28 Syringa Avenue

Broadacres, Gauteng

South Africa, 2021

Tel +27 (011) 465 3810

info@broadacres.com

www.broadacres.com

27 January 2017 Issue No 2

Dear Parents

One of our very first themes in all age groups – from Nursery School to Foundation

Phase (Grade 0, 1, 2 and 3) in Prep School each year, is based on the theme of “My

Body” – a topic many schools begin with. One of the first steps in healthy

emotional development is self-awareness, building self-esteem and a positive

body image.

In this Newsletter I would like to take you, the parent, through a better understanding of this critical component

of development; in an effort that you better understand its significance. Many parents believe the drawings our

children produce of themselves (and later, their families) is simply a creative activity. It is so much more than that,

and we learn a huge amount from a psychological perspective, about the child.

An example of this: Did you know that the inclusion of a neck in pictures is an indication of maturity required for

the reading process to begin? Most children’s body images exclude a neck until at least the year they turn 6. The

drawing of a well-defined neck, attaching a head to the shoulders says “I am ready to read”. Fascinating stuff

indeed.

Let me take you through a few definitions (and games to play) for ease of understanding AND to enhance your

child’s learning in this very important area (some great quality time):

SELF-CONCEPT: One of the first steps in healthy emotional development is for your child to develop self -

awareness.

Here are some ideas for you to use when reading to your child (see attached story I have provided) :

• As you read, point out your child’s own little toes, nose, shin, chin, etc.

• Talk about people you know and discuss their long or short hair, fingers or pretty feet.

Page | 2

SELF-ESTEEM: Sources of self-esteem are both internal (the child experiences pleasure at having accomplished a

task), and external (positive feedback from parents who recognize the child’s achievement.)

• Ask your child to point at the toes in this story, the rose and the nose and the knees in the pictures, and so on.

Let her repeat the words, and show her that you are pleased at her achievement.

BODY AWARENESS: Play a game with your child like “Simon Says” and see if she can mimic your actions.

• As you say: “Simon says, ‘Put your hands on your head’”, do the action as well. (Go through all the body parts so

that your child learns all their names.)

AWARENESS OF OTHERS: Go through the family album and point out grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins and

friends. Talk about them, their relationship to your child and about things they do; e.g. “This is uncle Albert, he is

a policeman.” Or “This is your cousin Barney, remember when he came to your birthday party?”

DIFFERENCES: Compare the pictures of people in this book. Talk about the colours of their clothing, their hair

styles, their facial expressions, their ages and sizes.

FANTASY AND REALITY:

• Look at the pictures of the pigs. Ask: “Are pigs really green and red and purple?”

• Look at the picture of the tree. Ask: “Do trees have hair?” “What is green and hangs down?” (Leaves.) “Do trees

have brown toes?” (Roots)

PRONUNCIATION:

• Play a game with your child and repeat all the rhyming words in the story. Listen carefully to hear if your child is

pronouncing the words correctly. DO NOT CORRECT your child, just say the words again and allow her to practise.

These are all little activities that we cover almost weekly throughout the year, in the Nursery School phase. You

will be astounded at the impact that your doing the same at home will have on the advancement of your child’s

self-image. A positive self-belief is, after all VITAL to all that we tackle in life, be the challenges big or small,

significant or insignificant, thrilling or mundane.

I hope that I may have inspired you through this Newsletter to seize this information and the associated ideas with

an excitement to TRY THEM OUT!

Much love to you all.

Lee-Ann

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

INFORMATION FROM THE OFFICE:

1. Please be reminded that all account queries are now to be directed to Celeste or Kim on email address

accounts@broadacres.com or 082-927-2897 and 082-516-4803 respectively. For ad hoc changes to

Page | 3

collection times, lunches etc. you are welcome to let us know in the front office as we handle the daily

lists.

2. The Parent Orientation Evenings last week were most successful and well-attended. Thank you for being

involved, connected parents – your children reap the benefits of this.

3. Remember that you are most welcome to send apples, carrots vegetable and salad extras to school. Most

classes walk daily to feed Slowcoach, our tortoise, the bunnies, guinea pigs, Precious and Sugar, our

gorgeous horses.

4. There has already been much aggravation shared with us about the replies from parents to the Class

WhatsApp group. Please refrain from this and use your teacher’s direct number for responses. Thank you

for taking heed of this critical request.

5. Library for 4s, 5s and Grade 0s is on a WEDNESDAY this year. Books need to be returned on a TUESDAY to

ensure that your child may take another one the following day. A very big thank you to our two special

moms, Nichol Fabre and Karen Garvie for giving of their time to run our library so efficiently. We are

particularly excited this year as we are going to focus our energies on radically increasing the number of

books through the BIRTHDAY BOOK PROGRAM. Thank you to parents who have already donated fabulous,

age-appropriate books. Next week sees our very FIRST BIRTHDAY BOOK ASSSEMBLIES. We will be sure to

take pictures to show you all !

6. Extra Murals officially begin in earnest this coming week. The OPEN CLASSES are now largely a thing of

the past. Swimming with Debbie was the only one that has already begun. Thank you for your efficiencies

in handing in your completed forms. There is a blue, plastic folder at the main desk in the office where

you can pop your forms into, and these we hand to the relevant coaches, weekly. Should you need their

contact details, or an idea of when, which activity occurs, please see last week’s emailed Newsletter to

you as I attached the schedule, along with many other documents of importance. You can also access it

from www.broadacres.com.

7. PLEASE notify us of changes in contact details or if one spouse is not receiving emails. We rely on you to

keep us informed to ensure continuity and success of information flow.

8. Dylan, Andre and I have had countless meetings this year to look for healthy alternatives and additions

to our daily lunch menu. Watch this space….

9. You will recall my request in last week’s Newsletter about sending ONLY cupcakes to school for birthdays,

and to refrain from being excessive with party packs, carbonated drinks and so on. Please see Teacher

Emma’s advertisement at the end of this Newsletter – she has a Cupcake business you may like to try.

10. Please note that you will be billed R20 for every 5 minutes, or part thereof for collection of children after

the 17h30 mark. This applies to Junior, Senior and Prep Aftercare.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………………….

IMPORTANT DATES FOR THE WEEK

MONDAY Recycling Day All items washed Includes tin, paper, plastic, glass

Birthday Book Assembly for donations to the Library

All January Babies Nursery School

Barn 08h00

WEDNESDAY Birthday Book Assembly for donations to the Prep

All January Babies Prep School

Barn 08h00

THURSDAY Teddy Bears Picnic 2s and 3s Prep Field

FRIDAY Welcome Cocktail Evening All NEW Parents Prep School

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Page | 4

BIRTHDAYS FOR NEXT WEEK

Lucian Martins Lions 1st Feb Turning 5

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

THEMES FOR NEXT WEEK

JUNIORS

2 year olds – Bees and Butterflies My Body and Five Senses

3 year olds – Bunnies, Ducklings, Ladybirds, Lambs My Body and Five Senses

SENIORS

4 year olds – Zebras, Honeybears, Hedgehogs My School

5 year olds – Lions, Leopards My School

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

MENU FOR THE WEEK NEXT WEEK

This may vary, depending upon the availability of fresh produce. Dessert consists predominately of seasonably

available fresh fruit. Variations are incorporated when the menu is not appropriate for dietary or religious

reasons:

Monday Spaghetti Bolognaise

Tuesday Beef Goulash and Rice

Wednesday Cheese Pasta

Thursday Chicken Strips, Rice and Gravy

Friday Viennas and Salad

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….….…………. SCIENCE CLUB Teacher Dielie of the Lions Class, discussed the concept of GRAVITY with the 4s and 5s on Thursday. I had to laugh as Tayla, sitting in Reception asked in alarm: “What IS that noise?” You see, EVERY THURSDAY, like clockwork, the children (89 of them ) start to CHANT

“SCIENCE CLUB, SCIENCE CLUB……………………………….”

Over and over again! You can just imagine the sound .

Firstly, Dielie asked the group if we fly or stand on the ground. When they responded with stand on the ground', she then asked them what happens if you drop something by accident? They said that it breaks. Then she told

Page | 5

them that gravity pulls everything down to the ground. She showed them that everything goes down, heavy

things (like a stone and books) and light things (like a feather and a tissue).

This was then physically demonstrated. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

KIDDIE TALK

Ewan in Zebras said ‘This is a Nursery School. It is also a electricity school’. Teacher Vanessa asked; ‘You mean a Primary School?’ Ewan replied: ‘Yes. A Primary School’.

XXXXX

Tayden in Zebras Teacher Vanessa was counting the children in her class while they were standing in a line – 1, 2, 3 …. Tayden was number 9 in the row and when he was tapped on the head by Teacher Vanessa’s counting aloud, he said: ‘I am not 9. I am 3’.

XXXXX

Kian in Bunnies when he missed a day of school, he returned and said to Teacher Bianca, ‘I missed you so much but I just couldn't get here, the traffic was too bad’.

XXXXX

On Friday, Duke the Alsatian, visited school to show off his tricks in the Barn to the 4s and 5s. His trainer, Karen Opie, runs the Obedience and Socialisation classes on Saturdays at our school. Upon leaving the barn after her session with Duke, she mentioned to Lee-Ann that Duke had been a bit restless and she felt probably in need of the ‘loo’. So, Lee-Ann went with them to the field to see where said ‘business’ occurred so she could remove it before playtime. Low and behold, Duke ‘did his thing’. Being a big dog, it was a ‘BIG thing’, and you can imagine the squealing and ‘aaaahhhhhhh yuk’s’ that emanated in chorus from the Grade 1s and 2s sitting on their verandas. After sorting out this ‘big thing’, Lee-Ann wen to chat to the children and teachers who now safely flocked to the field for playtime. Mark in Grade 1A approached Lee-Ann to say, ‘This was a bad idea to turn a Farm into a School’. Lee-Ann asked, “Why do you say that Mark?’ His reply, “Because look now how the dog had to poo on the grass. If it wasn’t a farm the dog wouldn’t have poo’d on the grass’!

XXXXX

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….….………….

Page | 6