WEEKLY LEAFLET 19
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In this leaflet, we look ahead to our upcoming St John’s Festival, a cherished celebration of light, courage, and community.
You will also find an editorial from Prudence Mathebula about her journey as a teacher, a glimpse into the Kindergarten’s seasonal soup making and how birthdays are celebrated in Playgroup, a heartfelt reflection from a Class 4 parent on last week’s class play, and highlights from the recent Class 12 Biology outing along side a message from the School Coordinator, news from the Library, and Governance Dispatch #5. Also a reminder that lost property will be on display in the foyer, an opportunity for misplaced items to find their way home.
We are also delighted to share that several of our senior students are fundraising to attend the International Youth Conference in Cologne in May 2027, including Grace and Gabriel Leedenberg, Marcel Davis Fernandez, Cilla Rijsdijk, and Ara van Breda, with more participants to be confirmed in the coming weeks.
Please note that there will be no school on Monday and Tuesday next week. We wish all our families a restful long weekend and look forward to welcoming everyone back thereafter.
We hope you enjoy this week’s collection of stories and reflections from around the school.
Kyle Snapper
Marketing
Below is an overview of the meetings, events, and activities happening around the school next week. (click on events to learn more)
15 June
School Holiday
All day
A day off from school before Youth Day.
16 June
Youth Day
All day
An annual public holiday observed on June 16. It commemorates the historic 1976 Soweto Uprising, where thousands of students protested against the oppressive Bantu Education system and the enforced use of Afrikaans in schools.
17 June
HS Federation Teacher Training
5:00pm to 6:00pm
Online presentation for all high school teachers.
Trustee Meeting
6:00pm to 9:30pm
A meeting of the Trustees, taking place in the upstairs meeting room.
18 June
There is nothing scheduled on this day...
19 June
Market Day
11:30am to 2:00pm
Our weekly market takes place every Friday at the school entrance.
20 June
Craft Day
10:00am to 2:00pm
An opportunity to connect, get creative, and build a sense of community in the small hall.
21 June
There is nothing scheduled on this day...
Mark your calendars and keep an eye out for what’s coming up at Michael Oak.
Craft Day
20 June
St John's
25 June, 5:30pm
Family Fair
31 October
by Prudence Mathebula
There was a time when I believed that being a good teacher meant becoming smaller — quieter, more agreeable, less noticeable. I thought professionalism meant softening my opinions, questioning my instincts, and constantly trying to fit into spaces that did not always feel made for me.
As a young black woman in Mathematics education, finding my voice has been both a personal and professional journey. There are unspoken expectations that often come with occupying certain spaces — expectations about how you should speak, how confident you should sound, how you should carry yourself, and whether you are “experienced enough” to be trusted.
At times, I became deeply aware of my accent, my language, and the pressure to speak “perfect” English in order to be seen as competent or professional. There were moments when people assumed I was Xhosa-speaking simply because of the way I sounded or looked, and while assumptions may seem small to some, they can leave you feeling unseen or reduced to stereotypes. There were also moments when I was mimicked, interrupted, or made to feel as though my ideas needed extra justification before they could be taken seriously. There were moments where my decision-making was questioned in ways that made me doubt myself.
These experiences can quietly make a person shrink.
But teaching has a way of revealing who you are.
Standing in front of learners each day taught me that children do not only learn from what we say — they learn from how we carry ourselves through discomfort, how we respond to challenges, and whether we continue showing up authentically even when it feels difficult. Over time, I began to realise that my voice mattered not because it sounded perfect, but because it was sincere, thoughtful, and grounded in care for my learners.
Finding my voice did not happen suddenly. It came through experience, difficult conversations, mistakes, and slowly learning to trust my own professional judgment. It came through understanding that I do not need to erase parts of myself in order to belong.
I hope that young people, especially those who feel different, unseen, or uncertain of themselves, learn that they do not have to wait to be fully comfortable before using their voice. Growth often happens in uncomfortable spaces. Courage is not the absence of fear or doubt, but the decision to continue despite it.
Perhaps finding your voice is not about becoming the loudest person in the room. Perhaps it is about refusing to disappear within it.
Prudence Mathebula
Mathematics Teacher
Dear Parents and Friends
In the world and in our own lives, we may experience times when the days are short and the shadows are long. Here in the Southern Hemisphere, midwinter brings just such a time. Our St John’s Festival offers us the opportunity to gather as a community as our children become lantern-bearers, carrying warmth and light for one another, inspiring us all to kindle and celebrate the warmth, courage and inner light we each carry within ourselves, even in the coldest and darkest season of the year.
You are warmly invited to join us for an evening of songs, poems, a story and, of course, a lantern walk. Together we will celebrate the warmth of our inner light and share it with those around us.
Following the lantern walk, we will gather for soup and rolls. Our heartfelt thanks go to the class links and parent volunteers who are helping to organise this shared meal and make the evening possible.
We look forward to celebrating this special festival with you.
Thursday 25th June 2026
Birthdays hold a special place in Early Childhood, offering a meaningful opportunity to celebrate each child individually. Through simple rituals, story, and celebration, the child is warmly recognised by their teachers, classmates, and family.
In our Playgroup, the birthday child is accompanied by two birthday helpers who assist them throughout the day. Each child in the class offers a small gift from Mother Earth, creating a beautiful expression of care and community.
A highlight of the celebration is the custom birthday story, lovingly woven from memories and details shared by the parents. Families are invited to join as the story is told, allowing the child’s life journey to be honoured in a way that is both personal and meaningful.
Soup is such an archetypal winter food, and one that the children can joyfully join in the preparation of. They washed the vegetables carefully and diligently chopped them into chunks and slices. They each had a turn to stir the big pot.
I had told them the Stone Soup story the day before, and they all watched with fascination when l plopped a little round pebble into the pot.
Some parents were skeptical that their children would eat soup, but most of the children had two or three helpings of our delicious vegetable soup.
The evening of Thursday the 4th of June 2026 will forever echo through the halls of Valhalla.
Not because a great battle was fought – although one could argue the build-up and preparation could be described as a series of battles – or because of any great tragedy. Nay my friends, the evening will be remembered as the time a group of exceptional Viking warriors came together to perform a Great Production that brought glory and honour to Class 4!
The culmination of their Norse Mythology main lesson, the play was divided into three separate stories relating to the tales and customs associated with the subject. These stories were At the foot of yggdrasil tree, Iduna’s apples and The theft of Thor’s hammer.
The children dove into the process and took the assignment seriously, with many of them relishing in the opportunity to deliver grandiose speeches, humorous quips and mischievous actions that had the audience enthralled. The gorgeous and detailed costuming work helped immerse the children into their characters, and the results were enough to put a smile on the face of the Allfather himself. They should all be immensely proud of themselves.
It certainly bodes well for the Shakespeare play in a few years.
A grand communal banquet allowed for feasting and toasting to take place amid the entertainment. And what a true Norse banquet it was! The honey mead flowed like water, and the poor roast chickens never stood a chance against all the hungry patrons, which were soon ripped apart and devoured (along with the potatoes and vegetables, of course).
A big thank you to Mrs. Snapper for all of her efforts in coordinating this monumental production, and to the dedicated parents, siblings and helpers who put so much time, care and love into creating costumes, preparing food, and helping to decorate and set up.
May all of our shields never splinter and our swords never shatter!
Mike Joseph
Class 4 parent
Last week the Class 12’s, along with myself and Coach Caleb, went by train to explore the Dalebrooke intertidal zone as part of our Zoology main lesson. This main lesson follows the evolution of the animals from simple unicellular through to the complex vertebrates. The spring low tide offered the opportunity to see some of the important invertebrates, as well as a few fishy vertebrates, that we had been discussing. We had some exciting moments on our arrival with the wonderful sightings of both a giant octopus, who put on a spectacular show of movement and changing colours, as well as a baby cuttlefish and the weather, which all the weather apps said would be cloudy and rainy, turned into blue skies and sunshine.
Lee Smit-Gardner
Biology Teacher
Michael Oak is registered with UMALUSI, the national quality assurance body for general and further education in South Africa, as an accredited independent school and matric examination centre. This accreditation means that the matric certificates our Class 13 learners receive carry the same national standing as those issued by any other accredited school in the country.
As part of UMALUSI’s routine quality assurance cycle, the school received a site visit from their assessors in April this year. This is a normal part of maintaining accreditation, not a response to any concern. The visit involved a review of our facilities, administrative systems, and examination readiness. We are satisfied that the school met the required standards, and we await the formal written report, which is expected in August. This report will in no way affect our standing as a Matric Centre.
We take our responsibilities in this area seriously. The integrity of our learners’ qualifications matters to us, and we engage with the accreditation process with the same care we bring to everything else at Michael Oak.
Beulah Tertiens-Reeler
Acting School Coordinator
Dear school community,
It has been a while since my last communication and so much is happening at the school on so many levels. But there is a real sense that things are shifting. The Renewal process has helped to surface so many positives, as well as areas we need to reevaluate, strengthen, and possibly let go of. As this week’s Governance Dispatch #5 reminds us, schools are living organisms. We need clarity, we hold differing opinions, but we are all here for the children and the community we strive to build and strengthen.
As I have been pondering this, and thinking about why we are drawn to Michael Oak, one word has kept coming up in conversations, presentations, and reports. The word magic, or magical. And it is not used in the Hogwarts sense. It is something else. A feeling, a sense that deeper work is at play. Something we can’t always put our finger on, but we all feel.
Not every day, but often.
We feel it in the way the children play and are free. In the nooks and spaces of the school. In the ever-evolving Class 3 vegetable garden. In the organic, child-loved kindergarten playground. In the smell of Prussian blue paint and wet-on-wet watercolour creations, the dynamic form drawing displayed on classroom walls, the children skipping in eurythmy, or marching in a line through the admin building led by their teacher, playing ‘Rise Up Oh Flame’ on their recorders in preparation for the St John’s Festival.
This word ‘magic’ was spoken by teacher Caleb at the school’s 64th birthday assembly, when he described how as a reluctant little boy he was brought to Michael Oak, and how very soon the magic of the place filled him and he grew strong and confident and stayed. Now he’s back, teaching in the High School and on the sports ground.
It was also spoken by our High School intern Tyron, also a former pupil, who came back remembering the magic of the spaces, the High School gate he had wished to enter for so many years, the teachers who shaped him. It has been spoken about the recent Class 4 Norse play and the Valhalla feast, the feeling in the library, and soon … in term 3 we will be transported by the magic of the Class 9 Shakespeare play – A Midsummer Night’s Dream…
Magic is not accidental. It is made by the people who tend this place every day: the teachers, support and maintenance staff, admin team, parent volunteers, coaches, therapists, Board of Trustees, College of Teachers, and all the forums and committees who give their time quietly and without fuss. And by the children, who make it the most magical place of all with their laughter, questions, creativity, and joy.
We are a living organism. Perfectly imperfect, but wonderfully magical.
Thank you.
Beulah Tertiens-Reeler
School Coordinator
Thank you so much for returning the outstanding library books during the book amnesty week. Please continue to return library books by bringing them directly to the library, not to reception.
Thank you so much for your generous donations of books to the library. Any new donations can be dropped at Genevieve’s office.
The library volunteers
Michael Oak Waldorf School is seeking an Aftercare Assistant / Facilitator to join our small and vibrant school community as soon as possible.
This part time position is suited to a caring, enthusiastic, and self motivated individual who enjoys working with primary school children and is interested in supporting their growth and development within a Waldorf educational setting.
Key requirements include:
• Experience working with children, preferably in a primary school aftercare environment
• Relevant First Aid qualification
• A creative and engaging approach to working with children
• Ability to work with children across a range of ages (6 to 12 years)
• Understanding of, or willingness to learn about, the Waldorf approach to child development
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work collaboratively within a dynamic school community
• Ability to work independently and take initiative
• Availability to work daily from 12h00 to 15h30, with occasional flexibility to substitute until 17h30
Preferred: Previous experience in a Waldorf school setting.
Closing date: 15 June 2026
The swing raffle from the fair is still underway, with entries at R50 each. You can secure your number with Zelda in Playgroup, either with cash or via SnapScan. A winner will be drawn as soon as all 100 numbers have been taken, so don’t miss your chance to be the lucky recipient of this wonderful prize!
The swing was generously donated by a family, but it’s too big to fit in the Kindergarten, so we’re raffling it off to raise funds for a smaller swing that will be just right for the children to enjoy safely.
We are constantly striving to make the Leaflet a more vibrant and meaningful way for our community to connect, share, and celebrate the life of our school. Your thoughts, stories, and contributions help us shape each edition, ensuring it reflects the creativity, warmth, and spirit of everyone involved. Whether you have feedback to share or an article to submit, your voice is an important part of making the Leaflet a true reflection of our community.
We Wish You A Wonderful Week Ahead!!
Our beautiful wooden cottage will be available to rent from 1st October.
It has 2 bedrooms, a mezzanine with a double bed, 2 bathrooms, secure parking for 1 car, lovely fynbos garden, and stunning views of False Bay.
R18,500/month.
If interested, please contact Rita on 0766825574 or Whatsapp 003519 1172 3669
Creative extramural art classes return for the third term, offering children the opportunity to explore a wide range of artistic techniques and media in a supportive, inspiring environment. With projects including mixed media, painting, sculpture, and nature inspired artworks, these classes nurture creativity, confidence, and a love of artistic expression.
Contact Sue: 021‑794‑6609 | WhatsApp 083‑237‑7242 | sue.nepgen@gmail.com.
Help your teen approach exam season with greater calm and confidence. This 10 day WhatsApp programme shares simple, practical breathing techniques to reduce stress, improve focus, and support wellbeing before and during exams.
Join a day of community, connection, and family fun at the Christian Community Family Fair. Enjoy a welcoming atmosphere with activities, entertainment, food, and opportunities to gather with friends and neighbours. All are welcome.
A gentle invitation to reconnect with yourself. Join this four day women’s retreat exploring Ayurveda, embodiment and women’s wisdom through a nurturing and restorative experience. No previous experience is needed, and all are welcome.
Constantia Waldorf School is seeking a qualified and passionate Class 1 Teacher to join their team from January 2027. Applications are open to experienced Waldorf trained primary school teachers who are committed to nurturing children and building a strong class community. Applications close on 14 August 2026.
Imhoff Waldorf School is seeking a qualified Primary School Afrikaans Teacher for Grades 1 to 7, starting in Term 4, 2026. Applications close on 10 August 2026.
What does a condiment wizard perform?
Saucery.
