Intaka Island
The week before last, our Year 2 students went out to Intaka Island at Century City. They were given the opportunity to explore nature in all its wonderful ways.
We looked at various small organisms under the microscope, were given a guided tour around the island, spotting and appreciating the little birds, bugs and flowers around us. After the wildlife watching, were given a guided boat tour around the canals, appreciating the views around us and learning more about the conservancy.
This is definitely an outing we can recommend for the whole family! So much fun was had by all!
Siobhan Hendry
Year 2 Teacher
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Year One Barnaby Bear Day
“Travel leaves you speechless. Then turns you into a storyteller.” – IBN Battuta
The Year 1 students and teachers thoroughly enjoyed an eventful day, traveling from country to country (class to class), learning about the different countries Barnaby Bear had travelled to and tasting all the delicious cuisines each country had to offer.
Barnaby Bear is the bear we learnt about in Geography that travels the world to visit different countries. He sends the teachers post cards which explains in detail, the sites he visits, the transport he uses to get around, the seasons in each country and the temperature he is currently experiencing.
The students in Mrs Cordner’s class represented America, Mrs Cronje’s class represented England and my class (Miss Hierse’s class) had the privilege to represent India. The students flew from class to class where they got to do some fun activities and learn some interesting facts that symbolized the country they had travelled to. They then enjoyed some delicious snacks and cold drinks which each class offered. The students were dressed beautifully and walked away from the day with more knowledge on America, England and India as well as full tummies.
The Year 1 teachers are extremely grateful for the parents help and support in making the day a successful one.
“Wanderlust. (n.) A strong desire for or impulse to wander or travel and explore the world.”
Year 1 Teacher
Erin Hierse
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Why do we do ‘Show and Tell’ at school?
I think we all recognise the importance of public speaking in our workplaces. Public speaking should begin at school where children form social bonds and learn self-confidence along the way. ‘Show and Tell’ is a popular way used in schools to develop these public speaking skills.
Here are a few ideas that parents can use to develop these skills at home:
Observe the Journey Game
- Whilst driving, walking or on public transport, ask your child to describe as much of their surroundings as they can within one minute!
- Get them to think about shapes, colors and what is happening.
- After multiple attempts over days/weeks your child will begin to speak more clearly and sharpen their observation skills which are essential for speaking well.
- The Woof Game
- This hilarious game will build your child’s ability to think Choose a common word like it or be.
- Provide your child with a topic to speak on for thirty seconds.
- Every time the chosen word is to appear in their speech they should replace it with woof.
Imaginary Animal Game
Get a group of family members, neighbors and friends together with your kids.
- Ask each group member to think of an animal and give them one minute to think of how they would describe that animal.
- Each member must then be questioned by their fellow members on the size, color(s), habitat and other attributes until they discover what animal it is.
For more fun, games go to:
https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/30784/public-speaking-for-kids/
Above all, remember that practice makes perfect and to have as much fun as you can along the way…
Kim Coetzer
Year 2 Teacher
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The Shadow Of Show And Tell
– T.J. Webber
We all know that children love to talk. Any opportunity given, will find children in groups happily chatting away. Put them in front of a classroom, and suddenly, for some, it becomes a nightmare!
Show and Tell is one way in which we encourage our students to practise public speaking. Most are keen to talk about what they have brought to school and show it it their friends. This could be in the form of a poster, a researched subject, or even a favourite toy.
The Year 2 teachers have been trying to keep Show and Tell alive during this e-learning experience, by giving the students topics to plan for and present to their classes. This exercise has resulted in some interesting experiences! I found the ‘mute’ button on my laptop and was incredibly pleased with myself, until I realised that the students could ‘un-mute’ themselves, leaving everyone trying to talk at once. A week later, after some diligent technological research, I discovered that there was also a button which allowed me to stop them from ‘un-muting’ themselves. We continued in full swing, until my internet crashed, leaving my class wondering where I was. So, I have been told, one of the students acted as ‘host’ for the meeting and they carried on without me.
In this time, we find ourselves in, I have discovered that the importance of Show and Tell is profound. Not only are they practising their public speaking skills, it gives them a chance to see their friends and just interact with them.
The topic for our last Show and Tell was making a poster, based on a Science Shadow Puppet experiment. They certainly enjoyed this project and did a fantastic job of completing it and presenting their findings.
Kim Coetzer
Year 2 Teacher
