Ancient Egyptian Necklaces
The jewelry of ancient Egyptians held religious and symbolic significance and was treasured for its beauty and power against evil and death. It was buried with men and women because the Egyptians expected to enjoy wearing their finery in the afterlife.
The Year 3 students used their creativity to create the most beautiful Egyptian necklaces. This is how their beautiful necklaces make them feel:
“My necklace makes me feel shiny,” said Mila Arpesella.
“My necklace makes me feel like an Egyptian.” Said Jesus Da Silva.
“When I wear my necklace I feel like I can do anything, just like the Egyptians,” thinks Skye Venzke-Krecklenberg.
“My necklace makes me have joy,” explained Manjulika Moodley.
Sasha Rajah
Year 3 Teacher
The Seeds Of Science
This term in Year 1 we have been observing and exploring plants in our Science lessons. Taking photos, labelling and even planting our very own seeds are all fun activities that we have been partaking in these past few weeks together.
We asked the students to make their very own model of a flower, taking into account the various parts of a plant. They thoroughly enjoyed getting creative and using a variety of different materials to make their own plant.
It is very impressive to see what some of the children came up with and how they made their flower stand up.
Well done to our budding scientists!
Charlotte Cronje
Year 1 Teacher
Be Kind To Yourself!
“If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” – Roald Dahl
It’s that time of the year again where tests and exams are starting. Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the pressure we feel as parents, teachers or students. We all want our children, students and class to do well, but it can be an extremely stressful time which makes it very easy to self-critique.
Do you ever catch yourself talking down to yourself? I know I do. We often motivate, encourage and compliment others – we should do the same for ourselves! Being your own best cheerleader is a much better choice than being your own best critic. When negative thoughts about yourself come into your head, quickly refocus to a positive thought about yourself. See your strong points and be proud.
According to the blog ‘Coffee Cups and Crayons’, figuring out how to be kind to yourself is trickier for children than it is for adults. Encourage your child to really think about things that help fill them up inside, not just 5 fun things they like. Talk aloud things you’ve noticed to help them start thinking in the right direction. Say things like, “I notice how happy and peaceful you get while you are colouring.” or “Dancing really brings a smile to your face.”
Older children may struggle with this even more. Life gets pretty busy for them and they may not know at first what they can do to be kind to themselves. Give them a day or two to brainstorm and “try out” some ideas to see what resonates.
5 Simple Ways To Be Kind To Yourself for Children:
- Find something you love. Whether it’s a passion for football, baking, running or reading – engaging in a fun hobby can be one of the kindest things we can do for ourselves.
- Talk about the good things. Ask each person in your family to say one good thing about their day. This helps us to identify and focus on positive experiences from the day.
- Lend a helping hand. Helping others can be a great way to show kindness – and it can make you feel good too! Help your little brother get dressed, clean up your books, help mom wash the dishes or set the dinner table.
- Be kind to your body. Eating healthy foods, like fruits and veggies, and being active by riding bikes, kicking a ball or playing on the playground are all ways to show our bodies kindness. Getting lots of sleep is important too.
- Encourage yourself. Go me! It can be easy to say unkind things about ourselves when we make a mistake or do not do well on a test. Instead, try saying encouraging things like “At least I won’t make that mistake again!” or “I just need to keep practicing and I’ll do better every time.”
Year 4 Teacher
Traveling With Barnaby Bear
In Geography this term, the Year 1’s will be traveling with Barnaby Bear to various countries across the World. His first destination was London, England.
The Year 1’s learnt how far Barnaby had to travel to get to London. He used many different modes of transport to get around to all the famous landmarks, like an airplane, the London Tube, a Black Cab, and a red double-story bus. It made me think of the movie ‘Planes, trains and automobiles’.
Barnaby sent us a postcard telling us about all the landmarks he visited. He first took the tube to London Paddington Station, where his famous friend ‘Paddington’ was found. There he saw hundreds of people playing music, drawing and shopping. This made Barnaby Bear miss home, so he had to call his mum from a red telephone box. This cost him a pretty penny!
Barnaby took a cab and went to the Palace, where he saw the Queen and her famous Yeomen. The students had a good giggle at their silly outfits. He rode the London Eye and felt really ill. He saw the Millennium Dome, Big Ben and the Tower Bridge. Barnaby watched for hours how the bridge lifted for boats to pass through.
Barnaby just had to visit the monument erected to remember the Great Fire of London, to prepare the students for Year 2. His last visit took him to St. Paul’s Cathedral, which was largely destroyed in the Great Fire.
It was starting to get cold and rainy in London, as it is autumn there now. Barnaby really found it difficult to decide what he needed to take with him, so our Year 1 students helped him pack his case for the journey before he left. I certainly know that he was dressed right for the weather that awaited him.
We are looking forward to the next leg of his journey, where he will continue in London and look at art, culture, dress and food of the people that live there.
Wendy Menton
Year 1 Teacher
Term 4
As we stride forward into Term 4, we can’t help but reflect on what the last three terms have taught us. We have learned many wonderful things but, most importantly, we have learned that we are entirely capable of doing anything we put our minds to! No matter how scary or daunting the task of an entirely different school experience seemed, we put our fears behind us and stormed forward into the face of the unknown…and absolutely conquered!
We are extremely proud of the independence and responsibility displayed by the Year 5’s as the year progressed. As they return for their fourth and final term of the year, we encourage them to recognise how far they have come and how many new skills they have mastered.
We look forward to not only a term full of hard work and success, but a term spent together as a family; supporting, encouraging and admiring each other – even if some of it may be done through a camera and microphone!
“Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you’ll find one at the end of your arm… As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands. One for helping yourself, the other for helping others.” – Audrey Hepburn
Robyn Pieters
Year 5 Teacher
Is it a noun, or a verb? NO, it’s…
As a school student, I hated English Grammar. I mean, did we really have to know if the verb was in the past simple tense, if it was an irregular verb or an auxiliary verb? Then there is the question of definite and indefinite articles. Most of the children who have been in my class, will tell you that Mrs. Coetzer says “English is a crazy language: For every spelling rule, there is an exception. What about two sounds which sound the same but are spelled differently? Then there is the matter of homonyms and homophones.
In all sincerity, English is one of the most difficult languages to learn and yet it is used universally, and we use these parts of speech without even realizing it.
Thankfully, the grammar taught in Year 2 is still fairly simple. To explain the importance of learning what a noun is, I asked various students to me bring me a ‘thingy’. Obviously, they were totally confused and kept bringing me different items in the classroom, with me rejecting each one. They caught on quite quickly and asked me to name the items I wanted. I tried another experiment and read them a story, leaving out all the adjectives and adverbs. They all agreed, it was a boring story. After I read it again, with the adjectives and adverbs, they told me they could imagine the story in their heads.
So, it appears that these parts of speech do play an important role in the English language, after all. As I always tell my students, we need to paint a picture with our words.
Kim Coetzer
Year 2 Teacher
Year 3 Creating Masterpieces!
The year 3 classes have worked very hard over the last few weeks to interpret symmetry and its relevance to adventure. After being able to apply the concept they created perfectly symmetrical frogs and beautiful tessellation patterns.
The year 3’s also created beautiful Chinese Dragons, silhouettes and the cutest caterpillar hats that displayed their knowledge of fractions.
The bright colors and exciting projects has given Spring a warm welcome!
Sasha Rajah
Year 3 Teacher
Marvellous Bridges!
The students were given a few weeks to brainstorm, collect recyclable materials and plan how exactly they will be assembling their bridges.
Recently, the students made their bridges and arrived with many interesting and creative materials as well as ways of building their very own bridge.
The Year 3’s have been waiting eagerly in anticipation to show their families their brilliant designs and imaginative bridges.
Alexia Holmes
Year 3 Teacher
Inventors
In Year 1 we have been learning about Inventors for History. Our students each made their own Show and Tell poster of an inventor of their choice and told the class about them. From the inventor of, ‘Lego’ to the inventor of ‘Barbie’ and even the ‘Toilet’.
It has been fascinating learning about the various inventors from all over the world. It is important for children to use their own initiative and research something or someone who interests them.
Show and Tell is a chance for our students to show off their work. Being the centre of attention for a couple of minutes makes them feel special and important. These emotions will make them feel more confident and valued.
Charlotte Cronje
Year 1 Teacher
Travelling back in time…
Travelling back in time to learn more about dinosaurs.
All the students and probably most adults find dinosaurs fascinating. Learning more about dinosaurs stretches the student’s imagination and allows them to experience a world very different from today. The more they learn about these creatures the more they want to know.
This week we learned more about dinosaurs during:
– Theme discussion: by watching video clips about different dinosaur facts.
– Arts and crafts: We made our own dinosaurs during arts and crafts time and we played with play dough to develop our fine motor skills.
– Numeracy: We had to order dinosaurs according to their size during the activity.
– Literacy: We decorated the letter of the week with dinosaur footprints.
– Music and movement: We danced to the dinosaur stomp song.
– Story time: We listened to stories about all of the dinosaurs who lived on the planet before us.
We look forward to more adventures while learning next week!
Martie van Dyk
Pre-Reception Teacher
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