Book on Quicket

FROM THE OFFICE

Dear Parents and Learners

What a week!

We had our spectacular Matric Ball last Saturday, saw our jazz band performing on Expresso (SABC 3), hosted a touring UK hockey side and put the final touches to the Wizard of Oz for Opening Night tonight!  We are beyond excited.  

Friendly request

We remind parents of the exit gate east of the WG Grace pavilion and ask you to be considerate when picking up your children in the afternoons.  Please do not park in the roundabout or anywhere that will affect the traffic flow.   

Please treat our security guards with respect when they ask you to move your vehicle.  They are following instructions to assist with traffic flow and do not deserve the abusive responses they unfortunately often get.

Afrikaans Department

The learners are reading about folding paper boats in their setwork and tried their hands at it ...

LEARNER AFFAIRS

Safety and security

We remain concerned about unmarked bags being left unattended all over the campus, which presents a security risk.  Furthermore, bags are misplaced and end up in lost property where they can sometimes stay for the entire year.  

Every learner has been given two blue luggage tags – one for the school bag and one for the sports bag. Black luggage tags have been given to those with EGD boards. No excuses will be accepted for unmarked bags.  Demerits will be issued to learners whose bags are placed in restricted areas and bags without tags will be confiscated.

Winter uniform

All learners need to wear winter uniforms. Here are a couple of important reminders:

Girls change to black opaque stockings.

Only the official Parklands scarves are allowed.

Absolutely no headgear is allowed with the school uniform.

Sport uniform items may not be mixed with the school uniform.

We advise learners to dress warmly against the skin.  Should they need a raincoat, please purchase one in navy blue.

Knee blankets are available for purchase from the Innovation Centre reception desk for learners to use when sitting still for extended periods of time, like during the exams. No other blankets are allowed on campus, please.

Grooming

Only one pair of earrings to be worn on the lobe/lobules. A small stud or sleeper should be worn.

All FET boys need to be clean shaven.

Substance abuse: Vaping

Substance abuse among teenagers remains a concern at the College. The use of vapes or e-cigarettes is on the rise. Our concern is the addictiveness, abuse and health complications associated with vape products, especially in teenagers. The legal age for purchasing and using vape products is 18 years. 

Our Substance-Using Policy is designed to inform parents/ guardians of the College’s intent to protect each and every learner. We have determined that random drug screening/vape testing will take place periodically without prior warning.

The idea is not to vilify those learners who do not get a clean report after such a screening, but rather to help the learner cease his/her use of the prohibited substance and at the same time, deter our learners from submitting to peer pressure to experiment by citing the random screening as their reason.

If you need more information about the procedures, please consult our Parent and Learner Directory. Random drug screening is covered by the Enrichment Fund. Vape tests (cotinine tests) can be purchased from the College. The cost for the test is R100. If you want your child to be part of the next random drug screening or would like more information, please contact Mr Vardan: pvardan@parklands.co.za 

Matric Ball

RESOURCE CENTRE NEWS

THANK YOU TO OUR PUBLISHERS

On Tuesday, Ms Mkhatshwa and other book besotted library staff attended a presentation by Penguin Random House, our local publishers. These wonderful people do not only get excited about books like we do, but they are our first port of call for making contact with authors to visit our school. They also provide information on new publications every six months which is so valuable for planning our library programme and book shopping. 

Children’s literature is a vast industry, with Young Adult books (ages 13 - 19) being the fastest growing genre worldwide.  We were blown away by the sheer number of new books expected for the next few months. We also met inspiring authors and nibbled on delicious treats, while enjoying the display of new books. Our keen readers will be delighted to see books from two of their favourite authors, Jennifer Lynn Barnes (The Inheritance Games series) and Karen M. McManus (One Of Us Is Lying) expected soon. 

From the Secondary Head of Sport

It has been a wet but amazing start to the second half of the season.  Our Hockey girls started with a bang hosting Dame Allen (UK) on Monday afternoon.  Our rustiness showed as we lost both games but competing against a school from abroad taught our girls more valuable lessons than just winning.  Dame Allen showed great sportsmanship and our girls truly enjoyed the matches.  Both teams had an opportunity to chat and connect after the match at a post match celebration and both teams exchanged memorabilia.  We hope to see them again soon.  Once again I encourage parents to make use of our Secondary Sport Calendar to keep abreast of what is happening in our department. 

Weekly Sport Video

Looking Ahead

This weekend our Boys Hockey teams take on CBC St. Johns whilst our girls take on De Kuilen.  Our Rugby boys travel to Somerset West to take on Hottentots Holland.  Next week is another busy week with all winter sport teams participating in matches.  The highlight for the U19 Soccer Boys will be them taking on Elkanah at home.

Our major sporting event for next week, will be the hosting of the Western Cape Cross Country League 7 race that will take place on Wednesday afternoon around our magnificent campus.  Parents are most welcome to come and show their support.

Cross Country:  Results from Jan Kriel League 6 race

U14 

Keagan Beaumont 31st 

Luke Cloete 17th

U15 

Steffan Hillebrand 3rd 

Zackery Day 11th

U17 

Allen Li 63rd 

Carolina Grasso 19th

LEARNER ACHIEVEMENTS

CULTURE

Debating Feedback

Debating has started with a bang with three back to back debates and loads more to come. 

In the National Debate League Round 5, the junior team proposed the motion of 'THW make criminal records freely available online.' There were a lot of detailed arguments from both sides, but Parklands College came out victorious, with Liat Demissew being awarded Best Speaker.

The senior team also took part opposing the motion of THBT South Africa should use a jury system to determine judgements. It was an intense debate with really intricate and compelling arguments from both sides. The adjudicators took a while to decide the winner, but ultimately Parklands emerged as the more convincing team. 

The Grade 7 team also made their fellow debaters and the College proud by continuing their winning streak, presenting a phenomenal argument on "Why Legal hearings should not be televised".  The adjudicators stated that it was one of their favourite debates they had seen all league. A true credit to the performance by both Parklands and our opposition. 

This weekend begins the first leg of the Provincial Debating League. Teams from around Western Cape will gather to claim the ultimate prize. Parklands College is sending their best to take on this challenge. 

In the Junior Team - Jorja Hoppe, Caitlin Smith, Liat Demissew, Kaylee-Jade Mestre, and Aden van Rhyn, and in the Senior Team - Imrah Salie, Aisha Salie, Joshua Da Silva, Connor Crighton, and Mbali Nhuku. Provincials is a gruelling mental game over two full weekends, starting at 08h00 and ending at around 18h00.  We wish our teams all the best and know that they will show that their blood runs blue. 

Coming up next week we also have the Rotary League Octofinals which both our senior and junior teams will be partaking in, but we will report back on that next week!

Wizard of Oz

Please make sure you have secured your tickets for The Wizard of Oz.

MUSIC

Jazz Band Making their TV Debut!

SERVICE

Collection for flood victims

Mandela Day 67 minutes

The Interact Club joined Blouberg Rotary on Mandela Day to make 1000 sandwiches in 67 minutes to feed those in need.

EQUITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

Tertiary Studies

CONCLUSION

Have a great weekend!  It is filled with many activities!

Kind regards

Sylvia Steyn

ssteyn@parklands.co.za

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