HISTORY
In a world that is driven by science and technology, many people have come to believe that History is irrelevant and no longer has any value as a school subject. Indeed, nothing could be further from the truth.
History teaches skills that are transferable across different subject areas and are applicable both at tertiary level and life in general. These include the ability to conduct thorough research, the presentation of clear and logical arguments that are based on fact, the ability to identify and understand trends and processes, as well as the important skills of critical thinking and problem solving. If one is looking for a subject that will provide students with a solid foundation for what lies ahead, one need look no further than History.
Although the content focuses on the past, History is entirely relevant for both the present and the future. The Year 8s showed an excellent understanding of this when they were asked why it was important to learn about the Holocaust.
“It helps us understand the importance of what we support and how what we are supporting could impact us in the long term…” (Favour Chimezie – 8a)
“…it teaches us how to prevent it from happening again.” (Tim Beukes – 8a)
“We as the youngest generation should look at our past, identify mistakes and people’s wrongdoings to find solutions that will not only help our future, but our children’s future.” (Gabriella Nel – 8a)
“We can also make sure that we know what is going on in other countries because people tend to start making trouble in secret. As humans, we need to understand the danger of stereotypes, because this is what causes dehumanization, discrimination and terrible events…” (Faith Chivaka – 8a)
While History certainly has an alarming habit of repeating itself, knowledge of the past can help us to prepare for the future and even change future events. There can be little more value than equipping our youth with the knowledge and skills needed to improve their own lives and the lives of future generations.
I would like to wish our IGCSE and AS-Level history students all the best for their external examinations.
Sheila Marias
IGCSE, AS and A Level History Teacher
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InterSEK 2022
An experience that can never be forgotten, a trip overseas to compete in the sporting InterSEK among our sister schools from IES and SEK. Eight BIS students travelled with their guide, Mrs Diana Rubio to Valencia in Spain for this prestigious event. They competed in Basketball, Soccer, Padel, Athletics, Volleyball and more…
Our students did very well and won a few medals:
Tawany – Gold medal High Jump
Teeyana – Silver medal High Jump
Tawany – Silver medal 1500m
Tawany – Bronze medal 60m
Teeyana – Silver medal 60m
Boys Soccer – Bronze medal
The most important aspect of this trip was not the medals or competition, it was the experience and precious friendships the students made during the week of enjoying the culture and hospitality of our hosting families and school. We would like to thank them all for hosting our students in such a warm and wonderful way. A bond that we were lucky enough to capture on a few of the images below.
Well done on being true ambassadors to our school Lunje Languza Year 6, Donsima Sima Year 6, Teeyana Shaik Mahomed Year 8, Ian Scrooby Year 8, Gabrielle Adamson Year 9, Jens Buchwald Year 9, Geneva Cohen Year 9, Tawany Maurits Lasoen Year 9, Karabo Kalane Year 9 and Jessica Smith Year 11. You have made us so proud!
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SRC 2023
The Student Representative Council (SRC) of 2022 was one of Blouberg’s smallest SRCs. Yet what was lacking in size was made up for in willingness and determination. Led by Kazimla Dyakalashe and supported by a strong Matric class, they led and excelled in every task assigned to them. Not once did they tell us that something could not be done. Thank you, SRC 2022, for your dedication in serving your school. You have set the bar high for the new SRC.
A bigger class than that of 2022, the SRC of 2023 comprises of eight students. Our congratulations go to Oscar Berger, Shaylee Brandt, Philade Luthango, Landelwa Maqanda, Nadia Mohamed, Daniel Moodie, Chidozie Muoka and Erin Stewart on their selection for this important role.
2023 will see the implementation of some notable changes to student leadership in the school, including greater involvement of the Student Leaders and the introduction of cheerleaders. The SRC will be involved in many of these changes. They will also attend workshops, many of which will be designed to help them develop their leadership skills.
We look forward to watching our SRC grow in the year ahead, as well as to all they will help develop and initiate at the school.
Sheila Marais
SRC Coordinator

Top Row Left to Right: Oscar Berger, Shaylee Brandt, Philade Luthango, Landelwa Maqanda Bottom Row Left to Right: Nadia Mohamed, Daniel Moodie, Chidozie Muoka and Erin Stewart
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BIS Interact Club Updates
Blouberg International Club of Interact would like to send a huge thank you to the families of BIS for their generous contributions to our soup pack drive. Our Interactors, together with some Matric students, delivered nearly 400 soup packs to Doors of Jannah, an NGO dedicated to providing hot meals to the disadvantaged communities in Cape Town. WATCH: https://fb.watch/fysbRt9z6w/
Last Saturday some of our matric students had the opportunity to join in one of their soup drives helping pack hot meals and distribute them. They all agreed how valuable this experience was.
The past couple of years have been particularly challenging with COVID-19 restrictions, but our club faced the challenge as an opportunity to put their creativity to work and continue serving.
I am proud to announce that our Blouberg International Club of Interact was awarded a Citation by Rotary International. This acknowledgement is given to schools that go the extra length for their efforts and service to the community. Congratulations to our members for this well deserved nomination!

Oscar and Altesse at the Rotary Club of Blouberg Citation evening.
The following students have recently voted members of our Interact Club for 2022-2023:
- President: Oscar Berger
- Vice President: Shaylee Brandt
- Secretary: Saumya Majarah
- Treasurer: Iviwe Matakata
- Board member: Chezlyn Gopal
BIS would like to congratulate them and we look forward to working together, hoping to continue growing our Interact club with enthusiasm, new ideas and fun projects.
Elena Berger
BIS Interact Club Coordinator
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Geography in High School
This term has really flown by, and we are already looking forward to test week coming up. This term, each year group covered a wide range of topics. It is wonderful to see how each group embraces every topic and enthusiastically takes part in class discussions.
The Year 7 group focused on the population concepts and what affects the growth rates of different countries. Year 8 studied settlements, their patterns and urbanisation. The Year 8 group was introduced to similar maps as those at IGCSE level and had to identify settlement patterns on the map. These topics are linked to the IGCSE Geography syllabus.
The current IGCSE Year 9 group are currently busy with the second theme of their syllabus. This is mainly focused on the natural world we live in. We have covered plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanoes, rivers and coasts the past term and look forward to more topics of this theme in Term 4. The earthquake and volcanoes topics tend to be more challenging seeing that it is not something that we encounter on a regular basis. While teaching Geography in the Middle East, the same could be said when students had to study rivers. I am sure we will collectively conquer this topic.
The Year 11 AS level group focused on weathering and slope processes this term. I am happy at the progress they have made this term and we look forward to Term 4.
Lastly, I want to wish the current Year 10 IGCSE and Year 12 AS level students all the best for their upcoming Cambridge External exams. All the hard work that you have put in to be ready, comes down to this. I might have only been teaching you for one term, but I am confident that you all will reach your potential and score the grades you deserve.
Geography in the news:
6.8 magnitude earthquake shakes China. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those that lost their lives and homes.
Jean-Pierre Le Grange
High School Geography Teacher
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From The Arts & Crafts Club
The Arts & Crafts club was launched at the beginning of the year and has proven to be very popular with the students in KS2. We have 2 groups meeting on a Tuesday afternoon. The Year 3 & 4’s with Mrs Goch and the Year 5 & 6’s with Frau Pani.
The students have learnt that art is not instant and takes some planning and many hours to complete. It is a process that takes time and some practice too.
Some of the different medias we have discovered this year include:
– Paper- We have made sunset collages, paper flowers for the collaborative Art Auction display and simple origami frogs that can jump.
– Sketching- simple line art and sketching beautiful and expressive owls.
– Coffee granules and water- to paint a picture with a difference.
– Charcoal- for most students this was a new medium and we first explored ways to use the charcoal and then we created striking landscapes.
– Acrylic: Painting is a firm favourite with the students. Having fun with butterflies and making their own creations.
– Salt dough: Making hedgehogs and painting them. The Year 5 & 6 students particularly enjoyed making the salt dough themselves with the 3 ingredients.
Here is the recipe to try at home: Mix all together and knead well to make a smooth and soft dough.
125ml(½ a cup) Flour
60ml Salt
30ml Water
Some comments from the students:
“My favourite was making the paper jumping frogs.” Antonia Year 3
“I like art club because we get to do fun things and I can practise my art and learn more art.” Tyler Year 4
“I love art club because you are able to be creative and have fun.” Layla Year 5
“I like that we paint and do fun activities.” Isabel Year 6
“My favourite was the salt dough hedgehogs.” Nuraan Year 6
‘I like that we do painting and make things.” Neo Year 6
“I loved sketching with the charcoal.” Siyana Year 6
Looking forward to many more creative and fun Tuesday afternoons.
Frau K. Pani
Primary School – Arts & Crafts Club Coordinator
For inspiration see photos & collages in Google photos:
Sunset Collages
Sketching- owls
Coffee art
Art Auction collaboration
Line art
Charcoal
Acrylic butterflies
Paper art – Frogs
Salt dough creations-Hedgehogs
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BIS Media Club
The media club is a newly developed society in our school that consists of a team of students, led by Mr. Kroukamp, who create weekly live podcast episodes, aired out on our very own school radio. You can listen to BIS Radio live every Monday afternoon from 3:15 to 4:00. We cover topics ranging from the latest school news to our own internal debates and views on a vast variety of subjects. This club is a small knit community for our ambitious members to not only push themselves out of their comfort zone, but to become comfortable with public speaking and develop important communication skills and improvisation abilities. Furthermore, it gives students the confidence needed to articulate their words with clarity and proficiency and is a great opportunity to further develop creative thinking.
The school podcast is an easily accessible way for both students and parents, who are tuned in, to keep up with the latest on-going school events as well as up-to-date information on social affairs. Our podcast can also be used as a medium for further education, as we discuss different countries and cultures as well as spread awareness and shed light on serious issues. Here at BIS, our teachers have put great effort into the promotion of mental health, and the media club is just as eager to shine a light on said topic. We have held open discussions with our school counsellor on air to further this effort, as well as having our own talks amongst one another on our experiences.
We are the first school to have our very own media club in the whole of IES and we would love for our podcast to go global and inspire other schools all over the world. Our club is a stepping-stone to the evolution of schools, in our ever-advancing technological world, and a demonstration of how we can evolve alongside this growth. We are so grateful to have been given this opportunity to grow within ourselves and inspire those around us, and we encourage students of all ages to take action and become a part of this innovative society.
Gemayel Kroukamp
Media Club Coordinator
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More About Music
We believe that music tuition in our school not only contributes to the establishment of a healthy balance between the physical, academic and aesthetic aspects of the development of our students, but that the disciplines associated with it (intellectual, physical, educational and creative), can also play a positive role in other spheres of their education and later, their adult life.
In the past two terms, the music department has grown from strength to strength. We are increasing in numbers for individual instrument tuition. We have also re-introduced recorder classes in Year 2 as part of our class music programme. It gives the students the opportunity to discover if playing an instrument is something they would like to invest time and effort in.
Our High School band is well established and they are performing every end of the month during break time. We are also looking at more ensemble opportunities in the near future.
Last week, we had our BIS Eisteddfod for the second year running and it was a huge success. We had a lot of interest and it was lovely to have the parents’ support for poetry and music. Our judges was very impressed with our students and our school. We would like to congratulate our category winners of this year.
KS1 Poetry: Nathaniel Dhewa
KS1 Music: Vaishnav Rajesh
KS2 Poetry: Mansoor Daniels
KS2 Music: Indiphile Jentile
High school Music: Gabriella Davids and Faith Chivaka
We are working hard in class music to introduce new activities, instrument play, movement and songs which all the students seem to enjoy!
Beverley du Plessis
Music Teacher and BIS Eisteddfod Coordinator
WATCH: Ms La Bercensie collaborating with one of her music students, Ileana Dias in Year 5.
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Skills Programme Update
The high school students have thus far completed two skills sessions with each year group, concentrating on a particular skill or skills. These range from practical, hands-on skills to discussions on mental wellbeing.
The Year 12 group have been learning financial skills, such as opening a savings account and keeping a monthly personal budget. Like many of the Year 12 students, Amber Shawe, has found this to be an eye opener since she will be responsible for managing her own expenses as a university student next year. She commented, “The skills programme has taught me to budget for the important things in life such as accommodation, medical aid and insurance. The sessions have also made me realise how important it is to budget and know how to save money. It taught me to think ahead and plan for my future as I would need to put funds aside for my retirement and take out life insurance.”
Our Year 11 students have been learning how to use various workshop tools for particular tasks such as changing a plug.
The Year 10 class topics were diverse and included learning how to complete a CV with tips on ways to make it stand out above the rest. They also learned how to do basic sewing such as repairing a garment seam.
During the last two sessions, the Year 9s have been preparing for the last public speaking session when each student will deliver a prepared speech to the class.
Year 8s are learning self-management skills. Gaby Nel shared her experience as a student, “Our teacher taught us what time management is, how to apply it every day and how we can use our time effectively to study for our exams in advance. We also learnt how to set up a study timetable to be able to fit in normal day activities such as sport and have enough time for studying.”
The Year 7 girls have been discussing how to improve their self-confidence and self-esteem while the boys have been taught basic etiquette.
We are still to complete the last two sessions, which judging by the positive feedback received thus far, should prove to be both educational and fun.
Melinda Twycross
High School Teacher
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Year 12 Cultural Outing
On Friday, 12 August, the Year 12 Art students braced the winter cold and headed out to explore the cultural aspects and art galleries in the Tygerberg area.
We visited the Art.b gallery at the Bellville Library Centre, the Sanlam Art Collection at the headquarters of Sanlam, and a collection of international ceramics and mosaic artworks.
“Uncle Clive” drove us around in a BIS minibus and returned us safe and sound to BIS.
Art.B gallery
https://www.artb.co.za/vuleka-2/
Art.b, the Arts Association of Bellville, is an innovative, community–orientated organisation, sensitive to new ideas and supportive of established and emerging artists from all cultural backgrounds. Art.b, through its vibrant art gallery, creates a platform for and showcases visual art and artists in the Western Cape to raise public awareness of art.
The Arts Association of Bellville is the Western Cape branch of the South African National Association of Visual Art. It is a non-profit membership-based organisation open to all. The gallery is maintained and managed with the support of the City of Cape Town.
https://blog.sanlam.co.za/her-sanlam-art-gallery-bellville/
The Sanlam Art Collection came into being on 9 March 1965 when the Sanlam Board approved the acquisition of 12 paintings by well-known artists for the production of a prestige calendar in the coming year. The collection has grown considerably since and has proved to be a good investment, with the current valuation of the collection exceeding twenty times what it has cost to acquire.
The collection is seen not only in Sanlam offices but also in touring exhibitions across South Africa. Sanlam continues to acquire significant images from established and emerging artists in South Africa and this Centennial exhibition reaffirms its commitment to supporting the visual arts for generations to come.“Her… An exhibition of painting, sculpture, and printing from the Sanlam Art Collection celebrating South African Women Artists.”
Sanlam Art Gallery, Bellville 4 August – 22 October 2022
The present exhibitions in the Sanlam Art Gallery, Bellville, and Sanlam Art Lounge, Bellville celebrates the artistic talents of South African women artists from the early twentieth century to the present. The images by a diversity of women in different media allow for a multiplicity of themes to emerge pertinent to the concerns of women artists over the past century. The exhibition ranges from the capturing of mood and beauty in flowers, the domesticity of daily life and motherhood to the reflection on discrimination and violence against women.
Rust-en-Vrede Gallery, Wellington Rd, Durbanville
The well-established Rust-en-Vrede Art Gallery showcases works of art by established and emerging artists. There are three exhibition spaces at Rust-en-Vrede.
The main gallery consists of two rooms and is referred to as Salon A and Salon B. Salon C is in the entrance room, which is a more informal space used for small solo- or group exhibitions.
Gallery Hours are Monday – Friday 09:00 – 16:00 and Saturday 09:00 – 13:00. The exhibitions change monthly and are freely open to the public. Artists who wish to exhibit at Rust-en-Vrede are requested to submit work and a short proposal to Gallery Management.
The members serving on this committee are nominated at the Annual General Meeting in August. They meet monthly to assess new applicants for exhibitions with the curator.
PIET-MY-VROU MOSAIC STUDIO
27 July ’22
An exhibition of mosaics by the students of Piet-My-Vrou Mosaic Studio. Exhibition opens on Saturday 30 July 2022 at 11 am.
Riaan Vosloo
IGCSE, AS and A Level Art and Design Teacher
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