Farewell to an Icon

It was with great sadness that we heard about the passing of Nelson Mandela. The country is in a period of mourning. I thought that the best way to pay tribute to him was to go and see the movie - Long walk to Freedom on the day of his memorial. After the funeral on Sunday I guess things will go back to normal for most folks. My thoughts however go to his family - it is always hard to lose your father or mother and someone who was absent from your lives for so long, it must seem like he was with them for too short a time.
RIP TATA we shall miss you!

Concert time!

We have spent a lot of time over the past few weeks practicing our dances, movements, words and microphone skills. On Friday we held our dress rehearsal and all seemed to be ok except for the sound. The microphones were not working as they should and I think I gaineda few more grey hairs because of this! Well the concert is on Tuesday so I have my fingers crossed!!!!

Ocean Projects

The Children proudly show off their wonderful projects! Well done you guys on presenting such diverse ideas. We have dioramas, posters, books, a mobile and models of the creatures. I am such a proud teacher!!!!!

A dark week at Stepping Stones!

Monday 4th November we were greeted by the news that one of my littlies had drowned in the lagoon. Shock and dismay turned to tears and grief as we as a school tried to work through this devastating news. As she was a classmate I gave each child a piece of paper and told them to do what felt right to them - they could draw, write, cut or anything that they felt was a way of expressing themselves. Need less to say some children went through many pieces and others worked quietly on one. It was a difficult week and all the children were encouraged to express themselves at any time. We placed a memorial table is the foyer with a picture of Naledi, a candle, flowers and a book of remembrance. All children, staff and parents were encouraged to write in the book and this will be sent home to Naledi's parents.

Naledi enjoying an ice-cream on one of our outings.

We are studying the ocean this term.

The Grade Two's working on a group fish project. Each child was given a piece of a puzzle and had to find the children with the other pieces in order to build the 'fish'. They then had to find out the fishes name and various facts about it in order to fill out the worksheet.

We also studied sharks and made beautiful drawings with added 3D mouths with sharp teeth. Our dolphin studies ended with mosaic dolphins jumping through hoops - very impressive!

Watch this space for some awesome projects!

Fun Run 5th October

Stepping Stones held their annual Fun Run on Saturday 5th October on Leisure Isle. An overcast day allowed participants to remain cool especially with the cool breeze blowing in from the sea. Our Pre-school teacher Helene did a sterling job with the organisation and some wonderful prizes were given. All in all a wonderful day!

                                                       Setting up in the early morning

Transport Theme

We had a great time exploring various modes of transport. The children made models, completed projects and we had some lovely art projects too!

Some of the stunning projects!

Our 'movable' boats! Painted boats on cardboard, cut out and two sucker sticks placed on the bottom. A slit cut into the 'sea' background, sticks placed through and voila 'movable' boats! 

Some of our models!

I do hope the kids are as keen about next terms theme - The Ocean!

Spring Walk

September 6th we held our annual Spring walk at Belvidere. A great outing in the fresh air!

We held a promotion at the local mall on the 14th of September. A lot of hard work for the preparation but well worth it!

A short holiday now and then the last term! Enjoy the rest and come back refreshed and willing!

Art and reading

Every year the Knysna Arts group holds a Children's Art Exhibition at the Old Gaol. I t is an annual event in our town and all schools participate. I was most proud of JT in my class who received a "Highly Commended" for  his little car. Well done JT!

This week I was happy to observe my kids having a renewed interest in reading. Could it be that I re-arranged the book corner, bought a new mat and hauled out some little stools to sit upon???

It matters not why but rather that it is happening!!! YAY!!!

The Grade Two's proudly showing off their poems for Arbor Day to the rest of the school at assembly.

Helicopter!

On Thursday the 15th August a rather large helicopter landed on the sports fields across the road from our school. As we are doing the transportation theme this term it was a perfect opportunity to see a helicopter up close! We were given the opportunity to inspect the craft and ask the pilot questions. The reason for all this excitement is that a tanker had run aground off our shoreline and the helicopter was there to take the Minister of Environment Mr. Winde to inspect the scene. A number of birds had been caught in the oil spill and people were doing a great job rescuing them while every effort was being made to re-float the stricken vessel. I am happy to report it was successfully removed on Saturday.
The children were amazed at the size of and equipment on the helicopter. An amazing opportunity for our children!

Mandela Day and Birthday - all in one week!

On Thursday 18 July we celebrated Mandela's Birthday with an assembly where we sang Happy Birthday, prayed for him , sang the National Anthem and read a short version of his life. The children all brought coins and arranged them around a sketch of him that I made. The money was for charity and we raised R518 for a local soup kitchen which provides meals for the hungry people of our town.My children also wrote a simple message to him wishing him well and happiness for his Birthday - these were so sweet!

On Friday 19 July Stepping Stones School turned 37 years old and again we celebrated with songs and a beautiful Birthday Cake!

The Elephant is our school's logo hence the cake had to have an elephant's head on it!

A wonderful week of celebrations - Well done Stepping Stones!