Day 1 at High Africa

Day 1 started off with great excitement. We arrived at quite a warm campsite and we were treated to a swim pretty soon after arrival to cool off before starting our activities. The children were divided into 5 groups and started a rotation of activities.

The first one was the Leap of Faith. For some it was a challenge of heights for others it was a breeze to the top. They enjoyed the swing at the top. The next was wall climbing.  There were awesome moments as the children scaled the 11m high wall. The Long Walk to Freedom tested some teamwork among the children. The raft building was a firm favourite as they got to be out in the water again.

Our evening commenced with a starter as the children made their own stokbrood followed by a wonderful supper of chicken, roast potatoes and salad. We certainly don’t go hungry here.

We ended the day with a night walk to see the beautiful stars away from the city lights. Take a look at our photos of the day…

Exploring Fynbos

We had the privilege of visiting Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens this week. The children learnt all about the four main types of fynbos that we find in the Western Cape, they heard about the history of Kirstenbosch and about the rocks and soil that we find on and around Table Mountain. Walking across the Boomslang bridge was a highlight for most, and for a few it was an opportunity to conquer their fear of heights! And while we’re on the topic of “boom”, everyone had a chance to show off their tree-climbing skills. Of course there was also time for a picnic and rolling down the hill. As it was a very hot day, we were relieved to be able to cool off in the little river.

We all had a wonderful day in the outdoors, enjoyed spending time together as friends and gained a new appreciation for this beautiful spot in the world that we call home!

A week packed with endless fun and memories

Colourful beach girls 🏖🏖🏖

Boys know how to have fun 💥💥

DEAR and a little play time. 🍭🍭

….and never forget the learning. MATHS !!!

We loved starting our week by celebrating friendship day! I love the colours permeating through our school on this day and I enjoy watching the children interact on this day where we are given the right to reach out to others. Red hearts, chockies, baked biscuits and icing, sweet notes and hugs galore were the order of the day. It is always a good time to visit the ‘ kindness/ giving/ friendship/ warmth / reaching out theme on this day.

I managed to capture a few shots of my children enjoying DEAR – the reading in our class is on the GO and books are being completed and shared at a rate of knots. I am so happy to see the children also haul out there books once their allocated tasks are completed. I loved watching my boys also tackle the ‘ army men’ box during some free time during the week. I am always in awe as to how their imaginations can run wild. I try and remain in earshot so as to get a sense of how their game is working that particular time.

We were fortunate to go to Small Bay for a beautiful beach outing this past week. We managed to dodge the rain and cold wind and we ended up having a great time filled with plenty of swimming, games, chats, climbing and the much needed and most important ice cream buying. It is also a lovely time to include our parents on this outing and to all get to know each other a little better.

It was certainly not all play and no work… we introduced place value and expanded notation to the children and I hauled out some practical number concept activities which proved to allow for worthwhile interaction and learning to take place. The children paired up with their ‘Shoulder Buddies’ in order to take turns building large numbers which I had set for them. Children had to keep quiet during their turns, but then their partner could give feedback once the child had completed their turn. I also then allowed them to build allocated numbers together with a set time limit. It proved to be an exciting lesson.

We also started a research process for Natural Science. The children have paired up and have chosen a soil creature which they will do research on, write summaries and do a picture search in order to prepare for their ILT next week.

The children are all settling down well after 5 weeks in Grade 5 and it is amazing to see them become accustomed and comfortable with our ways and teaching styles. Here’s to a fabulous week ahead.

Friendship day ❤️

New friends. New year

Beach outing

Ice cream is the MOST important 🍧🍧

A snapshot at our week

The children investigated different soil types. They physically got hands on touching and looking at the various soils. They came up with good ideas deciding which of the 3 soil types were best for plants to grow in.

One of the basics we have to get under the belt is vraagwoorde in Afrikaans. One of the ways we try to get the children acquainted with these words and practice their translations is through the memory game.

We practiced our Mental Maths skills by playing the Checkerboard game. A good way to refresh the rusty minds before tackling more complex calculations.

We have a class challenge for the term which is to complete a puzzle of the world to round off our SS theme. It is a great temptation to anyone walking past the table or something to do when they have finished work. Let’s see how long it takes to complete.

Take a look at some snapshots from our week.

Exploring the many uses of plants

Recently the Grade 5’s researched plants that are found in Africa, with the focus on how they are useful to us.  They came up with a few wonderful and interesting facts, which they presented in the form of a poster.  This was a Natural Sciences task, which then flowed over into an English Oral presentation.  This is what a few of them had to say:

 

 

EGYPT DAY

Egypt Day was a welcomed break in our busy schedule of work and routine. The excitement was in the air as the children arrived in their beautiful costumes. They made a tremendous effort and they are sure to take many memories with them with the numerous photos taken. As they entered the world of Ancient Egypt they focussed on their artistic and creative side while making canopic jars, mummies and sarcophagi. These clay creations will be used in their ILT a little later this term. There was plenty of time to enjoy the lighter side of life while chatting, mingling and having a more relaxed day. Take a look through our gallery of photos…

Rainbird “Rubbish bin dig”

In preparation of our exciting Ancient Egypt theme this term in Social Science, the children got to experience what it would be like to be archaeologists of a different sort. They were given a bag or “rubbish” items from someone’s bin. They had to collaborate and discuss what kind of family lived at each house and discover more about them by evaluating their rubbish. They had to find out where they were from, who was part of the family, what they did in their free time, did they have pets…

The children had fun trying to convince their team members what they had concluded from the different items. At least they got to see there is more to an archaeologist’s job than just digging in the ground.

 

Kirstenbosch Magic!

Camphor trees, enchanted forests, dinosaurs and tadpoles – just some of the attractions that intrigued the Grade 5’s on their outing to the beautiful Kirstenbosch Gardens last week. Apart from stunning views of Nursery Buttress from the swaying Boomslang Bridge and a close-up look at the grand golden web of an imposing orb spider, there was so much to learn about the threatened members of our fynbos kingdom.

And the highlight?…. scrambling up trees and exploring the stream of course! Perhaps our children are normal after all!

ILT Focus 3 – Peer teaching

We concluded our Integrated Learning Task by giving all of the children the opportunity to report their findings and research to their peers.  They continued working in their pairs and they were given 90 minutes to prepare and rehearse a presentation. Once again they were encouraged to have a creative approach, so some of them were news reporters, others were presenters on Discovery channel, we had a group of teachers and also a safari with a tour guide out in the African bush. Everyone remained engaged throughout the presentations and it was a worthwhile learning experience.

I am happy to show off a few of our presenters.

ILT Focus 2 – Spotlight on Soil Creatures

Leading up to our Integrated Learning Task, the Grade 5’s researched a soil creature of their choice that lives in Africa. During the ILT their research was written into their own words and used to create an informative poster. We asked the children to provide the scientific name for their creature and to discuss their appearance, habitat, diet and some interesting facts. The children worked in pairs for this task. They were encouraged to be creative and to make use of relevant pictures. The following were put to the test:  Their ability to follow instructions, work independently, make decisions, plan, manage their time, deal with conflict, compromise and … of course … clean up! They enjoyed being allowed to express themselves by creating final products that they were all very proud of.

Below you can see how busy they were making their posters.

And of course, they had to prank the teacher!  A few “creatures” that just happened to be “crawling” around on the floor, made me jump with fright.  Take a look at what I had to deal with …

And here are the guilty parties involved …

They finally all completed their posters.  Take a look at their handiwork.

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