CREATIVE WRITING
The Year 4’s have been expanding their creative writing skills by working on descriptive introduction paragraphs to a fantasy story.
Mrs. Mahomed’s students have excitedly taken up the challenge and have created some fantastic introduction paragraphs that will leave you wanting to hear the rest of the story.
“The sky was all shades of purple and pink. The wind was pumping. Cassie, a little eight-year-old girl was walking outside in her garden when she came across a seemingly endless tunnel, it was made of what was thought to be trees. The trees were alive, they had a mind of their own and they were muttering. Just then the wind started to blow so hard that it almost blew Cassie away while her long blonde hair and baby blue dressed swayed in the wind too. Just then, Cassie heard a voice calling her from the tunnel.”
Written by Isabella Heidmann (Y4NM)
“It was a Winter’s morning when suddenly a figure dashed passed the window. I barely recognized what it could be but I do remember it was misty blue in colour and had large wings. A strong and glorious body with magical snowflakes that dazzled from it. Wherever it went Winter followed. It almost looked like a dragon. Its body was covered in sharp icicles. It was truly a magnificent sight and I wish I could see the dragon one more time.”
Written by Sachin Gramoney (Y4NM)
“Long long ago in the midst of time there lives a dragon, a quite small dragon. It lives in the bone chilling Winter months where freezing winds howl through the night and snow falls through the day. The dragon sleeps through the warm months and is awaken on the first day of Winter. Today is that day! He comes out into the fridged world and spreads his large wings to fly.”
Written by Eshwar Mudaly-Jansen (Y4NM)
“It was a dim and cloudy night in the city, a huge shadow had appeared out of nowhere. “A dragon!” shouted a civilian in fear. It had blazed through the big tall buildings of the city, crushing and wrecking everything in sight.”
Written by Caleb Ajayi (Y4NM)
“I am going to tell you a tale about the snowflake dragon. You see, deep in the snow forest where cold breezes and heavy snow storms live you will find the snowflake dragon. Don’t go there unless you dare. There’s poisonous snow snakes and wild wolves. It is dangerous everywhere. The wolf’s breath is as cold as dried ice and he breathes hot snow. When you get caught in his breath you will disintegrate.”
Written by Chloe Stewe (Y4NM)
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MARHABAN BIKUM FAA MISR (WELCOME TO EGYPT)
Salim walakum. In term four, in some of our subjects, we are covering the topic of Ancient Egypt. This is by far my favourite term of the whole year. Not only because it is the most exciting term, but also I can talk about Ancient Egypt all day, every day. I am certain that my passion around this topic has certainly infected the students in my class. They are even selecting readers in the library around the subject to find out more.
In English, we are reading stories, completing comprehensions and writing sentences about Ancient Egypt. In History and Geography, the students are doing research and completing a poster and presenting an oral using various topics, like Pharaohs, Gods and Goddesses, Mummies, these are only but a few examples. In Art and Design, the students have drawn Ancient Egyptian pots. For the last two weeks, they have been designing Ancient Egyptian necklaces, fit for a Pharaoh.
The Year 3 students spent a lesson drawing and colouring in their necklaces with pastels to brighten up the necklace. They then spent another lesson embellishing their necklaces with old jewellery, beads, sequins and glitter. I have to say, this year’s necklaces have truly outshone previous years. I was so proud of how each child planned their necklace with outmost care and precision, and took the time to ensure that it was their best work. I will leave you to decide which ones are the best!
We are all looking forward to the next Ancient Egyptian project!
Wendy Menton
Year 3 Teacher
Convincing Careers
Year 5s started with a new topic in Global Perspectives for Term 4, called Will a Robot Do My Job?
Students had to identify the career that they would most like to pursue as an adult, giving reasons for their choice. They had to use a KWL chart to help them think about the career they have chosen:
- K – They started by completing the “What I know” column with any information that they already have about their chosen career (for example: the skills and knowledge they think are needed to do the job, and any qualities that are required).
- W – Students then completed the “‘What I want to find out’ column with any questions about their chosen job that they want to find the answers to. They shared their questions with other students in groups, and discussed where they might be able to find the answers.
- L – We will research these questions during the next lesson and complete the “What I’ve learned” column.
As we continue with this unit, the students will also have to come up with convincing arguments as to why or why not a robot will be able to take over their job one day.
“The only way to do great work is to LOVE what you do.” – Steve Jobs
Take a look at the exciting careers some of our students would like to pursue one day!
Ria du Plessis
Year 5 Coordinator
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From the German Classroom
In German, the Year 4 students have been learning vocabulary related to items that we use daily and that one can buy at the shops. They then learnt simple sentences related to going shopping and asking for that specific item.
Role-playing is the perfect way to put the learning into practice. This enhances the students’ speaking skills to make the foreign language meaningful and useful in conversation. It improves the students’ communication skills in learning a new language, and then in turn develops their interaction with one another. This also strengthens social skills including student collaboration. Role-play gives students the opportunity to experience real world/life scenarios in the classroom and learn from each other.
We first watched a short video showcasing Year 4 students from a school in Germany, who role play going on a shopping trip using the same vocabulary and sentences that the students had learnt.
This gave the students some inspiration to work on their own role-plays. They were then divided into small groups to plan and practice their own shopping trip. They chose the roles of either a shopkeeper/assistant or the person shopping and selected the items they wanted to purchase using some props in my classroom. Then the students were given the opportunity to present their role-plays.
The students were really motivated and had a lot of fun acting out the conversations and were able to put what they had learnt in theory into practice.
Looking forward to many more.
Frau K. Pani
Primary School German Teacher
https://www.niu.edu/citl/resources/guides/instructional-guide/role-playing.shtml
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Year 6 – Term 3 At a Glance
Our year 6 students enjoyed an exciting and adventurous term. Throughout the term, the students broadened their knowledge by learning about fractions, circuits, ecosystems and more. They developed insight into the educational struggles of others around the world through the inspirational story of Malala and got a taste of entrepreneurship by designing and creating products from sustainable materials.
During our insightful skills periods, the students became aware of good online conduct and how to use social media in a positive manner.
As the year 6 students will become the leaders of tomorrow, they went on camp at Bonamanzi. Not only did they learn to become independent, but also discovered which qualities are vital to be a good and influential leader.
Tired does not even begin to explain how they felt after they returned from camp. They went river rafting, created flags, competed in various group activities and went night walking, where they discovered scorpions, as well as the importance of covering your legs to avoid pesky ticks. Snacking was of utmost importance – who knew that 11-year-old students could eat so much!
The students also came into personal contact with the wild side of camping, with mosquitoes that must’ve originated in the Jurassic era, big and sneaky, causing them to all return home, looking like they might have the plague – they definitely would’ve made quite an impact on dot day! Poor Miss Nel injured her foot while running, having to hop along after the students as they ventured out and about.
Ending the term on a high note, the students hosted their very first student led conference. During this conference, the students chose which work they were most proud of during the term and presented it to their parents themselves. They were able to explain to their parents what they had learnt during the term, as well as how they improved and what they found interesting. Both the students and the parents thoroughly enjoyed this special bonding time together.
As another term ends, the year 6 students will definitely be able to tick off a few things from their bucket lists – yes, pun intended.
Rochelle Oosthuizen
Year 6 Teacher
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Keep Calm And Create A Calm Space
Emotions play such an important role in our lives. It helps us to think and behave in certain ways. They help us to build relationships, avoid or resolve conflicts better. Emotions help us make decisions for the future and helps us cope with what we are dealing with during the day.
We start feeling emotions from when we are little, and as we grow and mature, we learn how to identify them far better and hopefully become more skilled in how to express them appropriately. With practise we get better at understanding what we are feeling and why.
Just for a moment, think about what you did today versus what you did yesterday. Did different emotions on different days, allow you to behave in different ways? Are you more tolerant today than you were yesterday? Have you smiled more today than yesterday? Have you made some rash decisions based on how you were feeling? Have you made the best decisions you could have made so far this year?
Emotions can last for a second or for an hour. They change constantly throughout our day. Emotions are part of a person’s character. Without them we would be robots.
We read emotions from facial expressions, body language, hand gestures, tone of voice and even eyes. Notice the feel of a handshake, a hug or a touch. These are many cues that help us to pick up on someone’s emotional wellbeing.
Many adults today find it difficult to identify what it is they are really feeling, let alone be able to express their emotions appropriately. Am I angry or just irritated? Am I happy or just proud? There are so many emotions that are closely linked and can be misunderstood. There are so many different emotions that sometimes it can be impossible to recognise them all. It can also be very confusing and extremely challenging.
Being able to accept what you are feeling allows you to become more self-aware and self-compassionate. I know this can sound all airy-fairy, but being able to have a good emotional intelligence, to me, is far better that having a good IQ. This will help you in all aspects of life, in the workplace and in relationships that you build along the way.
Using a feelings wheel helps us to open up our feeling’s vocabulary and learn to understand the extent of them a lot better. Once you have used the feelings wheel for some time, you won’t need to go back and look up what the feeling is, you will identify it straightaway.
There are many students today that need assistance with feelings and emotions, and need to learn some healthy strategies to overcome or face them head-on.
I have a number of feelings wheels and charts around my class to help my students with their emotions. I have a dedicated calm space for my students to retreat to whenever they feel overwhelmed or need a place to ‘check in’ with themselves.
You can create a calm space in your own home for your children, or even for yourself. When children see that you use the space, it allows them to realise that we, as adults, also have emotions and sometimes need to refocus and recentre.
This calm space is different to a time-out space for consequences. It is a place of safety. Children are not to be sent there by a parent, rather it must be a child’s choice to go there. You can suggest it, but it should not be enforced. This space does not have a time limit.
Decide as a family, where this calm space will be. Decorate it together if that’s something that they might like. You can even give the space a name.
Leave them alone in their space to reflect, to let out some anger or other emotions. Try not hover around them or speak to them. Allow them this time to be on their own.
You can include some calming tools in your calm space to help them with self-regulation. Some good ideas are therapy putty or a stress ball to squeeze, a liquid timer or a glitter jar to look at, books to read about emotions, calming cards or positive thinking cards, a teddy bear, or some simple calming toys, such as a Rubik’s cube, that keep their minds busy. Some nice, calming smells can help too. I use lavender in my class, and my students love rubbing it onto their temples. This relaxes them completely. Believe me, I have used it several times!
Embrace your emotions, and talk about them with your family, your friends, your colleagues. The more we accept that we have them and that they are a normal part of our lives, the more skilled we will become, and your EQ will be what people talk about instead of your IQ.
Wendy Menton
Year 3 Teacher
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Auto Museum Outing
To fully appreciate the future, we need to appreciate the past.
Our Year 4 classes visited the Wijnland Auto Museum in Joostenberg vlakte, as part of the Transportation unit that we have been studying in History.
Throughout the term, we have investigated the various types of transport, how transport has evolved over time and the importance of the different modes of transportation.
During our visit to the museum, the students learned about cars and how the design and technology has changed over the years. We saw various amazing antique cars, army tanks and even went inside an old passenger airplane.
We cannot wait to discuss this topic further in class.
Yvette Fourie
Year 4 Teacher
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The Magic In Allowing Learners To Take Control Of Their Own Learning
In Year 3 this term we have been exploring the concepts of natural disasters, the water cycle and global warming. The students had the opportunity to discover these topics through their own research, whilst using the Ipads. They have slowly built upon their prior knowledge, lesson by lesson. With Geography as the subject, global warming as the topic and Google at their fingertips, the students decided to take the lesson in a different direction.
Once the students had begun their search and discovered what both causes and alleviates global warming, they discovered some images that they wanted to recreate.
The students had found an interest and wanted to pursue an activity that they had come up with themselves. Each one of them chose to represent the information they had learnt with something that summed it all up into one image. Pictures were produced, that represented our earth in two states and they were drawn and coloured in by the very hands that may one day construct the solutions to the problems we face.
Autonomy is developed through our students having some choice and control in their lessons, and if the knowledge and learning objectives stay the same, then does it matter how they discover it?
Kirsten Stoffberg
Year 3 Teacher
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States Of Year 5
We all know that our children matter. What the Year 5s have been learning recently is that they are also MADE of matter.
We have been looking at the particle model and states of matter in Science, and the students have explored the topics in a variety of different ways. They have used their textbooks to learn independently and peer-teach each other about processes like boiling and melting, practising the skill of reading information to pick out salient points, as well as their communication skills (and producing some useful posters for the classroom walls in the process).
They observed what happens when a solid is dissolved in water and described the process on the particle level, while reminding themselves that while you may not be able to see the salt in salt water, you would definitely know it’s still there if you tasted it.
They practised their Science enquiry skills by looking at available equipment and figuring out how to test the effect of temperature on the rate of dissolving, writing a practical report to systematically record their findings.
Now they are turning their hand to some research, using the iPads to look up some information about the properties of water.
Throughout the topic, I have been impressed by the students’ willingness to jump into the world of Science and test things out, whether it be research skills, observation skills, or designing a fair test. It would be fair to say that the students have been vibrating with energy – much like their particles!
Hannah Kirkaldy
Year 5 Teacher
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Observing The Weather Using A Wind Vane
Our budding Year 5 meteorologists (a physical scientist who observes, studies and forecasts the weather) have been learning all about the wonders of the weather in Geography this term.
They started by learning about the four main elements of the weather (temperature, wind, rainfall and cloud cover) and how these can be used to describe the weather. They are currently completing a 2-week weather project, where they need to observe and track the weather on a daily basis. These observations require the use of various weather instruments, such as a thermometer for temperature; a rain gauge to measure rainfall and a wind vane to measure wind direction. Using these instruments accurately is a skill they need to master and demonstrate over the course of the project.
But we can’t accurately measure wind direction without an instrument to help us, so, the Year 5 students started the project by designing and making their very own creative and colourful wind vanes! The idea behind making these weather instruments was that they could then be used by each student at home when making their observations on the direction of the wind.
Great fun was had by all when they put their wind vanes to the test outside on the school field! The direction of the wind (moving air) is the compass direction that the wind blows from. On the day the Year 5’s did their test, the wind was blowing in a northerly direction. They knew this because they had first accurately plotted the 8 compass directions on the ground, using a compass.
We are looking forward to seeing the results of their investigations on weather at the end of this exciting project!
Cindy Drury
Year 5 Teacher
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