Quarter 4 Newsletter 2021

4 PREPARATORY FACULTY GRADES 1 - 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . From the Principal’s Office Lee-ann Steynberg This year has been a hive of activity and one for us to remember. I would like to take the opportunity to thank our parents for their support and words of encouragement, praise and recognition of our teachers. Your words and emails no matter how small have been appreciated and valued. To our teachers and staff, thank you for working together and supporting each other, for all the duties and responsibilities you have each day. We thank you and salute you. We wish our Grade 6’s well as they end their time with us in the Preparatory. They have learned and grown so much and are ready for the new adventures that await them in the Secondary Faculty. Extract from Grade 6 Speech: Grade 6’s, today is all about you, you know the words that are close to my heart, I say them in every assembly and I remind you of them every chance I get. Be Kind, if all you can do today is be kind then know that you have made someone feel welcome, you have made someone feel as though they belong, you have let someone know that you care. Remember our Growing Minds, it is there to guide and help you to develop into adults who are able to communicate with others and express your ideas and opinions in a way that is effective and heard; to help you recognise opportunities to collaborate and to be purposeful in your goals and plans. You must be able to pause, reflect and think critically about the world around you and your role within it. We want you to be creative in your responses, to never give up and know that the first attempt at anything is only the beginning of your journey. You need to learn to be citizens of a community and to accept your consequences as you are responsible for your actions. Finally we want you to know that kindness can get us far and empathy and fairness is the right way to treat others. A final thought for you Grade 6’s, a quote by Holly Branson: Just imagine how different the world would be if we all spoke to everyone with respect and kindness. Grade 6’s, you are the future and you have the power to make a difference in this world. Make sure the impact that you have is one that leaves a positive footprint and one that you can look back upon with pride. We wish you all the best with your new adventures in Grade 7. Nine of our young scientists from Grade Six participated in the annual Cape Town ESKOM EXPO. After months of hard work, they were able to present their findings with other young scientists from schools around the Cape. We are extremely pleased with our learners' achievements. We are proud of the following learners for their participation, Aaron Ollomo, Cole Petersen, Emma Lillienfeld and Amelia Roux. Our Bronze badge winners were Matthew Lourens and Michael Janisch for their project "Plastic-free Water Blob" in the category Environmental Studies - Sustainability, as well as Ying Chen Leu and Alexander Smit for their project "River Flow Hydro Energy" in the category Energy - Renewable Energy. Well done to our Gold medal winner Gerhard Vosloo for his project "Atmospheric Water Collector" in the category Earth Sciences - Water Sciences. Special mention must be made of Gerhard Vosloo's entry that was selected to represent the Western Cape Province at the Virtual International Science Fair (ISF). Gerhard received a silver award at the International Science Expo. We are extremely proud of this wonderful achievement. A SCIENCE ADVENTURE This year three Grade Five learners took part in the Virtual World Robotics Olympiad from the 18 - 21 November. Team Technoblade consisting of Luan Odendaal, Veer Atwaru and Matthew Franke, qualified to represent South Africa at this year's international competition. This was an online event in which teams from around the world competed over three days. On day 2 Team TechnoBlade uploaded the solution to their challenge via video for judging with a time of 84 seconds and a full score of 105. Early in the afternoon the second challenge was announced and the team started working on a possible solution. The team worked late into Friday night solving the task. They spent Saturday looking at ways to improve their performance and speed. Once the team was happy with their time they uploaded a video of their robot completing the challenge in a time of 20 seconds and with full points. On the Saturday afternoon some very tired but happy learners went home to get some well deserved rest. As the results were released on the Sunday, everyone gave shouts of celebration as Team Technoblade was placed 15th in the world. At the start of the event in August 2021, Regular Elementary teams took part making this placing an exceptional achievement. Well done Team TechnoBlade! Grade 6 Class of 2021 Gerhard Vosloo A ROBOTICS ADVENTURE