Kind, Caring and Encouraging
This week has been extra special to the BIS family, as we have been celebrating the BIS Kindness Challenge for 2023. This wonderful initiative was introduced by our amazing school counsellor, Kayla Smith, and is targeted at the Year 4 to 12 students.
The goal is to spread kindness throughout our school this month, ensuring that it is a value our students and staff uphold at BIS.
Students are encouraged to show each other kindness by doing a variety of challenges and tasks. Some of these activities include:
- The Kindness Challenge: There are multiple random acts of kindness that students are challenged to complete. Such as: Write a list of 5 things that you love about yourself or Make sure your pets know how much they’re loved!
- A Kindness Tree: This tree will be popping up on a display board and it is going to blossom with the handprints of students containing kind messages and pictures.
- Mirror Motivation: Teachers will leave a motivational or kind message for students that will be added to the bathroom mirrors.
- Kindness Stone: Students decorate a stone with kind words that will be added to our garden.
- Chain of Kindness: Students had to reflect and write down a time that someone was kind to them. This will be added together to form a long kindness paper chain.
- “Caught you being kind” vouchers: These are given to students when they complete random acts of kindness. This will be kept for a surprise towards the end of the Kindness Challenge!
Class 5RdP has our very own No Drama Llama Award that is handed out at the end of every week to a student that has shown kind, caring and encouraging behaviour.
We look forward to seeing the entire school participate in the BIS Kindness Challenge and spread kindness like confetti!
“If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely!” – Roald Dahl
Ria du Plessis
Year 5 Teacher and Coordinator
Planting the seeds of knowledge!
Planting the seeds of knowledge!
A little seed for me to sow.
A little seed to make it grow.
A little hole, a little pat
A little wish and that is that.
A little sun, a little shower.
A little while,
And then a flower!
What do seeds need to grow? This was the question posed to our Year 5’s in our first Science lesson this term.
But… instead of telling the students, we decided to let them discover it for themselves. Using their knowledge of what a fair test is, the students investigated by setting up their own scientific enquiry. In groups, they were supplied with four plastic cups, soil, 12 seeds and a little water. Together a discussion was held on what the independent, dependant and control variables would be. Once they reached a consensus, students set about planting their seeds. Two samples were placed in a warm place in the classroom – one with water and one without. The two remaining samples made their way into their teacher’s fridge-one with water and one without.
Predictions were made and arguments put forward, but only time will tell. For the next couple of weeks, students need to water some of the seedlings and keep a vigilant eye on any possible germination before they can reach a conclusion. Watch this space!
Well done Year 5’s!
Mandy Goch
Year 5 Teacher
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Our First Week In Year 4
“Every sunset is an opportunity to reset. Every sunrise begins with new eyes.”
(Richie Norton)
The first week back has taken off with great excitement and eagerness. It was created on a recipe for success combined with only the finest ingredients.
A tonne of laughter and cheer combined with a Kilotonne of smiles and giggles. Whipped together with a megatonne of chatter. Stirring in a gigatonne of pure joy, topped with just a sprinkle of nervousness.
The Year 4’s have kicked off 2023 with a bang. They spent the first week organising, sorting and decorating books and stationery. Catching up with friends was the number one priority. We also delved straight into our work and had fun recapping Mathematics concepts, looking at stories from the past in English and even setting up and performing Science experiments.
We look forward to a successful and fun-filled year.
Nadia Mahomed
Year 4 Teacher
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The Arts & Crafts Club Rocks!
The Arts & Crafts Club have been busy this term with completing a Rock Art project with the theme ‘ be kind, be caring and be encouraging’ in line with our anti bullying campaign at the school.
This was a process of preparation of the rocks, painting an undercoat, decorating, writing and finally varnishing them. They enjoyed completing it at all the stages and finally they were dry. At the beginning of Term 4, the Club enjoyed the last step of placing the Rock Art creations in the rock garden near the entrance of the school.
We hope you also enjoy looking at them while visiting the school.
Kerstin Pani
Club Coordinator
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Our Amazing Gourmet Burgers
The Year 4’s spent one of the term’s art lessons creating these mouth-watering gourmet burgers. Our objective was to create traffic-stopping art that would cause our audience to stop, stare and desire to eat an amazing burger on the spot, on-route to class. This has certainly happened. We have noticed students and teachers slow down in our passage, admiring our art. We have even had a teacher come into our classroom to express her great desire for a particular burger on display.
We worked with different paper textures as well as a variety of coloured paper. Each student had to design their own burger, having to think of every topping imaginable. The background was just as important. Many students put time and effort into creating detailed wooden table tops or beautifully designed table cloths. For those who had extra time at hand, sides were an added addition to their menu.
This was a highly rewarding art lesson and certainly showed us how powerfully persuasive pictures can be. Take a look at the photos below and see if you can resist the tempting thought of a gourmet burger satisfying your tummy!
Carol Blake
Year 4 Teacher
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Foundation Stage Recognition Ceremonies
It was with great excitement that our little ones in Foundation Stage came to school ready for the end of year Recognition Ceremony. Every year we take time to acknowledge the amazing progress our little ones have made. They have all worked so hard and we are incredibly proud of them.
Each class got the chance to perform a song or a poem before receiving their special certificates. We want to say a big thank you to all the parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who are always there to support and encourage the little ones on their learning journey.
We can’t do it without you!
Monique Meyer
Foundation Stage Coordinator and Reception Year Teacher
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What My Pre-Reception Students Love Most About School
I can’t believe that it is already the fourth and last term of the year! The students have grown in leaps and bounds. They come to school eager to learn and participate in the daily activities. The classroom is always full of cheerful laughter, inquisitive questions and daily chitter chatter. I am so proud of each one of my students, they have all grown in different areas throughout the year.
I asked my students what they LOVE doing most in Pre-Reception and this is what they said:
Alex: “Making friends.”
Keneo: “Playing with my friends.”
Aubrey: “Painting.”
Victoria: “Playing outside.”
Kai: “Building blocks.”
Jefferson: “I like to play on the monkeybars.”
Emily: “Doing art.”
Chaitra: “I like to be friends with everyone.”
Jasper: “I love playing with playdough.”
Cayden: “Playing with the wooden blocks.”
Dylan: “To give my teacher hugs and laying with the train tracks.”
Amelie: “I love doing art and painting.”
Ava: “Playing outside.”
Suhaila: “I like to draw.”
Aksharath: “I like to play with the wooden block with my friends.”
Athena: “I like painting.”
Edyn: “I like to play with everything at school.”
Nozhin: Loves to colour in.
I love to see the students in my class learning through play, interacting with each other and most of all happy to be at school.
Cindy Nunan
Pre-Reception Teacher
Meal plans from the Year 5s
In Science, the Year 5s have been looking at the digestive system. We learnt that animals, including humans, need a balanced diet to be healthy. While a balanced diet for a zebra might include a variety of grasses and leaves, humans are a bit more complicated than that. We found out that we need to eat meals and snacks, which have a variety of food groups – including lots of fruit and vegetables! Once we knew the theory, the Year 5s used their knowledge (and some research on the iPads) to create a healthy meal plan over three days – and I must say they gave their teacher some ideas for what to cook over the next few weeks!
Here are some of the delicious meals that were suggested:
Breakfast:
- Avocado on wholewheat toast with 2 scrambled eggs
(Sehan Singh)
- All-Bran flakes with sliced bananas mixed in
(Lereko Tabohane)
- Muesli with yoghurt and blueberries.
(Nivad Manouchehri)
Lunch:
- A bowl of pasta with mixed vegetables and cheese.
(Zahrah Allie)
- A bagel with tomatoes, mozzarella and lettuce, with a smoothie on the side.
(Wanda Ahadzadeh)
- A burrito with peppers, cheese and lettuce.
(Keira Nicholl)
- Mac and cheese with sliced cucumbers.
(Tinashe Chivaka)
Dinner:
- Pap and steak with spinach and sliced tomato.
(Pelumi Olawoyin)
- Butternut, baked potato and chicken pieces
(Isabella Schultz)
- Omelette with mushrooms and sausages.
(Okuhle William)
Snack ideas:
- A smoothie with 1 cup of frozen strawberries, 1 cup of frozen peaches, and some yoghurt and milk.
(Shanna-Rose Jenkinson)
- Salti crackers with some snoek pate, feta cubes and pear slices.
(Emily Rӧhlandt)
- Carrot sticks with hummus.
(Mika Bhyat)
- Carrots and peanut butter, with some grapes (do not put peanut butter on the grapes!).
(Dicla Tona)
- Strawberries with yoghurt and honey.
(Alistair Mouton)
- Wholewheat grain crackers, light cream cheese and mixed berries.
(Talicia Nyausaru)
Of course, it helps to know WHY a meal is healthy – and the students had that covered too!
“The pasta, beef and vegetables were healthy because there were different food groups that can help our body in different ways and give us nutrients.”
(Ileana Dias)
Watch this space – next up for the Year 5s is a video oral where the students make one of the meals on their meal plans and then tell us about it. Masterchef Junior, here we come!
Hannah Kirkaldy
Year 5 Teacher
WATCH: Khanya Luthango’s Healthy Food English Presentation and Oral
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Foundation Stage Farmer’s Day
For the past two weeks, the Foundation Stage has been learning all about farming. The students have learned about many different aspects of farming, including the types of farms we get, the animals that usually live on farms, the roles and responsibilities of the farmers and their laborers as well as the various products that farms produce. We have all learned the important role that farms play in our lives and we appreciate how hard they have to operate to produce the items sent to the marketplace.
To experience all that we have learned about this, a Farmer’s Day Breakfast was arranged. With much excitement and many shrieks of joy, our phase got to engage with live animals in a petting zoo. The students were taught how to handle smaller animals like chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs, tortoises and a pheasant. They also got to groom and feed larger livestock such as sheep and goats. Each class made a farmer’s breakfast together, where skills such as cracking an egg, buttering bread and whisking were practiced. Finally, to really conclude our farming experience, we planted beans, which are being protected by our very own scarecrows! We will water our beans daily, leave them on the windowsills for warmth and light and wait patiently for them to sprout – just as farmers do with their crops!
We encourage parents to continue reinforcing the skills that we have learned from our farming unit at home. Being practically involved in cooking, gardening and animal responsibility will always be an asset towards any child’s development!
Kim Hahn
Reception Year Teacher
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From Boxes to Rockets in Reception
The Foundation Stage students have been learning about Space. As one of our art projects we decided to make rockets. The students were delighted to use their creative skills to make their own rockets using recycled items such as boxes, bottle tops and egg cartons. Each student was allowed to use 2 boxes and any of the other materials on the table to construct their rocket. We decided not to paint our rockets so that we could easily see how what components were used in their construction.
Construction play is an open-ended activity that is proven to make a difference in the way children think and complete tasks. These are some of the skills children develop through this kind of play
- problem solving skills
- spatial awareness
- fine motor skills
- hand-eye co-ordination
- sensory awareness
- challenge and perseverance
- measurement
- self-confidence
- decision making
- creativity
- social skills
There really is so much more to construction play than meets the eye. Box construction is also a fun and educational way to keep your child engaged at home. What will your next project be?
Bronwen Nuthall
Reception Year Teacher
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