Quarter 3 Newsletter September 2019b

6 7 PREPARATORY FACULTY GRADES 1 - 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . From the Principal’s Office Lee-ann Steynberg As this quarter draws to a close and I begin to reflect on the events and activities that have taken place, I am truly humbled by the dedication, passion and enthusiasm from our teachers and learners. The Preparatory Faculty has been a constant hive of activity and the highlight for me has been our Grade Four and Five learners welcoming our Grade Two and Three learners into their classrooms, sharing their stories and activities with the younger ones. Our focus has been around kindness and caring and our Grade Four’s and Five’s embraced these values when entertaining their visitors. Below I have highlighted a few moments in the quarter that have showcased our achievements. We are extremely proud of Roché Buckle, who has been recognised by Google as a Google Innovator and for Parklands College who has been recognised as a Google Reference School. To celebrate these achievements we had a special photograph taken of the learners in the formation of the word Google. Twelve of our young scientists from Grade Six participated in the annual Cape Town ESKOM EXPO. After months of hard work, they were able to present their findings with over 600 young scientists from schools around the Cape. Each project was judged by a team of real-world Science specialists. Despite being the youngest grade at the EXPO, competing in a category with Grade Nine learners, our Parklands College scientists achieved outstanding results. Their projects received 3 Bronze Medals, 4 Silver Medals, 1 Gold medal, 3 special awards and 1 special commendation. We are proud of all the learners who participated in the Regional World Robot Olympiad (WRO). Our three WeDo Junior Preparatory teams, IE Parklands, VS Parklands and PMP Parklands won Gold and Silver awards. Our Regular Elementary Senior Preparatory teams, Megamind, Robovenom and TechniColour, won Gold, Silver and Bronze medals respectively. Congratulations and well done for their hard work and dedication this last quarter. We wish our Regular Elementary Senior Preparatory teams well for the National competition taking place at the end of September. When we return for the final quarter of the year, we begin with our teachers in mind. The 5th of October is World Teachers Day and a reminder of the influence of teachers in shaping the lives of our children. Each teacher from Pre-Primary to University play a role in nurturing our children along their educational journey. This journey is a partnership with our parents and we thank you for your continued support in helping us to shape our children’s future. A GRADE ONE LEARNING ADVENTURE... The Grade Ones returned to school with happy memories of the second quarter still fresh in their minds. They were not to be disappointed with what lay ahead! They delved into new learning experiences which were fun, engaging and in the form of games. Being the exciting learning environment that it is, the learners eagerly poured into the library to choose books on a weekly basis. Reading being one of the pillars of education, the little ones are encouraged to participate in all the activities that are on offer. For those with a competitive nature, enjoyable quizzes, events and competitions were regularly on offer. A real live visiting author brought to life the adventures of a hyena who wanted to be anything but a hyena. The children sat absorbed as they watched the screen and heard the tale she had to tell. Signed copies of her publications were eagerly purchased as the children chatted happily to this very approachable lady. Our children could not resist all the wonderful books on offer, and many returned to class delighted with their purchases. The encouragement to read was further enhanced by a hilarious show performed by the Hooked on Books team. The learners were encouraged to participate in the antics taking place on stage, with even the shyest little ones becoming fully absorbed in the fun that they hardly noticed that they were in front of the entire grade! The highlight for many in Grade One, was the visit from the Springbok mascot, Bokkie, during assembly. The children surprised teachers and parents with their extensive knowledge of the game, with the lucky ones receiving prizes for their answers. Photographs with Bokkie were very popular afterwards. On Dot Day, the learners combined their green and gold bokkie attire with dots. International Dot Day is always an opportunity to talk to our learners about their aspirations and to encourage them to value their own unique set of talents and interests Preparations for Special Person’s Day resulted in a wonderful show of poetry and song. Cards and specially created craft gifts will no doubt be cherished by their special guests. A GRADE TWO LEARNING ADVENTURE… I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning to sail my ship. - Aeschylus This quarter our Grade Two learners have extended their learning adventure by using their greatest treasures, their imagination and wonder. Taking on the role of meteorologists, exploring weather and the water cycle, the pretext initiated discussion and problem solving surrounding our water crisis in the Western Cape. Our water savvy young learners provided helpful tips to save this valuable resource. Eskom may soon require the services of our learners whose interest has been sparked by activities and experiments with electrical circuits. Representatives from Experi-Buddies delighted our science enthusiasts with demonstrations and hands-on experiments. Through project based learning we explored various natural disasters. Learners researched safety measures and causation of these extreme weather phenomenons. As integration within our project based learning, earthquake simulators and volcano detection meters were built and coded in Robotics. Our little bookworms enjoyed browsing at the visiting Bookshop, and engaging with the previews of new book releases, courtesy of the Hooked on Books team. In celebration of International Dot Day and to further our patriotic spirit, our learners dressed with dotty flair in their green and gold. Blossoming into Spring we celebrated by designing our own spring hats and attending the Christopher Robin Spring parade. With the final leg of our Grade Two educational journey upon us, we look forward to sharing in the achievements of our learners as they dare to dream. A GRADE THREE LEARNING ADVENTURE… This quarter has been an exciting one in Grade Three. The Grade Three’s embraced their new teachers and the adventures that awaited them. The learners thoroughly enjoyed their theme of the Solar System and went on a mission to Planet X to rescue their teachers who had failed on their own mission. The learners had to plan and research their trip meticulously in order to have a successful journey This involved calculating how much fuel they would need for their rocket ship, how long the trip would take, how much food and water they would need and could store on their rocket ship, who they would need to take with them to assist their mission and how much oxygen they would need. Once they arrived on Planet X, learners were tasked with the mission of building dwellings that would house themselves, their belongings, food and a research station. They had to use a map key based on two-dimensional shapes and fractions to represent their dwelling. The Grade Threes also met an Afrikaans- speaking alien and had to write dialogue giving directions as well as add a creative conversation where they learnt about celebrating our differences and similarities. Our learners did a fantastic job and successfully completed their mission to survive and thrive on Planet X. They then had the opportunities to share their experiences and thoroughly enjoyed giving advice to the Grade Threes of 2020 through a video. The Grade Threes went on a wonderful outing, enjoyed cake sales, Bokkie Friday, Language and Readathon Week and making new friends with much laughter! A GRADE FOUR LEARNING ADVENTURE… "Music education can help spark a child's imagination or ignite a lifetime of passion." - Hilliary Clinton The Grade Four classrooms have been abuzz with the beating of drums, the rattle of maracas and the flowing melody of penny whistles. We launched our "from trash to treasure" Project Based Learning task, where the learners took up the challenge of turning their recyclables into musical instruments for preschool-aged children. After acquiring information using data handling techniques, the learners chose, researched, designed, tested and created musical instruments which could spark imagination and passion in the hands of a young child. Afrikaans kept the learners engaged with moments of laughter and giggles while reading Sandra se Seepresente. A young girl was tasked with the impossible job of bringing an octopus and a seagull from Cape Town to her cousins in Johannesburg. Each part of her journey was filled with hilarity as she tried to hide the octopus in her mouth and the seagull in her pocket. The classrooms are now adorned with bright and colourful "book report" octopuses. History and Geography are always entertaining while allowing each child to discover new information about the world around them. To launch the topic of farming, the learners went on a Woolworths store tour. Much information was gleaned about farming for the future, free range and organic farming as well as the concepts of stock and crop farming. Our Life Skills lessons challenged the learners' thinking and stimulated discussion on relevant issues that they may have faced or may encounter in the future. The Grade Fours created anti-bullying posters, highlighting what bullying is and what steps can be taken to stop bullying. They were reminded of the kindness pledge they signed and have put this into action when collaborating with their friends. We look forward to the final quarter of Grade Four, which promises to take our learners further on their exciting learning adventure. A GRADE FIVE LEARNING ADVENTURE… We love the Earth, it is our planet We love the Earth, it is our home The Grade Five learners enjoyed a very green quarter! Mrs Evans and Miss Bodenstein created fun, interactive lessons based on environmental awareness. We have a few enthusiastic planet warriors amongst us! The Grade Five learners can be most proud of their excellent oral presentations in both English and Afrikaans. Not only did they impress the teachers with their wonderful speaking skills, but also with their terrific iPad abilities. The learners have created outstanding videos, Keynotes and brochures! Mr Spence tasked the Grade Fives with creating a Mathematics video, which would explain how to use certain methods. This was an excellent project which gave the learners the opportunity to become the teacher and to showcase their expertise through technology. They also enjoyed building shapes with the GeoGenius sets, as well as experimenting with different viewpoints using the visualization kits. The Grade Fives supported by Mr Pentz and Mrs Lewis-Correia, learnt about Ancient Egypt, Natural Features and Energy. There was quite some excitement in the Science class during the Design Process where the Grade Fivess had to design and build a device that transfers potential energy into kinetic energy. The device had to be able to shoot a table tennis ball to hit a target 3 meters away. We had table tennis balls flying all over the classroom. We ended the quarter with an exciting visit from our Grade Two learners! We are proud of how well the Grade Fives interacted with the little ones and to witness how much they have matured since Quarter One. We look forward to an exciting and memorable final quarter.