Senior Preparatory Weekly Memo

4 September 2026

Dear Parents

Please complete the Q4 Co-curricular Sign Up Form. The Grade 4 - 6 sports and culture programme will commence on 14 October 2026. (Except Drama Society - Start date: Tuesday 22 September). GOLF sign-ups are limited and will be issued on a first-come first-served basis. Please contact the relevant teacher should you have any questions regarding the programme.

We will be switching to Summer Sport on 7 September. Note that Billed Winter Co-Curricular Activities must be prioritised and will continue until the end of the quarter unless you have been notified otherwise by the teacher in charge.

Please take note of the following dates:

Summer Sport Switch on Monday 7 September
Funky Socks Day on Friday 11 September
Open Day on Saturday 12 September
Grade 6 "Welcome to Sandown" at the Secondary Faculty on 12 September @ 10:00
Grade 4 Farmers Market on Friday 18 September @ 13:30
We invite all parents to join our Parklands Playgrounds on the dates below:
- Grade 4: Monday 21 September @ 08:00-09:30
- Grade 5: Monday 21 September @ 13:00-14:30
- Grade 6: Thursday 17 September @ 13:00-14:30

Principal Paul Memo 6.MOV

Click on play to view Principal Paul's Video Memo
(If it does not appear, please refresh your browser)

PARENT LEARNER DIRECTORY

PARENT BUSINESS DIRECTORY

2026 Dates

CONCLUDING COMMENTS

Senior Preparatory Gate Times

Please be reminded that the gates are only open during drop off and collection times. Should you need to enter outside of these times please park outside and use the small gate to enter.

07h15 - 08h00

14h00 - 14h45

15h30 - 16h00

Reminder that the building is only open from 07h15 - 16h45 and there is only supervision of children from 07h30 until 14h45, other than advertised co-curricular activitIes and aftercare. 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.

Please ensure that learners arrive on time for the start of the academic day. 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.

Parklands Playground for All Parents

Join us at the end of the quarter to experience an iPad-powered classroom alongside your child. Discover how technology transforms everyday learning at Parklands College Senior Preparatory!

Mark these dates on your calendar:

Grade 4: Monday 21 September @ 08:00-09:30

Grade 5: Monday 21 September @ 13:00-14:30

Grade 6: Thursday 17 September @ 13:00-14:30

SPRING DAY

Did spring really arrive? Why is it so cold?

BOK FRIDAY

Let's do it again... one more time!

GROWING MINDS SHIELDS

The future requires people who are innovative, humanity-centred, relationship-oriented, compassion-focused, values-driven, globally-conscious and planet-sensitive, in order to guarantee that this generation will become REAL agents of change. The values necessary to sustain life on earth, as humans and environmentalists, are incorporated in five global competencies across our curriculum under our “Growing Minds” banner: Critical Thinkers, Effective Communicators, Purposeful Collaborators, Creative Agents and Responsible Citizens.

In assembly this week, we awarded the following learners with Growing Minds Shields:

The Purposeful Collaborator Trophy is proudly awarded to Adam and Haydn. They are examples of what true collaboration looks like. Adam and Haydn built more than a robot together this year, they built a partnership. Through every challenge, every setback and every late afternoon spent perfecting their code, these two worked side by side, listening to each other, problem solving together, and never giving up on one another. That is the spirit of Growing Minds. Well done, Adam and Haydn. From Mrs de Wet.

The Critical Thinker Trophy is proudly presented to Amelia and Aliyana. They are acknowledged for the thought, care and determination they each bring to everything they do. They both never simply settle for “good enough” - they take the time to apply their minds, challenge themselves and always look for ways to improve. What makes this so special is that their desire to do better comes from within; they both genuinely want to grow, learn and become the very best versions of yourselves. It has been wonderful to watch their confidence and maturity grow. From Mr Robyn

The Responsible Citizen Trophy is proudly presented to Oluhle for the kindness and selflessness she shows so naturally every day. She has a beautiful way of noticing when someone needs a little extra support and is always willing to step in, lend a helping hand and put others before herself. Your caring nature makes the people around her feel valued, supported and never alone. What makes this so special is that she doed these things without expecting anything in return. From Mr Robyn.

The Creative Agent Trophy is proudly presented to Tanveer, Bevan and Courtney for their exceptional work in our Stop motion PBL. Tanveer was an outstanding and encouraging leader who was supported by his team mates Bevan and Courtney who contributed their ideas effectively and worked as a team to create a Stop motion video that was detailed, creative and unique. The team created characters that were intricate, detailed and crisp. Their characters had a strong foundation and did not fall apart, they were unique and humorous which brought their story to life. They were able to follow the steps and help solve problems without asking for help. From Ms Becker

GRADE 6 NEWS

Grade Sixes Learners and their parents are invited to the Secondary Faculty for a tour on Open Day. Please rsvp to gmckinney@parklands.co.za

Domino Maths – Learning Through Play!

Our Grade 6 learners were divided into their houses – Harvard, Yale, Cambridge and Oxford – with each team receiving 120 dominoes and just 15 minutes to complete their challenge! They tackled snake lines, the Up & Over bridge and the rather tricky spiral, learning to divide their dominoes equally, plan carefully, create safety breaks and work together as a team.

Once time was up, each creation was put to the ultimate test and caught on video as the dominoes tumbled! There was cheering, excitement, a little disappointment when things didn’t quite go according to plan, and plenty of laughter. Along the way, learners explored equal sharing, patterns, spacing, problem-solving, perseverance and teamwork – a wonderful example of mathematics in action!

Gr 6 Domino Maths.MOV

Stop Motion Characters in Art

In this Project-Based Learning (PBL) unit, the Grade 6 learners stepped into the role of animators to design unique stop-motion characters using a combination of air-drying clay and modeling clay. To bring their creations to life with a dynamic moving element, learners explored the distinct physical properties of each medium. They learned that while air-drying clay provides a sturdy, permanent base for stationary parts, oil-based modeling clay remains soft and pliable. By using modeling clay for their character's adjustable features, students were able to bend, shift, and re-pose body parts frame by frame without the material cracking or drying out, successfully bridging hands-on material science with creative digital storytelling.

GRADE 5 NEWS

What a jam packed week it has been in our grade 5 classrooms!

In Maths we got stuck into perimeter, area, volume and capacity, measuring and calculating our way through some really practical problems. In English we explored simple, compound and complex sentences and levelled up our writing skills.

Our Afrikaans learners had loads of fun with recipe writing, and in isiXhosa the class had a giggle digging into expired advertisements and all their weird and wonderful features.

Our History whizzes went full builder mode, constructing their very own Ancient Egyptian civilisations in Minecraft EDU, pyramids, temples and all! And in Real Life For Kids, our savvy young earners have banked a few weeks of salary and interest, and are now setting their sights on buying land. Get ready, town, here we come!

Lights, camera, action! Grade 5 learners recently transformed into mini-filmmakers during an exciting iMovie Masterclass with Mrs Steynberg, where they unlocked cool editing tricks, sound effects, and cinematic secrets. Thanks to Mrs Steynberg's expert guidance, our young directors are now ready to bring their big creative stories to life on the screen!

A brilliant week of learning, building and growing. Well done to every one of our stars!

GRADE 4 NEWS

Our classroom microgreens have become our very own mathematical investigation! This week, learners have been taking responsibility for caring for their plants while using our Max IQ instruments to collect real data.

We have been measuring the moisture in the soil and investigating the amount of light our plants receive. Learners have been recording their observations and measurements in their digital Keynote journals and carefully documenting how their plants are growing over time.

This has been a wonderful opportunity to see that Mathematics is not just something we do in a workbook – it is something we use to understand the world around us!

We have also been exploring tessellations. Rather than simply being told which shapes tessellate, learners have been discovering this for themselves through hands-on activities and experimentation. They have been testing different shapes, looking for patterns and gaps, and figuring out which shapes can fit together perfectly to cover a space.

This week in English, we stepped into the exciting world of advertising!

We began by listening to and analysing different advertisements, thinking carefully about what makes an advert grab our attention. We explored persuasive language and discovered some of the clever ways advertisers encourage people to want or buy a product.

The learners then became salespeople themselves! They looked at different products and began developing their own pitches, thinking about how they could use their words, voice and persuasive techniques to convince someone that their product is the one they need.

There have certainly been some very enthusiastic salespeople in our classroom! 😄

Through these activities, learners have been developing their ability to listen critically, identify persuasive techniques, communicate confidently and choose language carefully for a purpose.

One of the highlights of this week has been seeing our learners experiment, question, test, record, create and communicate. Whether they were checking the moisture of their plant's soil, trying to make shapes tessellate, or enthusiastically pitching a product, they have been putting their learning into action.

What a wonderful week of curiosity, creativity and real-world learning! 🌱📐📣

Mathletics Stars in Grade 4

STAFF NEWS

We say farewell Mrs Govender who is expecting a baby in the next few weeks. She will be taking maternity leave from next week. We are all going to miss you and wish a safe and joyful arrival of your baby boy!

We welcome Mrs Chimhundu in her place as the substitute teacher for the remainder of the year.

Mrs Govender

Mrs Chimhundu

CULTURE

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.

Western Cape Virtual Art Eisteddfod

Beautiful collage and oil pastel artworks were entered into the Western Cape Virtual Art Eisteddfod. We are so proud of their creative efforts! Learners received their certificates in assembly this week.

Naleli, Klara, Anna-Marie

Limile, Tianna, Munashe, Jaren, Ayomide, Kayla

EISTEDDFOD RESULTS AND CERTIFICATES

We had so many learners achieve outstanding results at the recent Eisteddfod. Well done - we are really proud of you and the hard work by our culture department.

MERIT:

Anna-Marie - Art

Naleli - Art
Jarren - Art

BRONZE:

Tiana M - Art

Ayomide - Art
Munashe - Art

Sandria : Music

Ardni: Music

Isabella C: Music

SILVER:

Harvey : Drama + Bronze Music

Sarah: Drama (3 certificates)

Cooper D: Drama

Amara: Drama

Thamani: Drama (x2)

Abigail: Drama

Mihle: Drama

Sara: Drama
Amelia: Music

Azania: Music

Ben: Music

Peyton G: Music

Kieran: Music

Mandla: Music

Lukhanyo: Music (Guitar) + Silver (Vocals)

Daniel: Music

GOLD:

Kayla - Art

Emilly G: Drama and Creative Writing: Silver

Limile: Drama & Art Silver

Mthabisi: Drama

Sinako: Drama and Silver Drama
Cathy: Music

Azania: Music (Piano) + Silver (Violin)

Anne: Music

Emma V: Music + Silver Drama

Klara: Music + Silver (Art)

Xander: Music

Busisiwe: Music

Charlotte: Music

Sinesipho: Music

Liam: Music

Zachariah: Music

Sophia: Music

Bukhosi: Music + Silver Drama

Gloria: Music + Silver Drama

Munashe: Music x2 (Violin + Piano)

Aliyana: Music

Peyton:Music

Jaren: Music

Courtney: Music

Aidan B: Music

Imogen: Music

Andreya: Music

Meera: Music (Piano) + Bronze (Vocals)

Gia Jenna An: Music

Isabella P: Music

CUM LAUDE:

Amarach: Drama and Gold Drama

Liyana: Drama

Mntungwa: Drama

Luka: Music (Piano)+ Music Gold (Violin)

Mika: Music

Yunyao Elise: Music + Music (Gold)

Tumisho: Music (Vocals)+ Music Gold (Piano)+ Gold Drama and Silver Drama

ROBOTICS

Parklands is an official MaxIQ partner, and one of the first schools in South Africa piloting the brand new Springbot, a coding device designed and assembled right here at home.

Springbot is proudly South African, built by MaxIQ Space International for South African classrooms. Our learners will code it in MicroBlocks and use its sensors to measure everything from temperature and humidity to sound and GPS, both online and offline.

More to come as our learners get hands on with their devices.

SCIENCE CLUB

🔭 Exploring the Hubble Space Telescope! 🌌

This week in Science Club, our young scientists travelled beyond Earth to learn about the incredible Hubble Space Telescope and how it has helped scientists uncover the wonders of our universe. After exploring how Hubble works and the amazing images it captures, learners put their creativity and STEM skills to the test by building their own 3D cardboard models of Hubble! 🛰️✨

LIBRARY

READATHON WEEK

September is here and we are looking forward to all the literary adventures that await us this month. Our Readathon Week always takes place around the time of Roald Dahl Day, which falls on 13 September. It is a week of interhouse literary competitions for every age group, with fun categories to enjoy and prizes to win. We also have other events to look forward to, which started this week with the author visit of Monique Fallows and one of her Salty Sea Dogs. The learners can also look forward to a show by the talented Ticket To The Moon Theatre Company of Thabo, The Space Dude, which is one of our selected class readers. So much excitement and preparation is in play to ensure a memorable experience for all our readers.

Even the librarians are having an exciting month with two informative events ahead. At the quarterly LIBRA meeting where Cape Town school librarians gather, the guest speaker will be our very own Mrs Lee-ann Steynberg who will address the group on the opportunities and challenges that AI presents for our libraries. We are excited to learn from the best! We are also having a Librarian Day with Pan MacMillan publishers with presentations by international speakers and of course a look at what their catalogue is offering for the next few months, as we continue to acquire the latest and the best for our libraries.

SPORT

Senior Prep Sport – Winter Complete, Summer Begins!

And just like that, our winter sports season is complete! A huge thank you to all our learners, coaches, staff and parents for an awesome Quarter 2 and Quarter 3. The commitment, energy and support throughout the winter season have been fantastic.

Now, we pack away the hockey sticks and rugby gear and get ready for summer! 🏏🥎🎾

We officially enter our Summer Sport Switch, with Cricket, Softball and Tennis taking centre stage.

Please take a look at the timetable below to see where Softball, Cricket and Tennis will be housed during the summer season. Practices will take place on both practice and match days for Cricket and Softball. Tennis will only operate on designated practice days.

A reminder that Squad Tennis trials will take place this Tuesday and Thursday, so learners involved in Squad Tennis should please take note of the times and arrangements. Swimming and Water Polo will only commence once the weather and the pool are warmer next quarter.

We are excited to get the summer season underway and look forward to seeing our learners back on the fields and courts, ready to learn, compete and enjoy their sport!

"Fun" U12 Netball vs Coaches Match

Players of the match announced at assembly

Chess Match – Learning Through Every Move ♟️

There was plenty of excitement as 28 eager chess players took to the boards for our latest match. Although Parklands went down 4–2, every game offered an opportunity to learn. Whether it was improving the opening, developing a stronger middle game strategy, or learning how to finish an endgame, each player could take something valuable away from the experience. In chess, a loss is never wasted if we learn from it — every move helps us become stronger players. Well done to everyone who competed, and good luck for next Friday’s match! ♟️

Q4 2026 Co-curricular

SUMMER SPORTS SWITCH

We will be switching to our Summer Sports Programme on 7 September. Note that Billed for Winter Co-Curricular Programme activities continue until end of the quarter (or as communicated by the teacher in charge)

GRADES 4 – 6 SUMMER QUARTER CO-CURRICULAR PROGRAMME 2026

Extra murals will commence on Wednesday 14 October 2026.

Please ensure that learners participating in outdoor activities have sunblock in their bags for application. ALL learners MUST wear their school caps when outdoors. NO HAT, NO PLAY!

Where practices and matches are affected by inclement weather, learners will be involved in indoor training sessions from 14h45 – 15h45.

Parents must collect learners after their session. If a parent is late and unable to collect on time, learners will be sent to aftercare and parents billed.

Reminder that the campus buildings are locked at 16:45.

Cricket Clinic: 12 & 13 October

EXTERNAL ACHIEVEMENTS

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

External Achievements

Sport Quick Links

SPORTS INFO

TRAVEL CONSENT

EXTERNAL ACHIEVEMENTS

SPORTS CALENDAR

OUTREACH

Thank You for Making a Difference

What a wonderful reminder of the kindness within our school community! A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to our stationery collection and helped us gather much-needed supplies for children in need.

Your generosity will go far beyond the stationery itself, these simple gifts will become pencils that put ideas onto paper, crayons that bring imaginations to life, and supplies that help children feel ready and excited to learn.

Thank you for always showing that when we come together, even the smallest gesture can make a meaningful difference.

🧦 Funky Socks Day! 🌈

Get ready to brighten up our school with a splash of colour, creativity and fun! On Friday 11 September it is Funky Socks Day. Learners are invited to wear their funkiest, brightest and silliest socks with their PE uniform.

This special day is an opportunity to raise awareness of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and show our support for the important work being done to assist children and families affected by FASD. 💛

As part of our initiative, we will be supporting Home of Hope, helping contribute towards the incredible work they do in providing care, support and opportunities for children affected by FASD.

So, dig out those crazy stripes, colourful patterns, mismatched pairs and favourite funky socks, the funkier, the better! 🧦✨

Let’s have some fun, spread awareness and make a difference, one funky sock at a time! 💛🌈

R10 will be charged to the school account for each learner that takes part in aid of this worthy cause.

📸 Scan the QR code or tap the link to join:

https://chat.whatsapp.com/H6zTS0hHpaIIHF2G5PigPq?mode=gi_t

KLIKD ARTICLE

📱 Your Mr Smarty Pants Outsmarted Your Parental Controls... Now What?

You turned on *Screen Time*. ✅

Blocked the browser. ✅

Added filters. ✅

Set bedtime limits. ✅

...Patted yourself on the back and went to bed.

And then your smarty pants found a way.* 🤦‍♀️🥵

Maybe they took a "dirty" word, translated it into another language using Google Translate, and suddenly the image they wanted appeared.

Or maybe you blocked Safari, so they jumped onto WhatsApp or another app and asked *AI* instead.

Or perhaps a fake birth date opened the door your age checks were supposed to keep closed.

👉 This isn't because your parental controls failed.

It's because they were never meant to do the whole job.

🛡️* Parental controls are a seatbelt, not the driver.*

They:

✔️ Slow things down.

✔️ Create friction.

✔️ Protect younger children from obvious risks.

But they *can't replace the conversations* that help children understand why the rules exist in the first place.

💬 *Tonight, instead of asking:*

"How did you get around that?"

Try asking:

*"What made you want to get around it?"*

That answer will tell you far more than any setting ever could.

### ❤️ What our kids really need us to teach them

✨ *Why boundaries exist.*

✨ *How platforms are designed to keep them engaged.*

✨ *How to recognise risk.*

✨ *How to make good decisions when no adult is watching.*

✨ *How to ask for help when they've crossed a line.*

Curious about the cheeky (but incredibly resourceful!) ways kids are getting around parental controls?

👉 *Read the full blog here:* https://klikd.co.za/parental-controls/

*Stay connected,*

Sarah & Pam ♥️

GENERAL

SCHOOL HOURS

CALENDAR AND EVENTS

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)