Quarter 2 Newsletter June 2019

2 ACADEMICS To enhance the teaching and learning at the College, we create exciting opportunities for our learners to explore their subjects beyond the curriculum. Mathematics and Science Week In recent years revolutionary discoveries about the scale, nature and fabric of the universe have been published. The discovery of the Higgs Boson, gravitational waves, the accelerating expansion of the universe to name a few, have sparked widespread interest in science even among millions of non-scientists. Were we not amazed at the first ever photograph of the black hole at the centre of the Messier 87 galaxy which was released by the Event Horizon Telescope last week? This served as a powerful introduction to our 2019 Mathematics and Science Week. Our week was filled with lectures on food technology, plant pathology [study of diseases in plants], agronomy [agricultural science], particle physics, X-ray astronomy and solid state physics. A visit to UCT’s Chemical Engineering Faculty was “eye-opening” in showing us how world class research is carried out in world class facilities right on our doorstep. What made this year’s Science Week particularly unique was that we partnered with the Mathematics Department for the first time, had Woolworth’s Food Technology unit present 3 lectures and we had not one, but two professional physicists actively involved with our learners and staff throughout the week. They “blew us away” with their profoundly deep knowledge and experience in their fields of research. Their passion for science as well as sharing it so freely with others, was infectious. isiXhosa Week What a joyful celebration of language and culture we had during isiXhosa week! From a competitive quiz, to playing tradition games in Curie Quad, to dancing to dressing up in traditional outfits, everyone who participated had a blast! We incorporated Africa Day celebrations with isiXhosa week this year, as the actual day fell in the examination period. At the end of the week, the learners taking isiXhosa performed traditional songs, Likhona Mbovane recited a powerful poem and our marimba bands kept the feet tapping. The beautiful and colourful outfits of our Head of isiXhosa, Ms Ntsadu, topped of another very successful isiXhosa week. World Book Day On Tuesday, 23 April the Drama Department honoured the legendary playwright, William Shakespeare, with the annual Shakespeare Safari. The Grade 11 Drama learners took us all on an Elizabethan journey, performing extracts from Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo & Juliet, Merry Wives of Windsor and many more. These extracts were performed all around our beautiful campus, and was enjoyed by everyone who attended. At a special World Book Day assembly, we were privileged to host Helen Brain, Author of the Elevation Trilogy at our assembly. The Elevation Trilogy is made up of the following titles: The Thousand Steps, The Rising Tide, and The Fiery Spiral. The first book of the trilogy has a strong environmental theme and Helen took the opportunity to encourage learners to rather read or buy e-books in a bid to save the environment. In conclusion, she shared tips of surviving an apocalyptic event as well as good writing skills. Grade 10 Science Expo This year’s Grade 10 Science Expo attracted much interest and many projects were presented to the judges who were very impressed. We are subsequently entering our largest team for the past few years for this year’s annual Eskom Science Expo Regional competition to be held at UCT from Tuesday 27 – Thursday 29 August 2019. Mr Human will be returning to the competition as a project approval judge. Post the competition he will continue as a mentor to the Regional Finalist as they fine-tune their projects for the International Science Fair later this year. Our entries cover a wide scope of scientific interests. There are learners who took up the massively challenging project topics set by the IYPT (International Young Physicist Tournament). Another learner is using material that washes up on our west coast beaches as a material for making biodegradable drinking straws. Our entries this year also have among them a group of learners investigating the Brain Science of Mnemonics and how memory can be improved. LEARNER ACHIEVEMENTS Every week we get to congratulate learners in the blog on exceptional achievements. Here are some of the highlights of the Autumn Quarter. Peter Ratilovski During Mathematics SECONDARY FACULTY GRADES 7 - 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . From the Principal’s Office Sylvia Steyn It is always great to get feedback from visitors to our school and at the end of this quarter, I would like to quote from author Helen Brain’s Facebook page: “I visited Parklands College today and spoke to their assembly to celebrate book week. What a fantastic school. I was so impressed with their resources and with the competent way the students ran the assembly, and with the staff who were fully engaged in the process. There was a calm, thoughtful and mutually respectful atmosphere. A world class school.” The Autumn Quarter seemed deceptively short due to five shortened weeks, but this did not stop us from fitting in a wide variety of activities and events. It started with two sports tours during the March holiday, to George (hockey, netball and rugby) and to Ireland (rugby and netball) respectively. These pre-season tours prepared our player very well for the winter season. International travel didn’t stop with the tour to Ireland, three of our learners also represented South Africa at the World Individual Public Speaking and Debating Championships in Toronto, Canada during April and five learners represented South Africa at the First Lego League Robotics Championships in Uruguay. To top it all, our Associate Principal: Innovation, Paul Mayers travelled with Mrs Steynberg to Berlin, Germany, where they presented the Parklands Story at the Apple Distinguished Schools Summit. The Parklands flag certainly flew high and strong in many different places on the planet over the past three months! On the cultural front all departments have been very busy preparing for CATS, the Musical, while at the same time hosting performances and preparing for external and internal exams. We can’t wait to welcome you to the Curie Hall for what promises to be a truly spectacular production this year. Be sure to book your tickets! During the upcoming holiday, a group of learners, accompanied by Mr Duffield and Mrs Randewijk, will be travelling to Nepal with the UK based organisation, World Challenge. While there they will be involved in charitable projects, for which they have raised funds. They will also get the opportunity to hike one of the famous trails in Nepal. We wish them all the best and look forward to their feedback on this unique experience. We wish all our Parklands family members a wonderful mid-year break at the end of the first set of formal assessments for the year. Very special wishes go out to Mrs Biermann whose baby is due in July. Relax, but mark your Winter Quarter calendars for CATS and Derby Weekend. Sylvia Steyn ssteyn@parklands.co.za