Message from our Head - Herschel Girls School

HERSCHEL PREPARATORY SCHOOL
MUSIC
LIBRARY
PRE-PREPARATORY
FOUNDATION
INTERMEDIATE & SENIOR
Message from our Head
Dear Parents
Over the past weekend a number of our girls participated in various
extra-murals, ranging from the General Knowledge Quiz to hockey
festivals and zonal trials and some of the girls even went on an Eco
Club outing. I love the enthusiasm that the girls show in all that they
do. They are also such good ambassadors for Herschel and I am so
proud of them.
DATES TO DIARISE
23 May
26 May
27 May
ABRSM Music Exams
10:00 Gr R Outing to Iziko Museum
13:30 Eco Club Outing
Our Assembly this week was taken by Reverend Taylor. She
explained to the girls that over this week we have been celebrating
the gift God gave to us of His Holy Spirit. Another big gift He has
given us is the Bible and God speaks to us through these two gifts.
We can read in the Bible what He said to His people many years ago,
and then His Holy Spirit whispers into our hearts what He is saying
to us now. One way the Holy Spirit does this is by using the words
in the Bible and applying them to our lives.
Reverend Taylor explained that there is great value in learning Bible
verses because then we can call on them at times when we need
them. God promises us lots of things in the Bible that show His
goodness, His love and His power. If we don’t know those verses
then when things happen to us, we will not know to ask Him to carry
out what He has promised.
Reverend Taylor taught us about some of the promises God makes
to us:
Matthew 11:28
Come to me, all you who are tired and carry heavy burdens, and I
will give you rest.
Isaiah 41:10
Do not be afraid, for I am with you.
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins to GOD, he will forgive us.
Stars of the Week!
Well done to our Grade 1 – 3
Stars of the week.
Pre-Preparatory
On Tuesday both Grade R classes went to watch Davy the Dragon in
Space at the Planetarium. The girls enjoyed leaning back in the chairs and
watching the movie that is projected on the inside of the dome. After the
show we went to sit in the gardens to enjoy a snack lunch. We also
managed to take a quick walk through the company vegetable gardens
and enjoy the glorious day.
Intermediate Phase
Grade 7 Fair
The annual Grade 7 Fair took place on Thursday 21 April and it was a
wonderful success.
R39824.50!
The Grade 7 girls managed to raise
What a fantastic
achievement. We are so proud of the effort, determination and business
acumen that the girls displayed in the lead up to the fair and on the fair
day. The proceeds will go to the Grade 7 Community Outreach Projects
as well as the annual Grade 7 gift to the school at the end of the year.
We would like to thank each and every one of you who donated items for
the Fair, we were blown away by your generosity! A special thanks to
those parents who helped the girls on the day.
The rest of the school thoroughly enjoyed the crafts, activities and food
on offer and added such a sense of excitement to the morning.
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Intermediate Phase cont…
Grade 7 FACETS Science and Technology Competition
On 26 April, Maryam Ameen, Caroline Hooper, Saarah Osman and Rachel
Williams competed in the above competition at Sans Souci High School.
The girls competed against four other schools and had to complete five
different activities during the course of the afternoon. Two tasks included
testing a number of liquids and solids. The first group of mixtures were
tested for starch and glucose. The second group were tested for acidity.
There were two puzzle activities: a crossword puzzle and card puzzle that
had to be built against the clock. In the final activity the girls had to build
a structure that would protect an egg from breaking. They had
newspaper, sticky tape, straws and string as their materials. Not only did
the girls have a fabulous afternoon together but they were also placed
first overall. Well done, girls.
General Knowledge Quiz
The first round of the Interschools General Knowledge Quiz was held at
Herschel on Friday afternoon. Our teams acquitted themselves very well,
finishing third and fourth out of 5 schools. These results were especially
pleasing, as it was the first time that many of the girls had participated in
the quiz.
A big thank you to Blaiqley Wilson, Grace North and Tia Orgill who gave
up their Friday afternoon to assist in the smooth running of the quiz.
Thank you too to Mrs Baikoff for all her assistance with the organization
of the quiz and to Mrs Martin for being our quiz master.
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Readathon 2016: EXCITEMENT IN THE AIR!
Donations of the following materials and equipment in any shades of blue, grey,
silver and white are needed:
Material for draping and displays including mosquito nets
Plastic in various shades and thickness (to be used for flooring, wrapping, draping
and creation of sea-creatures)
Paper, cardboard, corrugated cardboard, from small bits to décor sized sheets
Cellophane, balloons, bubble plastic or any other packaging and art material
(mosaic tiles, beads and sequence)
Marine themed items for displays such as fishing nets, dinghies, buoys, life jackets
etc.
Watersport equipment such as diving suits, fishing rods, surfboards etc.
Fish bowls and Sea shells - NOT precious.
Beach paraphernalia such as sun umbrellas, Mauritius-type towels and sarongs
Play equipment: plastic shell sandpits, inflatable beach balls and other pool
inflatables
Recycled material and such to make our own ‘coral’ (including pipe cleaners and
toilet rolls)
 Do mark all items so that it can be returned after the
event

Do start sending items to the Library

Don’t send ANY precious items

Do take note of the next Readathon planning meeting
on Wednesday 25 May in the Library
Art
Sparkle Centre
Many Herschel staff members attended the TSSA workshop held earlier
this week. We discussed the Habits of Mind and how to use Thinking
Maps as tools within the classroom. It was a fabulous opportunity for
teachers to share their experiences across all grades and how to utilize
certain ICT apps to enrich our teaching of these thinking skills. A great
afternoon was had by all and we left feeling inspired and enriched; after
all, we are the change agents of your girls!
“The reason I was drawn to TSSA is because of this novel idea that in
matters social as well as educational, the best tool at our disposal as
human beings is to think our way out of problems; far too much
emphasis in South African education is on coverage of content and too
little on the underlying thinking skills crucial for understanding complex
scholarly and social problems.”
Kiara Mahabeer won the Art Section
in the Facets Sans Souci Art, Science
and Technology Festival 2016. Well
done Kiara!
PROFESSOR JONATHAN JANSEN, TSSA PATRON
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I am looking forward to the Bishops – Eikestad – Herschel Derby day today. It is always such a special day, as we see the girls
participating in the Music Assembly and all the netball and hockey matches. It is also such fun listening to the girls and boys
speaking English and Afrikaans to each other.
The St Cyprians’ Derby day will also be wonderful. I love the fact that it takes place on a Saturday and that so many parents,
grandparents and siblings are able to support the girls as they play their matches. I look forward to seeing many of you there.
This term we are focusing on teaching the girls that determination and perseverance are required for success. So often, we give
up too easily and end up with a failure. If we had continued to persevere, in some cases, this failure would have translated into
success.
The girls are working on mastering the Habit of Mind: “Applying past knowledge to new situations” this week. I believe that this
habit goes hand in hand with perseverance, as often a change of perspective and the application of knowledge in a different or
new way, also leads to a break-through in a skill being developed or mastered, which ultimately translates into success.
Zig Ziglar said:
“Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting;
in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in
us, becoming all that we can be.”
Yours sincerely
Mrs B Heidmann
Head of Preparatory
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