Quarter 1 Newsletter 2020

2 have they generously donated to worthy causes, but many have given of their time to be actively involved in some of these projects. We bid farewell to Mrs Combrinck who is relocating to Spain and welcome Mrs Huldane to the Secondary Faculty English Department. We thank all our educators for their hard work and commend our learners on giving it their best on all fronts over the past 10 weeks. Wishing you all a happy and healthy holiday. Please keep Luke Parker (Grade 12) in your thoughts. LEARNER NEWS NSC 2019 RESULTS Congratulations to the Class of 2019 on their outstanding matric results. They proudly continued the Parklands College reputation for academic excellence: • All learners passed with entry to tertiary studies • 8 subjects with an average of 80% and above, 5 subjects with an average of 75-79% and 5 subjects with an average of 70-74% Data released by the DOE about top performing schools in the country indicate that we are one of only 69 of 447 schools in the Western Cape with 100% pass rate and one of only 27 schools in the Western Cape with a 5 year record of 100% pass rate. It was a great honour to be invited to Leeuwenhof to receive a Certificate of Academic Excellence from the Premier and Minister of Education in the Western Cape at the WCED NSC Awards Ceremony. We are proud to be a Top 20 school out of 447 who wrote the National Senior Certificate Examinations last year. ROBOTICS Parklands College First Tech Challenge Team Hyperion Bots joined forces with team ASAP from DSK to win the Alliance award at the First Tech Challenge Nationals Championship in Johannesburg on 29th February 2020 - the first time that the Western Cape has won the alliance championship. Hyperion Bots from Parklands College has spent SECONDARY FACULTY GRADES 7 - 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . From the Principal’s Office Sylvia Steyn The world is gripped in a crisis and while the South African government has acted swiftly and decisively, we will all feel the effect of this pandemic. We remain positive, as we are in a better position than most schools in the world to effectively continue teaching and learning in alternative ways. At this time the priority is to keep every member of the Parklands family safe and healthy. We urge our learners to stringently follow the guidelines from health authorities throughout the school holiday. What a great start to the year we have had at the Secondary Faculty. The opening of the Innovation Centre meant we could adapt our academic timetable to make learning more exciting and the learners have loved it. But don’t take my word for it … “The pods [in the Innovation Centre] are really awesome because if you have a project with a group, you can meet up in the pods during beak and it is a nice and comfortable place to work.” - Jack Baines (Grade 8) “It’s been fun working in the new Collaboration Venues [in the Innovation Centre]; the new working spaces are super fun and enjoyable to work in and it’s been very exciting to be part of it.” - Ethan Stopforth (Grade 9) “I have enjoyed the connection I am feeling throughout the school; I feel this way as every day I see children of all ages interacting and laughing with each other; I see people exploring what they can do in the Innovation Centre and collaborating together in harmony.” - Mwenda Phiri (Grade 12) It is indeed every teacher’s dream to see learners so excited about their learning. What a privilege to have a school filled with willing and appreciative learners. We have excelled on the sports field and while we are disappointed about the cancellation of our hockey and cricket tour to India, as well as our rugby, hockey and netball tour to the Southern Cape Sports Tournament in George, we have greatly benefitted from our preparations for these tours. We look forward to the Winter Sport Season. As always, the Culture Department has been very busy. The dancers have been hard at work in preparation for the Cape Town Eisteddfod, which will now be postponed to later in the year. The two highlights of the quarter have undoubtedly been the Parklands College Festival of Music and our performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream as part of the Shakespeare Schools Festival at the Fugard. The warm and giving hearts of our learners have been evident in the many outreach projects undertaken this quarter. Not only Today is Day 58 since the start of our journey; Day 21 of isolation and Day 14 since the bone marrow transplant. Our journey is not over yet. Following Luke’s transplant, the new stem cells need time to establish themselves; multiply and begin to make new, healthy blood cells. This is called engraftment. This process can take several weeks before the number of blood cells starts to return to normal. We are humbled by Luke’s strength and the spirit that he has shown, even on days when he was being pushed to his physical and mental limits. We have been overwhelmed by all the kindness, prayers and messages of support for Luke. Our family;friends; and the extended school community, have been a blessing. Luke's friends in particular have been inspirational, showing so much #LoveForLuke and serving as a massive source of strength on his journey. The Management team and educators at the College have been incredibly supportive and we are thankful for their willingness to assist and accommodate Luke. Our lives will never been the same. God is with us on our journey and he has a plan for us. Once again, we say thank you to everyone for your love and support. - Parker Family M essage from Luke: “I have been through a lot; and the days have definitely been more challenging than I could ever have imagined. Every day I sit in hospital not being able to go out, the room gets smaller and the days much longer. But ...everyday I appreciate more of the little things that we so easily take for granted. I miss going outside, playing sport, seeing my friends and eating a normal meal. Thank you for all the love and support that I have received. It has helped me to stay positive and strong.” * Fanconi Anemia: A rare, inherited disease in which the bone marrow fails and does not make blood cells. FIGHTING *FANCONI ANEMIA – “STEP BY STEP” Secondary Faculty Academic Team