Jan 26, 2018 - OF THE WEEK. JP: Chloe Caci & Aiden Jansen van Rensburg. SP: James Armstrong & Kirsten Ruiters. 2
PREP NEWSLETTER Issue 3
www.bridgehouse.org.za
26 January 2018
White House Rules!
Prep Sports Day – Saturday, 20 January On Saturday our Prep boys and girls braved the very windy conditions to display their talents at our annual Sports day. Whilst the competition was tough, it was the personal victories that stood out as each individual endeavoured to be the best they can. A huge congratulations goes to Nicole Viljoen who, despite the wind, managed to set new records in both the Girls U12 1200m and 150m. Our only 2 records for the day! The Interhouse competition was tightly fought, with White house coming through towards the end of the day to snap top honours away from Blue House. The final points tally was as follows: WhiteHouse–1369 BlueHouse–1242 Red House – 1050 Congratulations also goes to our Victor and Victrix Ludorum winners in the Open age group: Girls 1st – Isabella Lundie (53 points) 2nd – Isobel Moore (33 points) 3rd – Olivia Louw (30 points) Boys 1st – Joshua de Jongh (42 points) 2nd – Sebastian Phillips & Harry Ansley (24 points) 3rd – Joey Baylet & Pierre Boisacq (19 points)
Photo taken by Max Barrett
The Grade 1s learned about the “look” word. They made glasses to reinforce the word “look” and to look for our other phonetic sounds that we are currently learning about.
Junior Primary Tech Club started this week. We learned how to control our #BlueBots using the iPad. We’re so excited to start our BlueBot adventures! Watch this space…
From the Head’s Desk We have entered the third week of the school term…already! The revamped extra mural programme has enjoyed its first week. While there have been some changes that we are getting used to, the options for pupils to engage in both the Sport, Creative Arts and Wider Curriculum offerings have provided pupils with a wider spectrum of choice. My thanks go to the team that has explored these changes and we know that this first term will be a trial period.There still may be a few tweaks implemented to ensure the smooth running of the programme. Please watch this space! Last Saturday, despite a “persistent” wind blowing throughout the morning, we managed to host successfully the annual Interhouse Athletics (Track Events). I must commend both pupils and staff for enduring the adverse conditions to make sure the event ran without any hitches. Blue House went into the Saturday ahead on points but a fight back from White House saw them take the first Interhouse event of the year. My thanks go to the entire Sports Team for the organisation that goes on behind the scenes for an event like this to run so smoothly. This week, our Grade 7 pupils headed out for their weeklong camp at Bundi on the Breede River. By all accounts, the camp was enjoyed by the entire group. While it does stretch our pupils, many fun times are included in the programme. I know the pupils are looking forward to returning home to have some much needed downtime. I am always extremely appreciative of the staff who give up their own family time so pupils are given the opportunity to benefit from the week-long camp experience! On Wednesday, I was fortunate to join our Parents Association to welcome many of the new parents who have joined the Bridge House family. The purpose of the function is to give new parents the opportunity to meet and get to know each other in a less formal setting. Thank you to the PA for hosting the event. With the Grade 7s away, the opportunity was used to move the Grade 3s into their classrooms so the Grade 3 classes could have a slight makeover. While the Grade 3s felt quite at home in the SP for the week, they will move back into their shiny new spaces next week. Water remains a major concern for the Western Cape and with the new restrictions and Day Zero announcements, the independent schools organisation, ISASA, has called for an urgent meeting with Western Cape Schools to review the impact this will have on schools. Both Rory Malcolm (Deputy Head of School) and I will be attending this meeting on Monday and will feed through any new information that comes out of this meeting. Often in times of crisis, creative spirit comes to the fore and it is critical that while we remain mindful of the impact, we need to look ahead to determine what we “CAN DO” to have a positive impact on the situation.So often, a negative situation in society can overwhelm that which we have and can be thankful for, so that we forget to look ahead with optimism. This week in Barrow’s Barrow, I would like to reflect on what it is to be happy, and the importance of positive thoughts! The following quote is apt for a school environment and I request that you please share and promote this with your children.
The weekend is upon us; make it a HAPPY one!
Marc Barrow Head of Prep
As we come to the end of our second full week, I have been so impressed with the attitude of our young athletes. Sports Day showcased a wonderful balance between individual excellence and inclusive participation, and I hope that each and every athlete not only achieved their personal goals, but enjoyed being out on the track. The extramural timetable has been running for the past week. This programme has been put in place to allow for a greater diversity in our sport and cultural offerings ─ to create opportunity for every child to participate in a sporting activity, and still have the chance to be part of a cultural group. As with any new system, there will be teething problems. We appreciate the constructive thought that has gone into this, and have met as a department in an attempt to make for a smoother programme. A few changes will be put in place going forward: Cricket: Our cricketers are finding the two hour session too long, and lengthening the day for them. We will complete all cricket practices by 16:00 starting from Monday, 29 January. Match days will continue until the completion of the game. Athletics: We are finding that there are varied numbers in the athletics sessions. Some days have also seen athletes booked in for two athletics sessions on the trot. We will look critically at who is attending which sessions, and how we can alternate between the Athletics and Functional Fitness programmes. Rather than making a blanket decision, athletes will be spoken to individually with regard to their session choices. I am very grateful to both the Sport and Cultural departments for working so closely together in this endeavour. Constructive debate has resulted in an evolving programme, to which your children are central. A reminder that you are welcome to contact me at any time to discuss any matter pertaining to extramural activities.
Allan Wells
Upcoming Events 27 January
29 January 30 January
Saturday
Mountain Biking
Lion’s Cycle Race @ BH
Monday
Cricket
U11B vs Stellenbsoch Primary @ BH
Cricket
U12 T20 vs PC Petersen @ Groot Drakenstein Games Club
Tuesday
31 January
Wednesday
Cricket
4 February
Sunday
Swimming
U13A vs Pniel Primary @ BH U13B vs Rhenish Primary @ Stellenbosch U11A vs Rhenish Primary @ BH
Bridge House Mile @ Val de Vie
OF THE WEEK
JP: Chloe Caci & Aiden Jansen van Rensburg SP: James Armstrong & Kirsten Ruiters
Parents’ Association Welcome to New Families Thank you to the Parents’ Association for organising the warm welcome to parents who are new to the school this year. We hope that it made you all feel part of the Bridge House family and enabled you to meet other new parents.
NB Access road to the campus Please note that the paved access road to the school is a public servitude. It is a two-way road and serves all of the landowners on the mountain side of the school. Please ensure that you drive up on the left hand side of the road, so that traffic upstream of us can exit their property safely. This will be particularly important when the hockey season starts in earnest as the Astro traffic will exit down this roadway.
Bridge House Mile – only 2 days left to enter!! No late entries will be accepted. Absolutely no exceptions will be made! This is for safety reasons. Entries must be in by Sunday 28 January. Every entrant will receive one of these fabulous rash vests. Remember, this is a swim for all ages and all levels of swimmers with 200m, 400m, 800m and Mile swims on offer.
Go to: www.bridgehousemile.co.za for more information and to enter
Accommodation needed Teacher family looking for house to rent (1 March) in Franschhoek or close to school. Any help would be appreciated. Please contact Stephan Willers
[email protected].
Good day Parents of Bridge House School As if having fun isn't a great cause in its own right, on the 29th of March you can tee-off in aid of these vital conservation initiatives of the Ajubatus Foundation and the Genetics Department at Stellenbosch University’s Shark Genetics programme. At 4 players per team, 32 teams can be entered. We offer a reduced price of R1000 per player; this includes refreshments at the wet holes as well as a dinner at the end of the day. The cost per (4 Ball) team would be R4000. Our sponsors will ensure that there are also some great prizes up for grabs, we are hoping to make this a really fun event.
Kindly RSVP to
[email protected] by 15 March 2018. Any queries about the day itself can also be directed to her.
