2021 Magazine

6 | Edition No. 24 | 2021 I am very pleased to announce that our school has been recognised for the third consecutive cycle, as an Apple Distinguished School. It has taken the dedication and commitment of our entire world-class school community to qualify again. We are proud to be one of only 525 schools globally to be recognised, and if one thinks of the number of schools using Apple Technology, this is a phenomenal achievement. Congratulations to the learners, educators, staff, parents and management. Apple Distinguished Schools are internationally recognised cen- tres of innovation, leadership and educational excellence. In other words, we are schools that lead the way when it comes to find- ing new and better ways of delivering outstanding learning and teaching. Our school has been recognised specifically for provid- ing an authentic, technology-infused learning environment, where through a multitude of opportunities, we inspire our learners to explore their imaginations and creativity, find their purpose, and “Build their own Futures”. S o what do we mean by “Build their own Futures”? Many people talk about preparing for an unknown future, but at Parklands, we believe that your future can be known! If it hasn’t been created yet and you know what you want it to be, you can build it right now. Your future is now! The key to building it is to find your purpose and how you find your purpose is by being curious and exploring every opportunity available to you. The following opportunities are available at our school: Firstly, our school has one of the largest number of subject choic- es available to learners, from Digital Electronics all the way to Dance and Advanced Programme English, Mathematics and Physical Science. This opens the doors to a variety of tertiary learning options. Secondly, we offer integrated international certifications from in- ternational organisations such as CompTIA, Certiport, Adobe and ICDL. This year, fourteen learners successfully completed their CompTIA IT Fundamentals (ITF+) Certification, five learners com- pleted their Adobe Certified Associate (ACA) Adobe Photoshop Certification, Camryn Abrahamson completed seven Internation- al Computer Driving License modules in just three months and Darushen Pillay is our first learner to complete his Autodesk Cer- tified User in AutoCAD. All of these certifications are industry level professional certifications and they form part of our vision to give our learners relevant workplace skill sets, enhance their employa- bility and potentially start their careers. A stunning example of the real world application of these cer- tifications is a large selection of designs made by Darushen. He designed many of our learner Instagram profile logos, our Music Department logo, our Sports Department kit for educators and learners, the matric jersey and the list goes on. He has brought his designs to life in our College. The third set of opportunities available to our learners are called Further Extension opportunities, better known as Utilities. Most of them are experiential and they allow our learners to create real solutions for real world problems. Parklands College Studios is the home of the College’s Film and Sound Engineering Utilities. The vision of our studios is to give young talent the opportunity to experience the music and film in- dustries by creating media content for global platforms. True to our vision we have released an additional two digital albums on Apple Music and other online music stores. They are “A Mandela Day Music Celebration 2020”, consisting of 9 tracks and “Jazz Band Presents Best of 2015-2020”, consisting of 11 tracks. They really are outstanding collaborations. All funds obtained from the Mandela Day album sales are donated to the Nelson Mandela Foundation on the annual Mandela Day.