Intaka Island

On Wednesday the 30 May and Friday 2 June, the Gr 6 classes visited the splendid Intaka Island Wetlands.

This incredible island is situated in the heart of Century City. It is a 16 hectare wetland and bird sanctuary and is home to indigenous fynbos and 120 different bird species.

Intaka means bird in Xhosa.

The pupils enjoyed learning about food webs that exist around the island, as well as useful medicinal plants. They also enjoyed a boat trip around the canals.

A great day out indeed!

The Looniest ‘Lympics

In the spirit of the fun and celebration of the 2016 Rio Olympics, Elkanah House Senior Primary held our very own Loony Lympics. This was an amazing effort by Mr Sandmann, Mrs Louw and the Class Rep moms.

Each class was given a country to represent and then the games began!  It all started with the costume dash, a lively event where parents helped come up with incredible costumes for their “country” to wear.

This was quickly followed by the decor sprints, where much enthusiasm was put into transforming  everyday classrooms into an international destination, draped with flags and paraphernalia from their new country.

These two warm-up events lead up to the big day, where countries clashed against each other on the school fields, with flags and war cries in hand. There were many wild and crazy events planned around the field and these were done with great enthusiasm and more than a little bit of silliness.

Unfortunately the weather did not play along and after a downpour  substantial enough to turn all of our events into what looked like synchronized swimming events, we had a to call it a day.

But what little time we had was really fun and we are hoping to be able to give this a bash again later in the year. Well done to all who participated and especially to our helpful parents.

All that I have left to say is watch out world, Great Britain is coming to take the Gold!

Welcome back and hello 2016!

Goodbye Christmas, hello new year!

On Friday, 15^th January the new Gr 6 year began, a buzz of excitement filled the air!

We had many new faces join us. Not only were there many new pupils but also a new Gr 6 teacher! Miss Camilla Calitz joined the Gr 6 team from Citrusdal to head up the Afrikaans.

A big change this year sees the Gr 6 pupils move from teacher to teacher for various learning areas. Very exciting, as each teacher’s unique personality, style and manner may be experienced!

Best wishes to everyone for a superb 2016! So much to look forward to!

MAGICAL MATHEMATICS

This term the Grade 6 pupils have been learning about data handling, the importance and reasoning behind transforming boring data into eye-catching, visually stimulating graphs. The pupils were asked to each bring a packet of sweets to school, analyse the contents, collate the data and present their finding using a bar graph. A tasty treat and a great learning experience! Yum yum!  

Time…

This beautiful clip has been on my heart for some time and I would like to share it with my fellow parents. We all live very busy lives chasing targets, working long hours, business trips, etc. It is usually our children who feel left behind and at times very alone. They need their mom and dad. They need time to connect, chat and feel loved…

This little clip speaks volumes. It reminds us ALL again of how precious time is with our loved ones, especialy our children. Let’s make the time, even if it’s just to go to the park and kick a ball, watch a movie or read a book together. It can be anything!

I trust you had a wonderful long weekend with your loved ones! Cherish every moment with them!

A new addition to our Grade 6 Family

We are very happy to announce that Bernard Stone was born to Mr Stone and his lovely wife in the early hours of the morning on the 14th of April 2015.

Mnr Stone and Bernard.

Baby brother to Mia, he weighed in at a wopping 4,22kg’s, was 53cm’s long. A rugby player in the making, that’s for sure.

We would like to wish the Stones congratulations on their beautiful baby boy. May he bring you all much joy.

Beautiful boy!

What a way to begin the year!

The grade sixes were lucky enough to begin our year off with an awesome outing to the beach. We spent the morning at Small Bay and we were spoilt with incredible weather and a very low tide.

Besides frolicking in the waves, most of the children enjoyed a walk out to ‘the island’ with Mr Walker and Mr Stone. An incredible time was had by all, including the teachers.

Unfortunately not all of our days can be spent like this but it has certainly set the tone for the year. It was wonderful to have an opportunity to get to know one another and to just have fun.

We are all excited for the year ahead. Here we come, Grade Sixes of 2015!

Something new… our Term 3 Life Orientation ILT!

 

The Grade 6 pupils were involved in their termly ILT (Integrated Learning Task) last week Wednesday to Friday. It was an ILT with a difference, as the focus was on Life Orientation for a change! Very exciting!

It’s fair to say, growing up has never been more challenging for an 11 year old, so many questions and pressures! Time was spent covering issues such as bullying, social media management, changing bodies, reputation and the importance thereof, what it means to be a young man/woman these days, as well as the important issue of personal hygiene!

As teachers, we often feel saddened by the fact that we have to address certain issues at such a young age but unfortuntely we are left with little choice as the pupils are heavily bombarded by the media, influencing them powerfully.

Solid discussion was had and we certainly could have carried on talking for many more days, so many questions still to answer!

 

The Gr 6 Reach for a Dream Slipper Day

On Friday, August 1, the Elkanah House Grade 6 pupils showed their support for the Reach for a Dream foundation by wearing slippers to school. Nicky Mark kindly sponsored all the pupils, allowing them to arrive in all sorts of peculiar slippers, some interesting choices indeed!

By doing this, much attention was drawn to the foundation’s mission. Have a look for yourself! http://www.reachforadream.org.za

Grade 6’s making a difference

Sandwich making at it’s best.

Last week Wednesday the Grade 6’s got together to do our bit for Mandela Day. Due to the fact that this day fell during the holiday’s, we decided to do our 67 minutes of making a difference as soon as the term started.

Slaving away for the less fortunate.

We decided it would be great to get involved in a feeding scheme and connected with SALT Ministries to find out where we could meet a need like this in our area. During our 67 minutes all the Grade 6’s were involved in the making of a whopping 360 sandwiches. They were buttered, filled with delicious fillings which included chicken mayo, polony and lettuce, cheese and lettuce and egg mayo. The kids then wrapped all the sandwiches and packed them into boxes.

Mountains of sandwiches.

These were then distributed to Bloubergrandt High School and a feeding scheme in Dunoon.

Happy little helpers.

The children tackled this task with gusto and I think that they all left feeling a little happier in their hearts, knowing that they had made a difference in so many lives.
It was a true reflection of the heart of the man, Nelson Mandela, that we were honouring with our act of kindness.

All packed and ready for delivery.

Well done, Grade 6’s!