Activity Centre Outing – Year 1
This week, the Year 1 students had the pleasure of visiting an activity centre, where they were able to interact in everyday experiences on a smaller scale.
The students spent some time at the mini Checkers where they were able to shop and check-out items they felt they wanted. They were then introduced to the TAH Vet section to role play being a vet, a patient, a shopper and a teller.
After this, they headed to the mini kitchen to learn about healthy and unhealthy foods and decorate biscuits. As teachers, we find this form of role-play and interaction extremely important for young students to participate in as it is beneficial for them on a greater scale when growing up.
The students also had an exciting experience at the mini Capitec where they learnt about money, how to save money and how an ATM works. They then moved over to the “green-screen” section where they learnt what a green-screen is and they could watch themselves on the TV during their interview.
All of the stations the Year 1 students attended taught them new life skills. These life skills ranged from learning how to buy items from a shop with money, healthy and unhealthy eating, how to look after your pet, signs to look out for when your pet needs a doctor, savings and drawing money from an ATM as well as, how to conduct an interview.
This was definitely an experience the students will not forget!
Erin Hierse
Year 1 Teacher
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It’s All About The Skills…
A Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu, once wrote – Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
In our education system, while we are certainly not in the business of teaching children how to fish, this quote does make us stop and think. As teachers and parents(myself included), we become so focussed on our childrens’ academic and sporting progress, that we forgot about those so-called ‘soft skills’. It was with this in mind, that the school began our very own skills development programme every second week.
The various key stages and year groups have different goals most suited to their students’ ages. In Year 2, we decided to focus on problem-solving this term. Ms Hendry, Mrs Pani and I incorporated ‘dealing with conflict, speaking up for yourself and how to make amends’. We felt it was an important topic to tackle, as our students are still developing their emotional and social skills and often do not have the words to express their feelings, resulting in conflict or unhappiness.
The students really enjoy these sessions and participate enthusiastically. We role-play situations, looking for various solutions to the different challenges faced in these exercises.
We are looking forward to next term’s Skills Training.
Mrs Kim Coetzer
Year 2 Teacher
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Learning From Our Elders
In Year 1 Global Perspectives, we have been learning and talking about what it is like to grow old.
We interviewed my 90-year-old Great Nana in England (Kathleen Mitchell), live in class and the students had the opportunity to ask their own questions.
Young people of this generation can learn a lot from the lives of their elders. The older person has experienced all sorts of dimensions of life and lived through a very different time to how things are now in 2022.
Their lives can be fascinating to hear about and learn from. Some people are very lucky to have grandparents involved in their lives and they can enrich and bring such joy to today’s fast-paced day to day life.
The class will be interviewing and asking questions of the older people in their lives at home and reporting back their findings this week.
Charlotte Cronje
Year 1 Teacher
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Read, Read, Read
Learning to read can be the most exciting time for young children. Opening up the world of books is an invitation to many adventures.
I asked some of my students why they want to read:
“So I can read stories to my sister.” – Caleb
“I want to make speeches.” – Ingelam
“Because I want to be smart.” – Emily
“So I can help my little brother.” – Iminathi
There is much that parents can do at home to keep their child excited about reading. One of the best ways, is to read to your child. Bedtime is a wonderful time to read to your child and it has the added benefit of helping them to relax and go to sleep more easily.
In the classroom, nothing takes the place of reading aloud to the students. Most students sit spellbound, listening to the stories. They love to add their own opinions on what is going to happen next or why a character should have been kinder.
Every class has a weekly library lesson and Mrs S, as she is affectionately known, reinforces what the students are learning in the classroom in her Library lessons. The Year 1 students are enjoying the fun phonic recognition games Mrs S has introduced to them. They even get to choose library books to put in the classroom book corner.
If you need a moment to relax, find a child to read aloud to.
Ann Cordner
Year 1 Teacher
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