6 LIBRARY We hit the ground running and with much anticipation as we headed for World Book Day which never takes a day but several events to properly do justice to such an important occasion. Hooked On Books kicked off the celebrations with two vibrant shows, and these talented actors always provide memorable entertainment and much inspiration to inspire reading. We welcomed Lori-Ann Preston, author of one of our class readers, who introduced us to her latest book. The wonderful ladies of Bargain Books treated us to two exciting shopping days and we just loved the great selection of books to browse. Soon we moved on to Star Wars day to spend time with the characters of one of the great stories of our time. We heard the latest news, played Kahoot and read from our vast selection of books. Elmer Day inspired us once again to show our true colours, encourage each other and always sprinkle a bit of humour wherever we go. In our libraries, June is the month to focus on our environment, endangered animals and oceans, and inspire each other to make small changes that could make a big impact on our environment. Two Lit Quiz teams attended an inter schools event and impressed with their incredible book knowledge. This bodes well for our inter house events which will be taking place next quarter. There is always something to look forward to if you love books! ROBOTICS This quarter has been an exhilarating journey for our learners as they dived into a variety of STEM activities designed to ignite their curiosity and enhance their learning experience. From coding to robotics, our learners have embraced the challenge and showcased remarkable creativity and problem-solving skills. Our youngest learners in Grade 1 and 2 explored the basics of coding with Scratch Jr, creating interactive stories and games that introduced them to sequencing, loops, and events. Grade 3 learners took their learning to new heights with LEGO WeDo, building robotic arms, garbage trucks with tilting mechanisms, and fishes with flapping tails, allowing them to understand basic engineering principles and the mechanics of movement. Meanwhile, Grade 4 learners embarked on a coding adventure with Swift Playgrounds, solving puzzles and completing challenges using Byte, which enhanced their coding skills and sharpened their problem-solving abilities. Grade 5 learners engaged in hands-on projects with Tinker Boards to create intricate marble runs and built towers using just six bricks and a LEGO Spike Prime grabber, emphasising precision, planning and perseverance. Grade 6 learners delved into more advanced coding with CS First and Swift Playgrounds, exploring variables, conditions, and logical operators, which prepared them for future programming challenges and enhanced their analytical thinking. One of the highlights of this quarter was the Enrichment Takeover Day, where Grade 3 and 4 learners paired up to design and race balloonpowered cars, combining creativity, engineering and teamwork. These STEM activities fostered creativity and innovation, enhanced problem-solving skills, promoted teamwork and collaboration, developed technical skills, and encouraged perseverance. As we look forward to the next quarter, we are excited to continue this journey of discovery and innovation, building on the strong foundation laid this term. The future is bright for our young scientists, engineers, and coders! CULTURE The main focus of the second quarter for the Culture Department is the preparation for and participation in the various Eisteddfods we enter. We had a large number of Ballet, Modern and Tap entries for the Cape Town Eisteddfod, held at Sea Point Civic Centre, which included a Production number, titled, ‘Midnight at the Toyshop’, involving 38 preparatory dancers and voiced by our own Mrs Buckle. Our three dance teachers, Mrs Stander, Miss Dean and Ms Holder worked tirelessly to prepare our dancers for this enormous task; choreographing each piece to specific music and creating the costumes for each dancer. We are very proud of Yara Arries who won the Classical Set Solo in her age group. Our Art, Music and Drama departments support the Western Cape Virtual Eisteddfod. We have 200 entries in the Eisteddfod this year and will receive our results next quarter. The Preparatory Music Department continues to grow and we have been treated to Assembly performances by individuals, choir and Marimba Bands. They continue to display confidence and passion, captivating the audience. We are extremely proud of our Senior Choir who performed at the Cape Town City Hall in the Choral Choir festival. They looked smart in their new choir waistcoats. The Art and Design classes have been focussed on designing and creating the gifts which will be given to the delegates attending the Deputies conference in September. Beautiful Cape Town-themed bookmarks and notebook covers have been created and we’re looking forward to seeing the final products. The Grade Five and Six Drama classes faced a Shakespeare challenge this quarter. Using phrases that Shakespeare created and we still use today, the learners designed GIFs and posters. Predictably, the boys all focussed on ‘off with his head’, ‘fight fire with fire’ and ‘foul play/fair play’, whereas the girls were intrigued by ‘love is blind’, ‘green-eyed monster’ and ‘bedazzled’ to name a few. The Grade Four learners practised modulation skills and experimented with iMovie, Greenscreen, Keynote and Sketches to animate and bring poetry to life.
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