From the Principal’s Desk – 7 February 2019

Dear Parents

Over the past couple of days, reports of an altercation between a teacher and a student at a local Cape Town school has occupied social and print media.  As you can imagine, I have been bombarded with questions as to the apportioning of blame in this regrettable incident.

It is clear that there is more to this situation than one cellphone video reveals. It seems that the levels of frustration, of both the teacher and the student, had been on the rise before the student with the cellphone began filming the altercation.  As a teacher I understand the repercussions of a student not having the correct book with them in class as this will cause issues down the line when a parent does book- checks and finds no work.

We all have our different theories as to how discipline in the classroom should be maintained, but we can all agree that it is totally unacceptable for a teacher to strike a student. It is also unacceptable for students to treat their teachers with disrespect.  Insubordination creates a culture of disrespect, not only in a particular class but in the school as a whole.  Bullying comes in various forms and instilling fear in children is an intimidation tactic, inappropriate for the classroom.  One of my favourite sayings is “rules without relationship causes rebellion” and the altercation I am talking about is symptomatic of this simple truth.

Although corporal punishment was allowed when I was at school, I do not believe that it was the reason I towed the line.  It was ultimately the fact that I knew my teacher would call my parents and the repercussions when I got home would be serious. I was taught to respect and honor my elders, be it an older sibling, a teacher, any adult I had dealings with.

One thing I am mindful of is that teaching is not the job it used to be as it is increasingly difficult to maintain discipline in the classroom.  It is unfair for a teacher to have to spend any amount of time creating order before teaching can begin.  It is a terrible waste of precious teaching time and frustrating, not only for the teacher, but for the other students in the class. A dear friend remarked yesterday that it seems educators now need danger pay as well. I believe, as a management team, we must be aware of the well being of our staff.  Life can be difficult and challenging and supporting one another, listening to one another, relieves the frustration we feel at times.

Please remember our Interactive Curriculum Morning on Saturday the 9^th of February for our Junior Primary school.  We are looking forward to sharing classroom experiences with you as parents, grandparents, au pairs and everyone else who plays a role in our children’s learning.

I am also pleased to let you know that we are starting the installation of a new jungle gym at the Foundation Stage campus on Monday 11^th of February and I would like to ask all parents to remind their children to be extra alert and cautious during this period.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

All my best.

Edna

The importance of Mathematics

When teaching mathematics to high school students, I have often heard them complain, saying things like, “Why do we have to learn this?” or “How will this help us after we graduate from high school?” The misconception of the importance of mathematics for high school students resides in their inability to project the skills that they use in class into real life.

The purpose of mathematics to students is for them to experience and use the concepts in everyday life. Math is useful in more career paths than you would think. Any career that involves money, or budgeting uses mathematics. You can reference www.weusemath.org to see a list of careers that use mathematics everyday.

Mathematics helps students develop critical thinking skills, the process of creating a plan to solve a large scale situational problem can be applied to variety of tasks, such as planning an event, or applying for a grant. However, students are caught up in learning standards and then being assessed on them. To many students, the purpose of math is to learn a skill that leads to a grade on a report card.

“I want my students to see that mathematics can help them better understand and describe the world around them.”

There is real-life application of almost every form of mathematics. It does not mean that every student will use every piece of mathematics that they learn, but it does mean we can show them how we can use that bit of mathematics to understand and explain something around us.

I want my students to learn to write slope-intercept form equations, but even more, I want them to see that you can use that equation to make projections in business when you know your profit per customer and a monthly loss. Then students can say, “I probably shouldn’t open this business if I need 200 customers a day to break even…”

I want them to know how to make complex ratios, but I would much prefer that they use complex ratios to help them understand how much of a pop song is the chorus. Then they can say, “Oh, that’s why the chorus gets stuck in our heads.”

 

I want my students to be able to solve two-step equations, but even more I would love them to use those equations to decrypt messages and then try to crack someone else’s message. Then my students can say, “Oh, that is how encryption works!” and “Algebra really is used for something!”

I implore you to show your child the true purpose of math. Help them see that math is here to help them better understand and explain the world around them.

Reference: https://blog.gradeslam.org, https://www.nctm.org/Publications/Mathematics, https://ubiquity.acm.org/article

Prepared by
Hebert Tapfuma (Mr)
(Department of Mathematics)

The key benefits of ‘gamification’

Using ‘gamification’ in learning a second language

‘Gamification’ is fast emerging as an effective technique to engage learners and create immersive learning experiences. ‘Gamification’ is about more than just playing it is “the use of game thinking and game mechanics in non-game contexts to engage users in solving problems”.
***(resource: Wikipedia/gamefication)***

The key benefits of ‘Gamification’:

Better learning experience: The learner can experience “fun” during the game and still learn if the level of engagement is high. A good ‘gamification’ strategy with high levels of engagement will lead to an increase of retention of vocabulary fundamental in the process of learning a new language.

Better learning environment: ‘Gamification’ provides an effective, informal learning environment. This leads to a more engaged learning experience that facilitates better knowledge retention once again. Also helps the language teacher to maintain the attention and interest of the class for longer periods.

Instant feedback: It provides instant feedback so that learners recognize what they already know or what they should know and so facilitates better learner engagement.

***(resource: https://elearningindustry.com/6-killer-examples-gamification-in-elearning) (https://www.google.com/amp/s/elearningindustry.com/power-gamification-in-hr/amp)***

To ensure success of ‘gamification’ we (teachers and parents) need to work together to capture and retain learner’s attention allowing them to play the games and listen to the songs at home. Go to www.rockalingua.com

Playing the games and listening to the songs – challenges, engages and entertains them: It will be a weekly challenge with a ranking that will show the students results.

– Third week: Days of the week challenge.

– Fourth week: The numbers challenge.

Everyone loves games. Albert Einstein himself indicated: “they are the most elevated form of investigation”. He knew games are avenues for something deeper and more meaningful than a childish waste of time. Oftentimes, playing games are the first method children use to explore higher-order thinking skills associated with creating, evaluating, analyzing, and applying new knowledge.

‘Gamification’ in an educational context: While students are playing, I am collecting data, tracking progress and reward to build a positive class culture. Students become eager to participate and learn the vocabulary that they need in order to improve their results in the games, and when students show interest, they make learning a new language; – a game worth playing.

Days of the week challenge results Year 4 to 6:
-Best Year 6 time: 1st Gabrielle Adamson: 0,14”; 2nd Riley Hanning: 0,15”; 3rd Michael Zurnamer: 0,16”
-Best Year 5 time: 1st Faith Chivaka: 0,13”; 2nd Ayesha Hassen 0,14”; 3rd Amanda Nkomo: 0,15”
-Best Year 4 time: 1st Krishangi Naidu: 0,15”; 2nd Sanam Srikewal 0,16”; 3rd Isabella Lockhart 0,17”

Weekly champion:
Faith Chivaka (Year 5): 0,13”. Congratulations Faith!

Written by
Profesor Javier Vidal
Primary School Spanish Teacher

Now we can rock science!

Key Stage 2 is very excited.  We have taken delivery of a brand new science cupboard which has equipment, apparatus and chemicals supporting our science curriculum  – including a periodic table; solar system model and the rocks and minerals we study. The apparatus comes in sets of 10, allowing students to work in groups of  2 or 3 to apply what they are learning in class.

Some new investigations this year can now include:

Grade 3: To investigate some properties of metals and non-metals.
                 To investigate how cranks and pulleys work.

Grade 4: Investigating melting and solidifying using different substances.
                To investigate what materials are good/bad conductors of electricity.

Grade 5: To investigate the changing shape of the light on the moon.
                  To investigate soil types and measure how much water each soil can hold.

Grade 6: To investigate what happens when we mix different substances and compare their properties before and after mixing, to investigate whether we can recover the solute from the solution by different methods.

Written by:

Carey Schoots
Year 4 Teacher

From the Junior German classroom

‘Back-to-school’ in South Africa is always an exciting time of the year, students start a new grade, they join a new class with a new teacher and classroom.

The Year 1’s also started the year with new languages to learn, German being one of them. In the introduction to German and Germany they learnt the phrase “Ich lerne Deutsch” (I am learning German) and the colours of the German flag.

They were very surprised to hear that most German schools start in September after the summer holidays in Europe and that the students do not wear uniforms at school. They were also introduced to “die Schultüte” (a school cone) a German tradition that all “Klasse 1” (Year 1) students look forward to on the first day of school. Before “Klasse 1” they would usually be attending a type of Kindergarten (a play group or nursery) at another institution and therefore making the first day of school one of the most important days of their childhood.

So, what exactly is “die Schultüte”?

It is a colourful and elaborately decorated cone which is prepared by a students’ parents and filled with goodies such as small school supplies (like pens, pencil cases, erasers, etc.), toys and sweets.

This German tradition originated in the early 1800’s in the cities of Jena, Dresden and Leipzig. Back then, parents brought the “Schultüten” directly to the schools, where they were hung on a so-called “Schultütenbaum” (“school cone tree”) in the classroom. When the tree was “ripe” with school cones, it meant that students were ready to begin first grade. On the first day of school, students were instructed to pick the cone with their name on it.

Naturally, the tradition spread and evolved over time. Today, students often receive their “Schultüten” before they leave their homes to go to school and the kids proudly carry their “Schultüten” to their new classrooms. Even Austria and the Czech Republic have adopted this fun ‘back-to-school’ tradition.     ***Source: Edited excerpts from the newsletter “This Week in Germany” (TWIG edition 8/28/2015) published by German Information Center/Embassy of Germany. https://german-world.com/the-history-of-the-schultute/***

The year 1 students on the photos enjoyed holding “die Schultüte” and the Year 2 students proudly displayed their completed Germany flags.

They are really looking forward to learning more about other German traditions this year.

Written by
Frau K. Pani
German Teacher
KS 1 & KS 2

‘My Body Belongs To Me!’

(Educational Show Presented by Puppet World)

‘Allow your children to be taught how to take care of and protect their bodies in a fun and interactive way.’

On Friday, 1st February 2019, the Year 1’s had an interactive educational puppet show on, ‘Our Bodies’.

When used in teaching, puppets can help boost creativity and stimulate kids’ imaginations, from the preschool age up to early teen years. The innate interactivity draws children in and encourages them to be actively involved in the learning process and share their thoughts and observations.

The show was excellent and really involved the children as they joined in singing and dancing to various action songs. They had a lot of fun!

 

“My favourite bit was when they showed us the body parts.” Kara Jones, aged 5

 

“I liked it when the skeletons danced.” Scott Leach, aged 6

 

“ I loved the skeletons dancing and the songs.” Zach Gouws, aged 7

Written by
Mrs Charlotte Cronjé
Year 1 Teacher

‘My Body Belongs To Me!’

‘We are family’ – Reception Year Term 1 2019

During the past two weeks in Reception Year we have been learning about ‘My Family’. The students had to prepare a family tree for ‘show and tell’ and present it in front of their peers.

Show and tell creates opportunities for students to grow and develop in the following areas:

Oral and language skills – It encourages them to use descriptive words and complete sentences, expanding their vocabulary. It helps children to communicate feelings, thoughts and emotions with words.

Self-esteem and pride – Speaking often in front of a familiar group helps children to feel comfortable with public speaking. This positive interaction builds confidence and self-esteem. It gives them a chance to be the center of attention and show off what they have to discuss, and in turn makes them feel good about themselves.

Social skills – Because this is a group activity, it helps teach children appropriate social skills. Each child must be patient and listen, and wait their turn. The speaker also learns to look at their audience and speak clearly in order for them to hear.

Creating friendships – ‘Show and Tell’ can create opportunities for children to make new friends. Some of the children may have similar interests and it will provide a connection between them.

Written By
Martie van Dyk
Reception Year Teacher

Reception MvD Class Artwork for ‘My family’

Open Day (2 March 2019) – Nursery to A Levels

Saturday, 2nd March 2019 at 9:00am

Come join us for a fun filled day of tours, information and interaction!

Please remember to RSVP and share our open day with your friends and family!!

Young Author’s Club 2019

Blouberg International’s Story Time Fun

For the budding writers who signed up for Young Author’s club, week two of term meant the beginning of a new adventure. The children picked up their pencils, took a deep breath, and started to create a world of their own. Dragons swooped around their ears, unicorns cantered through the classroom desks. Bandits and robbers lurked under the cover of darkness, locked chests were discovered, Aztec treasure was looted. Knights, ninjas and nine-tailed fox-like creatures all scampered their way through the minds – and pencils – of our aspiring young authors. Read on for a sneak peek at the beginnings of some of the stories – and keep your eyes peeled for more!

‘In the far distant past, before Napoleon had piles at the battle of Waterloo, there lived a brave, adventurous knight named Sir Atkinson. He dwelled in a fairly large town called Regno and Regno was ruled by a very fat king…’

– Darian (Year 6 Student)

‘Once day there lived a unicorn called Olivia. She lived in the rain forest in Brazil. She was very unhappy because it was very hot there, so she asked her Dad to go to the city…’

– Maria (Year 4 Student)

 

I am thrilled at the imaginations that spring to life around me, and can’t wait to read more of what the children write!

Hannah Kirkaldy

Year 5 Teacher

From the Principal’s Desk – 31 January 2019

Dear Parents

It was such a joy to see so many families at our Sports Day last Saturday. Your support of our young athletes builds their self-confidence and drive to succeed. I am certain that as our Sports Department continues to grow, we will see many more of you at matches and other sporting events.

As parents we want the very best for our children; we entertain a myriad of hopes and dreams for their future. We nurture their dreams, provide as best we can and are there to put them back on their feet after a fall. We wish to alleviate their pain, but also equip them for the world beyond their own front door. Our support is crucial to their growth, and their development as well-rounded and conscientious members of society.

Our innate desire as parents is to want more for our children, to provide them with whatever will make them happy, but what is really important is how we build and develop them through our love and support.  Irrespective of diverse backgrounds, our goal is the same. The inherent desire to put our children first and to do so, and be good stewards of them, we must be in good spirits ourselves.  We must take care of our own emotional well being in order to care for theirs.  We work hard, taking on the realities and challenges of life, often hiding the truth from our children to protect them.  It is crucial, however, that we have balance in our lives and take time out to reboot. When we are taking good care of ourselves, we are better equipped to take care of our young charges.

On a different note, tomorrow, the 1st of February, is “World Read Aloud Day”. This annual advocacy day, presented by the global literacy nonprofit organization LitWorld and sponsored by Scholastic, unites people around the world by highlighting the importance of reading aloud and sharing stories.

Our librarian, Mrs. Mashazi, will read aloud to the whole of the junior school tomorrow as we play our part in this important celebration.

We trust you will have a wonderful weekend!

Best wishes

Edna