Shakespeare Schools Festival At The Fugard Theatre 2020
Our High School Drama department participated in the 2020 Shakespeare Schools Festival this past Friday at the famous Fugard Theatre. They performed a stunning rendition of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The students had been practising relentlessly for months and the day finally arrived! Mr Riaan Vosloo and Ms Genevieve Kerswill accompanied them to the theatre where they spent the whole day preparing for one of the biggest local drama events of the year.
The whole production was performed by our students on stage in front of a live audience at The Fugard Theatre.
Twenty six Blouberg International High School students took part in the stage production and assisted with roles such as directing, sound and lighting, backstage prompting and props.
This performance was an experience they will cherish forever. We wish to congratulate all the students involved and their teachers on their magnificent achievement.
High School Drama Department
Year 2 Ostrich Farm Outing 2020
The Year 2 students had the pleasure of visiting the Ostrich Farm recently where they were fortunate enough to be taught the life cycle of an Ostrich and facts about their skeletons. Interesting facts such as their eyes are bigger than their brain and they are the world’s largest bird.
They spent their lunch break on the lush green lawns where they met two beautiful cheetahs and some lovable, yet hungry, goats…
A valuable life lesson the students also learned, according to Gamelihle Masuku, was “If an Ostrich comes after you, it is important that you lie on the floor and cover your head”.
An extremely interesting and enjoyable outing overall, we are all looking forward to visiting the Ostrich Farm again shortly.
Erin Hierse
Year 2 Teacher
Sensory Play in the Nursery
Why do we engage in Sensory Play?
From birth through to early childhood, children use their senses to explore and try to make sense of the world around them. They do this by touching, tasting, smelling, seeing, moving and hearing.
Children and even adults learn best and retain the most information when they engage their senses. Many of our favorite memories are associated with one or more of our senses: for instance, the smell of a summer night campfire or a song you memorized the lyrics to with a childhood friend. Now, when your nostrils and eardrums are stimulated with those familiar smells and sounds respectively, your brain triggers a flashback memory to those special times.
- Research shows that Sensory Play builds nerve connections in the brain’s pathways, which lead to the child’s ability to complete more complex learning tasks.
- Sensory Play supports language development, cognitive growth, fine and gross motor skills, problem solving skills, and social interaction.
- This type of play aids in developing and enhancing memory.
- Sensory Play is great for calming an anxious or frustrated child.
- This helps children learn sensory attributes. (hot, cold, sticky, dry)
I wish to encourage parents to get messy with their children at home to make learning more fun.
Jacky Billings
Nursery Teacher
It’s Cloudy In Year 3!
Clouds
The students presented their clouds and shared their favorite type of cloud with the class. Learning about the different types of clouds through art was exciting.
What is your favourite type of cloud?
From The Principal’s Desk, 12 March 2020
Dear Parents
I realize more and more that time is a precious commodity. We are facing various threats and challenges in our lives and we all deal with these in our own way.
At the moment we are all very aware of the COVID-19 virus and the threat it poses. We are taking preventative measures and have strategies in place should a crisis situation arise in the Western Cape. I am mindful that as parents we have concerns and we need to plan. It is vital, however, that we do not panic or overreact.
We have a few more days until the end of the term and we are all looking forward to spending time with our families. This is a good time to reflect; spend time with our children and plan for the possibilities of what we might face.
Next week Key Stage 1 will have a Spelling Bee on Monday and Tuesday. School will close earlier on Wednesday, but aftercare will be available.
I wish you all a wonderful holiday ahead and I hope we all return with renewed vigour and strength.
Best wishes
Edna
SRC Portfolios 2020
The following students have been entrusted with the responsibility of the following portfolios:
The leader in charge of discipline should have an interest in the disciplining of
students and should have a broad knowledge of the school rules concerning
the discipline which includes the demerit and detention system.
Khanyisa Buthelezi- Culture
The leader in charge of Spirit & Culture will assist the Marketing team at Blouberg
International School. The Marketing leader should be outgoing, have good
interpersonal skills and be comfortable in adult company.
Alex Massyn- Sport
The leader in charge of sport should have an interest in sports and a broad
knowledge of the sporting calendar of the school, as well as the allied Extra-Mural
activities.
Audrey Lepo & Venus Chamunorwa- Student Welfare
The leader in charge of student welfare should have an interest in the health and safety of students to ensure their well being, comfort, and safety at Blouberg International. This includes the emotional well-being of students.
Katherine Lott- Secretary & Treasurer & Interact
The Secretary & Treasurer shall:
- record the minutes of all meetings;
- make a copy available of such minutes to the SRC coordinator who will, in turn, make available to the Principal.
- Ensure and keep a record of expenditures and profit of the SRC.
- Ensure that the expenditure of the SRC is utilized within the approved SRC
budget.
The leader in charge of Interact will work closely with the teacher(s) in charge of Interact to ensure a meaningful experience for the students at Blouberg International School.
Carmen de Villiers
High School Teacher
Exploring Our World
The Year 4’s have had an exciting first 3 weeks of school. We’ve started with an interesting topic in Science: Habitats.
We’ve learned some new scientific terminology such as habitat, micro habitats and adaptations. Last week we got the chance to practically apply our knowledge by exploring the school’s garden. We found loads of animals and insects such as doves, swallows, beetles, butterflies, ants, moths and spiders! Once back in class, we had to draw the habitats and list all the animals we found.
Mrs Schoots also spoke about her class’s pet rats and how they are adapted to live in a cage and what makes them different from rats living in nature. It really helped us to understand how some animals might be able to survive in more than one habitat. We will continue with this topic for the next few weeks.
We are so blessed to live in a country with such a vast variety of animals and plants. It is important that we respect these animals and their habitats – no matter how small they are!
“Animals are such agreeable friends—they ask no questions; they pass no criticisms.” –George Eliot
Ria du Plessis
Year 4 Teacher
Nursery Fun 2020
The Nursery has started to settle in well in their first term.
They have settled into the routine and during the day they have a nutritious breakfast and all the yummy snacks and lunch provided by the school. They also get to have nice long restorative naps.
They have a nice shade over the garden and can spend most of the day outside in the fresh air. They are making new friends and learning so many interesting things about the class topic this week. The topic for the week is Family and the little ones love talking about their families and painting and drawing them.
The Nursery had immense fun playing with all the Sensory toys. They had a great time touching the sand, water and small creatures. They also liked playing with the macaroni and little dinosaurs.
I look forward to seeing how the little ones in our Nursery develop this term.
Jacky Billings
Nursery Teacher
From the Principal’s Desk, 30 January 2020
Dear Parents
We had a lovely movie evening at school last Friday and I am certain that everyone who attended will agree that it was great family fun! Family is important and it was wonderful to spend time with our extended Blouberg family. We look forward to more of these gatherings in the future and appreciate your support in attending them.
We held our Foundation and Key stage 1 parent meetings last Thursday and tonight we have our Key Stage 2 parent information evening. I urge parents to communicate with teachers and make use of the Engage system to retrieve key information. Communication is key to good relationship!
We will be starting renovations to the girls’ bathrooms on the ground floor on Friday 31st January and again, we ask you to please remind the students to use the bathrooms on the first floor. We are looking forward to the fresh revamp!
Social media and its impact on our teenagers and young children remains a huge concern to educators and parents alike. We are in the process of finalizing a date to have Emma Sadler from the Digital Law Company address parents, and students who are 18 years of age. The dates will be made available as soon as possible and I urge every parent to join us on the evening.
I wish you all a wonderful weekend of family time.
Regards
Edna
The President’s Award
We are delighted to announce our partnership with The President’s Award for Youth Empowerment (TPA). Blouberg International School will register all the Year 8 students of 2020 for the Bronze level of the President’s Award programme.
The Award offers young people skills, experience and a credible reference with evidence that a young person has shown that they are willing to prepare themselves for a purposeful future by investing in their own development. Employers look for skills and experience, but ‘formal education’ is not a substitute for skills and schooling is not a reliable signal of capabilities.’
“The Award develops each individual uniquely with achievements that cannot be measured on paper. It teaches real-life skills like work experience, interpersonal expertise and self-discipline” – Azhar Booley
It is internationally acknowledged that the completion of one or more levels of the Award suggests to an employer or a scholarship adjudicator that the individual has gone beyond the minimum in preparing themselves for the world of work and further learning, providing greater insight into the individual’s character and capacity to achieve in whatever circumstances they find themselves in.
The President’s Award creates opportunities for young people to develop their character, discover their purpose and determine their futures. The Award is designed to reward perseverance and inspire individual action through challenging, but non-competitive activities.
The Award brings together practical experiences and life skills, it builds confidence, encourages physical health and recreation; and motivates young people to engage with their communities.
There are many benefits to doing the Award. The award is gained through individual improvement and achievement, which means that disadvantaged young people and those with special needs are able to participate fully! It’s a process, not a prize. The Award is earned through regular effort, commitment and improvement.
For more information visit: https://presidentsaward.co.za/
Riaan Vosloo
High School Teacher