Cambridge School Tag

Dear Parents

We are slowly but surely moving towards the end of the term.  I wish to let you all know that your efforts and support of our teachers has not gone unnoticed.  It has taken courage, commitment, and tenacity to accomplish what we did this past term and for that, I thank you.

As communicated in our ‘Return to school’ letter, as well as in our Health and Safety Policy document, Blouberg International is ready for the next step.  Although we do not have all the answers, I wish to put your minds at ease that the staff of Blouberg International is committed to the safety and education of our children as we enter this next phase of lockdown.

We all have managed to make the best of a difficult situation and we cannot sugarcoat the situation we find ourselves in.  There has been many frustrating moments, disappointments, and heartaches.  I am particularly mindful of our class of 2020 as there are so many things they are missing out on.  There is uncertainty as to whether we can hold their 2020 Valedictory Service and Matric Dance (to some this might seem insignificant, but it is an important event for the matric students).

So how do we help our children process the anger and disappointment they are feeling?  They have not been able to socialize with friends for over 60 days and miss their friends, sports, school (bet they never thought they would).  They have all had to adjust to a new type of abnormal normality.

We can assist them by:

1.  Validating what they are feeling and their emotions.  We are validating the emotion, not the behavior.  It is important to understand what they feel is real and therefor they need to talk it through to overcome it.
2. Create a sense of security within them.  They should always be aware that there is a safe haven with you.  Reassurance, routine, and regulation is important.
3. Increase children’s self-efficacy.  Children often feel more in control of their emotions when they can play an effective role in helping themselves.

ENCOURAGEMENT
“In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invincible love. In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me, an invincible smile.  In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, and invincible calm.  I realized, through it all, that in the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.  And that makes me happy.  For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger- something better, pushing right back.”  – Albert Camus

I wish you all a wonderful weekend ahead.

Regards
Edna

“Public Speaking: it is never too early to learn how to speak effectively and with confidence. An essential life skill.”
– T.J. Webber

We all know that children love to talk. Any opportunity given, will find children in groups happily chatting away. Put them in front of a classroom, and suddenly, for some, it becomes a nightmare!

Show and Tell is one way in which we encourage our students to practise public speaking. Most are keen to talk about what they have brought to school and show it it their friends. This could be in the form of a poster, a researched subject, or even a favourite toy.

The Year 2 teachers have been trying to keep Show and Tell alive during this e-learning experience, by giving the students topics to plan for and present to their classes. This exercise has resulted in some interesting experiences! I found the ‘mute’ button on my laptop and was incredibly pleased with myself, until I realised that the students could ‘un-mute’ themselves, leaving everyone trying to talk at once. A week later, after some diligent technological research, I discovered that there was also a button which allowed me to stop them from ‘un-muting’ themselves. We continued in full swing, until my internet crashed, leaving my class wondering where I was. So, I have been told, one of the students acted as ‘host’ for the meeting and they carried on without me.

In this time, we find ourselves in, I have discovered that the importance of Show and Tell is profound. Not only are they practising their public speaking skills, it gives them a chance to see their friends and just interact with them.

The topic for our last Show and Tell was making a poster, based on a Science Shadow Puppet experiment. They certainly enjoyed this project and did a fantastic job of completing it and presenting their findings.

Kim Coetzer
Year 2 Teacher

What do we English teachers do when times are tough? We look to the Bard of course! Who better to guide us through the online educational space than a writer who has been dead for over 400 years! Now before you scoff “nonsense” over the rim of your coffee mug and scroll to the next page, let’s consider this in a little more depth. The transition to online learning has been challenging for students and teachers alike and we have all been plagued by fears and doubts. First Language English is a subject which you may consider one of the easier subjects to study online and perhaps you have a point. I can email you a poem- you can read it- you can write me an essay about it. Bob’s your uncle, done and dusted. Bring on the next one… Well, not quite.

Why does an author write a book? Obviously they want people to read it, but more than that, they want people to talk about it; it’s the hushed conversation in smoky cafes, the heated discussions over a plate of Thai chicken niblets at an annual Book Club meeting and the dog-eared, coffee stained pages of a favourite book passed from parent to child. Literature provokes dialogue and debate and as I always say to my students “It’s okay to hate the story you’ve just read, but you must be able to tell me why”. Stories, poems, plays- they are meant to be read and shared and isn’t it a truism that it is just as satisfying to discuss something you love as something you hate?

This is why I want to be back in my classroom! Not just for my view of the mountain, but for the interaction; the back and forth across the classroom, the heated opinions and different perspectives which mingle and lap the edges of the room like a gentle wave on a summer’s day.

Simply put, it’s a lot more difficult to discuss a work of literature isolated from each other as we currently are. You can read the play yourself, sure, but where’s the fun in that? A play isn’t meant to be performed by one person, now is it? My belabored point is that teaching First Language English online is a challenge and no Zoom meeting or Google Hangout Meet can replicate the wonderful disorder of a good class discussion.
Back to my original point. So, what do we do when we feel the pressure, the stalking fear and self-doubt that comes with being chucked in the deep end of the pool and having to paddle like a crazed duck to stay afloat? To whom do we turn when the challenges of online learning become all too real? Why, to Shakespeare of course! As usual, our dear Bard has a few life lessons up his sleeve to help us cope.

Take the Bard’s words to heart. Enjoy a good book and don’t try and argue with me that Shakespeare is no longer relevant! Stay safe everyone.

 

Alice Pryor
High School English Language and Literature Teacher

The Year 2 students have been getting creative at home by compiling their own stories for English.

The students have put in great effort to create stories that take the reader on an adventure while in the comfort of their own home. Some of the stories involve action and heroism while others revolve around emotion, tugging on the strings of our hearts, leaving the reader with a soft and warm feeling. Other learners have chosen a more humorous path in their story, which has left readers feeling joyful and giggling.

We hope you enjoy reading some of the examples included here.

Erin Hierse
Year 2 Teacher

Today is day 34 of the National Lockdown and the majority of people have been safely tucked away in their homes, only venturing out to buy food. However, those who are part of the essential services have gone out everyday to make sure that the country keeps running. The doctors and nurses in our hospitals, shop assistants, health care workers screening people for the virus, drivers, refuse collectors, police, to name but a few, have been the silent heroes in our country.

Let us show our appreciation to them by making a poster and putting it in a window, closest to the street, in our homes, to say thank you to all the essential workers in our communities. We could even put a fluffy toy in the window with a speech bubble giving a message of thanks to those who are helping us. People driving past will see that we appreciate all the essential workers in our communities.

Lets see if we can start a movement in the area we live by showing messages of support in the windows of our homes.

Ann Cordner
Year 1 Teacher

Teenagers are at high risk for depression and anxiety. They know what we want to hear, and that is what they often give us. Teens know the buzzwords, and talking about their emotions can be wrongly impacted by their preconceived ideas about what they think we want to hear.

Teens who are good with words can use them as a disguise rather than a method of self-discovery. Furthermore, for other adolescents, discussing feelings may be frightening or uncomfortable. The creative process does not allow for that kind of manipulation to happen. Creative arts get teens out of their heads and into their bodies. The teen brain is wired for creativity. Consequently, creative expression is a natural fit to support thriving in adolescents. Creativity is part of building one’s identity. In addition, it supports brain development. Being creative even reduces anxiety. It makes us happier. Creativity and teen mental health go hand in hand.

The act of doing something creative employs various parts of the brain. That is why being creative enhances connectivity in the brain. Connectivity refers to the relationships between different areas of the brain. A study published in 2014 suggests that people with artistic training have improved connectivity between the two hemispheres of their brains. Creative arts, including music and visual art go beyond the rational mind, tapping into our most authentic self. Adolescents, in particular, are attracted to making symbols and graphic depictions. Therefore, they are more attracted to using art as language than to verbal questioning.”

Creativity help teens develop what is known as divergent thinking. Divergent thinking is a process of generating creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions. The creative experience produces a natural “high”. Simply viewing art and listening to music stimulates the brain to release dopamine, the “pleasure chemical”. This is the same chemical that is triggered when we fall in love.

Actively making art or music has a similar effect. In addition, it induces a state of flow, a term coined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. This flow describes the experience of being completely absorbed in an activity. It means participating in a reality that is different from that of everyday life. As a result, experiences of flow are the key to sustainable happiness. Teenagers ascribe ‘happiness’ to their moods when they are able to engage in flow activities that stretch their skills and makes them feel alive and proud. Creativity, in particular, produces flow. Moreover, unplugged creative activities for teenagers offer both flow and a mini digital detox.

Creative arts prepares teens to be creative in other areas of life. It comes into play as teens learn new ways of relating to their past, present and new approaches to dealing with pain, trauma, or difficult relationships.

Riaan Vosloo
High School Art and Design Teacher

The Oxford Dictionary defines the term “resilience” as “the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness”.

 

This week, the Year 5 classes eagerly started prepping and practicing for their virtual oral presentations about their experiences of distance learning. They have quickly adapted to a different way of answering questions in the form of interactive Google Slides and Google Docs assignments. We have been performing experiments on shadows and mirrors at home, and are marveled at how much science can be done using nothing but ordinary household items!

If we take a look at the circumstances in which majority of the world currently finds itself, it is safe to say that we have all been exposed to a fair share of both difficulties and toughness over the past number of weeks. While observing how commendably the Year 5 students have been able to adapt to this uncertain and unstable situation, something beautiful has caught my eye; The Resilience of Education.

Before we could learn about shadows, periscopes, factors and multiples, we were faced with the challenge of teaching ourselves how to navigate through a new digital world in which this learning was to take place. A tremendous amount of pressure is placed on students, parents and teachers to not only ensure the schoolwork has been adequately done, but to do so without the support, structure and comfort of their daily school routines.

The Year 5 students have very quickly proven that no matter what obstacles or setbacks we are faced with, determination and hard work will always prevail. They have taken the bull by the horns and, in some instances, taught me a thing or two. Education could never be confined to the idea of only an educator providing insight and information to a student. If there is one thing that this lockdown has taught me it is that, even in a time of isolation and social distancing, there is so much we can learn from each other – no matter our age or title.

I could not be prouder to be a part of a community who has taken the unknown and, through strength and resolution, created an environment full of unity, understanding and bucket loads of support. We may have no classroom, no school desks, no whiteboards or projectors, but as long as we have eager minds – ready to learn – education and will always be possible.

Robyn Pieters
Year 5 Teacher