Barnaby Bear Day 2019
This term the Year 1’s have enjoyed our Geography theme “Where in the world is Barnaby Bear?”
Barnaby Bear has visited England, the USA and India.
To close off our theme we had an International Day on Monday, 9 December. The students enjoyed traveling around the world experiencing the countries that Barnaby bear had visited. The students tasted different foods from the USA, India and England. The students were taught a line dance, Bollywood dance and listened to Mrs Cronje speak about her home country (England) followed by a lovely story.
It was a fun filled day and everyone enjoyed their around the world Barnaby bear day.
Tayla White
Year 1 Teacher
End Of Year Celebration
We cannot believe it is the end of the school year. It is an exciting yet busy time for all of us. During this time we start to reflect on how hard our students have worked and we celebrate all the wonderful activities and learning that has taken place throughout the year at Blouberg International School. Our students have accomplished so much and we are pleased to see growth in each and every one of them.
To celebrate their many achievements, we had a Foundation Stage party on Monday, 9 December 2019. The teachers and assistants enjoyed spending time with the students to remind them how precious they are to us.
Thank you as parents once again for working with us to ensure our students are safe and happy and encouraged to dream, believe and achieve all their goals.
We wish all our students and families a restful holiday and best wishes for 2020.
Martie Van Dyk
Reception Year Teacher
How to Prepare for Exams
Exams can be stressful, especially if you are unprepared. This article contains suggestions that will help you to be more organized and feel more confident.
In much the same way that you wouldn’t try to find a new place without first getting its location, so you shouldn’t attempt to study without first knowing what papers you will write each day. Download and print your exam timetable and put it on display in a prominent spot. This will help you to plan ahead and avoid unpleasant surprises.
Compiling a study timetable will help you to manage your time. Ensure that you give yourself plenty of study time for each subject. Be prepared to adapt your timetable should something unexpected occur.
Varying subjects and study techniques will help you to avoid boredom. Try summaries, flash cards, key words, mind mapping and mnemonics. It is okay to use a variety of techniques, as some are better suited to particular types of content than others. If you have been making study notes throughout the year and have found them to be effective, use them to give yourself a head start.
Using the correct exam technique and being able to finish your exam within the allocated time are also very important. Practicing past papers will help you to master both, and will also help you to better understand what the examiner will be looking for. The CIE website and PapaCambridge are good places to look.
Finally, prepare a space to study that is comfortable and free of distractions. Try to avoid studying on your bed, as you may fall asleep! Set your WhatsApp status to ‘studying’ so that friends will know that you may take a little longer to get back to them because you need to focus.
I wish you all the best for your exams and I hope that you have a safe and enjoyable holiday.
Sheila Marais
High School Teacher
Using Dialogue in Writing
News from the Year 6 class
In Year 6, students learned to develop their writing through the use of dialogue. Dialogue helps the reader get to know the thoughts and characteristics of the characters. It moves the story along, allowing the reader to relate to the characters while showing how the characters relate to, and influence, each other. Students were taught strategies by Mrs Esterhuizen in the English class to hook their readers using well-written dialogue. Here are two stories from our talented Year 6 budding authors.
Amanda Hack
Year 6 Teacher
Written by Rebecca Wiese
“You’ve got thirty seconds to explain to me what you are doing!” Zoey’s father asked angrily, tapping his foot.
“D-d-dad I, um, I was getting my riding helmet because I, umm, forgot it at the stable this afternoon and I—“ (of course Zoey was lying but her dad didn’t notice.)
“Do you have any idea what you put me and your mother through? We were so worried about you,” he said, his face softening.
“I know, I’m sorry and it won’t happen again. I thought that –”
“No buts young lady,” Zoey’s dad sighed. “Now come home to bed and no more sneaking out understand!” He started to walk to the car.
“Ok, I know,” Zoey sighed moving towards the car. As her dad was driving home he sat in silence, not realizing Zoey was not there.
“Zoey, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to be hard on you back at the stables. I just –”
But Zoey wasn’t in the car. She had jumped out without her father noticing and ran back to the stable as fast as she could.
“Ok big guy, let’s try this again,” Zoey whispered, moving closer to her horse Twilight, trying to put the saddle on without the horse being spooked again. But the horse immediately reared and struck her on the back.
“What have you done now, Twilight?” Zoey whispered falling to the ground in agony. And then Zoey’s world went black.
Written by Leah Breet
“That’s too tight,” King Bertie said as the tailor pulled at the strings on his shirt.
“Sorry your majesty, but I need to get this outfit ready before the party tonight,” Sir Cuffman, the tailor, said.
“Yes, you’re right. I wouldn’t want to look untidy for Cameron’s birthday.”
A few hours into Cameron’s birthday party, the King was called into the kitchen. When he walked in there was a glass with a green liquid inside with a note next to the glass.
“Good day King Bertie, I have come up with a new mouth-watering drink just for you. Signed: Chef Herron.” The King read aloud to himself with a posh British accent.
“Oh my, this is delicious,” he said to himself, with wide eyes and licking his lips.
A few minutes later, Sir Cuffman searched through the crowd of people at the party and pulled Cameron aside into an empty room.
“The King is missing.”
“WHAT?!”
“Yes, I last saw him walking into the kitchen a few minutes ago and he never came out, so I went in there and he was missing.”
“Well, have you searched everywhere?” Cameron said emphasising the word everywhere.
“Yes madam,” he said looking down, “but he was nowhere to be found.” Cameron sat down on the chair closest to her and buried her face in her palms.
“We need to send all the knights out to search for him,” she said standing up and leaving the room.
“Uh, y-yes ma’am,” Sir Cuffman said standing on his toes and leaning to her direction.
A few hours later Sir Cuffman and Cameron gathered all the knights and started counting them.
“Uh madam, Knight Felt is not here …”
Discipline 101
One of the most challenging aspects of being a parent or a teacher, is how to discipline a child effectively. It has become more evident with the rushed lifestyle we lead, that if we don’t have some discipline measures in place, both home and school become a nightmare for parents and teachers alike. There have been many articles written about this subject over the years, but I believe that the ‘Constructive Discipline’ approach is by far the best approach. There is documented research showing the benefits of adopting this approach with children.
Below are a few guidelines for constructive discipline, which I have found useful during my years of teaching…
(I find the last one can be the most challenging!)
Principles of Constructive Discipline:
– Create a safe space
– Be respectful and responsible
– Model positive behavior
– Establish rules
– Have clear consequences
– Focus on positive consequences
– Minimise negative consequences
– Practice clear communication
– Listen, listen, and listen!
– Help children solve their problems
– Be consistent
For an interesting read click here: www.selfmanagementforkids.org
Read MoreKim Coetzer
Year 2 Teacher
Jolly Phonics Fun
We do our Jolly Phonics lesson in the mornings. Each child gets a whiteboard, marker and duster and comes to the mat. We then write a letter sound down on the top of the board such as the blended sound ‘ai’. The teacher chooses a word. Sometimes they need to ‘unjumble’ a nonsense word to make a real word that the teacher has written on the board. For instance the nonsense word ‘arin’ becomes the real word “rain” when ‘unjumbled’.
Most often during these lessons we use “arm blending” to sound out a word the teacher has given. In arm blending the first sound is on the shoulder, middle sound on the elbow and last sound on the hand. So the word coat can be sounded out on the arm as ‘c’- ‘oat’- ‘t’ …coat. Once the students have sounded out the word together on their arms they are now ready to write the word.
Sometimes we put in sound buttons under the words. Single sounds get one dot below and blends get a line underneath. For example the sound buttons for the word coat would be ( . _ . ) .
We then write a sentence using the word. Sometimes the students have to ‘unjumble’ a sentence and sometimes they write their own sentence. When the students are finished they hold up their boards for the teacher to see and the teacher gives guidance about correct spelling of words and punctuation.
The students find these lessons very rewarding, because even more complex words can be easily sounded out using the arm blending technique. For longer words we use put the sounds in between the shoulder and elbow or between the elbow and hand. For example, the word “throat” will have the letter ‘r’ occurring between the shoulder and elbow and the word “sound” would have the letter ‘n’ occurring between the elbow and hand.
The students always feel a great sense of accomplishment as they begin writing words they could never have dreamed of writing before. They really love showing off their work on their whiteboards to both their teachers and friends and we always end up having a lot of Jolly Phonics fun.
Bronwen Nuthall
Reception Year teacher
From the Principal’s Desk, 14 November 2019
Dear Parents
It is unbelievable how quickly this year has passed. With less than four weeks left of school, the last stretch is ahead of us.
We had a wonderful sports day last week Saturday and I am exceptionally proud of how well organized it was. Miss Fourie is an asset to the school and, together with her colleagues, they ensured that everyone had a wonderful experience.
Sport is a reminder of the necessity of healthy living and is therefore integral in a child’s development. The sport at our school has grown tremendously over the past year and we acknowledge and appreciate the parental support which has made this possible.
We are incredibly proud to have such talented students across a range of disciplines. Last Friday’s music evening showcased the talents of our junior musicians; both students and teachers have worked diligently throughout the year and the showcase of talent on Friday night was amazing to behold. This coming Friday will see our high school students perform and I wish to invite everyone to attend the performance.
I wish to remind everyone that Hatrick (our uniform store) will be open until the 20th of December 2019 and deliveries will begin from the 6th of January 2020.
We are planning a range of parent workshops for the 2020 academic year and I would like interested parents to email me with suggestions for topics. We have the best interests of our students and their families at heart and I therefore urge parents to engage with the upcoming workshops. Together we are better and we can achieve more.
I wish you all a wonderful weekend.
Regards
Edna
From the Principal’s Desk, 29 August 2019
Dear Parents
We have had an immensely busy term thus far and this got me thinking the other day about goals.
We navigate through our lives running from one task to the next, sometimes missing beautiful moments along the way. It feels like we barely blink and our children are walking, going to school, graduating, getting married and suddenly it is time to retire.
Perhaps it would be good practice for us to sit down and take stock of where we have been, where we are now and where we want to go. This is a wonderful exercise to teach our children as they work towards their goal of graduation. However, the ultimate goal of graduation must also be met with balance.
Teaching our children to enjoy the journey will ultimately help them achieve success. It is all too easy to lose sight of your goals when you are overwhelmed and stressed. Taking the time to allow yourself to breathe and enjoy the moment will help you re-evaluate yourself and your goals. This introspection will lead to healthier, happier and more successful individuals entering the adult world with confidence.
Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. – Albert Schweitzer
As we are nearing the end of the third term, I would like to remind parents to start purchasing the correct uniform for the summer months. It is very important that the students wear the correct uniform and that we, as parents and teachers, encourage them in this endeavor. In doing so, we instill a sense of pride in the students with the end goal that wearing the correct uniform is not a chore, but a matter of honour. I therefore urge parents to prepare now for the change in uniform next term.
Last night was the opening night of our high school’s musical production ‘Little Shop of Horrors’. Although a successful opening night, it was disappointing to see the lack of support for our students and for the burgeoning cultural program at our school. The students and teachers have worked incredibly hard to put this performance together and last night was an awe inspiring showcase of their talent. I encourage all our students and parents to purchase tickets for the last two performances as we owe it to the students to support their efforts and to support the growth of arts and culture within our school community.
Regards
Edna
Zeitz MOCAA
On Friday the 23rd of August the grade 9-12 art students had the propitious opportunity to attend an outing to visit the Zeitz MOCAA – a stirring occasion that enabled us to view the largest collection of African contemporary art in the world.
In the early morning we departed from school to the V&A Waterfront, where the museum stands. We had arrived slightly early which gave us the chance to explore some of the clever constructions that stood just outside the museum – which included chairs that were built to not stand right up but instead roll around whilst an individual is seated.
After some fun and laughter we were taken through the employee entrance which lead us all the way down to the basement, where you could look above to view the impressive architecture of the monument we stood in. Our introductory guide had explained some brief history of the building and how in the 1920s it had been built as a grain silo but was later altered to house countless works of modern artistry. The historical landmark itself was considered art, not only it’s contents.
The exhibitions were briefly talked about – including the new opening of William Kentridges’ : “Why should I Hesitate.” Although that was not yet open, us students were told to make our way to the 2nd and 4th floors where we could gaze upon the exhibition “Still Here Tomorrow to High Five You Yesterday,” which spoke about the importance of political and social issues spanning over the continent. We were given a worksheet to complete to aid us in analyzing 3 chosen displays on these floors to help us better understand how we can use these techniques to better convey a message in our art pieces. Once finished with traveling around everyone returned to the basement to complete the write ups.
At lunch time we hopped back onto the bus to take us to the Waterfront food court where everyone ordered food and socialized a bit before leaving back to arrive at school at 2 o’clock that afternoon.
The experience is one that can not be easily forgotten and I believe us students not only enjoyed ourselves greatly but gained more outlook into the world of art and how you can use various mediums to convey a message through space, lines and shapes.
Jenna Cook
Student Year 12B
Year 7 & 8 English – Assignments
What makes a good assignment?
This term, the Year 7 and 8 students had to complete a creative assignment for which they had a variety of options from which to choose. These ranged from practical tasks supported by explanatory theory, including dioramas and masks, to written assignments like articles and essays. All were aimed at revealing student understanding and interpretation of a literary text.
The Year 7’s focused on the drama Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, and the Year 8 students centered theirs around the novel Lord of the Flies, by William Goulding.
Having taught English for many years, I have seen students produce assignments that were of the highest standard, with insight and creativity beyond their years. In stark contrast to this, many students put little to no effort into their work, belying their capabilities.
I am pleased to say that the majority of students at Blouberg International School had my soul singing with their astute, inspired and detailed projects. What is more important is that they took on the challenge and were, through their intensive efforts, beaming with pride in themselves.
One might wonder what it takes to produce a project that will bring a teacher to joyful tears.
Beyond carefully following the instructions and ensuring that all of the necessities are included – which will certainly result in a good mark – there are a few ingredients every student could add to their scholastic recipes.
Below is a list of strategies every student should attempt when tackling their next daunting assignment:
- Begin with the task as soon as it is assigned. Even if you work on it a little every other day, this will provide ample opportunity to clarify concerns you may have with your teacher or to correct any mishaps that may arise.
- Pay attention to the instructions. Use it as a check list to ensure that you have included all of the elements essential to the task. Tackle every objective.
- Use the resources your teacher provides, but conduct your own research as well. There are many reliable sources online.
- When compiling your research data, use only key words and phrases from your sources and rewrite information in your own words unless quoting. Always cite your sources. Your teacher wants to test your skills and understanding, not that of a university graduate – or a parent.
- Include your own opinion, but ensure that it is backed by fact. One should not have the opportunity to question your ideas, they should clearly link to accurate information.
- Thoroughly edit your assignment to safeguard against any trivial errors.
- Work as neatly as possible. A task that is well-organised and tidy immediately appears of a higher quality and will be more pleasant to assess. It is arduous for teachers to mark work that is illegible or poorly structured.
- Use your own initiative, be as creative as possible within the task framework and go the extra mile. Teachers revel in the little details you include and enjoy it when you think outside of the box, sometimes astounding us with components beyond that of the grade requirements and insights we might not have considered.
Students who used all or most of these strategies in this term’s assignments deserve an honourable mention:
– Catherine Fortuin 7B designed a beautiful diorama for which she created clay figures on a stage setting in the throws of an important fight scene between Romeo and Tybalt. Her talent and attention to detail is admirable.
– Marco de Mattos 7A cleverly included a public announcement and advert with his article about the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
– Maya Mthwana of 7A designed a well-written, neat article, closely adhering to layout requirements.
– Mihlali Lumkwana of 7A went to great lengths to create her storyboard for Act IV in Romeo and Juliet.
– Ryan Barker in 8A put great effort into his Lord of the Flies Survival Manual. He’s the one with whom you want to end up stranded on a deserted island.
– Vincent Chamunorwa, 8B, designed an inspiring cartoon for Chapter 11 of Lord of the Flies. He has incredible talent!
– Athena Thomas, 8B, has a gift for watercolour painting. Her contributing explanation as to what Piggy’s glasses in Lord of the Flies represents was thorough.
– Philade Luthango’s poster (8A) about the character, Piggy, immediately caught everyone’s attention due to its bold design and beautiful drawings.
– Layla Moodley, 8A, went the extra mile by designing a symbol to represent each chapter in her plot diagram of Lord of the Flies.
– Taylor Williams, 8A, not only painted an extremely detailed image of the conch from Lord of the Flies, but ingeniously included symbols associated with it and presented her explanation on a creatively designed poster. Her attention to detail is admirable.
– Mia Ross in 8B moulded these fantastic masks to her own face and painted them to represent characters from Lord of the Flies. There is even symbolism in the colours used.
– Oscar Berger, 8B, wrote a fantastic essay in which he explored the theme of Civilization versus Savagery in Lord of the Flies. His oral presentation was accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation filled with bold sub-headings and images to bring his points home. This was a far better option than simply reading out his essay.
There are more students I could individually praise, but alas I will simply state that I am ever so proud of all of the Year 7 and 8 students as I know that they put in their best effort.
Genevieve Kerswill
High School English Teacher