GRADE R-W

CARLSWALD HOUSE PREPARATORY | FEBRUARY | NEWSLETTER 1

NEWSLETTER FROM THE DESK OF MR TAGG

Dear Parents I hope this finds you well. Welcome to our first newsletter of 2020. What an exciting and busy start to the year, we have all hit the ground running and the time is already flying by. I hope that all our new families are settled and happy, your children are all doing well and it is as if they have been with us for years! 345 and CHP really does become a “home away from home” for our children. CHP’s move across to Cambridge in January was a very exciting development for the school and things are moving along. The teachers are unpacking the curriculum and starting to integrate elements already. There will be some changes that will start to filter down right into the nursery school, particularly in Grade 00 where the teachers will start to develop number, letter and sound recognition a little earlier than in previous years. This is so that the children coming up from Grade 00 into Grade R are a little more prepared. This foundation will strengthen their ability to learn to read. We will also start to see some changes in the Mathematics curriculum, however much of what we already do at CHP is in the Cambridge curriculum so the adjustments and additions will be subtle. 345 is running well and our little ones have fun every day! Walking around both campuses warms my heart as I hear the shrieks of laughter and giggles and the buzz and excitement of the children as the learn and play together.

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I would like to invite you all to the Cambridge Information Evening on the 26th March (Grade R-7) where representatives from Cambridge International Education will be present to discuss our path and to answer any questions you may have. Details will be sent out closer to the time. Our Co -Curricular programme is in full swing and we have competed against a number of schools this term already, with some excellent results coming out of these games. However, our focus remains participation and enjoyment before results and the children are learning valuable lessons every time, they go out to represent their school. I would like to thank you all for your continued support and for remaining with 345 and CHP this year. You have made the right choice and your children appreciate the sacrifices you make to have them here. Should you have any concerns please feel free to let me know. Should you have any compliments, please do the same. Have a wonderful day! Regards

Stewart Tagg

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GRADE R D

Welcome to Grade R 2020! We have already been very busy this term. It is so exciting to watch the children learn about

themselves, each other and their school.

Introducing the Thinking Maps has

been very successful so far. We use the maps to

engage in critical thinking and

demonstrate our thought processes. The Circle Map is defining what healthy living is

and the Bubble Map is describing a healthy

person. The Grade Rs really thought hard to

share some of these

ideas.

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GRADE R N

Extending a warm welcome to all our families both old and new. Just more than a month since the beginning of the term and the children have learned so much about their school,

themselves, how their bodies function and staying healthy.

Meeting our Grade 7 buddies was really exciting and spending time

with them is so much fun!

We have learned about Thinking Maps, especially a Circle Map and have applied it to defining ourselves, people around us and our

letters of the alphabet. Not leaving out the Bubble Map which we have used to describe

words beginning with the letter we are learning about and ways to keep our bodies

healthy.

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GRADE 1 B

We have had an awesome start to the new year. We have all settled in well and made lots of new friends. We all had fun expressing love to our friends on Valentine’s Day. In the classroom we have been learning how to apply our Thinking maps in our reading. We are enjoying learning new sight words weekly. Using the iPads during IT has been really exciting and informative for all learners.

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GRADE 1 C

It has been a wonderful start to Grade 1 2020. We have been having lots of fun learning all about each

other and our school. One of the many lessons we love is IT We are

learning that using technology is not only fun but helps us learn.

In February we celebrated Valentine’s Day and how

to show kindness to others.

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GRADE 2 B

Wow what an amazing start to a new year! The children are excited with their new class and new teacher. I was just as nervous as they were.

Our amazing ‘Stars of the Week’.

We spent our first few weeks getting to know ourselves and our friends. Now we are learning about germs and how to prevent them from spreading. This past week we started our first science experiment where we placed bread in plastic bags to watch how the bacteria grows on it. We have also been busy learning all our Math’s bonds and playing Math’s iPad games. For English, we have learnt a Verb’s Rap Song that helps us remember what a verb is. The class loves going to IT where they learn how to code their BeeBots which they’re very good at.

My class is always very excited to come to school every day and they love to learn.

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GRADE 2M

Almost 5 weeks of school has gone by and we are having a blast in Grade 2M. Here is what the children are enjoying in Grade 2. If you would like to see some more, please log on to SeeSaw to see some of our amazing work.

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The year has started off with plenty of excitement as we made new friends and settled into our new grade. We celebrated Valentine’s Day with flair and the children looked amazing in their pink, red and white outfits. We started participating in Cricket and Softball and some of us have had a chance to play a match or two.

GRADE 3 P

In English we have looked at nouns and adjectives. We have carried on learning the new spelling choices for the long a and e sounds and now we are reading Historical Fiction and discussing the setting and characters in our story.

In Mathematics we learnt about place value and progressed to working confidently in the hundreds. We are working on addition and subtraction of 3-digit numbers and on completing word problems using the correct operation. Learning about shapes can be fun and we are working on some new Maths vocabulary such as quadrilateral rhombus and trapezoid.

Life Skills has been fun with us getting to know each other better and talking about feelings. We are moving on to learn about first aid and how to help ourselves and others in an emergency.

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GRADE 3 Y

Wow, only a few weeks in and we have done so much already. The children delivered impressive speeches on their favourite objects, which helped in getting to know each other a little better. This was extended in IT where the class created videos about themselves and put 7 of the most important events from their past into a timeline. In Maths we have focused on place value, applying this extensively in vertical addition and subtraction as well as doubling. The Grade 3s were challenged with number line work and improving their counting skills. In English we have been working on sentence construction and applying the correct tense. They have also worked hard on positioning words in alphabetical order.

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Grade Seven Keith Haring inspired hearts MUSIC

ART

ART Sprinkling kindness like CONFETTI

Grade Seven Keith Haring

Grade Seven Keith Haring inspired hearts

Grade Six Bottles filled with LOVE

Grade Fours Heart Art

The Grade Fives Boxes brimming with LOVE

Grade Three Stripy Hearts

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IT

Grade 1 The Grade ones have had a wonderful time in the IT lab so far this year. They learned how to use the Camera App, how to make funny videos on Chatterpix, Upload to their Seesaw page, type spelling words on the desktops, complete Lego challenges and much more…

Grade 2 The Grade Twos have been busy bees inside and outside the IT Lab. They have completed Lego number tasks, learned to type on the desktops, taken photographs and videos of their friends, used the Chatterpix app and have begun to code using the amazing Bee-bots.

Grade 3 The Grade 3 learners have shown real maturity in the IT lab and their confidence grows weekly. We began the year using the app ‘Clips’ to create ‘All about me’ videos with a partner. We moved on to use ‘Popplet’ to create timelines on the iPads. Every learner can also independently upload their items to Seesaw.

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MEDIA

LIBRARY/MEDIA CENTER

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MUSIC

Morethetho is a Sesotho/Setswana/Sepedi word meaning beat and rhythm. Happy New Year to all the CHP family! Our Music Department is growing in leaps and bounds. We have added violins to our Saturday music program. We also, we have a new pianist and guitarist adding to our growth. The Grade 4 classes have started with drumming this term. They are having an excellent and fun experience as they learn different drumming songs and patterns. We are excited to announce that Phela Re Phele Music Academy in Soweto will host a workshop whereby the CHP wind ensemble will be a part of Professional musicians will come and share their expertise and experience with the children.