VOLUME 20: 18 JUNE 2021

The Grade 4s have been learning all about the water cycle in Social Science. It is always fun to learn with a friend, so we paired up on Tuesday and worked outside on an interactive online water cycle project to get a better understanding of what the water cycle is all about. We have also learnt that of all the water on Earth, only 1% is fresh water available for human and animal use, which shows us just how precious water as a resource is! We took the Water Footprint Quiz to see how water wise we all are and were quite surprised by some of the results!

GRADE 4 SOCIAL SCIENCE

Keeping in line with the growing trend of urban farming and vertical gardens, the Grade 7s have spent some time this week designing their very own vertical garden, which we will be erecting next week. The purpose of a vertical garden is to maximise space and utilise walls and other areas which may be regarded as “dead space”. Whilst many people believe that these vertical gardens do not add to the aesthetics of a garden, the Grade 7s have been able to find solutions that will certainly silence these critics.

GOING VERTICAL

The Grade 000s made the most beautiful beaded key chains for their dads in celebration of Father’s Day on Sunday. They were also asked the following questions, ‘Why do you love your daddy?’ and ‘How old is your daddy?’ Here are their cute responses?

• I love my daddy because he brings me to school and he does exercise with me. My dad is going to turn 10 at his next birthday. (Madison Bosman)

• I love my daddy because he does nice things for me in the night and takes me to the beach. My daddy is not old. (Lily Collins)

• I love my daddy because he brings me to school and he puts me to bed and read me a story. My dad is 40 years old. (Phen Hardcastle)

• I love my daddy because he does thing for me every day and I like to exercise with him. My dad is 33 years old. (Teddy Hysom)

• I love my daddy because he plays with me and makes yummy pasta and cheese sauce. My daddy is 51 years old. (Raphaella Koutsis)

• I love my daddy because he makes me pancakes and cakes and he plays with me. My dad is 30 years old. (Emma Mead)

• I love my daddy because he makes me dinner and more dinner and he plays blocks with me. He is 41 years old. (Sienna Pereira)

• I love my daddy because he plays with me. He is 4 years old. (Arthur Smit)

• Because he always brings me to my grandma’s house and he drops me there . My dad makes me bread and nice food like sausage. I don't know but he is growing big now and he had a birthday. (Zaria Hendricks)

• Because he makes me food and 2 minute noodles. He plays hide and seek with me. He is 7 years old. (Wian Strauss)

• Because he is the nicest daddy I knew and the other day he helped me on the roof, which was very high. Well, sometimes I play with him and in the afternoons I go relax with him and my mom. He is 40 years old. (Logan Heinz)

• Because he makes me nice tea and he gives me kisses. I don't know yet but he is big. (Minnie Fourie)

• Because I like him when he lovings me so much. My dad always gives me hugs and kisses and he plays Foosball with me. I don't know but it was already his birthday and he is big. (Mathilda de Beer)

• He always plays football with me. He cooks pap for me. He is 3 years old. (Marguerite de Villiers)

• Because he always gives me surprises like mermaids and horses. He always calls me with a video. He is very old. He is 3 years old. (Emily Rust)

• My daddy plays with me, we play sugar cubes. He gives me lots of hugs. He is 3 years old. (Shivhen Govender)

GRADE 000 CELEBRATE FATHER’S DAY

Sarah Oscroft compiled this fact sheet to share some information about the Descant Recorder.

FACTS ABOUT THE DESCANT RECORDER

Thank you to Mrs Mel Beck who kindly started the clay project for Grades 1 to 7. The children created such gorgeous rings, hearts and trinket bowls with frogs and mushrooms. Well done, everyone!

ART NEWS

Bach came from a musical family – a 300-year-old legacy; Mozart was a child prodigy and performer; Beethoven was forced to be a child performer due to an insomniac teacher (lessons in the middle of the night because his teacher could not sleep!) and Fanny Mendelssohn could “play piano like a man”. Learning to play an instrument as well as any of them, will take time. The question for now is: who are their lookalikes here at Somerset House?

COMPOSER LOOK-ALIKES!

‘n Nuwe voorblad vir ons roman! Die Graad 7s het laas week hul roman vir die jaar Perfek voltooi. Hulle is gevra om ‘n nuwe voorblad te onwerp. Gepraat van kreatiwiteit en oorspronklikhied!

AFRIKAANS NEWS

The Grade 6s did an improvisation exercise, creating a scene from the title – the pictures demonstrate “The surprise visitor”.

Nicholas Harpur in the Dormice class heeded the call for puzzles and games for the children at the Night Shelter. He went through his collection and kindly donated some valuable items which will go to good use. Thank you, so much Nicholas!

GRADE 6 DRAMA

A DONATION

In English, the Grade 4s have started with their procedural writing unit. They looked at the purpose of procedural texts and then used the 4 Pillars to write a recipe. Not just any recipe, but one for the most disgusting sandwich they could come up with. This task was met with great excitement and the Grade 4s worked furiously on narrowing down the “perfect” sandwich to spoil their families with. Our sincerest apologies to all those poor, unsuspecting victims that had to taste-test these deplorable creations. We loved the feedback shared, but we honestly enjoyed the reaction photos the most. You are awesome! Here are some pictures from Grade 4T. Grade 4M to follow next week! Just to set the scene correctly, this is what some of delightfully disgusting combinations that had to be contended with. • Popcorn, peanut butter, chocolate muffin sprinkles, and sour cream and onion crisps. • Cream, nuts, beetroot, and Siracha sauce. • Vanilla ice-cream, chocolate sauce, pickles, and tomato slices. • Nutella, cucumber, tomato sauce, and peanut butter. • Bovril, NikNaks, Nutella, and apple slices.

PROCEDURAL WRITING

Grade 3J were challenged with developing creative and extended vocabulary by using synonyms and antonyms. Magazines were used for inspiration, finding pictures and words to challenge our thinking. A change of scenery is always good, so special cards were made for dads in the art room….shhhh it’s a surprise! Two of our budding musicians in the class were excited to share their talent. Christian who plays the piano and sings, sang us a beautiful song about saving whales, while also showing us some of the technical music he is able to play on the piano. We were treated to a jazzy sound from Nicolas who eagerly showed the class how to assemble his saxophone and he too, treated us to some delightful music. What a treat!

GRADE 3J NEWS

A material is tough if it is hard to break. Kevlar is used to make bullet-resistant vests. This material makes it very difficult for bullets to go through. Therefore, it is a tough material. If you hit a metal coin with a hammer, there will be no or little damage. If you hit a piece of chalk with a hammer it will break into pieces. The metal coin is tough compared to the chalk. The chalk is very fragile. Toughness measures how much energy is needed to break a material. The Grade 4s conducted these observations by dropping a spoon from calibrated heights (to increase the energy) to try and break through different materials pulled tautly across a container. They loved predicting and then carrying out the investigation. Hands on, practical learning leads to a greater consolidation of content and it’s a WAY more fun way of learning!

TESTING THE TOUGHNESS OF MATERIALS

SPORT Our sports programme for the term came to an end on Tuesday afternoon. These snaps were taken around the grounds as the children were having fun. We wish all our coaches and staff who are currently off sick or isolating a speedy recovery.

SPORT NEWS

STREET RACKET Our junior players were introduced to Street Racket this week in their tennis lessons. The founder of the game, Marcel Straub, was an international squash player for Switzerland. He saw a need to create a game that could be played all over the world as fancy facilities were not needed. This is a fast and fun format of the game, using bats and rubber balls. Players are able to draw their own courts which comprise 3 squares in a row, with the middle square having a cross in it, this is the net. The ball must be hit over the centre square and must land in the square closest to their opponent. The size of the squares may vary and additional rows may be added for different formats of this exciting game. It is a great game for the development of fine motor and hand/eye co-ordination skills. Once we had gone over the basic skills in our sessions and the children got use to the smaller court size, they were able to get some super rallies going.

Our Grade 3s have been working with money, in different ways. They were given a brochure with all the food specials of the month, they had to put together a shopping list and then work out how much the total cost would be. They had so much fun trying to figure out what they would like to buy!

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY

Health and well-being starts from within and at Somerset House we believe that the delicious and nutritious meals provided to the children during the school day (and included in the fees!) contribute towards creating optimal conditions for sound learning to take place! Mrs Jones can often be heard encouraging the pupils to “eat the rainbow” to ensure that they choose a variety of food options for their plates – an easy task when one looks at what is on offer! We do apologise for the unform items that sometimes reflect exactly the degree to which the lunch was enjoyed!

SCHOOL LUNCHES!

In case anyone was unsure about the quality control and standard of work at school, Sophie Angus is on the job! Often seen around campus, particularly in various classrooms and on Headmasters Walk. For a little ear or tummy rub she will tell you everything…..

QUALITY CONTROL