Quarter 1 Newsletter 2021

CRACKERJACKS Our little Crackerjacks had a fantastic start to the 2021 school year! They have all settled beautifully and we are super proud of each Caterpillar and Butterfly! They have been learning all about their bodies and senses and enjoyed paint-printing their hands and feet. They giggled with delight as the soft paintbrushes tickled their hands and feet. During the warm summer days, the Butterflies have loved engaging in water play. The Caterpillars kicked off their shoes and explored the different textures in the newly filled sandpit. They can often be heard singing their favourite songs and nursery rhymes and it is such a treat to watch them dance to music. We celebrated Friendship Day on 14 February with a red, white and pink dress-up day. The Butterflies sponge painted cloudy skies with floating hearts and the Caterpillars made cute little love bugs with their own printed face photographs. On Lego day they delighted in building with our very special giant Lego Soft Bricks, building high towers and balanced on a soft brick balance beam. We practiced our fine motor and visual perceptual skills during Puzzle Day and built shape and peg puzzles of every kind. The Caterpillars and Butterflies thoroughly enjoyed listening to stories being read by their teachers on World Read Aloud day. As we say goodbye to the Summer Quarter, we welcome Autumn, with its many learning experiences. We look forward to watching the weather change and finding beautiful autumn leaves in our little garden. Most of all we await many more happy adventures! We wish all our little ones a happy holiday and look forward to welcoming them back next quarter. Chanay de Klerk and Ingrid Lubbe GRADE 000 We were incredibly proud of our little ones, who with love, patience and very few tears, soon got into the swing of things. They settled into the busy school day filled with playing, learning and exploring. This quarter we were treated to two very exciting shows, the ‘Be Smart - Be Sun-Smart’ and ‘My Five Senses Show’. During the ‘Be Smart - Be Suns Smart’ we enjoyed learning about how to be safe in the sun, how important it is to wear a sun hat and to apply sunblock. The boys and girls were excited to go outside, testing their colour-changing sun safe beads in the garden. PRE-PRIMARY FACULTY GRADES 0000 - R . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . From the Principal’s Office Riette Pieterse We are now well into 2021 and it is wonderful to walk through the Pre-Primary and Crackerjacks and observe the children confidently participating in activities and getting to know each other. They are settling into their new classes and are eagerly learning their class rules and routines. We enjoy greeting our parents in the morning and hope that you feel welcome and happy if you have just joined the Christopher Robin Pre-Primary Family. I look forward to continuing to work together with our “old” families and acquaint myself with those who have recently joined us. The CRPP team are passionate about the power of play and exploration as we are well aware of the critical role it plays in a child’s development. We know that our children are born with an innate desire to create, move and discover and so all activities are designed with this mind. Decades of research clearly demonstrate that play is more than just fun and games. Play boosts healthy development across a broad spectrum of critical areas: intellectual, social, emotional and physical. Our childrens’ futures are shaped by these types of enriching learning experiences in the early years. “Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn.” - O. Fred Donaldson I would like to pay tribute to the staff for their hard work and for very often going beyond and above the call of duty. We have a fantastic team and I am very proud of them. I would particularly like to acknowledge their hard work, very often after hours, their passion for education and for always putting the needs of the learners in their care first. We celebrated Christopher Robin Pre-Primary’s 41st birthday on 11 March. The children had an exciting day of celebration and enjoyed a special show and delicious birthday cake. The Christopher Robin Pre-Primary team and I would like to congratulate Lorraine Roth on Christopher Robin Pre-Primary’s 41st birthday. This is an amazing achievement. We are incredibly grateful for this wonderful school, her expert guidance and hands on approach in the Pre-Primary. We trust that you will have a good rest and some quality family time over the Easter Break. On behalf of the Crackerjacks and Christopher Robin Pre-Primary staff, I would like to thank you for your support and for being our partners in education. We are looking forward to welcoming you back on Wednesday, 13 April.