Applewood Weekly Newsletter 29 August 2017
Advice from a giraffe: Stand tall, Reach for new heights, Don't be afraid to stick your neck out, Preserve wild places, Eat fresh greens, Be head and shoulders above the rest, Keep your chin up!
This week is arbor week. The Grade 7 class started the week with a wonderful assembly about the importance of trees. This was followed by a tree planting ceremony. To tie in with our Applewood Tree theme a tradition has now been started that every year the Grade 1 class will plant trees. These trees will be nurtured and grown to be a symbol of the beginning of their academic journey. Thank you to Themba Trees for the generous donation of trees.
In the previous newsletter I invited parents to view and comment on the Applewood Tree. Since there has been neither comment nor addition to the tree I would like to repost the article:
As a staff we have created the Applewood Collaboration tree. The idea behind this tree is to share, explore and develop a common vision for the school. I have factored in the many comprehensive replies to our recent parent survey as well as responses from teachers in a workshop forum. I would now like to open the dialogue even further. The tree is posted up on the glass door of the admin building. I would like to invite you to have a good look at the tree, ask questions if you wish, and add your thoughts on to the diagram. By way of summary, the roots represent the non-negotiables which form the foundation of the school. The trunk represents our attitudes and the manner in which we operate at Applewood. The branches represent the different areas of the school and what we do. The leaves are the qualities we want our children to strive for and finally the fruit is symbololic of the product that leaves our school to go into the world and make a difference, your children. I look forward to your input.
The tree will be up for another week. I urge you to use the pens available to write your thoughts on the diagram.
On Friday, 18 August our teachers were involved in a staff development workshop concentrating on discipline. A great deal of robust discussion was triggered and some fantastic ideas have surfaced. The next step is for all those ideas to be synthesized and the policy to be updated. Our next topic for debate is sport.
Last week, despite the icy weather, was a very busy sporting week. On Wednesday, we hosted Curro Sitari on our netball courts and on Thursday we visited Somerset House for hockey matches. These hockey matches marked the end of the hockey season. Our teams performed well with some memorable victories. It was a very inspiring experience visiting Rûens College on the weekend. It is a little school in the middle of nowhere striving for excellence. It certainly proved to me that aiming big is so important. Do yourself a favour and read about the history of the school on their website. Our rugby teams showed great courage and played some very exciting rugby. The team of the day was certainly the U9’s. They improve with each game and give only of their best. The netball teams performed well. I would like to congratulate the U12 netball team who were unbeaten at the tournament. Tournaments such as these are invaluable learning experiences for all concerned.
This week we host an Inter-School cross country meeting at Applewood. I am very impressed by the large number of our children who have expressed interest in running on Friday. We look forward to a number of schools joining us for this special event.
Jason Lackay and Joshua Povall - Grade 7 with Avuyile Folottie and Salmaan Dollie - Grade 1
Advies van 'n kameelperd. Hou jou kop omhoog. Reik na nuwe hoogtes. Moenie bang wees om jou nek uit te steek nie. Bewaar wilde plekke. Eet wat vars en groen is. Bly kop en skouers bo die res. Lig jou ken op!
Hierdie week is boomplantweek. Die Graad 7-klas het die week met ‘n wonderlike saalbyeenkoms oor die belangrikheid van bome afgeskop. Dit is gevolg deur ‘n boomplantseremonie. Om aan te sluit by ons Applewood Boom tema, is ‘n tradisie nou begin waarby die Graad 1-klas elke jaar bome sal plant. Die bome sal versorg word en groei om ‘n simbool te wees van die begin van hul akademiese reis. Dankie aan Themba Trees vir die onbaatsugtige skenking van bome.
In die vorige nuusbrief het ek ouers uitgenooi om na die Applewood Boom te kom kyk en kommentaar by te skryf. Aangesien daar nie enige kommentaar of byvoegings gemaak is nie, rig ek weer ‘n versoek:
As ‘n personeel het ons die gemeenskaplike Applewood boom geskep. Die idee agter hierdie boom is om te deel, verken en om ‘n gesamentlike visie vir die skool te ontwikkel. Ek het baie van die omvattende terugvoering gedurende ons onlangse ouer opname asook die reaksie van die onderwysers in ‘n werkswinkel hierby ingewerk. Ek wil nou poog om selfs meer dialoog aan te moedig. Die boom is op die glasdeur van die administrasie gebou besigtig. Ek nooi u uit om mooi na die boom te kyk, vry te voel om vrae te vra en u gedagtes hier rondom op die diagram by te voeg. By wyse van opsomming verteenwoordig die wortels die nie-onderhandelbare wat die fondasie van die skool vorm. Die stam verteenwoordig ons houdings en die wyse waarbinne ons by Applewood funksioneer. Die takke verteenwoordig die verskillende areas in die skool en wat ons doen. Die blare is die waardes wat ons, ons kinders wil laat nastreef en die vrugte is die uiteindelike simbolies van die produk wat ons skool verlaat, die wêreld betree en ‘n verskil maak; u kinders. Ek sien uit na u insae.
Die boom sal vir nog ‘n week vertoon word. Ek moedig u aan om die beskikbare penne te gebruik om u gedagtes op die diagram by te voeg.
Ons onderwysers was op Vrydag 18 Augustus betrokke by ‘n personeelontwikkelingswerkswinkel met die fokus op dissipline. ‘n Geweldige mate van openlike gesprekke is ontlont en party fantastiese idees het na vore gekom. Die volgende stap sal wees om al daardie idees saam te voeg en die beleid om aangepas te word. Ons volgende onderwerp vir bespreking is sport.
Ten spyte van die ysige weer, was verlede week ‘n baie besige sportweek. Ons het op Dinsdag vir Curro Sitari op ons netbalbane en op Donderdag vir Somerset House vir hokkie ontvang. Hierdie hokkiewedstryde het dan ook ons hokkieseisoen tot ‘n einde gebring. Ons spanne het goed gedoen met ‘n klompie onvergeetlike oorwinnings. Dit was ‘n inspirerende besoek aan Ruens Kollege die afgelope naweek. Dit is ‘n klein skooltjie, in die middel van nêrens, wat strewe na uitnemendheid. Dit het net weereens by my tuisgebring hoe belangrik dit is om groot te droom. Doen uself ‘n guns en lees gerus meer oor die skool se geskiedenis op hul webtuiste. Ons rugbyspanne het baie durf aan die dag gelê en baie opwindende rugby is gespeel. Die span van die dag was, sonder twyfel, die O9-span. Hulle gaan van krag tot krag in elke wedstryd en lewer altyd net hulle heel beste. Die netbalspanne het goed gedoen. Ek wil die O12 netbalspan hartlik gelukwens met hulle onoorwonne vertoning by hierdie toernooi. Toernooie soos hierdie het onskatbare waarde vir almal wat deelneem.
Hierdie week hou ons ‘n Inter-skole landloop byeenkoms hier by Applewood. Ek is beïndruk deur die groot getal kinders wat Vrydag wil deelneem. Ons sien uit na ‘n paar skole wat by ons sal aansluit vir hierdie spesiale byeenkoms.
APPLE BLOSSOMS LOVING SCHOOL
Learning about farm animals and making their own butter.
Making birds and bird feeders for the Pre-Primary garden.
Maths lesson and drawing wild animals.
See sounds and preparing for a party.
Writing words with sounds and working on graphs during Maths.
Lucy planing a trip to escape the cold this winter (below) and
Grade R's completing graphs of favourite wild animals.
Dennegeur Creche children enjoying the party with the Grade R's last Friday at Applewood.
Planting our egg shell gardens for the market.
The Grade 3's will be selling them this Friday, 1 September between 12:30-13:00.
GRADE 6 PLANET WALK ALONG THE CLIFF PATH IN HERMANUS
The Grade 6's are learning about planets in Natural Science. We have made scale models of the planets in the classroom but there is not enough room to show the relative distances of the planets from the sun on the same scale. Luckily the cliff path in Hermanus has models of the same scale so we were able to walk along the path and get an idea of how far the planets are from one another relative to the sun. I think everyone now realises that the inner planets are relatively close to the sun and the gas giants are extremely far away.
Transformers have invaded our school library - all in the name of reading!
As a part of this term's Club-L Read Adventure Challenge, our current Avengers (Top Readers) were assigned to change other Grade 4 to 7 children into Transformers (Upcoming Top Readers). This presented quite a challenge as they had to find the assigned players, find out what their reading interests were and help them to find just the right books to get them off the mark and playing - not to mention continuously encouraging them to finish reading their books!
Well done to our wonderful Avengers: Annabelle Van Almenkerk, Ciaran Simpson, Fiona Boome, Emma Green, Ashe Walker, Amelia Kilpin and Isabella Pritchett for helping the following children to transform their reading to the level of Transformers: Lea du Plessis, Imauella Manuel, Joshua Hickson, Amber Mudge, Oliver Pritchett, Salvador Chanu, Lara Myburgh, Jack Strachan and Jeremy Young.
Watch out for more Applewood children transforming into avid readers - they will be landing soon!
The U11 team played against Grabouw School last Monday in very chilly weather conditions. They drew 4 -4.
This mixed U10 and U12 team did our school proud during a recent home game against Curro Sitari when they completely outplayed their opposition, despite the fact that they have never played together before. Great teamwork, girls!
Netball at Rúens Kollege - above.
Below - U7 netball at International School of Helderberg.
Rugby at Rúens Kollege.
Classroom to be made available to children