Lead
Student leadership
Leadership is an important pillar at the Girls’ College. We believe strongly in the holistic development of each young woman. There are a number of opportunities for our young people to find their passion through our diverse sporting, cultural and club programme. Through multiple opportunities to learn and serve, our students have the opportunity to refine their leadership skills, resulting in various leadership roles and responsiblities in their Grade 11 and 12 years.
LEADERSHIP COMMITTEES
Students from Grades 9 to 12 choose to serve on a committee in which they are interested. In Grade 11, students shadow the Matric leaders and take over the reins when the Matrics prepare for their final examinations in Term 3. The following committees are active at present: Houses, Spiritual, Round Square, Sport, Cultural, Transformation, Service and Jabulani.
Meetings are held fortnightly with the whole committee and these meetings are led by the Matric students in the committee. Matric students meet in preparation for these bigger meetings under the guidance of their respective teacher facilitators.
STUDENT LEADERSHIP COUNCIL (SLC)
Students are elected by peer vote and a rigorous interview and selection process to stand as chairpersons of the Vertical Leadership Committees described above. They then make up the Leadership Council and are responsible for the smooth running of the school from a student perspective. The Head Girl chairs this meeting and is supported by the Leadership Director.
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL (SRC)
These students are elected by their peers. There are two representatives per grade on this committee which is also chaired by the Head Girls.
CAPTAINS & CULTURAL LEADERS
Our students also have opportunity to serve in the areas in which they are gifted and are elected by their teammates to be the captains of the sports teams, or leaders of cultural groups such as the choir and orchestra.
TUTOR GROUP LEADERS
Matric students assist the Tutor Teachers in leading the tutor groups.
HONOUR COUNCIL
The Honour Council is a committee of teachers and students across the grades who are passionate about discipline at Girls’ College. They serve as the discipline ambassadors and deal with categories of misconduct linked to late-coming, missing school activities, uniform infringements and irresponsible cell phone use. Students who are found to be in violation of one of the categories above are required to appear before Honour Council.
ROUND SQUARE
St Stithians Girls’ College joined the Round Square Organisation in 1998. Round Square is an internationally diverse network of 200 like-minded schools in 50 countries on six continents. They connect and collaborate to offer world-class programmes and experiences that develop global competence, character and confidence in our students.
Round Square schools are characterised by a shared belief in an approach to education built around six pillars, the IDEALS – International Understanding, Democracy, Environmental Stewardship, Adventure, Leadership and Service, drawn from the theories of educationalist Kurt Hahn.
The Round Square IDEALS are underpinned by 12 Discoveries that students explore on their learning journey: inquisitiveness, tenacity, courage, compassion, inventiveness, ability to solve problems, self-awareness, sense of responsibility, appreciation of diversity, commitment to sustainability, communication and team-working skills. The Discoveries, now an integral part of the Round Square Discovery Framework, capture and describe the attitudes, attributes, skills and values developed and explored by students as they engage with the Round Square IDEALS.
St Stithians Girls’ College has embedded the ethos of Round Square throughout all aspects of school life as a part of our mission and strategy. The Round Square Discovery Framework is integrated into lesson planning, pastoral care, used to create curricula for extracurricular activities, and form the structure for a wide variety of reflection and non-formal assessment activities.
Students are encouraged to experience and discover these 12 route-markers on their Round Square learning journey at St Stithians Girls’ College.
Ultimately we want our students to understand that whatever field of work or career they enter into, with a spirit of the Round Square IDEALS they can – and should – make a positive difference in the world as global citizens and leaders in their own right.
ROUND SQUARE OPPORTUNITIES
All St Stithians staff and students become members of Round Square on joining the Girls’ College. Round Square is a not-for-profit membership network, registered as a charity in the UK and governed by a Board under the Presidency of His Majesty King Constantine. Through our membership of Round Square, we offer our students numerous opportunities to connect with students across the world through various opportunities such as global youth conference, international service projects and importantly exchanges. Our school exchange programme is on offer in Grade 10, with up to 20 students each year qualifying to participate in a global exchange. Exchanges can be anything from 3 weeks in duration to a full school term. We have exchange partner schools across the world.
More information is available on the Round Square website at www.roundsquare.org
KAMOKA BUSH SCHOOL
Kamoka Bush School is an outdoor education facility that was established by St Stithians College in 2010. The camp forms part of a 3,000-hectare game farm in the Waterberg. It is off grid and runs on solar energy. The building materials used for the camp construction were locally sourced, and the aesthetic blends naturally into the surrounding countryside. The philosophy of outdoor education underpins the Grade 9 Kamoka Experience, which is a significant distinguishing feature of St Stithians College education. This programme plays a significant role in growing and shaping our young women into responsible, ethical and sustainably minded leaders.
At Kamoka Bush School, experiential learning and engaging with nature are tools we use to expose our girls to themselves and their world, beyond the four walls of the traditional classroom. The camp provides a unique opportunity for students to practise and promote respect, resilience, self-motivation, self-discipline, determination, stewardship, service and responsibility.
Please consult the Kamoka Bush School Website Page for further information.
SPORT
PHILOSOPHY
Sport in the Girls College is compulsory. All students are required to play a summer and a winter sport. There are a number of codes to choose from, with all of them being offered at a competitive level. Our philosophy can best be described in the words “Excellence is in the detail”. By taking care of the small things, the big things naturally take care of themselves. We do not believe in chasing results but rather focus on participation, commitment and enjoyment, which inevitably leads to great results. We believe in consistency, credibility and excellence in behaviour, sportsmanship and commitment. We focus on the student and aim to produce athletes who will go on to excel after school, continue to play sport and live an active lifestyle long after their high school days are over.
SPORTS OFFERED
- Term 1A Sport (January to mid-March)
Swimming, Basketball, Diving, Water Polo, Rowing, Tennis, Squash, Equestrian & Mountain Biking
- Term 1B and Term 2 Sport (mid-March to July)
Hockey, Netball, Cross Country, Equestrian, Football, & Mountain Biking
- Term 3 Sport (September to November)
Athletics, Swimming, Diving, Water Polo, Rowing, Tennis, Squash, Equestrian, Mountain Biking & Basketball
OFF-SEASON TRAINING
This is offered during the off-season for certain sports but does not take the place of that term’s other sporting commitments (it is offered in addition to the term’s sports).
Interhouse Sporting Activities
The following activities are offered at an interhouse level: Cross Country, Diving, Football, Hockey, Netball, Rowing (ergo), Squash, Swimming, Tennis and Water Polo.
TOURS
Our philosophy with regard to merit tours is that we include our younger age groups on tour and not just first teams. This approach has been extremely beneficial for the development of teams. Fundraising is permitted for merit teams (those who have been chosen to go on tour).
VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS
OUR PHILOSOPHY
With creativity in the top three attributes that experts predict will be required in the workplace of the future, we consider it imperative for our students to participate in some sort of cultural activity. We believe that the true purpose of arts education is not necessarily to create professional actors, dancers, musicians or artists; it is to create more complete human beings who are critical thinkers, who can empathise, who have curious minds and who lead productive and purpose-driven lives.
ACTIVITIES OFFERED
Drama
Drama Club
This is a wonderful club for junior phase students who enjoy drama and wish to develop their performance skills.
Performance Opportunities
For our juniors, we stage the Roots Showcase, while our seniors can write, direct, produce or act in our Senior One Act Play (SOAP) Festival. We have an annual College Production and participate in the national Festival of Excellence in Dramatic Arts (FEDA Festival). We host the Johannesburg interschool’s Phyzz Fest for physical theatre and hold a number of showcases and events during the course of the year. We enter our senior phase students into many eisteddfods and festivals including the National Eisteddfod of South Africa.
Theatre Club
Senior phase drama students belong to the Theatre Club, which arranges outings to see professional productions and attend workshops with top South African theatre practitioners.
Music
Instrumental
Our cross-campus College Orchestra is called Sancta Symphonia. In addition, we have a number of music ensembles: our Marimba Band and Djembe Band.
Music Theory Academy
We recommend that those students who wish to advance their understanding of the rudiments and elements of music join the academy.
Performance Opportunities
Throughout the course of the year, there are many events, festivals and competitions in which our musicians can participate. These include: The Valentine’s Concert, the Girls’ College Choir Festival, the Interschool’s Orchestra Festival, Choir is Alive, Founders’ Day, Night of the Stars, Dukes' Concert and the Girls’ College Music Eisteddfod.
Voice
We encourage students who enjoy singing to audition for one of our Girls’ College vocal ensembles. Our singers may also take voice lessons.
Visual Arts
(I.C.E.) Art Club
The I.C.E. (Inquire/Create/Exhibit) Art Club provides all students, regardless of whether they consider themselves as artists, with the space and time to be creative. The club is student-driven, and Grade 12 leaders are given the opportunity to host techniques-based lessons for more inexperienced students as well as a number of other exciting activities – in the past we have painted the College marimbas, decorated beehives for International Bee Day, entered drawing competitions, and painted murals on campus. Our latest initiative is the commencement of the annual pottery and ceramics course.
Exhibition Opportunities
Each year we curate a digital exhibition of our Grade 8–11 student artworks. This is widely accessible to our immediate and extended community. We also host a Grade 12 exhibition onsite, where we celebrate their examination artwork. Throughout the year we enter our senior phase students into a number of national and/or international competitions.
Excursions
Throughout the year we visit a number of local exhibitions at South Africa’s top galleries, such as the Standard Bank and Everard Read galleries. We also regularly host artists in the classroom and collaborate alongside professional artists in-studio – our annual excursion to the Artist’s Proof Studio in Houghton is extremely popular!
CLUBS AND SOCIETIES
AV Tech
Students who are interested in mastering the technical elements of theatre making – lights, sound and backstage – are given the opportunity to join the “Sound and Lighting Team” (SALT) and “Sets and Props for Your Show” (SPYS) crew.
Chess Club
This is a club of interested students who compete in matches and enjoy playing the game.
DanceSports
One of our newest clubs in which students have gone on to represent us in Cape Town at the National finals.
Movie Makers Club
This club is run in conjunction with the Boys’ College and all students interested in film making are welcome.
Photography Club
Photography training is provided by an expert so that the members of this club can record school life and events through the lens.
Robotics
This club is a synergy club with the Boys’ College. It combines the fields of engineering and computer science and is a growing club promoting STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
Saints Striders
A running / walking club on our beautiful campus. This is a very popular club that run the Saints ring road during the week and enter road running and Park Run events on weekends.
