Celebrating Healthy Living
I pledge to stay healthy and clean
through exercise and good hygiene.
I will eat balanced meals every day
to have more energy to learn and to play.
Every night I will get a good rest
To be more ready to do my best
If I work to be healthy and strong
I’ll be happier my whole life long.
(Poet unknown)
In Science, this term, Year 3 learnt about what it means to lead a healthy lifestyle. They started by examining their own food habits and creating a personal ‘food pyramid’ and then moved on to investigating the contents of their lunch boxes, recording findings and making conclusions based on these findings. We looked at how important it is to get enough sleep, researched what happens to our bodies after we exercise and conducted an experiment investigating why too much sugar is bad for our teeth.
The students also enjoyed a Healthy Day Inting. The day was spent with the students participating in some fun group activities, sports and games. Each student was also supplied with a delicious, healthy goodie bag for lunch and we had some VERY tired Year 3’s at the end of the day!
Our delicious goodie bags.
(NOTE: This Inting occurred before school sport was cancelled by the WCED, all content in this article was photographed and recorded before the cancellation.)
We ended the unit with the students presenting individual posters and orals on what it means to live a healthy lifestyle. Students had their classmates riveted with their creative, innovative designs and exciting presentations. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to your presentations! Well done on an amazing job, Year 3!
Mandy Goch
Year 3 Teacher
Liam with his poster.
Thabelo with his poster.
Peyton with her poster.
Nahla with her poster.
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The Very Hungry Caterpillar
In Reception we have been learning all about different insects.
As part of our topic we read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. The students loved the story and decided to make their very own Hungry Caterpillar book.
Our little authors did such a good job, especially loving reading their little book once they were done.
WATCH: https://youtu.be/MIwbXYpF1RA
Monique Meyer
Reception Year Teacher
Telling The Time
The students of Year 1 are learning to tell the time.
At this age, the students need very practical sessions to learn new concepts. Our first lesson was a recap of what the students already know. Building on their prior knowledge of morning, afternoon, day and night, how we know when it is morning and night and different units of time.
We talked about an analogue clock, what is a day and an hour as a unit of time. Of course, we had to make a clock and then show the o’clock time on our clocks. We had lots of fun playing “What’s the time Mr Wolf’?”
The students had lots of practice making the time on their clocks and asking a friend to tell them the time. They also asked each other how many hours from 6 o’clock to 8 o’clock. Next term we will learn to tell the “half past”.
Ann Cordner
Year 1 Teacher
From the Principal’s Desk, 3 June 2021
Dear Parents
GLOBAL PARENTS DAY
“The Global Day of Parents is observed on the 1st of June every year. The Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 2012 and honours parents throughout the world. The Global Day provides an opportunity to appreciate all parents in all parts of the world for their selfless commitment to children and their lifelong sacrifice towards nurturing this relationship.
In its resolution, the General Assembly also noted that the family has the primary responsibility for the nurturing and protection of children and that children, for the full and harmonious development of their personality, should grow up in a family environment and in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding.”
In celebration of Global Parents Day, I would like to thank all the parents of BIS. Thank you for looking after and caring for our children. As a school community, we should be focused on ensuring that, on leaving school, our leaners are resilient, confident, independent, respectful, resourceful, have a positive attitude, adaptable, well-rounded, self-aware, empathetic, critical thinkers, innovative, creative, problem solvers, responsible, good communicators, confident, compassionate, self-motivated, emotionally intelligent, resourceful, free thinkers, good leaders, balanced, flexible, self-regulated, team players, responsible and accountable.
Keep being amazing parents. We appreciate you!
YEAR 4 TEACHER
Following the resignation of our Year 4 teacher, Mrs Marlize Keyser, we have made an internal appointment and Ms Yvette Fourie will assume this position from term 3.
DROP AND GO AREAS:
Gravel Parking area
We have managed to pave the entrance to the gravel parking area and this seems to have made it a little easier for parents.
The area in the middle is for parking. The circular area around the parking is only for “drop and go”. Please do not park in this area as it will cause congestion. We also rely on our parents to be considerate and not to hold up traffic. Thanks to your cooperation the flow of traffic has improved drastically.
Please be vigilant of children and pedestrians. If we all work together, it will make a huge difference. Thank you to all our families for your cooperation and patience.
Main parking area in front of the school
May I request that if you intend to get out of your car that you park in one of the parking bays. We will no longer allow you to get out of your car at the “drop and go” area.
We understand that some parents want to walk their little ones to the sanitizing station, and you are welcome to do so, but please use a parking bay in that case. When cars are left at the “drop and go” it causes congestion and frustration for other parents. Let’s be considerate and work together in this regard.
Your cooperation is appreciated so much.
FEATURE PHOTO
Our main newsletter photograph features Ms Sheila Marais. Ms Marais is our IGCSE & AS/A Level History teacher. Did you know:
- She did horse riding for 21 years.
- She has been a trail runner since 2019.
- She is an avid reader and collects Sherlock Holmes books.
- She also collects vintage and antique items.
- This teacher does in fact have a pet – a 10 year old English Cocker Spaniel called Eli.
WEEKLY THOUGHT: Courage
“Courage is being scared to death… and saddling up anyway.” – John Wayne
For most people, courage is the absence of fear, but John Wayne would disagree.
According to Wayne, everybody gets scared in certain situations – even the brave and courageous! BUT, the difference is that the courageous press forward in spite of their fear.
This should be good news for all of us.
Are you currently facing a situation that is daunting and leaves you with doubts and fears? Whether you are courageous or not will be determined by your next action – not by how you feel now.
So often in life, fear makes us feel inadequate, and the perception that others “do not fear” obviously doesn’t help. But what we need to understand is that everyone experiences fear and that fear gives us an opportunity to be courageous.
Victory and success are reserved for those individuals who move forward despite the fear they experience. During the last year, things all across the world have changed dramatically. The fact is that we don’t know what to expect from next month (never mind next year), but this should not paralyze us. Instead, we need to show courage by pressing forth regardless of what tomorrow may bring.
Our prayer is that those who are scared will discover the courage they need to keep going. Let us press on and never give up.
Andre
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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
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Revision For Success!
During the last few days of school, we spent a lot of time consolidating some of the work covered over the first two terms. The students used letter and number cards, playdough, whiteboards and markers and educational games to demonstrate their knowledge and developing skills. Some of the educational games we played were pattern match, colour recognition, shapes recognition and we have even learned how to write our own names!In Literacy, we learnt about all the Jolly Phonics and the sounds they make. Linking sounds to letters, naming and sounding the letters of the alphabet. A student cannot learn to read without proper knowledge of phonics. It is the foundation for success in reading. The students make a connection between the words we put together and what they look like in print. Phonics skills are necessary to jump-start the process of learning to read, but reading by sight is more efficient.
In Numeracy, we learnt about colours and shapes (2D) within our environment. We learnt about patterns, recognizing and recreating various patterns using a repeated sequence. We learnt about numbers, counting and using developing mathematical ideas and methods to solve practical problems. We even learnt about addition and subtraction and the correct vocabulary associated with them through number rhymes. Students have attempted to write for a variety of purposes, using features of different forms.
Martie van Dyk
Pre-Reception teacher
All About Recipes
“Cooking with kids is not just about ingredients, recipes and cooking. It’s about harnessing imagination, empowerment and creativity” – Guy Fiery
Last week for Show and Tell, our Year 2’s were asked to each bring a favourite recipe with them to school that they could chat to their class about. They were expected to tell their friends about the ingredients you would need as well as the method and instructions needed to create your culinary masterpiece.
Some leaners made beautiful posters, some drew their own pictures of their desired recipes and others even went as far as actually making their dish at home and bringing some to school to show us. Some exciting recipes included chocolate brownies, sandwiches, banana bread, cupcakes and even some chocolate cake.
Following instructions in any area of life can help young children learn and practice some basic math concepts and build language skills. In this specific area, following a recipe and the experience of creating meals with family and friends can help to build self-confidence and lay the foundation for an understanding in where food comes from, how we use it to express ourselves as well as a good practice in healthy eating habits.
We immensely enjoyed exploring each learner’s foodie favourites. So much fun was had!
Siobhan Hendry
Year 2 Teacher
Year 5 Measuring Shadows
Over the past few weeks, the Year 5’s have been looking into shadows; How they are formed, what factors affect their size, and how they change in position and size throughout the day.It is one thing to listen to someone else’s conclusion as to why things work the way they do, but another to investigate it yourself – and our budding scientists have been doing just that! What happens to a shadow when the light source moves further away from the object? Well, ask any of our Year 5’s and they will not only be able to explain it but demonstrate it as well.
Working in pairs, our little investigators hypothesized their predictions and set out to read and record as much data as they could in order to make it a fair test. From these results, they drew conclusions about how the distance between a light source and an object affects the size of it’s shadow – and had buckets of fun while doing so!
Robyn Pieters
Year 5 Teacher
Fun – Useful – Interactive – Comprehensible – Accessible
Many people think that the teachers have a lot of holidays during the year, well that can be true – what they do not know is that perhaps half of that time or sometimes more, we are researching new ways of presenting our subjects and the content in a more attractive format for our students.I believe that we need to allow ourselves time to explore new methods of teaching and, as a second language educator, my goal is to try to minimize the specific grammar that the students need to learn or at least present it to them in a more appealing way.
In addition, the ways that they learn have changed completely with the new technologies and the use of electronic devices. The time that they are able to “hold” their attention on you is scarily short.
For all these reasons, I personally believe that by creating your materials you can connect better with your own students and adjust the content to the topics that you are explaining in class. I also feel more confident and passionate about resources of my own creation.
When I am in the process of designing these new materials, I always have the below points in mind:
Make it as FUN as possible: The materials need to be fun in content and format, so you can connect easily with the students. They need to “forget” that they are learning another language. Engaging them from the beginning. This will also help to increase their participation in the lessons – key factor in their learning.
The materials need to be USEFUL: In my view, this means that the students can apply what they are learning to real life situations, ordering food, going shopping, booking a hotel room, and introducing themselves. So, the question that I will ask myself is: Are the material useful as well as fun? Will I be using these expressions in a Spanish speaking country if I was their age?
Create INTERACTION: When creating a story your students need to be part of it. Just to read the story to them it is not enough, they can finish the story, you ask questions about what is going on, or you can create a similar story with them.
Firstly, introduce all the vocabulary, adjectives, verbs, or expressions to them so it is COMPREHENSIBLE – that needs to be familiar for them to keep the focus and understanding. Creating the story with the topics and grammar that they are learning during the term will help me with this point: story at the school (school objects and subjects, facilities at the school, adjectives related with the teachers), going shopping (clothes, colours.) translate it with them first and then we read it again, answering basic or more complex questions depending on the year group.
Finally, all the materials must be ACCESSIBLE: I continue posting all the materials in Google Classroom, so my students can always access these, and they can send back their stories or questions.
Javier Vidal
Spanish Teacher
June Exams 2021
The June exams are fast approaching and many students will be starting to feel the pressure. Perhaps the best way to counter exam stress is to come prepared. To this end, I have ten guidelines students can follow that will go a long way to helping them feel prepared and confident for each exam.
- Print a copy of their exam timetable and put it in a prominent and safe place.
(Exam timetables can be found on Engage). - Compile and stick to a study timetable.
- Give yourself sufficient study time for each subject.
- Identify topics you find most challenging and, if necessary, ask for assistance from the subject teacher. It is best not to leave this to the day before.
- Utilize effective study methods rather than simply reading the textbook. Summaries, mind maps and flash cards are examples of alternative study methods.
- Avoid pulling “all-nighters”.
- Limit your social calendar and put your phone on silent when you are studying.
- Avoid fad diets so as to maximize energy and concentration.
- Pack the necessary equipment for each exam, including a spare pen.
- Arrive punctually for each exam.
Parents should also be involved in their child’s exam preparation. We know from our own experience as students how easy it is to become distracted and bored. Encourage regular study sessions with short breaks, physical activity and healthy eating. Do not be afraid to check up on your child’s exam preparation progress, even if they are in their final years of school.
I wish students all the best for their exams and I hope that they have a safe and enjoyable holiday.
Sheila Marais
High School Teacher