The 2024 Micklefield Market was a great success. We came together and celebrated the values of caring and community that Micklefield upholds. We would like to say a big thank you to everyone – parents, girls, staff and the broader Micklefield community for their hard work which made this event so spectacular.
There were games played and prizes won, food bought and eaten, bravery tested in the ghost house and Ms Gray was challenged to a round of bumper cars.
We ended up raising a massive R192 169,14 towards our new building project, the Micklefield Swimming pool!
Our MADD (Music, Art, Drama and Dance) Theme Week was a great success, with all the classes not only learning about the Creative Arts but also developing a deeper appreciation for all four streams.
In music, the week’s activities included teamwork and creativity through singing, GarageBand projects, Handbells and other musical instruments being played too. The girls created music videos, experimented with communal instrument playing and generally had a good time being creative.
The school was filled with the sound of music from professional musicians, from Beau Soleil, as well as a breaktime concert where students and teachers performed.
In Art, the Grade 00 class had a visit from Cheryl Bauer at school, while the Grade 0 girls walked to Cheryl Bauer’s Art at Maidstone studio for a fun morning.
The Grade 1-7 girls visited the Peter Clarke Art Centre where they participated in hands-on workshops. The girls created their own art pieces, experimenting with different techniques and materials. This experience encouraged creativity and artistic expression, highlighting the importance of art in our lives and community.
The girls also participated in Rainbow Mosaic lessons and created some inspiring fascinators in their Family groups. The fascinators were designed and created by the girls with the help of the Grade 7 leaders. The girls built them out of recycled materials to wear to the theatre event on Thursday, and they looked imaginatively stunning!
In Drama, the week was dedicated to exploring the world of drama and theatre. The activities were designed to be both enjoyable and educational, with the girls participating in drama lessons and workshops.
Shoebox theatres became a new trend at the school – these are mini theatre sets made from shoeboxes and a multitude of other small items like material, clay, pipe cleaners and little lego people. Creativity abounded as the girls turned their hands to becoming theatre designers of plays of their choosing.
We attended a whole-school production from the Bounce Drama Project funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, aiming to boost children’s knowledge around mental wellbeing through drama and the arts. There was great excitement as the girls got ready for the performance at the ‘theatre’ with the Grade 1-7 girls donning their fascinators.
A Drama Evening was held during which the two extra-mural groups performed their plays, The Little Prince and The Happy Prince, both based on the stories of the same name and the Grade 7s performed their Shakespeare play again. Guest drama practitioners were invited to the drama lessons to share their expertise on puppets, make-up, movement and poetry.
Lastly, in Dance the girls were exposed to exploring various dance styles and encouraging expression through movement. The activities were designed to be inclusive, energetic, and fun, helping the girls develop coordination, rhythm, and confidence.
Feedback from some of the girls:
The Grade 00s have had a fabulous Term 2. They love school and embrace everything with pure joy!
Our themes this term have been varied. We explored Autumn and all the change and beauty it brings and reflected our interpretations in our art activities. Playing and rolling in the leaves was such fun!
Think Equal We have read books that highlight self-confidence, resilience, inclusion and goal setting. An example is Amazing Daisy. It’s about a little chick who is determined to fly. She persisted and reached her goal!
During our theme on Occupations, we were exposed to the many jobs around us. A highlight was, of course, our outing to Rosen Castle!
We had a chat about Easter and explored some fun Easter crafts.
The girls enjoyed sharing information about their pets during our Pet Theme and created many much-loved paper pets! We ended the term with our Dinosaur Theme.
The Grade 2 girls had an exciting outing to the Two Oceans Aquarium, where they had the opportunity to explore marine life up close and learn about Life in Rock Pools. The girls were thrilled to see a variety of sea creatures, from colourful jellyfish to majestic sharks and playful, hungry penguins. The highlight for many was the interactive touch rockpool lesson, where the girls could gently interact with starfish and sea urchins. The outing not only provided educational insights but also sparked curiosity and wonder about the natural world and sea life.
The Grade 5s visited the Diamond Museum where they learnt about the history of diamond mining in South Africa from the extraction to the cutting process.
The Grade 3s spent Term 2 exploring the exciting world of ‘Pre-History’. Our focus on dinosaurs and Ice Age creatures made the Iziko Museum a perfect destination. In groups, we embarked on a treasure hunt through the museum, discovering Megalodon teeth, giant whale bones, dinosaur fossils, and even birds we studied in Term 1. We were delighted by a break in the rain, allowing us to explore the Company Gardens. There, we found the elusive white squirrel, ran through the maze, and had leaf boat races in the stream. It was a fabulous morning of learning and adventure.
We had a jam-packed morning at Rosen Castle. This was a day of hard work, role-playing different occupations! The girls were guided through the various “occupation” play stations by 4 tutors. They had a chance to be all the various workers in a Capitec Bank, Checkers, Tygerberg Animal Hospital, TV Studio and a MasterChef Kitchen! We shopped and worked at Checkers; drew loads of money out of the CAPITEC ATM; became the weather forecaster on TV with a real Green Screen, gave pets vaccinations at the vet, decorated biscuits, and cleaned up in the kitchen, all in a day’s work. The girls made every moment count and were actively involved throughout the morning. They were absolute stars! A very big thank you to all the parents who transported our little worker bees to the outing venue.
The Grade 1 class went on an outing to the beautiful Kirstenbosch Gardens. We used all our senses to explore the wonderful sights and sounds around us. We went on the Boomslang to get a bird’s eye view of the mountains from the tree canopy and did the braille trail through the forest too. Such a special sensory experience.
The Grade 4s were invited to a new digital art center to have a workshop with an international artist. We were given some delicious snacks made by their executive chef and had an art workshop.
The Grade 1-3 girls participated in a fun and educational mock election where they voted for the next principal of Micklefield. This activity aimed to teach the girls about the democratic process, the importance of voting, and leadership. Ms Felton, Ms Wyngaard and Ms Smith stood as candidates. Ms Liani Smith was elected as principal and thoroughly enjoyed her time as principal while Ms Gray was on Conference.
This term, our Grade 2 curriculum has been rich and diverse, covering various exciting themes and subjects. In English, the girls have been developing their reading and writing skills through engaging stories and creative writing tasks. Mathematics lessons have focused on concepts such as vertical equations with regrouping, tallying, multiplication and division. Our themes this term have included Space and Animals. To celebrate Father’s Day and Mother’s Day, the Grade 2s put their fine-motor skills to work, making heartfelt gifts for their parents. The girls made beautiful, personalized cards, keyrings and Big 5 Rhino bands.
Lots of excitement was shared upon the news that Mrs Meredith is pregnant. The biggest question is – is it a boy or a girl? You’ll have to wait for next term to find out! Overall, it’s been a term filled with growth, discovery, and lots of enthusiasm for learning.
During our theme on Eggs, we had a visit from some reptiles. We learnt how reptiles are different from mammals. With hands-on experience, we now know that snakes are cold to the touch, have very smooth scales, very strong muscles, they shed their skin, and they grow as long as the classroom carpet.
Think Equal: The book, The Secret Adventures of Anonymouse, is about a mouse who discovers the magic of doing kind deeds anonymously and the value of spreading kindness without personal gain. In Grade 0 the girls made their own ‘Anonymouse’ masks and started a kindness garden. Whenever someone is kind, the RECEIVER shares the deed with the class and a kindness seed is planted. Our kindness garden is growing!
This term, we have explored the colourful season of autumn by using our senses in an apple tasting, raking up autumn leaves and using them in our artwork, discovering that leaves have veins too, designing our own leaves and decorating them using vibrant autumn colours, counting and Maths with acorns, and blow painting with straws to create interesting tree shapes.
We have had many interesting and inspiring visitors this term including Hooked on Books with World Book Day and a Dog Show.
Chairlady: Ava Brotchie
Secretary: Sofiya Variawa
Treasurer: Liya Majal
The lights were flashing, the music was pumping while everyone entered the hall, to the sounds of ‘Dancing Queen’. People started piling in and pulling out their best moves. We started with a bang, with Laura singing Titanium. Ms Wyngaard and Ms Smith were at the DJ table, playing some hits, as the other teachers grooved.
Everyone in Grade 7 came on stage and sang YMCA and we managed to pull Ms Gray on stage for a quick dance. After some more singing, we headed for some pizza, popcorn and drinks and settled in to listen to the amazing Supremes (who were Mrs Walker, Ms Wyngaard, Mrs Keeton, Mrs Waldron, Mrs Dollie, Miss Dixon and Miss Smith). They were definitely the best singers of the night! They sang Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Ms Smith pulled out some amazing dance moves!
With the disco ball hanging high in the sky and the disco lights pumping, everyone was having an amazing time! At the end, each grade sang a song and everyone left the night after a proper party with an ice cream and lots of fun memories! Thank you to everyone who attended and joined in on the fun. It was a memorable, fun and exciting night!
Bright and early on a sunny Tuesday morning, the Grade 7s met at the Homecoming Theatre in town. Excitement buzzed in the air as they collected their lanyards and made their way to the stage. The managers gave them a quick talk about how the evening would unfold and some ground rules. The real fun began when the Grade 7s were shown to their very own dressing rooms with their own vanity, chairs and desk.
There was a tech rehearsal with a lot of stops and starts to perfect the sounds and lights. At this point, the girls were still in their casual clothes and stayed like this for the outing to Company Gardens. They enjoyed the walk there and the delicious meal and on the way back some songs were sung and some memories were made.
When it was time for the Micklefield dress rehearsal, nerves had started to rise. They, however, disappeared when the girls stepped on the stage. The dress rehearsal went amazingly.
The real play was right after the dress rehearsals and Micklefield was first.
The play was a great learning opportunity and an incredible experience for all that were there. Well done to all the grade 7s for their performance.
While laughter and amusement dangled in the air of the Micklefield Market, frights and scares waited solemnly and impatiently with glaring white teeth and steadying bony black fingers around the corner, at the Grade 7 Ghost House.
This tradition has been going on for centuries (according to legend) and has left children worldwide with super-spooks and wet beds. When you muster the courage to dare enter, you’re greeted with unfamiliar menacing faces. You crawl and quake through a mysterious black tunnel. During the battle of darkness and gleaming red light inside the tunnel, you might be greeted by a few startling incidents along the way. You’re hurried along at quite a pace while dipping your hands, smelling and tasting uncertain substances. Behind the scenes of blood-curdling winces and cries, lay not eyeballs and fingers, but water beads and spaghetti; something slightly less off-putting.
These Grade 7’s weren’t the only contributing factors to make this Ghost House so intense and terrifying. The parents of the Class of 2024 made these happy horrors possible. So, if you are a parent who contributed, find the time to give yourself a pat (more deservingly, a luxurious massage) on the back, for escaping from your calendars patterned with birthdays and meetings, to plan this horrifying house.
On Friday morning, 7 June, our Shocking Pink vocal ensemble performed at the Forres Preparatory School in Rondebosch.
Our girls did us proud as their beautiful harmonies warmed the hearts of the audience.
Well done and thank you to all the girls who performed this year.
The Grade 6 and 7 Marimba bands were invited to perform alongside 18 other schools at the Baxter Theatre on Friday 24 May.
Our girls rehearsed in the theatre in the afternoon. The “gees” in the theatre was contagious, spurring further incentive to get all the participants playing at their best. Our girls spent quite a while backstage, where they kept themselves entertained while awaiting their turn to perform. They loved the experience of playing in this beautiful theatre to such an appreciative audience.
Thank you, Grant Adams and your entire team from Woodworx Marimbas for making these memories possible for our girls.
St Cyprians School was the host for the Term 2 Lit Quiz. Our girls were put to the test with categories ranging from Libraries to Wizards, but they fared incredibly well. Our Grade 7 team placed in the top 10 out of 32 teams with our Grade 6s not far behind.
The Grade 6s and 7s both entered teams in the Interschools National Debating League which was a First for Micklefield. This proved to be a great challenge and learning experience and the girls acquitted themselves extremely well, while learning the important skills of debating. There is another round in the third term
We held our annual Inter-House Netball competition on Thursday. A great time was had by all, and even the weather played along. It went down to the wire with Kingfishers in 3rd place, and a tie with the Robins and Swallows so it had to go to goal average with the results as follows:
This term the Grade 6s eagerly sold their wares for their Entrepreneurship projects. The profits made at our Thursday sales were in support of the following organisations: Great Girls, FLAR Tokai, Greenpop, Ocean’s Alive, PlumPets, and Animal Welfare Rondebosch. The Grade 6s and I would like to thank you for your support throughout Term 2.
