At the start each new school year, the School Management Teams – Principals and Heads of Department – of the Mercy Schools gather to attend a training workshop. This is an opportunity for the members of the SMTs from the different schools to meet each other and to gain new skills.

Penny Maree, Liesl Kyle and Janet Beckwoth of Iona Convent School

I was appointed as Head of Department of the Senior Primary Department of Iona Convent in Pretoria commencing 2013, so this was the first time I attended a Mercy SMT workshop. It was hosted by St. Teresa’s Mercy School in Johannesburg, although each school was given a specific responsibility to ensure the smooth running of the day. Our school, Iona Convent, was responsible for the registration and name tags.  We arrived at St. Teresa’s just before 9.00 am and were very warmly greeted and welcomed by all the members of the SMT. It really is like a big family and everyone cares for all the individual members of the team.

The day started with a Mass celebrated by Fr. Sebastian OMI and he delivered a very inspiring sermon about the meaning and responsibility of being a leader in a Mercy school. The singing was exceptionally beautiful and gave me goose bumps. Each Principal was presented with a clay pair of hands holding a tiny carved heart, representing the Mercy schools carrying all staff and pupils as God carries us in the palm of his hand.

Pat Pillai (left) leads the group through the day

The guest speaker was Pat Pillai who is a very well known news reader and anchor for E-News. He is one of the founders of Life College who are rolling out a program called “Nelson Mandela – The Champion Within”.  The program is based on a book written by Nelson Mandela whilst he was in prison, called Conversations with Myself.  The aim of the program is to develop champion mentality and critical thinking skills. They aim to introduce 1,000,000 young people to this program by 2020.

The theme for the day:  Nelson Mandela The Champion Within

In the words of Achmat Dangor the Chief Executive at the Nelson Mandela Foundation:

“The one true lesson we can take from Nelson Mandela’s life is that every human being, no matter how humble their beginnings, can help shape the future and make the world a better place. This programme provides young people with the opportunity to absorb the lessons of this unique legacy in a systematic and structured manner. May you too make our world a better place.”

Practical work

It was a very inspiring course and lent itself to lots of introspection and self examination. Pat is a very charismatic speaker and at times had us all in stitches as we examined how we think and come to such different conclusions given the same set of information. The time flew and before we knew it the workshop was over and it was time to have lunch together before everyone said their good byes and headed back home – each with a copy of Mandela’s book to take home and study!

Liesl Kyle
Head of Department
Iona Convent Primary School
South African Province