St Mary's School, Waverley
- Boarding School
- Girls’ schools
- Religious schools
- Private
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Head of school
Deanne King (Head of School), Sarah Warner (Headmistress Junior School and Little Saints)
Contact person
Lorraine Davis
Telephone Number
011 531 1870
Email address
lorraine.davis@stmary.co.za
Website address
https://www.stmarysschool.co.za/schools/junior-school
Physical address
St Mary's School, Waverley , 55 Athol Street, P O Box 981, Highland North, 2037, Johannesburg, Waverley
Number of learners
1050
Average class size
25
Religious
St Mary’s is an Anglican school. As such, the chaplain is an Anglican priest within the Diocese of Johannesburg, and is part of staff, management and executive meetings. The Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Johannesburg appoints a representative to sit on the school Board.
The chapel is placed at the centre of the school. To paraphrase Sister Janet (1949): the chapel stands as a witness to all who come to know what we stand for here, and as a place that the girls looking back on their school days will never forget.
Once a week, girls attend a chapel assembly led by the chaplain, where various aspects of the Christian faith are presented. Holy Communion is celebrated three or four times a term. A highlight of the second term is the school’s Patronal Festival, celebrated in The Close with the entire school. Girls are encouraged to actively participate in worship, by reading, leading the prayers and as altar servers. Sisters of Christ Society (SOCS) offers an opportunity for girls to explore and grow in their relationship with God.
In the St Mary’s Junior School, our holistic curriculum encourages children to look after their bodies and their minds: academic rigour is enlivened by an emphasis on creative thinking, intellectual curiosity and purposeful reflection; physical exercise, music, drama and visual arts give our girls the opportunity to delight in movement, sound and imagery. The curriculum is underpinned by a strong Christian Anglican faith and value system, and compulsory chapel services and divinity lessons are an integral part of school life. It is our intention to foster vigorous and resourceful girls who enjoy doing their best, understand the value of service and who are aware of the urgent need to care for our environment. Our girls are directed to think about the world and the work they will do in it, to desire to make a difference, in time, and to relate to others with compassion and grace.
St Mary’s offers a unique boarding experience, either full-time or weekly, from Form I (Grade 8) to matric. There are five lovely homes, each with a charming and friendly ambience. Dedicated staff monitor the academic, social and emotional progress of each girl, ensuring that she thrives in this environment. The boarders are taken on outings, and their experience in boarding is as rich and warm as possible.
With a state-of-the-art performing and visual arts centre, The Edge, the girls at St Mary’s have access to superb facilities that allow the development of creativity in all spheres. The 530-seat concert hall or theatre, natural light art studios, music practice rooms and loud practice rooms, dramatic art venues and a superbly fitted dance studio give our girls the facilities required to extend their understanding of their creativity. The focus of our Junior School cultural programme is on having fun and stimulating imagination in safe and inclusive ways. The growth and development of a child’s body, mind and spirit are vital, and we aim to bring out the natural talent inherent in each child. There are performance opportunities in school plays, class assemblies and other class activities, and a wide variety of musical opportunities. Our gallery is adorned with artworks produced by different classes, and pottery lessons are offered. Drama and ballet sessions extend the creative arts programme and The Edge, which is often "alive with the sound of music", is a magnificent facility to develop the creative potential of our girls.
Tradition is one of the defining characteristics of St Mary’s School and it is upheld strongly in our sporting achievements. Many girls represent their school in athletics, swimming, diving, water polo, rowing, hockey, rhythmic gymnastics, tennis, squash, netball, equestrian and basketball teams. Our sporting facilities include a 50m swimming pool and state-of-the-art diving complex, AstroTurf, a multi-purpose field, squash, tennis and netball courts, and an ergo room. Girls are encouraged to participate in both competitive and non-competitive sport, and are provided with this opportunity by taking part in team and inter-house sport. The Senior Primary physical education lessons are utilised for coaching the sport relevant to the season, as well as traditional physical education. We believe that spending time on fundamentals such as movement, balance, core work, co-ordination and general strength is also very important. Each sport concludes with termly inter-house competitions. The Junior Primary physical education lessons in the morning are divided between educational gymnastics and ball skills, which include basic netball, tennis and hockey skills. During the first and third terms, swimming is taught as we believe this is a vital life skill. The Junior Primary girls are offered afternoon co-curricular activities in the sport relevant to the season. The St Mary’s sports coaches are passionate about their sport and have proven themselves in their field of expertise. As with anything, our success will not be measured by getting to the top, but rather in our ability to remain there!
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