Greetings
It’s hard to believe that we are almost into the last week if term. Its certainly been a very busy start to the year and lots has happened over the last two and a half months.
Important dates
| March | ||
| 14 | Saturday | Sports Tournament Eagles Nest |
| 19 | Thursday | Foundation Phase Sports Day |
| 20 | Friday | End of term 1 |
| April | ||
| 14 | Tuesday | Term 2 Starts |
| Social media workshop | ||
| 15 | Wednesday | Photo Day |
| 17 | Friday | Top five announcement |
| 20 | Saturday | Archery Lephalale |
Corona Virus
We are acutely aware of the national and global pandemic that currently
impacts on us all. We are staying abreast of developments and do not want to
cause alarm and panic among our learners. We will be implementing basic
health measures to address this at the school. I urge you to remain calm and
not to overreact to sensational news. News 24 has given us an idea of the current situation
Here’s what we know so far:
1. The number of confirmed novel corona virus cases in South Africa has been
revised down to 16.
2. This after Health Minister Zweli Mkhize retracted part of a statement,
indicating that the country reported its first case of local transmission in
the Free State.
3. 14 students from Limpopo who had traveled to China had all tested
negative for the pandemic virus.
4. Protea Hotels resort in Polokwane will serve as a quarantine site for the
122 South Africans returning from Wuhan, China, on Friday.
5. None of the South Africans being repatriated have the virus.
6. The group will be kept at the Ranch Resort for at least 14 days up to 21
days.
7. The site will be managed by the South African National Defense Force.
8. United Herzlia Schools closed eight of its Cape Town campuses after a
parent who had been travelling in the United States started showing symptoms
of Covid-19. The results of this test are expected on Friday.
9. The first patient diagnosed in the country is doing well and is likely to
be discharged soon.
10. And on the business front, the rout in the stock market deepened over
worsening fears over the spread of the corona virus.
As the corona virus situation is changing rapidly, there may be decisions
that we cannot yet make. Uncertainty about the future may cause stress
among, staff, and parents. Be aware that we will communicate more
information as soon as we are able.
Inter House Athletics – Review Durrah Cachalia
“We’ve got spirit, yes we do! We’ve got spirit. How about you?”
The House system was recently introduced at our school. This system aims to give our students a sense of belonging and pride in a supportive environment. The Houses provide for positive competition and school spirit.
There are three Houses in our school; Phoenix, the blue house; Dragons, the green house; and Gryphons, the yellow house. The teams are headed by Ms. Cachalia, Ms. Smit and Mr. Nkomo respectively. Not only do we compete in athletics, but also in debating as well as quiz nights.
Our annual inter house athletics day took place at Hoërskool Piet Potgieter on the 5th of March 2020. There was an average of 320 students who were present, parents who were in attendance on the stands as spectators and teachers who were on the ground as officials.
A special mention goes to Janay Arries, Dimpho Mokhonoana, Ryan Chakauya and Liam Schuller who were awarded Junior Victrix Ludorum, Senior Victrix Ludorum, Junior Victor Ludorum and Senior Victor Ludorum respectively.
Congratulations are for the Dragons, who blew everyone away with their smoking win for the day.
The Gryphons, however, arrived with one goal in mind and consequently represented their colour by winning the spirit cup.
Although the Phoenix team did not place, their mood did not resemble their colour. But rather, they played their hearts out and took 3rd place like champs.
We look forward to hosting more inter house competitions where the 2nd and 3rd place Houses have a chance at redemption.
Counselling Services
We are delighted to have engaged the services of Mrs. Naasira Lambat, a counsellor, on a part time basis to assist us with both teaching and learning issues with our learners as well as social and emotional issues. We are indeed fortunate to have someone of her caliber to work with us.
Social media workshop/ Life Orientation enrichment
The misuse and abuse of social media continues to be a global problem. Regular reports of cyber bullying and child abuse are seen in the media. It is essential that we alert our students to the potential dangers of social media and ensure that they are fully informed as to what may happen and what they can do to avoid negative situations.
We are running a very popular social media workshop on Tuesday 14 April for Grades 4-12 by a professional company call Interactive Productions. Their SOC-ial Media Theater has been well received and is very popular with Gauteng schools. The cost of the workshop is R25 per learner
Campus developments
We recently installed a large flat screen TV in the computer room to add to the multiple use of this venue as a teaching location. A second TV was installed an the junior mathematics room to allow for the use of visual support material in mathematics.
We are also expanding our tuck shop to improve access and increase the variety and quality of food served.
We hope to have this in place by the start of term 2
Food for thought
“The most important single ingredient in the formula for success is knowing how to get along with people.” – Theodore Roosevelt
Nobel prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway wrote a short story titled, “The Capitol of the World”.
In it, he tells a tale about a father and a teenage son, Paco, whose relationship breaks down.
The son runs away from home. After a while, the father decides to set out and look for him. After months of traveling and searching without success, the father ends up in the big city of Madrid. He decides to put an advert in the newspaper.
It read as follows, “Dear Paco, meet me in front of newspaper office tomorrow at noon…all is forgiven…I love you…please come home. Dad x.”The next morning the father arrived at the offices and was amazed. The place was packed with 800 or more men all named Paco, desiring to restore a broken relationship with their father.
Relationship skills are therefore a key emotional competency in any walk of life.
And we’d all do well to remember John C. Maxwell observation that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. In terms of a skill, it involves establishing and maintaining collaborative and rewarding relationships characterized by positive expectations.
It’s about gaining the support and commitment of others and valuing working with others to achieve your goals. Those who have high relationship skills get on with people, enjoy the company of others and make new friends easily. They also like helping people achieve what they want.
If your relationship skills are low then you may have difficulties engaging well with others and are not that interested in relationships. This may mean that you appear aloof and impersonal to others. As Hemingway’s story about Paco and his father illustrates, never underestimate the power of relationships on people’s lives.
Enjoy your weekend
Brian
