Why Afrikaans
With just around 7 million native speakers, Afrikaans is one of the world’s youngest languages.
Afrikaans originated in South Africa in the 17th century with the arrival of Dutch settlers in the Western Cape region. The language evolved from European Dutch dialects and drew influences from indigenous South African languages, Malay, Portuguese and Indonesian. Although sometimes described as a Dutch-based creole, Afrikaans is recognised as a distinct language in its own right.
Afrikaans is spoken in South Africa and neighbouring Namibia and Botswana. You’ll also find large expat Afrikaans communities in places like Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
So, let’s get into it. Here are 4 reasons you should learn Afrikaans.
It’s easy!
Afrikaans is considered one of the easiest languages to master for English speakers. The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) classifies Afrikaans as a Category 1 language, meaning you’ll need around 23-24 weeks (575-600 hours) to reach proficiency.
It can help you learn Dutch
Afrikaans is a descendant or daughter language of Dutch. Although Afrikaans has borrowed from other languages such as Malay, Portuguese and French, around 90% of Afrikaans vocabulary is derived from Dutch.
If your plan is to become a polyglot, Afrikaans is a good stepping stone to mastering Dutch and Flemish (and maybe even German at a bit of a push).
Experience the vibrant South African culture
If you’re planning a trip to sunny South Africa, knowing a bit of Afrikaans will instantly make you the most popular tourist in the room. Throw in some isiXhosa and we’ll practically hand you the key to the city.
Although pretty much everyone speaks English, knowing the local lingo will enrich your travel experience and may even get you invited to a ‘lekker’ braai (a fun barbeque).
Access a whole new world of exciting literature
Afrikaans has a rich literary tradition. From the poetry of N. P. van Wyk Louw to the fast-paced crime thrillers of Deon Meyer, you won’t be wanting for good reading material.
Students favourite Afrikaans words:
| pikkewyn | penguin | Danie M (Year 9) |
| pannekoek | pancakes | Connor N (Year 7) |
| koejawel | guava | Tumelo M ( Year 11) |
| Leeu | lion | Brenden A (Year 8) |
| tannie | aunt | Oratile T & Damon M ( Year 7) |
| braai | barbeque | Keno T ( Year 9) |
| verlief | in love | Siena A ( Year 7) |
| spookasem | candyfloss | Layla M ( Year 9) |
| pantoffels | slippers | Chloe R ( Year 7) |
Carmen de Villiers
High School Afrikaans Teacher
From the Principal’s Desk, 1 October 2020
Dear Parents
Welcome to Term 4! This is the last stretch to the finish line, and we are excited to have all our students back at school.
I managed to take a few days during the school holidays to enjoy a break on the beautiful West Coast. This was an opportunity to rest and relax, but also to reflect on the past year.
During my break, I read an interesting article about ‘the new normal’: a phrase which has become a regular addition to colloquial discourse. We have all had to adapt to some kind of ‘new normal’ during lockdown and I am concerned that we are caught up waiting for life to return to what it used to be. The question is, do we want things to go back to what they were? As educators, do we want to teach the way we did prior to Covid-19?
I would hope the answer for all educators would be “NO!” Each one of us was presented with challenges, but more importantly, with new opportunities. Our teaching methods have adapted and been enhanced by the challenges of the past months; our skills have improved. Why then would we want to go back to the way things were? Let’s forget the old methods and focus on the following opportunities:
- More authentic learning experiences
- Better professional learning and teaching amongst staff
- Increased staff collaboration
- Different leadership styles and methods
These are just a few identified areas of change.
I am certain that our students do not want to return to the old ways, and this should be celebrated as a win!
There is opportunity in every challenge we face, and we have the responsibility to make the best of it. Change is as good as a holiday.
“If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”- Maya Angelou
We wish all our Year 10, 12 and 13 students the best of luck whilst they are writing their final external examinations. We believe in them and wish them every success.
Have a wonderful weekend with family and friends.
Kind regards
Edna
The Final Week of Term 3 And A Special Thank You
One cannot help but wonder what happened to Term 3… the days and weeks have flown by so quickly. On Tuesday, 15th September 2020, we held our online Valedictory Service in which we celebrated the Year 12 class of 2020. The challenges of the recent months have perhaps been most taxing for the Year 12 class, and we recognise their resilience and determination. Congratulations to all the prize winners as well as our newly elected Student Representative Council.
Lastly, I want to express my sincere gratitude to you all. I want to thank each and every student, parent and teacher for all the hard work and effort that was put into this term. Without your dedication and hard work this wouldn’t have been possible.
Please look after yourselves during this holiday and we are looking forward to welcoming you back to the last term of 2020.
Julian Harrison
Head of Academics High School
(Photo: Class of 2020! *Masks removed for photographs only)
From the Principal’s Desk, 18 September 2020
Dear Parents
We have come to the end of term 3 and are looking forward to our holiday. On Wednesday, we had a great time having dinner with our Year 12 students. It was a privilege to end the term off celebrating them this week, with a Valedictory service as well as treating them to a dinner at the Gorgeous George hotel in the City Centre.
We finished our term having some fun recording the Jerusalema dance and what great fun we had, from the youngest year group to the teachers joining in.
I realized again how wonderful it is to be part of the Blouberg International family. As we prepare to take a break, I wish you all a wonderful time spent with family. May all the staff enjoy their break and come back refreshed and ready to finish the last term well.
Thank you for all your hard work and support throughout term 3. We look forward to welcoming you back next term.
Regards
Edna
WATCH: Jerusalema Blouberg International School
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From the German Classroom – Hallo BIS!
*Wir lernen Deutsch zusammen! Das ist einfach wunderbar! *(We are learning German together! That is simply wonderful!)
In January this year all the students were welcomed to German with a new workbook that is made up of a curriculum in the form of a programme that has age appropriate teaching materials specifically for German as a foreign language. These programmes are based on the levels from the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) which are “guidelines used to describe achievements of students of foreign languages and provide a method of learning, teaching and assessing which applies to all languages in Europe’’. The CEFR levels are for grading an individual’s language proficiency focusing on the areas of understanding (listening & reading), speaking (spoken interaction & production) and writing skills.
In Year 1, 2 & 3 we started the Hallo Anna workbooks, a Level A1 (CEFR level) introduction for ages 5-9.
This edition is specifically for children who are learning to read and write an additional language other than their mother tongue or 1st language. Therefore, it gently introduces German as a foreign language and concentrates on learning German mainly through listening and speaking in Year 1 and then the skill of reading and writing are gradually introduced in Year 2 and progress in Year 3.
These skills are taught using various methods including songs, comics, audios, experiment and a colourful workbook with lots of creative ideas.
The students are taken on an adventurous and exciting journey with the 2 main characters Anna and her friend Benno in the city of Munich in Germany.
These adventures take place at school in the classroom, with topics including my greetings, my day, my likes, my classroom and stationery and at home with my family and celebrations in Germany. The students enjoy seeing the characters come alive in the workbook and the interactive online programme I use in class.
In Year 4, 5 & 6 the students were introduced to the Wo ist Paula (Where is Paula?) range of workbooks and programme.
It has especially been created for the over 9-year olds and has a progression from book 1-4 to acquire the Level A1 (CEFR level) and then allowing for an easy transition into High School (Year 7) and the Cambridge curriculum.
The programme is set up to motivate participation using interdisciplinary teaching across subjects and a multilingual approach, perfect for a school with an international perspective.
It includes language training and vocabulary, various topics, songs, videos, learning about Germany and Europe, it has differentiation tasks for extension learning, revision and the students have opportunity for self-evaluation to see their progress.
The students have been introduced to using the audios to improve their listening and speaking skills at home anytime via CD, downloads or an app. I use the Blink digital educational platform to show the videos, audios and pages from the coursebook and workbook in class.
The students in Year 4, 5, & 6 are on a journey with Paula the tortoise with various topics including: answering questions about myself, name, age, where I live and come from, my family, my classroom, stationery, my hobbies, telling the time and what I do in my day.
“With 100 million mother tongue speakers, German is the most widely spoken language in Europe. A new survey has shed light on where people are learning German around the world. Some 15.4 million people are learning German as a foreign language all over the world” and you the students at Blouberg International in Cape Town South Africa are very much part of this growing number.
*Deutsch ist cool und genial! Deutsch ist International! *(German is cool and awesome! German is International!)
*Song lyrics from the Hallo Anna programme. See the Year 2’s singing the song Hallo Anna Hallo Benno filmed in Term 1.
Auf Wiedersehen, bis bald!
Frau Kerstin Pani
German Teacher Primary School
Teaching Fractions In Year 2
The Year 2 students have started to learn about fractions this past week and wow, the teachers were blown away at how quickly they have picked up on this concept. We decided to use a more tactile approach, therefore making the fractions lessons more enjoyable.
Teaching fractions can be complex and confusing, but understanding fractions is a necessary skill for young students to learn, in order to benefit them when they get older. Fractions are known as building blocks for other mathematical skills, therefore it is of great importance that students understand and feel comfortable and confident when practicing them.
There are many opportunities in a child’s life where one can help them understand the concept and show the importance of using fractions. Using fruit, cutting a cake, following a recipe with measuring cups, drawing a pizza and separating the slices, are just a few examples of ways in which one can bring in fractions to a child’s life in an interesting and fun manner.
We hope these little tricks will benefit both the parents and the students as Mathematics can be quite daunting for both.
“Life is a math equation. In order to gain the most, you have to know how to convert negatives into positives.” – Anonymous
Year 2 Teacher
From the Principal’s Desk, 11 September 2020
Bringing Back The Normal.
The most important year for any student is their matric year. Not just academically, but it is also the last time they will participate in school sporting events, productions, prize-giving and most importantly, the Matric dance.
Due to the pandemic our Year 12’s have missed out on so many of these traditions. However, as soon as we were moved to level 2 we began planning for a few important events this term. We are holding our Valedictory service next week and although parents cannot join us they will be able to stream the event online. We have also organised a Matric farewell dinner and the Year 12 students are extremely excited to dress-up for the occasion.
Although there were a lot of setbacks for schools all over the country and the world, it also opened doors of “first time ever”. For the first time ever, we held our Student Representative Council (SRC) voting online. Our IT department created a platform where the High School students were able to view prospective SRC candidates’ videos and then cast their votes on an online ballot. The new SRC will be announced at the Valedictory service.
In the Primary School we had our verbal feedback meetings and we trust it went well for all parents. The Primary students are also practicing hard their Jerusalema dance. Keep an eye out for this exciting video
Wishing all our families a restful weekend.
Julian Harrison
Head of Academics High School
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From the Principal’s Desk, 4 September 2020
Dear Parents
If like me you were expectantly waiting for spring to arrive, you must be sharing my disappointment at being stuck in a winter wardrobe. We have much to be grateful for and, despite the bitter cold of the past few days, it is still wonderful to hear the voices and laughter of our children back at school.
This week we opened our Aftercare facility again and I wish to thank you for adhering to the protocols so diligently. Your conscientiousness makes the work of the teachers and aftercare staff much easier and we appreciate your cooperation with collection times. We have also reintroduced the holiday care program as we are acutely aware of the need for such a facility.
Next week our staff will be doing verbal feedback meetings. I trust you have managed to schedule some time with your children’s teachers as the feedback from these meetings is crucial for both parties.
We are celebrating Mrs. Avril Lai Wing this week and wish to honor her for the daily tasks she is doing so gracefully. She is always available to our students and receives them with a big heart. Secretaries are the first face you see as you enter the building and the welcoming smiles to our children. We are blessed to have her as part of our team.
“Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.”- Doug Larson
I wish you a happy weekend and may it be filled with sunshine and no rain!
Regards
Edna
Dinosaur Art In Reception
We have been learning about dinosaurs in Reception and the students have thoroughly enjoyed learning about this theme.
In art we used paper plates to make different kinds of dinosaurs and also had fun drawing our own dinosaurs in pastels.
We have been listening to dinosaurs songs daily and most of the students already know all the words. If your child also loves dinosaurs they would enjoy the educational songs about various dinosaurs from Story Bots. See the links below:
https://youtu.be/SZzPLdAWKOE
https://youtu.be/GOR4YDdY9dk
https://youtu.be/KECKqtKZXEE
https://youtu.be/SZzPLdAWKOE
https://youtu.be/SZzPLdAWKOE
https://youtu.be/SZzPLdAWKOE
Bronwen Nuthall
Reception Teacher
From the Principal’s Desk, 21 August 2020
Dear Parents
As I was looking back through the school calendar for 2020, I was reminded of all the events we have missed over the past few months. We missed the Interactive Curriculum Morning in April, a bi-annual event where parents participate in an interactive learning experience in the classroom. This was also the first year we did not have our Grandparents/Someone Special Day. No school photos were taken in July and the SRC of 2020 had little chance to enact any of the plans they campaigned for.
However, do not despair! We are not going to let the rest of the year pass by without enjoying some of our annual celebrations. Planning is underway for a special Valedictory service for our matric students and even though the matric dance cannot follow the traditional format, that does not mean we don’t have something exciting up our sleeves! We also launched our first Virtual Open Day last week and this week, our very first Virtual Talent Show! We look forward to many entries for this competition as we know how creative and talented our students are.
There is always something to be grateful for and always something to look forward to! Where there is no vision, people perish. Blouberg International staff, students and parents are not without hope, vision, or innovation.
To our matric and year 10 students who started their prelim examinations this week, we wish you all the best and success ahead.
I wish you all a wonderful weekend filled with family time and much laughter.
Kind regards
Edna
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