Grade 5 Maps and Maths

Transcription

1 Volume 12 ~ 14 April 2018 Grade 5 Maps and Maths The Grade 5s put their newlyacquired map work skills to the test in their Maths. They were challenged as City Planners and asked to create an appropriate network of roads as well as residential, commercial and industrial areas that would suit a deserted island. Using their knowledge of lines and angles they came up with incredible designs. We loved watching the creative, more right-sided thinkers coming alive in a normally left sided world of numbers.

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4 HEADlines Welcome back! Term 2 is well under way after a very hot and busy first term. Welcome back to all our families after the short break. We start off with our very popular Somerset House Hockey and Netball Tournament next weekend, and we look forward to hosting all our regular visiting schools for this prestigious event. The Fun Day which is such a highlight for our children happens two weeks after that, and we are sure that this will be as much of a success as it always is. We are hosting an exciting evening Indoor Netball League for the first time this term, which we hope will positively impact on netball players and their skills. We conclude the term with the first Grade 7 showcase, following on the very successful Grade 6 event held last term. This will include drama from the Grade 7 pupils as well as a glimpse into the year that our Grade 7s are experiencing. Enjoy the term! Diversity at Somerset House The staff returned on Monday to participate in a workshop aimed at making us all more aware of what is required in order to teach in a culturally diverse classroom and school. It was superbly presented, and our staff felt that it was of significant benefit to them. Greater awareness is so important, especially when dealing with young children who are so easily influenced by their teachers. I am grateful to the staff for the energy and interest that they brought to the workshop and I am grateful to our facilitator for her skill and wisdom. A diversity training process will be experienced by our Board of Governors in the near future. Afternoon Programme We have made some changes to the sport programme in order to allow children who only do one sport the opportunity to have more time at home or involve themselves in other activities. It was also done so as to reduce the number of children in Aftercare while waiting for late scheduled sport sessions to start. This week has shown positive results and we will continue to monitor this and assess to what extent it is a better programme to offer. IQAA (Independent Quality Assurance Agency) survey for parents Surveys will be going out to families, Grade 4-7 children and staff next week as indicated last term. Thank you for your time in completing these surveys which will be used for our IQAA evaluation. Recycling at Somerset House With the assistance of the pupils on the Student Council, we have decided to discontinue the newspaper recycling programme in its current form. The reason for this is that we feel that learning about recycling and reusing needs to be more dynamic and owned by the children; not because there is a prize, but because it is the right thing to do. The paper igloo will still be used by the school and our families are welcome to make use of it, but we will no longer do the collections on a set day. The Council and pupils have been challenged to think of new ways to encourage awareness of the need to recycle and manage waste better. Chris Storey (Headmaster) chrsto@somersethouse.co.za

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7 Music Bags We have these lovely music bags in stock at the uniform shop. These are ideal to keep music books, stationery and even a Recorder, tuner or other small instrument in. These bags sell at R65 each. The Early Birds Arriving early at school means that there is some time for games! These early-birds are playing the Bananagrams word-building game. Its never too early to learn! Congratulations! Congratulations to the Abass family who welcomed little baby Mikaeel to the family on the 26 th of March.

8 Celebrating 70 Years Then and Now This year the school celebrates its 70 th birthday! The newsletters for the remainder of the year will feature a little something from the school s past, giving you all some insight into the rich history of Somerset House. Here is an extract from a very early Prospectus (there is no date, but we estimate early 1970s):

9 With the annual Family Fun Day on the horizon we thought it would be fitting to look back in the scrapbooks to find where it all began! (1956)

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13 Grade 6: War Horse The Grade 6 pupils are beginning their setwork novel: War Horse. We started the week with discussions on war sharing our general knowledge and information that has been passed down from our grandparents. The realization that most children had grandparents and great grandparents involved in WW1 and WW2 has stoked an interest in our family histories and in the roles our ancestors played. Cayden Webb brought his Grandfather s army issue jacket, pillow and socks from WW2. War seems far more real now that we can see primary sources form that period and imagine people we know using them. The investigations and sharing of information will continue as we read and immerse ourselves in the emotional novel written by Michael Morpurgo: War Horse. Choir Festival with Loki Rothman and Laurika Rauch Be prepared for an extraordinary musical experience as our Senior Choir takes the opportunity to perform with Loki Rothman and Laurika Rauch at Parel Vallei on 19 April. Other schools who will participate include Laerskool Hendrik Louw, Laerskool Lochnerhof, and Reddam House Somerset. Laurika, an iconic South African singer, and Loki started collaborating on stage after they recorded a duet of Laurika s iconic hit, Blou for her newest album, Die Reis. A video of the song is doing extremely well on the video hit parades, and the recording is making waves on the radio channels and hit parades as well. Loki Rothman is a much-loved musician not only as an accompanist, but as a solo performer in his own right. His virtuoso, percussive guitar technique is awe-inspiring to experience and his approach to his music, combined with his voice, serves as a great foil for Laurika s voice and unique talent as an interpreter of song. The evening will conclude with three songs performed by all the choirs together with Laurika and Loki. The combination of these two stellar artists combining their special talents with all the children s voices, promises to be an occasion not to be missed! Tickets are available from Mr Diesel at R120 per person or at the door on the evening.

14 Sports News NEW SPORTS PROGRAMME Our altered sports programme kicked in this week and we would like to thank everyone for getting on board so quickly. The feedback from the children is positive as the seniors are not having to rush from one sporting code to another and by finishing at 16:00, they have time for homework, relaxation and other activities. SH NETBALL AND HOCKEY TOURNAMENT We are looking forward to an exciting SH Netball and Hockey Tournament next weekend. Our senior netball teams as well as our junior hockey teams will be in action on Friday 20 th April, while our junior netball teams and senior hockey teams will compete on Saturday 21 st April. Special thanks to all our parents who have offered their assistance in some or other way over the course of the two days. Your help is most appreciated. All teams and fixture times are available on our website. CONGRATULATIONS, EMMA! Emma Campher recently took part in dance competition held at the NG Kerk in Somerset West. There were Latin, Hiphop, Jazz, Comtemporary, Spanish, Energy and Classic divisions at the competition. Emma danced beautifully in the theme of Venda and came 2 nd overall. Congratulations Emma! Week 2: Week ending 21 st April DATE TIME ACTIVITY Mon U12 and U13 Helderberg Zonal Rugby Trials (Invited Players) De Hoop 16 th April Tues 17 th April Girls U13 Helderberg Zonal Hockey Trials (Invited Players) SH Boys U13 Helderberg Zonal Hockey Trials (Invited Players) De Hoop Wed 18 th April From 14: Rugby Matches vs Sir Lowry s Pass (U9, U11 and U13) SH U11 U13 Helderberg Zonal Netball Trials (Invited Players) Curro Sitari Thurs 19 th April Laurika Rauch and Loki Rothman Choir Festival SP Choir (Parel Vallei) Fri 20 th April SH Hockey Tournament Girls U9A, U10A, U11A / Boys U9A, U10A, U11A and U12A SH Netball Tournament Sat 21 st April 08:00 13:00 08:30 12:00 U12A and U13A Teams SH Hockey Tournament: Girls and Boys 1 st Team Squads SH Netball Tournament: U8A and B, U9A, U10A and U11A