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• Staff and Staffing: A number of new professional appointments made this year (on merit) has allowed us to increase the representation and diversity within our current staff complement.
  A Teacher in Charge of Transformation and Diversity has been identified to work across the three schools to ensure the T+D focus is alive and well. She serves on the Council T+D Sub-Committee and reports in on the activities of the students and staff.
• The Academic Intern Programme is going from strength to strength as we formalise it and use it to develop teachers of the future. This year more interns were employed at the Preparatory School, to augment the seven at the Pre-Preparatory level. Some have qualified as teachers and are ready to move on to permanent employment. In this way we have not only increased the diversity of our staff complement and show-cased a diversity of role-models but contributed to the future of education in the country.
• Policies: Our Admissions Policies, as well as our Recruitment and Selection Policies have been reviewed to ensure that preference for placement is given to candidates of colour. Many relevant Academic Policies have been reviewed through the lens of Transformation and Diversity and amended accordingly.

• Understanding the Past: Opportunities are sought to reflect on South Africa’s history and its consequences.
• Sensitivity and Awareness: Conversations across grades have been organised to develop a deeper awareness of diversity. Ubuntu remains a guiding concept in these instances and the opportunity to open hearts and minds to learn from various cultures has been the focus.
• Celebrating Difference: The staff have a shared custodial staff responsibility to advance diversity by advocating for conversations, actions and events that increase the sense of individual and collective belonging. A recent example of one such event, was the occasion of Yom Kippur.  A Jewish parent visited our Grade 1 girls and took them through the meaning of the holiest day of the year in Judaism, culminating in a celebratory feast. 
• Belonging: Living the Core values, the Anglican values, the Transformation values is an expectation that is implicit in our culture. The Round Square Discovery Framework provides a strong framework to explore stereotypical views, conscious and unconscious bias and to understand what is required to develop a strong and positive character.
• Leading for Change – The Preparatory School chooses to lead for change – that it is a choice to effect the changes required when trying to transform a society.

• The “My Story” programme introduced at the beginning of the year into Home Groups saw students sharing personal stories within a respectful space. Through storytelling, the girls have come to a better understanding of the diversity of circumstance, history and culture that abounds in the school, and the knowledge gained and empathy evoked serves as an authentic and personal learning experience within a community that is undergoing transformation in a microcosm.
• A Student T4D Committee has been established and has become one of the important Student Leadership Committees. Chaired by Anna Roux and Mugisha Hakizimana, the impact has been wonderful to see. Within the scope of influence of this committee, a Student Voice Forum was established to create a safe space for voices to be heard around topics that they identified as relevant to them – many of which spoke to diversity and the need for transformative thinking and being if everybody is to experience “belonging”. Anna reported back that “It was lovely to see how students wanted to learn and educate themselves around sensitive topics. The benefit of giving students a space to engage in constructive conversations was obvious”.
• The scope of the iGugu Lethu Society was widened to focus on celebrating culture and pride in identity across all cultures, backgrounds and circumstances – not just that of the isiXhosa nation. We shared inspiring student led chapel services on Africa Day and Heritage Day – the day that students from different backgrounds and cultures in and around South Africa educated us all about their cultures and traditions, their pride and their identity.
• The “Fluid Forum” was constituted to provide a space for girls to meet at break to discuss issues relevant to adolescents within a safe space. It was designed to be that safe space to explore identity, to share and learn from others who were grappling with similar personal issues and to get advice and support for one another.
• In line with the Round Square Democracy Pillar that encourages student voice and engagement, Barazza Groups have met over the course of the year to discuss topics raised by guest speakers or the burning issues of the moment. Linked to this is our Soap Box Forum, which is a termly event organised by members of this sub-committee to emulate the Speakers Corner in Hyde Park. Students are given a platform to air their views on significant topics chosen by them and test their own thinking and feelings against those of their peers.
•  uDebate, a co-curricular opportunity, has presented great learning and transformation opportunities for our girls. Debating as a skill is a gift and, instead of joining the league consisting predominantly of other privileged independent schools, we formed our own league that incorporated diverse schools in the city bowl and beyond - thus exposing our students to different cultures and realities. Meaningful debates around real issues took place with people different from one another in culture and privilege, and the debating coach that we employ worked with all the schools to help them better their skills. It has been an exciting initiative.
• The Inclusivity Summit, hosted termly by Good Hope Seminary, is a forum where rich, relevant, diverse speakers inspire and facilitate workshops with students from many schools in Cape Town. Our teachers and students are regular attendees, further cementing our close relationship with Good Hope Seminary.
• “Restitution Dialogues” presented by the Restitution Foundation to comply with the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust requirements for funding, were attended by a group of interested girls, and much of what they learnt was brought back into the school forum. Through the course of three such dialogues, students were introduced to the concept of restitution and encouraged to think how restitution could be realised, with a particular focus on the roles they could play as students. One of our Matric Leaders who attended commented that the dialogues “created a safe space to have difficult conversations regarding past injustices as well as present ones. After only a few sessions, we have been able to discuss the impact of injustice and how one would be able to achieve restitution, or if it is even achievable. We have been allowed to voice our opinions and tell personal stories to those who are willing to listen."

• Staff Development
  All teaching and administrative staff have attended three extended workshops facilitated by our TTT (The Transformation Team) Professional Advisory Team, and three shorter workshops individualised to the needs of each school (in addition to school specific workshops). A fourth one is planned at the end of the year to create some closure to the year’s journey and prepare the way for the programme to continue next year. Individual school staff meetings have been organised with a particular T4D focus to augment the work of the professional advisory team, where issues like conscious and unconscious bias have been explored as well as policies and practices specific to each level unpacked, interrogated and updated. The training sessions have been challenging, insightful, informative and transformative.  Insight, empathy and consciousness have been built and stronger relationships formed through the processes.
• Curriculum Review
  The academic curricula, as well as our “hidden curriculum” that provides the roundedness of the education our students receive at this school - have been interrogated and revised to focus on eliminating bias and creating a normalised society. A focus has been educating around South Africa’s traumatic past, how it has influenced the current and is likely to impact the future, as well as the power and responsibility of privilege. A deliberate attempt to decolonise the curriculum has been made and with it a move to introduce contradictory voices and critical thinking. The discourse remains one of sensitisation and exploration. Africa Day, Human Rights Day and Freedom Day continue to be celebrated in the context of our continent and country. New resources, including books, dolls, puzzles and stories that depict all races and cultures positively, have been purchased and a deliberate effort made by all educators to create conversations and discussions around difference and sameness, about being who you are and belonging in a context that is not as diverse as we would like it to be.
• Identity, Pride and Belonging
  The Ballet School has worked to ensure that all ballerinas can access tights that are the colours of their unique skin tones and rules around hair and school uniform have been normalised to embrace all types, shapes and sizes. The norm has become something for everybody so they can authentically be, and ultimately become the best versions of themselves. A head scarf has been added to the school uniform and will be available shortly in the Clothing Shop for those Muslim girls who wish wear it on religious days and holidays.

• The High School Maths Club has developed a partnership with Zonnebloem High School, where they tutor students in Maths on a weekly basis and help with homework and revision for tests and examinations. This has resulted in Zonnebloem students achieving significantly improved marks and exhibiting greater motivation to achieve. Relationships formed have been strong and personal, and the win-win of the programme has been wonderful to experience.
• A core of students regularly visits the Booth Memorial Hospital to play games, entertain and engage in activities that brighten the days of long-term patients.
• The Bookery and Equal Education, are well supported by our students who donate and cover books for disadvantaged schools on a weekly basis. We continue to help train librarians to work at such schools and have been very involved in the establishment of the library at Zonnebloem Nest School. 
• Sports Partnership with Good Hope Seminary School: This involves the sharing of sporting facilities for hockey, tennis, netball and basketball. Good Hope Seminary High School has the usufruct in perpetuity of the Orange Street sports field. Because they were not using it and because they had no money to develop it, we have formed a contractual partnership with them to develop and use it in the spirit of partnership. GHSS and its students have shared usage of the field daily, weekly and by arrangement. A further development has been the establishment of a satellite sports campus on their school grounds for tennis, netball and basketball – a space for our Academies to operate from, a “home ground” for our teams. The advantages to us are clear - facilities close by that are in good condition, available and accessible for our programme, and opportunities for interactions between the schools. The advantage for GHSS have been the upliftment of an unused field as well as a neglected corner of their campus, and a new interest in and excitement around sport. It has been wonderful to see the energy, joy and pride that has accompanied the development of these facilities, and the interactions between the girls and teachers of both schools. Our Sports Academies are offering training sessions to the GHSS sportswomen - their contribution to identifying and developing talent in a less privileged school and creating a pipeline for selection to provincial and national teams.

1. Tshepo Modise-Harvey has been associated with the school for many years. Having served on the SCS Council for four years, she undertook to coordinate and chair the T+D Sub-Committee. Tshepo’s oldest daughter, Ayesha, matriculated from the school in 2012 and her youngest daughter, Gabi, is currently in Grade 7.
2. Sue Redelinghuys, as the Principal of the school and a Council member, is the interface between the committee, the strategic focus and the school stakeholders.
3. Zenobia du Toit is a previous Council Member, and as an attorney and previously an advisor in the drawing up of the constitution of the country in 1993, she brings an outside, independent, constitutional/legal perspective to the committee. Zenobia’s two daughters attended SCS and are currently both at University.
4. Lane Benjamin, a psychologist working in the space of transformation and historical trauma, has been working with Sue in the school space to train teachers and support parents and students through the change processes. Lane is an independent expert and a highly acclaimed facilitator and advisor around social transformation for a more equitable society.
5. Carmen Petersen, an old girl and Deputy Chair of our Alumnae association, is mother to Mishka in Grade 2.  Carmen’s family is multi-faith – she is Christian in her beliefs and her husband is Muslim.
6. Reverend Natalie Simons-Arendse is an old girl, the school’s previous chaplain and the person involved with the Multi-Faith organisation in Cape Town. She is mother to Alex in Grade 3, and her portfolio is multi-faith awareness and sensitivity. 
7. Reverend Joshua Abrahams, father of Harper in Grade R, is a member of Council and a representative of the Anglican Church on the committee.
8. Lusanda Mashua, mom to Maisha (Grade 00) and Amani (Grade 000), is an academic, a speaker, an influencer who is passionate about people and their part in change for a more equitable society. She is also the School-in-the-Woods Liaison and igniter of action in the Woods. 
9. Vuyolethu Keti is a Chemical Pathologist and mom to Isabel in Grade 5 and Lelethu in Grade 3. She has a special interest in the role individuals can play in changing hearts and minds through discourse and better understanding as well as growing a sensitivity to the challenges of minority groups within a culture. She is the Preparatory School Liaison and will be working with others in the Preparatory School to organise school specific opportunities for discourse and interaction.
10. Reyburn Hendricks is a businessman and dad to Sophia in Grade R. His specific focus is on how, when, where and how to use measurement to advance the goals.
11. Thys Lourens, Deputy Head of Student Matters at the High School is the whole-school management representative and the interface with the High School staff and students. He oversees the school’s Student Diversity Committee and the Fluid Forum where girls gather in a safe space to discuss aspects of diversity and acceptance.
12. Monelwa Mboma-Manjiya is the teacher in charge of Diversity at the High School level and she runs the iGugu Lethu Society which focuses on celebration of diversity and cultural pride.

'Our girls are of worthy of a safe space to be their unique selves, to grow up to be dynamic, strong and grounded women. For me it was time to step up to ensure that we do all we can to create an environment where everyone is heard and recognized. Having been one of the few girls of colour at St Cyprian's in the 80's that is what I experienced, and that sense of belonging it what I hope girls and the greater school community will experience and continue to experience.' Carmen Petersen