Dear Parents
67 MINUTES OF SERVICE
As you know, we chose Friday 25 July to do the above as Nelson Mandela’s birthday fell during the school holidays. You all responded so well to our request for bread, spreads, fruit and other goods – thank you to the class reps for facilitating and thank you to all parents for your very positive support. Our boys and staff stepped up admirably, preparing lunch packs – the brown bags decorated in advance – making sandwiches, packing bags, all following some sort of factory line and achieving what they set out to do in the time given. The mood was a very happy and engaged one and was extremely heartwarming to see.
This year we invited the Ingoma Choir from Imizamo Yethu in Hout Bay to join us for our Mandela assembly. It is a dynamic group of up to twenty-five singers aged between sixteen and forty-five, juggling day jobs and studies, who perform at weddings, corporate events, national TV campaigns, and so on. They entertained us with a number of songs, unaccompanied. They then assisted each class with the preparation of the lunch packs and took them back to Imizamo Yethu (we provided a trailer) for distribution to needy families and afternoon care facilities. Their beautiful singing, coming out of a community where many are in very difficult socio-economic situations, was truly uplifting and inspiring.
iPAD TALK FOR GRADE 4 PARENTS
With Grade 4s about to start using iPads at school for a few days each week, we invited Pam Tudin, clinical psychologist from Klikd (our Digital Citizenship partner) to address Grade 4 parents. In a very good presentation, she outlined the advantages of children using devices from a certain age for enhancing learning and teaching and to develop responsible usage habits. She also outlined the pitfalls of what is available to children on the internet, how obsessive this can become and how, if not controlled, it can displace other activities such as physical playing, reading fiction and social interaction. She provided very valuable guidance to parents on age appropriate controls and usage at home and followed up on this the next morning with a talk to the Grade 4 boys.
All parents from Grades 4-7 receive short updates on what is trending in the digital world, together with short pieces of advice. If you have not already downloaded the Klikd app, please do so – it is one of the services for parents as part of our partnership. Please also remember that there is information on our intranet regarding parental controls.
As with curriculum and teaching methodologies, we do regularly review our technology usage in the classroom, especially all aspects of the one-on-one iPad programme. We have made a number of changes over the years as we look at best practice and what is available. Two particular changes have been the delay in the introduction of the programme for Grade 4s to the second half of the year with usage limited to a few days. The other was no homework being given throughout the Pre-Prep and up to the end of Grade 4 that would require a boy to use a device at home.
It remains our view that introducing boys to a one-on-one iPad programme at Prep School provides many enhancements to teaching and learning. It is also a good time and place for boys to learn about the balanced usage of mobile devices, online ethics and appropriate behaviour: How to live with devices, control one’s usage and not live for time and activity on the device.
ENSEMBLE CONCERT
Last night we enjoyed our annual Ensemble Concert in the Memorial Chapel. Eight ensembles performed and, in a first, these included a Flute Ensemble. It is remarkable that this inspiring music could be played in unison and parts so “professionally” by boys between the ages of nine and thirteen. Congratulations to all the boys involved and a huge thank you and well done to the more than twenty music staff who teach our boys.
Best wishes
Kind regards
GREG BROWN
HEADMASTER |
