Academic
Grade 8 Technology Workshop Day
This year, Grade 8 Technology is being run in modules. These four modules will cover different areas of the curriculum and will be taught by different teachers. Each of the modules consists of 3-4 hour-long lessons during the normal timetable and a Technology workshop day each term. Pupils will rotate through these modules and by the end of the year they will have completed all four.
The first of the four Technology workshop days will take place this Friday, 21 February. On the day, the pupils will complete assessment tasks appropriate to the module they have been working on. They will spend the whole day completing these tasks so the normal academic programme for the day will fall away. All the workshops take place at school during the normal school hours with the normal breaks times. Pupils may come dressed in their PE uniform.
We look forward to an exciting day of Technology on Friday.
Grade 8 Island Day
The Grade 8s had their first Life Orientation Island Day on Wednesday, 12 February. The theme of the day was “Developing the Self in Society: Self Esteem and Social Media.” The pupils watched two speakers and then carried out activities to reflect on what they had learned.
The first speaker was Sven Ruygrok who spoke about the impact of social media on self-esteem. Although he was speaking about a very serious topic, Sven's talk was full of energy and fun, to which the students responded very well. There was also a lot of excitement when they discovered he had acted in the Spud movies, with which they were all familiar.
The second speaker was Kaye Cloete, who spoke about how to use social media in a healthy manner. Growing up in this day and age, it is impossible to eliminate social media from our pupils' lives, but it is important to equip them with the tools to use it in a way that helps them to build up their self-esteem and to protect themselves from some of the negative influences out there. Kaye's talk taught them to be careful of who they follow on social media and to be more critical of who they invite to their social media platforms. The pupils did this by looking at how the people they follow make them feel and how they align with who they are and what they aspire to be.
Grade 12 Outing
On Thursday, 13 February, the Afrikaans department and the Matrics had an outing in preparation for their essay-writing assignment. The plan was to visit the District 6 Museum and go on a walkabout to some places of significance in the area, as well as to visit the Castle of Good Hope. There was a bit of disappointment when the visit to the Castle had to be cancelled due to the Opening of Parliament, however the visit to the museum was still an extraordinary experience.
Two members of the community told their stories about what life was like, with District 6 having been an integrated and embracing community, with jazz music playing and the fish and chips shop around the corner. It was of course not long before Auntie Susan, our guide, and Shandy were singing jazz songs and dancing together!
We also heard stories about being evicted and having to watch houses being demolished, and the process, many years later, to claim the right to get a house in District 6 again, with the return being bittersweet. It was a most memorable experience, that left us with much food for thought.
Here are some responses from girls, whose favourite part of the outing was to hear the stories of people who lived in District Six:
"Dit was 'n openlike ervaring van die pyn wat mense in Distrik Ses ervaar het." - Nina Holling
"Ek het soos 'n toeris in my eie stad gevoel. Die natuurskoon was boeiend en die verhale van die verlede was ontstellend en inspirerend." - Caitlyn de Mink
"Die uitstappie na die Distrik Ses Museum was 'n verhelderende ervaring. My gesin is van Distrik Ses en die uitstappie het my laat verstaan hoe hule grootgeword het en hoe dit moes gevoel het." - Dana Prodehl
"Dit was 'n dag van leer en 'n dag waar die geskiedenins in die paadjies bly hang het." - Angela White
"Die Distrik Ses Museum was 'n kragtige ervaring. Tussen mistige oë en 'n bietjie gelag het ons op 'n emosionele reis terug in tyd gegaan." - Georgia Bergh
“Dit het my gewys hoe Distrik Ses 'n familie was." - Jasmine Lay
"Die Distrik Ses Museum was baie interessant, want ek het 'n nuwe perspektief gekry van die lyding wat mense gedurende Apartheid ervaar het." - Isabella Ward
"My ervaring het my dankbaar vir my familie, gemeenskap en huis gemaak." - Hayley Marais