Newsletter #4 2016

cedar house
8 April 2016
newsletter 4
Enclosures
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Text from first Assembly and staff
meeting
Quotes from Thomas Hardy’s
Tess of the D’Urbervilles
Article from the New York Times :
Letting Happiness Flourish in the
Classroom
Article by William Doyle 20152016 Fullbright Scholar
Front cover from The New Yorker
Prep School applications
Letter from Ferial Haffajee
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High School
(021) 762 0649
Prep School
(021) 762 0649 ext. 2
Fax
(021) 761 8556
Letterhead2014rev2.pdf
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2014/09/08
2:55 PM
5 Ascot Road Kenilworth
Cape Town 7708
www.cedarhouse.co.za
GRADE 10 AND 11 MATHS AFTERNOON/EVENING
The Gr10 Maths afternoon / evening is on Wednesday 13 April from 16:00 - 19:00.
The maths afternoon will consists of various sessions.
The first part of the afternoon will focus on enrichment of the content areas that we have
covered so far.
The focus of the second part will be an investigation on trigonometry.
It is important for all students to attend the evening.
The Gr11 Maths afternoon / evening is on Monday 23 May from 16:00 - 20:00.
There will be various sessions, all of which will focus on the content we have covered to
prepare students for the June assessments.
Students can choose between sessions with focus on routine procedural skills or complex
and problem solving skills.
All students are highly encouraged to attend the evening. JP le Roux
outing. [email protected] or
FILM CLUB
Students are urged to note posters around the school advertising the weekly Film Club
schedule as School in Room 7 on Tuesday afternoons. The focus this term is on classic
films. - Ian Marais and Debbie Rumboll
On#the#24th#of#March,#Grant#and#I#was#joined#by#Matthew,#Aidan,#Grace,#Danielle#and#Jonah,#5#very#
eager#and#happy#(and#tired,#probably#because#of#the#06h15#am#departure#time)#students#to#start#
our#journey#to#Oudtshoorn.#After#roughly#5#hours#of#travelling,#we#finally#arrived#in#the#Klein#Karoo#
town.#After#checking#into#our#beautiful#accommodation,#we#set#out#back#to#town#to#attend#the#first#
of#very#memorable#shows#during#our#5#day#trip.#Here#follows#a#rough#review#of#the#shows#that#we#
saw.#
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
DAY!1!
!
1.!Sizwe!Banzi!is!dead#
An#excellent#and#moving#story#about#the#struggles#of#two#black#men#during#Apartheid#and#how#the#
both#of#them#made#a#success#of#their#lives#against#all#odds.#It#was#also#very#engaging#with#sharp#
comments#and#uplifting#spirit#of#the#photographer,#Mr#Stiles,#that#drew#us#in.#Both#Grant#and#I#were#
picked#from#the#audience#to#have#a#look#at#two#of#the#"cards",#as#the#photos#were#called#by#Mr#
Stiles.#
2.!Hond!se!gedagte#
We#had#very#high#expectations#of#this#play,#especially#noting#Sandra#Prinsloo#in#the#cast,#but#it#was#a#
big#disappointment#with#a#lot#of#shouting#and#slamming#doors.#
DAY!2!
3.!'n!Kat!in!die!duiwehok#
This#was#arguably#the#best#drama#at#KKNK#–#brilliant#story#and#acting,#very#moving.#An#elderly#man#
looks#back#on#his#life#and#gets#a#visit#from#his#younger#self,#a#part#of#him#that#he#had#lost#a#long#time#
ago.#We#were#taken#on#a#journey#through#his#life#–#the#good#and#the#bad.#And#how#he#forgave#
himself#in#the#end#for#everything#that#had#happened.#
#
Quotes#from#the#show:#"Dit#maak#nie#saak#waar#jy#woon#nie,#maar#wat#binnein#jou#woon"#(It#doesn't#
matter#where#you#live,#but#what#lives#inside#of#you),#"Wees#altyd#getrou#aan#jouself"#(Always#stay#
true#to#yourself).#
4.!#Marc!Lottering#
This#show#was#simply#brilliant.#Excellent#standYup#comedy.#It#was#original,#sharp,#witty#and#very#
enjoyable.#The#main#storyline#followed#Marc's#family#and#their#preparations#leading#up#to#Christmas#
Day#on#the#Cape#Flats.#
!
5.!Zoid!Afrika!Afskopkonsert!
!
!
!
This#show#was#nearly#cancelled#because#of#the#rain#and#wind#storm#that#broke#loose#in#the#
afternoon.#But#after#dealing#with#floods#and#what#felt#like#tornado#like#winds,#it#was#great#to#know#
that#the#show#would#go#on.#Thankfully#we#were#treated#to#quite#a#rock#show#–#loud#fantastic#live#
music!#
#
We#rocked#in#the#rain#with#SA's#Queen#of#Rock,#Karen#Zoid,#and#some#of#SA's#music#legends,#such#as#
Anneli#van#Rooyen#and#Jannie#Moolman.#Kahn#Morbee#of#the#Parlotones#also#made#an#appearance#
with#a#very#powerful#performance.#
!
DAY!3!
6.!Klein!jakkalsies#
This#show#was#unexpectedly#good#and#very#entertaining.#The#central#theme#dealt#with##not#paying#
attention#to#the#small#things#in#life#and#how#not#resolving#small#misunderstandings#could#ruin#your#
marriage.#
7.!Die!huis!van!Bernarda!Alba#
This#play#had#some#of#SA's#best#theatre#actors,#Antoinette#Kellerman#and#Dawid#Minnaar.#It#was#a#
good#theatrical#experience,#but#with#a#very#dark#storyline.#A#woman#ruling#her#home#with#an#iron#
fist.#I#thought#it#was#quite#good.#
8.!Schalk!Bezuidenhout!lewendig!(Schalk!Beskydenhout!dooierig)#
Poor#standYup#comedy.#This#show#was#not#very#fluent#and#it#had#a#lot#of#age#restriction#jokes#and#
comments.#Most#likely#the#worst#show.##
!
!
!
!
DAY!4!
9.!Rooivalk!
!
!
#
This#drama#was#really#great.#Richard#September#performed#a#monologue#about#the#friendship#and#
love#between#a#white#boy#and#a#coloured#boy#growing#up#on#a#farm#in#Limpopo.#The#switching#
between#characters,#the#references#to#childhood#stories#and#dreams#and#the#emotions#he#evoked#
were#quite#brilliant.##
10.!Francois!van!Coke!@!Die!Boer!
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
We#had#a#nice#dinner#at#Die#Boer#Restaurant#and#were#then#treated#to#a#great#accoustic#rock#show#
by#Francois#van#Coke.#He#played#a#lot#of#old#Fokofpolisiekar#hits,#as#well#as#songs#from#his#latest#solo#
album.#I#was#also#very#lucky#to#meet#Francois#after#the#show.#
#
DAY!5!
11.!The!Tourists!
!
#
We#did#not#really#know#what#to#expect,#but#we#were#pleasantly#surprised.#We#took#a#taxi#to#
Bongolethu,#the#township#outside#of#Oudtshoorn.#We#had#a#very#enthusiastic#tour#guide#and#had#a#
lot#of#laughs.#We#were#taken#to#a#monument#in#the#township#in#memory#of#three#children#whom#
were#killed#by#police#during#the#1980's.#Then#two#tourists#from#the#Netherlands#arrived#and#we#
were#entertained#by#their#interactions#with#the#tour#guide#and#each#other.#The#world#has#such#
different#views#on#our#country,#but#in#the#end#we#are#all#just#humans#and#we#need#each#other#to#
survive.#
!
My!Ratings:!
Top$drama:$$'n#Kat#in#die#duiwehok#
Rooivalk#
Sizwe#Banzi#is#dead#
Top$music$show:$$$Zoid#Afrika#Afskopkonsert#
Top$comedy:$#Marc#Lottering#
Other#than#seeing#all#these#great#shows,#we#spent#a#lot#of#time#in#the#“Rivierbuurt”#where#a#lot#of#
junk#food#and#free#entertainment#were#enjoyed.#We#also#went#on#an#excursion#to#Meiringspoort,#a#
beautiful#mountain#pass#area#just#outside#of#Oudtshoorn.#After#a#short#climb#we#reached#the#
stunning#waterfall#where#we#had#a#light#lunch#and#some#time#to#take#in#the#peace#and#beauty.#
I#would#like#to#thank#Cedar#House#for#making#this#trip#possible,#and#to#Grant#for#driving#us#safely#to#
Oudtshoorn#and#back.##Johann#Roos#
#
PREP#SCHOOL#
The#Prep#staff#welcome#the#students#back#to#the#2nd#Term#–#and#a#busy#one#it#is#too!#
#
Firstly,#our#huge#congratulations#to#our#very,#very#talented#children,#who#took#1st#place#in#the#Talent#
Show#at#the#end#of#last#term.##And#such#deserved#winners#too!##The#hours#of#practice#and#the#
amazing#dedication#certainly#paid#off.##Our#sincere#thanks#to#all#the#staff#and#parents#who#assisted#in#
our#success.##Your#generous#spirit#is#highly#appreciated.#
#
This#term,#we#welcome#3#new#students:#Josh#De#Fleuriot#(Grade#7),#Grace#De#Fleuriot#(Grade#4)#and#
Tobi#Goode#(Grade#5).##We#know#you#are#going#to#be#very#happy#in#our#community#and#we#are#
delighted#to#have#you#with#us.##Sasha#Chadburn#is#setting#off#on#the#experience#of#a#lifetime#–#she#
will#be#sailing#halfway#round#the#world#on#a#yacht,#skippered#by#her#dad,#even#visiting#the#Galapagos#
Islands#in#her#travels.##We#shall#follow#her#travels#with#much#interest.#
#
We#have#many#exciting#events#to#look#forward#to#this#terms.##The#Prep#Family#Soccer#Day#takes#
place#next#Saturday.##We#invite#all#our#families##to#come#and#join#us#for#family#fun,#soccer#and#a#
braai.##Some#of#our#children#will#be#attending#the#High#Africa#camp#for#3#days;#we#will#be#hosting#our#
Mothers’#/#Special#Ladies’#Day#tea#on#the#6#May#and#the#Prep#Parents’#Evening#will#be#on#the#19th#
May.##Other#events#to#look#forward#to#are#our#Father’s#/#Special#Gentlemen’s#Day#tea,#Prep#Pyjama#
Day#and#the#JS2#Disco.#
#
Our#weekly#sandwich#making#Social#Action#initiative#will#continue#throughout#this#term.##Our#
students#have#a#new#appreciation#for#the#meaning#of#the#phrase#“production#line”!##Our#Mentor#
groups#(±#11#students)#can#make,#wrap#and#pack#260#sandwiches#in#about#20#minutes#Y#co–
operation,#collaboration#and#team#work#at#its#best!#
#
As#this#is#an#assessment#term,#we#encourage#our#students#to#stay#on#top#of#their#work,#in#order#to#
achieve#their#full#potential.##Janine#Veitch#
#
#
#
Letting Happiness Flourish in the
Classroom
By Jessica Lahey
March 9, 2016 6:45 am
When I look out into my classroom, and take the emotional
temperature of my students, I’m usually checking for engagement. I want to
make sure they feel supported, are interested in the lesson at hand, and that
the lesson is relevant to each student.
But happiness? I stopped looking for happiness long ago. I see it
periodically, when the conditions are perfect, and the stars align just so.
When happiness strikes in my classroom, I relish it as I would any other
rare anomaly, like thundersnow or a two-faced calf. Regular sightings,
however, seem too much to hope for given the inhospitable climate in many
American classrooms.
Emma Seppala, however, the author of “The Happiness Track,” and
science director of Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and
Altruism Research and Education, has not lost hope. Dr. Seppala admits
that yes, happiness can be a rare beast in our classrooms, but we can create
and protect learning conditions in which happiness can flourish.
Happiness, Dr. Seppala explained in an email, is not something we can
afford to lose at home or in our classrooms, as it forms the very foundation
of deep, meaningful learning. Happy kids show up at school more able to
learn because they tend to sleep better and may have healthier immune
systems. Happy kids learn faster and think more creatively. Happy kids
tend to be more resilient in the face of failures. Happy kids have stronger
relationships and make new friends more easily.
Unfortunately, we put our children’s happiness at risk when we model
what Dr. Seppala calls the “myths of success”: the belief that success is
inextricably tied to stress and anxiety, perseverance at all costs, avoidance
of personal weakness, and a myopic focus on cultivating expertise in a
specialized niche.
We may tell kids that we want them to be happy, and that we care
about their learning more than we care about their grades, but when we
model the myths of success in our own lives, they know the truth.
Perpetuating these myths, whether through our words or actions,
undermines the very happiness and learning we claim to value.
If we truly want to cultivate happiness in our homes and schools, we
can’t just pay it lip service. We must model behaviors that, according to Dr.
Seppala, make us happier, healthier and more productive.
Live in the moment. Rather than encouraging children to live from
one to-do item to the next, help them focus and enjoy whatever activity they
are engaged in now. “Research shows our minds wander off task 50 percent
of the time. Yet when our mind wanders, we have more negative emotions.
While a little bit of stress about the next to-do can serve as a motivator,
long-term chronic stress impairs both physical health and intellectual
faculties such as attention and memory,” Dr. Seppala said in an email.
Model resilience. “While we can’t often change the work and life
demands our children face in their lives, we can help them train their
nervous systems to be resilient, and to thrive in the face of difficulties and
challenges,” Dr. Seppala said. Talk about how you have overcome
challenges, model healthy resilience, and help kids find respite from the
pressures of achievement. Techniques such as meditation, yoga and
breathing exercises help your children rest their minds and bodies, and
allow them to recover from the physical and emotional damage stress can
impart.
Manage your energy. While negative emotions can be damaging to
kids’ mental and physical health, our society’s penchant for constant, high-
intensity positive emotions takes a toll as well. “Western societies value
excitement and other high-intensity positive emotions over low-intensity
positive emotions such as calm. While there’s nothing wrong with
excitement and fun, children need to know how to balance excitement with
the ability to calm down and function from a centered, peaceful place,
saving precious mental energy for tasks that need it most,” Dr. Seppala
said.
Do nothing. “Taking time off to disconnect and relax focus helps
promote kids’ creativity and insights,” Dr. Seppala wrote. “Children need
time for idleness, fun and irrelevant interests, and as research shows
C.E.O.s currently value creativity higher than any other trait in the
incoming workforce, it behooves you to let your kids relax and access their
inner inventor.”
Be kind to yourself. While it’s good to strive for improvement,
excessive self-criticism can backfire, and become self-sabotage. Selfcriticism maintains focus on the negative, leaving kids anxious, afraid of
failure and less likely to learn from mistakes. Self-compassion, however,
improves children’s ability to excel in the face of challenges, to develop new
skills and to learn from their mistakes.
Be kind to others. Research shows that people who are supportive
and compassionate toward others are more successful. Fortunately, Dr.
Seppala said, “Children are naturally compassionate and kind; we simply
need to protect these traits.”
Children should not be surprised by joy. If they are, the responsibility
for its absence lies at the feet of parents, teachers and administrators who
have pushed happiness out of its native habitat to make room for the toxic,
invasive species of anxiety, stress and fear.
Interested in more Well Family? Sign up to get the latest
news on parenting, child health and relationships plus advice
from our experts to help every family live well.
Jessica Lahey is an educator, writer and speaker and the author
of “The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So
Their Children Can Succeed.”
© 2016 The New York Times Company
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News, 2/10/2016 | Embassy of Finland, Washington
Fulbright to the Fullest: Visioning the School
of Tomorrow
Consulate General in New York
I have seen the School of Tomorrow.
Consulate General in Los
Angeles
It is a place where children and teachers are safe and happy.
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It is a school where children are encouraged to be children, to play, to
daydream, to laugh, to struggle and fail, to assess themselves and each
other, to question and learn.
It is a school where teachers test their
students every day, not with low-­quality
standardized tests or faceless screens, but
with constant face-­to-­face observations and
teacher-­designed assessments.
It is a school where teachers are highly
trained, treasured and respected, and given
the freedom to teach at their best. It is a
school where teachers collaborate and
experiment with ways to help their students
learn better.
It is a place where technology is the
servant, not master.
It is a school where children are prepared
for life, not only with the fundamentals of
William Doyle is a 2015-­2016 Fulbright
Scholar and award-­winning New York Times
language, math and science, but with play,
bestselling author and TV producer from
arts and crafts, drama, music, ethics, home
New York City.
skills, nature, physical activity, social and
emotional support, warmth and encouragement.
It is part of a school system that delivers world-­class educational results and educational
equity to hundreds of thousands of children.
I have worked at this school. I have watched my own child learn and play there.
I have seen the school of tomorrow.
It is here today, on the top of the world, at the edge of Europe’s biggest national forest.
In a place called Finland.
How did I, a lifelong New Yorker, wind up living on the edge of the Western world in
Joensuu, Finland, the last, farthest-­east major city in the EU before you hit the guard
towers of the Russian border?
In 2012, while helping civil rights hero James Meredith write his memoir, we interviewed a
panel of America's greatest education experts and asked them for their ideas on
improving America's public schools.
One expert, the famed Professor Howard Gardner of the Harvard University Graduate
School of Education, told us, “Learn from Finland, which has the most effective schools
and which does just about the opposite of what we are doing in the United States.” After
researching this unusual idea, I eventually decided I had to give my own now-­eight-­year
old child a public school experience in what may be the most child-­centered, most
evidence-­based, and most effective primary school system in the world.
Updated 2/11/2016
Contacts
As a Fulbright Scholar, I “embedded” myself in the Finnish public school system, and
taught university courses on media and education at the University of Eastern Finland as
a lecturer. And I observed classes at my son’s elementary school, the teacher training
school at the university.
Observing a fourth grade class in a Finnish school
Now, after watching Finnish educators in action for five months, I have come to realize
that Finland’s historic achievements in delivering educational excellence and equity to its
children are the result of a national love of childhood, a profound respect for teachers as
trusted professionals, and a deep understanding of how children learn best.
Children at Finnish public schools are given not only basic subject instruction, but
learning-­through-­play-­based preschools and kindergartens, training in second languages,
arts, crafts, music, physical education, ethics, and, amazingly, as many as four 15 minute
outdoor free-­play breaks per day, no matter how cold or wet the weather is. Educators
and parents here believe that these breaks are a powerful engine of learning that
improves almost all the “metrics” that matter most for children in school, including test
scores.
Some of my favorite Finnish sayings on
education are: “Let children be children,”
and “Children must play,” and “The work of a
child is to play.”
With a “whole child” approach, by highly
training and trusting teachers, keeping a
strong focus on educational equity and
collaboration, and not wasting time and
money on mass standardized testing and
other ideas with little evidence to support
them, Finland has flown to the stratosphere
of global performance. When you factor in
the fact that Finland’s children spend less
time in school and less time doing
homework than most other developed
nations, one could argue that Finland has
the world’s most efficient school system.
American politicians and philanthropists are
spending, or are about to spend, vast
fortunes on trying to develop “scalable” education reforms that can transform and improve
American public schools.
I have a suggestion for anyone who wants to improve children's education. Start by
coming to Finland. Spend some time in Finnish schools, talking to Finnish educators,
students and parents.
If you look closely, you may see the School of Tomorrow.
William Doyle is a 2015-­2016 Fulbright Scholar and award-­winning New York Times
bestselling author and TV producer from New York City.
He co-­produced the hit 2014 PBS documentary film special NAVY SEALS: THEIR
UNTOLD STORY, and earlier served as Director of Original Programming and producer
and writer for HBO and A&E networks. He has written 12 non-­fiction books.
As a political commentator and expert on the American presidency and American history,
he is a frequent guest on CNN, National Public Radio and Fox News.
Last year he was awarded a prestigious Fulbright Scholar grant and traveled to Finland
with his family to study its world-­renowned school system and joined the faculty of the
University of Eastern Finland in Joensuu to lecture on “The Schools of Tomorrow” and the
future of global media.
William Doyle's article in the Helsinki Times:
http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/columns/columns/viewpoint/13725-­the-­finland-­that-­can-­inspire-­
the-­world.html
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CEDAR HOUSE PREP SCHOOL
APPLICATIONS FOR 2017
There are a limited number of spaces available in Grades 5 to 7 at our Prep
School in 2017.
Should you know of any families who might be interested in joining our
warm, independent and exciting community, please forward this
information on to them.
Interested families are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.
Contact: [email protected]