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St Francis College Newsletter ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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Thursday 23 February 2023
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NEWSLETTER 23 FEBRUARY 2023FROM THE HEAD'S DESK - MRS CAROLINE ANDERSON It's all systems go for 2023 as we race ahead into the second half of Term 1. Our children are settled into their classes and I am amazed to see what they have achieved so far. One of the new initiatives we have started this year is the Head's Up! programme. Here pupils are invited to spend individual time with me in the office where we catch up on what is happening in and out of their classrooms. They can show me work they are proud of, or tell me a story that makes them smile. I so enjoy spending time with these extraordinary children. We are very sad to announce that 2 of our teachers are leaving us this year. Mrs Annelita Carpenter will be leaving due to family commitments in Term 2 and Mrs Karen Parker will be retiring at the end of Term 2. We send both Annie and Karen with all our best wishes and are grateful for their many years of service. I am certain that we will see them often visiting the school in the future as they are part of the St Francis College Family and have such a special place in our hearts. Our Character Counts month has been Kindness and we have celebrated children who have shown kindness to others. The PTA have been working quietly behind the scenes to support the teachers bring this important value into everyday life at St Francis College. Kindness is free! – Sprinkle that stuff everywhere – Anon What a wonderful opportunity this has been to get to know the children better and be surrounded by stories of kindness! It really makes one think that there is so much to look forward to from the generation to come. I look forward to watching them grow.... |
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Grade 6 News (Mrs. Knezovich)The Grade 6s of St Francis at the beginning of the month we’re very busy making beautiful hand made crafts and bakes for their Valentines Day Market which was held on the 14 February. The market grabbed the hearts of all the learners and was a big success. The Grade 6s are truly grateful to all their customers for all their support and love. Another big congratulations goes to the Klinkert Family who were the lucky winners of the Grade 6 Valentines raffle. |
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Foundation Phase Grade 1-3 News (Mrs. Kopke)We welcomed nearly 60 happy children into the Foundation Phase at the beginning of the year with many new faces among the old. We also welcomed Mrs. Caroline Boshoff as the new Grade 1 teacher. She has already made a big impact and we look forward to benefitting from her varied and extensive experience. We have started to read our new reading books bought at the end of last year as we have started a new reading scheme, The Oxford Reading Tree. We are enjoying the adventures of Biff, Chip and their friends. All three grades have been learning about themselves and their families and some built interesting family trees. We participated in Valentine’s day where we iced biscuits, wrote cards and bought ‘goodies’ at the Grade 6 market. We were also allowed to wear our ‘civvies’. The Grade 1’s have settled in so well and arrive every morning full of excitement and ready to tackle the next learning adventure. They have had great fun learning all the Letterland characters by using all their senses. They made delicious pizzas with salami, tomato and peppers. Some of them even discovered some new taste sensations. They ate 2- minute noodles and realized that they enjoyed it just as much as Noisy Nick and while learning about Eddie Elephant, they discovered how eggs change when heat is added. The Grade 2’s have been exploring different themes about themselves and their families in English and Afrikaans. We also measured ourselves to see how big we will grow this year and spoke about healthy and unhealthy food. The Grade 3’s went on an excursion to the Kabeljous Estuary with Harry, our resident expert, where they learnt interesting facts about the estuarine ecology, had an informative walk and a refreshing swim. |
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ECD News (Teacher Eva) “Children have this amazing way of becoming exactly who we tell them they are. If we tell them they are strong, they become strong. If we tell them they are kind, they become kind. If we tell them they are capable, they become capable. Speak life into your kids, so they will have what it takes to tackle their own life one day.” Amy weatherly Here are 9 lessons to instill in your children… Lesson 2… if you love someone. Tell them. Lesson 3… if your wrong. Fess up Lesson 4… if your confused. Ask questions Lesson 5… if you learn something. Teach others. Lesson 6… if you are stuck ask for help. Lesson 7… if you trip. Get back up. Lesson 8… if someone needs help. Help them. Lesson 9… if you see wrong. Take a stance. Term 1 of 2023 is speeding by and we are loving every moment. The children are flourishing in our outdoor spaces where they get to explore and discover our environment. They are being stimulated by exciting learning challenges within the classroom and thoroughly enjoying the company of their fellow peers. We have enjoyed the start of the year and the children have settled nicely into their new classrooms. The playground has come alive with laughter and fun. The classrooms are filled with happy faces, eager to explore and learn. The ECD is bustling with excitement, happiness and lots of learning and we are so grateful for our little school ❤️ happy half term everyone! |
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ICT (Mrs. Anderson)The Grade 2 class have started coding on Scratch Junior by designing their very own mazes. The then created an algorithm to solve the maze and shared it with their friends. |
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Chess News (Mrs. Slabbert)Chess started off with a huge class of enthusiastic chess players. Thank you to Jamie Lindsay for helping with the Tuesday afternoon chess. He readily took the Gr 6 and 7 chess players, giving me more space to have the Gr 3, 4 and 5s. 27 players in all. 10 of our St Francis College players took part in the Stulting Chess Tournament on Saturday the 18th February. There were 55 players from various schools taking part. Kai Hangelbroek played in the Junior section and came 4th, this was Kai’s first tournament and he is going to be one to watch as his confidence grows. The other 9 players, Tinashe Phiri, Gabriel Pearton, Conor Howell, Riley Wilson, Robson Pacule, Adam Nelson, Damon Stancheva, Francis Sacks and Jamie White, all participated in the Senior section. The boys played exceptionally well with a rise in their ChessSA ratings seen across the board. We are very proud of Gabriel Pearton, who won the competition and walked away with a fabulous android tablet. Well done, Gabriel!! The Inter School’s Chess league starts next Thursday 2nd March. This year we have entered a junior (u10) and a senior team(u14). We have 11 schools from the Sarah Baartman District participating in the league. Next Saturday 4th March sees the first round of the Sarah Baartman District Trials. These will be held at the Marina Martinique and I hope to have a lot of entries. |
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Tennis News (Mrs. Knezovich) On the 8 February our College’s tennis team met up with Hermitage House on our St Francis courts. St Francis had a very successful day on the courts but what matters the most is the enjoyment the kids had from playing competitive tennis matches again. For some it was their very first match! So a huge congratulations to all and thank you to Hermitage House for travelling so far to play us. |
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MUSICIAN HITS HIGH NOTE! Grade 5 piano pupil Murray-John Boonzaier, 11, has played his way into Trinity College London’s music hall of fame, scooping a spot on the international exam board’s Eastern Cape list of top achievers. He is one of just over 100 provincial candidates awarded 90% or above in the annual music assessment, which took place at Nelson Mandela University in Gqeberha in November last year. The Trinity exams attract over 850 000 candidates each year, in more than 60 countries, and cover several disciplines, including music, drama and combined arts. “I’m super-proud of maestro Murray-John,” said piano teacher Natasha Brown. “He has a natural talent and every song that he plays, he does with great enthusiasm and love. “It is such a pleasure teaching this young boy and an honour for our school to have a representative like him!” Murray-John’s mother, Saskia, said that the family was very grateful to Mrs Brown for her encouragement and dedication. “She is just the most inspiring and creative teacher you could ever meet. She has endless patience and love for music and her pupils. “Murray-John can’t wait for his lessons each week and we are so honoured to have someone of Natasha’s expertise and capabilities in the village and school.” He had also been inspired by local musician, piano tuner and instrument expert Christo Nel, from whom the Boonzaiers bought a Knight piano for Murray-John at the beginning of this year, she said. “Having his very own piano has meant that he can practise his pieces in his bedroom last thing at night, in order to relax before bed.” Trinity College London local area representative (Eastern Cape) Dawn Spence said that she was very proud of all the pupils who had participated – many of whom achieved distinctions in the high eighties. “I really am very proud of the successes in 2022. Keep it up – we have a wonderful music tradition in our province and that is very uplifting.” |
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Thoughtful Thursday Supporting St Francis Animal Rescue (Mrs. Caroline Boshoff) As part of our community outreach project this term, we are supporting the St Francis Animal Rescue in Sea Vista. Sue Rae Fox and her wonderful volunteers came to speak to us during our Monday assembly to help the children understand what they do for the community. Each class has been allocated a Thursday for them to bring dry cat and dog food. The children will also be given the opportunity to visit the Sea Vista Animal Rescue Outreach Programme where they will help hand out food and bath the dogs. Thank you for the support and all the donations of food that has come in so far. |
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PTA News - (Cally Gibbs)The Character Counts Programme has started with a month of KINDNESS! |
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Garden News (Catherine Kilroe-Smith) “All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today” Chinese Proverb The beginning of the year is a special time in the Butterfly Garden. We start from scratch and slowly our beds come to life. The children are amazed as they watch the plant’s magical journey from tiny seed to lush plant. So far this term, we have harvested seeds from last year’s crop and planted them. While we wait for them to grow, we have prepared our produce beds and gotten all muddy while layering the beds with rich earthworm compost brought by our generous friend, John. Who would have thought that a bunch of worms could bring such joy! Another friend of the garden, Andrew, came in to teach us all about vermicast and how to keep our worm bins healthy. We are so grateful to have such incredible support from the community. At the moment, we are planning our grade gardens. Each grade has to decide on a theme for their garden and then implement it (team work is key) – we will keep you posted on their progress. We would love for moms and dads to be part of our garden adventure. If you find yourself at the school with some time to spare, please pop in and have a look (you are also welcome to do a little weeding or watering). We would also love anything from the list below. DON'T TOSS! · Veggie scraps (just not onions and citrus) · Coffee grounds and egg shells · Grass cuttings · Mulch/ Wood chips · Plastic containers ANY SPARE? · Plant pots · Outdoor Paint · Sandpaper and paint brushes · Wheel barrows · Outdoor stools or benches Later this term we are having a movie night fundraiser for a drip irrigation system for our produce beds. Be prepared for a bounty of green goodness. See you in the garden! |
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CALENDAR DATES 2023Saturday 25 February B-Gala, Newton Park, Port Elizabeth |
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THANK YOU to our local SUPERSPAR for continuing to sponsor a R1000 prize every month. Congratulations to the following winners |
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HAVE YOU GOT A MYSCHOOL CARD?MYSCHOOL CARDS ARE AVAILABLE FROM THE SCHOOL OFFICE - PLEASE REMEMBER TO SWIPE EVERY TIME YOU SEE THE MYSCHOOL LOGO TO EARN POINTS FOR OUR SCHOOL. |
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