Moments And Memories
“Life is a beautiful collage of priceless moments and memories, which when pieced all together creates a unique treasured masterpiece” – Melanie M. Koulouris
To start the new term, the Year 5’s were tasked with reflecting on not only the wonderful moments and memories they made during the holidays, but also on why they treasured them as a part of their life’s masterpiece. They were also asked to share these memories and stories with each other in groups and with the class.
Here are just some of the special memories our students shared:
The best moment and memory was probably cuddling with my dogs, because I’m obsessed with dogs! – Zoe Floor
My best moment is when I saw all the pretty trees in Canada and the hotels looked amazing; in Hermanus I went to the beach and saw dolphins and sharks. I love having fun and spending time with my family. – Bohlale Malatji
My happiest moment was a sleepover I had with my best friends in Shanghai. We had it in a hotel, especially for us! – Emily Yu
I went ‘glamping’ with my Mom; Step-Dad and my sister. I loved it because I went with my family and we were not allowed to bring our phones! – Sian-Lia Jenkinson
The best moment I had during the holidays was seeing my Mom. This moment was very special because I haven’t seen her in a very long time. – Unknown
It is, however, important to not only reflect on the past, but also to also look to and dream about the future. So for the second task, the Year 5’s were required to write down what they were most excited about experiencing this term. Here are some of their answers:
I am excited about the Aladdin play and doing work and getting higher marks in each of my subjects. – Khanya Luthango
I am excited for this term, because I won’t be wearing a mask! – Indiphile Jentile.
Making more friends, being happy and improving my sign language. – Zoe Floor.
I am excited about soccer this term and the new students. I also want to improve my marks. – Etana Mueke.
The Year 5’s are looking forward to a wonderful Term 3!
Jennifer Rose
Year 5 Teacher
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Welcome Back
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you back to the beginning of Term 3. My wish is that you have relaxed, recharged, and feel ready to start the new school term. Campus bounced back this week with students returning from their vacation and new students joining the BIS family. Our students are indeed grateful to see their friends again as they prepare for their collaborative learning and captivating lessons.
We have been looking forward to what Term 3 has in store, including yesterday’s IES Sports Day, Year 10 camp, and our Macbeth production at the Baxter Theatre on August 10th.
I appreciate your positive energy and I look forward to working with you in the new term. All signs point to another incredible and productive school term.
I know each of us wants to make a difference in the lives of our students.
Parents, here is how you can support us and help your child become independent and “own” their learning:
- Be sure to check in with your child daily, about the learning tasks, activities, and assessments they are working on.
- Demonstrate a positive attitude about education to your children. What we say and do in our daily lives can help them to develop positive attitudes toward school and learning and to build confidence in themselves as learners. Showing our children that we value education and use it in our daily lives provides them with powerful models and contributes greatly to their success in school.
- In addition, by showing interest in your children’s education, parents and families can spark enthusiasm in them and lead them to a very important understanding that learning can be enjoyable as well as rewarding and is well worth the effort required.
- Encourage them to complete work to the best of their ability
In closing, I would like to share this interesting post from the “parenting team”, and I would like to add teachers to that team as well – because we are all in this together.
Challenge: Back to School
Been There, Been Through That…9 Tips for Parents of High Schoolers
https://community.today.com/parentingteam/post/been-there-been-through-that9-tips-for-parents-of-high-schoolers
We thank you once again for the consistent and unwavering support you have always shown.
Carmen de Villiers
High School Coordinator
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Term 2 Reflection
We have reached the end of an action-packed semester and would like to thank all our families for your support and dedication. A heartfelt thank you to our teachers for all their hard work to provide a stimulating and constructive environment for our students.
Well done to our High School students who performed well this term in their CASS assignments and examinations – We are so proud of the progress you are making.
Our term was filled with many highlights such as our Year 11 journey, Art Auction, special outdoor and sporting events, and ending the term on a high note with the various class challenges and student wellness day. On all these occasions, we were inspired by our students’ creativity, ingenuity, and growth.
We wish all our BIS families a safe and warm winter holiday. May we continue to encourage each other and be kind to ourselves and those around us.
Carmen de Villiers
High School Coordinator
WATCH: The High School Houses Challenge Each Other During the Term 2 Wellness Day House Games: https://youtu.be/YQNbmTPuvho
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From The German Club
Willkommen! Welcome to the new German Club!
The German Club was launched at the beginning of the year and has become a highlight of my week when 20 very enthusiastic German Club members meet on a Friday afternoon in my classroom for an hour. These members are students from Year 5, 6 and High School.
We cover various topics and themes as well as test and taste many different treats and snacks from Germany.
This term we explored the questions ‘Where in the World is Germany?’ and ‘Where in Europe is Germany?’
The students were divided into groups and rotated to different stations consisting of maps of the world, including Germany and a puzzle of Europe’s countries that they had to complete. They also had a questionnaire that needed to be answered as a group for each station. In this way, they were able to discover for themselves where Germany’s location is in relation to hemispheres, continents, oceans and then which countries, seas, rivers and lakes border Germany.
During Book Week in the German classroom, all the students were introduced to the fairy tales and stories by the brothers, Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm. We watched and listened to the animated story of the ‘Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten’ (The Bremen Town Musicians) and learnt a song.
Read the previous article here: https://blouberg.stjohnsdevon.desarrolloadhoc.com/2022/05/20/the-brothers-grimm/
In the German Club, we further explored this story and a highlight was watching a 60 minute movie with real live characters all in German with no English subtitles. The 4 animals; the donkey, dog, cat and rooster in the story could talk to the special humans, as they should of course in fairy tales.
In preparation before we watched the movie, we worked on the vocabulary from the movie by working in groups and matching the English and German words.
Parts of the movie were filmed in the German city of Bremen, which brought the story to life. The students really enjoyed the movie and we will definitely watch more in the future.
The German club also worked on a short play of the story and they presented it to the Year 1-6 students in the KS1 and KS2 assemblies this week. The students especially loved singing along to the song with much enthusiasm.
We look forward to the next term with the German Club.
Frau Kerstin Pani
Primary School German Teacher
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Investigating Weight And Mass In Year 1
We have had a fantastic time in Year 1 this last week, introducing weight and mass in some practical lessons.
The students learnt how to use the balance scales to compare the mass of different objects. They discovered that mass is not always related to size. They used mathematical vocabulary to describe their discoveries by using the words ‘heavier’, ‘lighter’, ‘heaviest’, ‘lightest’, ‘the same’ and ‘equal to’. They then explained their reasoning.
We set up a shop in each class and asked the students to work in pairs and “go shop”. They then discussed and compared the mass and weight of different items in the shops. They had a lot of fun learning this concept in Mathematics.
Perhaps next time you take your child to the shops to buy food, you can do some practical weight/mass investigations together!
Charlotte Cronje
Year 1 Teacher
Fairy Tales
Our Foundation Stage students have been learning about Fairy Tales. The classrooms were abuzz with excitement as we embraced the theme by building Fairy Tale puzzles, made crowns fit for a prince and princess, paged through our many Fairy Tale books in the book corners, made beautiful crafts relating to the theme and of course read various Fairy Tales at story time.
Fairy Tales offer something a little different to a child’s development. They enrich imagination, cultivate a deeper understanding of life’s great truths as well as elevate an understanding of things that can be difficult and complex to convey.
Reasons Fairy Tales are good for children:
- They see good conquer evil
- Consequences for actions
- They see great obstacles overcome by ordinary characters
- They enrich imagination
- They benefit every age
- They build emotional resiliency
- Teach critical thinking skills
- Fairy Tales teach lessons
- Vocabulary
- Emotional Processing
We ended off the theme with a dress up day, which was the most fun of all. The students got to tell the class about their favourite Fairy Tale and some got to dress up as and talk about their favourite characters (See photos). As Hans Christian Andersen once said: “Life itself is the most wonderful Fairy Tale.”
Cindy Nunan
Pre-Reception Teacher
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Murderous Macbeth: Paranoid Prefect
We all know and love to hate Shakespeare’s infamous ‘Macbeth’, also known as the “Scottish play”, which etches out the tragedy of an ambitious man who murders his way to the crown. Encouraged by his even ruthless wife and the predictions of three “fates”, Macbeth goes down a dark, haunting, and intriguing path to his demise.
Now, what if we take that basic plot and set it in 2022, in an all-girls school, with head prefect as the goal? The product is all the teen drama one could dream of… but make it a nightmare.
Mackenzie “Lady” Macbeth and her girlfriend, Bethany, want to rule the school. Who do they need to take down to get to the top? And how will they make it happen?
Still dark, as evil plots unfold; still haunting, as there are literal ghosts; and still intriguing, as we try to understand methods and motives: this play is bound to disturb and entertain.
Blouberg International School’s modern version of ‘Macbeth’ will take to the Baxter Theatre stage during the Shakespeare School’s Festival, on Wednesday, 10 August, and again on our school stage on Friday, 12 August.
To book click here! https://www.webtickets.co.za/v2/Event.aspx?itemid=1513749284 (Please ensure to book for one of the days our school performs, as we do not perform every day)
Come to see if they can wash the blood off their hands.
Genevieve Kerswill
High School English Teacher and Drama Coordinator
(PHOTOS BELOW: Moments on stage from our Midsummer Night’s Dream performance at the Shakespeare School’s Festival in 2020 at the Fugard Theatre)
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Year 1 Outing To The Science Centre
A visit to the Cape Town Science Center is a highlight for many students. On Tuesday, 7 June the Year 1 students enjoyed the morning at the center.
The students were fascinated to see the camera obscura where they saw a 360 view of cape town while sitting inside a dark room. They then enjoyed a lesson about shapes and had to complete a challenging shape sudoku. Working together to build a wall on the construction site was great fun; however when it came time to tidy up the students were not as enthusiastic.
The interactive exhibits allow the students to see how science works in the world around us. Finally, we had the Wizz, Pop, Bang Show, with lots of exciting chemical reactions making fire and sounds and the genie coming out the bottle had everyone enthralled.
The bus ride back to school was quiet and some even fell asleep after a very busy morning.
Here is what some of the students had to say about the Outing:
My favourite part is the … bottle rocket and the lighting box! (Ozioma)
I liked the food table and I liked the bottle rocket. (Leah Koopman)
I saw coloured fire and I saw the camera obscura. (Nathaniel)
I liked building a wall and mommy came with me. (Leah Karstel)
I liked the Lego site and I liked the speaking tubes. (Uche)
Ann Cordner
Year 1 Teacher and Key Stage 1 Coordinator
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Happy Father’s Day
Father. Dad. Superhero. Protector. Best friend.
These are just a few ways that we can describe the most important men in our lives. Even as an adult, my dad is still my hero and I am still learning from him all the time. Father figures come in many different forms throughout the world and all of them represent beacons of light and a guiding path for those that they take care of.
In my Reception class, I asked the students some questions about their dads in preparation for Father’s Day this coming Sunday. Here are their responses:
How old is your dad?
Kopano: My dad is 44 years old.
Mahadhyuth: I don’t know – I didn’t ask him.
Lolwam: 14
Chimdindu: 60
Zande: 32
What does your dad do during the day?
Kopano: He showers and builds a library, church and school out of Lego.
Naif: He drinks Coke.
Chimdindu: My dad buys me stuff every day.
Bavani: He works and he goes to the shops and he takes my dog for a walk.
Isabella: He stays in bed or works with chicken.
What is your dad’s job?
Enhle: He sends messages for work.
Samuel: He works on his laptop.
Does your dad have super powers?
Naif: Yes, Sonic super powers.
Samuel: His muscles.
My favourite thing about my dad:
Enhle: He always let’s me play games.
Anam: Sitting down and watching movies as a family.
Bavani: For bringing me a dog.
Isabella: When he fetches me from school.
Is your dad funny? Why is your dad funny?
Purity: He tells me jokes.
Lolwam: No.
Amelia: Yes, he tickles me and tells jokes.
Anam: Sometimes, he tries to make puppets.
Zande: He plays tricks on me.
Emmanuel: He does magic tricks that are funny.
What is your dad’s favourite thing to do?
Purity: He likes to go camping.
Mahadhyuth: He loves to do work.
Amelia: Play with me.
Emmanuel: Work at the police station.
From the whole of the Foundation Phase we wish all of the Father figures in our lives a Happy Father’s Day and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all that you do for us!
Kim Hahn
Reception Year Teacher
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Sensory Day
Even though it was messy, and oh the clean-up was a delight, the toddlers thoroughly enjoyed every minute of exploring the colourful spaghetti, the mushy sago and the sticky rice. They were able to hop out of the ‘clean class’ box and just enjoy making a mess.
Sensory play is an important part of childhood and there are really no limits to what you can use in your sensory activities. However, nature and food can often be your best friend when it comes to sensory play.
To help you keep your youngster busy during the holidays, here are a few great sensory play ideas for home:
- For keeping their hands busy:
- Soapy Jars: Fill a plastic peanut butter jar halfway with water, a pinch of dish soap and food colouring. Seal it tightly, and let your toddler roll it/shake it around outside.
- To explore their sense of smell (ages 4-6):
- Smell it and guess: Blend up six different fruits/vegetables in small quantities and pour them into separate dishes. Allow your little one to taste and guess.
- For co-ordination and organisation:
- Alphabet scoop and transfer: You will need alphabet magnets or water-safe letters, a storage container, a wooden spoon, two dish buckets and water. Pour enough water into your container to allow the letters to float and allow your child to scoop each letter out individually. You can practice various beginner literacy activities with them!
- To assist with emotions, and to keep them calm:
- Place beach sand or regular sand into a big container and hide small toys in the sand. Make sure the toys are all of the same themes. Once they have been able to scoop out each toy, engage with them to create a fantasyland on the sand. It’s like a zen garden for kids.
Jo-Anne Dickason
Nursery Teacher
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