Brothers Grimm Tag

We are pleased to share with you some exciting news about a Year 6 skills lesson that took place this term. Mrs. Oosthuizen taught the students how to sew buttons on clothing, and we are thrilled to say that it was a great success.

The children were provided with needles, buttons, thread, and cloth, and were given step-by-step instructions on how to sew a button. Although some students struggled with getting the thread through the needle at first, they quickly overcame this challenge and progressed to sewing their buttons with ease. Mrs. Oosthuizen, Mrs. Kirkaldy and even Mr. O was on hand to offer extra help to those who needed it, ensuring that everyone was able to complete the task successfully.

We are particularly proud of two students, Alistair and Nivad, who went the extra mile with this lesson. Alistair brought his own pants and button that he wanted to mend, and Nivad was so inspired by the lesson that he sewed a miniature pillow the next day.

Sewing is a valuable life skill that can come in handy in many situations, and we are confident that the Year 6 students will benefit from this lesson for years to come. We are grateful to Mrs Oosthuizen for her dedication and hard work in preparing for this lesson, and we hope that the children enjoyed it as much as we did.

In one of the future lessons, we would like to teach the students how to change a plug. If parents have any extra plugs or cables they can spare, please send them to school so that we can use them for the lesson.

Vihann Oosthuizen
Year 6 Teacher

The week before last, our Year 2 students went out to Intaka Island at Century City. They were given the opportunity to explore nature in all its wonderful ways.

We looked at various small organisms under the microscope, were given a guided tour around the island, spotting and appreciating the little birds, bugs and flowers around us. After the wildlife watching, were given a guided boat tour around the canals, appreciating the views around us and learning more about the conservancy.

This is definitely an outing we can recommend for the whole family! So much fun was had by all!

Siobhan Hendry
Year 2 Teacher

“Travel leaves you speechless. Then turns you into a storyteller.” – IBN Battuta

The Year 1 students and teachers thoroughly enjoyed an eventful day, traveling from country to country (class to class), learning about the different countries Barnaby Bear had travelled to and tasting all the delicious cuisines each country had to offer.

Barnaby Bear is the bear we learnt about in Geography that travels the world to visit different countries. He sends the teachers post cards which explains in detail, the sites he visits, the transport he uses to get around, the seasons in each country and the temperature he is currently experiencing.

The students in Mrs Cordner’s class represented America, Mrs Cronje’s class represented England and my class (Miss Hierse’s class) had the privilege to represent India. The students flew from class to class where they got to do some fun activities and learn some interesting facts that symbolized the country they had travelled to. They then enjoyed some delicious snacks and cold drinks which each class offered. The students were dressed beautifully and walked away from the day with more knowledge on America, England and India as well as full tummies.

The Year 1 teachers are extremely grateful for the parents help and support in making the day a successful one.

“Wanderlust. (n.) A strong desire for or impulse to wander or travel and explore the world.”

Year 1 Teacher
Erin Hierse

Year 5s started with a new topic in Global Perspectives for Term 4, called Will a Robot Do My Job?

Students had to identify the career that they would most like to pursue as an adult, giving reasons for their choice. They had to use a KWL chart to help them think about the career they have chosen:

1. K – They started by completing the “What I know” column with any information that they already have about their chosen career (for example: the skills and knowledge they think are needed to do the job, and any qualities that are required).
2. W – Students then completed the “‘What I want to find out’ column with any questions about their chosen job that they want to find the answers to. They shared their questions with other students in groups, and discussed where they might be able to find the answers.
3. L – We will research these questions during the next lesson and complete the “What I’ve learned” column.

As we continue with this unit, the students will also have to come up with convincing arguments as to why or why not a robot will be able to take over their job one day.

“The only way to do great work is to LOVE what you do.” – Steve Jobs

Take a look at the exciting careers some of our students would like to pursue one day!

Ria du Plessis
Year 5 Coordinator

In German, the Year 4 students have been learning vocabulary related to items that we use daily and that one can buy at the shops. They then learnt simple sentences related to going shopping and asking for that specific item.

Role-playing is the perfect way to put the learning into practice.  This enhances the students’ speaking skills to make the foreign language meaningful and useful in conversation. It improves the students’ communication skills in learning a new language, and then in turn develops their interaction with one another. This also strengthens social skills including student collaboration. Role-play gives students the opportunity to experience real world/life scenarios in the classroom and learn from each other.

We first watched a short video showcasing Year 4 students from a school in Germany, who role play going on a shopping trip using the same vocabulary and sentences that the students had learnt.

This gave the students some inspiration to work on their own role-plays. They were then divided into small groups to plan and practice their own shopping trip. They chose the roles of either a shopkeeper/assistant or the person shopping and selected the items they wanted to purchase using some props in my classroom. Then the students were given the opportunity to present their role-plays.

The students were really motivated and had a lot of fun acting out the conversations and were able to put what they had learnt in theory into practice.

Looking forward to many more.

Frau K. Pani
Primary School German Teacher

https://www.niu.edu/citl/resources/guides/instructional-guide/role-playing.shtml

Our year 6 students enjoyed an exciting and adventurous term. Throughout the term, the students broadened their knowledge by learning about fractions, circuits, ecosystems and more. They developed insight into the educational struggles of others around the world through the inspirational story of Malala and got a taste of entrepreneurship by designing and creating products from sustainable materials.

During our insightful skills periods, the students became aware of good online conduct and how to use social media in a positive manner.

As the year 6 students will become the leaders of tomorrow, they went on camp at Bonamanzi. Not only did they learn to become independent, but also discovered which qualities are vital to be a good and influential leader.

Tired does not even begin to explain how they felt after they returned from camp. They went river rafting, created flags, competed in various group activities and went night walking, where they discovered scorpions, as well as the importance of covering your legs to avoid pesky ticks. Snacking was of utmost importance – who knew that 11-year-old students could eat so much!

The students also came into personal contact with the wild side of camping, with mosquitoes that must’ve originated in the Jurassic era, big and sneaky, causing them to all return home, looking like they might have the plague – they definitely would’ve made quite an impact on dot day! Poor Miss Nel injured her foot while running, having to hop along after the students as they ventured out and about.

Ending the term on a high note, the students hosted their very first student led conference. During this conference, the students chose which work they were most proud of during the term and presented it to their parents themselves. They were able to explain to their parents what they had learnt during the term, as well as how they improved and what they found interesting. Both the students and the parents thoroughly enjoyed this special bonding time together.

As another term ends, the year 6 students will definitely be able to tick off a few things from their bucket lists – yes, pun intended.

Rochelle Oosthuizen
Year 6 Teacher

Emotions play such an important role in our lives. It helps us to think and behave in certain ways. They help us to build relationships, avoid or resolve conflicts better. Emotions help us make decisions for the future and helps us cope with what we are dealing with during the day.

We start feeling emotions from when we are little, and as we grow and mature, we learn how to identify them far better and hopefully become more skilled in how to express them appropriately. With practise we get better at understanding what we are feeling and why.

Just for a moment, think about what you did today versus what you did yesterday. Did different emotions on different days, allow you to behave in different ways? Are you more tolerant today than you were yesterday? Have you smiled more today than yesterday? Have you made some rash decisions based on how you were feeling? Have you made the best decisions you could have made so far this year?

Emotions can last for a second or for an hour. They change constantly throughout our day. Emotions are part of a person’s character. Without them we would be robots.

We read emotions from facial expressions, body language, hand gestures, tone of voice and even eyes. Notice the feel of a handshake, a hug or a touch. These are many cues that help us to pick up on someone’s emotional wellbeing.

Many adults today find it difficult to identify what it is they are really feeling, let alone be able to express their emotions appropriately. Am I angry or just irritated? Am I happy or just proud? There are so many emotions that are closely linked and can be misunderstood. There are so many different emotions that sometimes it can be impossible to recognise them all. It can also be very confusing and extremely challenging.

Being able to accept what you are feeling allows you to become more self-aware and self-compassionate. I know this can sound all airy-fairy, but being able to have a good emotional intelligence, to me, is far better that having a good IQ. This will help you in all aspects of life, in the workplace and in relationships that you build along the way.

Using a feelings wheel helps us to open up our feeling’s vocabulary and learn to understand the extent of them a lot better. Once you have used the feelings wheel for some time, you won’t need to go back and look up what the feeling is, you will identify it straightaway.

There are many students today that need assistance with feelings and emotions, and need to learn some healthy strategies to overcome or face them head-on.

I have a number of feelings wheels and charts around my class to help my students with their emotions. I have a dedicated calm space for my students to retreat to whenever they feel overwhelmed or need a place to ‘check in’ with themselves.

You can create a calm space in your own home for your children, or even for yourself. When children see that you use the space, it allows them to realise that we, as adults, also have emotions and sometimes need to refocus and recentre.

This calm space is different to a time-out space for consequences. It is a place of safety. Children are not to be sent there by a parent, rather it must be a child’s choice to go there. You can suggest it, but it should not be enforced. This space does not have a time limit.

Decide as a family, where this calm space will be. Decorate it together if that’s something that they might like. You can even give the space a name.

Leave them alone in their space to reflect, to let out some anger or other emotions. Try not hover around them or speak to them. Allow them this time to be on their own.

You can include some calming tools in your calm space to help them with self-regulation. Some good ideas are therapy putty or a stress ball to squeeze, a liquid timer or a glitter jar to look at, books to read about emotions, calming cards or positive thinking cards, a teddy bear, or some simple calming toys, such as a Rubik’s cube, that keep their minds busy. Some nice, calming smells can help too. I use lavender in my class, and my students love rubbing it onto their temples. This relaxes them completely. Believe me, I have used it several times!

Embrace your emotions, and talk about them with your family, your friends, your colleagues. The more we accept that we have them and that they are a normal part of our lives, the more skilled we will become, and your EQ will be what people talk about instead of your IQ.

Wendy Menton
Year 3 Teacher