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MATRIC TEA In a year that has taken many special moments away from the Matric Class of 2020, it was an honour to be able to host the Grade 7 Class of 2015 for their Matric Tea.

How lovely to see all these faces again, even if they were partially hidden by masks! Sadly there could be no “Mrs Rautenbach’s famous crumbed chicken” or “smiley face potatoes” for this group, but we hope it was memorable none-the-less. Our wish for this group is that they embrace every curve-ball that may come their way, overcome and thrive. Thank you, Past Pupils, you will always be most welcome to visit your Primary School. We hope you remember your time here fondly!

VOLUME 29: 4 SEPTEMBER 2020

GRADE 00 NEWS Despite the rain and cold weather, the Dormice have enjoyed the time spent indoors – playdough has been a hit with the boys, as has building with blocks. Othniel made his own hat for Spring day and every child participated in celebrating the beginning of the new season by wearing their beautiful hats and flower chains. Now for some sunny weather…….

GRADE 1s: WHAT I WANT TO BE WHEN I GROW UP… Connor-Brady Burke : I want to be a doctor. I want to make people happy. Giorgia MacIntyre: I want to be a ballerina because I like ballet. I also want to go on ice. Alastair O’Carroll: I want to be a scientist because then I can mix potions and make a formula. Emily van Schalkwyk: I want to be a artist when I grow up because I got inspired. I also want to

be a model because then I can be famous. Matthew Angus: I want to be in insurance and a Red Bull rider because they do tricks. Oscar Burger: I think I want to be a scientist. Lea Slabbert: I want to be a book writer because I like to write books and I like kids. Corey Wessels: I want to be a electrician cause I like the science of electricity and my dad

is also a electrician. Emma Gielink: I want to be a gymnastic teacher because I like gymnastics. Christian Steyn: I want to be a man that works at a shop that is Checkers and why? Well it’s

a big shop. Athina Dirkse : I want to be a artist because it can express your feelings and you can take

any colour and it is very beautiful. Adam Lewis: I want to be a snake catcher and a snake saver and a snake scientist. I can

save snakes. I watch Snakes in the City. Blake Verwey: When I grow up I want to be a movie director. I want to make over eighteen

movies like Pacific Rim 4. I want to win awards. David-Owen Cocks: When I grow up I want to be a game ranger because I love animals and

spotting them. I want to save animals. Cassidy Steenkamp: When I grow up I want to be a fairy and I want to be a rock star. Because I

want to and because I love music. Rayhan Diesel: When I grow up I want to be a spy and make the world a better place. I want

to be a spy because spies have gadgets and because they are cool. Jean le Roux: When I grow up I want to be an art teacher. I want to be an art teacher

because art is fun. I like art. Jewel Buys: When I grow up I want to be a singer and a modern dancer because I love

singing and dancing because I am very good at it. Because my favorite songs and dance song tracks are The Descendants and Zombies.

Ethan Mehtar: I want to be a chef because I am one with the kitchen. I want to be a chef because I already am, and because I like Indian food. My favourite food is butter chicken.

Stefan Smit: When I grow up I want to be a cop because you can stay up late. I want to be a cop because you can tackle criminals and put them in prison.

Zachariah Brown: When I grow up I will be a professor. Because I want to show the world that the triangle is a cool shape and you can make it out of lots of things. Professor Brown is my name.

Eva Capri: When I grow up I am going to be a famous actress because I like dancing and because I like acting. The movie I want to act in is Maleficent.

Hannah Sloan: When I grow up I’m going to be an artist because I’m good at colouring in and my favourite colour is pink and turquoise.

Kristen Gordon: When I grow up I want to be a DJ. I want to be a DJ because I love music. I also want to be an artist because art will be my hobby.

Harry Ryder: When I grow up I want to be a football player for Liverpool. Because I want to be rich and because I want to have fun and make my family proud.

Chloe Contat: When I grow up I want to be a reptile and a dancer and a DJ. I also want to be a singer. Because I love reptiles and I love dancing and I love music and singing. My favourite reptile is a snake.

Layla October: When I grow up I want to be an artist. I want to be an artist because I want to be the best and my favorite colour is pink.

Brayden Kinkead-Weekes: When I grow up I want to be a football player because I like football. I want to be a Liverpool player, they are the best and they are in 1st place.

ART Grade 6 have been spending the last few art lessons taking a bit of a mental ‘time out’ and creating their own very relaxing and therapeutic mandalas. Here are a few of the completed ones.

AFTERNOON ACTIVITIES As this was the last week of afternoon activities, we decided to try something new and fun for those pupils who have been fully committed to the programme. We provided equipment for each child to move through a number of different activity stations, including a hockey station (where the pupils got a chance to brush up on their skills), a tennis station (where they could work on their hand-eye co-ordination) and a soccer station (a chance to show off some soccer skills). All equipment was sanitized before and after use, and the pupils were distanced 3m apart. Next week there will not be any Afternoon Activities. We would like to thank all the Staff, Coaches and Pupils that helped made the last 6 weeks successful and enjoyable.

DEBATE – GRADE 7 The Grade 7s have spent the last few lessons debating contentious issues in Social Science. The topics that have been covered are: Fracking, and whether or not South Africa should be taking a stance against fracking, as well as Veganism and the pros and cons of such on our environment. The Grade 7s were put into teams, regardless of their view point, and they were forced to research and ague their points along with the support of their team. The enthusiasm and energy that came through in these debates was fantastic, and there is no doubt that many of our current Grade 7s will be signing up to join debating teams in High School.

GRADE 4 The Grade 4s have concluded their Energy and Energy Transfers Unit in Natural Science and are SUPER excited to tackle their Technology Project. They have been tasked with designing a marble run with the aim of keeping their marble in motion for the longest time possible. We have spent the last few lessons brainstorming, researching, making lists and sketching concepts. The level of enthusiasm they have displayed has been phenomenal. Each team has been assigned a project brief which stipulates certain criteria that must be met, and there are even some advanced options they can choose to try and incorporate. The aim of this task is to put their knowledge of properties of materials and energy into practise. They are constantly reviewing and refining their projects according to the design process. We are so excited to see what they come up with. Stay tuned!

GRADE 2 We have come to the end of the second last week of the Term and ‘We think we can’ continue to work hard. This week we spent time on the meaning of the word: Determination! The Grade 2s have decided to stay positive when obstacles come in their way and they are determined to be brave! We were also excited to celebrate Spring day on the 1st of September and we enjoyed a floral touch to the day. They also continued working hard on their maths concepts and learning more about Sea Adventure.

GRADE 1 The Grade 1s were very excited to talk about their ‘history’ while showing the photos of themselves on the front of their workbook. Questions had been sent home to discuss, such as: Why was your name chosen?, Where were you born? Who do you look like? Are there any funny stories about you when you were growing up? The children loved listening to each other’s stories. They have been learning about filling the ten in Mathematics and lots of practical work has taken place. In Literacy they unscrambled sentences with this week’s blends, tr and dr. They have enjoyed breaking and writing codes using Pigpen Cipher and Caesar Shift, and challenged a friend to decipher their message.

GRADE R NEWS Spring was celebrated this week with Spring Hat Day on Tuesday and the children loved learning about our Amphibian theme. They painted and created salamanders, frogs and toads in different and wonderful ways.

GRADE 6 SCIENCE Grade 6 have completed their introduction to Electrical Energy by designing, making and evaluating a system using a circuit. Tesla would have been impressed with the variety of burglar alarms, steady hand games, lighthouses, windmills and even an educational game, that were produced by our boys and girls.

LEARNING SUPPORT

Learning support is not only about brain work, but

body work too. It is so wonderful to see the children taking on new challenges,

learning how to optimally use their

muscles and bodies to learn

effectively.

Hard work pays off, and it is brilliant to see so many children working well and being able to achieve their potential. The multi-sensory approach to learning is part of what makes support valuable. Huelin Cottage remains a fun and supportive place for all children who enter it.

GRADE 3 With another wintery week behind us, the Grade 3s have continued to work hard. They have been working in their Singapore maths books this week. We have been focusing on fractions as well as two-step story sums. For English we continued with our creative writing. The Grade 3s finished writing their fables and we are so impressed with the lessons they wanted the readers to learn. They were very excited about starting their research for their Inquiry-based project. They will be researching Deforestation and Conservation by looking at the consequences as well as the solutions for this. They will then be creating a poster to present their research to the class in the last week of school. They have been so passionate about making a change in the world, we are so proud of them!

GRADE 3 SHORT STORIES The Sloth and the Monkey One day there was a very slow and sleepy sloth. His name was Branden. Branden the sloth lived in a jungle. The jungle was very warm, but Branden loved it. One day when Brandon was sleeping on his favourite branch in the biggest tree he heard a big crash. Rampy the monkey had cracked a big branch and through it of the tree. Brandon looked up. Rampsy the monkey said, “wake up sleepy head, and why are you soooo slow hahaha you are the most boring animal in the jungle”. Brandon got very angry. The next morning Brandon went to Rampsy who was still sleeping Brandon woke Rampy. Rampsy said in a sleepy voice what are you doing here he said. I would like you to apologize to me please. Rampsy blinked rapidly, why would I ever apologize to you. Okay Rampsy listen to me now everyone in the world is different lots of people and animals are fat some are thin and some are big that’s just the way we are and one good thing about me is that I am very clever and you might be very fast, but you are not perfect no one is. From that day on they were friends. If you have nothing good to say do not say it! (Simon Wiehahn) Molly Mia finds a friend in need Molly Mia lives in a rain forest where the birds chirp and the wind blows. Molly Mia is a cat and she is 7 years old. Ben Bee who lives in the forest too he is a tiger and is 9 years old. Molly is so playful, extroverted and a good friend. Ben bee is rude, unpolite, does not listen and neglects buddies. One day Molly wanted to be friends with Ben bee, but he declined meanly, and he walked away. He was not looking where he was going and fell into the river. He got stuck and then Molly saw, she ran as fast as she could and grabbed him. He thanked her and then they were friends. The moral is to respect others and to be kind. Actions speak louder than words. (Olivia Burger) The Snake and the Tiger Welcome to the jungle a place full of beautiful creatures. One day in the jungle there was a lonely snake named Simon, he had no friends. He went up to a tiger named Tiago, the snake asked the tiger to be friends and the tiger just laughed. “Friends with a snake? You have no bones or legs or arms” the tiger refused. The next day the tiger was sleeping in his den and the giant rock on top of his den fell by the entrance and the tiger got stuck in his den, and the snake heard him shouting for help. The snake said its me Simon, he then slithered through the rock and wrapped his body around the tiger. The snake thanked him. They went out to watch the sunrise, Tiago the tiger and Simon the snake became best friends. Two heads are better than one! (Tiago Pereira-Carstens) The Hamster who wanted to belong Once upon a time in a wet rainforest, it was a stormy night when a gorilla was reading a book. Now I know it sounds a little strange, but he was not very tough. Just then a little tap, tap, tap on the door the gorilla thought it was a little strange at this hour, but he answered anyway. He looked but he saw no one, he was about to close the door when he felt a little nudge he looked down and saw a hamster. The hamster’s name was Dash he was a little nerdy. He was looking for a place to stay for the night. The gorilla was happy to help. Oh, by the way his name is Hilton, back to the story. Dash had a briefcase, little glasses, and a work suit. Hilton asked questions like Where do you live and what do you like Dash was happy to answer them. They decided to have a guy’s chat every night. (Talitha Zunckel) Peter the Rabbit Once there was a rabbit, a clever one but also a bit scared. The other animals made fun of him because he stayed in his burrow in the rainforest learning about the trees in different sizes, the waterfalls, and plants, oh and the animals. One day Peter rabbit had enough of being teased by the birds, monkeys, and bucks, so Peter went to the beautiful orange and black striped Tiger. He was having a cat nap so Peter woke him up and said, “can you help me prove that I’m not scared?” Tiger said, “No I would rather eat you” Wait I will return a favor said Peter, Tinger the tiger said how can a helpless rabbit help.

One-week later Tinger the tiger was hunting, and he got stuck in a hunter’s trap. All the animals surrounded him, and Peter thought that this is a perfect time to prove that he is brave. So, he chewed and chewed and then a bird said, “run the hunters are coming”. All the animals ran but Peter stayed, after a few seconds the net fell. Tinger said “Hop on my back they ran and went back to Tinger’s cave and they became best friends. (Sienna Vonbun) Sandy the Turtle One day there was a turtle called Sandy. She is very kind, boring and positive. There was a race every year, it was a big deal. Whoever wins gets a big chocolate. This year Sandy was going to try and do the race for the first time. She was excited. When she arrived, there were lots of people to watch the race. She was nervous, the race was going to start. She went next to the animals, the porcupine said, “ready set go” and Sandy ran and ran as fast as she could, but everyone was Infront of her. She was sad, very sad. She came last. Everyone made fun of Sandy, she cried. Half an hour later she heard a noise. It sounded like someone was in deep danger she had to help, she ran to the noise and saw the frog was drowning. He was one of the animals that was making fun of her, but it was the right to help her, so she swam and swam like a fish to save him. Spark apologized for making fun of her, and all the animals cheered for Sandy. (Holly Thompson) Dan the Dolphin Pentigo Sea was covered with colorful coral. The seagrass and seaweed were dancing. Dan the dolphin’s smooths pointy grey nose was sniffing a tasty fish. Wally whale was blowing water out of his blowhole while his huge mouth gobbled plankton. Sammy seal was fishing for yellowtail under the grey rocks. Suddenly a huge storm made the water green, the sand turned and mixed the green water causing Sammy to lose his family. All the other seals left him alone. Wally swam off to his pod. The other creatures ignored Sammy except Dan the dolphin. Dan swam to help the panicked Sammy. He told Sammy to follow him, Sammy swam right behind the smooth grey body. They reached the surface together. Dan guided Sammy to his grateful family. Sammy’s mom was amazed that Dan was brave to help others. She promised to save him some fish when ever they go fishing in the future. (Joshua Burger)

SCREENING SELFIES

Morning screening at Oakwood has risen to a whole new level of fun as “screening selfies” have become the trend. Dressing up is so much fun when you are in Pre-School and Mrs Rautenbach ensures that it is smiles all round every morning during screening session!

GRADE 5 SCIENCE Grade 5s continue to create a vehicle, making their own wheels, axles and propulsion systems.

CODING STARS! Well done to Ella Basson and Safaa Abass on receiving their coding certificates! We are very proud of you.

THE RAIN AND THE MUSIC Wednesday evening was wet, cold and rainy. Yet, as we gathered for more tiny concerts, we knew something good was about to happen. We have all experienced how calm and relaxed, sometimes even happy, we feel when it is raining outside. "The brain naturally craves sensory input," says Kimberly Hershenson, a New York City-based therapist specializing in anxiety and depression. "Rain produces a sound akin to white noise. The brain gets a tonic signal from white noise that decreases this need for sensory input, thus calming us down.” Music has just as powerful an effect on the brain. Experiencing (or even anticipating experiencing) music releases the neurotransmitter dopamine, the chemical in the brain responsible for feelings of pleasure and reward. Listening to music together increases levels of oxytocin, a neuropeptide which encourages bonding and trust between people. It also activates the mental circuit that helps us to understand what others are thinking and feeling – and to predict how they might behave. Music strengthens the immune system and reduces cortisol – our stress hormone. The poet Walt Whitman, a 19th century poet, realised a long time ago the power of rain and compared its power to that of music. THE VOICE OF THE RAIN. (Walt Whitman) And who art thou? said I to the soft-falling shower, Which, strange to tell, gave me an answer, as here translated: I am the Poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain, Eternal I rise impalpable out of the land and the bottomless sea, Upward to heaven, whence, vaguely form'd, altogether changed, and yet the same, I descend to lave the drouths, atomies, dust-layers of the globe, And all that in them without me were seeds only, latent, unborn; And forever, by day and night, I give back life to my own origin, and make pure and beautify it; (For song, issuing from its birth-place, after fulfilment, wandering, Reck'd or unreck'd. duly with love returns.) What better way to spend our time combining the effects of rain with experiencing music together? Well done to all our pupils who performed – you rocked!

DRAMA In the Drama lessons this week, we have done lots Improvisation. Why is Improv good for children? It builds confidence on and off stage, the ability to think on one’s feet and just, ‘go for it’ attitude. It’s scary at first but once they all realise that it’s fun and non-judgemental then the magic happens. This can help children learn in many different ways, including: having a mutual respect for others and their ideas; building confidence that will pay off in all areas of life; and the ability to say yes to a suggestion and run with it. It’s been lots of fun watching the growth.