2021 Magazine

166 | Edition No. 24 | 2021 2021 has been a successful year of discovery, innovation and achievement for the Preparatory Culture Department. We discovered how effectively the Growing Minds can be applied to the creative arts and collaborated on many projects within our classes. The learners had to think critically about the outcomes and communicate these discoveries and performances effectively to their peers. Although we encourage participation in Eisteddfods and examina- tions, our culture and enrichment lessons are designed to cultivate an understanding and life-long appreciation of the arts and a love for the particular genre. As Arsene Wenger says, ‘At a young age winning is not the most important thing. The important thing is to develop creative and skilled players with good confidence.’ Throughout the second and third quarter, we entered the Allegretto Ei- steddfod, the Cape Town Eisteddfod, Parklands Internal Eisteddfod and the Western Cape Virtual Eisteddfod with outstanding results. A record number of Cum Laude (above 95%) awards were received by our Art, Music, Drama and Dance entrants. The seven learners who entered the poetry section of the Allegretto Eisteddfod were all invited to participate in the Gala level of this particular eisteddfod, which is adjudicated at a national level. The Art of one of our learners will be featured in the prestigious Santam Online exhibition in 2022. At the end of September, we hosted two ‘Enrichment Takeover’ days. Both Preparatory campuses were abuzz with squeals of delight as learners experimented with different art forms, dramatic styles, mu- sic, isiXhosa song and dance, Sketchnoting, Mechanics as well as an Experi-Science experience. Parklands College Preparatory has been recognised as one of the top three Creative Arts schools in the Western Cape. The educators attended the inaugural Creative Arts Education Conference where the theme of ‘the heart of the school is missing’ inspired our dedi - cated team of specialist educators to continue to inspire our learners and each other daily. If you expose your child to creative arts (take a child to the theatre), not only will they practise empathy, they might also laugh uproariously, or come home singing about science, or want to know more about history, or tell you what happened at school today, or spend all dinner discussing music, or learn how to handle conflict, or start becoming future patrons of the arts. - Lauren Gunderson May the learners of Parklands College remain curious to discover, experiment and innovate within the safe space of the creative arts rooms at school, and become adults with empathy, vision and a voice ready to be heard. Roché Buckle