Secondary Faculty Weekly Memo

12 July 2024

FROM THE OFFICE

Dear Parents and Learners

Thank you for the positive feedback on the new format of our blog.  When viewing the blog on your phone, please take note of the "menu" button in the top left corner (displayed as ≡) which will take you to live links of the calendars and other important information.  We are also including a Table of Contents at the top of the Home Page for quick access information.  Please also note the header for Previous Blogs.

The stormy weather has caused a somewhat disruptive start to the Winter Quarter, but we remain optimistic and positive that the rest of the weeks will go as planned.  We end this week with the Matric Ball on Saturday.  Please join us at the Wood Drive Hall on Saturday, where the matrics will be arriving between 17:15 and 18:30 for toasts and pre-drinks.  Let's make them feel like celebraties as they walk down the red carpet.

We would like to wish our friendly receptionist, Mrs Gill McKinney, a very happy birthday for tomorrow.

The cast and crew of The Wizard of Oz have been preparing for this breathtaking production since January and spent the holiday period fine-tuning this once-in-a-lifetime experience.


Fun Fact ...

THANK YOU TO OUR ARTS ANGELS

In the theatre, patrons who give donations to stage a show are called Angels. Sometimes Angels provide cash, goods or services and without their generous contributions the show would go on but without the sparkle that we have come to expect at a Parklands College Musical production. We would like to extend our gratitude and offer recognition to those individuals and companies that have been so generous in their support of our production.


Special mention goes to Grant Smee and Megan Ladbrook from Only Realty for their donation towards the set. As Dorothy says at the end of the play 'There is no place like home', let Grant and his team find you your next home, this is a company with a big heart.








Just as Dorothy needed to realise that everything she ever needed was in her own backyard, the fabulous Zondagh family behind the companies Veldskoen and Plakkies have donated 23 pairs of their fabulous shoes to the show. 


This company is offering a discount to all of the Parklands family through a QR code and we hope to see their comfortable Veldskoen on everyone's feet. They have a large range of shoes, including school shoes, that are all 100% locally manufactured. 


Driekie and the team are proudly South African and their success story is one that inspires. They are a company with heaps of courage and boy has that paid off for them. 


Buy a pair or two, you won't want to wear anything else.






Last but by no means least, we have to mention our fantastic set building Angel, Derek Rocher, a man with an enormous brain, who translates my sketches and drawings into safe structures for the show to be performed upon. 



Derek gave up two weeks of leave from his job as Display Manager for Shoprite/ Checkers to create the elaborate set for The Wizard of Oz in record time. 


The learners assisting him have learnt a great deal of practical skills that he generously imparted earning him the title of Dearest Derek from the crew.



Thank you to these very special people for their amazing contributions to the show, we are very grateful and we can't wait for you to see the show that you have helped create.


With Gratitude

Catherine Dodders (The Wizard of Oz Director)

What have they seen?

Who lives up there?

ACADEMICS


Parent Educator Meetings


Thank you to all the parents who connected with our educators during the online meeting slots.  Parents are invited to contact educators at any time during the academic term about their child's progress.


Academic Links


Note the section at the top dedicated specifically to academic links.  In this section you will find: 

🎓 Winter Quarter Timetables,  🎓Assessment Calendars, the  🎓 Tutorial Schedule, the  🎓 Grade 12 Prelim Exam Timetable, the  🎓Grade 12 Prelim Study Guidelines and the  🎓Grade 12 NSC Timetable.

Autumn Quarter Academic Achievers

Congratulations to our Autumn Quarter Academic Achievers

Grade 7 

For achieving an 80% aggregate or above:

Travis Coleman, Ethan Pieterse, Bella Thomas, Isla Lindley, Bohlale-Ba-Morena Mtimkulu, Nokukhanya Khumalo, Natasha Jayakody, Jaime Sieberhagen, Henry Hansen, Isabella Ankiah, Caitlin Hunt, Taylor Watson

3rd position in Gr7: Sethu Kunana

2nd position in Gr7: Barry John van der Merwe

1st position in Gr7 with an aggregate over 90%: Emma Strumpher

Grade 8


For achieving an 80% aggregate or above:

Jordan Terry, Liam Govender, Joel Ronaldson, Keagan Beaumont, Ryan Smal, Priyanka Ramlakan, Luca van Tonder, Daniel Maidment, Madison Viljoen, Ruby Nieuwstadt, Matthew Francke, Heike du Toit, Viraya Pillay, Lily Howe, Luke Louw, Holly Hickman, Taziane Botha, Zelda Deiner, Shyla Kurien, Israa Adam, Ferdi Zondagh, Christo Strydom, Jesse Loxton, Ronia Minkoulou, Aidan Chow, Yaseen Salie, Caitlin Smith, Njabulo Maswana, Luan Odendaal


3rd position in Gr8 with an aggregate over 90%: Phoenix Srdic, Keira Chirnside, Wanganae Masindi & Luke Cloete

2nd position in Gr8 with an aggregate over 90%: Veer Atwaru & Carl Scheffler

1st position in Gr8 with an aggregate over 90%: Clara-Mari Vosloo, Ethan Wust & Milena Berowsky

Grade 9


For achieving an 80% aggregate or above:

Ramabele Sello, Caterina Frazzitta, Michelle Chifamba, Amelia Huang, Leslie van Eck, Jason Bannon, Logan De Araujo, Tyler Archery, Primo Hong, Alexa-Rose Schreuder, Sesona Mbovane, Kaylee-Jade Mestre, Joshua Kalapac, Puneet Nagendrakumar, Luke Le Grange, Steffan Hillebrand, Aden Van Rhyn


Achieving a 90% aggregate or above:

Madison Coleman


3rd position in Gr9 with an aggregate over 90%: Ella Frielinghaus, Jenna Simpson & Arabella Fox

2nd position in Gr9 with an aggregate over 90%: Liat Demissew

1st position in Gr9 with an aggregate over 90%: Gerhard Vosloo

Grade 10


For achieving a 75% aggregate or above:

Merrit Gartner, Hannah Taylor, Emily Hoffman, Nicholas Rossouw, Salizwa Mkwananzi, Liam Hills


For achieving an 80% aggregate or above:

Dharshana Raja, Dirk van der Merwe, Shakti Manga, Meera Moodley, Jennifer Zhou, Dominique Yuill


3rd position in Gr10: Aisha Salie & Kate Stopforth

2nd position in Gr10 with an aggregate over 90%: Hannah van Zyl

1st position in Gr10 with an aggregate over 90%: Naeha Naidu

Grade 11


For achieving a 75% aggregate or above:

Yvan Tapon Njamo, Amy-Kate Wood, Maxine Benjamin, Kayden Biernacki, Andria Mannix, Abulele Mhayi, Dean de Jongh, Miya Singh, Morgan Santo, Trent Mc Culloch, Leo Adriaanzen, Amber Stein, Joshua Da Silva, Sabrina Davids, Miko du Toit


For achieving an 80% aggregate or above:

Joshua Jackson-Smith, Travis Warren, Jemma Boswell, Talia Papadakos, Declan Saul, Morgan Smith, Julia Grasso, Mbali Nhuku, Brandon Strydom, Julia Ligthelm, Tannah Ronaldson, Eve Bhasera, Sophia Frielinghaus, Angelique Minkoulou, Kyle Warrender, Taya Pather, Alexandra Bester


3rd position in Gr11: Akshar Chandarman, Reuben Rietoff, Carl Gilmour & Keira McLeod

2nd position in Gr11: Liam Loxton & Chanel Ritz

1st position in Gr11 with an aggregate over 90%: Amy White

Grade 12


For achieving a 75% aggregate or above:

Isabella De Sousa, Eren O’Sullivan, Keira Shelton, Callum McKechnie, Emily-Jane Dock, Daniel Roux, Matthew Nel, Troy Diab, Michael Loram, Uminathi May, Indy Berning, Mwai Phiri


For achieving an 80% aggregate or above:

Hayley Kemp, Dante Balona, Paige De Araujo, Sithara Naidoo, Ammaarah Brenner, Serena Govender, Willem van Jaarsveld, Jack Baines, Tameryn Edmondson, Emma Lindes, Kishen Ramkelawan, Zara Leask Baggesen, Thaliya Moodley, Maya Mthwana


3rd position in Gr12: Tamlyn Greyvensteyn & Jean-Michelle De Blanche

2nd position in Gr12: Ronin Miller

1st position in Gr12 with an aggregate over 90%: Imrah Salie

International Mathematics Competition (IMC) to India


In preparation for the IMC (International Maths Competition) team's trip to India, Jennifer Zhou attended a training camp in Bloemfontein during the holiday.  


Jennifer has been selected by JIMCOBSA as one of 16 exceptionally talented Mathematicians (4 teams of 4 learners each) to represent South Africa by participating in the upcoming India International Mathematics Competition (InIMC) in Lucknow, India, from 26 - 31 July.

Jennifer at IMC Training Camp

Jennifer Receiving IMC Pack

IMC Team Having Fun

Emile Tredoux and Jennifer Zhou

One of the IMC team coaches is past learner, Emile Tredoux who matriculated in 2018.  During his school career at Parklands, Emile excelled in IOL - the National Computer Programming Olympiad and several Mathematics olympiads. He achieved 100% for Die Burger Mathematics Competition, received a gold award at the UCT Maths Competition and also participated in all three rounds of the SAMO (South African Mathematics Olympiad).  He was announced to be 9th overall in the country for SAMO and was chosen to represent SA internationally.


We are proud to see Emile and Jennifer connect and wish the IMC team all the best for their trip to India at the end of July.

SAMO Round 3 Mathematics


Congratulations to Aden van Rhyn and Jennifer Zhou who made it through to THE SOUTH AFRICAN MATHEMATICS OLYMPIAD Round 3.

LOOKING AHEAD


FEEDBACK

Daniel Roux and Franco von Wielligh were selected to perform in the National Schools Jazz Band.  Only eight learners were selected from hundreds who auditioned.  They performed on the main stage at the National Arts Festival in Makhanda and will go on tour in September.

IMG_3894.MOV
IMG_3896.MOV

In building up to the Matric Ball on Saturday, the matrics have been dressing up in themes this week ....  Wednesday was "meme" day and Friday "where you see yourself in ten years" day.

LEARNER NEWS

Jake Hutton


BigBay Lifesaving Club, Tygerberg Mountain Bike Club, and Protea Hotel Durbanville are collaborating to raise funds for JAKE HUTTON, Junior National lifesaving athlete, selected to attend the World Lifesaving Championships in Australia.  


The Event STARTS and ENDS at the Protea Mariott Hotel in Durbanville. *EASY TRAIL ACCESS*


Choose one of three mountain trails 


There will be a fun POLAR POOL CHALLENGE for the brave ~ bring costumes & R5 coin 


Event includes:

Marshalls

Safe bike space

Showers

Cashless


Book your ticket today:  https://qkt.io/hRYpgn

SPORT

external_sports_news@parklands.co.za


Head of Sport: tpillay@parklands.co.za

Rugby and Girls Soccer Coordinator: dviljoen@parklands.co.za

Chess, Boys Soccer & Cross Country Coordinator: mviljoen@parklands.co.za

Netball and Hockey Coordinator: sbloem@parklands.co.za

From the Secondary Head of Sport

Welcome back to the second half of our winter sporting season! We had a very successful first half, highlighted by an impressive turnout for our high-performance sessions during the examination period. We now shift our focus to building on the strong foundation we established last quarter.

Practices and Matches will begin next week, so please take a moment to review the Sport Calendar to stay updated on all upcoming events and activities in our department.

This quarter also marks our yearly highlight: the season-ending Derby against our rivals, Somerset College, from 15 - 17 August. More details will follow once events and schedules have been finalised.

Looking Ahead

Although Rugby matches for this weekend have been cancelled for this weekend, we are excited to announce that we will host Dame Allan School(UK) for two Girls Hockey matches on Monday afternoon.  Parents and learners are encouraged to support our girls as they take on international opposition.  There is home Soccer and Netball matches next week as well.  Again, please support our learners in their inter school matches.

Sport Kit

As we move into the second half of our season, the College expects learners to wear the correct physical education and sporting kit.  

Holiday Learner Achievements


XOLANI GOBINCA:  CRAVEN WEEK


Xolani Gobinca, one of our U13 rugby players, was selected to represent the Western Province XV team in this year's U13 Craven Week in Pretoria. Xolani scored 3 tries in 4 games, playing an important role in the team being named unofficial champions!  Well Done Xolani.  You have made our Parklands College family very proud.


Try vs Boland.MOV
Try vs Bulls.MOV

Josh Neil, Mackenzie Newman and Blaine Fisher: INDOOR CRICKET


Three of our U15 boys were selected to represent Western Province Indoor team at the Inter Provincials during the first week of  July in Johannesburg.  Representing the team is Josh Neil, Mackenzie Newman and as Vice Captain of the team Blaine Fisher.  


It is a huge achievement to have three of our cricketers playing at Provincial level.  Well done boys.

Luca van Tonder:  KARATE

Luca has been selected to represent the Western Province Goju Kai team that will compete at the 44th National Championships in Bloemfontein from 9 - 11 August 2024.  The 44th National Championships will also serve as the final selection round for the South African Team that will participate at the 8th Karate-Do Goju Kai World Championships which will be held from 7 - 11 August 2025 in Chiba, Japan.  Good Luck Luca.  Wishing you everything of the best.

CULTURE

We look forward to an exciting Winter Quarter.  Please make sure you have secured your tickets for The Wizard of Oz and watch out for news about other performances over the next 9 weeks.

Wizard of Oz Behind the Scenes.mov

Behind the Scenes


Take a look at what has been happening over the past few weeks.

It's been a great first week back! 

We would love to encourage our musicians to set goals and work towards making lessons productive, fun and to stretch themselves.

20 Minutes a day will do just that!

Please avoid coming to lessons unprepared! 

Five Motivational Techniques for Self-Motivation Include: 


HOLIDAY NEWS!

We are immensely proud of our five talented music students: Dean de Jongh (Grade 11), Nametso Manne (Grade 12), Ronin Miller (Grade 12), Naeha Naidu (Grade 10), Daniel Roux (Grade 12), and Franco von Wielligh (Grade 9), who recently participated in the Makhanda Jazz Festival over the holidays.

A special congratulations to Daniel Roux and Franco von Wielligh who, after three rounds of auditions, were selected for the National School's Jazz Band. This prestigious achievement reflects their dedication and passion for music.

The festival provided our learners with an incredible experience filled with workshops, band rehearsals, masterclasses, and performances by South African jazz greats. They returned inspired, eager, and brimming with excitement. 

We extend a heartfelt thank you to Mr. Ernstzen from the Senior Preparatory Campus for taking the time to accompany and support our learners on this unforgettable five-day journey.

Senior Jazz Band does us Proud!

Our Senior Jazz Band dazzled at the Artscape Youth Jazz Festival for the second consecutive year! Their costumes, dance moves, and incredible solos made us all proud, and they shone brightly on the big stage.

A special shout-out to Connor Niske (Grade 10) for his exceptional work as one of the official technical support stagehands for the event.

A heartfelt thank you to Mrs. Tracey Johannes for directing such a spectacular performance!




South African Championships for the Performing Arts!


Over the recent holidays, the talented Brandon Strydom took center stage at the South African Championships for the Performing Arts Competition in Robertson. 


With two engaging monologues (one contemporary, one from a musical) and two captivating songs (also one contemporary, one musical), Brandon wowed the judges and earned rave reviews. His musical theatre performance was a particular highlight, earning him special recognition.

This stellar performance secured Brandon a spot in the finals, which will be held in Rustenburg in September. We couldn't be more proud of his achievements and wish him the best of luck in the next round!

Don't forget to catch us on Expresso Morning Show SABC 3 | Monday 15 July | 06:00-09:00

Interested in starting an instrument in Quarter 3?

Discover the magic that music can bring to your life this year – a journey filled with skill-building, meeting interesting people, and exploring new places. Seize the opportunity! 

Secure your spot by clicking this link:  https://forms.gle/nkGrpiAWeSUFkk

SERVICE

The Interact Club is starting the third Quarter with a blanket and warm clothing drive for these effected by the recent storm. Please donate whatever you can. 

EQUITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

We are proud of our Equity and Diversity Prefects, Murendeni Tsanwani and Daniel Roux who have led their portfolio in a dynamic and loving way. We wish them well for their final quarter as we also welcome our new semester's council.

As we approach Nelson Mandela Day we ask our Parkies community to please donate wool as we commit to creating warm and snuggly beanies for a premature baby in need.These beanies will be donated to a local hospital in our community. 

We had so much fun beginning this initiative at the end of last quarter. 

Thank you to Mrs Wood for the huge donation of wool that got us started.

LEARNER SUPPORT 


Mrs Scott (C block):  sjscott@parklands.co.za

Mrs Kistan (Resource Centre):  skistan@parklands.co.za


Psychometric Assessments - currently a waiting list for Quarter 3


The learner support department offers psychometric assessments at the school for subject choice and career counselling. This process includes an initial interview with the learner, aptitude, personality and interest assessments, as well as a feedback session with an assessment report that is a useful guidance tool for informed decision making and clarity in one’s career or subject choice process. The assessments are done at school and during school time. Please contact Samantha Scott sjscott@parklands.co.za for more information or to make a booking. There are limited assessment slots each quarter so please enquire early to avoid disappointment. (Please note assessments are a billable service). The assessment slots for Quarter 3 have already been filled. If you are interested please let us know and we will put you on the waiting list. Assessment slots in Quarter 4 are available. 



Eduvos Webinar on Stress management for Parents and Educators


You are invited to join our upcoming webinar on Stress Management, hosted by Eduvos. This webinar aims to provide valuable insights on how to support high school students in effectively managing stress.

Date: Thursday, July 25th
Time: 18:00 - 19:00
Platform: Microsoft Teams

During this one-hour session, you will learn practical strategies and techniques to help your child or children navigate and cope with stress in a healthy manner. Our experts will share valuable tips and insights that can make a positive difference in your child's well-being.


Register here


TERTIARY STUDIES


ACTUARIAL SCIENCE INFORMATION SESSION WITH SANLAM


We would like to extend an invitation to your high school learners doing Mathematics and Science to an Actuarial Science Information Session. This is a session held annually by the SANCAS team from Sanlam.

 

This session aims to inform learners of the broad and fruitful career path of Actuarial Science.

The session will comprise of a variety of speakers from qualified actuaries to university students doing Actuarial Science, with panel discussions where learners can ask any questions about becoming an actuary.

 

The session will be held both in-person at the Sanlam Head office in Cape Town and virtually through a webinar.

For those attending virtually, a phone or laptop and internet connection will be needed to join. 


The date and time of the session are as follows:

 Kindly RSVP by 1 Aug 2024.


Sanlam also offers bursaries to learners wanting to pursue Actuarial Science, the bursary applications are still open and close on the 30 June 2024.


STELLENBOSCH BMRI (BIOMEDICAL REASEARCH) OPEN DAY 

Parent Business Directory

Parklands College and Christopher Robin Pre-Primary parents who are in business are able to list their businesses in our Parent Business Directory – www.parklands.co.za/parent-business-directory/

LISTINGS ARE FREE and include contact information as well as the opportunity to include a business logo or advert.  Listings are available 24/7 on the College website and will be updated each quarter.

Should you be interested in marketing your business to over 1000 families, email: marketing@parklands.co.za to get started.

All listings will be subject to the College’s final approval.

This week's feature business is...