Senior Preparatory Weekly Memo

Home 18 October 2024

Dear Parents

Every year we have the opportunity to attend Honours and Leadership Awards as well as Valedictory the next morning. Both these events are bitter-sweet moments as we feel the sadness of saying farewell to our Grade 12s, some who have journeyed with us from Pre-Primary. The sweet moments are seeing the excitement of the newly elected Leadership team for 2025 and how they carry out their first day of duties at Valedictory. 

This year we could not have been prouder of Alexandra Bester, our 2019 Preparatory Principal's Award and the 'Girl who Cares' recipient. Well Done, Alexandra!  

Alexandra receiving the 'Girl Who Cares' award from the 2019 Head Prefects. 

Academic Information

Please refer to the academic tab for important information.

2025 Requirements

Please refer to the 2025 requirements tab for important information.

Class Placements

It is impossible for the school to accommodate all class requests, approximately 50 different requests in each grade, and it would be unfair to allow some parents to make requests and not others. An example of these requests would be:

Johnny's mom has asked for him to be with his best friend Mark, however, Mark's mom has asked that they are not placed together. Mark's mom would like him with Peter and Paul, however, Paul's mom would like him to be with Johnny and not Mark. Peter wrote on his friendship slip he would like to be with Johnny, however, Peter's mother does not want him with Johnny or Mark. All with an added request that we don’t tell the other parents.

Should a parent make a request for placement as shown in the above example, we will need to share the request with the other parent in order to avoid unfair parent conflict with the teacher. Unfortunately, parents can sometimes be aggressive and rude to teachers when their requests are not met even though this could be due to many conflicting requests.

With this in mind, we ask that you trust the teachers’ ability to place your child in the most suitable class. Class placements are a mammoth task and many hours are spent deliberating over the most suitable combinations for the learners.

We trust that you will support our decision, as it is based on our professional evaluation of each learner within their learning environment. We promise to do our very best to ensure each child is placed in a class in which they will thrive.

Start of the School Day

As we head towards assessments, please be reminded that the Senior Preparatory learners begin their day at 07:45. All learners must be clocked in and ready for the day before this time. Arrival times will be monitored this quarter and learners arriving late will receive a demerit. 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. 

Extra Mural News

SP Design Society 

SP Design Society members are using air drying clay to create pencil holders. 

Recycled Fashion Show

The Grade 6s are in the planning phase of their Recycled Fashion Show. Sourcing and deciding on which materials to use is a key element of the design process.

Sports Announcements

Notes and Reminders:

• Please contact the Sports Department should you wish to sign your children up for Quarter 4 sport.
  Liam Maharage
  Nadine Marais-Swart
  Jared Margetts

• Physical Education

Swimming is back! Please pack in Parklands swimming costumes / swimming Cap / towel and sunblock. Whilst we are still playing it by 

ear, we’ll make a decision on the day regarding swimming for PE. 

Sport Practices and Matches in the week of 11-15 November 2024

Please see below for sport practices and matches in the week of 11-15 November:

No Gr 4-6 Softball practices or matches in the week of 11 - 15 November

No Gr 4-6 Cricket practices or matches in the week of 11 - 15 November

No Gr 4 - 6 tennis practices or matches in the week of 11 - 15 November

No Gr 4-6 Water Polo practices or matches in the week of 11 - 15 November

No Squad Swimming practices or galas in the week of 11 - 15 November

Dance, Junior Chefs, Drama Society, Design Society, Chess and Golf will continue during the week of 11 - 15 November.

Marimba, Choir and Orchestra lessons will continue, however, will end slightly earlier in the morning during the week of 11 - 15 November.

Sports Results 

On Friday, 11 October 2024, Parklands College made a splash at Laerskool Jan Van Riebeeck's friendly gala! To say our swimmers did exceptionally well would be an understatement. Out of the 24 events we competed in, we proudly secured 16 first places and 8 second places.

A special shoutout goes to our incredible U10 boys relay team, composed of just three swimmers (a relay is typically 4 x 25m). Despite the odds, our team, including Taylor Harrison-Ralph (U10), Sebastian Fourie (U9), and Jean-Louis Kroon (U9), remained undefeated on Friday. What an inspiring performance from these young athletes!

Congratulations to all our swimmers for making Parklands College proud! Your hard work and dedication truly shone through. Go Parklands!

Library News

LIT QUIZ

Today two teams will be taking part in the last interschools Lit Quiz event of the quarter. Participants will face ten categories of five questions each, together with around thirty other Cape Town teams. It is always a fun and exhilarating affair. Good luck to our teams!

Parent News

Lighthouse Parents have more Confident Kids

Here is an article worth reading, written by school principal, Russell Shaw, from Washington DC:

Lighthouse Parents Have More Confident Kids