Quarter 2 Newsletter 2021

4 ‘ T h i s is the most fun classroom in the school’, as said on multiple occasions by Nikki Niemand, South African Robotics educator and .. oh wait, that is me. And yes, I am allowed to be biased. I enjoy playing and building with LEGO, coding on Tynker and Scratch and trying to solve building and coding problems the kids bring to me. It would be interesting to know which of our children will choose a career in the Computer Science field. The field will be a lot bigger than we expect, maybe your child will be an Ethics Algorithm Expert or a Nano-Medicine Surgeon or for the more extreme, a Cyber Data Hostage Specialist… Woah, let’s get back to the current classroom again! Beginning with the littlies: The Grade R’s enjoy playing and building with DUPLO. Learning with their hands how to grip, connect, count when building a simple machine, like a lever, that allows for their Drummer Boy to drum on plates. They had fun using The Crusher, even though it was challenging to build (I admit, most of the time I challenge the kids well, but in the end they usually have a smile). My Grade 1’s were very excited to finally get to use their iPads. Block coding on Scratch Jnr eases them into logical thinking and sequencing. They coded a sun to rise and set, lights to turn on and stars to flash. Also, an Adventure Story with characters that could move, shrink and hide. We are still working on logical thinking, as many enjoy piling a bunch of coding blocks together and seeing how the character moves crazily on their screen. After months and months of not entering (yes, due to COVID), ‘the most fun classroom in the school’, all Junior Prep learners had a chance to play and build with LEGO. This does mean though that my LEGO pieces and table tops gulp sanitizer as if they are extremely thirsty. The Grade 2’s looked at levers, built structures, and looked at the benefits and dangers of flexible versus rigid structures. They used their learned skills to build a climbing frame and then the fun three S’s on a playground: swing, slide and see-saw. PREPARATORY FACULTY GRADES 1 - 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . From the Principal’s Office Lee-ann Steynberg As this quarter draws to a close and we begin to reflect on the events and activities that have taken place, I would like to say thank you to our educators, learners and parents for their support and enthusiasm. This quarter has seen us work on our fitness skills, build excitement for the return of matches only to feel the disappointment of having to return to fitness skills. Through this all the learners have remained positive and dedicated to building their fitness levels in preparation for future events. As always the Preparatory Faculty has been a constant hive of activity and the highlight for me has been our online authors and guest speakers. Online meetings have opened up a whole new world of connecting with others globally at the touch of a button. From shark talks to books, we have covered a variety of topics and asked many questions. Our young scientists are preparing for the annual Grade Six Science Expo and we wish them well. You can read more about the expo in our Science adventures. Culture continues to shine with their amazing Eisteddfod results. It was wonderful to end the quarter on a high note with a concert by our musicians - ensembles as well as solo performers. We will celebrate Mandela Day when we return to school on Wednesday 21 July. This year we would like to support local schools in growing their libraries and we will be collecting books for their shelves. We hope to collect a literary pile of 670 books. Our learners in the meantime will also be contributing to Mandela Day by recording themselves reading a book. We will share these recordings with schools in order to assist them in building an audio library for younger learners. This journey is a partnership with our parents and we thank you for your continued support in helping us to shape our children’s futures. "Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminates the world." Words from Louis Pasteur that resonate with our Science department. Science is for everyone, it’s part of our daily lives and it shines knowledge on everyday objects and scenarios. We are halfway through the year and our young scientists have put their skills and knowledge to the test so far and have shown us wonderful work on all fronts. Grade 4 has been focussing on critical thinking skills and learning how to apply their knowledge to different situations. They have been really working hard and showing promise, from everyday work in class to building sturdy structures using spaghetti and marshmallows. Grade 5’s were given the task to showcase a skeleton, any skeleton (real or fictitious), as long as it is accurate to their functions. We have seenwonderful creations! The imagination and creativity of our learners has reached a new level and the inventive ways of showcasing these skeletons are absolutely amazing. We have been so impressed! The Grade 6’s have been working hard on their expo projects, an intricate research assignment. Our learners have been exposed to The Scientific Method in practice, not the easiest task at hand, yet, they have risen to meet this challenge and have pleasantly surprised us so far. We are excited to see their final projects next quarter at our internal expo. We are waiting in great anticipation. - Mrs. Lewis-Correia A ROBOTICS ADVENTURE A SCIENCE ADVENTURE Science Expo Submission