Quarter 2 Newsletter 2020

4 PREPARATORY FACULTY GRADES 1 - 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . From the Principal’s Office Lee-ann Steynberg As I reflect on my newsletter article from Quarter 1 and my ending that we will see you on 14 April, I find that so much has happened and changed over the last few months. This quarter has been an interesting one filled with many changes and challenges. We started the quarter in lockdown and embraced online learning from the 6 April. As we came out of lockdown and began to prepare the building for our learners’ return there was an air of anticipation amongst the educators. What an exciting week or two we had when the learners returned! The school building was alive with the children's voices and busy footsteps. A school never feels the same without its children and their returns with great excitement, enthusiasm and passion. Some of our learners have remained at home, however, we hope to see their smiling faces soon. A GRADE ONE LEARNING ADVENTURE… Such adventure was not expected when lockdown was announced! Well, that would apply to the normal population but we are the Parklands family! Almost overnight, learning became an amazing and exciting challenge. A whole new dimension was opened up in the lives of teachers, parents and children. Never before could we enter into each other’s homes, meet each other's family members and virtually cuddle so many adorable pets. Beautifully created slides dealt with the requirements of the academic curriculum, whilst enrichment activities ensured that levels of enthusiasm remained high. Elmer Day helped to brighten the lives of learners with colourful creations and the freedom to dress in multicoloured clothes. Photos received, boasted of creations put together by all family members, bringing them together with enthusiasm and pride. On other occasions, teachers were greeted with sleepy eyes, milk mustaches, fluffy pajamas and interesting coiffures during Hangout sessions. Who would have thought that the simple toilet roll could encourage fitness and agility, an essential health component with regards to the challenges we face at present. PE coaches introduced Sports Quiz evenings, gathering excited families together in a unique and special way. Drama classes were not to be excluded. Voice exercises followed by pertinent poetry helped the children to experience positivity. Art was expressed in many different ways but mums were especially blessed on Mother’s Day. Baking with Chef Kerry was rewarded with tasty treats and the theme on the five senses became a happy reality with every crunchy bite. Returning to school made us realise how much we appreciate our Parklands home. “It’s different now,” piped up one little learner, ”but it’s still my happy place!” A GRADE TWO LEARNING ADVENTURE… Connecting, whether via Live lessons, face to face or by Online lessons, we have managed to continue to Collaborate, be Critical Thinkers and Creative Agents. The Grade 2 children have investigated various animals in their natural habitats. They documented their discoveries in a digital book and delivered their oral presentation via video. Whether these animals live in warm or cold conditions, they are able to survive just as we are having to adjust to our cold weather at the moment. To experience this in a practical way, the children have become weather forecasters. They are learning to look for patterns in the weather and are even confident to predict what the next day’s weather will be. These patterns will be represented on a graph to enhance their Data Handling skills. Super Powers, Super Heroes and Super Dads were just some of the creative and well illustrated (including some interesting photographs) writing pieces communicated in one of our Journals covered this quarter. To be super mathematicians we are able to work with much larger numbers. Through watching digital recordings and practising practically in live lessons we are able to add and subtract these more challenging calculations. “Sharing is caring” played an important part when it came to cutting something into two equal parts: a practical introduction to fractions. “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” – Richard Steele” Exercising our bodies was a weekly challenge shared with us by our Sports department. Exercising our brains was an overall goal. One component of exercising our children’s minds was to continue reading our class readers via Book Creator. We were further enriched by Mrs. Crouse’s weekly digital books which were closely linked to our project based learning. Our classrooms are now also equipped with a “virtual” library book corner where we can continue to enjoy the magic of reading. A kaleidoscope of new educational ventures awaits us in the Third Quarter. Follow our creative journey as we seek out new challenges and possibilities. To our Grade Two children we say: A GRADE THREE LEARNING ADVENTURE… Our way of life has surely taken a different turn over the past few months, yet our ability to adapt to change has proven to positively ignite creativity and innovation towards learning. The introduction of online learning presented our learners with creative morning connect videos during which their teachers shared jokes, riddles and “Did You Know” facts to get the creative juices flowing before each lesson. Alternatively learners had the opportunity to play educational games such as 30 Seconds and Scrabble, providing much needed positive distraction. With the global travel ban in effect, the Grade Three teachers collectively decided to introduce world travel as a recurring theme to help spark the imaginations of the learners, who were given the opportunity to select a destination of their choice. The teachers were also given the opportunity to select a country, and then took the learners on an exciting adventure where they were exposed to the different cultural elements, famous landmarks, vegetation and indigenous wildlife. Having been exposed to many different cultures and their cuisines, learners were challenged to test their culinary skills, by cooking up a storm in their home kitchens. We undoubtedly have a few chefs in our midst! A number of new skills were harnessed during our culinary endeavours, such as how to correctly measure ingredients and capture the data in a recipe book to share with fellow learners.