From the Principal’s Desk, 28 May 2021

 

Dear Parents

We have reached the business end of the term and this means exam and test time. By now, all students should have a study timetable to ensure that they are able to do THEIR very best.

Student wellness is most important. Let’s all work together to ensure that our children are as relaxed as can be. While these assessments are important, they DO NOT define our children. As parents and teachers, we need to care for our children more than we care for the results.

FEATURE PHOTO

Our main newsletter photograph features Mrs Ann Cordner. Mrs Cordner is our Key Stage 1 Coordinator. Did you know:

• She started teaching at Blouberg International School in 2014 as a Year 1 teacher.
• She was one of two teachers who started a brand new school in Durbanville. She taught Grades 1, 2, 3 and 4 in one class for 6 months, an experience she never wishes to repeat!
• She runs about 5km 3 times a week and has aspirations of one day running a half marathon again. Actually, in her dreams it’s the Comrades.
• During the lockdown in April 2020, she ran a marathon over three weeks doing laps around her garden, each lap was only 120m which equated to 350 laps. So she was well acquainted with every blade of grass by the end of the 42.2 km.
• She loves to sit and read a good book accompanied by a cup of tea and a chocolate.
• She always jokes with the children in her class that she is 99 years old and sadly they find it easy to believe.

Thank you, Ann, for all you do for our school. You are an inspiration for many.

REAL MADRID SOCCER CLINIC FOR SEK AND IES

IES and the Real Madrid Foundation have signed an important agreement, exclusively for our students, with the aim of carrying out high-level sports activities.

From July 4th to the 10th, students between the ages of 11 and 14 will be able to take part in a soccer clinic (intensive soccer program) at “Real Madrid City” in Valdebebas (Madrid), considered the largest sports centre built by a club in the world.

Students will be housed, on a full board basis, in a student residence located in the heart of Madrid, on Paseo de la Habana, next to the Santiago Bernabéu stadium.

Daily soccer training sessions will be led by Real Madrid coaches, offering elite and competitive soccer training.

Our students will also be provided with a complete Real Madrid Foundation training kit.

In addition to sports activities, students will enjoy recreational and cultural activities in the city of Madrid.

The price of the complete course, including transport and transfers in Madrid, is  € 1,190 (excludes flights).

There is limited space in the camp (a total of 25 participants) so if you are interested in having your child participate in the Real Madrid Soccer Clinic please contact our Sport Coordinator, Ms Yvette Fourie (yvette.fourie@iesmail.com) for more details.

WEEKLY THOUGHT: Small Matters

“Big doors swing on little hinges.” – W. Clement Stone

Let that image sink in…

When things go right, it often is not because people or institutions got the “big” things right. This goes the other way too: If things go terribly wrong, it usually isn’t because people made massive and apparent mistakes.

In failures and successes, we must not immediately look for the obvious things. Instead, as Stone suggests, we should rather set our sights on the small things.

We will all do well to look at our own lives and ask ourselves whether we are living life as successfully as we would like to be? If the answer is “No”, we are quick to think that getting a degree or a new job in a different city is what we need to set our lives in a better direction – you know, some “big” changes…

But if we take Stone’s words to heart, we may want to consider the following things: How much we sleep; how much time we set apart just to think and meditate; whether we exercise and eat balanced meals; what and how we read; who we hang out with and call our friends; what we believe and the amount of time we spend on our spiritual lives.

Can you recognise these “little hinges” in your life? If we work on them, we may just find that the doors of opportunity swing open, along with peace and success. Though largely unnoticed, the above aspects of our lives are so much more significant than we could ever imagine.

Shall we try to get the “small” things right in our lives? Doing so may just mark the start of a wonderful new journey – for us and the people dearest to us.

Have a wonderful weekend and let’s execute well on the “small things”.

Andre