Valentine’s Day And Core Values
We have become so used to extended periods of lockdown and limited social opportunities during the Covid-19 pandemic. That is why this year’s Valentine’s Day, whilst still following social distancing, was such an exciting event for the Nursery, Pre-Reception and Reception students. They had the opportunity to interact in larger groups during our Teddy Bear’s picnic and it was so nice to see them bonding, laughing and thriving socially. Our Valentine’s Day was filled with love, hugs and beautiful pink, red and white outfits.
From this Valentine ’s Day onwards, we will focus on the core values of being kind, caring and encouraging. Mr Swart introduced these core values to us in our first assembly for the year. These values can be accomplished even at an early age and are implemented and encouraged in every classroom in the ELS.
I asked a few students in Reception Year what it means to be a kind friend and they had some very special responses:
“If someone doesn’t have anyone to play with then you can play with them.”
“Don’t tease or use unkind words with your friends.”
“If your friend is hurt or sad you can help them or give them a hug.”
“If you share your toys you are being a kind friend.”
“Helping your teacher is a kind thing to do.”
I think it is encouraging and exciting to see that our BIS students will grow up to be thoughtful, empathetic and compassionate people in a society that is in such dire need of these qualities.
Please continue to encourage your child to develop and grow in these qualities, irrespective of their age. Being a kind, caring and encouraging person will guarantee healthy friendships and relationships that blossom. They are excellent building blocks for a solid foundation for the remainder of their lives.
Kim Hahn
Reception Year Teacher
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Nursery Tackles Responsible Hygiene
It’s probably not surprising that learning about hygiene and self-care at a young age contributes to healthy social and emotional development. Encouraging independent self-care skills has a significant long-term impact on children, and attempting to complete these self-care tasks, builds on their confidence and promotes a healthy lifestyle.
Good hygiene expands further than just using hand sanitizer in class – it’s about keeping our surroundings clean and maintaining that cleanliness whenever possible. That’s why this week, during our Skills Programme, Nursery took the opportunity to learn about taking responsibility for our personal hygiene – as well as for the hygiene of the classroom.
We embarked on a fun-filled adventure to the garden, where we cleaned all the class toys with warm water and soap. The students worked as a team, learnt about germs and enjoyed cleaning all the crevices of their much-loved toys.
The best way to encourage good hygiene habits in our little tots, is to be a good role model and to set the standard at home. Keeping the conversation going will not only normalize the responsibility, but it will also ensure that the children are keeping their body happy and healthy. Self- care is the most important skill we can learn and starting today, no matter the age, will ensure self-love.
I am so proud of how far the little tots have come and I am so excited to put this new skill to good use in our future lessons.
Jo-Anne Dickason
Nursery Teacher
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Show and Tell – My Family
Last week, the Foundation Stage classes learnt about different families and what makes each family special.
The little ones are always very excited to do Show and Tell, and even more so when they have the opportunity to talk about their families.
The student were thrilled as they arrived at school with their beautiful posters, eager to share their presentations with their friends. It is always such a pleasure to see the little ones so proud to tell their friends about their mom and dad, siblings, aunts and uncles, cousins and even the very special furry friends that make each family special.
A big thank you to all the parents who helped the little ones prepare their presentations. It was so lovely getting to know everyone who forms part of our BIS family!
Monique Meyer
Reception Teacher and Foundation Stage Coordinator
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We are family!
We are learning all about me and my family in Pre-Reception. Talking about our families at school gives the students the opportunity to talk about what is most important to them. This topic also helps them realise that family, the people we live with, is something we all have in common, regardless of how our families look! Some families have siblings, some have none, some families have parents, and some have none.
The students enjoyed learning rhymes and songs and reading about families. They brought photos of themselves to school and we made a “wall of me” as we are also like a family in class. We loved marble painting and made beautiful art. The students also presented their first show and tell by telling us all about their family.
Martie van Dyk
Pre-Reception Teacher
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My Holiday!
A huge welcome back to all our Year 3 students who arrived last week relaxed, recharged and ready to start a new school year. We kicked off the year with a three-part activity about their holiday. Students first shared with the class, any interesting activities that they had enjoyed during the holiday. This was also a great way in which to get to know the students as we chatted about surfing, zip lining, hiking and karate lessons, amongst other exciting adventures.
The second step involved the students drawing a ‘snapshot’ of themselves enjoying one activity during the holiday and then explaining their ‘snapshot’ to a classmate.
Lastly, the students wrote a few sentences in the form of a short news article to match their ‘snapshot’.
Thank you, Year 3, for a very interesting and informative start to the year!
Mandy Goch
Year 3 Teacher
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“I went to…” Holiday News In Reception
On the first day of school, the students arrived very excitedly to begin the last term of Reception Year. They really enjoyed the holiday and could not wait to tell us all about it.
We are now training to work in books with lines in preparation for next year. The students had to write their own heading for their news followed by the zig zag, ‘w’ pattern. Through practice the students are becoming more aware of motor planning in their books and are learning to skip lines when needed.
We recapped the simple sentence rules:
- A sentence always starts with a capital letter.
- There are always finger spaces between words.
- A sentence ends in a small neat full stop on the line.
Each week for their news the students will choose and make use of a sentence starter such as “I went…”, I played …”, I saw…”, I liked…” The teacher will then write the unknown words on a strip for them to copy. They will be encouraged try and complete their own sentences using known High Frequency Words and by independently sounding out phonetic words using their knowledge of the Jolly Phonics sounds.
Reading and writing skills certainly goes hand in hand. All the reading practice they have been doing this year will definitely help them to apply their knowledge to attempt writing sentences with confidence.
The students are very excited about the following sentences they have written in their writing books this week:
“I went to the shop.” – Gabriel Perdigão
“I went to Namibia.” – Madison Carli
“I went to get donuts.” -Thami Makubalo
“I went to the shop.” – Michele Lemme
“I went to Dubai.” – Zoe-Jane Way
“I went to holiday care.” – Emmanuel Omole
“I went to the movies.” – Britney Quadri
“I went to the shops.” – Melissa Moje
“I went to the playground.” – Ali Sadi Hasturk
“I went to the shop.” – Lizelle Vorster
“I went to holiday care.” – Enzo Tona
“I went to the hospital.” – Jenna Miller
“I went to the shops.” – Reuben Davids
“I went camping.” – Malin van Zandvoort
“I went to the mall.” – Ndalo Kweyama
“I went to the movies.” – Sarah Miller
“I went to the shop.” – Irén Martinez Baqueiro
“I went to the holiday care.” – Joel Mofokeng
Bronwen Nuthall
Reception Year Teacher
From the Principal’s Desk – 18th April 2019
Dear Parents
This week I was reminded of life’s challenges and the various forms in which they visit us. How we respond to these challenges is vital to our physical and emotional well-being. Too often we are so focused on overcoming these challenges that we fail to introspect, and it’s therefore so important that we regularly evaluate where we are at and how we are moving forward.
Introspection and honest evaluation allows us to deal more effectively with the challenges we face. It is important to take quality time for oneself and, in so doing, take the time to reflect on our own well being. If we do not take the time to reflect we are bound to become overwhelmed. If we are not self-aware, we can easily become bound in a prison of negative emotions.
I wish to encourage you, as we are on the verge of a long weekend, to take time to reflect on where you stand, both emotionally and physically. Let’s embrace positivity this long weekend and each take some much needed time for ourselves. Take a deep breath and relax; rejuvenate and reflect on the important things in life other than commitments and responsibilities. Too often, in chasing future success, we forgot about the present. Remind yourselves this weekend to laugh, be joyful and enjoy the precious wonder of life. We cannot get back time ill spent.
Have a wonderful Easter break with your friends and family and if you are travelling, be safe!
Kind regards
Edna