From the Principal’s Desk – 21st March 2019
Dear Parents
“Your relationships can only be as healthy as you are.”
– Neil Clark Warren
We have reached the end of the first term and I cannot believe how the days and weeks have flown by. My goal for this week was to thank each and every one of my staff for their dedication, support and hard work. Nothing we do is insignificant and every small action contributes to the greater whole. I therefore wish to thank everyone, from our administrative team to the cleaning staff, for their efforts this term.
I was reminded this week of the truth in the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child”. Every one of our dedicated staff, on a daily basis, has the opportunity to shape and positively affect our students.
In order to take care of others, we have to take care of ourselves and I’d like to leave you with an extract from the book ‘25 Ways to Win With People’ by John C. Maxwell.
- Recognize your value
- Accept your value
- Increase your value
- Believe in your value
Winners are valuable and when we embrace our own value we are able to ignite this in others. I value my staff, our students and parents and wish you all a wonderful holiday.
We would like to wish Mr Craig Radnitz all the best in his new venture. He has been a valuable and dedicated staff member to BIS and will be sparky missed. May the new team in the UK be supportive and welcome him with open arms.
Those of you who are travelling, may you travel safe and return well rested.
Kind regards
Edna
The importance of play – Pre-Reception Term 1 2019
“Play is nature’s means of ensuring that young mammals, including young human beings, acquire the skills that they need to acquire to develop successfully into adulthood”
– Dr Peter Gray
As I observe my Pre-Reception class and reflect over the first term, I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone by and how much they have already developed. “Time flies when you are having fun!” The students have settled into the class routine beautifully and for some of them it is their first time at school.
Each week they have learnt about different themes, identifying numbers and sounds, number and letter formation, pencil control, shapes, colours, done activities to strengthen their fine motor skills, complete patterns, the importance of sharing and taking turns to name only a few of the things.
As I watch and interact with my students, it strikes me that people don’t realize the importance of play and what they actually learn through play. During play children are thinking, problem solving, developing memory, planning, investigating, developing language skills, concentrating and learning many more skills… Play is healthy for children, it reduces stress and anxiety by providing an outlet. Play is the medium through which children explore and experience their world around them. It’s how they learn! To a child, playing and working or learning are the same thing.
I noticed the children in my class engaging in various types of play throughout the day:
Fantasy or Dramatic Play also known as pretend play or make – believe play which involves “acting out” ideas and role playing activities.
Sensory play involves stimulating the senses, tastes, textures, smells, colours, shapes and movements.
Investigative stage of play is when a child wants to see what happens when materials are manipulated in a certain way.
Competitive Play refers to games with rules that are more structured and may involve more than one player. My students love to play Hide and seek as well as Duck duck goose.
Constructive Play involves creating things and manipulating objects to make something. Some of the students really enjoy playing with the wooden blocks and building the most amazing constructions.
Physical Play refers to play that is purely physical, such as climbing a jungle gym, skipping etc.
Creative Play is about creating art using paint, crayons, cutting and pasting etc to express oneself.
Here are some tips how parents can support their child through play in the holidays:
-Allow enough time for play indoors and outdoors every day.
-Provide a safe environment.
-Play with your child and verbalise what they are doing and ask them questions to promote language development and problem solving.
-Allow your child to explore and get dirty during play.
-Provide stimulating toys and equipment.
-Encourage freedom of choice and do not interfere in the game.
-Provide clothes and accessories for dress-up play.
-Focus on the enjoyment of the game and not only on winning.
-Focus on games that teach mathematical and early reading skills.
-Play is not just good for your child but it’s good for parents too. Similarly to children, play helps parents relieve stress, mend and strengthen relationships and keeps everyone happy.
So the next time your children ask you to play with them, it’s not just good for them it’s good for YOU too!
Cindy Nunan
Pre-Reception Teacher
Nursery News – Opposites
Our 2 ½ to 3 ½ year old students have been exploring the concept of opposites. The sun goes down to sleep, the stars come out and the sky becomes dark. They created day and night examples, by painting blue for the day and black for the night time. What fun it was for them to print clouds onto their pictures!
We have also been enjoying circle time in the mornings where they discuss and discover things that are big and small, up and down, rough and smooth.
Through Sensory play using play dough, they learn that dough is soft and the dough cutters are hard. They enjoyed rolling and squashing the play dough during our Sensory periods.
Cambridge is greatly centered on play-to-learn for the Early years and Foundation stage. Students learn through experience and reasoning. They absorb so much information when they can use their senses to trigger learning.
Jacky Billings
Nursery Teacher
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Welcome Pre-Reception 2019
The new year at Blouberg International has begun! Most of the students come to school full of excitement and energy ready for the day’s activities. Some of the educational play activities they have participated in so far are: painting, cutting out and rolling play dough, various ball skills, cutting, pasting and much more!
This is what some of the Pre-Reception students said they liked most about their new school:
- Kelvin & Melvin Ngula (3 years 6 months) – “building with the wooden blocks!”
- Jaanae Pillay (3 years 5 months) – “I like it when my teacher reads a story to the class.”
- Hannah Baker (2 years 9 months) – “I like playing with the dolls the most!”
- Richard Hoskins (2 years 10 months) – “I like watching the birds fly into the classroom.”
Starting Pre-Reception is a significant event for every child. It can be both exciting as well as emotional. I am excited to see how they grow and develop throughout the year. We hope the start to your child’s journey be an exciting & joyful one!
Cindy Nunan
Pre-Reception Teacher
The best part of Year 1
Being a Year 1 teacher is immensely rewarding. I have the privilege to make a lasting, positive impact on my classes’s well-being and development. I get to open young minds to new concepts and ideas on a daily basis, and teach my students how to read and write which they will use for the rest of their lives!
We are now in Week 3 of the 2019 academic year, so I decided to ask a few of my students what the best part of Year 1 is:
“The best part of Year 1 is playing on the field.” Blake Olivier 6 years old
“The best part of Year 1 is working because it keeps me busy.” Gamelilhe Masuku (5 years 10 months)
“My best part of Year 1 is golden time!” Charlotte Neal (6 years 10 months)
“The best part of Year 1 is learning new things.” Tshimologo Shuping (6 years 10 months)
“The best of Year 1 is going to school!” Sancia Paul (5 years 7 months)
“The best part of Year 1 is snack time.” Lucas Kane (6 years 4 months)
“The best part of Year 1 is learning how to write.” Mackenzie Matthee (6 years 8 months)
Miss White
Year 1 Teacher
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