Date: 15 April 2019 From the Office of the Executive Head

Dear Parents/Guardians and Learners COACH JASON ROODE “Coach Jason”, as the learners know him, is a very dedicated staff member and a valuable asset to the Foundation Phase. Not only is he a Grade R assistant, but he teaches PE classes for Grade 1 – 3, as well as the under 19 Soccer and under 13 teams. Jason obtained his diploma in Sports Management and is currently busy studying towards his B.ED Degree through UNISA. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his friends at the beach, and surfing. As a Fitness trainer, he offers Boot Camp classes and individual training. Jason is also a rugby player himself, playing rugby for Rugby Club’s first team and Sevens for the Rebels. Thank you, Coach Jason, for your hard work, dedication and everything you do for the kids.

STAFF NEWS

We wish to congratulate Teacher Alicia Petersen and her husband on the birth of their son, Blake, on 14 April 2019.

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SPENDING TIME WITH OUR CHILDREN Spending time with our children is one of the most precious things in the world. Unfortunately, for most of us, time is limited, especially in the 21st Century. Whether we have a full time job, a new baby, or we just need to make the coffee, dinner or strip the beds, we are always wishing for more time. What can we do to have quality time with our little ones in our busy schedule, even if it is only for a couple of minutes….?

When you walk pass your child, or he/she walks pass you – give them a hug and tell them “I love you”.

Each day, have one eye-to-eye conversation with

your child. Even if it is 1-minute-long, look them in their eyes while talking to them

Remember that there are 9 minutes during the day that have the greatest impact on a child;

- The first 3 minutes right after they wake up

- The 3 minutes after they come home from school/aftercare - The last 3 minutes before they go to bed

We need to make those moments special and remind our children that they are loved. Adéle Käsner - Foundation Phase Head

COMPLIMENTS TO THE CHEF! Thank you to Ryan Rhodes, dad to a precious little girl in the nursery, for this beautiful message, recognising the Kitchen Staff for their hard work. On a daily basis they prepare breakfast, lunch and snacks for the nursery learners as well as the aftercare meals. I'd just like to take a moment to give praise to the kitchen staff that prepare the meals for the nursery class. The quality of food that we take home is phenomenal and it's so reassuring knowing that our daughter, Zoey is receiving such nutritional value during the day. I'm not sure of the names or email addresses of those that work so hard, but could you please extend my gratitude and heartfelt thanks! It's such a pleasure having Zoey at Meridian Pinehurst knowing that she's in the most capable hands in every aspect!

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ACADEMICS The following Foundation Phase learners received achievement certificates:

Grade 1 Milani Dayile Keagan Hockly Malique Jones Alutha Gam Milan Isaacs Bailey Holloway Isabelle Eddericks Liam Steenberg Owethu Bontswayo Logan Carelse

Grade 2 Lukhanyiso Ncayo Skyler Peters Evan Wagner Brooklyn du Plessis Lily Fortuin Eli-Ada Chavhanga Jival Mestry Micayla Botes Emily Dijkers Gia Erasmus

Grade 3 Jade Vergotine Thandile Mayambela Matthew Isaacs Lisakhanya Rayi Riley Smith Tshimollo Baloyi Charmaine Muronzi Tia Botha Chimdike Okorafor Mamello Oliphant

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Grade 8 & 12 Mentorship programme: During the first term, and for the duration of the year, the 2018/19 Matric Council has been facilitating a mentorship programme between the Grade 8s and volunteers from the Matric learner group. Every Grade 8 learner has been assigned to a Matric learner who will mentor them and guide them through their first year of High School. The Grade 12 mentors meet their Grade 8 mentees every two weeks and discuss various things such as the grooming policy, sport and culture opportunities as well as academic goal setting for upcoming terms. The aim of this initiative is to help the Grade 8s transition into High School comfortably whilst placing them on their journey of growing into model Meridian Pinehurst learners. Article written by: Maziko Kagoli [Head leader of Matric Council] Photo from left: Bukho Mngeni, Jordan Johannes, Khanya Mgoqi, Elisa Pemba with their Grade 12 Mentor, Maziko Kagoli.

ARTS & CULTURE M-Factor Results We were excited to once again embrace our learners’ talent on stage in an unplanned Two-part series. Our annual event was postponed from Term 1 to last week Friday night due to load shedding. Luckily the performers and the audience didn’t see this as an obstacle and gladly came out to support both nights. We had 19 acts of which only 9 performed during the first night. When the lights went off, it was decided that we would continue the show as planned in the following term. Over and above the acts on stage, we also had an Art Exhibition of 10 of our students. This was on display on the first night. Last Friday our judges and expert teachers voted and the winners of this category were: in third place, Lukau Makani-Mansomi, in second place, Shannon Cairns and the winner, that walked away with a photoshoot and an Exclusive Books voucher, was Kelsey Julies. On the first night the audience was entertained by our Master of Ceremonies, Jarred Ricketts, the 26-year-old recording and performing artist from .

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Regrettably, Jarred was unable to MC last Friday night as he had a show of his own. Our beautiful Art teacher, Ms Lourenco, stepped in and dazzled the crowd as our new Master of Ceremonies. Acts included: singing, poetry, hip hop dancing and even an original rap duo. Our judges had a hard time but in the end, there could only be one winner. TOP 5 acts were: Janine Adams, Maylin Symons, The Powerpuff Girlz (Leah Van der Heever, Aaliyah Du Toit and Shanna Stevens), Lathitha France and Ashleigh Poulton.

Congratulations to our M-factor 2019 winners: 3rd place: The Powerpuff Girlz 2nd Place: Maylin Symons 1st Place: Lathitha France The poem, that secured Lathitha the first prize that included a Photoshoot, Tygervalley and Exclusive books vouchers, was an adjusted “clean” version of the poem Perfect by Maia Mayor. Once again, we would like to thank the learners and teachers for their dedication and hard work as well as who came out for two nights and supported our annual event. Celeste Butler - FET Phase Head

Photos of the event will be posted on our Facebook page within the week.

Click on the image and VOTE for the Curro Anthem Project! #Currage

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BE A BUDDY! (Anti Bullying Campaign) Week 2 – Why does bullying happen? Learners are bullied for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they are bullied because they are different, or because they are clever or popular. It can be caused by these differences: • appearance and weight; • ability or disability; • gender and/or sexual orientation, and • culture, race and religion.

Other times, they are simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

BADGES ARE NOW ON SALE! Learners! Show your support by purchasing a BE A BUDDY, NOT A BULLY button badge for only R5 each. You are allowed to wear this badge with your uniform.

SPORTS REPORT Individual achievements PE Brilliance Michaela McCallum in Grade 4 celebrated her achievements in the Dance Mouse Competition that took place on the 5th and 6th of April 2019 during Physical Exercises period. She claimed gold medals in the solo and group dance categories including a silver medal for the smaller dance group event.

Karate Jesse Masimila (Grade 3E5) participated in the 2019 WP Kyokushin-kan Kata Championships on the 9 March. The competition was very tough, but he placed third in the qualifiers and overall third in his age group. On Saturday 13 April he will be taking part in WP Kyokushin-kan Kumite (fighting) competition.

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Karate Matthew Nel won a Bronze medal in the in WP Kyokushin-kan Kumite (fighting) competition which took place on Saturday 13 April.

Under 13 Soccer results The under 13 soccer boys locked horns with Curro Century City on Thursday 11 April 2019 at the Hellenic soccer grounds in . The boys managed to record a win of 12 - 7 and a loss of 4- 12. Both matches were five a side action soccer.

High School Soccer Meridian Pinehurst will field three soccer teams for the high school namely under 14, under 16 and under 19. Efforts are also being made to field a girls’ team. The coaches need more players to establish it.

Meridian Pinehurst Premier Grass League This past weekend saw the start of the Girls’ Hockey season and with it, the official kick-off of the MERIDIAN PINEHURST PREMIER GRASS LEAGUE. The league aims to not only promote Hockey involvement at the participating schools, but also to promote sportsmanship. Hence the league motto for 2019, as it was last year, is: Humble in victory, gracious in defeat. The league has also grown from last year as there are now 12 schools participating in it. Competition is tough! The schools forming part of the Meridian Pinehurst Premier League are: , High School, Eben Dönges High School, High School, Jan van Riebeeck, JG Meiring High School, Meridian Pinehurst, Monument Park High School, Parow High School, President High School, Protea Heights Academy and Zwaanswyk High School. Saturday, 13 April 2019, saw President High School hosting Meridian Pinehurst for their warm-up games. Our under 19A team walked away with a fantastic 3 - 0 victory which was highlighted by a goal hat-trick scored by Jodi Jacobs (Grade 11E1). Jodi was also awarded the player of the match award. The field was set for the under 16’s to follow in the footsteps of the First Team and they did not disappoint, coming away with a 2 – 0 victory. Goals were scored by Robyn Mallach (Grade 9E2) and Tyler Doyle (Grade 9E3). Player of the match was awarded to a well deserving Jordan Masimila (Grade 10E3). The coaching staff would like to thank all our parents for supporting their child next to the Hockey field. We look forward to the rest of this truly unique Meridian Pinehurst Premier Grass League.

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Photo: under 19 Girls’ Hockey team with their coaches, Mrs Adonis & Ms Holtman.

Photo: under 16 Girls’ Hockey team with their newly made friends, President High School.

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High School soccer fixtures Date Age Group Home/Away Opposition 09-Apr u14 Home Sinenjongo 10-Apr u19 Home Oude Molen A 11-Apr u16 Home Maitland High 16-Apr u14 Home Pinelands High 17-Apr u19 Home Eben Donges 18-Apr u16 Home Goodwood College 23-Apr u14 Home JG Meiring 24-Apr u19 Home Maitland High 25-Apr u16 Home Curro CC A 30-Apr u14 Home Buren A 01-May u19 Home Buren High 02-May u16 / BYE 07-May u14 Home Oude Molen A 08-May u19 Home Sinenjongo 09-May u16 Away Eben Donges 14-May u14 Home Curro CC A 15-May u19 Home Sinenjongo 16-May u16 Home Oude Molen A 21-May u14 Away Goodwood College 22-May u19 Home 23-May u16 Home Sinenjongo 28-May u14 Home Buren A 29-May u19 Away Goodwood College 30-May u16 Home JG Meiring 16-Jul u14 Home Curro CC A 17-Jul u19 Home Pinelands High 18-Jul u16 Away Pinelands High

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UPDATED HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS TIME TABLE

DATES TO DIARISE Monday 15 April Blood Drive, 12:00 to 17:45, Open to the public Grade 9 Camp, depart Tuesday 16 April Grade 10 Camp, depart Wednesday 17 April 2nd Hand Clothing bank open from 07:30 to 09:00 Grade 9 Camp, return Bianca Bester’s Birthday Thursday 18 April Grade 10 Camp, return Nursery Easter Egg Hunt Play Festival Entries Close Norman Plaatjies and Judith Broomfield’s birthday Friday, 19 April CAMPUS CLOSED, Good Friday Saturday, 20 April Amanda Kleynhans and Amanda Moorgas birthday Monday 22 April CAMPUS CLOSED, Family Holiday Yours in education Dean Marsh Executive Head

To advertise in the classifieds, contact Gizelle Marais: [email protected]

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