Erin Girodo1st Team Netball

Tanna de Freitas 1st Team Netball

Silalele - Remain Anonymous

Page 5 24July2020

Page 6 24July2020

Meet our Staff

From our Chaplain

‘You have known the Holy Scriptures ever since you were a little child. They are able to teach you how to be saved by believing in Christ Jesus. God has breathed life into all Scripture. It is useful for teaching us what is true. It is useful for correcting our mistakes. It is useful for making our lives whole again. It is useful for training us to do what is right. By using Scripture, the servant of God can be completely prepared to do every good thing.’ 2 Timothy 3:16-18

Michelle Edgcumbe

Tracy Richardson - High School English Teacher

“These wild times are testing my knowledge and trust of God’s word.” Renee Tan is an Australian writer. I wonder if you can relate to her sentiments here. With the term now properly underway and work piling up all around us, it’s easier to choose not to engage with any information that’s not absolute-ly necessary. And meditating on God’s word may well fall into that bracket. That would be a real shame because it’s in His consistent and clear word that we can find more comfort than we bargained for. Not because of the words themselves, but because of the One who breathed them out. This week, join me in trying to give a few minutes to reading your favourite Psalm or a passage you love. Sing to your soul, as David would say, and remind yourself who it is that stands behind those words. He is able. He is present.

As I drove into Durban Girls’ College two weeks ago, I was conflicted by mixed emotions. My previous excitement at being offered the post had slowly dissolved with the relentless challenges this year had already delivered. Yet, within a short space of time I encountered such warmth and kindness from the Grade 11 girls in my first lesson that I realised that I had, in fact, arrived at an oasis. For that, I am most grateful. I have lived most of my life in Kwa-Zulu Natal. It is here that I schooled, married and raised our children. My husband and I have two sons who are both in their twenties. I began my teaching career in the nineties – at a time when an overhead transparency was the most exciting visual aid in the classroom! I have been fortunate enough to have taught at some wonderful schools, single-sex and co-educational, in the government and private school space and I have benefitted from them all. I also ran my own company and briefly

worked in the corporate training environment. Although I enjoyed that short sojourn into corporate life, I soon realised that the academic world is where my passion lies, and my currency is the relationships I have with my pupils.

Paradoxically, I feel truly blessed to have changed jobs in the middle of a pandemic and to have been welcomed into the Durban Girls’ College family. I look forward to spending many happy years with you all.

Page 7 24July2020

ResultsENGLISH OLYMPIAD 2020Congratulations to three of our Matricswho have achieved outstanding results inthe English Olympiad.

Holly Munks placed 2nd overall andSamira Salduker scooped 3rd place.They each won a cash prize and ayear’s tuition at Rhodes University.

Gemma Erskine was placed 28th overalland qualifies for the tuition scholarshipat Rhodes.

Reading, Listening & WatchingMINDSET By Carol DweckMindset is an enquiry into the power of ourbeliefs, both conscious and unconscious,and how changing even the simplest of themcan have profound impact on nearly everyaspect of our lives.

One of the most basic beliefs we carry about ourselves, Dweck found in her research, has to do with how we view and inhab-it what we consider to be our personality. A “fixed mindset” assumes that our character, intelligence, and creative ability are static givens which we can’t change in any meaningful way, and success is the affirmation of that inherent intelligence, an assess-ment of how those givens measure up against an equally fixed standard; striving for success and avoiding failure at all costs be-come a way of maintaining the sense of being smart and skilled. A “growth mindset”, on the other hand, thrives on challenge and sees failure not as evidence of unintelligence but as a heartening springboard for growth and for stretching our existing abilities. Out of these two mindsets, which we manifest from a very early age, springs a great deal of our behaviour, our relationship with success and failure in both professional and personal contexts, and ultimately our capacity for happiness.

Maria Popova

Magic lies in challenging what seems impossible.- Carol Moseley Braun“

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