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CARLSWALD HOUSE PREPARATORY | SEPTEMBER- OCTOBER 2017 | NEWSLETTER 4

NEWSLETTER FROM THE DESK OF MR TAGG

Dear Parents. Welcome to our September / October newsletter. I was privileged to attend the International Confederation of Principals (ICP) conference in Cape Town 2 weeks ago. What an inspiring time it was. The Theme of the conference was “Brain Waves of Change”. The conference was an international conference and hosted principals from more than 20 countries from Africa, Europe, the US, Australia, Japan and China. Some of the topics covered during the 4 days were:

• “The Science of Seeing Differently”

• “How Emotion Impacts the Brain’s Successful Learning and What to Do about it”

• “Radical Leadership: Leading Waves of Change when the TIDE gets Tough”

• “Self-Regulation and the Brain – Being the Change our World Needs”

• “School Leadership in Challenging Contexts / 21st Century Skills”

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SAS

The speakers were generally international delegates and it was very interesting to understand the international trends as well as the challenges that schools face around the world. Our challenges are not unique. Perhaps a little different, but no more or less challenging. It was good to listen to and understand the changes and developments in Education internationally too. As a small school, we are running with the best local and international schools when we look at our programmes such as the development of Critical Thinking and Thinking Skills and the integration of Technology in the classroom. CHP is doing very well, integrating these important skills into the classroom. We also have a dynamic management team that has its finger on the pulse of trends and dynamics, ensuring that quality education is delivered by each teacher to each child each day. Thank you for the continued support of your special children and our special school. Enjoy reading what your children have been up to during the last month at school. All the Best

Regards

Stewart Tagg Headmaster

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Farm Theme During our week of Farm Animals, we had a wonderful time learning about the animals that live on farms. We learnt about what they eat, what food they give us and what their babies are called.

Fun in the sun We are all enjoying the warmer Spring weather! Jackets off and hats on.

iPads in the class Grade R’s have started learning how to work on iPads. Some of the comments during class were: “We have the best school in the world!” and “Can we take the iPads home?”

Sensory fun with South Africa Nothing better than getting our hands dirty, without even knowing that we are learning. The children really enjoyed making traditional necklaces and learning about South Africa.

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GRADE R-D

In the third term we introduced the Grade R’s to the iPads. We have so many exciting learning programmes available and the children absolutely love them!

What coach Ant requests...He gets! We were asked to make Spring Flowers for the path and WOW the children really went all out. They could use any materials they preferred and they put so much effort into it. Their enthusiasm is heart-warming!

Term three really started off fantastically for our class. Our student teacher arrived to complete her practical assessments. We had so much fun participating in new, exciting and different activities. Having teacher Nia here with us was really a great experience. Not only did she teach the children, but she also taught me. She reminded me of when I began my wonderful, life changing teaching career...Which is quite some time ago! This whole experience showed me just how much I have learned and how much I still must learn. I really enjoyed Teacher Nia being here and the children even more so as you can see in some of the pictures.

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GRADE 1 - H

GRADE 1-H

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As term 2 ended we celebrated it with pyjama day. All the children thoroughly enjoyed coming to school in their pyjamas. After a very long holiday, the children came back refreshed and ready for the last term of Grade 1. We have had a busy couple of weeks. We are currently focusing on 3D shapes, whether they roll, slide and stack. They were given the opportunity to build 3D shapes with the apparatus provided during rotation activities. This is always a fun concept to learn. Heritage Day was celebrated with great enthusiasm, and all the children looked fabulous in their attire. All the children loved the Heritage Day dances, displays and activities that were presented on the day. In Art this term the Grade Ones had to draw a picture of their news in pastel. They also practiced their fine motor skills by tearing luminous paper to make hot air balloons. The hot air balloon art is symbolic in the sense that it represents the journey they have been on this year and the knowledge they have gained. Setting the

path for the foundation of their education and now they are equipped to

move on. The sky is the limit!!!

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GRADE 1-J

It’s the last term of Grade One and the children in Grade 1J have been hard at work. Our homework this term has given us a chance to work with our family. We have enjoyed working on our Family Projects and we have produced some excellent bird houses. With our family project, we had to show or planning using any Thinking Map. In Numeracy we have continued to work on our problem-solving skills. We do this by working with a partner, and trying out different concrete manipulatives. In Literacy we are learning about consonant digraphs. We really enjoy our spelling rotations where we get to write out our spelling words with our Talking Buddy. The Grade Ones have progressed in their reading and enjoy reading rotations. During our reading rotations we are given the chance to try out different types of seating. We love sitting on our exercise balls. Our classroom is a hive of activity where we balance work and play.

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GRADE 2-K

Spring has Sprung and we are loving the warmer weather! It’s hard to believe we are in the last term of 2017. We are full swing into concert practice and can’t wait to perform for our awesome parents! Look at what we have been doing during our day.

During Mathematics we have been reinforcing Sharing and Grouping using concrete

objects. A new concept learnt has been Fractions. The children have enjoyed playing

fraction games and working on activities during rotations. We have been writing

paragraphs during English lessons and we played a class “contraction “game.

During Art we took the

concept of symmetry and

created our own detailed

symmetrical pattern. The

children created intricate

and amazing designs. It

was fun using food colour

to make tie-dye designs

on a kitchen towel which

we then turned into a

butterfly.

We had an amazing turn out for Spring Walk. The

children arrived in their bright, colourful clothing and

had fun walking with their friends and family.

Heritage Day was a day filled

with colour and love for our

culture. The children looked

picture perfect, dressed in their

cultural clothes. They also

enjoyed a spectacular assembly

and lunch.

Well done Simran on reading the

most books in our “August Holiday

Reading Challenge”

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GRADE 2-Y

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We made our own i-Movie’s Just before the holidays the Grade 4s spent a morning with the class and showed them all the ins and outs of making an i-Movie. Following on from our Life Skills lesson, the class was tasked with making a movie on soil and living organisms. What a fun lesson!

The Grade 2’s learnt about the Lines of Symmetry. As a fun activity, we made symmetrical butterflies using food colouring and kitchen paper towel. We also made our own symmetrical patterns using 2D shapes.

Heritage Day was filled with loads of excitement. To start the week off the class wrote 2 paragraphs on their own culture looking at clothing, food and language spoken. We used a tree map to collect our thoughts, before writing the paragraphs. We discussed our country during Life Skills, looking at the provinces and national emblems of South Africa. The class was then tasked with drawing a picture of themselves in their cultural clothing. Such beautiful pictures.

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GRADE 3-M

SOME OF OUR

FABUUS ART!

GRADE 3-G

Learners having fun reading together.

Grade 3G listened to comprehensions to develop their listening and understanding skills.

Learners had to create a speech for English to discuss their family heritage

Grade 3G were learning how to work with money during Mathematics.

During Mathematics learners enjoyed working out division sums.

Learners created flowers in art for Spring Day

For Life Skills learners researched different types of dwelling that people lived in.

Learners played Thrass games during English using vowels and constants.

During Life Skills learners used the iPads to research and investigate the solar system

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GRADE 3-R

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Grade 3R won the Holiday Reading Challenge and celebrated by wearing civvies to school. We read a combined total of 92 books in the holidays. Nemo Yang read 25 books all by himself. We have some book worms

in this class 😊

We have been working very hard in Numeracy this term especially with Fractions and Money. Sometimes it can be very difficult to work out problem sums but with the help of fake money and counters, it becomes easier to visualise the answer. Using concrete apparatus in the class helps the learners put things into perspective as it is practical and saves time.

We have been learning so much about Space and all the incredible planets out there. Learners used iPads to research a planet of their choice and find out as much information as they could. They also drew their planet and learnt different shading techniques to accompany their drawing. Using the iPads, the learners can research, sort and select specific information necessary for a topic. We love using iPads in our Life Skills lessons.

We had such an exciting day coming to school and wearing our heritage clothes. We celebrated the day by watching our peers dance from different cultures. We ate proudly South African food and fun was had by all. The grade3s had to prepare an oral presentation on their culture and we learnt so much from one another when listening to all the speeches. Look at our awesome posters we made to share with the class.

We have thoroughly enjoyed reading our brand-new class readers. Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Plays, Traditional Tales and Literacy classics are all the different genres that have made reading so much more fun.

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ART CLASS

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The Grade Threes had an enjoyable time making ‘Delectable Donuts’. They used pastel to colour their delicious donuts and glitter, salt and snippets paper to create the sprinkles. The donuts were placed on a paper doily. Someone was overheard saying, ‘If these came to life I’d eat them all!’ The Grade Threes also made beautiful flowers for the Spring Walk. The Grade Fours enjoyed making ‘Monsters peeping through a hole in the cracked wall’. They used pastels and charcoal, two very messy mediums and the results were amazing. The Grade Fives and Sixes used their measuring skills to make a frame for a weaving loom. They then started weaving which proved challenging for some. Their weaving masterpieces are in the process of being transformed into gorgeous 3D insects perched on a large leaf.