Author: gemayel

Mindfulness

In Year 6 (as well as in High School), the weeks leading up to exams are inundated with moments of high anxiety and negative thoughts.  To try and combat this, Mrs. Hack and I have been teaching the students about Mindfulness.

What is Mindfulness? 
Well, you have likely heard this ubiquitous term before, though you may not have hit the pause button on your busy life to find out what it means. Mindfulness is when we pay attention to our thoughts and feelings without judgement—without believing that there’s a “right” or “wrong” way to think or feel in a given moment.
It uses small bursts of meditation to help you become more aware of the present moment – rather than dwelling too much on the past you cannot control or the future that has not yet happened.

Right now, we are using Mindfulness to help calm our minds and Power Poses to help link a strong body to a strong mind.

Both Go Noodle and YouTube have a variety of Mindfulness activities that you can try with your children. Here are also some links to Mindfulness websites:
https://leftbrainbuddha.com/10-ways-teach-mindfulness-to-kids/
https://www.parents.com/health/healthy-happy-kids/why-and-how-to-teach-kids-mindfulness/

Marisa Esterhuizen
Year 6 Teacher

Transport In Year 1 – Rockets

This term in Year 1 our History topic is Transport. The learning outcomes for this topic is for students to be able to identify different modes of transport through the ages and how they have evolved: road, rail, sea and air and to understand how transport has made a difference in our lives today.

We integrated our Transport theme into our Design and Technology lesson by challenging the students to design and make our own Rocket Ships during class time. Students were asked to bring materials to school and they needed to build their rocket ship by themselves.

The Year 1 teachers were very impressed at the unique and creative Rocket ships the students built. 

Tayla White
Year 1 Teacher              

Year 3 Are “Walking Like Egyptians!”

♫ All the kids in the marketplace say
Ay oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh
Walk like an Egyptian  ♫
 

Calling all pharaohs, slaves, gods, goddesses, farmers and mummies! This term Year 3 are learning all about Ancient Egypt.  Our students are delving into pyramids, exploring royal tombs, writing hieroglyphs and discovering the various roles and rights of Egyptian society.

During Art this week, students created a typical Egyptian landscape using pencil drawings, paper cuttings and water paints.  Their task was to design an Egyptian landscape silhouette using various art media to showcase ancient symbols and landmarks.  The students tackled the task with much gusto and thoroughly enjoyed creating the moon-like backdrop firstly, with pencil drawings and then water paints.  They learnt to mix various shades and tones and to blend the colours to create a rainbow-like effect before they pasted on their pyramids, camels and sphinx cutouts.

Well done Year 3’s!  Your artwork looks awesome and you have a very proud teacher!    
                                               
Mandy Goch
Year 3 Teacher

Year 2 Experi-buddies Inting

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time” – Thomas Edison

In science, this term, our Year 2’s are learning about all the wonders of electricity! We are so excited for fun in class and exciting new experiments.

This week we enjoyed a visit from the Experi-buddies team. Our Inting started with a small demonstration from the team where we learnt about what Electricity is and who Thomas Edison was. After this we got into batteries and how we can use them to power up light bulbs, set off buzzers and even power up a small fan.
 
Our favourite part was when we got to go back to our tables and start experimenting with our own batteries and light bulbs. We learnt about open and closed circuits and exactly what we need to make the light go on. We also learnt about solar power and how that works, after experimenting with light switches too.

It was so much fun learning about things we are able to find and observe in our everyday lives!

Visit the link to learn more about Experi-buddies:
 
Siobhan Hendry
Year 2 Teacher

Holistic Approach To Mathematics As A Discipline & Subject

•  types of problems it addresses
• methods it uses to address these problems
• the results it has achieved

Mathematics relies on both logic and creativity, and it is pursued both for a variety of practical purposes and for its intrinsic interest. Primary and Secondary Mathematics however should focus on a holistic definition encompassing all facets of the subject as a discipline. I would like to explore, again another category generally believed to address Mathematics in its totality:

Mathematics as the prime human endeavor
We teach Reception and all Primary measurement of time for example, years, months, weeks, days, hours. We also teach distance measurement that developed throughout the world. For some people, the essence of mathematics lies in its beauty and its intellectual challenge. Because mathematics plays such a central role in modern culture, students need to perceive mathematics as part of the human endeavor, comprehend the nature of mathematical thinking, and become familiar with key mathematical ideas and skills.

Every Child Shines

Last week the Year 4’s had to set some personal goals for themselves to end the year in the best possible way. It was wonderful to see all the different goals that the students wanted to achieve. Goals varied from “improving my piano skills”, “respecting and accepting myself for who I am” to “giving my old toys to charity”. I noticed that there were so many students that wanted to do well in their progression tests and achieve a high mark at the end of the year.

It is clear that we’ve reached that time of the year where they might start to feel a bit overwhelmed and stressed about the upcoming tests and assessments. It is so important that we, as teachers and parents, encourage our children to do their best but it should not be something that causes them so much stress and anxiety. I recently read a beautiful quote that really stuck with me:

“Don’t compare your child to others. There’s no comparison between the sun and the moon. They both shine when it’s their turn” – Unknown

This quote really inspired me to start thinking differently about the way we think about these tests and the way that we speak to our children in general. I read a marvellous article on https://www.momspresso.com that summarized the impact that comparing can have on children:
The article states that every child is different and that in the present age, where competition has spread its tentacles in every walk of life, it is crucial to teach our kids to be grounded. And comparing him at each step will just not help. He should be taught to better himself with each day, not to be better than his counterparts. It is natural to know where our child stands amidst others, in this world of ranks and percentages and wherein everyone is bidding for that coveted seat in a top school or university. But to constantly harrow him as to how others are better than him will fill him with inferiority complex.

Here are some prime reasons as to why we should not compare our children with others:

• It leads to self-doubt.
  
• It causes pangs of jealousy.
• It can make your child negative.
  
• They will feel like they don’t have your support.
  
• It can make them extremely nervous and cause anxiety.Instead of comparing your child to others, rather encourage and motivate them to better themselves and teach them to love and respect themselves.

  Here are some easy tips to motivate your child:

• Let them set realistic goals for themselves.
  
• Celebrate their accomplishments – no matter how small.
  
• Encourage them.
  
• Take interest in what they do and spend time with them.
  
• Discover their passions and use it to help them achieve their goals.
  
• Always remain positive.
  
• Ensure that they know you love them no matter what.Inspired by the quote about the moon and the stars, my class had to decorate and colour in a picture of a moon and a sun and was encourage to be as creative as possible. The creativity and uniqueness in their picture reflects their own uniqueness. We are all different and that is what makes us special.

  I wish all the students that are studying for the upcoming tests and assessments all of the best.

  Always remember: You are worthy, you are blessed and you are loved.

  Mrs Ria du Plessis
  Year 4

Electrical Excitement

The Year 2s are learning about electricity and simple circuits. Mrs. Baker’s class were guided safely to discover how electricity works.

The class was divided into four groups. They were given: a small light bulb, some wires, a battery, a battery holder, and a switch. Their task? Make the light bulb glow!
Much consternation, frustration and excitement followed. Each group was determined to be the first group to get the light bulb to glow. Mrs. Baker soon realized that a couple of tips were needed. The students got back on task, and before long, an excited shout could be heard as one of the groups were able to get their bulb to glow.

Why do such an activity in Year 2?
Science allows for many skills to be integrated in one subject. Students were expected to collaborate to complete the task. They had to problem solve and critically analyse what they were doing to change what wasn’t working and improve on what they had done so far. Once the students saw that all the wires and metal parts had to be touching for the light bulb to glow, immediate cohesion was seen in the group with each child having to hold a wire or a battery holder or the bulb to make sure everything was working in circuit.

I don’t think these Year 2s will easily forget this lesson! Hopefully this will ignite their curious minds to ask questions and discover new things daily.

Gillian Baker
Year 2 Teacher

The Building Blocks of Early Learning

The Nursery class is enjoying building blocks. They have been working together to make big towers, learning to share with each other while cooperating for a greater goal.
We have been learning about different shapes and discussing what shapes the blocks are. At this stage we are investigating squares, rectangles and triangles.

A few benefits of building blocks include:

• Improves hand-eye coordination by learning to place the block on the block tower in such a way that does not topple the tower.
• Teaches early math and engineering skills through hands on learning.
• Spatial awareness.
• Improves fine motor skills.

I wish to encourage parents to spend time with your children, building with a variety of blocks and Lego. Such a simple activity can have a tremendously positive impact on learning.

Jacky Billings
Nursery Teacher