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A GRADE THREE
LEARNING ADVENTURE…
“Every adventure requires a first step.”
- Cheshire Cat
The third quarter held a journey filled with
exciting topics for the Grade Threes. With
the expansive theme of
“Space”
and
“Being a
Scientist”
the possibilities were endless. In the
words of Neil Armstrong,
“One small step for
man, one giant leap for mankind”.
An outing to the Observatory filled learners’
curious minds with an array of facts about our
Milky Way and beyond. The learners were
abuzz with excitement and their eagerness to
learn fuelled our presenter to share all that he
could about Space.
“I was amazed to discover that Mercury spins
faster than Jupiter.”
- Sabrina Davids
“How interesting that Pluto is not the only
dwarf planet!”
- Angelique Minkoulou Alougou
Learners were then taken on a guided tour
inside the historic telescope room. A revolving
and elevating floor awaited them.
The excitement concluded with our learners
eagerly assembling their very own binoculars.
“I enjoyed the floor rising to get closer to the
sky,”
- Tashin Ramsammy
Inspired by the recent solar eclipse, learners
had the opportunity to record the various moon
cycles as they appeared in the evening skies.
Having learnt that the rotation of the moon
around the earth influences the shadow the
sun casts, the learners were prepared and
expectant.
“Moon gazing every evening with my mom
was relaxing and soothing.”
- Sabrina Davids
“When I was a kid I thought the moon was
just a circle all the time. How great to learn it’s
not!”
- Uchechukwu Obinwa
“I think I saw the face of the man on the
moon!”
- Sesethu Molemohi
Exploring the theme of “Being a Scientist” the
Grade Threes were tasked with the assignment
of creating a safety structure for an egg in our
Egg Drop Challenge. They then presented their
product to the class for testing. Our innovative
young scientists boasted their originality,
creativity and ingenuity. After a few cracked
eggs and much laughter, the challenge proved
that learning through discovery can certainly not
be matched.
“Best of all there was no presentation needed.
Just drop the egg!”
- Kyle Warrender
A GRADE FOUR
LEARNING ADVENTURE…
A rollercoaster of exhilarating activities
enthralled learners in the Grade Four
classrooms during the third quarter. The
children shared in a wonderful story about a
friendship between a boy and a lion in
‘The
Butterfly Lion’
by Michael Morpurgo. It was
such an endearing book that the children
begged to read it at every possible spare
moment during the day. The importance of
friendship and dealing with conflict was also
addressed in the Life Skills lessons where
the children learnt how to deal appropriately
with arguments with peers. There was much
excitement during the Afrikaans lessons as
the children re-enacted a play about the old
tale of why cats chase mice. They had great
fun creating puppets of their characters and
entertained each other with their puppet shows.
The children also improved their digital skills
by creating impressive History podcasts using
the iMovie application on the iPad. Another
inspiring week on the calendar this quarter was
Readathon Week. The children were visited by
the Travelling Bookshop, had a wonderful time
at the Lit Quiz challenge, had fun learning about
Roald Dahl’s books and were entertained by
Hooked on Books. It was a tremendous week
filled with so many activities to encourage the
learners to cultivate their love of reading. We
look forward to a renewed sense of enthusiasm
in the final quarter of Grade Four.
A GRADE FIVE
LEARNING ADVENTURE…
This quarter, there have been eyes sparkling
in anticipation of ... CAMP! We were thrilled to
finally be embarking on our first school camp,
where new friendships and fun would be sure
to follow. Despite the ongoing excited chatter
about camp, the Grade Fives have had a very
productive quarter. The topic of ancient Egypt
was a firm favourite and the learners were
captivated by the stories of this past African
civilisation. Their knowledge culminated in the
creation of their virtual Egyptian museums on
Book Creator. Bridge to Terabithia, our English
novel for the quarter, stirred up much emotion
amongst the Grade Fives. Their short stories
from the land of Terabithia displayed imaginative
descriptive content. The novel allowed us to
delve deeper into our own feelings regarding
friendships and the mutual responsibility
towards each other as we build up our peers to
be kings and queens of a
faraway land. The concept
of renewable energy was
explored in Science and the
learners have applied their
knowledge to good effect
through creating structures
that could be used to
provide energy in rural areas. Windmills,
solar cookers and water wheels could be seen
lighting up the Grade Five Science class. The
Grade Fives deserve a well-earned rest after
all this activity and we wish them an enjoyable
holiday.
A GRADE SIX
LEARNING ADVENTURE…
During this busy
quarter our Grades
Sixes were engaged
in a variety of
activities both in
and outside of the
classroom. Our
Apprentice Tasks
always provide the
perfect opportunity for our learners to
collaborate and invest their time and energy in
raising funds for extremely worthwhile charities.
This event was yet another success as many
stalls were sold out and everything from
advertising to sales was executed perfectly.
There were many happy customers, smiling
faces and satisfied tummies. During Readathon
Week the learners participated in a host of
literary activities, and our Extreme Reading
competition had learners and staff engaged in
their favourite past time in the most interesting
of places. We ended the Spring quarter on a
high note with our camp at High Africa. This
was an opportunity for the Grade Sixes to enjoy
the outdoors whilst learning valuable life skills,
particularly teamwork and co-operation. After
such a packed quarter, I am sure the teachers
and learners are looking forward to a well-
deserved break.
A Library Adventure...
Readathon Week at Parklands College
traditionally falls in the third quarter and
presents the opportunity to celebrate the
birthday of iconic author Roald Dahl, dress up
in dots on International Dot Day and enjoy a
host of literary adventures. This year we had
tremendous fun with the new Dot Day app
which allowed participants to view their dot
creations in 3D.
We hosted the Travelling
Bookshop which always
adds to the festive
atmosphere and ended
the week on a high note
with presentations by the
Hooked on Books actors.
Librarians facilitated four Lit Quiz
events with fun prizes, and our young readers
enjoyed showing off their literary expertise.
It is always exciting to observe children’s
personal reading journey and many of them
start their school day in the library, ensuring that
they have a special book to read in between
lessons. Book Club members are confident
and flourishing as they participate in a variety of
literary activities. Our library is a vibrant hub of
activity and second home to many book lovers.
library