South Africa

South Africa - Unity & Diversity

What languages do South Africans speak? Is South Africa a democracy? Are there big cities with modern amenities? Are the roads tarred? How far will my money go? … You've got three

minutes to spare?

Here's the lowdown on why South Africa's going to surprise you. Welcome to the southern tip of

Africa. Here, two great oceans meet, warm weather lasts most of the year, and big game

roams just beyond the city lights.

This is where humanity began: our ancestors' traces are still evident in fossilised footprints

80 000 years old, and in the world's oldest rock paintings.

Today, South Africa is the powerhouse of Africa, the most advanced, broad-based economy on the continent, with infrastructure to match any

first-world country.

South Africa is in the southernmost part of Africa. It has 9 provinces, eleven official languages, a

country with in it, a King and is one of the most diverse countries in the world.

Some countries have deserts; some have subtropical forests, right? South Africa has:

deserts, wetlands, beaches, grasslands, bush, subtropical forests, mountains and escarpments.

The majority of South Africans are Christian, the largest church

being the indigenous Zion Christian Church, followed by

the Dutch Reformed and Catholic churches. Many

churches combine Christian and traditional African beliefs.

SA has three capital cities: Pretoria is

the Executive Capital, Cape Town

the Legislative Capital and

Bloemfontein the judicial Capital.

South Africa is a nation of 51.77-million people of diverse

origins, cultures, languages and beliefs. Around 79% are

black (or African), 8.9% "coloured" – the local label for people of mixed African, Asian

and white descent – 8.9% white, and 2.5% Indian or

Asian.

Although we have 11 official languages the most commonly spoken is isiZulu. Some common phrases are Sawubona which mean “I see you” and “Unjani”

which is “how are you”

What's the weather like? Summery, but sometimes sweltering. In Johannesburg,

the country's commercial capital, the weather is mild all year round, but can get cold at night in winter. Durban, the biggest port, is hot and humid, a beach

paradise. And in Cape Town, where travellers flock to admire one of the

world's most spectacular settings, the weather is usually warm, though

temperamental.

South Africa has a very unique culture and society.

We are a very sports orientated society with our soccer team Bafana Bafana, our cricket team the Proteas and of course of beloved rugby team the Springboks.

We also have unique cuisine such as biltong, boerewors, pap, meilie meal, bobotie and bunny chow.

These can all be found at any Sunday braai or barbeque which is also a big Sunday tradition where meat is cooked over an open fire.

Fun FactsTable Mountain in Cape Town is believed to be one of the oldest mountains in the world and one of the planet’s 12

main energy centres, radiating magnetic, electric or spiritual energy.

South Africa is extremely rich in mining and minerals and considered the world’s leader with nearly 90% of all the platinum metals on earth and around 41% of all the

world’s Gold!

South Africa is home to the highest commercial bungi jump in the world at 710 feet.

We have the biggest national reserves including The Kruger Park which hold the endangered rhino

species as well as the big five which include lion, rhino, buffalo, elephant and leopard. Unfortunately we cannot say that we ride these guys to school or

see them on a daily basis.

Johannesburg- the city of gold

Joburg, Jozi or Egoli the "City of Gold" is South Africa's most populated city, and the cosmopolitan business centre of the country. It is the hub of South Africa's

most densely populated province, Gauteng. The city was formally established in 1886 with the discovery of gold and the Witwatersrand reef. After the discovery,

the population of the city exploded, and Johannesburg became the largest city in South Africa.

Joburg is home to 10 million people and is situated 1,700 metres above sea level. It claims to be the

lightning capital of the world and with good reason there is nothing like a joburg storm to wake you up at

night!

Johannesburg includes Soweto, which was a separate city from the late 1970s until the 1990s. Originally an acronym for "South-Western Townships", Soweto originated as a collection of settlements on the outskirts of Johannesburg populated mostly by native African workers in the gold mining industry. Soweto is now home to more than 1 million people and ranges from shacks to wealthy suburbs. Also in Soweto is Soccer City where the 2010 world cup was hosted as well as the largest hospital in the southern hemisphere the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital and the only street in the world where two Nobel Peace prize winners have lived.

Johannesburg is laced with over 10 million trees, and therefore is also known as the largest man made forest in the world.Johannesburg is one of the 40 largest metropolitan areas of the world and the biggest city without a major river running through it or a coastline.

Johannesburg has been rebuilt four times in the span of one century. First, it was a tented camp, then a town of tin shanties, then of four-storey Edwardian brick buildings and finally, a city of modern skyscrapers.

Johannesburg’s traffic is legendary all over the world. Even though the city is dotted with a dozen highways, it can get

quite difficult for commuters to travel from one place to another even if the destination is only a block away! The

average commuting time in Johannesburg from one place to another is 45 minutes.

Around 1569 hectares of land is covered by nature reserves in the city of Johannesburg There are 12 river systems that

run through the city of Johannesburg. Forty percent of all the world's human ancestor fossils have been discovered in and

around Johannesburg. Johannesburg is dotted with 150 heritage sites, half of which are national monuments.

Brescia House SchoolBrescia-

Serviam

Brescia House School is situated in Bryanston in Northern Johannesburg and 850 girls attend Brescia. Brescia House

School is proud of its 100% matric pass rate . The school was started by the Sisters of the Ursuline Order at the request of the Bishop who felt a need for a Catholic girls’

school in the area. The school has gone from strength to strength in the past 40 years and has built an excellent

reputation among private schools. The school boasts some of the finest facilities in the area, and

these are constantly being upgraded to keep ahead of educational trends.

Pupils of any denomination are welcomed and are encouraged to explore all aspects of religion and

personal spirituality. “Serviam”, which means “I shall serve”, is the motto of the school and a spirit of service

to the community is encouraged in the pupils.

We also make sure to bring Serviam in to Johannesburg and run many outreach projects throughout the year. Such as the grade 11’s and twelve’s upgrading under privileged schools, constant collections for charities, WISH which is an extra mural aimed at involving the girls in charity work and helping the Ursuline sister in Botswana give clean water and food to under privileged people.

Dances/Balls

Matric (Grade 12) Dance:- Organised by Grade 11’s - Only the Grade 11’s and 12’s can come- Grade 10’s waitress and there is a tradition that

each Grade 10 must dance with one of the matric’s dates.

Grade 10 – Sweet Sixteen Dance:- Organised by Grade 10 girls and moms.- For the Grade 10 girls and their dates only.

Sport

- Netball- Hockey- Athletics- Soccer- Swimming- Equestrian - Squash- Tennis

Culturals- Drama- Public Speaking- Chess- WISH- Debating- Photography club- Leggo club- Beading - Poetry Club- Comic book club

Traditions

1. All matric girls each get a Grade 8 buddy to help and look after.

2. All Grade 9 girls get a Grade 7 buddy to help look after.

3. At the end of the matrics year, we have a foam fight, where all the matrics cut up their uniform and arrive at the school on some extreme form of transport – like for example a firetruck, also we have final assembly where the sister girls in the younger grades write a speech to say good bye to their sister.

4. The swimming girls before inter high have a pasta party, where they overload on carbs and get all ready for inter-high.

5. The drama girls have cast breakfast as well as a cast party after a cast breakfast.

6. After the second term, it is the matrics last day wearing our winter uniform, the cut up their hats and do the hat parade in final assembly.

7. Silly week – the last week of the matrics school life, the girls dress up and pull pranks in this week.

Subjects Afrikaans Zulu French English Maths Core Maths LIT Life Science Physical Science Geography

Accounting Business Studies Consumer Studies History Art Music IT Life Orientation Religious Education Physical Education

Uniforms- Hats and Blazers for formal occasions- Green checked dress in summer with white socks- Mint green undershirt with bottle green ‘frock’ over with brown tights or socks in winter.- We wear brown shoes all year round.

Summer uniform