Birthdays are about giving and receiving with love. This year Micklefield celebrated its 93rd Birthday and, as is tradition, celebrated with an outreach initiative. As incredible 808 Jars of Hope were collected. A huge thank you to Outliers and the Western Cape Association for Persons with Disabilities for distributing our Jars of Hope within the community. On 20 August, the school was festive in pink and white with classrooms decorated with birthday trimmings and messages, a special assembly was held by the Grade 7s, prizes won and cupcakes enjoyed. Happy Birthday, Micklefield!
The Grade 00 and Grade 0 teachers have been greatly inspired through our training on Think Equal. This programme has been designed specifically for the developmental level of pre-school children. It is a full social and emotional curriculum that includes sets of storybooks and activities covering themes on emotions, diversity, social skills and exploring each child’s own special identity. This term the girls have discussed in depth how each human being has their own unique, marvellous qualities, which we celebrate and respect.
The Grade 00 girls were super excited to go on their first-ever outing as Micklefield girls! They came dressed and ready for action at be.UP Park. They had the most fabulous time exploring the Maze. They did not stop running, climbing, swinging, zip-lining, crawling, jumping, rolling and sliding for the entire hour that we were there. There were some very impressive physical skills on display.
The Grade 0s have had a very busy term exploring many themes: Day & Night, Winter, Fruit & Vegetables and our wonderful, diverse country, South Africa. Art is always a favourite – we even painted with vegetables! We have made our way through the whole alphabet, exploring letters and words with playdough, sticks & string, popcorn & toothpicks. What would Grade 0 be without the freedom to spontaneously make paper kites to fully explore a windy day.
This term the Grade 0s have also been spoilt with some extra special days: Pj’s, hot chocolate and storytelling with Gilly; sorting South African coins and notes and getting to shop with real money at bake sales and markets. At our very first outing to be.UP Park- the girls took risks, overcame fears and had a ball.
Each class in the Foundation Phase had their own special science workshop led by Frans The Science Guy. They got to make their own snow and slime, explored different states of matter with colour mixing experiments (and a few explosions) and even made their own bouncy balls.
The Grade 1 girls have had many hours of fun in the art room creating miniature houses in shoeboxes. They designed and made furniture, curtains and beautiful patterned decor for their dolls and toy animals to enjoy.
This term, the Grade 2s have been learning about Countries Around the World. They presented their orals and shared interesting facts that kept the class listening. Did you know that gummy bears were invented in Germany? They even traveled around the world to visit different countries with the passports they created in Computers.
Hooked on Books were definitely missed last year, but they more than made up for their absence with another raucous, crazy romp around the Micklefield Stage this term. The girls loved all the antics and action, and the actors definitely garnered a following for the books they presented. This year was a little different as only two grades were in the hall at a time, but the fun-filled atmosphere was still there.
It was an entertaining morning and Hooked on Books once again delivered on its promise: igniting a love of reading. Some of the titles are available in the library and others will be available soon.
Micklefield School had a very special visitor this term. Miss South Africa, Shudufhadzo Musida, arrived wearing her glittering crown and looking every bit the queen she is. Our girls were captivated by her grace and warmth. Her new book, Shudu, finds her Magic, is the story of Shudu’s life and tells of her being bullied and how kindness and friendship let her realise her dreams. Our Gr 0 to 3s embraced her message of “always be kind” and left the special celebrity reading walking tall and wearing their “invisible crowns”.
Grade 4 has spent the third term learning about The Titanic. They have created many artefacts and pieces of writing about the events. There was much excitement from both parents and girls to Spend a Night aboard the Titanic at the Grade 4 Open Evening. We looked at some adverts, went on a tour of the ship, had music before dinner, listened to the different menus for the different classes, met some passengers on board, heard about the romances and ended with singing the beautiful Titanic song….. and were all safely home before 11:40 pm. What a great night!
The term wouldn’t have been complete without a trip to ancient Egypt. The Grade 5s Open Evening was filled with elaborate costumes, stunning museum displays, eloquent poetry recitations and other treasures to behold. There is certainly no shortage of talent in this creative class!
The Grade 6s had their first conflict resolution workshop this term. As the soon to be leaders of the school, learning how to manage conflict and understand our peers is an important aspect of successful leadership.
We all enjoyed learning how to effectively solve conflicts at school and in the class. We did several activities and are excited to learn more. We also discovered that body language is very important to take note of when in a conflict situation. Using peer mediation can help the learners reach out to you.
We can’t wait until the next workshop.
Charlotte de la Cour
This term the Grade 6s delved into the destruction that plastic waste is having on our oceans. They learnt about how plastic was invented, what it is made out of and the impact that it has had on our society. Their focus was on creating possible solutions to rid our oceans of the waste that has ended up destroying marine life and having devastating effects on society. From raising awareness, creating robotic nets and mimicking mushroom coral the girls came up with some inspirational ideas to help make our world a cleaner and safer place for both humans and animals alike.
There was great excitement in the air this morning as the Gr 6s set up for the market. A variety of items were sold and as a class, we would like to express our gratitude to the Micklefield community for their generous support this week. Each grade had a splendid morning of shopping and eating yummy treats! The organisations are certainly going to be thrilled with the money raised today. Thank you!
The Grade 7 engaged in a diversity workshop with the vibrant Lovelyn Nwadeyi. We were intrigued by her thoughts on differences and similarities, and how they build us as both individuals and a community. Lovelyn opened our eyes to something that is crucial to being understanding and empathetic and solving problems – perspective. It is to put yourself in someone else’s shoes so that you can observe life, situations, problems and people from a different point of view. Lovelyn allowed us to embrace our thoughts and beliefs, coming up with our own definitions for communication, feedback, creativity, positivity and motivation. We were taught how important it is for us to stand up and speak our truth.
I believe that we all came out of the workshop more knowledgeable, having learned valuable lessons that we will take with us on our life journeys. Strength lies in differences, not similarities. Saara Moosa & Kira Vassen
I found that my PBL experience was both incredibly interesting and quite stressful. Having such a vast topic and having to cut it down to a relatively short presentation that kept the audience’s interest, was a challenge, but I think that the outcome was a sense of pride for me, because we had worked so hard and in the end we had actually learnt a lot. Overall, I’m glad that PBL is a 1-term experience, as group work is always quite tricky, but I certainly came out of it a more knowledgeable person! Amélie Bennett
There was plenty of time to complete tasks, which meant that I was under much less stress. I gained a deeper understanding of what we were learning in class. I really enjoyed this way of learning this term as my group worked really well together, the assignments were fun and interesting and we did not have to write any formal assessments! Ilham Abrahams
The PBL project was a great experience to learn how to co-operate in a group, and learn much about South Africa’s rich cultural history. Although our term was packed, there was still so much excitement, even in the rush of things. Liya Williams
I loved PBL. I had fun doing the group work. It was a great learning experience and taught us how to work as a team without much help from teachers. Learning about all the cultures was fascinating and interesting. Neve Williams
The demands were extremely high, everything always seemed to be due so closely together, and whilst we had to study, we also had to finish projects and other assignments. Nevertheless, we made it through. Tears may have been shed, but without struggle, growth and endurance do not come. Project Based Learning has taught us a lot, be it time management or lessons in class. Emily Wilson
Congratulations to the following musicians for their participation and excellent results in the 2021 Western Cape Virtual Music Eisteddfod
Name | Instrument | Result |
Salma Variawa | Piano | Gold |
Jemima Kennedy-Smith | Piano | Gold |
Grace Wilkinson | Piano | Gold |
Lily Yazbek | Piano | Gold |
Jodi Smith | Piano | Gold |
Sophie Burchell | Piano | Cum Laude |
Sofiya Variawa | Piano | Cum Laude |
Neve Williams | Flute | Bronze |
Jaime Thompson | Flute | Silver |
Ella-Grace Gray | Flute | Gold |
Jemima Kennedy-Smith | Flute | Gold |
Ella-Grace Gray | Singing (Private) | Gold |
The Grade 7s had their first small taste of William Shakespeare and found that his play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, can be placed in any context – in any time and any place – proving that his plays are still relevant today. When four friends run away to a wood at night and experience something magical; well the girls had some great ideas as to what might happen…….lots of drama!
The Grade 3s learnt to overcome their fear of monsters by reading stories about them in Drama, acting them out, role playing and then ending the term dressing up as their imagined monster and having a monster parade. They might have frightened Mrs Welgemoed though!
The Grade 5s all wrote incredible Egyptian Myths, but were then faced with the challenge of turning these into plays. Not so easy they discovered: how to keep within a time limit, the constraints of a stage, how to all agree and do everything in 3 lessons; well I challenge any adult to do better than they did.
Inter-House Netball was played on Wednesday, 1 September: 1st: Robins (15); 2nd: Swallows (14); 3rd: Kingfishers (13)
Inter-House hockey was played on Tuesday, 14 September: 1st: Robins (13); 2nd: Swallows (12); 3rd: Kingfishers (10)
It has been so exciting to see the girls enjoying their winter sport and the Grade 3 – 7 players having the opportunity of competing in matches.
The Grade 1 and Grade 2 girls have been learning hockey and netball skills during their Phys Ed lessons as well as doing extra-mural hockey. They thoroughly enjoyed their last cross country session with a run out on the road!
It was wonderful to finally welcome the Gr 7 Class of 2015 / Matric Class of 2020 and their parents back to Micklefield for their belated Matric Reunion Tea. It was a special afternoon of re-connecting and sharing memories of happy primary school days. As Mrs Welgemoed put it, once a Micklefield girl, always a Micklefield girl at heart.
On the 22 August this term, the Grade 7 class decided to sweeten the day for the younger grades. The Micklefield hall was filled with many delicious smells and treats for all the grades to enjoy. The younger grades came first and by the time the last girl left the hall, the tables were empty with nothing but crumbs left over. In total we raised R3100 to add to our end of year total for our gift to the school. At the end of the day, all the girls got a sweet treat to eat and the Grade 7’s had fun serving it. Morgan Faught
The Grade 7 Sports Captains arranged a Fun Day for the Grade 4s, 5s and 6s on the afternoon of Friday 17th September. The event was essentially an ‘Amazing Race’ dash around the school where the girls in their grade groups, had to complete certain activities which involved a lot of teamwork and collaboration. Some of the stations were more challenging than others. There was the ‘Frozen T-Shirt’ station – teams had to defreeze a shirt to the point that it was free of ice. This took some effort and problem-solving skills. Other stations included: The Floor is Lava, Scavenger Hunt, Guess the Song, Charades, Roll the Coin into the Fork … there were 12 stations in total. It was a most successful afternoon which was enjoyed by all.
On a gloriously sunny day in early September, Lloyd Bristow and his amazing performing dogs entertained everyone in two separate shows. Lloyd’s passion and love for his dogs is evident in his performances. His dogs are happy, well-groomed and cared for. He teaches his dogs various skills and tricks in safe, fun ways using voice commands and small treats. Throughout the performance, he also shares general pet care ideas and ways to play and train you dogs using treats rather than punishment. The girls and teachers thoroughly enjoyed the show.
Lloyd says on his website “When you blend passion and a good sense of humour with a variety of energetic and happy hounds into a show and then throw in some messages about responsible pet ownership, as well as some motivational principles that teach you how to champion your own life, then you get what we like to call – The Incredible Dog Show!”
The girls were so excited when they heard that they would be having a ‘family groups’ meeting. These meetings are opportunities for the girls to build relationships with the girls in other grades, allowing them to make connections and get to know one another. The girls are placed in groups with one girl from each grade from Grade 1 to Grade 7. The Grade 7s lead the discussions, using this opportunity to get to know one another, share news or opinions and play games. It is lovely to witness the happy buzz around the school when they meet.
The Foundation Phase classes were excited to host our Heritage Day celebration on Wednesday 22 September. This was an occasion that was sadly missed last year. The girls came to school dressed in civvies to illustrate pride in their country or to symbolise their heritage. Jomo and Mphumzi enjoyed braaing and the girls all had a delicious treat, roasting a marshmallow to top off their meal. We hope all our Micklefield girls will enjoy celebrating heritage day together with their families on 24 September.
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