The Egyptian Wesekh
Term 4 is always the most exciting for our Year 3’s. This is because they have seen previous Year 3 “Egyptian’s” strutting the school grounds in all their Egyptian finery and they just can’t wait to start learning about Ancient Egypt. We kicked off the term investigating Egypt’s geographical features, the pyramids, Nile River, Egyptian civilization, Pharaohs, as well as their gods and goddesses.
Our Year 3’s have also already begun planning for Egypt Day and have created a beautiful jewellery accessory known as a Wesekh that they can wear on the day. The jewellery of ancient Egyptians held religious and symbolic significance and was treasured for its beauty and power against evil and death. It was buried with men and women because the Egyptians expected to enjoy wearing their finery in the afterlife.
We started our Wesekhs by looking at various real examples and discussing their features and designs, looking in particular at shape, symmetry and colour. Students then went ahead and designed their necklace by first deciding on a shape and then layout. The next step was to decorate the Wesekh by using anything that sparkled including old costume jewellery, glitter, beads and precious stones that the students collected. The results were stunning!
Be sure to keep an eye out for these amazing accessories on the 12th of November when Year 3 steps out in style on Egypt Day!
Mandy Goch
Year 3 Teacher
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Art And Design – Performance Art
During term 2 and 3, the Year 1 students have been looking at patterns. In our lessons the students have been asked the question What is a pattern? They have looked at patterns around the world, and even created patterns of their own doing block patterns with potatoes and apples.
We studied patterns in nature and looked at patterns inspired by nature. The students then made animal masks for their Performance Art. In groups, the students created a dance to the song, Circle of Life from the Lion King. Then they performed their dance for their peers.
We had so much fun learning about patterns and really loved each and every performance.
Well done Year 1!
Ann Cordner
Year 1 Teacher and KS 1 Coordinator
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Learning About Sundials
“Hide not your talents, they for use were made. What’s a sundial in the shade?” – Benjamin Franklin
The year 2 students thoroughly enjoyed learning about sundials and the purpose of them last week.
The teachers find it important that students know the reason behind sundials as they are the oldest known instrument for telling the time. The sundial also allows for us to track the position of the sun with accuracy..
In our Science lesson, students were able to make their own sundials out of paper plates and straws. After decorating their sundials, the students went outside and set their beautiful paper sundials on the ground and tried to tell the time accurately (11:30). The students were very intrigued by the lesson and engaged in the activity with such eagerness to learn.
“Be as true to each other as this dial is to the Sun” – Unknown
Erin Hierse
Year 2 Teacher
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Saving Our Planet
In Year 1 we have been learning about, ‘Saving our Planet’ in Global Perspectives.
We also went on a litter walk around the school. My class showed such passion and commitment to cleaning up the litter in and around the school, I am so proud of them all.
I have even had reports from parents informing me that their child picks up litter when they are out walking at the beach.
They have been working very hard and even created their own display for our classroom’s ‘Art and Design’ board, to raise awareness about litter.
Well done Year 1!
Charlotte Cronje
Year 1 Teacher
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Year 7 and 8 Art
Art, caft and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. A high-quality Art and Design education should engage, inspire and challenge students, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of Art, Craft and Design.
As students progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of Art and Design. They should also know how Art and Design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation. Therefore, exposure to various fields and techniques is what Art in Year 7 and 8 is all about.
At the start of Year 7, we focus on the formal elements of Art as well as the principles of Design. These make up the foundation needed to create all artwork.
During Term 2, we started with teaching students the skills to draw different facial features. After this, they had to put their newly acquired skills to use by drawing a portrait of our principal from a photo. The results are astounding. This is in preparation for Year 8 where they do self-portraits.
Colourful Mandalas were the order of the day in their June practical exam. This served as yet another opportunity to show their creative skills and freedom of expression. Currently the Year 7’s are busy with paint blending while the Year 8’s are exploring the world of Graphic Design. They are designing their own emotion-inspired font and using this in further practical tasks.
In Term 4, both Year groups will be exploring other areas of Art and Design as well. The purpose of exposure to the various areas of Art and Design is to help students make a more informed decision when it comes to taking Art as a subject at IGCSE or AS Level.
Art in Year 7 and 8 is exciting, challenging and a test for student’s creativity, thinking, hard work and dedication.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words so here are a few examples of what the Year 7 and 8’s have been up to thus far in 2021…
Ane Gornall
Year 7 and 8 Art and Design Teacher
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Picasso, Pianos and Portraits!
The Year 4’s have been focusing on an interesting technique in Art and Design for the past few weeks, namely Cubism.
A few facts about Cubism:
- Cubism is a style of Art invented in 1907.
- It was a very different way of painting to anything that had been done before.
- In Cubism, an artist tried to show different views of the same object or person all together in one painting. When you look at a Cubist painting, you might see the front, side and back of the same object.
- Cubist artists tried to break an object or person up into different parts. This often made the painting look like it was made up of geometric shapes like cubes.
Pablo Picasso was one of the first artists to explore Cubism. He wanted to paint things that he felt, remembered and saw all in one painting. Some of his most famous creations are the guitar sculptures made of cardboard and sheet metal, and the painting The Weeping Woman. We used these two art works as inspiration to create our masterpieces.
Have a look at our beautiful paintings of Picasso’s guitar and portraits using pastels and the Cubism technique.
“It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.” – Pablo Picasso
Ria du Plessis
Year 4 Coordinator
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Greeting Cards!
Unfortunately, with the arrival of Social Media, the exchange of actual greeting cards seems to have dwindled. It’s far easier to type a message using Facebook or Instagram, than hand selecting, or even making the traditional greeting card the older generation remember so fondly!
The making of greeting cards can be traced back to the Ancient Egyptians and through the middle ages. The invention of the postage stamp in 1840 revolutionised the distribution of these cards, and in 1930, the company Hallmark was established with their sole purpose to create and print greeting cards for many different occasions.
Luckily, children really enjoy making cards. It allows them to explore their creativity. What teacher, parent or friend isn’t delighted to receive a handmade card from a child? Just give them cardboard, colouring crayons, scissors and glue and the results are a work of love.
Kim Coetzer
Year 2 Teacher
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Our First Ever Blouberg International School Arts Eisteddfod!
The BIS Arts Eisteddfod was created to offer students a chance to build confidence and skills through performing to an audience and provide feedback from external expert adjudicators. It is also an opportunity to watch and share with fellow musicians. We are excited for this to be the beginning of a new annual tradition at our school!
The Music category took place on Wednesday, 11 August 2021. As the music department, we aim to create multiple platforms for our students to perform in front of audiences and adjudicators, so that they have firm goals to work towards, and have the opportunity to learn something new and different from each experience. It is very important for our musicians to not only learn how to play their instrument, but to also learn how to become a confident performer.
We welcomed Ms Elizabeth Retief, head of music at Elkanah House, as our adjudicator for the music Eisteddfod. For the high school category, we congratulate Mateja Mitic, Faith Chivaka, Iviwe Matakata, Jéan Marie Schoots, Saumya Maharaj and Niklyn Pillay on their outstanding performances and results. A special congratulations to Zoe Onochie for winning the high school Eisteddfod Music category for 2021.
We hope to see and hear many more of our students in future Eisteddfods.
Heidi La Bercensie
Music Teacher – IGCSE Music
A special congratulations to Zoe Onochie for winning the high school Eisteddfod Music category for 2021.
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The Benefits Of Fairy Tales
Fairy Tales are essential stories for childhood. These stories are more than just happily ever after, they portray real moral lessons through characters shown in the stories.
Frequent exposure to Fairy Tales will benefit your child creatively, intelligently and emotionally:
Creative development:
- Imagination – Fairy Tales are examples of storytelling at its best and it is the most effective way to teach a story to all students.
- Diversity – You might find stories which are thoughtful, romantic and even action orientated.
- General Connection – Fairy Tales can bridge the generational gap between students and their grandparents by providing common stories for them to relate to.
Cognitive Expansion:
- Critical Thinking – The language of Fairy Tales is uncomplicated, it’s often easier for students to understand.
- Vocabulary – Students vocabulary grows with every story.
Emotional Development:
- Problem solving – Fairy Tales are often filled with non-examples for students to follow, but it is seeing these characters make poor choices that our students learn of better ways to handle problems.
We learned so much during the last two weeks. We also dressed up as fairy tale characters and pirates. Then we participated in a Treasure Hunt.
Martie van Dyk
Pre-Reception Teacher
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Our Values
The year 4’s have been inspired by the Eisteddfod Art competition. For the competition, their art needs to include the Nautilus of the Blouberg International School crest and the values of BIS:
Dedication
Excellence
Respect
Responsibility
Integrity
Stewardship
Leadership
The lesson was a great opportunity to discuss these values with the students and was thoroughly integrated with our Global Perspectives learning outcomes.
Learners also learned the skill of paper marbling, which linked to our Science lessons, where they learned about states of matter and density. It was so lovely to share the skill with the learners as it is a lesson that I remember doing when I was about 10 years old.
Many learners are still busy completing the project and we can’t wait to see their interpretation of it.
You can try it at home, but be careful as you need to use oil-based paint. See the following link.
Marlize Keyser
Year 4 Teacher
