Year 2’s Rock Online Learning!
We sometimes tend to underestimate our children’s ability to adapt to change and forget how resilient they are. The dreaded ‘online learning’ loomed over our heads during the holidays. Would we? Wouldn’t we?
Of course, I can only speak for us teachers and have no idea how much effort, bribing or even begging, parents have had to resort to, to ensure their children are online and also complete their work daily. So, our heartfelt thanks go to all the parents, grandparents, family members and friends who are supporting the children during this process.
I have really enjoyed the one-on-one chats I have had with my class over the last few days. In a classroom situation, often there just is not enough time to listen to every child’s story or viewpoint.
Yes, it is stressful for parents and teachers alike, but if I compare Term 3 now, to the hard lockdown during Term 2 last year, I think we have all come a long way.
We look forward to welcoming our students back into the classroom and sincerely hope it will be sooner than later.
Kim Coetzer
Year 2 Teacher
Holiday News
The winter holidays are often a challenge for many parents especially when there are rainy days. However, the Year 1 students enjoyed the time at home and had lots of fun.
Usually on the first day back at school, they love to share their news with their peers, but could not do that with online learning. Instead, they have practiced their writing skills and wrote about the highlights of their holiday.
Ann Cordner
Year 1 Teacher
Working With Clay
“There is a relationship between sight and touch, something about eyes being able to see through the fingers touching the clay, about fingers being able to feel what the eyes are seeing without the fingers actually touching it.” – Jose Saramago
During the Term, our Year 2 students learnt about Manipulating Materials in Science. The students were enthusiastic and showed an eager attitude towards this concept, so to end off the Term, the Year 2 students were given some clay to manipulate into making a small bowl, which they would later paint if they wish to.
Clay plays an important role in developmental growth in students from a young age. Manipulating (squishing, squeezing, pulling, pushing, etc.) helps develop a student’s large and small muscles, fosters eye-hand coordination, builds on fine motor skills and it helps teach to them the ability to focus.
The use of clay with infants and toddlers allows for discovery of body awareness as it provides a tactical experience. The older the student gets, the more creative he/she may find themselves when manipulating clay which is extremely important for the developmental growth of all students.
“Learn to humble yourself, you are but earth and clay.” – Thomas Kempis
Erin Hierse
Year 2 Teacher
Group Work
Group work is so important for students, providing great opportunities for them to develop and practise their skills such as listening to each other, working with others, helping and thinking of solutions
The students have had a lot of fun planning and producing pictures in their groups over a couple of weeks together.
Here are some of their creations:
Charlotte Cronje
Year 1 Teacher
Have Boxes, Glue And Decorations?
Last week, the Year 2 classes were given the task to design and build anything they wanted to… We decided not to be prescriptive, as we were keen to see what ideas they came up with.
They were given the opportunity to plan their designs, identifying items they would need. So on Friday, armed with bags of boxes, glues, empty toilet rolls, decorations and paper, they eagerly waited for their teachers to say, “It’s time for Design and Technology now”.
I was really impressed by how the students worked together, shared decorations and motivated and supported each other.
Some of their projects didn’t come out quite as they had hoped. We discussed the reasons for this and they were able to identify that some glue was not strong enough or some boxes were too floppy.
All in all, it was fun and our students learned some valuable lessons!
Kim Coetzer
Year 2 Teacher
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Telling The Time
The students of Year 1 are learning to tell the time.
At this age, the students need very practical sessions to learn new concepts. Our first lesson was a recap of what the students already know. Building on their prior knowledge of morning, afternoon, day and night, how we know when it is morning and night and different units of time.
We talked about an analogue clock, what is a day and an hour as a unit of time. Of course, we had to make a clock and then show the o’clock time on our clocks. We had lots of fun playing “What’s the time Mr Wolf’?”
The students had lots of practice making the time on their clocks and asking a friend to tell them the time. They also asked each other how many hours from 6 o’clock to 8 o’clock. Next term we will learn to tell the “half past”.
Ann Cordner
Year 1 Teacher
Year 5 Camp 2019
On Wednesday, 20th November 2019 anticipation filled the air as the Year 5’s headed off to Worcester to enjoy in the exhilarating camp at High Africa. Songs, cheers and pure excitement was felt on the 2-hour bus drive from BIS to Worcester. Games were played and conversations were had to pass the time.
On arrival we were met by our highly energetic camp leaders who welcomed us to our new headquarters for the next three days. We were warned of the pesky mosquitoes, the cluster of spiders lurking in the night and the potential dangerous snakes out there in the fields. NOTHING was going to stop us from having a good time, not even the 32-degree Celsius weather that greeted us on arrival.
We scaled up 12 meter climbing walls and jumped 5 meter heights off the ground. We ventured into the veld and built bridges with just the natural wood planks laying around. We offered words of encouragement, a helping hand when needed, a shoulder to cry on and hugs of motivation. We had pure fun playing in water and getting our hands and feet dirty. All the pleasures of being a child.
Camp has taught many of us how to be team players and how to persevere even when we really want to give up because the satisfaction of trying is far more rewarding than being an onlooker.
“We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated” – Maya Angelou
Nadia Mahomed
Year 5 Teacher