BRIDGE HOUSE
PRE-PRIMARY · PREPARATORY · COLLEGE
P R E P N E W S
Issue 11 www.bridgehouse.org.za 11 April 2014
U13 Girls Hockey Tour to Knysna On the last day of Term 1, our U13 girls’ hockey team left for Knysna to participate in the Sport at Backward Point hockey festival. The 3-day festival started on Friday morning and the girls played 5 matches on the first day, 5 matches on Saturday and 3 matches on Sunday. We played against schools from Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Knysna. We had mixed results on the tour, but it was very pleasing to see how the girls’ hockey improved over the 3 days. We achieved victories against Oakhill Primary (4-0), Eversdal Primary (1-0) and Grove Primary (1- 0). We drew against Knysna Primary (3-3), Woodridge Primary (0-0) and St Cyprian’s (0-0). The afternoons were spent relaxing and bonding as a team. A visit to Adventureland outside Plettenberg Bay was a favourite of the girls. Some girls were brave enough to have a swim in the chilly sea at Buffalo Bay on the Saturday afternoon. Mr Shaun Keyser
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- 3 - Green Team A group of Grade 6 girls have formed the Green Team environmental club. We were inspired by a Natural Science lesson about the environmental dangers facing our precious planet. We felt like we had to make a difference by cleaning up the litter in our local communities. Our plan is to meet weekly at a site which is polluted and to do little jobs like recycling, collecting rain water and raising awareness. Our plan for the future is to get students in Bridge House to join our fight to protect Planet Earth! Gr 6H girls
MATHS STAR Congratulations to Rebecca Meihuizen who has been chosen as a non- travelling reserve for the International Maths Competition to be held in South Korea in July. Rebecca has the privilege of attending intensive mathematics extension classes every week at Elkanah House, exploring trigonometry, calculus, the ideas of Pythagoras and formulae such as .Well done, Becs!
Congratulations! Congratulations to Bangi and Lilitha Poni on the arrival of their baby girl, Akhanya!
Wedding Bells Ringing….
Cupid was busy in the holidays! Violin teacher Tana and Donovan van Sittert tied the knot, and the Gr 1s have to remember that Miss Boshoff, who married her beau, is now Mrs Binedell! Congratulations to both happy couples!
- 4 - From the Head’s Desk
Welcome back! It was good to see that from day one our teachers and pupils were back on task and actively involved in the academic and extra mural programme. Because term two is a little disjointed in the first few weeks with all the public holidays and breaks, I want to encourage parents to help minimize the disruptions by not keeping pupils away from school unnecessarily.
Term 2 has some really exciting additional activities taking place We will keep you apprised of these as the term unfolds, but here is a ‘taste’ of things to come:
Our Grade 5 pupils will be engaged in the Real Life 4 Kids programme, which is a simulation game that exposes pupils to a number of “Real Life” experiences of living in a community. It is definitely worth popping your head into a classroom later in the term to see and ask more about how this programme works.
The annual Walton’s Somerset House festival takes place this weekend. A number of our boys and girls will be taking part in the different sporting codes. This festival takes place over Friday and Saturday and is a wonderful opportunity for our pupils to develop their sporting abilities. Good luck to all the participants; enjoy the event and give of your best.
You will also see that we are hosting a parent talk presented by Jill Back in the hall next Tuesday. More information has been sent to parents and an advert is in the newsletter. This talk came about through requests from parents and staff, and we feel it will help provide us with some insight into the skills we need for this responsible role we play in our child’s growth and development.
The Annual Prep Science Expo is also just around the corner and I know that after the Easter Break, our Senior Prep pupils will be setting up their experiments. Please make an effort to pop in to the theatre during that week to see what our pupils have produced. More about this event will follow in next week’s newsletter.
Last term we ended the term focusing on developing an Attitude Of Gratitude, which is a value I want us to encourage and not forget. It had a very profound and positive impact in many homes and is worth keeping in mind.
For this week, I also want us to revisit one of our school values: Bridge House believes in a “Can Do” spirit, which energizes us as a community to have a positive outlook towards all we do!
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A warm welcome to our new Bridge House staff members
Mrs Jenny Wright has taken up her position as Senior Prep Phase Head and Gr 7 teacher. Mrs Wright hails from Gauteng and is delighted to move closer to her family in Cape Town. She and her husband Lawrence have two children, both at UCT. Welcome to the fair Cape! We know that you will be very happy at Bridge House.
We welcome Mrs Bronwyn Barrow who has joined our Playschool to assist with the ever-growing numbers in this section of the school. Bronwyn has a deep love and passion for working with children of this age group. We wish her all the best in her new role.
Marise Landman (music teacher) has tendered her resignation. She has been offered a wonderful opportunity to further her studies and work at the IEDC Bled School of Management in Slovenia. Marise will leave us at the end of May. She says has been blessed in her work at Bridge House!
Marc Barrow Head of Prep
Reading Eggs in Junior Primary We are sure that many of the children are enjoying their Reading Eggs subscription. As you might have noticed, many of the activities for the younger children require audio and listening, especially the placement tests. For this reason we would like to recommend that parents buy their children a set of headphones that can be used whether working at home or at school.
We suggest that you, the parent, choose the brand and model and that it travels to and from school in a secure, safe container.
Many thanks. The JP Team
- 6 - Your Top 5 Parenting Skills What really is key to Good Parenting?
Bridge House Prep will be presenting an evening of discussion around this topic, focusing on parents with pupils between the ages of 6 to 10.
(While the presentation will have an age-appropriate focus, parents with children who fall out of this age range are more than welcome to attend.)
The Top 5
1. Listening - What is this? Why we really do need to listen?
2. Self-Esteem - How do we actually build self-esteem?
3. Resilience and Grit – What are these really? The importance of Grit as opposed to pure Talent
4. Anger - We all get angry and we need to express this. How do we express anger without doing damage?
5. Whose problem is it? The Parents’? The School’s? The Student’s?
Much of the above is based on the work of Haim Ginott and Faber & Mazlish and their wonderful concept of "How do we listen to our kids so that they'll talk to us-and talk to them so that they'll listen to us!"
The discussion will be conducted by our guest speaker,
Jill Back (MA Clinical Psychologist)
Tel 082 326 0818 Email: [email protected]
The evening will commence with a presentation on the topic, followed by a time for discussion, comments and questions.
VENUE: Prep Hall, Bridge House
DATE: Tuesday 15 April 2014
TIME: 18h00
To assist with setup please confirm your attendance by booking with Leonie [email protected] Samantha [email protected] or complete and return the attached reply slip.
- 7 - An Invitation to an Easter Adventure in the Learning Commons! For whom? Children whose parents are attending the Top 5 Parenting Skills Talk. Where? @ the Learning Commons Date and Time?
Tuesday 15 April from 17:45 – 19:30 Please reply on parent reply slip. From The JP Team!
Closing times and bus times for the coming long weekends Given the interrupted nature of this term as a result of the various public holidays and extra days off, we really do want to keep the school programme as stable as possible – especially the academic schedule. We must also acknowledge that families will have made travel plans, especially for the Easter long weekend. Please note, therefore, that the academic school day in Prep and College will end at the normal time on Thursday 17 April and again on Friday 25 April, but there will be no sport on both of these afternoons. The buses will depart at 15h15 on Thursday 17th and at 14h40 on Friday 25th. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Music Exam results Congratulations to the following pupils who wrote their ABRSM theory exams on 5 March. Lizete Viljoen (Grade 1) 99% Distinction James Turner (Grade 1) 90% Distinction Erin Turner (Grade 2) 75% Pass - 8 -
Holiday sports news Whilst the rest of us were enjoying some much needed down time, besides the U13 girls’ hockey tour to Knysna, there were even more of our young sportsmen and women competing in their chosen sports all over the country.
Migael Adams, Kayla-Jade Berry and Jeanne Blaisse took part in the South African Level 2 Regional Swimming Championships held in a sweltering Oudshoorn. Migael had a very successful Championship and improved all his times. He also won 1 gold and 2 silver medals in 50m breaststroke, 100m breaststroke and 200m breaststroke events respectively. Kayla- Jade and Jeanne Blaisse had a good competition, bettering their personal best times in most of the events they swam.
Erin Turner and James Turner swam at the South African Level 1 Regional Swimming Championships held in East London. James Turner swam in 5 prelim races, doing very well against almost 60 other swimmers from across the Southern Regions. (W.P, Boland, South Western Districts, EP, Border and Kenya). Erin Turner swam in 6 prelim races and made it into 5 finals (top 8 swimmers). Erin then achieved 2 medals - a bronze for 50m backstroke and a gold for 50m freestyle.
- 9 - Prior to the holidays, Lenka Bronn took part in the WP Interschools Synchronised Swimming championships. She came 3rd in the figures sections and was one of 11 out of 43 participants (high schools included) who passed the 1st skills test, earning herself and Bridge House 5 points! So despite only having one swimmer taking part, Bridge House ended 5th out of 10 schools participating.
Lenka also travelled to the South African Level 1 Regional Swimming Championships held in East London to take part in the Synchronised Swimming section of the championships. She managed to win 3 medals! A gold for her duet item, silver for her solo item and a bronze in the figures section. Well done, Lenka!
Our U13 Hockey boys and girls have been taking part in the first few legs of the Boland regional hockey trials. Six of our boys attended the first round of trials before the end of the first term at Paarl Gymnasium. They were Ross Millard, James Clark, Pierz Cyster, Gordon Fleming, Allesandro Hartman and Migael Adams. All gave an excellent account of themselves and were all invited to attend the next round of trials which took place in the holidays. The standard of play was high and one or two narrowly missed out on selection. Gordon Fleming and Migael Adams are through to the final trials which take place at the Paarl Gymnasium astroturf on Friday afternoon.
In the girls’ section, Tyler Ruiters and Kayla-Jade Berry have been selected for the Shiraz regional hockey team. They are currently taking part in the Boland trials where the strongest players will be selected for the Boland A team. All the best to these boys and girls for the upcoming trials.
The Bridge House riders took part in a SANESA (Schools League) show from 28 to 30 March. Although only 4 Prep School riders were able to participate, they acquitted themselves very well and earned lots of points for the school.
Congratulations to Laela Masson, Madeleine Gray, Nicole Stubbs and Erin Pape. We look forward to taking part in more events and hope to see more riders from Bridge House representing their school.
- 10 - A special mention goes to Jacques du Plessis for representing Bridge House and Western Province at the National Athletics Championship held in Paarl during the holidays in the high jump discipline. He had to stand up to some very tough competition on the day and his efforts made both his school and province proud.
The week ahead: Sat 12 April Somerset House Walton’s Tournament U13 Hockey & U9,U10,U11 Netball Somerset West Tues 15 April Soccer vs Lyndoch Primary Stellenbosch Wed 16 April Hockey vs Paarl Gimnasium Bridge House Thurs 17 April Netball vs Eikestad Primary (postponed till Tuesday 22 April) U13 Regional Rugby Trials (tbc)
Please note that due to the Easter long weekend, there will be no sport practices on the afternoon of Thursday 17 April.
Chag Sameach - Happy Pesach to our Jewish families for Passover next week
New at Bridge House - The Tuckshop Café There was much excitement this week when the new Tuckshop Café opened in the room behind the theatre next to the kitchen. This room has been converted into a café-style venue for senior students to use during break times to alleviate the pressure on the existing tuckshop. Although the Café is for the use of Grade 11 and 12 pupils only during break times, college pupils will be able to buy delicious “Brekkie, Saamies, Smoothies, Wraps and Yum Yum treats” after school or during sports matches. The pupils who have sit-down lunches will continue to do this in their normal venues.
Outside of break times, parents may like to meet for a cappucino, latte or espresso and a muffin or slice of cake.
Break Time for Grade 11 and 12 use only: Monday to Thursday: 10h25 to 10h45 and 13h00 to 13h30 Friday: 10h40 to 11h00 and 13h15 to 13h45
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Appeal for Bicycles for Grounds Staff ─ Strong, durable, tough, thick-wheeled bicycles sought Some of the donated second-hand bicycles which our grounds staff ride to school and back home every day are taking a lot of strain. If you have a bicycle suitable for doing a very high mileage, please contact Wally Felder [email protected]
Grounds and facilities updates: Phew … and that was a holiday?
Thank you to Wally Felder and the maintenance and grounds staff for the huge effort they put in this past holiday. While the rest of the school was away, they tackled a number of tasks, some very visible but many largely unseen.
Winelands Civils (Bruce Manderson) did a superb job of repairing and sealing the entrance road, at a very good price and with minimum disruption to the school. It was such a pleasure working with them that they were immediately appointed to do the parking and entrance to the new boarding – Huguenot House.
Levenbach Roofing stripped off the whole roof at the Prep Activity hall and this was replaced and waterproofing was torched onto the parapet wall. The test of over 50mm of rain at the start of the month showed that it is watertight and we are confident that the continual patch and repair of the old roof is now a thing of the past.
- 13 - Devan Wendover has been contracted by the school for a limited period to re-do many of the electrical circuits and boards in the school. He re-wired much of the Theatre control board and put in numerous plug points, and he has already corrected many faults in the school electrical layout. The new gardens have been planted out and the Servest team made a huge effort to get the school looking great for our return. The turf cricket pitches were scarified and the fields prepared for the winter sports.
The Prep parking area and walkway has been finished off. Aquaflow (Patrick Milner) has installed a whole new area of irrigation for the new trees and beds. Another behind-the-scenes task was the complete refurbishment of the irrigation pumps and filters at the river. Once again Bergrivierbesproeiing did everything they could to limit the disruption to the school by working on weekends and holidays. They are also in the process of upgrading our potable water pumps and control system to suit the demands of an expanding campus. Both of these are important as this forms part of our firefighting capacity.
Two of the Junior Primary classrooms were refurbished and ceilings fitted, some of the existing boarding house rooms were repainted; the College Café has been kitted out and is now operational. The list goes on and on.
Thank you to a great team of staff and to some first class service providers. The school campus is looking wonderful! Mr Rory Malcolm
Volunteers needed for the 3rd Franschhoek Literary Festival Book Week for Young Readers!
From Monday 12th May to Thursday 15th May, authors will read their stories, teach creative writing and run workshops for over 4,500 children at 9 schools in the Valley.
We are looking for volunteers to help as ‘hosts’ to the visiting authors. You would need to collect them from the Meeting Area at the Bridge House Theatre foyer, drive or accompany them in their own car to their venue (at one of the schools in Franschhoek) and back again. Each event is between 30- 45 minutes long and authors will do two sessions, mostly between 9.30am and 12.30 pm.
Though most authors are from the Cape, some are from Johannesburg, Durban and overseas and will need a local guide for the morning. The authors love meeting the children, visiting the schools and very much appreciate the friendliness of the Volunteers.
If you can help on one or more of the mornings from Monday 12th to Thursday 15th May, please email Martine Bauer at [email protected] or call her on 083 2636997.
- 14 - Two Heads On Thursday, we enjoyed a visit from Allan Graham, Head of Bridge House from 1997 to 2002, and his wife Dal, who taught in the Prep School. They are on holiday from the UK and popped in to see all the recent developments at Bridge House and to meet up with old friends.
- 15 - TICKETS ON SALE NOW FROM JENNY JONES AT COLLEGE
AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT AT WHAT PROMISES TO BE A SELL-OUT SHOW. BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW. TWO NIGHTS ONLY. SUITABLE FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY.
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- 17 - Franschhoek Lions Cycle Event On behalf of the school we would like to say a big thank you to Franschhoek Lions for once again hosting a very successful cycle event at our school last term. The event at Bridge House was rated as a top class event and was also rated very highly by Peddle Power, who organised the event. We would also like to thank the Franschhoek Lions for donating R12 000 to the Bridge House Sports Bursary Fund and R4 500 to the Bridge House Round Square Fund. Mr Riaan van der Rheede
Fittest School Challenge: Delta Trap: Sunday 20th April A great way to add K’s to your total is to enter the local Delta Trap Cycle Race. The route consists of a 20km loop running anti-clockwise from Solms-Delta, consisting of approximately 25% tar and 75% off-road. The off-road section is made up mainly of farm roads, with a mix of sandy sections, some harder surfaces with stones and some short sections of single track. It is recommended to take part on a mountain bike with off-road tyres.
There are 20km, 40km and 60km options for individuals. The 60km route can be completed by a team of 3. For more details and to ENTER, go to the following website: http://www.entrytime.com/index.asp?GoTo=EventInfo&EventID=4123 Online entries close on the 16th April. Please contact Franschhoek Cycles with any queries: Geddan Ruddock 082 578 3017 Franschhoek Cycles: 021 876 4956 [email protected]
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