Quarter 1 Newsletter 2021

8 We are incredibly proud of how our learners have balanced the demands of the Grade Six routine. Grade Six, 2021 began with a bang as the learners were introduced to their Leadership Programme, which put our learners to the test and taught new skills. Two days were laid out and our learners successfully learnt what it takes to be a leader. During the first quarter, we began learning how to think scientifically as we tested out some Science experiments using liquids, solids and gasses. Our new scientist Mr Human made every lesson interesting and our students loved learning about different materials and structures. We enjoyed celebrating World Read Aloud Day where our Grade 6 learners took part with hundreds of other schools across the world, all reading out loud, from newspaper articles to recording stories for the Junior Prep. What a day it was, bringing joy back into reading! We have continued to explore different language concepts and build onto our prior knowledge. We celebrated Poetry Week where colour poems were written as well as performing poems in class, to showcase the many different styles of poetry. “Instavloed Week” was one to remember in the Afrikaans classroom. The learners had to rely on their own creativity and Life Skills discussions to complete various tasks throughout the week. Each student created their very own Instavloed using Google Slides and made beautiful posts on how to positively influence others. We took a trip through time and discovered the Southern Kingdoms which included learning about the Limpopo Valley, Mapungubwe and Great Zimbabwe. They had a close look at how the societies functioned and what they relied upon to ensure that the community was sustainable and how skills, like trading, was a focus point in terms of being able to acquire the necessary resources. iMovie was brought into the classroom and our learners had to create their own "trailer" of a history documentary. We look forward to many more learning opportunities where further skills and knowledge are introduced and honed. A LIBRARY ADVENTURE… The limits of my language are the limits of my world. - Ludwig Wittgenstein The good news is that a vibrant library programme has the power to demolish these boundaries and open up new worlds to our young readers. As we encourage children to read adventurously, and constantly expose them to a variety of new books and authors, their linguistic abilities develop and all learning tasks become easier as their understanding and concentration grow and they express themselves better. “Any excuse for a celebration” is our motto, and competitions, events and special days add excitement to our programme. This quarter we celebrated World Read Aloud Day with millions of children from around the world. We revisited the quirky characters and funny stories by a great favourite, Dr. Seuss, around the date of his birthday. We turned World Poetry Day into Poetry Week and created a rainbow of original poems by our talented young poets. We were delighted to open our libraries again and allow the learners to browse our well-stocked shelves. It is such a pleasure to welcome our keen readers in the libraries every week and guide their reading journeys. A CULTURAL ADVENTURE… How is it that music can, without words, evoke our laughter, our fears, our highest aspirations? - Jane Swan The Preparatory Faculty is extremely fortunate to offer an array of individual Musical instruments as well as Ensemble groups. The sound of our Marimba bands rehearsing in the mornings puts a spring in everyone’s step as they arrive at school and one cannot help but to move to the beat. Our Orchestra venues overflow with enthusiastic musicians who want to be part of ‘making music’. We often find ourselves singing along to the strains of ‘Mamma Mia’ and Waka-Waka’ played by the Percussion Ensemble. Music fills our Assembly, as we have pianists, violinists, guitarists, flautists and various Ensemble groups playing each week. The variety of genre is astounding, with everything from Beethoven to Tchaikovsky and some modern compositions being played. Our musicians are building their repertoire to enter various Trinity Examinations and Eisteddfod categories later this year and we delight in watching our younger learners gain confidence playing their instruments. We have had an influx of enthusiastic Dancers this quarter and it is wonderful to see our dedicated dancers arriving for their early morning lessons or their afternoon sessions. As I type, I can hear clear tap beats and rhythms from the Senior Dance Room next door and our modern and ballet dancers are building their strength and technique in the hall and in the beautiful Junior Dance Room. Our Art and Design rooms have been a hive of activity this quarter. The Junior Design Society members created a digital illustration on the Sketches Pro app for their very own visual journals that will be printed. They experimented with colourful koki artwork featuring birds and created a floating face 3D artwork from beads and pipecleaners that is suspended within a frame decorated with patterns made from foam paper, giving the overall artwork a tactile feel. The Grade One learners used watercolours to create their own self portraits and learnt different paper folding and cutting techniques, sculpting their own hanging symmetrical paper sculptures. The Grade Two's imagined they were scientists that discovered a new species of minibeast. Their final artwork was a 3D painting of their minibeast glued onto a pastel drawn background of their minibeast's habitat. They also learnt how to use the 3D modelling app TinkerCad and design their very own