2021 Magazine

63 2021 | Edition No. 24 | ISIXHOSA Elmer Day was once again a colourful affair as we pledged to wear our true colours. We briefly stopped in the Star Wars universe on the 4th of May. Then it was full steam ahead towards Environment and Oceans Day, as we read books on endangered animals and taking care of our planet. In August we had fun with daily vocabulary competitions as we focussed on our additional languages. September heralds a joyful time. Roald Dahl Day and International Dot Day were celebrated in Readathon Week, which ended with two shows by the vi- brant Hooked on Books team. Our libraries remain at the core of happiness and comfort for every young reader. Following online French lessons for a year we were able to resume interactive lessons in April 2021. This year we studied French vocabulary, grammatical structures and reading. Every month, we had interesting discussions regarding current affairs. Our first discussion was the restoration work underway on the Notre-Dame de Paris after the devastating fire on 15 April 2019. French President Emma - nuel Macron announced that reconstruction work on Notre-Dame would be completed within five years, hopefully just before France hosts the 2024 Olympic Games. Luckily the iconic bells of the cathedral — immortalised in the classic Victor Hugo novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame — have not been damaged. Perhaps our learners will visit Paris one day and listen to the memorable chiming of the ten bells echoing over the beautiful city of Paris. In 2021 we also said “bienvenue Monsieur le président Emmanuel Macron” on his visit to South Africa. President Cyril Ramaphosa and President Em- manuel Macron discussed the pandemic and universal access to Covid-19 vaccines. The Grade 4 and 5 learners were introduced to Le Petit Prince of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. The Grade 6 learners commenced with more demanding French lessons with an introduction to the Bertillon family and their home. Learning this vocabulary will stand them in good stead in 2022 when they will be starting with Academic French in the Secondary Faculty. FRENCH “L’image la plus exacte de l’esprit français est la langue française elle-même.” Désiré Nisard / Histoire de la littérature française “Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going.” Rita Mae Brown In the isiXhosa Department we took great strides this year with the introduction of isiXhosa First Additional Language as an elective, while retaining Second Additional Language for all our learners. This was a big and exciting step for our learners. While the Second Additional Language classes focus on basic conversational skills, everyday expressions, greetings and songs, the First Additional classes require the development of lan- guage skills. This will enable learners to understand concepts, learn thinking skills and acquire strategies for accessing information for speaking, reading and writing: Siyathetha, Siyafunda, Siyabhala sonke.