Dear Parents

Valentine's day is always an exciting time for our boys.  Somehow the decorations and wearing civvies brings a new energy into their world!  The response to our pet food collection was simply wonderful and we look forward to posting some information and pics of where it is delivered.  Thank you to each and every family that made a contribution to this very worthy cause and to those enthusiastic parents who helped create a beautiful space and much excitement by decorating our campus  We are extremely grateful for your time and effort. With Easter Eggs slowly creeping onto the shelves in the stores, we cannot avoid those islands of delicious marshmallow strips of eggs.  We are mindful of the cost of these eggs and so this year, we will appeal just for a strip of eggs and not boxes.  If you are able to send a strip (or more) towards our collection, please put them in your supermarket trolley so long - we will remind all the boys right at the end of the term.   These eggs will be sent to the children at Athwood Primary  School. As we embark on interviews with our prospective 2024 classes, we are often asked about our approach to teaching in the younger years.  I came across this wonderful explanation that puts our philosophy into words. There is only one way to learn to make decisions and that is through practice.  This is why play is so important for young children.  It is the mechanism by which children can grapple with the dilemma of decision-making. Through play, we learn in  a relatively safe way, about the consequences of our decisions, we learn how to consider others in our decision-making, we figure out those habits that make our lives less stressful, and also what to do when our expectations are thwarted.  There is pain, fear and loss: these are the stressors we share with all living things. But the stress of decision -making is our alone. And it is our blessing and our curse.    Wishing you all a wonderful weekend .                                     

Kind regards

SHARLENE GROOM
HEAD:PRE-PREP

 Ash Wednesday

On Wednesday 22 February all Grade R, 1 and 2 boys will attend a short Chapel service. Grade N boys will explore this event in their classrooms with Mr Tsotoso as they have not yet visited the Chapel. Notification to the class teacher is necessary if you do not want your son to receive Ashes. A separate letter will go out in this regard.  

Fun Sports                                                                                                                                                                                  

We are very excited about our Fun Sports to be held at Lutgensvale fields on Friday 24 February at 16h00. The fun races will start at 16h05 so please make sure that your son is at the field by 15h45. He will meet his teacher in the middle of the field. Parents, please sit on the stands next to the track. We request that NO parents come onto the middle of the track during the events. All boys will run in some fun races and take part in a shuttle relay. There will also be an inter-class parents relay at the end. Class reps will be in touch to arrange teams for the parent relays and class teachers will send out more information about what the boys will wear. After our races have taken place, which should take approximately and hour to an hour and a half, parents are invited to set up a picnic close to the Rick Skeeles Pavilion. The PA have arranged some fabulous food vendors and a tuck shop for your convenience.  Those that have attended events at Lugtensvale before will be aware that parking will be quite challenging so please be mindful of designated parking areas and the residents around the filed who need access to their driveways at all times.   More details will be sent out next week with further guidelines and a programme of events for all parents.  We look forward to a fun filled afternoon and evening together!

The Lord be with you

In the new week we step out of the season of Epiphany and enter in a new season of Lent from Ash Wednesday. Lent is one of the many Christian seasons like Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. This is a time in our faith where we are gifted with the opportunity to reflect on our lives and become more intentional in our discipleship. This period lasts 40 days and is aligned with the time Jesus spent in the wilderness before having to carry the cross.
This year’s Lenten theme that will be shared on Ash Wednesday, speaks to broken promises and fasting from saying things we do not mean that may hurt others. We should try to use words that are more intentional and kinder to others.
Let us pray!
Christ give us the grace to grow in holiness, and the ability to deny ourselves from our addictions and carry your cross daily following in your steps.
Amen

Thank you to all the wonderful volunteers who have signed up to assist with the VUSA ECD Programme following our call-to-action last week.  The first group of volunteers went out to Dalukhanyo Pre-School yesterday and are excited to head back next week!!

The aim of our programme is to get two to three people to sign up to the roster each week and grow our database of volunteers coming out to Langa!
If you have availability on a Tuesday morning (11.30 – 12.15) please consider signing up to this special programme.  A larger volunteer group ensures the programme continues and means you don't have to commit weekly.  
The programme works with children aged 4-6 years old and activities  will include puzzles, playdough, reading and games.  
Please contact Nikki Matthews (0794374276) or Aoife Doherty (076 052 2405) should you be interested in participating in the rewarding initiative.
For more information on the VUSA Academy, please watch THIS short clip.

“It’s love that makes the world go round!” And that was clear this week in Grade N. Love was everywhere and Valentines Day was celebrated in style by our little people. From a special icecream treat, to a picnic under the shady trees, we had fun all round. The Grade N boys learnt how to weave in and out of paper hearts and enjoy some fun butterfly painting too! Have a super weekend boys.

We have had another fun and busy week in Grade R. Our theme this week was 'My Body'. The boys made people out of playdough and recycled materials and traced each other's bodies with sidewalk chalk outside on the scooter track. Our garden was beautifully decorated with red, white and pink for Valentine's Day on Tuesday (thank you to our parents for their hard work) and the boys enjoyed a delicious ice-lollie to end off the celebration of LOVE ❤️ We look forward to what next week has in store for us and are especially excited for our Fun Sports Day next Friday!

Thank you so much. The boys were soooooo excited ❤️❤️❤️❤️