P R E P N E W S
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P R E P N E W S Issue 1 www.bridgehouse.org.za 15 January 2016 Grade 1H class visiting the Prep Office with Mrs Colette Hinds on their very first day of BIG SCHOOL! - 2 - Happy, smiling faces across the playgrounds! - 3 - - 4 - Wishing all our pupils a wonderful term 1, 2016! - 5 - - 6 - A warm and hearty congratulations to all our recipients at the Senior Primary Awards evening of 2015. Our Prestigious Senior Primary awards were as follows: The Good Fellowship Award went to Lloyd Phillips. He was voted as the Grade 7 pupil, who in the opinion of his Grade 6 and 7 peers had been a true role model in his demonstration of the qualities of friendship, kindness and helpfulness throughout the year. The Leadership Star was awarded to Emma Wainwright for her consistent and positive leadership throughout her year as a senior in the Prep School. The Founders’ Shield was awarded to Demeye De Leeuw. This award recognises the qualities of initiative, independence of spirit and self-motivation, and is presented to the pupil in whom we have confidence that the qualities of humanity are developing. The evening saw the introduction of a new alignment with the College in terms of awards in Grade 6 and 7: the Highly Commended Academic Award for pupils who achieved an aggregate of 75 – 79% for their year’s work. This complements the Academic Merit Award which recognises achievement from 80% and above. The introduction of the new award affords us an opportunity to acknowledge a greater number of our hard-working pupils at the Awards Ceremony. As always, the Senior Primary Awards Ceremony 2015 was a beautiful celebration of our children’s success in sport, academics, creative arts and personal development. - 7 - - 8 - Happy New Year to all of you! 2016 is a year of change and as we move into this new chapter of our school’s growth, we extend an especially warm welcome to those joining Bridge House for the first time. 2016 is the year in which we have stepped into new territory by introducing a more digitally enhanced learning experience. With individual iPads now part of the child’s backpack, pupils are able to fully embrace a blended learning approach. Already, in the first few days of the school year, it is clear that we will need to increase our pupils’ awareness of their digital footprint. Pupils, parents and staff need to understand their responsibility in this digital world. As a school, we will continue to explore ways to continuously upskill and educate all role players as to the features and tools available to ensure our children are able to navigate through this digital world in a safe and responsible manner. To this end, Mr Shaun Kirk, together with the staff team, will present talks and provide material to guide and support parents in this new technological space. It would be amiss not to take a moment to congratulate our 2015 Matric Group who produced another set of wonderful results in the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) Matric exams. Special mention must go to Aimee Fuller and Kaila Fourie, who appeared on the IEB Outstanding Achievers List. It is interesting to note that these two Bridge House students are two of only six in the Western Cape. You will find detailed information about the Bridge House results on our webpage http://www.bridgehouse.org.za/college/academics/matric-results On the Staffing Front This year, as the school has grown, we have had a number of additions on the staffing front as we have opened four additional classes: an extra 4 year-old class, two more classes in Junior Primary in Grades 1 and 3; and Grade 5 increases to include a third class. I am happy to announce the following appointments and changes for 2016: Playschool – Debbie Kannemeyer and Bronwyn Barrow, with the assistance of Rencia Collins, continue at the playschool, but without a four year-old group for 2016. Pre-Primary – Grade 000 splits into two classes with Carla Jelinski and Carlé Smit, ably assisted by Angie Kok. In Grade 00, Linda Orsmond (from Bumble Bee) joins Roxy Rennie. Assisting Linda is Marcelle Geldenhuys and Anna Abrahams remains with Roxy. In Grade 0, Leigh-Anne Jones moves to join Kate Stamper and Nina Siconalfi - who has been reappointed as a full time staff member - with Liza Hendricks assisting Leigh-Anne, Andrea Wiggnal assisting Kate, and Carmen Hendricks assisting Nina. Sandra Boyes steps out of the class teacher role and has been given the space to better perform her role as Phase Head of the Playschool and Pre-primary section. From Left: Carlé Smit and Linda Orsmond Junior Primary – In Grade 1, we have appointed Bronwynne Honey, a Grade 1 teacher from ProEd House in Cape Town, and Jeannie Barclay joins Colette Hinds (who takes on the role of Grade Coordinator) completing the team. Kayleigh Moller, who impressed during her time with us as a student teacher, joins Claire Ferreira in Grade Two. Timshell Pheiffer, from Heronbridge, and Chloe Murray, also an ex- Bridge House student teacher, join Michele Willard, who will take on the role of Grade Coordinator, in Grade 3. Mary Heistein steps out of the class teacher role to fulfil her role as Junior Primary Phase Head. - 9 - From left: Bronwynne Honey, Kayleigh Moller, Chloe Murray and Timshell Pheiffer Senior Primary Changes – The Grade Four Team stays as is, with Trove Pretorius, Bianca Maddox, and Cally Johnson (Grade Coordinator). In Grade Five, Kim Storey is Grade Coordinator, with Lynn Fell and Brett Mclaren, who joins us from St George’s in PE and who has good experience on the sports front, too. Another change is the promotion of Greg Hinds who takes on additional responsibilities as the Head of Creative Curriculum Development (this position includes Creative Arts) and we welcome him into the role as the third class teacher in Grade Six, joining Belinda Lindhorst (Grade Coordinator) and Matthew Ackermann. The Grade 7 team of Nickey Buchanan, Wini Stubbs and Shaun Keyser stays the same for 2016. The Afrikaans department is boosted by the addition of Elizabeth Loock. The phase continues to be ably led by Mrs Jenny Wright. From Left: Bret Mclaren and Elizabeth Loock ESU –Liezl Conradie joins Liezel Kemp and Carien Smit together with Mrs Caryl Lane, who leads the team and is also responsible for coordinating and tracking all educational support needs, pupil assessments and the sourcing of facilitators where required. Music - On the music front, Karin Meyer (left) has been appointed as the replacement for Marsanne Malan while she is away on maternity leave. Sport – Annika Viljoen, who has an Honours Degree in Kinder- Kinetics, replaces Danette Smith. We have appointed two additional sport interns, Siobhan Baatjies and Jason Abrahams, both of whom come with a number of years of coaching experience and will be studying towards their PGCE diplomas in 2016. Shaun Martin continues in his role as coach and administrator, and the team will continue to be led by Mrs Justine du Plessis and Mr Riaan van de Rheede. From left: Jason Abrahams, Siobhan Baatjies and Annika Viljoen To end, I thought it appropriate to include a quote on change. We have taken a bold step into the digital era and it is important for us to focus on the positives this change will bring about. We as a community need to join hands as we help our children navigate and understand the opportunities this change will create. - 10 - To the teaching staff, a huge thank you for getting the school year off to a flying start. Classes, from day 1, have been on task and fully involved in their learning programmes. Further thanks must go to the grounds staff and admin staff for ensuring the facilities and administration were in place for a positive start. 2016 is a year of change! I encourage the entire Bridge House community to join forces! Let’s fly together! Marc Barrow Head of Prep Junior Primary Parents JP Information Meeting Wednesday, 20 January at 18h00 in the Prep Hall - 11 - Senior Primary Information Evening A big thank you to all parents who attended our Senior Primary Information evening last night. Mr Barrow discussed the implementation of the digital platform and the practicalities of managing the devices during school time. Jenny Wright (SP Phase Head) also discussed channels of communication in the Senior Primary and the importance of meaningful, empathetic communication and collaboration between the parent and the teacher. Our approach to promoting positive behaviour choices and our view with regards to homework which suits 21st century learning was touched on briefly. The implementation of the D6 Communicator was addressed and there was some representation from the Parent Association. Parents were then invited to meet their children’s teachers and discuss more grade-specific information. An information booklet pertaining to each grade has been mailed out today, and will also appear on the D6 Communicator once the system is up and running. - 12 - Swimming Star On Tuesday, star swimmer Migael Adams (Grade 8), who won a total of 9 medals for South Africa at the CANA Zone 3 Swimming Championships in Uganda during the holidays, was filmed going about his daily routine at school and he was interviewed by the SABC for a programme on TV. His fantastic results at the Championships were as follows: - 4 individual medals (1 gold in 50m breaststroke, 3 bronze in 100m & 200m breaststroke & 50m backstroke) - 5 relay medals (2 gold and 3 silver). We will let you know when and where the programme airs.