PREP NEWSLETTER Issue 31 www.bridgehouse.org.za 27 October 2017 Grade 3 Camp O n our grade 3 camp I loved the delicious food and the cosy beds and the wonderful games and the exciting challenges. I loved stalk the lantern. It was a bit scary but I got used to it. Hannah Whitson I enjoyed camp cause it was the most amazing thing I have ever done. The facilitators were very friendly. I loved the equipment they let us play with. thank you to lead 4 life and the teachers for letting us go on camp. Matthew Cardoza This year camp was brilliant and exiting I really loved playing! Nicholas Green To be honest camp was amasing and wonderfully beautifully. Camp was also around nature which was fantastic and I definitely would go again. Sid Fishlock On Camp I enjoyed playing soccer and the food was amasing. The activities was very good and the rooms were very nice and the view. Stanislas Maniora In the Bright and early morning we went for a refreshing walk before breakfast. Trinity Ethelston The Heart Museum Experience! Last Thursday the Grade 6s went to the Heart Museum in Cape Town and learnt about the first heart transplant and the man who performed the surgery, Christiaan Neethling Barnard. He did the surgery on Louis Washkansky who had had three heart attacks, so his heart was extremely weak. We were taken to the rooms where it all happened! There were silicon sculptures of Chris Barnard and the other surgeons performing the operation over Louis Washkansky’s open silicon chest. We then went into a replica of Denise Darvall’s bedroom. Denise Darvall was the donor of the heart. She was sadly hit by a car in Cape Town. She was declared brain dead at the hospital and her heart was used for the successful operation. We saw a movie which gave us more information about Christiaan Barnard and his successes. We learnt so much in one day! Michael Gibson Wider World Experience The ethos of academic delivery at Bridge House places great emphasis on relevance, context and ‘the real world’. At this time of the year, the Grade 7s spend a week consciously integrating curriculum outcomes with collecting ‘proof’ of what they are learning ‘out there’. From the District Six Museum(forced removals) to MOCAA and Rhodes Memorial (symbols of art and architecture); from photo-journals of land use and inequality to a walking tour of Kayamandi; from eating fish on the rocks while considering the layout of Hout Bay to the World of Birds (conservation), the group has gained insight into the ‘overlap’ between History, Geography, EMS and Science, and then used language and technology to express their findings in reports, poetry, graphs and commentary. The ‘soft skills’ were included with a presentation by a social entrepreneur who uses the production of skateboards to expose disadvantaged children to art and design in her Social Enterprise, Sk8forGr8. The final task of WWE involved small group collaboration to analyse land use in Hout Bay, and an evaluation of its potential to exist as a sustainable independent republic. Each team produced a fully illustrated book of their findings. I am always amazed by the engagement and standard of application by our Grade 7 pupils to what are complex social and economic issues. What a privilege it is to be part of a school that promotes such an innovative model of education. Mrs Sandie Parker Grade 7 WWE outing to Kayamandi On Monday, 23 October, the grade 7s nervously boarded a bus to Kayamandi. There was a tangible sense of uneasiness as we neared our destination. The learners were not given any form of preparation or talk on ‘what to experience’. The idea being that there were no preconceived ideas of what it might be like given by the teachers. There were no cameras or recording devices, it was to be just us and Kayamandi. And it was exactly that. Everyone was encouraged to see and hear. There were no distractions like notepads or iPads and this resulted in eyes being like saucers for the vast majority of the time. Aubrey, better known as Madiba, introduced himself to every single learner...individually. Despite this taking a fair few minutes, we were able to experience the personal relationship which this isiXhosa man wanted to have with each person as he made an effort to relate each name to something personal for him. As we began our walk we were given a brief history of Kayamandi and Madiba’s experiences there. The smells and sights of Kayamandi were significantly different from each other depending on where you were and even more so from what we are used to. Some significant realizations were as follows: the close proximity to which people live to one another the distance to ablutions the fact that this place was safe the joy of the children despite only having the bare minimum the lack of service delivery (refuse collection) One of the most notable moments of the day was when a learner mentioned how significantly someone’s attitude shifted towards her when she tried to speak isiXhosa to them. Showing that just attempting to acknowledge someone in such a way as speaking to them in their own language, while keeping in mind culturally appropriate behaviors, can have a powerful impact on the outcome of the interaction. We all went home having learnt a great deal about the way in which the majority of South Africans live. We also learnt to appreciate everything that we have and not take for granted the opportunities we are afforded on a daily basis. Yoh, we actually have so much! We say enkosi kakhulu to the team of teachers for joining us and ensuring that every educational opportunity was taken full advantage of. This went a long way to improving the enthusiasm towards learning an additional African Language. Mr Bruce Blaine Gr 7 Xhosa teacher The Grade Os used the Senior Primary chessboard to practise left and right turns as well as being coders and robots! csk@bridgehouseSchl The Grade 1s are growing beans and they documented the process using @Seesaw # lifesciences # ipaded@BridgehouseSchl On Wednesday, the Grade 0s came to visit the Grade 1 classrooms and the teachers. They visited each teacher in each classroom as it will be a surprise next year to see in which class they will be! They felt very grown up doing a bit of work at the Grade 1s desks and some even had a turn to write on the ‘magical’ SMART board! Save the Date! Grade 1 2018 parent information meeting on Wednesday 8 November @13h00 in the Grade 1H classroom. Bridge House had the long awaited visit by accreditation body UMALUSI on Wednesday of this week, thus hosting five team members who interviewed all tiers of constituents throughout the day to verify and thus validate evidence we submitted at the start of the year to ‘prove’ that we are doing what we say we are doing. Complicated! But such rigorous inspections serve to remind us of how much we have to celebrate in this wonderful school! Kudos to our prep children from Grades 3- 7 who were selected to meet the UMALUSI representatives in forum discussions for their poise and willingness to chat about school life! But life went on this week, nonetheless, as our Grade 2s went camping at Kijk-in-die-pot and had a wonderful time, rain notwithstanding. To conclude their WWE experience, the Grade 7s went on an walking tour of Kayamandi - read the report in this newsletter. Summer sport is well underway, with athletics fixtures, cricket and tennis matches taking place this week, and a mini-cricket festival tomorrow. The long-awaited water polo sessions for Prep pupils have started – although they will, of course, be dependent on the water situation as regards the availability of the pool. As the days grow longer, we are all reminded that the end of the year is fast approaching, with the Grade 7 Farewell next week, and the Boarders’ Dinner, Concerts and Awards events popping into sight on the calendar. One becomes conscious of the fact that the temptation is to slow down, turn a blind eye … because we are ‘nearly there’. As any athlete will remind us, ending well is a very important stage of the race! So let’s prepare well for those final assessments, let’s take the time to add the finishing touch to that project or task, let’s wear our uniform with pride until the final bell rings, let’s continue to engage positively and with utmost respect in all our dealings with others. Have a good weekend! Swartland Primary Athletics Meeting – Saturday 21 October Last week Saturday, a group of our athletes took part in the Swartland Primary Friendly Athletics meeting held in Malmesbury. Bridge House was one of 6 schools participating on the day in both field and track events. Well done to our athletes, who managed to bring back a total of 33 medals from the event (12 gold, 15 silver and 6 bronze). Well done to all the boys and girls, who represented Bridge House with pride on the day! Tennis Well done, to the u13A Boys team who put on a fine display of tennis to beat the team from Courtrai Primary (0 – 6) in their league fixture last week. Well done, boys! Canoeing news Congratulations to Tia Hector who has started the new sprint season on a good note. Last Saturday she came 2nd in the U10 girls age group in the first regatta of the annual Triple Sprint Series.