We as adults, often feel despondent about our troubled land with all the negative aspects of crime, violelnce, AIDS, corruption etc constantly being highlighted in the media.  We talk of friends emigrating and educating children to leave the country.  Our children sense our anxiety and we cannot underestimate the depressing effect this has on their young minds.  They feel helpless and unsure of their future and are unable to determine how they can make a difference.

With this in mind, Redhill School in Gauteng, decided to take positive steps to counter the growing pessimism and launched their 'Understanding to Hope' Project.  the Headmaster, Ben Brooks, gave a talk on the project at a conference for heads of Independent Schools last year and I was struck by the idea and the ripple effect it was having at their school and in their community.  It seemed a wonderful, positive project to bring back to Micklefield.

The teachers have caught the vision and we have set about planning ways to counter the negative aspects of our land (which are very real) by creating positive reponses to them.  We are focusing on the good things and highlighting the immense potential of the country.  By having this positive focus and by exchanging ideas and reaching out to the community, we hope to engender understanding and thus tolerance and ultimately hope.  Rather than being trapped and demotivated by fear and anxiety, we need to make our children aware that hope lies within them.  They can have positive expectations, not only about what can happen, but about what they can do to make it happen.  It is liberating for our youngsters to feel that they can do something to make a difference in the transformation of our land by taking small actions in their immediate community and by spreading positive enthusiasm about South Africa.

Pupils, teachers and parents have been asked to discuss ways in which such constructive actions can be taken and in this newspaper you will be able to read about some of the good things which have already taken place and our plans for the future.  We will continue to focus all year on positive aspects of our country.  In this way, we hope to move from a situation where we fail to use the potential of the present, because we are so worried about the future and are too often locked into the dark aspects of our past.

Will our project make a difference?  Will there be a little more understanding, a little more tolerance and a little more hope?  We will never know unless we try and this is just a small beginning.

Jenny Masterson
HEADMISTRESS

Since we started we have never stopped communicating either telephonically or in person with administration problems or addressing Educators questions.

As Educators we are greatly involved in equipping our Learners with computer skills and having them engage on the Internet with other schools, local and abroad.

Even our neighbouring schools are starting to notice how our school has advanced generally, especially in technology.  We have a high school next to us which cannot believe some of our endeavours for which we always give credit to our close relationship with Micklefield.

Last term we had a 'Sport Day'.  Wow!  What a day for the young ones.

With this attitude between these two school we will be able to stand up and be counted when our learners face the real world.

Nomsa Shosha
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL