Senior Preparatory Weekly Memo
22 May 2026
22 May 2026
Dear Parents
Slipper Day:
On Friday 29 May all learners are invited to wear their slippers in support of Reach for a Dream Foundation. Learners who participate will be billed R20 to their school account. We will still have sports hour so please ensure that learners have brought their sports shoes with them for sports hour.
Outreach Drive:
29 May is also our last day for collection of items for donation to Ria Able Retirement Home. Grade fours are collecting wet wipes, grade 5s deodorant and grade 6s body lotion.
Pizza Day:
We will also be celebrating the last day of May by ordering in Pizza. Don't miss the last chance to sign up for next Friday. Pizza Order Form
Security:
Please be reminded that children may not go home with friends or be picked up by another adult/drive unless this has been communicated in writing to their class teacher and copied to reception - prep@parklands.co.za.
Our aim is 100 care packages. Please help us reach our targets of 100 of each of the items. There is still time to bring items before next week. Thank you for your support.
Please assist us by bringing black material Woolworths bags for us to package the care packages.
Healthy Lunch Box
In assembly this week, we discussed the importance of having a healthy lunch and reminded learners that we are a nut-free campus, as some learners are allergic to nuts. This includes peanuts and nut butters such as peanut butter and Nutella.
Medication
Learners have been reminded that medication is personal and must NEVER be shared with another learner. Some learners take strong prescription medication, which may interact with herbal and other medications. Any medication should be administered by the receptionist and only if the required form has been completed and instructions from a doctor are in place.
Please contact prep@parklands.co.za for further details. Teachers may not give a child any form of medication. If your child is sick, please keep them at home.
Last Friday of the month is Pizza Friday!
We are going to try something new this month. On the last Friday of each month we will be ordering in small margherita pizzas for those children who would like to have a pizza for second break. If you would like to make use of this opportunity, please complete the form, and we will bill R34 to your account. The last Friday this month is 29 May.
Note that all orders will need to be completed by Wednesday 27 May. Unfortunately, we will not be able to process refunds for learners who are not present or do not collect. If you have more than one child, please complete the form more than once. Note - this is only for children at the Senior Preparatory.
If you have already completed the form you do not need to complete it again this week. Only one Pizza per child will be ordered if the form is competed more than once.
Cape Town, South Africa - Former NASA astronaut, educator, and STEAM advocate Dorothy “Dottie” Metcalf-Lindenburger will visit South Africa for the Space Tour 2026, running from 22 July to 4 August 2026 across Cape Town, Gauteng, Durban, and selected remote communities.
As part of the Cape Town leg, Metcalf-Lindenburger will headline a public presentation evening at Parklands College on Monday, 3 August 2026, from 18h00 to 20h30, a rare opportunity for learners, families, and educators to hear directly from a NASA astronaut about life in space and the future of exploration.
Tickets: Book here on Quicket
Presented in partnership with Living Maths, the tour will bring world-class STEM inspiration to schools, universities, science centres, and communities nationwide including underserved and remote areas where learners often lack access to global role models.
Metcalf-Lindenburger flew aboard Space Shuttle Discovery on the historic STS-131 mission to the International Space Station in 2010, serving as Mission Specialist 2 and robotic arm operator. The mission delivered over 27,000 pounds of equipment to the ISS and travelled 6.2 million miles during 238 Earth orbits. She was also part of the first occasion on which four women were simultaneously in space. A former earth science and astronomy teacher, she was selected by NASA in 2004 through the Educator Astronaut Program and was the first Space Camp alumna to join the Astronaut Corps. She later commanded the NEEMO 16 underwater exploration mission and today champions STEAM education globally through Dottie ML, LLC.
Steve Sherman, Chief Imagination Officer of Living Maths, said the tour is about possibility. “When young people in South Africa meet someone who has travelled beyond Earth, it changes the way they think about their futures. Curiosity and talent are universal, opportunity is not. This tour is designed to help bridge that gap.”
Metcalf-Lindenburger added: “Science and exploration thrive when young people are encouraged to ask questions, solve problems, and imagine boldly. I’m honoured to share experiences from space exploration, teamwork, and discovery with audiences across South Africa.”
Tour Dates: 22 July – 4 August 2026
Public Event: Parklands College, Cape Town, 3 August 2026, 18h00–20h30
Tickets: quicket.co.za
Media & booking enquiries:
Steve Sherman, Living Maths
steve@livingmaths.com | +27 83 308 3883
Artivism
In acknowledgment of Earth Month and Environmental Month, our Grade 6 learners have been exploring the "Artivism" movement - a powerful intersection where creativity meets social change. By blending the technical precision of two-point perspective with a mission to evoke positive global transformation, they have produced stunning original sketches. These works don't just showcase artistic skill; they serve as visual manifestos for a better world.
- Ms Becker (Art Educator)
📝 Grammar Grooves: Mastering Meervoude & Verkleinwoorde!
With our upcoming grammar assessment just around the corner, this week was all about tackling the dynamic duo of Afrikaans grammar: Meervoude (plurals) and Verkleinwoorde (diminutives)! Instead of just memorising dry rules, our learners turned into designers. They were tasked with creating their own colourful, personalised study notes and wow, did the creativity flow! From neon mind-maps to clever flashcards, some seriously fun (and sneaky) studying took place.
If you want to keep the momentum going at home, here are a few fun, foolproof tips to master those tricky rules:
The Twin Rule (Tweeling-reël): When a long vowel word with "twins" (like boom or skaap) gets a plural -e, one twin gets scared and runs away! So, boom becomes bome and skaap becomes skape.
The Short Vowel Double-Up: If a word has a short, lonely vowel (like kat or vis), it needs protection before adding the -e. Double the final consonant to lock it in! (kat becomes katte, vis becomes visse).
The Verkleinwoord "Cake" Trick (-tjie): If a word ends in -d or -t, they love the -jie ending (hond becomes hondjie).
🐝 World Bee Day – Wednesday, 20 May 🐝
We celebrate World Bee Day and recognise the important role bees play in our environment. Bees help pollinate many of the plants and crops we rely on for food, making them essential for a healthy ecosystem and biodiversity. Let us continue to protect and care for these hardworking pollinators.
A special well done to 6R for presenting such a lovely and meaningful assembly message! 🌼🐝
Tour de Maths
On Monday, 18 May, Parklands College took part in Round 2 of Tour de Maths (TDM) against three competing schools. Our learners worked in teams of four and were challenged with a demanding and thought-provoking Mathematics paper that encouraged collaboration, logical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
As always, team selections are based on the strongest academic performances each quarter, which meant that some new learners had the opportunity to represent the school this round. Although Parklands placed 3rd overall for the evening and slipped to 3rd place overall after Rounds 1 and 2 combined, the learners showed excellent teamwork, resilience, and enthusiasm throughout the competition.
We are incredibly proud of the learners who achieved team prizes on the evening:
🥉 Daniel (Grade 6) and Jenna (Grade 6) received 3rd place out of 20 teams.
🥇 Isabella (Grade 6) and Joshua (Grade 6) received 1st place out of 20 teams.
It was wonderful to see Parklands learners continue to receive recognition and enjoy the spirit of the competition. Well done to all the learners who participated and represented the school with pride! 🌟
It was a week packed with excitement! In Maths, we are still deep in the world of patterns and loving it! This week, we levelled up by extending our own patterns and even cracking the rule behind some tricky matchstick patterns.
In English, we cracked open our set work, Boy by Roald Dahl, and after discovering his fascinating family history, we simply cannot wait to read more about his adventures.
Both Afrikaans and isiXhosa had us buckling down and sharpening our grammar and summary skills ahead of our Taal assessments!
In History, we put our knowledge to the ultimate test with our final quarter assessment, proving just how much we know about hunter-gatherers, herders, and farmers.
PSW gave us the chance to invest in ourselves by building some powerful study skills.
And saving the best for last, our Mining in Space PBL is blasting off! We scouted potential mining locations in space and started sketching out our very own mining machine designs. Watch this space!
Outing to the Planetarium, Digital Dome, and The Iziko Museum
We are so excited to share that Grade 5 learners have a wonderful outing to look forward to in Quarter 2. The Planetarium, Digital Dome, and The Iziko Museum on 17 June 2026! Please complete the consent form as soon as possible.
This week our Grade 4 learners became true mathematical detectives as they dove deep into the world of observation, searching for patterns hidden all around our classrooms and school. From tiled floors and window designs to classroom resources and nature outside, learners were amazed at just how many patterns exist in everyday spaces. Through careful discussion and sharing of ideas, we worked together to develop a class definition of what a pattern is, helping us understand that patterns are not just repeating shapes or numbers, but organised structures that we can recognise, describe, and create ourselves.
In English, our adventure with Fantastic Mr Fox continued, and the story kept sparking our imagination and curiosity. This week, we focused on strengthening our understanding of adjectives by becoming keen observers of detail. Learners stepped into the role of photographers, capturing images around the classroom and school to represent the story's characters, settings, and moods. We then used these photographs as inspiration to describe what we could see, carefully choosing powerful and creative adjectives to bring our writing to life. It was exciting to see how much richer our descriptions became as we learned to “zoom in” on detail just like a real writer.
School Attendance
We wish to remind parents and learners that regular school attendance is crucial. Long-term absentees and extended vacations can result in learners missing these key learning opportunities. Please assist us by ensuring your child attends school regularly and punctually.
Please see our Learner Attendance Policy for further details.
Please note that a doctor's certificate is required if a learner is absent for a formal assessment. Please contact the Principal (pmayers@parklands.co.za) or Head of Academics (ldrawbridge@parklands.co.za) to ask for permission for your child to be absent for any other reason.
Informal Assessments
Our learners are in the process of completing various informal assessments, which are integrated into the daily class activities throughout the quarter. All informal assessments are completed at school and no studying is required.
Formal Assessments
A reminder to click on the specific grade assessment calendars on the academic tab to see your child's formal assessment schedule and study details. The study details are posted at least two weeks before the assessment. Please check calendars regularly to stay updated.
Quarter 2 and 3 Co-curricular Sign-up Form
MUSIC:
We invite parents of all current individual music learners, as well as those wishing to commence individual lessons in 2026, to please complete the following enrolment form: 2026 SP Music Form
DANCE:
Please read through the
JP/SP Dance 2026 Enrolment Form information and contact Sylvia Stander sstander@parklands.co.za
if you have any queries.
Congratulations to our SP Choir who were awarded Gold at the ATKV Applous competition last night. Your incredible hard work has paid off.
Special thanks to Mr Ernstzen and Mrs Domingo for your many hours and dedication to our choir. Thank you too to all the parents who supported last night! Well Done!
This week in Science Club, learners explored how to use the MaxIQ device to measure the soil moisture levels of different plants. Learners enjoyed investigating how moisture levels vary between plants and discussing the importance of water for healthy plant growth.
Well done to all our young scientists for their enthusiasm, teamwork, and curiosity during this hands-on investigation! 🌱💧
While our classes learn about Sam Sedgeman's Adventures on Trains, they have been tasked with prompting technology to create their own mystery short story, with the focus firmly on reading and presenting these aloud.
This week another exciting new series has reached our shores (and our library)! The Academy is a series of novels that will enthral all our devoted soccer followers. Born and raised in a small town, Leo is a talented twelve-year-old with big dreams: to become a professional soccer player. When a professional scout sees Leo play, he is invited to try out for the youth squad of a prestigious London based Premier League team. And so starts a great new adventure aimed at ages 7 - 13, but probably accessible to all fans of the game. Film rights have been optioned, and more books planned to become available before the World Cup starts in June (although it sometimes takes time for the books to become available in South Africa). So watch this space - we’ll keep you posted!
We are officially stepping into the final week of May 2026, and the winter sports season is reaching a thrilling peak. We will be pushing hard with fixtures running right up until the 5th of June before the winter wrap-up.
But there is an even bigger milestone on the horizon! Every single drill, tackle, pass, and match from now on is building the foundation for a historic event: our first-ever Derby Day, taking place at Blouberg Ridge on the 1st of August. The road to the Derby starts now, and our learners are already showing they have what it takes to make history.
Netball vs. Rallim
Our netball squads had a massive outing against Rallim, showing incredible tactical growth, including an absolute defensive masterclass and a spectacular team victory.
U10B: Won 13-0. A flawless performance from start to finish. Lima (POTM)
U10A: Lost 0-1. A heartbreakingly close defensive battle where every centimeter counted. Noa-Lee (POTM)
U11B: Lost 1-2. A nail-biter that came down to the final whistle. Amarachi (POTM)
U11A: Won 15-1. Total dominance on the court, resulting in a well-deserved recognition for the Whole Team (POTM)
U12B: Won 2-0. A gritty, low-scoring defensive victory. Keisha (POTM)
U12A: Won 6-2. Excellent composure and fluid passing into the circle. Telo & Lara (POTM)
Rugby vs. Rallim
The rugby boys completely dominated the field this week, playing high-tempo, physical rugby that left the opposition searching for answers.
U11: Won 25-5. A brilliant display of running rugby and rock-solid defense.
U13: Won 53-5. An absolute powerhouse performance showcasing clinical execution. Jose (POTM)
Hockey vs. JvR (Jan van Riebeeck)
It was a highly competitive round on the Astro against some very technically gifted JvR sides.
Boys Hockey:
U12: Won 1-0. Held their nerve beautifully to secure a tight, clean-sheet victory. Hayden (POTM)
U11: Lost 3-0. Faced a tough attacking side but fought bravely throughout. Jarren (POTM)
The U10 boys also took to the turf, displaying fantastic character and energy in their match.
Girls Hockey:
U12: Won 2-0. A clinical performance with great vision and spacing on the turf. Suriya (POTM)
U10: Lost 1-0. A narrow defeat where the girls, unfortunately, missed out on an equalizer despite relentless pressure. Sing Yuet (POTM)
With just over a week of fixtures remaining in this stretch, there is no time to ease off the accelerator. Coaches will be keeping the intensity high during practices to ensure our combinations are perfectly dialed in.
Eyes on the Prize: To every Senior Prep athlete: when the early-morning training sessions feel tough or the winter wind bites a little harder, remember what we are building towards. That August Derby Day will be a historic moment for our school.
Legacies aren't built on the day of the event; they are built right now, in the final weeks of May, in the mud, on the Astro, and on the courts. Whether you won by 50 points or lost by a single goal this week, your effort matters. Keep grinding, keep supporting your teammates, and let's finish this leg of the season stronger than ever!
Friday Hockey Sports Hour
Please note, all Hockey learners will be transported to the Secondary Faculty for Hockey training on astro at 13h15 - 14h30. All learners will be transported back to Parklands College Senior Prep - no learner will be permitted to be picked up from the Secondary campus.
Please find a link to the form to notify the College of a learner's external achievements at Area/Regional/Provincial level. We request that you upload an image to the form where possible. Any queries to our Head of Sport, Coach Jared - jmargetts@parklands.co.za
Please ensure that learners arrive on time for the start of the academic day. Parents are welcome to drop their children off between 07:30 and 07:45 and are requested to use the Drop and Go Zone on the SP Campus in Wood Drive.
Parents may pull into the yellow zone for learners to get out and walk into school on their own. Please do not park or leave your car in the Drop and Go Zone.
All learners must be clocked in and ready for the day before this 07:45. Learners who attend early morning activities must clock-in before attending their session in order to avoid being recorded as 'Late Arrival' on the biometric system.
Aftercare is a combined group of Grade 4-6 learners. Parents, please inform the College via email should you wish to make use of our aftercare facility. Learners may wear their Parklands College sports uniform. Learners attending Aftercare will be escorted to the venue. Parents who wish to make use of our aftercare facilities must please inform us via e-mail.
School is LOCKED promptly at 16h45 daily. Please assist us by ensuring that your child is collected on time allowing our dedicated staff to return home to their own families. A late collection fee of R250 per half-hour (or part thereof) will apply for children collected from aftercare after 17h00.
For safety reasons no learners are permitted to wait outside the College gates at any time.
Parents entering our campus are required to have a car identification sticker, which can be collected from reception. By displaying the sticker on your car, you will gain easy access to the College premises. Vehicles that do not have a sticker will be scanned. ‘At the Gate’ Access Solution is used by the College and involves drivers' and car license discs being scanned. This information is stored on a secure database off-site for future reference should the need arise. Pedestrians are also required to produce identification.
We request, for the safety of our learners, that parents and visitors who are on our campus during academic time also sign in at reception and receive a visitors badge. The badge must be returned to reception before leaving campus.
PARKLANDS COLLEGE PARTNERS WITH KLIKD FOR A DIGITAL SAFETY SOLUTION
Parenting in the digital age presents unique challenges. Balancing your child’s need for online interaction with the responsibility of keeping them safe can feel overwhelming. Excluding your child from the digital world might seem isolating, yet providing them with unrestricted access to smart devices without guidance can pose serious risks.
It is vital to equip our children with the skills they need to navigate the digital world confidently, responsibly, and safely. That’s why we are thrilled to announce our partnership with Klikd, South Africa’s leading digital safety and citizenship company. We will be rolling out Klikd’s Digital Citizenship Programme for Schools for Grades 4-6.
About Klikd
Klikd was founded by clinical psychologist Pam Tudin and social media lawyer Sarah Hoffman, combining their expertise to offer an innovative approach to cyber safety and digital citizenship education.
In today’s world, knowing how to handle challenges such as cyberbullying, gaming addiction, inappropriate content, online predators, managing one’s digital footprint and Artificial Intelligence - is no longer optional -it's essential. These aren’t skills that can be taught in a single school talk but require continuous conversations and guidance, reinforced at school and at home.
The Klikd Digital Citizenship Programme for Schools
Through our partnership with Klikd, we will offer a carefully curated programme that provides learners with the tools they need to thrive in the online world. Importantly, it also empowers you, as parents, with weekly practical resources and strategies to support your child on this journey.
Klikd Parent Information Session Recording
If you missed the Klikd Parent Information Session last week you can find the link to a recording here
Klikd in your Pocket: Parent Update Whatsapp Group
Join KLIKD in Your Pocket - a weekly bite-sized update on what’s trending in your child’s online world.
This WhatsApp broadcast group delivers practical, no-fluff insights on topics like:
🎮 Managing devices during playdates and sleepovers
👀 Accidental pornography pop-ups
🎰 Live gambling features on Roblox (yes, really!)
Each week, you’ll also get 4–5 conversation starters to use at dinner, in the car, or while shopping for that “perfect” hoodie — helping you stay connected and informed.
🟢 No group chat, no noise — just super helpful info.
📸 Scan the QR code or tap the link to join:
https://chat.whatsapp.com/H6zTS0hHpaIIHF2G5PigPq?mode=gi_t
Uniform Requirements (link)
School and Leisure offers free delivery to school. To take advantage of this when ordering please insert school name and address in the address block and add discount code before check-out.
Junior Preparatory - 91 Raats Drive, Parklands 7441
Senior Preparatory - 50 Wood Drive, Parklands 7441
Secondary Faculty - 1 College Avenue, Sandown 7441
Discount Code : PKLSCHOOL (both upper and lowercase works)
Please ensure that the uniform is the correct size for your child, in particular the blazer
Second hand school uniforms
Please contact Tania Fourie if you would like to buy or sell good-quality second-hand uniforms. She is also the supplier of Froggy School shoes. Contact details: +27 83 631 7683 or tania@sportstudio.co.za
Please help us by checking that all the items that your child brings home actually belong to them. If they come home with someone else's item (such as an extra shoe, hat, etc) please send it to reception the next day so that we can return labelled items to the owner.
It is important that all items are labelled clearly so that lost items can be returned. Parents are welcome to come in to reception to view lost property items. Items not labelled will be in lost property and donated to the second hand shop at the end of each quarter.
Should your child have a medical condition/ allergy /require prescribed medication to be administered, please e-mail Meagan Kotze on mkotze@parklands.co.za.
Please ensure that your child’s immunisations are up to date and forward a copy of the updated immunisation record to the secretary once your child has received the vaccine.
Please bookmark the following calendars and add them to your personal calendar by using the + at the bottom of each calendar. They can also be accessed through the EdAdmin App (more information under the general tab)
We are excited to announce that Parklands College Secondary Faculty will be hosting a Space Educators Conference during World Space Week in October.
Our Parent Learner Directory contains all the information you will need. You can find this important document under the General Tab
College parents are able to list their businesses in our Parent Business Directory for free – www.parklands.co.za/parent-business-directory/.
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...
Autumn Quarter: 8 April - 24 June
Winter Quarter: 22 July - 23 September
Spring Quarter: 14 October - 4 December
Proposed 2027 Parklands College Dates
Summer Quarter: 19 Jan 2027 - 18 March 2027
Autumn Quarter: 7 April 2027 - 23 June 2027
Winter Quarter: 21 July 2027 - 22 Sept 2027
Spring Quarter: 6 Oct 2027 - 3 Dec 2027
Friday 29 May:
Reach for a Dream Slipper Day (bring shoes for sports hour)
Saturday 30 May:
Open Day
Monday 1 June:
Happy Birthday Chef Kerry
Wednesday 3 June:
Happy Birthday Chantel Lamb
Thursday 4 June:
Happy Birthday Elise Crouse
Friday 12 June:
SP Choir Performance
Monday 15 June:
Special School Holiday
Tuesday 16 June:
Public Holiday: Youth Day
Happy birthday Thurloe Ernstzen
Wednesday 17 June:
Grade 5 outing (Planetarium)
Thursday 18 June:
SP Music Concert 18:00
Friday 19 June:
SP Reports released to Parents
SP Parent Report Feedback Meetings
Sunday 21 June:
Fathers Day
Monday 22 June:
SP Parent Report Feedback Meetings
Tuesday 23 June:
SP Parent Report Feedback Meetings
Wednesday 24 June:
School Closes at 13:00, no aftercare
Monday 6 July:
Happy Birthday Gary Gilder
Wednesday 15 July:
Happy Birthday Trisha Govender
Reminder that next Friday is Slipper Day and Pizza Day!
On Saturday we will host Open Day across all campuses between 10am and 1pm. Why not invite friends or family to book a tour of our campus?
https://www.parklands.co.za/openday
Have a wonderful weekend
Paul Mayers
Senior Preparatory Principal
Follow us on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ParklandsCollege/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ParklandsTweet
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parklandscollege
Links to other faculty memos:
Pre-Primary Faculty: https://ppblog.parklands.co.za
Junior Preparatory Faculty: https://jpblog.parklands.co.za
Secondary Faculty: https://secblog.parklands.co.za