Quarter 2 Newsletter 2021

6 Read a thousand books, and your words will flow like a river. - Lisa See The Library programme tumbles from one exciting event to the next, filling the minds of our readers with stories, images and colourful words, while enriching imaginations and investing in a life-long adventure with books. Since lockdown in 2020, authors have generously made material available online and engaged with their readers via online platforms, enabling us to expose our children to an array of local and international literary stars. World Book Day kicked off this journey with a vibrant and colourful dress-up day, and we connected online with two inspiring local authors, Michelle Sciacca and Refiloe Moahlali, while feasting on a brand new book titled Lockdown Luke by Lulu & Tee, which has proved to be a great favourite. We then made a brief stop in the Star Wars universe on the 4th of May to learn about the characters and new developments of one of the greatest sagas of our time. Elmer Day brought this iconic elephant to life as we crafted and painted and once again dressed up in our brightest clothes, encouraged to show our true colours. June heralds the commemoration of World Environment Day and World Oceans Day, and for weeks we immerse ourselves in the wonders of our planet, paying special attention to endangered species and the role we can play in protecting its resources. We were inspired by a New Zealand author, Helen Griffiths, who not only encouraged us to play our part in conservation, but also took us on an entertaining collective noun safari through her book, Treasure Beyond Measure. And so our world is filled with opportunities to learn while having fun with children’s books and the wonderful people who create them! - Mrs Crouse This quarter could be compared to the 100m Final of the Olympics, the most anticipated In Design Society this quarter, the Junior Preparatory learners were inspired by botanical art and the wonder of the plant world. They painted and built their very own flower press. In the following weeks they used their pressed flowers to collage an insect or animal and put it together in a frame to hang and admire at home. In keeping with the natural world theme, the learners created an abstract chalk pastel artwork, learning how to blend colours to emulate the Northern Lights. In addition to this, the Grade One learners used different tree shapes and various marking tools to create a magic forest collage and used wool to design a textile art reptile. The Grade Two learners learned different joining techniques using clay and created a painted clay sculpture of their chosen endangered animal which formed part of their class project. To demonstrate their understanding of warm and cold colours, they painted a Chinese Ming vase in blue shades and added warm colours for flowers placed inside their vases which was inspired by Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers artwork. The Grade Three learners explored famous architecture from around the world, putting into practice the art element ‘value’. They painted their famous building in the colours of the flag of the particular country. They also created a pinch pot from clay adding elements to create an animal face. - Miss Hartley The Senior Preparatory Design Society members created various different projects focussing on different art-making skills. They finished their mixed media vase paintings where they focussed on shape and form experimentation, texture application and creative decision-making. The learners ventured onto printmaking and created imaginative scenes where they were encouraged to deviate from what is realistic. They focussed on enhancing drawing skills, contrast, directional lines and positive versus negative space as well as working very precisely. The quarter culminated in a jewellery making project of polymer clay earrings and pendants, developing the learners’ fine motor skills and three-dimensional manual dexterity using tools. In Art lessons the learners created fun drawings of "visual diary prompts" in their diaries to get their creative juices going. They learned all about making wishes and how people have believed wishes to come true throughout the ages. They created an artwork about their own wishes by making all the creative decisions themselves by choosing the paper and art materials that they wanted to use. The Grade Fives and Sixes embraced photography after learning about the history of photography, how to use the art elements in their own photography, and how to edit a photo to enhance it. The Grade Sixes also started learning about stop motion animation in preparation for a fabulous animation project in quarter three. - Mrs Putter A LIBRARY ADVENTURE AN ART ADVENTURE Janice Mipando and Zimeng Li - Polymer Clay Design Society Tendeka Njukuya - Grade 4 Nathan Bazin - Grade 3 World Book Day 2021.4.23 Animal sculpture by Sofia Joubert, Grade 2 Elmer Day 2021.05.24 Calvin and Kahlia Skeleton