Quarter 1 Newsletter 2022

9 In the Culture Department, Quarter One is always filled with preparation. As Alexander Graham Bell says, ‘Before anything else, preparation is the key to success’. We prepare our learners for entry to the Examinations, Eisteddfods and Competitions offered for the various disciplines taught at the College. As we reach the end of the quarter, we start to see the progress made by our learners. Every week they learn a little extra phrase of their piece of music, a few more beats to add to their dance routine, an extra verse of the poem that they’re reciting or a new perspective to their artwork is revealed. This continuous step by step process is what leads to a successful final product. We need to remember and keep in mind that ‘Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day- in and day-out’ (Robert Collier). This process has lauded huge success for our department. Each year, Trinity College of Music publishes a Top Achievers list. This list represents the learners who received above 90% for their practical music examinations. In 2021, a total of 11 learners who entered under the Parklands Preparatory banner were on the list. We are one of the top achieving Preparatory Faculties in the Western Cape for the 2021 season. Congratulations to: Nika Vouris (Piano Mr Ernstzen), Muting Li (Piano Mr Ernstzen), Reynard-Grey Smit (Piano Mrs du Plessis), Lara Smit (Piano Mrs Domingo), Liat Demissew (Piano Mrs Domingo), Taziané Botha (Piano Mrs Domingo), Isabella van Jaarsveld (Piano Mrs du Plessis), Alexander Smit (Piano Mr Swanepoel), Karena Li (Piano Mrs Domingo), Akhanya Ngqongwa (Piano Mr Ernstzen), Carl Scheffler (Piano Mr Ernstzen) and their teachers. The members of the Junior Preparatory Drama Society have had a wonderful quarter experimenting with their voices, creating interesting shapes with their bodies and perfecting their presentation of role-play scenes. They’ve been waves, rocks, the beach, built boats, climbed mountains, acted like royalty and found all manner of things hiding away under beds! The Senior Preparatory learners have presented scenes using various tools - for example: spatial limitations, three sounds, body movements and scenes based on a situation or word. All of these learners have worked creatively in mixed grade groups, forging new friendships and becoming more confident. The Junior Design Society learners created intricate and wonderfully colourful designs this quarter. Using their knowledge of fabric design and how repeat patterns work, they designed a shape textile stamp from foam paper and perspex that they used to print a pattern on their very own fabric pencil bag. They added a unique beaded grabber on the zip of their bags for easy pulling. The learners also created a garden bird poster, completing their poster with splashes of watercolour paint. The Senior Preparatory Design Society members worked on their three-dimensional space skills by creating clay bowls that were beautifully painted and decorated with patterns and shapes. They created bulky ornamental cats in clay, paying attention to all the sides of their sculptures, then they added paint and a luminous varnish to complete the look. They made incredible scraperboard drawings with a scratching tool and worked in reverse by drawing in white lines on a black surface. Creative Agents rule in the Design room! Every Friday morning we are treated to the sounds of jive, salsa and waltz beats and rhythms as our Senior Preparatory Ballroom dancers are put through their paces. These boys and girls are heading towards lifting the glitter ball and they are just a handful of the dancers that we see participating in Ballet, Modern and Tap classes in the mornings and afternoons. It’s so lovely to see many new Junior Preparatory learners joining our dance lessons and we look forward to watching their routines on stage soon. We are so privileged to be able to foster and develop this love of Culture in our learners, collaborating with each other and working together to reach a successful goal. A CULTURAL COLLECTION There was great excitement as the year started and our sports stars could get back onto the field and play matches again: a novelty that has been out of reach for almost two full years! Our Grade One learners were probably the most excited of all, as they entered our sporting codes for the very first time. It has been incredible to watch their sheer excitement to be on the field evolve into a sense of achievement as they have gained more confidence in their abilities through the quarter. We look forward to watching our youngest sports enthusiasts develop further during the winter sports season. The Senior Preparatory Swimming Gala was also able to make its long awaited return to our sporting calendar. There was a sea of Red, Yellow, Blue and Green in the pool area as Houses cheered on their teammates from the pavilion. Even a little bit of rain could not dampen the spirits! The girls enjoyed their time in the Water Polo pool as they continued to develop their skills through the Quarter. We were privileged to be invited to Herchel’s Centenary celebrations, which saw the U/12 girls play five games in one afternoon! It was a busy Quarter on the cricket field, with all of our cricket teams taking to the field for the first time in two years. We were able to celebrate some good individual achievements as players were giving their all for the team. We had a few boys that came close to scoring 50 runs in an innings, but Seth Lester managed to score 52 runs against Blouberg Ridge. Well done to all the boys who were so committed to their teams this Quarter. We hope to build on this success later in the year! A SPORTING START TO THE YEAR