The Pastoral aspect of our ethos aims to educate the whole person and build the emotional intelligence so vital for academic learning. It deals with the well-being of the girls by establishing boundaries, exploring attitudes and reinforcing values. The goal is to prepare the girls for a life in which they will be good citizens, make a contribution and take responsibility for their decisions. We want them to become leaders who are confident, resilient and mindful of their social responsibilities. We want good communication skills, the ability to resolve conflict and strong values to be part of their everyday lives.
Herschel is an Anglican School that provides our girls with spiritual guidance based on a strong value system. Pupils of all religious denominations, however, are warmly welcomed into an inclusive and caring environment where each girl can explore and develop her own spirituality. Pupils are also encouraged to develop an understanding of other cultures and religious groups.
There is a full-time ordained priest as Chaplain, who offers guidance in spiritual, moral and ethical issues. Religious instruction in the Anglican faith is provided and all pupils are expected to attend these lessons and chapel services are compulsory, too.
Our Preparatory girls have regular services with the Chaplain on our own campus and also visit the School Chapel on the Senior School campus for special services.
Learning to make a difference, is what we believe we give our girls here at Herschel. The Community Outreach Programme at Herschel Preparatory is woven into the everyday life of the school. Staff endeavour to cultivate a social conscience in the girls and to give them the opportunity to make a meaningful difference to the lives of others. We hope that they will, through active involvement, learn that community service will not only make a difference to others’ lives, but also to their own.
The Grade 7 Fair is the main source of funding for our Community Outreach programme, together with money raised during various special events such as civvies days and the sales of ice-cream throughout the year.
Whole school programmes are undertaken such as the annual Big Walk in aid of the Peninsula School Feeding Fund and the CHOC Foundation. Sandwiches are collected weekly for pupils at disadvantaged schools and the pupils support causes such as the Red Cross Children’s Hospital, St Luke’s Hospice and Rural Child. At Easter, Easter Eggs are collected and distributed to various charitable organizations. A soap and toothpaste collection enables us to assist the Mowbray maternity home and the Constantia Village Trolley folk.
In addition to these whole school projects, each grade in the Preparatory School undertakes to perform one Act of Kindness every year.
Other projects are:
A favourite visit for the Grade 7 Outreach team is to spend the afternoon at the Princess Christian Home (PCH Village) in Tokai. The purpose of this visit is to spoil the ladies by giving them a manicure treat for Mother’s Day. They are then treated to a tasty tea, followed by musical entertainment. It is always a most worthwhile and rewarding experience.
Herschel pupils continue to assist disadvantaged schools with a termly can collection. The points accumulated from the collection are added to those of a chosen school. It is hoped that this additional support will assist this school to be placed in the can competition; thereby receiving much needed funds for their school.
The girls embrace the annual ‘Chores for a Cause’ project, whereby each girl is tasked with raising their own money by performing various chores. The purpose of this is to teach and encourage our girls to make sacrifices in order to help others
The Preparatory School also assists previously disadvantaged schools by giving professional support to teachers, through the Meister’s Programme at the Pre-Prep, assisting with material supplies and including their pupils in a number of cultural activities.
Community Outreach continues to offer wonderful opportunities for the girls to make a difference to the lives of others and is wonderfully enriching for all.