Victoria Primary School – A primary school for girls in Grahamstown/Makhanda

VP Newsletter 11 October 2024

11th Oct 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

As the end-of-the-year pressure mounts, your daughter may be finding navigating through it all quite stressful. It is important for parents to keep their daughters encouraged and grounded. Here are 14 wonderful things you can say to your daughter to keep her morale and confidence up:

Adapted from https://mytruegirl.com/14-powerful-things-to-say-to-your-daughter-everyday

14 Powerful Things To Say To Your Daughter (Everyday)

Take the time in the next few weeks to use your words to build your daughter up:

I love you.
Here’s one thing I love about you today…
I’m glad you’re a part of our family because you…
You make a difference.
I trust you can handle this.
What do you think? Your opinion matters to me.
What do you want to do differently next time?
Thank you for apologising. I forgive you.
I’m sorry. Will you forgive me?
I believe in you.
I’m listening.
You are a helper.
I enjoy spending time with you.
My life is better because God put you in it.

Hearing these things will help your daughter know her worth and keep her motivated knowing that she has a family backing her and supporting her.

EXAM TIMETABLE

Date:	Examination
Mon & Tues, 4 & 5 Nov. (in class time)	HL(Eng) and FAL (Afrikaans or isiXhosa) Creative Writing
Tuesday, 5 November	Life Orientation (Grade 7)
Wednesday, 6 November	Technology (Grade 7) Maths Paper 1 (Grade 4-7)
Thursday, 7 November	SS Geography (Grade 4-7)
Friday, 8 November	Art (Grade 4-7)
Monday, 11 November	Maths Paper 2 (Grade 4-7) FAL Language and Comprehension (Grade 4-7)
Tuesday, 12 November	Natural Sciences (Grade 4-7) English Language and Comprehension (Grade 4-7)
Wednesday, 13 November	SS History (Grade 4-7)
Thursday, 14 November	Life Skills (Grade 4-6) EMS (Grade 7) LSPA Theory (Grade 7) LSPA Practical @ 17:15

PTA Outdoor Movie Nights at the Botanical Gardens (Old Provost)

On Friday, 25 October we will be showing the movie Inside Out 2 for the IP girls and on Friday, 1 November we will be showing the movie Abominable for the PP & FP girls. Tickets will cost R40 for children and R60 for adults and will be sold from the school office prior to the show. Each show has limited space so please buy now to avoid disappointment. Children must be accompanied by an adult for supervision.

The show starts at 18:15 and from 17:00 and throughout the show, we will have a tuckshop and popcorn stand available. For hot drinks and hot food, the Provost Coffee Shop (LA Cafe) will be open too. Prior to the show, from 17:00-18:00, we will have a jumping castle for the children to have some fun, for R5 for 5 minutes. Please support our stalls and bring cash. Please bring your own blankets and pillows. No alcohol is permitted. Tickets are still available.

Thank you for the donations and volunteers for help already received. We are still in need of more donations of popcorn kernels, sunflower oil and salt. Please drop these items off at the office.

Prior to the movie starting, businesses will have an opportunity to advertise on the big screen at a cost of only R500 for both nights. If you would like to have your business advertised (or know about a business who might wish to advertise) please enquire at the school office or email the office at admin@victoriaprimary.co.za

We are certain this will make for a wonderful family evening out under the stars!!

Worker of the Week

Well done to Lubeluhle Peteni who has worked so hard this week!

SGB AGM – Please note that our 2025 budget will be presented at the AGM on Tuesday, 15 October at 17:15.

Tennis

Our first team tennis girls participated in a match against DSG on Wednesday. They gave their best on a very hot day and had lots of fun. Overall VP lost 31 games to 38. Well done, girls!

Chess

The VP Chess Champs for 2024 will take place on Friday, 18 October with participants competing for the championship title. The competition will run from 13:30 to 16:30 in the school library. Parents are requested to collect their daughters promptly at 16:40 from the Pre-primary gate in Beaufort Street.

Due to space constraints and the need for a quiet environment, we won’t be having spectators.

Birthday wishes

We wish the following staff and girls a very happy birthday for next week: Ms Vongo, Cassy Radovic, Mary-Kate Februarie, Kganya Lentsa, Alunamda Yapi, Glennis Chakurungama and Milani-Mihlali Nxozi. We hope you have a very happy day!

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

UPCOMING EVENTS
Fri. 18/10	· VP Chess Champs. · Grade 7 Committee meetings
Sat. 19/10	· B-League Gala.
Fri. 25/10	· Mini Cricket Festival (Gr 2&3). · Grade 7 Committee meetings. · IP Outdoor movie night.
Mon. 28/10	· House assembly.
Fri. 01/11	· Civvies day. · PP&FP Outdoor movie night.
Mon. 04/11	· IP Exams begin. · IP school day ends at 12:30 until the end of term.

VP Newsletter 4 October 2024

4th Oct 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

We are in our final term of 2024 and it will be a very short one before we head into examinations for our Grade 4-7 girls. It is essential that each girl stays focused and prepares herself for her upcoming final examinations. Please ensure that your daughter sets up a study timetable this week so that she doesn’t leave her studies to the last minute. A little bit every day, starting with her note making, practising her Maths and revising, will ensure that she performs at her best and is less overwhelmed at the end of the year. It is a mere four weeks until they start writing exams. Help your daughter establish a study routine every afternoon that will be conducive to her setting the tone to a term of focus and hard work.

Here are some lovely tips adapted from the article titled; The dos and don’ts of parenting during exam time. (https://iieworldofwork.iie.ac.za/the-dos-and-donts-of-parenting-during-exam-time)

Be Calm and Supportive

The first – and most important – thing for parents to do, is to ensure they manage their own emotions and expectations before stepping in to provide support for their children. Parents should ensure that they are calm and are a pillar of support rather than presenting as another challenge for the child to overcome. Parents should not suggest worst-case scenarios, but rather assist their children calmly and support them at this time.

Time Management

Be on top of your daughter’s exam timetable and help them devise a realistic study plan.

Be available for assistance

Offer support when your child needs help understanding a concept, reviewing material, or organising their study plan. However, encourage independent problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

Limit excessive screen time

Recognise that screen time is often an avoidance mechanism. Set clear boundaries to ensure technology is used as a helpful tool or reward rather than a distraction and does not negatively impact her study schedule.

Environment

Create, as far as possible, a peaceful and supportive environment. Given the demands, challenges and high stakes associated with exams, that is not always easy, but it remains a goal worth striving for. Pupils can focus and apply themselves better when additional anxiety and stress are reduced, and they know they are supported.

Encourage a Balanced Routine

Help your child establish a balanced routine that includes sufficient time for study breaks, physical activity, and rest. A well-planned schedule can reduce stress and improve productivity.

The Fundamentals

Parents should ensure their children get enough sleep, outside time and exercise, and opt for healthy foods as far as possible. Try to steer them away from a strategy of late-night or early-morning cram sessions.

Foster Open Communication

Create an atmosphere where your child feels comfortable discussing their concerns, challenges, and progress. Be willing to listen without judgement or jumping in to solve the problem when a child wants to talk about their fears, concerns, and anxiety. If your daughter shows signs of frustration, remind them to take a break and join them to sit outside or go for a walk.

Offer Positive Reinforcement

Recognise and appreciate your child’s efforts, progress, and achievements. Positive reinforcement can boost their motivation and self-confidence.

Parents should remember that every child is unique and that adapting the above guidelines to suit their child’s needs and learning style is essential. Supporting them emotionally and creating a positive environment will help them navigate exam time more effectively.

While it’s important to emphasise the significance of exams, avoid putting undue pressure on your child, as unrealistic expectations and constant criticism and conflict around studies can lead to increased anxiety and decreased performance. Instead of focusing only on outcomes and achievements, emphasise the value of learning, personal growth, and resilience.

EXAM TIMETABLE

Date:	Examination
Mon & Tues, 4 & 5 November (in class time)	HL(Eng) and FAL (Afrikaans or isiXhosa) Creative Writing
Tuesday, 5 November	Life Orientation (Grade 7)
Wednesday, 6 November	Technology (Grade 7) Maths Paper 1 (Grade 4-7)
Thursday, 7 November	SS Geography (Grade 4-7)
Friday, 8 November	Art (Grade 4-7)
Monday, 11 November	Maths Paper 2 (Grade 4-7) FAL Language and Comprehension (Grade 4-7)
Tuesday, 12 November	Natural Sciences (Grade 4-7) English Language and Comprehension (Grade 4-7)
Wednesday, 13 November	SS History (Grade 4-7)
Thursday, 14 November	Life Skills (Grade 4-6) EMS (Grade 7) LSPA Theory (Grade 7) LSPA Practical @ 17:15

Worker of the Week

Well done to Onwaba Hoyi in Grade 2 who visited me three times this week already for her good work! What a great start to Term 4, Onwaba!

PTA Outdoor Movie Nights

For our final PTA fundraiser this year we will be having two outdoor movie nights at the botanical gardens.

On Friday, 25 October we will be showing the movie Inside Out 2 for the IP girls and on Friday, 1 November we will be showing the movie Abominable for the PP & FP girls. Tickets will cost R40 for children and R60 for adults and will be sold from the school office prior to the show. Each show has limited space so please buy now to avoid disappointment. Children must be accompanied by an adult for supervision.

If you are able to assist in any way please complete the attached letter and return it to your daughter’s class teacher.

Tickets will be available from the school office from Tuesday, 8 October.

We are certain this will make for a wonderful family evening out under the stars!!

School Uniform

Although, according to our calendar, our girls are meant to be in summer uniform this term we have certainly not had summer weather every day this week. If we are experiencing a cold day, girls may wear their winter uniform, however we request that you do not mix winter and summer uniforms. Please ensure that your daughter is wearing a full summer or full winter uniform.

Leaving at the end of the year

Please note that you are required to give us a term’s notice if your daughter is leaving VP at the end of 2024 and will not be returning in 2025 (except if your daughter is going to high school). Therefore notice must be given now. Please send this in writing to admin@victoriaprimary.co.za.

SGB AGM

Please note that our 2025 budget will be presented at the AGM on Tuesday, 15 October at 17:15.

Tennis

We will be playing tennis matches against DSG on Wednesday, 16 October at VP. Girls participating have received letters. Play well!

Birthday wishes

We wish the following staff and girls a very happy birthday for this and next week: Mrs Calitz, Kungothando Ngangani, Indiphile Magaya, Likuwe SIko, Amyoli Loli, Lanele Makeba, Zinatty Somana, Likhona Klei, Margiet van Rooyen, Libhongo Xametshata, Olungaka Ntsundushe, Sivuyisiwe Jacob, Lisakhanya Cetu, Leante Crafford, Lamela Funani, Lerato Pheega, Naleen Ngamale, Daniella McLean and Solethu Ranelo. We hope you have a very happy day!

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

UPCOMING EVENTS
Wed. 16/10	Tennis vs DSG @VP.
Fri. 18/10	VP Chess Champs.
Sat. 19/10	B-League Gala.
Fri. 25/10	Mini Cricket Festival (Gr 2&3). IP Outdoor movie night.
Mon. 28/10	House assembly.
Fri. 01/11	Civvies day. PP&FP Outdoor movie night.
Mon. 04/11	IP Exams begin. IP school day ends at 12:30 until the end of term.

VP Newsletter 20 September 2024

20th Sep 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

We have certainly had another jam-packed term. Just this past weekend all our netball coaches attended an umpiring grading course and they are all now level 1 or 2 graded umpires.

The week before, the majority of our teachers spent their Friday afternoon attending a Coding and Robotics workshop, which will be implemented within the curriculum in the Foundation Phase from next year.

Our athletics team took part in the triangular event on Tuesday against Kingswood College and DSG and our girls made us so proud!

All our girls from Grade 1-7 took part in the Interhouse Maths this past Friday and the houses were challenged to problem solve some really challenging sums and then that same afternoon Ms Miskin hosted our first ever Maths 24 competition in the library. This was also a delight to watch as the girls were clearly captivated by the mental challenge and finding the solution.

We celebrated Heritage Day on Monday and our girls were a beautiful rainbow of colour and cultures.

I hope that you were fortunate enough to see our amazing productions which were unintentionally a wonderful celebration of Heritage Day which highlighted the delightful diversity that we have at VP.

On Tuesday evening a number of our girls were recognised for their wonderful art work at the Johan Carinus Art Exhibition and we were very proud of them. This all the while also ensuring teaching was still happening and that reports with comprehensive comments were completed.

I am sure that you echo my sentiment that we truly have amazing teachers that go the extra mile to expose our girls to so many different activities so that they each have an opportunity to find their niche and their talents. I am continuously amazed by the magic that our teachers create when working with our girls, not to mention the confidence that gets inspired and instilled in our girls. We are blessed to have such a special school; girls and staff alike!

We trust that you all have a wonderful rest during this short but much needed break before we head into our final term of 2024! We hope that your own celebration of Heritage Day on Tuesday, 24 September is full of family time and braai vleis!

Staff news

We congratulate Mrs Gaylin Andrews who has now officially been appointed as our new Head of Sport. Mrs Andrews has been acting in this position since March and has proved to be most effective. We are certain she will continue to do a sterling job in this role. Congratulations, Mrs Andrews!

Message from the SGB Chairperson:

We have reached the end of another busy yet fulfilling term. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to you for your dedication to our school community. Your commitment to working alongside our dedicated teachers plays a crucial role in ensuring that your daughter receives the best possible education here. Thank you for your continued efforts and support. Your support makes our school a thriving community. Remember, “Without you, there is no us.“

The turnout at the SGB AGM on Wednesday, 18 September was underwhelming, with fewer than 20 parents in attendance. I cannot stress enough the importance of attending these meetings. Being present not only keeps you informed about the school’s financial status and budget but also allows you to actively participate in the decision-making process that shapes our school’s future. Your involvement is crucial to ensuring that we continue to provide the best learning environment for our daughters.

Congratulations to the girls and teachers for their outstanding performance in the school production. It was truly a wonderful showcase of their diverse talents and hard work. I hope you enjoyed witnessing their creativity and dedication.

As we close this term, you will receive your daughter’s report today. I encourage you to take the time to go through it carefully. Celebrate the hard work and achievements, no matter how big or small they may seem. Equally, take this moment to identify areas where there may be room for improvement. Constructive reflection on their progress can help guide and support them in the terms to come.

The holidays are a time for rest and rejuvenation. Encourage your daughters to take a well-deserved break, allowing them to recharge both mentally and physically. However, it’s also an ideal time to reflect and plan for the upcoming term. Finding a balance between rest and constructive engagement can set the stage for continued success in the year ahead.

Lastly, I would also like to take this moment to express our deepest gratitude to our principal, the academic staff, and the support staff. Their unwavering dedication and hard work make our school a nurturing and dynamic place for our children to grow.

Wishing you all a restful and joyous holiday period with your families. Let us return next term refreshed and ready to continue our journey together.

Warm regards, Thando Qeqe

Term 3 Academic Top Ten

Well done to girls from Grade 4-7 who are our academic Top Ten for Term 3. Your hard work has paid off!

Grade 4

Madison Conroy

Okuhle Smile

Kaylee May

Cayden Strauss

Emihle Kulati

Misha Potts

Amyoli Loli

Isla Orsmond

Kendra Chrisjan

Caitlyn Bodill

Zenazi Gqeke

Grade 5

Makatendeka Chakona

Bridget Akpeng

Owekhethelo Gongqa

Ababalwe Ngwetsheni

Haset Sintayehu

Olothando Sityata

Maham Rizvi

Yusrah Suleman

Amari Funani

Kungothando Ngangani

Grade 6

Eila Chirombo

Nakweziphi Mthetho

Esethu Stamper

Iviwe Jakavula

Mila Nongubo

Uzosule Kanana

Junaid Williams

Omanathi Mcophele

Isabella Tladi

Avethandwa Hambaze

Grade 7

Emilie Niesing

Azile Hambaze

Hlalumi Balfour

Cassandra Radovic

Amila Mdingi

Daniella Mclean

Darissa Mushid

Emily Steele

Maya Christian

Aleesia Jonkers

Ifeoma Nnadozie

Johan Carinus Art Award Winners

Well done to our girls who were awarded certificates at the Annual Johan Carinus Art Exhibition. We are very proud of you.

Grade 4

Gold: Misha Potts

Silver: Alexis Killian

Bronze: Kaylee May

Grade 5

Gold: Siphesihle Chrisjan

Silver: Grabriella Cervati

Bronze: Bridget Akpeng

Grade 6

Gold: Iviwe Jakavula

Silver: Alibongwe Mathembe

Bronze: Marizaan Boucher

Grade 7

Double Gold: Aleesia Jonker

Gold: Abigail Green

Silver: Cherise Mardon

Bronze: Linomtha Kula

Worker of the Week

Well done to Le-Yante Mnto for her beautifully written weekend news!

Merit achievers

Ciara Moodie has received over 250 merits this year. Well done!

Indlulamthi Badge & Personality of the Week

Well done to Hlalumi Balfour who was awarded both the POW certificate and her Indlulamthi Badge at our final assembly today. Well done, Hlalumi! We are proud to have you as a VP girl!

Triangular results

Event	Name	Position
U13 1500m	Daniella McLean	Second
U13 Shot Put	Unakho Dlepu	First
U13 Shot Put	Iminathi Ndilele	Second
U10 Long Jump	Emihle Kulati	First
U10 Long Jump	Nalu Mfiki	Third
U9/A 100m	Chanelle Musarurwa	Second
U9/B 100m	Sizoluhle Matswele	Third
U10 100m	Nalu Mfiki	First
U10 100m	Nalu Mfiki	New Record
U10 100m	Nazley Gabriel	Third
U12 100m	Madison Edwards	First
U12 100m	Micarlin Daniels	Third
U13 100m	Aleesia Jonkers	Second
U13 100m	Anita Nkanyana	Third
U12 High Jump	Micarlin Daniels	Second
U10 Cricket Ball	Emihle Kulati	First
U13 Cricket Ball	Stella Mullin	First
U13 Cricket Ball	Zaydiah Adler	Third
U9A 400m	Oluhle Mpati	Third
U9B 400m	Mivuyo Santi	Third
U10 400m	Lolwethu Makana	Second
U11 400m	Esona Makabe	Third
U12 400m	Micarlin Daniels	First
U13 400m	Daniella McLean	Second
U11 Cricket Ball	Lunje Manzana	First
U11 Cricket Ball	Siphesihle Chrisjan	Second
U10 200m	Nalu Mfiki	First
U11 200m	Mivuyo Nongxaza	Third
U10 High Jump	Nalu Mfiki	Second
U10 High Jump	Etinosa Nini	Third
U12 Cricket Ball	Iminathi Ndilele	Third
U9 4x100m Relay	Victoria Primary School	Second
U10 4x100m Relay	Victoria Primary School	First
U11 4x100m Relay	Victoria Primary School	Third
U12 4x100m Relay	Victoria Primary School	Second
U13 4x100m Relay	Victoria Primary School	First

Rising Stars Tennis Report

We are extremely proud of our girls who participated in the Rising Stars tennis tournament over the weekend. They played against various schools from other districts. They finished in 4th place overall out of 8 teams. Well done, girls we are super proud of you!

Music

The ABRSM examiner spent the day with us on Wednesday last week and examined our musicians, as well as those from other schools in the region. He commented on the pleasing level of performance that he observed and our VP girls’ lovely manners. Well done, girls! We are so very proud of you!

Interhouse Mathematics Challenge

On Friday, 13 September we held our annual Interhouse Maths Challenge. All the learners from Grade 1 to Grade 7 participated. It was a lot of fun and we are pleased to announce the results as follows:

1st – Disa; 2nd – Aloe

3rd – Arum and Fern

We are proud of all the girls!

Maths 24 Challenge

The Grade 4 to 7 girls enjoyed an exciting afternoon of Math 24 calculations. By the end of the competition, their brains were fried from all the intense thinking! A total of 19 girls participated. Due to the number of entries, the competition was combined for the Grade 4s and 5s, while the second category was for the Grade 6s & 7s.

Grade 4 and 5 results:
1^st Simehlule Klaas; 2^nd Owekhethelo Gongqa; 3^rd Maka Chakona; 4^th Bridget Akpeng

Grade 6 and 7 results:
1^st Amyoli Sesani; 2^nd Kamva Tyaryeka; 3^rd Zinako Pikoli; 4^th (tied): Eila Chirombo and Liyanda Kutta

Congratulations to all the girls who participated and earned points, and a special shout-out to our winners!

SGB AGM

Please note that as we did not have a 10% quorum at our AGM which was scheduled on Wednesday night (18 September) we will present our 2025 budget on Tuesday, 15 October at 17:15.

Birthday wishes

We wish the following staff and girls a very happy holiday birthday next week: Mrs Orsmond, Ms Smaile, Tandolwetu Ketwa, Onika Mpongwana, Marizaan Boucher, Etinosa Nini, Liyabukwa Njeza, Anoyolo Baliso, Iviwe Masoma and Yazini Nodo. We hope you have a very happy day!

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

UPCOMING EVENTS
Mon. 30/09	Hostel opens, boarders return
Tues. 1/10	Term 4 begins. Summer uniform.
Wed. 2/10	Extramurals begin
Thurs. 3/10	PTA meeting 17:15

VP Newsletter 13 September 2024

13th Sep 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

We are coming to the close of a very busy term and the teachers have worked hard with our girls to get them ready for their respective productions. I hope that you have managed to purchase a ticket to watch the show. I know that you are in for a treat and that it will mean the world to your daughter to see you in the audience!!

On Monday 16 September we will celebrate Heritage Day. Girls can come dressed in celebration of their heritage. There will be no cost.

Please note that Term 3 reports will be handed out at 10:30 on Friday. These reports will be given to your girls before they are dismissed for their school holiday. NO report will be handed out before this time. Please do NOT come to the office requesting reports earlier as the office staff DO NOT have the reports.

Extramurals are now finished for this term (except for IP Choir in the morning). Please note the following collection times for next week:

Monday & Tuesday Grade 1-7 – 13:00

Wed. & Thurs. Grade 00-7 – 14:00

Please note that on Wednesday & Thursday due to the Gr 00-3 Production, traffic will be congested in the front of the school. Please be patient during collections.

Friday: Pre-primary, Foundation Phase & Intersen Phase (Grade 00-7) finish at 10:30.

Worker of the Week

Well done to Teia van Rooyen for her excellent doubling work in her NumberSense book. Keep it up, Teia!

Indlulamthi Badge

Well done to Onika Jimmy who was presented with her badge on Monday. We are so proud of you, Onika. Keep it up!

Merit Achievers

Siarra Appollis, Zaya Dembaza, Likhona Klei, Abongile Mazitshana, Bubele Mvula, Lerato Pheega, Ella Radovic, Alunamda Rafa, Silubonile Royi and Angawo Zono have received over 250 merits so far this year. Well done, girls!

VP Productions

There are a few tickets still available for our two productions. They are on sale for R20 from the school office.

The Pre-primary and Foundation Phase production of Sanibonani namkelekile! will take place on the following days: Wednesday, 18 September 13:00-14:00 & Thursday, 19 September 13:00-14:00.

The Intersen Phase production of African Queen will take place on the following days: Monday, 16 September 17:30-18:30 & Thursday, 19 September 17:30-18:30.

Production arrangements for Grade 4-7

Please note that your daughter will be required to attend both productions.

Grade 00-3

On Wednesday and Thursday, Gr 00-3 will have their production straight after school and will be finishing at 14:00.

Grade 4-7

On Monday and Thursday, Gr 4-7 will present their production and need to report to school at 16:00. They may remain at school once the academic day ends. Please ensure that your daughter has enough food and drink for the extra-long day. Girls must be collected after the production at the Beaufort Street entrance by 18:45.

Reminder that all girls must have their own red lipstick!

SGB AGM

Please remember that we will be having the School Governing Body Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, 18 September at 17:15 in the Glennie Hall. The 2025 Budget will be available at the school office for viewing as from Friday, 13 September 2024.

SPORT

Gymnastics Competition

On Saturday, 7 September Chanelle Masururwa, Glennis Chakurungama and Alexis Muller competed in a gymnastics competition. The girls performed really well and had fun. Chanelle received 3 gold medals and came 1^st overall in her age group, Glennis received 3 silver medals and came 2^nd overall in her age group and Alexis received 3 gold medals and came 1^st overall in her age group. Well done, girls!

Tennis tournament

This past weekend Madison Edwards and Stella Mullin played in the Port Alfred U15 Clay Doubles tournament at the Port Alfred Tennis Club and Southwell Tennis Club. Congratulations to them both for playing in the finals and receiving a medal for 2^nd place. Well done!

Rising Stars Tennis Tournament

Marizaan Boucher, Stella Mullin, Daniella McClean and Kaylee May are taking part in the second round of the Rising Stars tennis tournament against various schools this weekend. We wish them all the best, play well girls and good luck!

Swimming League

On Saturday, 7 September Teia van Rooyen, Anabelle Olivier, Halle Orsmond and Isla Orsmond attended the PEA Swimming League at the Herbert Hurd Aquatics Centre in Gqeberha. This was their first experience of swimming in a club gala. Teia swam in the breaststroke, freestyle and backstroke and Anabelle swam in the backstroke and freestyle. Both girls did very well in their heats. Halle Orsmond swam in the breaststroke, freestyle and backstroke and received a 2^nd place ribbon. Isla Orsmond swam in the breaststroke, freestyle and backstroke and received two 1^st place ribbons. Well done, girls!

Triangular Athletics event

The Triangular Athletics event will take place on Tuesday, 17 September at Kingswood College. The girls who will be participating have received a letter with all the details. The Triangular will start at 14:00 and end at approximately 16:00.

Please collect your daughter from Kingswood at 16:00 promptly or she will be brought back to school and must be collected at the Beaufort Street office entrance by 16:30. Do us proud, girls!

Birthday wishes

We wish the following girls a very happy birthday for next week Alunamda Mpambani, Iminathi Owusu, Ivakele Teyi, Zaya Dembaza, Letisha de Maar, Qhayiya Mbethe and Emilie Niesing. We hope you have a very happy day!

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

UPCOMING EVENTS

Fri. 13/09

· Maths 24 Challenge finishes at 15:30. Please collect from the Pre-primary gate in Beaufort Street.

Sat.

14/09

· Rising Stars Tennis Tournament

Sun.

15/09

· Rising Stars Tennis Tournament

Mon.

16/09

· Celebrate your Heritage dress-up day

· Grade 1-7 finish school @13:00

· Grade 4-7 return to school @16:00

· Production African Queen

(Gr 4-7) 17:30-18:30

Tues.

17/09

· Grade 1-7 finish school @13:00

· Triangular Athletics @KC 14:00-16:00

· JC Art School Exhibition @18:00

Wed.

18/09

· Grade 00-7 finish school @14:00

· Production Sanibonani namkelekile! (Gr 00-3) 13:00-14:00

· SGB AGM 17:15

Thurs.

19/09

· Grade 00-7 finish school @14:00

· Grade 4-7 return to school @16:00

· Production Sanibonani namkelekile! (Gr 00-3) 13:00-14:00

· Production African Queen

(Gr 4-7) 17:30-18:30

Fri 20/09

· Last day of term.

· Top 10 Assembly @08:30

· Grade 00-7 School finishes @10:30.

· Reports handed out in class @10:30

· No Aftercare.

· Hostel closes @12:30

VP Newsletter 6 September 2024

6th Sep 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

We are thrilled to announce that we received notification from the Education Department that Ms Kerry-Lee Knott-Craig has been officially appointed as our new Intersen Phase Head of Department. Ms Knott-Craig has been acting in this position since March this year and she has had a positive impact in the short time she has fulfilled this role. We look forward to this next exciting chapter for our school.

We were also so proud of our three choirs who sang at the Monument on Saturday for the first ever Rhodes University Ensemble Festival. We were the only school represented but we were able to showcase three separate choirs! Each choir sang so beautifully and our girls’ decorum and engagement with the other choirs were remarkable. Our music department continues to be one of VP’s greatest prides and we thank Mr Wynne and Mr Florence for the wonderful work that they do with our girls.

A very special thanks to our office staff Ms Lang, Ms Jamela and Mrs Terblanche who we celebrated on Wednesday for Secretary’s Day! What would we do without them? They are the most endearing heart and face of our school.

We are very blessed to have the staff of the calibre we have at VP and for the commitment that they show daily in everything that they do, in the classroom and beyond. This is evident in our girls, what they learn and how they behave. We are indeed a very blessed school!

Personality of the Week

We were delighted to present our POW to a staff member at our assembly! Ms Oerson, one of our interns, was presented with her award for her enthusiastic encouragement of our girls at our interhouse athletics.

Indlulamthi Badge

Well done to Luminjalo Galekile who was presented with her badge on Monday. We are so proud of you, Luminjalo. Keep it up!

Worker of the Week

Our Worker of the Week is Kganya Lentsa for her excellent adding in Maths and lovely ‘Weekend News’.

ABRSM exams

VP is thrilled to be hosting the Royal Schools examiner on Wednesday next week. Our exam candidates have been working hard for many months and we wish them the best of luck on their big day!

VP Productions

There are still tickets available for our two productions. They are on sale for R20 from the school office.

The Pre-primary and Foundation Phase production of Sanibonani namkelekile! will take place on the following days: Wednesday, 18 September 13:00-14:00 & Thursday, 19 September 13:00-14:00.

The Intersen Phase production of African Queen will take place on the following days: Monday, 16 September 17:30-18:30 & Thursday, 19 September 17:30-18:30.

Please buy your tickets as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. They are selling like hot cakes!

Grade R visit to a farm

On Tuesday, the Grade Rs thoroughly enjoyed their annual outing to the dairy farm of Wendy and Andrew Kock. With much excitement, the girls climbed onto a big 60-seater bus. At the farm we were warmly welcomed by our hosts and taken on a walkabout. The girls saw cows, calves, chickens, ducks and watched a kid being bottle fed. There was also some interesting farm machinery in action too including an antique milk separator. We got to taste some delicious farm fresh milk!

Grade 7 Outing

We wish our Grade 7s a fun-filled day at Boknes today. We are certain they will enjoy the sun, sand and sea!

Photo Day is on Thursday, 12 September

Orders for photos had to be submitted by Friday, 6 September.

Family photos will be taken from 07:30 to 08:00.

Family/Individual photos

Dress: Civvies or school uniform (uniform as listed below). If you are opting for civvies your daughter may come to school dressed in civvies and can change into her school uniform after the photo has been taken.

Uniform for photos

Grade 00: Civvies

Grade R: Navy golf shirt, black/navy jeans/leggings or rugby shorts

Grade 1-3: Winter uniform (skirt), navy tights, navy jersey

Grade 4-7: Winter uniform (skirt), navy tights and blazers

Sport team photos

U13A netball: Green dresses, white socks and takkies

U13A hockey: Green Toyota dresses, green socks and hockey takkies/boots

Athletics team/ tennis team/ swimming team: Full tracksuits

Interhouse Maths Challenge

On Friday, 13 September, the Grade 1-7 girls will be taking part in a fun Interhouse Maths Challenge. The girls will be working in groups to complete the variety questions. The Intersen Phase are required to come to school dressed in their full tracksuits and house shirts.

Maths 24 Challenge

We’re excited to announce that we will be holding our first Maths 24 Challenge competition on Friday, 13th September in the school hall!

Details

Who: All Grade 4-7 students.

Prizes: There will be a prize for the winner in each grade, along with certificates for the Top 3 participants in each grade.

Entry Fee: R5 per participant. Please submit your entry fee to Ms. Miskin by Wednesday, 11th September.

The exact time of the event will be announced once all the entries are received. Get ready to challenge your mathematical skills and have some fun!

Extramurals

We will continue to focus on rehearsals in the afternoons. Our girls who are in the triangular team will also have practices to prepare for the triangular interschools event on 17 September.

All girls Grade 1-7 will finish at 14h00

(except on Friday which will end at 13:00 as usual) unless they have a production practice, triangular athletics practice, tennis practice or need to attend their reading group session.

The Triangular Athletics event will take place on Tuesday, 17 September at Kingswood College. The girls who will be participating have received a letter with all the details.

Please note the schedule for next week:

Monday, 9 September:

07:30 – 08:00 Chamber Choir

Production Practice:

13:00 -14:00 Grade 4 & 5 in hall

14:00 -15:00 Grade 6 & 7 in hall

Triangular Practice:

13:00-13h45 U12/U13 High jump and Long jump

14:00-14:45 U10/U11 High jump and Long jump

Tennis:

14:00 -15:00 Beginner Tennis Gr. 2&3

Reading Group:

15:00 -16:00 Grade 4-6 Reading Groups with Ms Knott-Craig

Tuesday, 10 September:

07:15 – 07:45 Senior Coir

07:30 – 08:00 Junior Choir

Production Practice:

13:00 -14:00 Grade 6 & 7 in hall

14:00 -15:00 Grade 4 & 5 in hall

Triangular Practice:

14:00-15:00 Cricket Ball U9-U13

14:00-14:45 Shot put U13

Tennis:

14:00 -15:25 First Team

Reading Group:

15:00 -16:00 Grade 4 – 6 Reading Groups with Ms Knott-Craig

Wednesday, 11 September:

07:15 – 07:45 Senior Choir

07:30 – 08:00 Junior Choir

Production Practice:

13:00 -15:00 Grade 4-7 in hall

Thursday, 12 September

07:15 – 07:45 Senior Choir

Production Practice:

13:00 -14:30 Grade 4-7 in hall

Triangular Practice:

14:00-15:00 Relay practice U9-U13

Tennis

15:00 -16:00 First team

Friday, 13 September

13:00 -14:00 Orchestra

13:00 -14:00 Chamber Choir

It is National Book Week from 5-11 September. As part of this drive VP would like to organise a book exchange day on Wednesday and Thursday 11& 12 September. Girls Grade R-7 are encouraged to bring one or two books from Monday which they are ready to part with. All girls who donate will have an opportunity to ‘swap’ or exchange it for a new book to read. This will be an exciting way to share what you’ve read and get something new and exciting to read in exchange.

Vaccinations

The Health Department will visit our school on Monday to administer a Tetanus/Diphtheria vaccine to the Grade 5s. If your daughter was absent when the Grade 5s received their HPV vaccines she will be able to get that administered on Monday, as well.

Birthday wishes

We wish the following girls a very happy birthday for next week: Olothando Kanyiwe, Aleah Molefe, Iris Patel, Cayden Strauss and Hlalumi Mali. We hope you have a very happy day!

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

UPCOMING EVENTS

Wed. 11/09

· Book exchange as part of National Book Week

Thurs. 12/09

· Photo Day

· Book exchange

· PTA Meeting @16:30

Fri.

13/09

· Production cushion show

· Interhouse Maths Challenge

· Maths 24 Challenge

Mon.

16/09

· Production African Queen

(Gr 4-7) 17:30-18:30

Tues.

17/09

· Triangular Athletics @KC 14:00-16:00

· JC Art School Exhibition

Wed.

18/09

· Production Sanibonani namkelekile! (Gr 00-3) 13:00-14:00

· SGB AGM 17:15

Thurs.

19/09

· Production Sanibonani namkelekile! (Gr 00-3) 13:00-14:00

· Production African Queen

(Gr 4-7) 17:30-18:30

Fri 20/09

· Last day of term. School finishes @10:30. No Aftercare. Hostel closes @12:30

VP Newsletter 30 August 2024

30th Aug 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

I cannot express how important parental interest and involvement is, and how big an impact it has on your daughter’s academic performance and motivation. We have so many girls who strive to work to the best of their ability because they know that they have their parents’ backing and support and that their academics are important to their whole family. On the flip side it is so disheartening when children work way below their potential, are unmotivated and disinterested, no matter what the teacher does in the classroom, and this is more often than not, due to a lack of support and interest shown from home. I have often spoken about the importance of the partnership between the teacher and parent/ guardian when it comes to the support of every child’s academics, so when there is no or little parental involvement, there is not that dual support of the child, and teachers’ efforts are greatly thwarted.

Primary school aged children work for external motivation i.e. for praise and recognition from others, and are not yet able to decide that they will work for themselves so that they can be the best version of themselves. They thrive on family support, input and encouragement.

How can you ensure that you are supporting your daughter’s academics?

Ask her about her day and how her lessons went and what she learnt.
Do you know who her teachers are? Who are her favourites and who are her not-so favourites? If you do (and it is August), you are paying attention to her daily schooling.
Check her diary and make sure that she is organised and prepared.
Check her homework and make her do it to the best of her ability.
Help her to study for her tests and be eager to get her results.
Be aware of her upcoming events on her school calendar and support her any way you can.
Hold her accountable when she doesn’t perform well or does not complete tasks. Put in measures so this doesn’t happen again.
Meet with her teachers if you are concerned or if you just want to touch base.
Provide an environment at home that allows your daughter to focus on her homework and have a good night’s sleep during the week and on a Sunday.
When it is report time, spend time discussing her results with her, positive and negative. Put measures in place to support her where needed and praise her efforts when she has done well and/or shown improvement.

Your daughter’s education cannot be left at the doorstep of her teachers, there is only so much she can do. Parental involvement can ensure a child thrives and achieves her full potential.

Award winning teacher: We are delighted to announce that Ms Knott-Craig was awarded the prize for Excellence in Intermediate Phase Teaching at the first ever Makhanda Teacher Awards ceremony. We are so proud of you, Kerry-Lee. Your hard work and dedication towards our VP girls is most appreciated by all and we are thrilled that this has been recognised by the Makhanda community.

Indlulamthi Badge: Congratulations to Emihle Kulati who was awarded her Indlulamthi Badge at Monday’s assembly. We are so proud of you, Emihle!

Worker of the Week: Our Worker of the Week is Lubeluhle Peteni in Grade 1 for her wonderful sentences and for hugging everyone in the office!

Merit Achievers: Azuza Mbiza, Ithandile-Inkosi Meke, Jazlin Crafford, Micarlin Daniels and Siyasisanda Nene have received over 250 merits so far this year. Keep it up, girls!

Tennis Achievement: Marizaan Boucher played in a tennis South Africa tournament over the weekend in Gqeberha. She won all her matches and was also the overall winner in her division. Well done, Marizaan! We are all super proud of you.

Grade & 7 Social ‘Disco Theme’

Our Grade 6&7s will enjoy their Social at VP this evening. Entrance is R20 and there will be a tuckshop (cash only). The event starts at 18h00 and the music will be turned off at 20:50. All girls must be fetched promptly by 21:00 from the Beaufort Street hall entrance. Please arrange reliable and safe transport for your girls and ensure that you are waiting by 21:00. No VP girl will be allowed to walk home.

Choir Performance

Our Senior Choir, Junior Choir and Chamber Choir will be performing at the Monument on Saturday. Girls must be dropped off by 08:30 and fetched by 11:30. Register will be taken at 08:30 so girls must be prompt, and they are to be neatly dressed in full winter uniform.

Please feel free to join us for a beautiful morning of song. Entrance is free.

Music Concert on Saturday

08:30 – 09:00 Arrival/Ensembles Registration

09:00 – 09:10 Welcome

09:10 – 09:25 African Melodic Remedies African Ensemble

09:35 – 09:50 VP Junior Choir

10:00 – 10:15 VP Senior Choir

10:25 – 10:40 Victoria Voices Chamber Choir

10:50 – 11:05 Kingswood Choir

11:15 – 11:30 Makhanda Kwantu Choir Youth Choir

VP Productions

Don’t delay buying your tickets for our two productions. They are on sale for R20 from the school office.

The Pre-primary and Foundation Phase production of Sanibonani namkelekile! will take place on the following days: Wednesday, 18 September 13:00-14:00 & Thursday, 19 September 13:00-14:00.

The Intersen Phase production of African Queen will take place on the following days: Monday, 16 September 17:30-18:30 & Thursday, 19 September 17:30-18:30. There are a limited number of seats so please buy your tickets as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Grade 7 Outing

The Grade 7s will be travelling to Boknes for their annual outing on Friday, 6 September. We wish them, and the teachers accompanying them, a safe trip and a fun interactive experience.

Page Palooza

DSG Junior school, in partnership with Lebone Centre, are challenging our community to pick up a book and READ! This community outreach aims to encourage girls from Grade 4-7 to read as many pages as possible in the week of the 5th-11th September. Parents are encouraged to sponsor their children a nominal amount per page (10/20 cents per page etc). All funds raised will be used to purchase books from Book Dash for R25 per book and distributed to young learners in Makhanda. Girls who are interested in taking part must please ensure they get their sponsorship form from Mrs Sauls.

Extramurals

In preparation for our productions coming up soon, we will be focusing on rehearsals in the afternoons. Our girls who are in the triangular team will also have practices to prepare for the triangular interschools event. All girls Grade 1-7 will finish at 14h00 unless they have a production practice, triangular athletics practice, tennis practice or need to attend their reading group session.

Please note the schedule for next week:

Monday, 2 September:

07:30 – 08:00 Chamber Choir

Production Practice:

13:00 -14:00 Grade 4 & 5 in hall

14:00 -15:00 Grade 6 & 7 in hall

Triangular Practice:

14:00 -14:45 Relay Practice U9 – U13

Tennis:

14:00 -15:00 Beginner Tennis Gr. 2&3

Reading Group:

15:00 -16:00 Grade 4-6 Reading Groups with Ms Knott-Craig

Tuesday, 3 September:07:15 – 07:45 Senior Coir

07:30 – 08:00 Junior Choir

Production Practice:

13:00 -14:00 Grade 6 & 7 in hall

14:00 -15:00 Grade 4 & 5 in hall

Triangular Practice:

14:00 -15:00 Relay Practice U9 – U13

Tennis:

14:00 -15:25 First Team

Reading Group:

15:00 -16:00 Grade 4 – 6 Reading Groups with Ms Knott-Craig

Wednesday, 4 September:07:15 – 07:45 Senior Choir

07:30 – 08:00 Junior Choir

Production Practice:

13:00 -14:00 Grade 4 & 5 in hall

14:00 -15:00 Grade 6 & 7 in hall

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE HAVE BEEN INFORMED THAT THE TRIANGULAR WILL NO LONGER TAKE PLACE ON WEDNESDAY. WE WILL GIVE FURTHER DETAILS REGARDING A NEWS DATE AS SOON AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE

Thursday, 5 September07:15 – 07:45 Senior Choir

Production Practice:

13:00 -14:00 Grade 6 & 7 in hall

14:00 -15:00 Grade 4 & 5 in hall

Tennis

15:00 -16:00 First team

Friday, 6 September 13:00 -14:00 Orchestra

13:00 -14:00 Chamber Choir

Birthday wishes

We wish the following girls a very happy birthday for next week: Nima Ntsepo, Avethandwa Xhango,Ukum Pikoli, Lakhe Jubase. Grace Ruwanza, Ophilayo Same, Lulo Adam, Lolwethu Makana and Simisa Mtyapi. We hope you have a very happy day!

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

UPCOMING EVENTS

Fri. 30/08

· Grade 6/7 Social @VP

18:00-21:00

Wed.

4/09

· SGB Budget meeting 13:00

· Triangular Athletics

Fri. 6/09

· Grade 7 Outing

Fri.

13/09

· Production cushion show

Mon.

16/09

· Production (Gr 4-7) 17:30-18:30

Tues. 17/09

· Opening of the JC Art School Exhibition – by invitation

Wed.

18/09

· Production (Gr 00-3) 13:00-14:00

· SGB AGM 17:15

Thurs.

19/09

· Production (Gr 00-3) 13:00-14:00

· Production (Gr 4-7) 17:30-18:30

VP Newsletter 23 August 2024

23rd Aug 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

We had an eventful (although chilly) and fun interhouse athletics day yesterday and our girls put on many courageous performances. Well done to our record breakers this year, Etinosa Nini broke the U10 High Jump record (1.22m), Emihle Kulati broke the U10 Cricket Ball record (31.47m), Madison Edwards and Iminathi Ndilele broke the U12 Shot Put record but Iminathi’s distance was further, and Rejoice Chatikobo and Madison Edwards both broke the U12 80m record but Rejoice’s time of 10:58 was the fastest on the day so her record stands.

We would also like to thank our many parents for their enthusiastic support. Our girls sang and cheered from the sidelines and gave it their all to earn points for their houses. Athletics is not everyone’s forte and we are not all going to win, but it can teach us to push ourselves beyond our limits, to do things outside our comfort zones, to do things for the greater good and that this can all be a lot of fun. Our girls displayed amazing team spirit and the teachers continued to cheer them on from the sidelines. What a lovely event for our girls to participate in and I am sure that our girls will remember these days way into their adulthood.

Interhouse Athletics Results

1^st – Aloe; 2^nd – Arum; 3^rd – Fern; 4^th – Disa

Please see the detailed results at the end of the newsletter sent home today. Well done to all our girls!

Sportsmanship Trophy

Well done to Zingce Balani who received our sportsmanship trophy for her encouraging support of her friend during athletics practice.

Worker of the Week

Well done to Iminathi Malusi for her excellent project on religions for Life Skills.

Merit Achievers

Madison Edwards, Lulo Adams, Limnandi Zweni, Sanelisiwe Mbete, Othimna Mgigwi and Milani Nothoko have received over 250 merits so far this year. Keep it up, girls!

Entrepreneurs’ Day and Civvies Day

Next week, Friday, 30 August is our annual Entrepreneurs’ Day! Please support our hardworking Grade 7s who will be selling their products from 10:00-13:00. Parents are welcome to join us and support them. We are also having a Disco themed Civvies Day. Please pay R5 and come dressed in your best Disco outfit!

Grade 6 & 7 Social

On Friday, 30 August the Grade 6/7 VP/Graeme social will take place at VP. The entrance fee is R20 and there will also be a tuckshop available. It will be cash only. The social starts at 18:00 and ends at 21:00. The music will be turned off at 20:50. Please ensure that you collect your daughter no later than 21:00 from the Beaufort Street entrance.

U10 Hockey Tour

On the 16^th of August the U10s set off for Graaff Reinet to participate in a tournament on Saturday, 17 August. The girls played their best and it was a wonderful learning experience. Thank you to the parents that helped raise funds for this tour and to Ms Knott-Craig and Mrs Andrews for coaching and encouraging them.

Choir Performance

We are thrilled to announce that our choirs (junior choir, senior choir and chamber choir) will be participating in the Rhodes University Music Festival on Saturday, 31 August, which will be held at the 1820 Settlers Monument. Further details will be communicated once they are finalised by the festival organisers.

Page Palooza

DSG Junior school, in partnership with Lebone Centre, are challenging our community to pick up a book and READ! This community outreach aims to encourage girls from Grade 4-7 to read as many pages as possible in the week of the 5th-11th September. Parents are encouraged to sponsor their children a nominal amount per page (10/20 cents per page etc). All funds raised will be used to purchase books from Book Dash for R25 per book and distributed to young learners in Makhanda. Mrs Sauls will distribute sponsor forms next week to the girls who are interested in participating.

Extramurals: Please note that an extramural programme for next week accompanies the newsletter handed out today.

VP Productions

We are delighted to be presenting our two separate productions this year which involve every VP girl from Grade 00 to Grade 7!

The Pre-primary and Foundation Phase production of Sanibonani namkelekile! will take place on the following days: Wednesday, 18 September 13:00-14:00 & Thursday, 19 September 13:00-14:00.

The Intersen Phase production of African Queen will take place on the following days: Monday, 16 September 17:30-18:30 & Thursday, 19 September 17:30-18:30.

Tickets will be available from Monday, 26 August at R20 a ticket, from the school office. There are a limited number of seats so please buy your tickets as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Birthday wishes

We wish the following girls a very happy birthday for next week: Siarra Appollis, Balelihle Jadi, Thorin Prince, Lene van Eyssen, Lunje Tshiki, Lianke Cordier, Christelle Moriarty, Darissa Mushid and Yumna Suleman. We hope you have a very happy day!

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

UPCOMING EVENTS
Fri. 30/08	· Grade 7 Entrepreneurs’ Day · Civvies Day – Disco Theme – R5 · Grade 6/7 Social @VP
Wed. 4/09	· SGB Budget meeting 13:00
Fri. 6/09	· Grade 7 Outing
Fri. 13/09	· Production cushion show
Mon. 16/09	· Production (Gr 4-7) 17:30-18:30
Tues. 17/09	· Opening of the JC Art School Exhibition – by invitation
Wed. 18/09	· Production (Gr 00-3) 13:00-14:00 · SGB AGM 17:15
Thurs. 19/09	· Production (Gr 00-3) 13:00-14:00 · Production (Gr 4-7) 17:30-18:30

VP Interhouse Track Winners
Event	Age Group	Name	Position	Time
Ladder Relay	All	Aloe	First
4 x 100m Relay	U9	Aloe	First	1.17.08
4 x 100m Relay	U10	Fern	First	1.16.12
4 x 100m Relay	U11	Disa	First	1.12.62
4 x 100m Relay	U12	Aloe	First	1.08.99
4 x 100m Relay	U13	Aloe	First	1.02.92
80m	U9	Taylynne Thomas	First	14.17
80m	U10	Nalu Mfiki	First	13.41
80m	U11	Mivuyo Nongxaza	First	13.18
80m	U12	Rejoice Chatikoba (Record)	First	10.58
100m	U9	Chanelle Musarurwa	First	17.78
100m	U10	Nalu Mfiki	First	16.49
100m	U11	Maham Rizvi	First	16.98
100m	U12	Madison Edwards	First	15.30
100m	U13	Aleesia Jonkers	First	15.00
100m	U14	Amyoli Matswele	First	16.20
200m	U14	Amyoli Matswele	First	35.74
200m	U13	Aleesia Jonkers	First	32.23
200m	U9	Taylynne Thomas	First	39.72
200m	U10	Lolwethu Makana	First	37.26
200m	U11	Mivuyo Nongxaza	First	36.21
200m	U12	Madison Edwards	First	31.47
400m	U9	Oluhle Mpati	First	1.33.42
400m	U10	Lolwethu Makana	First	1.32.19
400m	U11	Esona Makabe	First	1.25.04
400m	U12	Micarlin Daniels	First	1.22.85
400m	U13	Daniella McLean	First	1.11.90
400m	U14	Amyoli Matswele	First	1.29.48
800m	U10	Nalu Mfiki	First	3.26.33
800m	U11	Siarra Appollis	First	3.07.77
800m	U12	Micarlin Daniels	First	2.52.29
800m	U13	Daniella McLean	First	2.41.57
800m	U14	Abigail Green	First	3.17.80
1200m	U10	Nalu Mfiki	First	5.57.33
1200m	U11	Esona Makabe	First	5.12.23
1200m	U12	Micarlin Daniels	First	5.10.61
1200m	U13	Daniella McLean	First	4.49.61
1200m	U14	Abigail Green	First	5.44.31

VP Interhouse Field Winners
Event	Age Group	Name	Position	Distance/ height
Cricket Ball	U9	Lunika Mdyebi	First	20.15m
Cricket Ball	U10	Emihle Kulati (Record)	First	31.47m
Cricket Ball	U11	Lunje Manzana	First	33.33m
Cricket Ball	U12	Iminathi Ndilele	First	31.82m
Cricket Ball	U13	Stella Mullin	First	34.43m
Cricket Ball	U14	Mihlie Khitha	First	28.84m
Shot Put	U12	Iminathi Ndilele (Record)	First	7.31m
Shot Put	U13	Daniella McLean	First	7.82m
Shot Put	U14	Unako Dlepu	First	7.41m
Long Jump	U9	Aliyah Swartz	First	2.86m
Long Jump	U10	Nalu Mfiki	First	3.37m
Long Jump	U11	Leah Doyle	First	3.45m
Long Jump	U12	Nakweziphi Mthetho	First	3.82m
Long Jump	U13	Zaydiah Adler	First	3.77m
Long Jump	U14	Amyoli Matswele	First	3.46m
High Jump	U9	Chanelle Musarurwa	First	1m
High Jump	U10	Etinosa Nini (Record)	First	1.22m
High Jump	U11	Lunje Manzana	First	1.15m
High Jump	U12	Micarlin Daniels	First	1.20m
High Jump	U13	Amyoli Sesani	First	1.30m
High Jump	U14	Shaziah Loutz	First	1.1m

Medals
Top Points Achiever	U9	Chanelle Musarurwa
Top Points Achiever	U10	Nalu Mfiki
Top Points Achiever	U11	Lunje Manzana
Top Points Achiever	U12	Micarlin Daniels
Top Points Achiever	U13	Daniella McLean
Top Points Achiever	U14	Amyoli Matswele
Best Track Athlete	U9	Chanelle Musarurwa
Best Field Athlete	U9	Aliyah Swartz
Best Track Athlete	U10	Nalu Mfiki
Best Field Athlete	U10	Emihile Kulati
Best Track Athlete	U11	Mivuyo Nongxaza
Best Field Athlete	U11	Lunje Manzana
Best Track Athlete	U12	Micarlin Daniels
Best Field Athlete	U12	Iminathi Ndilele
Best Track Athlete	U13	Daniella McLean
Best Field Athlete	U13	Daniella McLean
Best Track Athlete	U14	Amyoli Matswele
Best Field Athlete	U14	Lesego Mthiya


Record Medals
High Jump Record	U10	Etinosa Nini
Cricket Ball Record	U10	Emihle Kulati
Shot Put Record	U12	Iminathi Ndilele
80m Record	U12	Rejoice Chatikobo

Trophies
Victrix Ludorum	U9	Chanelle Musarurwa
Victrix Ludorum	Junior	Nalu Mfiki
Victrix Ludorum	Senior	Daniella McLean
Best Overall Field Athlete		Daniella McLean
Best Overall Track Athlete		Nalu Mfiki
Most Courageous Athlete		Abenathi Kulati
Most Courageous Athlete		Indiphile Zondani
Interhouse Athletics		Aloe

VP Newsletter 16 August 2024

16th Aug 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

The Olympics has come to an end with many inspirational events and many controversies too. There have also been sad moments and some that were quite humorous. Likewise, the responses to these events on social media were at times uplifting but some were vilifying. Many people jumped on the bandwagon to slay, judge, condemn and break down. It amazes me how people are so quick to judge and say the meanest of things (especially from the comfort of their couch).

Unfortunately our girls are not protected or isolated from social media and when they read some people’s responses (not only regarding the Olympics) they may think it is a reaction to emulate and repeat. It is our role to teach our girls that our words, comments, actions, criticisms, judgement and rejections can be extremely damaging to others.

It is so important to teach our girls to have empathy, to have grace, to recognise their own shortcomings so that they may be gracious with others when things don’t go as planned. We do live in a world where it seems to be okay to be nasty and speak without thinking (especially when we don’t have to be held accountable and say it face-to-face) but we need to teach our daughters that it is not okay to cause others hurt and shame.

Be sure to have conversations with your girls that make them realise the impact their words may have on others. ‘How do you think she may have felt when you said that?’, ‘How would you feel if

someone said that about/to you?’. ‘Do you think she can help it/have any control over it?’. ‘How would you feel if someone started picking on you about something you are sensitive about?’. ‘You’ve made a mistake before; how did you want your friends to respond?’. Be sure to correct or address mean and unkind words and be sure not to use them yourself. Praise your daughter when you see her being kind, supportive and empathetic and make sure that you model love and acceptance.

We know that girls can be mean, but they don’t have to be. It is up to us to teach them otherwise.

Assembly

Thank you to Ms Casling’s Grade 1 class for their lovely assembly on Monday that commemorated Women’s Day. This was our last class assembly for this year.

Personality of the Week: Congratulations to our VP hostel girls and a couple of day girls who attended the SPCA movie night on the 2^nd of August. They were nominated as our Personalities of the Week as they were commended for their good behaviour and they helped to clean up afterwards without complaint. The school received an email from the SPCA thanking our girls for their help on the night.

Indlulamthi Badge: Well done to Chloe Jeggels who received her Indlulamthi badge at Monday’s assembly. Thank you for being such a wonderful VP girl, Chloe!

Sportsmanship Trophy: We congratulate our U10A hockey girls who were all nominated to receive our Sportsmanship Trophy at Monday’s assembly for their enthusiastic and courageous play against Port Alfred’s U13 team.

Worker of the Week: Well done to Rebecca Phillip who is our Worker of the Week this week – in music she created a movie script and wrote the soundtrack! Wow! What amazing things our girls are doing at VP.

Merit Achievers: Linomtha Gonyela, Ciana Moodie and Kelly Smith have received over 250 merits so far this year. Keep it up, girls!

SPCA Book Sale

We were delighted that the SPCA raised R5274 from their book sale at VP. What a worthy cause and our girls were able to purchase some lovely books at bargain prices.

Trolley Dash

Congratulations to our Trolley Dash finalists for 2024: Bolise Mxube, Abongile Kili, Unathi Tyatyeka, Chriselda Thompson and Nothemba Mteto.

The finalists met at Pick ‘n Pay on the evening of the 13 August and Unathi Tyatyeka was the lucky winner of the Trolley Dash. Congratulations! The other finalists each received a R250 voucher from Pick ‘n Pay. We are very pleased to announce that R36 113,67 was raised. Thank you to everyone who contributed.

Interschools Best Speakers & General Knowledge Quiz vs Graeme College

On Wednesday afternoon we hosted our annual Interschools Best Speakers Competition. We were joined by Graeme College and all contestants made excellent presentations and made both of our schools proud! Well done! We would like to thank all involved for their support and effort in preparing our girls for the event. The winners of each category were as follows:

Grade 4: Kaylee May

Grade 5: Bridget Akpeng

Grade 6: Joel Chitsike (GC)

Grade 7: Talitha Dingani & Jed van der Merwe (GC) shared first place.

The Best Speakers contest was followed

by our Interschools General Knowledge Competition. It was a fun and educational evening. Although the team performed incredibly well in answering many questions correctly Graeme won the event. The score was 53 points for Graeme and 42 points for Victoria Primary. We are proud of our girls who conducted themselves well under pressure.

MUSIC

Save the date

We are thrilled to announce that our choirs (junior choir, senior choir and chamber choir) will be participating in the Rhodes University Music Festival on Saturday, 31 August which will be held at the 1820 Settlers Monument. Further details will be communicated once they are finalised by the festival organisers.

Assessments

All music pupils will play their Term 3 music assessments next week. Keep up the good work, girls and GOOD LUCK!

SPORT

Hockey results vs PAH

U10 VP 2-1 U10 PAH

U10/13 VP mixed team 2-0 U13 PAH

Well done to our girls and for the good sportsmanship they displayed during the course of the morning. Thank you to the parents for their support and to Mrs Andrews and Ms Knott-Craig for coaching, umpiring and transporting our girls!

U13A Netball Results – Cape Recife Tournament

VP 17-1 St Marks; VP 11-5 Cape Recife; VP 13-4 Paul Sauer; VP 14-3 Bonzai

Well done to a successful end to the season for our U13 girls and for their commendable behaviour displayed at the tournament. Thank you to Ms Featherstone and Ms le Roux for their coaching and support.

U10 Hockey tour to Graaff-Reinet

We wish our U10 hockey girls all the best at the hockey festival at Union this weekend. Thank you to Mrs Andrews and

Ms Knott-Craig for accompanying them. Have fun and safe travels!

Wilson Tennis

Good luck to our girls who will be participating in the Wilson Tennis Series on Sunday. Play well and have fun girls.

INTERHOUSE ATHLETICS DAY will take place on Thursday, 22 August 07:20–13:00 at Graeme College, Somerset field.

Our Interhouse Athletics Day is a fun compulsory day for all Grade 3-7 (U9-U14) girls. The Grade 00–2 girls will come to school as usual.

The Grade 3-7 girls must be dropped off at Graeme College, Somerset Field at 07:20 and meet up with their class teacher for roll call. The event will start at 07:35 and end at approximately 13:00. Girls are to be collected at 13:00 from Graeme.

The girls must wear their house T-shirts which are available from Heinen or Xtreme Embroidery (please no homemade versions), black shorts (NOT SKORTS), white socks, school hats/peaks, takkies and tracksuits. Girls must wear sunscreen. Please provide your daughter with plenty of water and a healthy lunch. The tuckshop at GC will NOT be available to VP girls! Parents are most welcome to support. If you are up to it we would like to have a parents’ relay team- so come dressed to sprint and give the teachers a run for their money! There will be no extramurals for Gr 3-7 on this Thursday.

Please make sure that her black (not blue) shorts fit her comfortably and are not too tight (they can be purchased at a very reasonable price from any Pep or Ackermans). If your daughter is at the appropriate age, please purchase your daughter a supportive bra for this event. Proper sports bras will provide support and minimise movement during her races which can help prevent discomfort, pain, and potential long-term damage. Please prioritise this if your daughter is needing one.

Updated Extramural programme

Please take note of the updated programme for next week which accompanies the newsletter home today. The programme for Athletics day is on the back side of the extramural programme.

PTA Meeting: We will have our next PTA meeting on Tuesday, 20 August at 17h15 in the school hall. All parents are welcome to join us!

Birthday wishes

We wish the following staff and girls a very happy birthday for next week: Ms Oerson, Ms Songongo, Sibabalwe Sokhanyile, Hlalumi Balfour, Ndaloyothando Koza, Unakho Fetsha, Alunamda Rafa and McKenzie Pringle.

We hope you have a very happy day!

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

UPCOMING EVENTS
Fri. 16/08	· U10 Hockey Festival @Union, Graaff-Reinet · Gr. 7 Talk · Gr. 7 Technology afternoon. Ends 16:30. Please pick girls up at the Hostel entrance in Hill Street.
Sat. 17/08	· U10 Hockey Festival @Union, Graaff-Reinet
Sun. 18/08	· Wilson Tennis Tournament
Tues. 20/08	· PTA meeting @17:15
Thurs. 22/08	· Interhouse Athletics @GC · No Extramurals (Gr. 3-7)

VP Newsletter 2 August 2024

2nd Aug 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

Please note that we will not have a newsletter next week Friday, 9 August – public holiday and it is also our Boarders’ Leave Out.

Can you believe that it is Olympics time again! What a wonderful way to celebrate people’s amazing talents and to inspire our girls to work hard and strive for their dreams. It is also great to note the sportsmanship (good and bad) that your daughters may witness at the Olympics and to use these opportunities to discuss why sportsmanship is so important. I can still distinctly remember many Olympic events I watched when I was a little girl. Some of the life lessons we can learn from the Olympics are impactful. The heartbreak and triumph are tangible and we become entwined with the dreams and goals of so many – even if not South Africans. It teaches us that life can go as we planned but that sometimes it doesn’t, but that we are capable of moving beyond and trying again. With the athletics season coming up, I really hope our girls strive to run fast, jump far, jump high and throw as far as they can after watching the wonderful talent on display at the Olympics.

Have a wonderful long weekend next weekend and a special Women’s Day. I am sure that we will celebrate all the special women in our lives and if that’s you, that you at least get tea in bed!

Worker of the Week

Well done to Sesona Mnqenana in Grade 1 for her lovely work on why it is important to greet. This week, to fit in with the Olympic theme, we have been greeting each other in French!! ‘Bonjour!

Personality of the Week

We are very proud of Olothando Sityata who was our POW this week for her kindness shown to her fellow teammates.

Sportsmanship Trophy

Well done to Elam Ntlokwana who was presented the Sportsmanship Trophy at Monday’s assembly for her determination and courage displayed during our inter house netball matches.

Best Speakers and General Knowledge

On Thursday we hosted our annual Best Speakers competition. All of our contestants’ orals were well prepared and presented, with thought provoking content. Topics were the following:

Grade 4: Superpowers and how they can change the world.

Grade 5: Designing new toys and giving them a purpose.

Grade 6: What the world is expected to look like in 100 years.

Grade 7: Explaining the mistake adults have made and how to fix it.
We would like to thank our adjudicators Mr Wynne and Ms Davies, our teachers for their input and our parents for their continued support! Our 1st placed contestants will go forward to present at our Best Speakers competition against Graeme College on the 14^th of August at VP.

Grade 4: 1st – Kaylee May; 2nd – Cayden Strauss; 3rd – Isla Orsmond

Grade 5: 1st – Bridget Akpeng; 2nd – Yusrah Suleman; 3rd – Makatendeka Chakona

Grade 6: 1st – Mila McConnachie; 2nd – Mila Nongubo; 3rd – Uzosule Kanana

Grade 7: 1st – Talitha Dingani; 2nd – Azile Hambaze; 3rd – Amila Mdingi

Well done!

Interhouse General Knowledge Results.

On Thursday we had our Interhouse General Knowledge Quiz. After three rounds of questions on a variety of topics, the results are as follows:

1^st Arum (29 points)

2^nd Aloe (18 points)

3^rd Disa (17 points)

4^th Fern (12 points)

Congratulations to Arum on achieving this impressive victory!

Interschool General Knowledge Team:

Based on their performance during the interhouse quiz, the following girls have been selected to represent VP on the 14th of August in the Interschool quiz against Graeme College: Stella Mullin; Emily Steele; Emilie Niesing; and Lunathi Mkosana. Reserve: Aleesia Jonker

Congratulations to these girls. We wish them all the best for the event.

Chess

Congratulations to Maka Chakona, Ella Radovic, Ifeoma Nnadozie and Alibongwe Mthembu who were invited to participate in the Sarah Baartman Schools Chess Trials. Well done, girls!

Assembly

We look forward to the last of our class assemblies this year. Our Grade 1s will be presenting their assemblies in the next two weeks. Grade 1- Mrs Orsmond will present their assembly on Monday, 5 August and Grade 1- Ms Casling will present theirs on 12 August. Parents are welcome to support. Please be seated at 10:15.

Chamber Choir

We wish our Chamber Choir girls all the best as they perform with the Cathedral Choir on Saturday, 10 August. We are proud of you.

Trolley Dash

We will have our Trolley Dash draw for our lucky Five Finalists on Wednesday, 7 August. Holding thumbs! We hope you bought a ticket!

On Tuesday, 13 August our Five Finalists will meet at Pick ‘n Pay at 17:45 where the lucky winner of the dash will be drawn and the dash will be at 18:00. All four runners up will receive a R250 Pick ‘n Pay voucher. Finalists need to be present to be eligible for the dash. Thank you to our parents and girls who sold their booklets and supported our PTA fundraising efforts.

SPCA Book Sale

SPORT

Hockey and Netball Results

On Saturday, 27 July the U12&U13A netball teams played matches against Herbert Hurd. Both teams showed amazing sportsmanship and enjoyed their matches. The results were: U12A VP 9-8 HH; U13A VP 8-12 HH

Herbert Hurd hockey results were as follows: U9B VP 0-5 HH; U9A VP 0-3 HH; U10A VP 2-4 HH; U10B VP 4-2 HH; U13A VP 0-0 HH; U13B VP 0-0 HH; U13C VP 0-2 HH

DSG Netball Results

On Saturday, 27 July the U11A/B/C, U12B/C and I13B teams played matches against DSG. All the teams displayed immense sportsmanship and enjoyed their matches. Thank you to all the coaches, teachers and parents who came to support our amazing players.

Fixtures vs Cape Recife

The U13A Netball girls will be participating in a tournament at Cape Recife in Gqeberha tomorrow.

Please see our fixtures below:

08:30: VP vs St Marks

08:46: VP vs Cape Recife

09:40: VP vs Paul Sauer

10:16: VP vs Bonsai

Good luck girls and travel safely!

Fixtures vs Port Alfred High School

Tomorrow the U10 & U13 hockey teams will be playing PAHS in Port Alfred.

The fixtures are as follows:

09:00: U10A vs PAH

10:15: U13A vs PAH

Good luck girls and travel safely!

Tennis

Wishing Marizaan Boucher the best of luck as she travels to Pretoria next week to participate in the TSA Primary Schools Interprovincial Tournament. Well done, Marizaan we are very proud of you and good luck.

PLEASE NOTE

Please see the updated Athletics programme for the next two weeks which accompanied the paper newsletter on Friday.

On Thursday, 8 August there will be no extramurals.

Donation request: Mrs Olivier requests donations of old newspapers and Mrs Calitz requests donations of old spectacle frames (without the lens).

Thank you: Thank you to those who donated toiletries towards the African Connection Girls’ Team in Makhanda.

Birthday wishes

We wish the following staff and girls a very happy birthday for the next two weeks: Mr Nell, Mrs R. Coetzee, Joslyn Mager, Arya Miles, Ululothando Pini, Awethu Tshisani, Elizabeth Adlem, Liyabona Benyane, Larmika Govender,

Siphesihle Chrisjan, Kyrah-Leigh Cannon-Wessels, Madison Edwards, Cherise Mardon, Lilithalethu Nkayi, Amari Funani, Akuve Manyati, Hlaluminathi Menzi, Zimingo Tyali, Olumiyo-Uthando Xalu, Sibabalwe Kulati, Lwandle Ralo and Nalu Mfiki. We hope you have a very happy day!

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

UPCOMING EVENTS

Sat. 3/08	· Hockey vs PAHS @PAHS · Hockey U13A vs Cape Recife @Cape Recife in Gqeberha
Mon. 5/08	· Assembly Grade 1O @10:15
Tues. 6/08	· SPCA Second hand children’s booksale (during school)
Wed. 7/08	· Trolley Dash draw for finalists. · 13:00 SGB Finance meeting & 16:30 SGB meeting
Thurs. 8/08	· No extramurals · Boarders’ Leave Out
Fri. 9/08	· Women’s Day. No school.
Sun. 11/08	· Boarders return from Leave Out
Mon. 12/08	· Assembly Grade 1C @10:15
Tues. 13/08	· Trolley Dash @17:45 at Pick ‘n Pay
Wed. 14/08	· Interschool Best Speakers & General Knowledge@17:00 at VP
Fri. 16/08	· Grade 7 Committee meetings · Grade 7 Technology afternoon
Sat. 17/08	· U10 Hockey Festival @Union School, Graaff-Reinet

VP Newsletter 26 July 2024

26th Jul 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

I feel it is necessary to inform our parent body of the predicament we find ourselves in with regards to our Fergusson Field after the National Arts Festival. Unfortunately the rehabilitation of our field has not been as hoped and we are unable to use it currently. As VGHS’ main field is also being rehabilitated we are unfortunately unable to use theirs either.

We are grateful to Kingswood College who offered their grass fields and netball courts for our Herbert Hurd fixture. However this is far from ideal as we would have preferred to host them on our own beautiful campus. The school’s SGB are working tirelessly and seeking advice on how to rectify this situation but it may very well take time. We have made alternate plans so that our extramurals can continue in the interim.

Please note that if you are attending the matches on Saturday at Kingswood the tea/coffee station is only for staff/parents. Please ensure that your daughter understands that these refreshments are for adults and that they may not help themselves.

Worker of the Week

Congratulations to Elizabeth Adlem for the work she did for Mandela Day, she informed me that “Mandela saved our country!” Well done, Elizabeth!

Indlulamthi Badges

We are so proud of Zingce Pilisani and Ayomide Booi who were both presented with their badges at Monday’s assembly. We are so proud of you both. Keep being such good ambassadors of our school.

Assembly

Thank you to Grade 2 Olivier’s delightful assembly on appreciating our uniqueness and on working together.

Merit Achievers

Unako Dlepu, Iviwe Jakavula, Christelle Ruvanza and Sairaah Govender have received over 250 merits so far this year. Keep up the hard work, girls!

Production at Kingswood College

On Monday, 29 July our Grade 2s & 3s will be going to Kingswood College to watch the show “You are Special”. Please make sure that your daughter is neatly dressed in her winter school uniform. No sports clothes/tracksuits please.

Best Speakers and Interhouse General Knowledge

On Thursday, 1 August we will have our Best Speakers and Interhouse General Knowledge challenges.

The Best Speaker contestants will start the event off at 08:30. The girls who are selected to present their orals will receive letters. Parents are welcome to attend.

Interhouse General Knowledge

On Thursday, 1 August at 10:30 we will be holding our annual Interhouse General Knowledge Quiz. The teams have been selected based on our weekly general knowledge quiz results as well as the girls’ academic marks. The top-performing girls from the interhouse quiz will then represent VP in the quiz

against Graeme College on Tuesday, 13 August.

The Interhouse Teams are as follows:

Aloe: Aleesia Jonker, Amila Mdingi, Lunathi Mkosana, Hlalumi Balfour.

Arum: Lunathi Zikishe, Emilie Niesing, Stella Mullin, Sanelisiwe Mbete.

Disa: Emily Steele, Unako Dlepu, Manahil Rizvi, Talitha Dingani.

Fern: Maya Christian, Azile Hambaze, Amyoli Sesani, Avuzwa Vusani.

We wish the teams all the best for what promises to be a fun educational event.

Chamber Choir

The VP Chamber Choir has been invited to perform in collaboration with the Rhodes University Chamber Choir (RUCC) on Saturday, 10 August at the Rhodes Chapel, as part of a fundraising concert for the RUCC’s Western Cape choir tour.

Enjoy this wonderful experience, girls!

Chess

On Saturday, 20 July our girls participated in a chess tournament at Kingswood College. They did very well and it was a wonderful experience. The following participants achieved a Top 10 position in their category:

Section B

3^rd – Ifeoma Nnadozie

4^th – Alibongwe Mthembu

8^th – Liyanda Kutta

10^th – Cassandra Radovic

Section C

3^rd – Makatendeka Chakona

4^th – Ella Radovic

7^th – Bridget Akpeng

Well done, girls!

SPORT

Swimming Report
We congratulate Danielle McLean and Lilani Wolmarans who represented the PEA Swim Club at the PEA Gala in Gqeberha from 15-18 June. They both swam in various events in their age groups and achieved some personal best times. We wish them all the best at the upcoming A league galas and for the Madibaz Gala happening on the 17 and 18 August. Keep it up, girls!

Kingswood Hockey results

u13A lost 3-0; u13B lost 3-0; u13C lost 1-0; u10A lost 7-0; u11A lost 5-1

Interhouse Hockey results

A big thank you to all the girls for a fun- filled hockey day. Your support at the junior and senior hockey was phenomenal and you made your houses proud. The juniors carried our seniors scoring 20 goals in total.

The results are as follows:

1st Fern
2nd Disa
3rd Arum
4th Aloe

Interhouse Netball results

Well done to all the players and supporters, a fun and competitive afternoon was had by all!

The results are as follows:

1st Fern
2nd Aloe
3rd Arum
4th Disa

VP vs Herbert Hurd

On Saturday, 27 July selected hockey and netball teams will be participating in matches against Herbert Hurd at Kingswood. The matches will start at 09:00 and should end at approximately 11:45. Girls are to arrive at least 45 minutes before the start of their games. Play well, girls!

The fixtures are as follows:

Hockey fixtures on Gane Field A & B

09:00-09:25 (GF B): VP U9B VP U10B

09:25-10:00 (GF B): VP U9A VP U10A

09:00-09:45 (GF A): VP U13C

09:50-10:35 (GF A): VP U13B

10:35-11:20 (GF A): VP U13A

Netball fixtures at Kingswood Junior School courts

09:00 U12A

09:30 U13A

Netball vs DSG Fixtures,

On Saturday, 27 July the U11A/B/C, U12B and the U13B/C netball girls will be playing matches against DSG at DSG. Girls are to arrive at least 45 minutes before the start of their games.

Play well, girls!

The fixtures are as follows:

09:00

Court 3: DSG U11C-U11C VP

Court 4: DSG U12D-U12C VP

09:30

Court 2: DSG U11A-U11A VP

Court 3: DSG U12A-U13C VP

Court 4: DSG U12C-U12B VP

10:00

Court 2: DSG U13A-U13B VP

Court 3: DSG U11B-U11B VP

Please note that girls supporting our teams at Kingswood College and DSG must be dressed in their school uniform or tracksuit.

Athletics programme

On Monday, 29 July we begin our Athletics season. Please see the new extramural schedule which accompanies this newsletter.

Trolley Dash (PTA Fundraiser)

This is the last week to sell tickets for this fundraiser. The booklets are due to be returned on Monday, 5 August. Please assist your child to sell at least one booklet which

consists of 5 tickets. Prizes will go to the individual and class who sells the most tickets.

Donation request

Mrs Olivier requests donations of old newspapers and Mrs Calitz requests donations of old spectacle frames (without the lens).

Appeal

Ms Knott-Craig requests donations of toiletries such as deodorant, sanitary pads, soap and lotion for the African Connection Girls’ Soccer team in Makhanda.

Drop-offs

A reminder to parents to please not drop items off for your daughter during the school day. We understand the occasional crisis arises and we are more than happy to receive your daughter’s birthday treats on her special day but unfortunately the office is currently kept extremely busy just receiving lunches, sports clothes, books etc. Please encourage your daughter to prepare her school items including lunch, the night before and pack them in her bag. Thanks so much for your assistance in this regard.

We wish the following staff and girls a very happy birthday for this and next week:

Mrs Terblanche, Mr Florence, Berlynne Willemse, Linamandla Dlakwe, Libby Everton, Zintle Magongo, Ababalwe Ngwetsheni, Lelona Manyati, Lulo Leseane and Phumelela Nikelo. We hope you have a very happy day!

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL UPCOMING EVENTS

Sat. 27/07	· Hockey & Netball vs Herbert Hurd at Kingswood College · Netball vs DSG @DSG
Mon. 29/07	· Grade 2&3 to go to Kingswood. Winter school uniform. · Athletics begin
Thurs. 1/08	· Interhouse Best Speakers (08:30) & General Knowledge (10:30)
Fri. 2/08	· Grade 7 Committee meetings
Sat. 3/08	· Hockey vs PAHS @PAHS · Hockey U13A vs Cape Recife @Cape Recife

VP Newsletter 19 July 2024

19th Jul 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

If you attended the Victoria in Concert last night I’m sure you’ll share in my sentiment of how wonderful our girls performed. We are so grateful to our Music staff, Mr Wynne and Mr Florence who taught and prepared our girls for this special occasion. Our girls did us proud!

We thank all our VP families for their support of our Mandela Day initiatives. It is so important to nurture a charitable heart and to help our children become aware of the plight of those less fortunate than themselves. Teaching our children to give back has the following benefits: https://www.cmosc.org/teaching-children-about-giving-back/

Nurtures Kindness and Compassion

Most young children are naturally kind and eager little helpers. As natural as kindness may come to many youngsters, true empathy towards others is often something they have to develop through experience. Fostering children’s natural aptitude to want to help, encourages them to grow into kind, caring and compassionate adults.

Instills Positive Character Traits

Helping others can benefit the emotional development of young children and help instill a number of other positive character traits such as: Responsibility, Generosity, Respect, Honesty, Optimism and Fairness. It also allows children to develop social skills, like teamwork, communication and goal setting.

Connects with Your Community

Having a sense of community is an important factor in ensuring young children grow up feeling safe and supported. It helps them develop a deeper connection to where they are from and strengthens their sense of belonging.

Boosts Self-Esteem

Knowing your small act of kindness benefitted someone, can be incredibly fulfilling and provide a sense of purpose. Being able to see that their care and effort can truly make a difference in someone’s life can be a huge boost to children’s confidence and self-esteem.

Teaches Gratitude

Giving back is all about helping those in need. When children learn that some people are not as fortunate as they are, they develop an understanding and gratitude for the things they have.

“No one has ever become poor from giving” – Anne Frank

“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth” – Mohammed Ali

Worker of the Week

We had so many girls receive their Principal’s Stickers this week for their wonderful work. What a great start to Term 3, girls. Keep this up! Well done to our Worker of the Week Danni McLean for her amazing LSMD project.

Merit Achievers

Alondwe Sethi and Lunathi Mkosana have received over 250 merits so far this year. Keep up the hard work, girls!

Assembly

On Monday, 22 July Grade 2O will be presenting their assembly. Parents are welcome to join us. Assembly will start at 10:15.

Grade 7 Spur Shadow Shift: The Grade 7s had a wonderful experience shadow shifting at Redwood Spur. They learnt many valuable lessons and thoroughly enjoyed serving and hosting parents and staff. We would like to thank everyone who supported them and made the night a success. The Grade 7s raised R3600- Well done, girls!

SPCA: We would like to thank all the parents and girls for their very generous donations towards the SPCA. Benita Tarr, a volunteer at the SPCA, visited the school on Mandela Day to come and tell the girls a bit more about the work that is done at the SPCA. She brought her dog Winston Peanut and the girls thoroughly enjoyed her talk. The SPCA was extremely grateful for all the donations.

Victoria in Concert: Last night, VGHS and VP combined their musical talents and performed for a wonderful audience at the Rhodes Theatre. Our girls made us so proud and the music teachers from both schools enjoyed the opportunity to work together. This concert is clear evidence that music is thriving at our schools.

Jerry Sewelo Chess Academy Tournament: We wish all the participants in the Chess tournament at Kingswood College on Saturday the best of luck!

SPORT: Upcoming fixtures

Today 19 July: U9s will play in St Andrew’s All Girls Hockey & Netball Festival
Saturday, 20 July: Hockey at Kingswood

Fixtures for Hockey vs Kingswood College at Kingswood on Saturday 20 July
Kingswood College Astro
09:00-09:25	u10A vs u10A	u11A vs u11A
09:30-10:05	u13C vs Kingswood u13C
10:10-10:50	u13B vs Kingswood u13B
10:55-11:40	u13A vs Kingswood u13A

U10 Hockey girls playing in internal matches at Kingswood College tomorrow have received a letter.

Netball:

Today 19 July: U9s will play in St Andrew’s Festival
Today 19 July: U10-U13 vs Kingswood College @VP

Fixtures for netball vs Kingswood College on Friday, 19 July:
Times	Court A	Court B
14h30	u10A	u11A
15h00	u12A	u13B
15h30	u13A	u12B

Interhouse Hockey & Netball

Next week we have our annual Interhouse Hockey and Netball. Lists have gone up and girls know who is in the teams. It is compulsory for the Grade 4–7 girls to attend and support. Supporters may wear sports uniform with house shirt. NO OTHER IP EXTRAMURALS will happen next week besides Choir and Orchestra. Parents are welcome to come support. Please enter the school at the office entrance in Beaufort Street.

Interhouse Hockey

Monday, 22 July: Junior (selected U9/U10) Interhouse Hockey from 14:00-16:00.

Tuesday, 23 July: Senior (selected U11-U13) Interhouse Hockey will start at 13:15 and end at 15:45. All games will be played on the top hockey field.

Interhouse Netball

Wednesday, 24 July: Junior (selected U10/11) & Senior (selected U12/13) Interhouse Netball from 14:00-16:00

Foundation Phase Hockey & Netball Fun Day

Next week the Foundation Phase girls will have their annual Hockey and Netball fun day.

The girls will be playing fun games in their colour groups. Parents are welcome to come see what their daughter has been taught on the hockey field and netball courts this season.

	Mon. 22/07	Tues. 23/07	Wed. 24/07	Thurs. 25/07	Fri. 26/07
Grade 1	Grade1 Fun Hockey day 13:00-13:45	Sports 13:00-14:00	Sports 13:00-14:00	Grade 1 Fun Netball day 13:00-14:00	No sports. School ends at 13:00
Grade 2	Sports 13:00-14:00	Grade 2 Fun Netball day 13:00-14:00	Grade 2 Fun Hockey day 12:30-13:45	Sports 13:00-14:00	No sports. School ends at 13:00
Grade 3	Grade 3s will have normal netball practice 13:00-14:00		Grade 3 Fun Netball day 13:00-14:00	Grade 3 Fun Hockey day 12:30-13:45	No sports. School ends at 13:00

Foundation Phase girls will receive letters in their homework books too.

Hockey & Netball vs Herbert Hurd on the 27th July 2024 at Victoria Primary School

Hockey teams playing against Herbert Hurd are U9A&B, U10A&B and U13A/B/C. Fixtures will be shared once finalised.

Netball fixtures are as follows:

Netball
Times	Court A
09:00	u12A
09:30	u13A

Netball fixtures for the Saturday, 27 July netball vs DSG at DSG.

Time	Court 2	Court 3	Court 4	Court 5
09:00	DSG 13B vs BCS 13A	DSG 11C vs VP 11C	DSG 12D vs VP 12C	DSG 10A vs BCS 10A
09:30	DSG 11A vs VP 11A	DSG 12A vs VP 13C	DSG 12C vs VP 12B
10:00	DSG 13A vs VP 13B	DSG 11B vs VP 11B	DSG 12B vs BCS 13A	DSG 10B vs BCS 10A

Trolley Dash (PTA Fundraiser): Last term your daughter received a Trolley Dash booklet to sell. They are due to be returned on Monday, 5 August. Each child is expected to sell at least one booklet which consists of 5 tickets only. Thank you to our girls who have returned theirs already and are already on their second or third booklets. You are stars! Prizes will go to the individual and class who sells the most tickets.

Birthday wishes

We wish the following girls a very happy birthday for next week: Nalikhaya Diniso, Iyeva Heshu, Aligugu Makeba, Mbalentle Niwa, Elam Ntlokwana, Anastasia Apreku, Ava Peters, Lugcobolwenkosi Qeqe, Andisubabalo Dike and Joy Torweni. We hope you have a very happy day!

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

UPCOMING EVENTS

Fri. 19/07	13:00 Grade 7 Committee meetings St Andrew’s Prep Hockey and Netball tournament @Prep (U9) Netball vs KC (U10-U13) @VP
Sat. 20/07	Hockey vs KC @ Kingswood (U9-U13) U10 Hockey Teams (1,2,3&4) at 08:00 @Kingswood Chess Tournament @KC
Mon. 22/07	Assembly Grade 2O @10:15 Grade 1 Hockey Fun Day 13:00-13:45 Junior Interhouse Hockey 14:00-16:00
Tues. 23/07	Grade 2 Netball Fun Day 13:00-14:00 Senior Interhouse Hockey 13:15-15:45
Wed. 24/07	Interhouse Netball 14:00-16:00 Grade 2 Fun Hockey 12:30-14:45 & Grade 3 Fun Netball 13:00-14:00
Thurs. 25/07	Grade 1 Fun Netball 13:00-14:00 & Grade 3 Fun Hockey 12:30-13:45
Sat. 27/07	Hockey & Netball vs Herbert Hurd

VP Newsletter 12 July 2024

12th Jul 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

Welcome back to Term 3. I trust that you had a wonderful time with your daughters during the holidays. We have started this term off with a bang with many events planned for next week already. Our Grade 7 girls shadowed as waitrons at Spur on Wednesday night and if you weren’t able to support them this week, please save the date to support them on Wednesday the 17 July. We will be celebrating Mandela Day on Thursday, 18 July and we appeal to you to donate any items for our SPCA drive. Also on Thursday we are very excited to present our Victoria in Concert which will showcase our musical talent with VGHS at the Rhodes Theatre. On Friday, 19 July we will have a Civvies Day and the funds raised will go towards our other Mandela Day initiative. More details for these exciting events will follow in this newsletter. Please support us.

This term we are focusing on greeting each other. Whether this be pupil to pupil, teacher to pupil or to visitors – greeting those we know and those we don’t know. This is an important life skill and certainly a good culture to establish within our school. We also want everyone to feel seen and appreciated! In our first step to encourage greeting, we were fist bumping and high fiving each other this past week. We ask that you also encourage greeting with your girls at home and wherever you may go to really establish this important social skill to a point that it becomes a healthy habit and to also endorse greeting as not only something that is practised at school.

‘Good manners are just a way of showing other people that we have respect for them’ – Billy Kelly

Worker of the Week

Well done to Olibango Ngabaza in Grade 1 for her good work in Maths!

Merit Achievers

Sithe-Nkosi Busakwe, Iminathi Malusi, Zizo Zomelele, Iminqweno Qalani and Christelle Moriarty have received over 250 merits so far this year. Keep up the hard work, girls!

Assembly

On Monday, 15 July Grade 2A will be presenting their assembly. Parents are welcome to join us. Assembly will start at 10:15.

Victoria In Concert

The VP Junior Choir (Gr. 3), Senior Choir (Gr. 4-7), Chamber Choir and Orchestra will perform alongside the VGHS ensembles on Thursday 18 July at 17:30pm at the Rhodes Theatre. This is an exciting collaboration between our two music departments, and we look forward to a wonderful celebration of music. Tickets cost R10 and will be available from the school office and at the theatre door.

Grade 7 Spur Shadow Shift Evening

Thank you to all the parents who supported the first group of Grade 7 girls on Wednesday at the Spur Shadow Shift evening. The second group of Grade 7s will be shadowing on Wednesday the 17th July. Victoria Primary will receive R50 per table booking and 5% of the evenings turnover generated through the Howzat Locals app. All monies raised on the evenings will be used to purchase T-shirts for the Grade 7 Valedictory at the end of the year. Your support is greatly appreciated and we look forward to seeing you at Spur!

Dates: Wed 10th and 17th July

Time: 5pm-8pm

For a table booking call: 046 622 2629

SPCA – Mandela Day 18 July

The theme for Grade 6 for Life Skills is Caring for Animals. As part of this theme and as a Mandela Day initiative, the Grade 6s would like to request donations of the following items for the Grahamstown SPCA: Blankets, Non-perishable foods for cats and dogs, Bowls (all sizes) and pet toys. Items can be handed in to Mrs Goodes. The SPCA are also in need of monetary donations for daily operations. Cash can be handed to Mrs Goodes for receipting. If you pay by EFT to the school account, please use the reference ‘SPCA’. We appreciate your support!

Civvies Day

On Friday, 19 July we will have a Civvies Day to raise funds for a Mandela Day initiative. We are planning on identifying an area to beautify that will benefit our community. Watch this space! Girls are to come dressed in our school theme ‘We are a rainbow of possibilities!’. Girls are to pay R5 to wear their civvies but they may make a larger donation of any amount towards this event.

Trolley Dash (PTA Fundraiser)

Last term your daughter has received a Trolley Dash booklet to sell. They are due to be returned on Monday, 5 August. Each child is expected to sell at least one booklet which consists of 5 tickets only. Thank you to our girls who have returned theirs already and are already on their second or third booklets. You are stars! Prizes will go to the individual and class who sells the most tickets.

Recycling plans

We are excited to announce that the month of July at VP is dedicated to recycling! We will focus on creating Eco Bricks. Our girls have all been shown an informative slideshow encouraging them to participate in making Eco Bricks. These Eco Bricks will be used to create a special structure, promoting environmental awareness and responsibility.

Ways you can contribute to our month of recycling:

Create Your Own Eco Brick: Use clean, dry, non-recyclable plastic to fill 2-liter or 1.5-liter bottles. Compress the plastic items tightly to make a solid brick.

https://youtu.be/b5ccBJXgzWs?si=uNdGdbSZ7D8k-prP

Collect Unusable Plastics: Gather non-recyclable plastic items from your home.

Bring these items to school.

Donate Bottles: Send 2-liter or 1.5-liter bottles to school, which we will use to create Eco Bricks.

Your participation will help us build a meaningful project and teach our children the importance of recycling and sustainability. Let’s work together to make a positive impact on our environment!

The Makhanda Schools Chess Championship

We are thrilled to announce that we will be participating in our very first Chess Tournament at Kingwood on Saturday, 20 July. This is a fantastic opportunity for our students to showcase their skills and represent our school in a competitive environment. Please note that only the girls who were invited to attend the tournament will be taking part. We wish all our participants the best of luck and look forward to a successful event!

SPORTS RESULTS

On Wednesday, 10 July the U8s and U9s played a netball fixture vs St Andrew’s Prep at VP. The girls had lots of fun and played with enthusiasm. The scores are as follows: U8A drew 2-2; U8B lost 3-2; U9A lost 3-1; U9B won

On Thursday, 11 July the U8s and U9s played a hockey fixture vs St Andrew’s Prep and Bedford Country School at Prep. The girls played their hearts out and had lots of fun. We can be proud of our girls’ sportsmanship on and off the field.

The scores were as follows: U9A vs Bedford Country School lost 3-0; U9A vs St Andrews Prep lost 5-0; U9B vs St Andrews Prep lost 3-0; U8A vs Bedford Country School won 5-2; U8A vs St Andrews Prep won 4-0; U8B vs St Andrews Prep won 2-0.

A big thank you to all the coaches and parents for the support and encouragement.

Upcoming fixtures

Girls involved will receive letters.

Hockey:

Wednesday, 17 June: U13C&D vs St Mary’s @VP
Friday, 19 July: U9s will play in St Andrew’s All Girls Hockey & Netball Festival
Saturday, 20 July: U9-U11 vs Kingswood College @VP

Fixtures for hockey Saturday, 20 July:

Victoria Primary School vs Kingswood College
Victoria Primary School vs Kingswood College
Hockey
Times	Top Field	Top Field
09:00-09:25	u10A vs KC u10A	u11s vs KC u11A
09:25-10:00	u13C vs KC u13C
	High School Field
09:00-09:45	u13B vs KC u13B
09:50-10:40	u13A vs Kingswood u13A

Netball:

Friday, 19 July: U9s will play in St Andrew’s Festival
Friday, 19 July: U10-U13 vs Kingswood College @VP

Fixtures for netball on Friday, 19 July:

Victoria Primary School vs Kingswood College Friday 19th July 2024
Netball
Times	Court A	Court B
14h30	u10A	u11A
15h00	u12A	u13B
15h30	u13A	u12B

VP’s Got Talent

We are delighted to inform you that we raised R10 000 from this event. Thank you to our PTA parents, teachers, supporters and our talented girls who made it such a success.

Donation request

Mrs Olivier requests donations of old newspapers and Mrs Calitz requests donations of old spectacle frames (without the lens).

Stationery

We have noticed that many of our Grade 4-7 girls have lost or run out of stationery particularly in the higher grades. We request that you check with your daughter if she has all the stationery she is needing for class and please top-up any items needed.

Birthday wishes

We wish the following girls a very happy birthday for this and next week: Mila McConnachie, Makatendeka Chakona, Ophola Mbongwana, Tawananyasha Afonso, Avenathi Msuthu, Minentle Bill, Nevaeh Jacobs, Zinako Pikoli, Colette Musarurwa, Limandi Dyibishe, Akhe Songongo and Silubonile Mtimkulu. We hope you have a very happy day!

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

UPCOMING EVENTS

Mon. 15/07	Assembly Grade 2A @10:15
Wed. 17/07	· U13 C&D Hockey vs St Mary’s @VP · Grade 7 Spur Shadow Shift
Thurs. 18/07	· Mandela Day · Victoria in Concert @17:30 Rhodes Theatre
Fri. 19/07	· Rainbow Civvies Day (R5) · 13:00 Grade 7 Committee meetings’ · St Andrew’s Prep All Girls Hockey and Netball tournament @Prep (U9) · Netball vs KC (U10-U13) @VP
Sat. 20/07	· Hockey vs KC @VP (U9-U13) · Chess Tournament @KC

VP Newsletter 14 June 2024

14th Jun 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

We often stress the importance of our girls’ education being a partnership between parent, teacher and child. I know that our teachers endeavour to support our girls whenever they are finding something challenging. I also know that our teachers have high expectations of our girls and that we strive to teach them a good work ethic so that we establish the foundation of future success in high school and beyond. But more often than not, unless this is encouraged at home too, our efforts aren’t always effective.

Our parents who play an active interest in their daughter’s homework, progress, school activities and hold them accountable are our best partners in the world. They are critical in ensuring that what we do at school will not only be entrenched in our girls but that they, as pupils, are encouraged, enthusiastic, motivated and have a sense of purpose when they come to school each day.

Walter Edward Williams who is an American economist, commentator, and academic wrote (I have taken the liberty of changing him to her) : ‘For somebody to do well in school, somebody needs to make her go to bed on time and get a good 10 hours sleep. Someone must make her do her homework. Somebody must feed her breakfast in the morning and someone must make her mind (respect) the teacher. If those things are not done, I don’t care how much money you put in the school system, education will not occur’.

A parent’s responsibility doesn’t end by filling in application forms (and hopefully paying school fees), that’s just the beginning. We cannot stress the importance of parents doing their bit in ensuring academic success for their daughters. Yes, you have secured your daughter’s place at this very good school, but please make sure your daughter thrives while here by reading to her, checking her homework, helping her with her homework, reading her newsletter, asking her about her day, helping her study, ensuring she is committed and attends her practices, supports all fundraising efforts, that she only stays at home if she is very sick, arrives at school on time, that you expand her experiences and horizons by providing her with a variety of experiences, talking to her about current events, playing board games with her and having deep meaningful and engaging conversations with her that will teach her empathy, understanding and to problem solve.

It is also critical that you meet with your daughter’s teacher when you are concerned or if the teacher requests to meet with you, and please, please make it an absolute priority to ensure that you arrange any suggested assessment or support that the teacher may recommend, the sooner your daughter receives support, or the sooner the teacher gets expert advice, the sooner we can ensure that we are all doing what is optimally in the best interest of your daughter.

Jane D Hull said, ‘At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child’s success, is the positive involvement of parents’ and as an unknown source said, ‘When parents are involved in their child’s education, they are sending a message that education is important, and that learning is valued’.

We thank all our parents who support their girls each day and we wish you all a blessed and restful break. A special mention must be made to all the special men who play a role in our girls’ lives and who support and love them – may you all have a wonderful Father’s Day on Sunday.

Letter from the SGB Chairperson

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Once again, thank you for partnering with us to provide the best education for your girls. As we conclude Term 2, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude for your unwavering support and dedication to your daughters, particularly during this examination term. Thank you for being patient with your children amidst all your other personal and professional responsibilities. As you receive Term 2 progress reports, please take the time to analyse their performance and engage with them on their progress. Acknowledge their efforts, praise their good work, and motivate them to strive for improvement where necessary.

Your commitment to school drop-offs, collections, lunch preparations, after-school activities and homework support is truly valued. We also greatly appreciate your timely payment of school fees and your enthusiastic involvement in all school fundraising efforts.

A special thank you to our dedicated principal, teachers, administrative staff, and grounds and garden staff. Your hard work and commitment to our school community are invaluable. You play a crucial role in creating a nurturing and conducive environment for our students to learn and grow, and we are immensely grateful for your efforts.

As we head into the winter holidays, I encourage you to allow your children to rest and enjoy this time. Engage them in non-academic activities that empower, positively stimulate, and keep them active during the break. For those traveling, please stay safe, and we hope you enjoy the 50th edition of the National Arts Festival.

Have a restful and enjoyable holiday.

Mrs Thando Qeqe (SGB Chairperson)

Congratulations to the following girls who received their Honours and Merit Awards at this morning’s assembly:

Grade 4

Honours Award

Emihle Kulati, Caitlyn Bodill, Kaylee May, Misha Potts, Isla Orsmond, Libby Everton, Cayden Strauss, Amyoli Loli.

Merit Award

Madison Conroy, Okuhle Smile, Balelihle Jadi, Tessanne Arries, Kendra Chrisjan, Zenazi Gqeke, Yonelisa Ngaleka.

Grade 5

Honours Award

Makatendeka Chakona, Haset Sintayehu, Owekhethelo Gongqa, Ababalwe Ngwetsheni, Yusrah Suleman.

Merit Award

Olothando Sityata, Bridget Akpeng, Maham Rizvi, Siphesihle Chrisjan.

Grade 6

Honours Award

Uzosule Kanana, Imanathi Mcophele, Mila Nongubo, Sibonokuhle Benge, Isabella Tladi, Iviwe Jakavula.

Merit Award

Avethandwa Hambaze, Nakweziphi Mthetho, Eila Chirombo, Unakho Fetsha, Esethu Stamper, Mila NcConnachie, Sairaah Govender, Hlumelo Piti, Junaid Williams.

Grade 7

Honours Award

Azile Hambaze, Emily Steele, Aleesia Jonkers, Liyanda Kutta, Emilie Niesing.

Merit Award

Daniella McLean, Lunathi Mkosana, Maya Christian, Ifeoma Nnadozie, Hlalumi Balfour, Amila Mdingi, Amoyli Sesani,

Lunathi Zikishe, Stella Mullin, Cassandra Radovic, Iminathi Ndilele, Linomtha Kula, Zingce Balani.

Indlulamthi Badges

Well done to Anovuyo Nkohla and Unakho Fetsha who received their badges at Monday’s assembly, and to Caitlyn Bodill, Madison Conroy and Tessanne Arries who received their badges today. We are so proud of you all.

Worker of the Week

Well done to Linomtha Kula for making such wonderful progress in music. Keep it up!

Personality of the Week

We are very proud of Kungo Ngangani who received the POW certificate at Monday’s assembly for her kindness and encouragement.

Merit Achievers: Haset Sintayehu, Owekhethelo Gongqa, Siphesihle Chrisjan, Emihle Kulati, Kungawo Mpendu, Alexis Muller, Lulo Ponoshe, Lulodwa Siko, Sama Torweni, Alibongwe Mthembu, Avethandwa Hambaze, Luloludwa Siko, Kungawo Mpendu, Sinesipho Mafani, Amari Funani, Iminathi Malusi, Lunje Tshiki, Kungothando Ngangani, Yusrah Suleman, Phumelela Macetyana, Okuhle Smile, Leah Doyle, Zenazi Gqeke, Caitlyn Bodill, Liyanda Kutta, Zinako Pikoli, Sane Mbete, Iminathi Owusu, Lesego Mthiya, Cherise Mardon, Anita Nkanyana, Aleesia Jonkers, Onikwa Mpongwana, Rejoice Chatikobo and Elam Ntlokwana have received over 250 merits so far this year. Well done!

VP’s Got Talent

We were incredibly proud of all our talented finalists. What an amazing show. Thank you to Garreth Robertson and Anna Talbot Kinsley for being our judges- What a tough job you had! Congratulations to our winners for 2024:

1^st place: Siarra Appollis & Mr Appolis – Steelpan (Water by Tyla)

2^nd place: Jazlin Crafford & Zaydiah Adler – Dance (Saggies Temple Boys)

3^rd place: Lunje Tshiki – Dance (Help Me)

We would like to thank everyone for their patience when the event finished later than expected.

Slipper Day

We are pleased to announce that R5 705.00 was raised for The Reach for a Dream organisation by our participation in Slipper day. Thank you for your contribution to this cause!

U13 Hockey Tour to Graaff-Reinet

Good luck to the U13A team who are traveling to Graaff-Reinet for the annual Anne Beagley Hockey and Rugby festival. We are so pleased that this year Supersport will be live streaming all the games. If you would like to watch our fixtures please download the Supersport Schools app. Our fixtures are as follows:

Saturday 15/06: 08:45 VP vs Lilyfontein & 12:50 VP vs Cambridge

Sunday 16/06: 07:00 VP vs Laer Volkskool & 15:55 VP vs Stirling Primary

Monday 17/06: 07:35 VP vs Stirling Invitational

Travel safely, Mrs Andrews, Ms Knott-Craig and the U13 Team!

SPORT

Please note that we will continue with our current extramural netball/hockey programme next term until 29 July when the athletics season begins.

Victoria in Concert

Trolley Dash Booklets

Your daughter has received a Trolley Dash booklet to sell. They are only due to be returned on Monday, 5 August. Girls are welcome to collect a second booklet once she sells her first one (and third etc). Each child is expected to sell at least one booklet which consists of 5 tickets only. Please use the holidays to sell to family and friends. This is a PTA fundraiser and proceeds will go towards the cost of our solar panels and inverters which all our girls are already benefiting from. Prizes will go to the individual and class who sells the most tickets. We thank you in anticipation for supporting your daughter’s school.

SPCA – Mandela Day 18 July 2024

The theme for Grade 6 for Life Skills next term will be Caring for Animals. As part of this theme and as a Mandela Day initiative, the Grade 6s would like to request donations of the following items for the Grahamstown SPCA: Blankets, Non-perishable foods for cats and dogs, Bowls (all sizes) and pet toys. Items can be handed in to Mrs Goodes. The SPCA are also in need of monetary donations for daily operations. Cash can be handed to Mrs Goodes for receipting. If you pay by EFT to the school account, please use the reference ‘SPCA’. We appreciate your support!

Birthday wishes

We wish the following staff and girls who celebrate during the school holidays a very happy birthday. Ms Makeba, Mrs Dewey, Zothando Mzileni, Owami Shabalala, Sibonokuhle Benge, Lusanele Sixaba, Lara-Anne Fouche, Sinesipho Mafani, Zinathi Mabunda, Aventhandwa Ponoshe, Ella Radovic, Indibabale Kepe, Nakweziphi Mlthetho, Luminjalo Galelekile, Uminathi Kate, Taygan Tarentaal, Amy-Leigh Jacobs, Aleesia Jonker, Anathi Mbandlakazi, Shaziah Loutz, Katherine Marais, Olothando Sityata, Kendra Chrisjan, Nazley Gabriel, Lukholowam Sgam, Christiana Folaranmi, Le-Yante Mnto, Lunathi Mkosana, Maya Christian, Leah Fox, Lelethu Mlisa, Holly Riddin, Alegra Evans and Ayakha Funjwa.

Have a lovely day!

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

Upcoming Events

Mon. 17/06	U13A Hockey team returns from Graaff-Reinet
Mon. 08/07	Boarders return to hostel
Tues. 09/07	Term 3 begins.
Thurs. 11/07	Report discussion in the hall 16:00-17:30
Thurs. 19/07	Victoria in Concert Mandela Day

VP Newsletter 7 June 2024

7th Jun 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

This week’s storms have been quite extraordinary and I know that many people have been left stranded and lives have been lost. Facing the vicious storms and raging seas is something we all know we will face from time to time, in a more figurative sense, in our lives. It is important to use our girls’ small obstacles as opportunities for them to realise that they are able to face adversity and overcome it. Often when we try to shield our children from life’s difficulties or we try to protect them from consequences of their choices or actions, we also take away the opportunity from them to ride out a storm and learn valuable life lessons along the way.

I have taken snippets from an article which further explores this. If you’d like to read the full article, go to https://www.stillwatertherapy.org/post/letting-your-kids-struggle.

Letting your kids struggle.

We live in a time where letting a child struggle at times almost seems abusive. Why would you not comfort the child or fix the problem for them? Often parents don’t see the damage they do to their children by saving them from their struggle. Initially, the child will grow and tend to do well until they hit an obstacle. Often first adversities start in school or extra-curricular activities. Parents all too often displace responsibility on external factors like teachers/coaches, bullies, or other hurdles the child faces. The sad reality is the parent that continues to save their children, often robs the child of the opportunity to develop their ability to overcome the obstacles.

As many know, it is important to show children love and nurturing to help them develop into healthy individuals as well. So the question is, when is it okay to let children struggle?

As parents, we need to start by providing supportive care to allow the child to safely resolve problems on their own. Making sure that your child is safe from damaging physical or emotional harm while they face adversity is also important. This allows them to explore and feel enabled to attempt to overcome the challenge they face.

When praising your child for overcoming the challenging feat, praise their effort. Children will learn from their experiences that they are capable of overcoming hard things, even if the hardest thing in her life at this moment is completing a puzzle.

Allow each family member to pick one difficult activity that they have to do daily. Everyone in the family has to do one activity a day to help develop grit. Doing this as a family also shows children that struggling is a part of life and helps them mimic the same behaviour in the activity they choose.

The more effort is put into overcoming a challenge, the greater the satisfaction when the challenge is complete. Once a reward is obtained, like getting a good report or praise, the positive behaviour is further reinforced. If a child is robbed of the reward of overcoming adversity then they will not have the reinforcement they need to face another similar task. There becomes a learned behaviour of giving up when they are faced with a task that is perceived as being too difficult.

It is important to emphasize the absolute importance of love throughout the process of helping a child overcome their obstacles. Just as much as saving your child from issues is damaging, so can being emotionally cold and dismissive towards your child as they struggle. Sticking to a balance with your parenting is important for a child’s development.

Becoming a parent with these skills takes a lot of personal control and self-awareness. Wisdom takes practice, patience, and determination to develop. No parent is perfect but developing the skill of letting your child struggle out of love takes wisdom.

VP’s Got Talent

We would like to thank all the girls that entered into the VP’s Got Talent contest. There were some incredible performances and we certainly have talented young ladies at our school. Congratulations to the finalists who will be performing on Thursday, 13 June at 18:00 in the Glennie Hall. Please come and support the performers. Tickets for the final show can be bought from the office for R25. No tickets will be sold at the door so buy now to avoid disappointment. Not only will we have our amazing finalists to watch, we also have some surprise staff items to enjoy. We will have a tuckshop and coffee truck available before the show so bring some cash along. Who will be our first ever VP’s Got Talent winner for 2024?

VP’s Got Talent Finalists

Halle Orsmond and Teia van Rooyen – Nelly the Elephant (Dance)
Sabrina Nyathi and Ifeoma Nnadozie – (Piano Duet)
Eila Chirombo – Once upon a December (Sing)
Lunje Tshiki – Help Me – (Dance)
Hailey Gill – ‘ Something that you like to do’ (Piano)
Shameega Khohliso and Hlumisa Piti – Dynamite Duo (Dance)
Iminathi Ndilele – Julie and the Phantoms Wake up (Sing)
Libby Everton – The Wellerman (Highland Sailor’s Dance)
Libhongo Mase – John Legend – All of Me (Sing)
Emery Klyve – Hunters Chorus (Viola)
Jazlin Crafford and Zaydiah Adler – Saggies -Temple Boys (Dance)
Owekhethelo Gqogqa and Sambesiwe Dyantyi – Easy on Me – Adele (Sing)
Kamvelihle Mesani and Alibongwe Mthembu – Pour our thoughts (Art)
Kamva Tyatyeka – Lost Princess Awakening (Poetry)
Asanda Mbolompo, Oyama Morule, Hlalumi Balfour, Aleeisa Jonker, Zingce Balani, Amyoli Sesani and Amyoli Matswele – I don’t clap in this rap – (Skit/Rap)
Carla Frazer – Jinx – Diane Hidy (Piano)
Iminathi Ndilele, Unako Dlepu, Iminathi Ngcwele and Zingce Balani – (Cheerleading)
Grade 1C – (Sing)
Hlaluminathi and Ekuyenathi Menzi – Kiss and make up (Dance)
Siarra Appollis and Mr Appollis – Water (Tyla) – (Steelpan)
Isla Orsmond and Matilda – Another day – Lalaland (Dance)
Lunathi Makasi – (Sing)
Glennis Chakurungama, Laraa Andriantiana and Chanelle Musarurwa – (Rhythmic Gymnastics)
Sinesipho Mafani – In the Cross – Gospel Song (Sing)
Luna Copteros and Anton Brink – Street of London (Sing/Piano)
Mr Buka – The Reflection (Dance)
Luna Copteros, Hennie van der Mescht, Anton Brink – Winternag (Sing)

Worker of the Week

Congratulations to Leah Flotman who is our W.O.W for her wonderful news about staying in her pajamas over the freezing cold weekend:)

Indlulamthi Badges

Congratulations to Mukundi Thondhlana and Amyoli Matswele who both received their badges at Monday’s assembly. Thank you for being exemplary VP girls!

Merit Achievers

Well done Emihle Kulati, Sibonokuhle Benge, Isabella Tladi, Hlumelo Piti, Kamva Tyatyeka, Lunje Hloyi and Sinembasa Mapipa who have received over 250 merits this year. Keep up the hard work, girls!

Assembly

We thoroughly enjoyed Grade 3M’s assembly about Africa Day. Thank you for your inspirational message, 3M!
On Monday Grade 3S will present their assembly. Parents are welcome to join us. The assembly starts at 10:15.
On Friday we will have our academic assembly at 08:30. All girls in Grade 4-7 who have achieved Honours and Merits Awards will receive a certificate. All girls are to wear their winter uniform on the day. Grade 4-7 must wear their blazers.

Grade 6&7 Outing

On Wednesday our Grade 6 & 7s went to St Andrew’s Prep to watch a production of ‘Peter Pan Jnr’. The girls thoroughly enjoyed the experience!

U13A Hockey practice

The U13A hockey girls will have practice next week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 14:00 to 15:00 in preparation for their Graaff-Reinet tour.

We will have a tuckshop for the girls on Tuesday, 11 June to raise funds in support of the U13 Hockey tour. Please support them!

Piano party

Mr. Wynne’s composition students will perform their original works on Friday, 14 June at their Piano Party. This will give our young composers an opportunity to learn from each other and share their creative ideas. All participants are to please bring some snacks to share (chips/sweets).

Term 2 report handout and last week of term.

Please note that teachers are still teaching and will do so until the last day of the term. We have started Term 3 work! Please make sure your daughter attends school or she is missing out on important lessons and will start Term 3 on the back foot.

Girls will be given their reports on the last day of the term. Girls are expected to be at school unless they are ill. No report will be handed out before 10:30 on the last day. Please do not come to the school office before then on Friday to collect her report as the teachers will be busy in their classes or will be at assembly- the office staff DO NOT have the reports.

Trolley Dash Booklets

Your daughter will receive a Trolley Dash booklet to sell today. They are only due to be returned on Monday, 5 August. Girls are welcome to collect a second booklet once she sells her first one (and third etc). Each child is expected to sell at least one booklet which consists of 5 tickets only. Please use the holidays to sell to family and friends. This is PTA fundraiser and proceeds will go to the cost of our solar panels and inverters which all our girls are already benefiting from. Prizes will go to the individual and class who sells the most tickets. We thank you in anticipation for supporting your daughter’s school.

School bags

Our new stock of VP branded school bags have arrived. They cost R700 and can be purchased at the office.

Lost Property

The lost property is available for girls or parents to come and check at any time during the school day (07:00-16:00). If you are missing items of clothing, lunchboxes, juice bottles, shoes etc. please ensure that you or your daughter check for it Monday-Thursday next week. On the last day of term, items that remain unclaimed will be laundered and sent to the Clothing Exchange.

Hockey vs Union

Please note that the hockey fixtures scheduled for tomorrow, 8 June, against Union High have been cancelled due to our fields being waterlogged.

Tuckshop

The U13A hockey team will be hosting a tuckshop on Tuesday at first break to raise funds for their tour to Graaff-Reinet. Please support them.

Birthday wishes

The following staff and girls a very happy birthday for next week: Ms Casling, Mr Buka, Mrs Britz-Nel, Naledi April, Mercy Mooya, Bidget Akpeng, Asali Dude and Sitha Mkolo. We hope you have a lovely birthday!

If you completed a form requesting to be added to the VP Whatsapp group and have not yet received a message please send a query to the VP Whatsapp number 0834682706.

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

Upcoming events

Fri. 07/06	Extramurals end for this term
Mon. 10/06	Assembly Grade 3S @10:15
Tues. 11/06	Tuckshop at break time.
Thurs. 13/06	VP’s Got Talent Show @18:00
Fri. 14/06	Last day of 2^nd term Academic Assembly @08:30 School finishes @10:30 Reports will be handed out @10:30 Hostel closes @12:30 No Aftercare U13s leave on their hockey tour to Graaff Reinet.

VP Newsletter 24 May 2024

24th May 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

Please NOTE that we will not have a newsletter on Friday the 31 May. The next newsletter will be on the 7 June 2024.

I have not personally read the book “Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World” written by Kristen Welch but the title certainly grabbed my attention. A selection of the excerpts below, which I found on Facebook of all places, highlights a few points from the book which I think is a good message for all of us.

“Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World” tackles the challenge of fostering an appreciative spirit in children growing up in a world that often emphasizes instant gratification and material possessions.

Here are 7 lessons from the book:

The Power of “No” and Setting Boundaries: While it might feel counterintuitive, setting boundaries and saying no to children’s demands can be a powerful tool for raising grateful children. This teaches them delayed gratification, the value of hard work, and the importance of appreciating what they already have.

Distinguishing Needs vs. Wants: A crucial step is helping children understand the difference between necessities (food, shelter, clothing) and desires (latest gadgets, extra treats). By guiding them to prioritise needs and appreciate the effort behind fulfilling them, you cultivate a foundation for gratitude.

Building a Gratitude Routine: The book introduces simple practices like gratitude journals or regular “gratitude moments” at the dinner table. These routines encourage children to reflect on the positive aspects of their lives, fostering an appreciative mindset that becomes second nature.

Fostering a Culture of Work and Contribution: Assigning household chores and other responsibilities teaches valuable life skills and instills a sense of accomplishment. When children contribute to the household, they gain a deeper appreciation for the effort involved in maintaining a comfortable life.

Breaking the Cycle of Entitlement: Often we as parents have our own anxieties about saying no or spoiling our children which can contribute to their entitled attitude. The author suggests that we parent with a focus on raising grateful individuals.

The Value of Delayed Gratification: Learning to wait for things they desire can be a powerful lesson in appreciating what they eventually receive. The book suggests that we encourage children to save up for desired items or patiently wait for special occasions, teaching them the value of delayed gratification.

Importance of Perspective Taking: Encouraging children to consider the work and resources behind the things they enjoy, like a delicious meal or a comfortable home, can foster gratitude. By helping them see the bigger picture, they develop an appreciation for the effort that goes into providing for them.

Worker of the Week

Congratulations to Anna Malamis who is our Worker of the Week for her excellent progress in Music.

Merit Achievers

Well done Nazley Gabriel, Kendra Chrisjan, Mbalentle Dyaloyi and Olothando Kanyiwe who have received over 250 merits this year. Keep up the hard work, girls!

Mini Maestros Music competition

Many of our young musicians participated in the SASMT’s Mini Maestros competition at Kingswood College last Friday, and we are very proud of these girls for so bravely presenting polished performances for the audience and the judge. Congratulations to Lulama Joe, who won a medal in her category!

VP’s Got Talent

Now that the exams are behind us we hope that our aspiring performers are finalising their acts for their auditions. A reminder that the closing date for entries is today. We will be hosting auditions in the afternoons of the week of 3-6 June. The girls who have entered will be notified of what afternoons they need to audition. We wish them all the best!

Tickets for our finalists show will be available from the school office. The show will be held on Thursday the 13th June @ 18:00. There will be a limited number of tickets sold so buy now to avoid disappointment. Tickets cost R25 per person.

Assembly

On Monday (27/05) we look forward to Grade 3D presenting their assembly and then on Monday, 3 June it is Grade 3M’s turn! Parents are most welcome to join us. The assemblies start at 10:15 sharp!

Grade 6 Leadership Workshop

On Thursday, 30 May the Grade 6s will be participating in a leadership workshop presented by Dr Ian Knott- Craig. We hope that the girls enjoy what is on offer and that they learn valuable insights and skills. More details will follow in a letter which will be sent out to the Grade 6 parents.

VR Education Virtual Show

Today, Friday 24, the Grade 1-7 girls were fortunate to be transported to the wonderful virtual worlds of an aquarium, a safari, the planetarium, and the human body. This was an incredible experience that we certainly won’t easily forget. It was also a fantastic way to celebrate the end of exams for our Intersen Phase girls.

Election Day

A reminder that Wednesday is Election Day and there will be no school.

Slipper Day – 31 May

If you have bought your Slipper Day sticker you may bring slippers to wear at school on Friday. If you have not purchased a sticker but would still like to wear your slippers at school you can bring a R10 donation to do so. All the money raised will go to Reach for a Dream, an organization that strives to fulfil the dreams of children who are suffering from life threatening illnesses.

SPORT

Tennis: Four of our girls will be playing tennis in the Luden Cup on Sunday, 26 May. Play well, girls!

Hockey & Netball vs DSG: Scheduled for Saturday, 25 May has been postponed due to weather. We apologise for any inconvenience.

Hockey vs Kingswood College: On Tuesday, 28 May the U9A&B, U10A&B, U13A&B hockey teams will be playing matches vs Kingswood at KC. Girls participating will have received a letter. Good luck, girls!

Hockey & Netball vs Westering Primary: On Saturday, 1 June we will be travelling to Gqeberha to compete against Westering Primary School. Girls participating will have received a letter. We await the fixtures and these will be given to the relevant girls next week. Play well, girls!

Hockey & Netball vs Lorraine Primary: On Saturday, 1 June our Grade 1 & 2 hockey girls will be playing at Lorraine Primary in Gqeberha. Girls participating will have received a letter. The fixtures are as follows:

U7 Hockey fixtures
Time
08h30	VP vs Rowallan Park
09h45	VP vs Lorraine
10h45	VP vs Westering
11h15	Vp vs Sunridge

U7 netball fixtures
Time
08h30	VP vs Cotswold
09h00	VP vs Lorraine 1
09h30	VP vs Lorraine 2
10h15	VP vs Sunridge 1
11h15	VP vs Sunridge 2

U8 netball fixtures
Time
08h30	VP vs Rowallan Park 1
09h30	VP vs Lorraine 2
10h15	VP vs Sunridge 1
11h15	VP vs Curro 1
12h00	VP vs Sunridge 2

Hockey vs Reddam House: On Tuesday, 4 June the U13A Hockey will be playing Reddam House at VP starting at 15:30.

Mini-Hockey Clinic: On Thursday, 7 June the U7& U8 hockey girls will participate in a hockey clinic at St. Andrew’s Prep. Letters will be sent out with additional information.

Birthday wishes

We wish the Mr Majiba and Ms Knott-Craig all the best for their birthdays in the next two weeks. Due to an office error some of our girls who celebrate their birthday in May were mentioned in the wrong week and others not at all – so here they all are again with the girls who celebrate in the first week of June.

Alonge Loyilani, Sairaah Govender, Lunje Manzana, Lubeluhle Peteni, Unako Sigwinta, Esihle Xulu, Lulolodwa Siko, Alumindawo Xibiya, Milisuthando Nkayi, Inomusa Tauzen, Luna Copteros, Lunje Giyose, Zoe Green, Anopa-Nyasha Thondhlana, Ithandile Hilta, Buhle Koliti, Emihle Siwa, Angawo Zono, Okuhle Dyibishe, Ngcwele Manyati, Olibango Ngabaza, Lashante Rama, Alunamida Jakavula, Misha Potts, Abenathi Kulati, Zaydiah Adler, Rose Jordaan, Zingce Tanga, Riley-Anne Knott-Craig, Emihle Kulati, Riley-Jo Potts, Rose Chirombo, Elrie-Louise Minnaar, Alwaba Ndawuni, Leah Doyle, Lesego Mthiya, Chloe de Beer, Azizipho Ngindana, Kelly Doyle, Chanelle Musarurwa, Emily Weber, Emily Grosch, Lulo Dyantyi, Esona Mali, Ifeoma Nnadozie, Reaboka Dukashe, Asante Sankqela, Mihle Mgwebi, Sinambasa Mapipa, Indiphile Mdlalana and Iyizwile Nomkonwana. We wish you all a very special day!

Upcoming events

Sat. 25/05	Netball & Hockey vs DSG @VP has been postponed due to weather.
Sun. 26/05	Tennis: Luden Cup
Mon. 27/05	Assembly Grade 3D @10:15 Back to normal school times
Tues. 28/05	Hockey vs Kingswood @KC U9A&B, U10A&B, U13A&B
Wed. 29/05	National Election Day
Fri. 31/05	Slipper Day FP end at 13:00 no extramurals
Sat. 01/06	Hockey vs Westering in Gqeberha Grade 1&2 Hockey vs Lorraine Primary in Gqeberha
Mon. 03/06	Assembly Grade 3M @10:15
Tues. 04/06	U13s play Reddam House @VP starting 15:30

Thurs. 06/06	Mini hockey @Prep
Fri. 07/06	Grade 7 Committee meetings Extramurals end for this term
Sat. 08/06	Hockey vs Union @VP

Back to normal times

Please note that as from next week, the Grade 4-7 (IP) school day will once again end at 13:45. We will return to our full extramural programme as from Monday, 27 May.

The last day of extramurals for the term is on Friday, 7 June, although Junior and Senior choir rehearsals will continue in the last week of term.

Grade 1-3 (FP)

Please note that the FP school times will be as follows for the following two weeks.

Mon-Wed they finish at 14:00 and Thurs & Fri they finish at 13:00

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

VP Newsletter 17 May 2024

17th May 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

This week I have decided to reshare a message that was sent out in our newsletter on the 3 March last year. I think it is important for all of us to not get lax about our children’s cellphone usage, to always be vigilant about what they are doing on it, what they are being exposed to and how long they spend on it each day, particularly during exam time.

As you are well aware we do not allow our girls to have their cellphones at school or at any school event. This is largely due to both the distraction it can cause and to avoid the many disciplinary issues that arise from cellphone use.

If you as a parent have chosen to allow your child to own a phone, to have access to social media and to be able to go online, there are some serious consequences that may come with this decision if certain rules and boundaries and regular checks are not enforced. Our girls, including the Grade 7s, do not have the maturity to manage themselves or to set their own boundaries and this includes what they Google, what they may watch, what they read, what they say to others online and how much time they spend on their phones.

Are you checking on what your daughters are saying to others, what others are saying to them, what chats they are part of and what links they are viewing? This is not imposing on their privacy, this is good parenting. If you are concerned about what is happening, take your

child’s phone away or set limits as to how long they can be on their phones. Make it very clear to them that as you are the sponsor of their airtime and data, and simply as you are the parent, you will be checking in on their phones from time to time and if there is something they don’t want you to see, then they shouldn’t be doing it.

Teach your daughter what is acceptable and what is not. Teach her that if you wouldn’t say it to someone’s face, then you shouldn’t say it in a text. Let your children know that they can share with you if they are feeling victimised, picked on or bullied online. Empower them to report someone else being picked on, in a chat that they are on, and if they don’t they are consenting to the bullying. Teach them that it is okay to leave a group that they don’t like or feel uncomfortable with and that they don’t have to explain why. Teach them that spreading rumours and making false allegations online is a criminal offense nd that they can find themselves in serious trouble if they do so.

Additionally, it is important that you do not allow screen time just before bedtime. Studies show that children might be even more sensitive than adults to screen time before bed. Screens can stimulate a child’s mind, making it trickier for them to settle down. Plus, the blue light can disrupt their natural sleep cycle. So to ensure your daughter gets the deep, restful sleep she needs, make sure she isn’t on her phone at least an hour before bed and even then that it is not for an extended period.

I know that young children love their phones and it is the modern way to socialise but at what cost? Set boundaries and keep alert. If you’ve made the decision to give your daughter a phone, that is the responsibility that comes with it, as a parent. Check your daughter’s phone today, she is too young to be hiding things from you and she is too young to be left to make decisions that come with being online.

VP’s Got Talent Ticket sales

Tickets for our finalists show of VP’s Got Talent will be available from the school office as from Monday. The show will be held on Thursday the 13th June @ 18:00. There will be a limited number of tickets sold so buy now to avoid disappointment. Tickets cost R25 per person.

Flu

There is a nasty strain of influenza doing the rounds and this is certainly not ideal with exams in progress. We are encouraging our girls to wash their hands regularly at school. If your daughter has flu symptoms and she is well enough to come to school, if possible, please send her with a mask to avoid further spreading to others. This flu seems to have hit Makhanda hard! On that note a reminder that if your daughter is to miss any exams whether for one day or more, she will need a doctor’s note to excuse herself. This is according to our school policy.

Merit Achievers

Well done Oyama Morule, Lunathi Zikishe, Talitha Dingani, Manahil Rizvi, Tandolwethu Ketwa, Chikhu Mitochi and Eila Chirombo who have received over 250 merits this year. Keep up the hard work, girls!

Exam times

Next week the Grade 4-7 classes will continue with their exams. The academic school day will end at 13:00 and the extramural programme will run from 13:00-14:00 (back page of newsletter).

Exam Timetable

Date

Exams

Monday,

20 May

Grade 4-7:

· Maths Paper 1

· English Language and Comprehension

Tuesday,

21 May

Grade 4-7: Maths Paper 2

Grade 7: Life Orientation

Wednesday, 22 May

Grade 4-7: Natural Sciences

Grade 7: LSPA Practical

Thursday,

23 May

Grade 4-7: SS History

Grade 7: LSPA theory

Friday,

24 May

Grade 7: EMS

SAC/DSG Music Festival: We are so proud of our young musicians who participated in the SAC/DSG music festival on Monday. Each performer displayed excellent stage deportment, and managed their nerves well. This was a wonderful opportunity for these girls to perform in a non-competitive arena, and to hear a range of repertoire being played on a wide array of instruments. Well done!

Mini Maestros: We wish our musicians the best for today as they attend the Mini Maestro competition at Kingswood Music school. Play well and make us proud, girls!

SPORT

Tennis: Congratulations Stella Mullin, Marizaan Boucher, Kaylee May and Daniella McLean who were the district winners at their tournament last weekend. Well done, girls!

U10 & U13 Hockey Clinic: On Saturday, 18 May Ms Knott-Craig and Mrs Andrews will be running a hockey clinic for all the U10 hockey girls and the U13A&B hockey teams. The girls involved have received letters with further information.

U8 Hockey Clinic: A selected group of U8 Hockey girls will take part in a hockey clinic at St Andrew’s Prep, Fairlawn field on Thursday, 23 May 2024. The aim of the day is to have fun on the hockey field and learn new skills. The girls will be doing some drills with various coaches. We will start at 13:15 and finish at 14:15. We will leave school at 12:45. Parents are welcome to collect their daughters from St Andrew’s Prep.

Tennis: On Friday, 24 May the Top 8 tennis girls will play a tennis match against DSG at VP. The match will start at 13:30. Girls will receive letters. Good luck, girls!

Hockey & Netball vs DSG: On Saturday, 25 May at we will be playing hockey and netball vs DSG at VP. Please see the fixtures that follow:

Hockey Fixtures vs DSG & Prep 25th May 2024
Time		Top Field
10:00-10:45	u13A VP vs DSG u13A	10:00-10:25	VP u10A vs DSG u10A
10:45-11:20	u13C VP vs DSG u13C	10:25-11:00	DSG u11A vs DSG u11B
11:20-11:55	u13B VP vs DSG u13B	11:00-11:25	VP u10B vs DSG u10B	VPu10C vs VP u10D

Netball Fixtures vs DSG & Prep 25 May 2024
Time	Court A	Time	Court B
09:00	u11C VP vs DSG u11C	09:00	u10A VP vs DSG u10A
09:25	u11B VP vs DSG u11B	09:25	u10B VP vs DSG u10B
09:50	u11A VP vs DSG u11A	09:50	u12C VP vs DSG u12C
10:15	u12B VP vs DSG u12B	10:15	u12D VP vs DSG u12D
10:40	u12A VP vs DSG u12A	10:40	u13B VP vs DSG u13B
11:05	u13A VP vs DSG u13A

Slipper Day – 31 May

If you would like to wear slippers at school AND support a good cause, please remember to support our efforts to raise money for the Reach for a Dream Slipper Day. Girls can purchase a sticker for R20 and will then be allowed to wear slippers at school on Friday, 31 May! If you would like to bring slippers to school to wear for the day without buying a sticker you may do so for a R10 donation. All the proceeds will go to Reach for a Dream, an organization that strives to fulfil the dreams of children who are suffering from life threatening illnesses.

VP Whatsapp Broadcast group

Thank you to all the families who returned their consent forms for a school Whatsapp Broadcast group. These have all been added however in order for you to receive the Broadcast messages please add the school cellphone number to your contacts: 0834682706.

Birthday wishes

We wish the following staff member and girls a very happy birthday: Ms Stirk, Abenathi Kulati, Zaydiah Adler, Rose Jordaan, Zingce Tanga, Riley-Anne Knott-Craig, Emihle Kulati, Riley-Jo Potts, Rose Chirombo and Elrie-Louise Minnaar. We hope you have a very happy day!

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

Upcoming events

Fri. 17/05	Mini Maestro Competition @Kingswood College
Sat. 18/05	U10 & U13A&B Hockey clinic
20-24 May	Gr 4-7 academic day ends at 13:00. Extramurals are from 13:00-14:00. Please see exam timetable for scheduled exams.
Thurs 23/05	U8 Hockey Clinic @SAC Prep
Sat. 25/05	Netball & Hockey vs DSG @VP
Wed. 29/05	National Election Day
Fri. 31/05	Slipper Day

Extramural Programme

ALL THE EXTRA MURALS WILL TAKE PLACE FROM 13:00-14:00

NB* Please note that the FOUNDATION PHASE Sport will continue as normal.

Monday 20 May	Chamber Choir- 07:15-07:45 NETBALL – U10A/B -VGHS Courts (13:00 -14:00) (Mrs Britz-Nel) NETBALL – U11A/B – VGHS Courts (13:00-14:00) (Mrs Kruger) INTERVENTION SESSIONS Grade 4 Interventions (voluntary) 13:00-14:00 Grade 6 Maths Intervention: Mrs Goodes 13:00-14:00 Grade 7 Maths Intervention : Mrs Coetzee 13:00-14:00
Tuesday 21 May	Senior Choir – 07:15-07:45 Junior Choir – 07:30-08:00 NETBALL – U13A/B – VGHS Courts (13:00-14:00) (Ms Featherstone) NETBALL – U12A/B – VGHS Courts (13:00-14:00) (Mr Buka) HOCKEY – U10 A/B/C/D Top field Miss Knott-Craig/Miss Du Plooy (Fergusson Field) Strength Training – All Welcome (Gr 4-7) (Mrs Rafferty) TEAM TENNIS- Court C/D 13:00-13:45 Mrs Thiart Grade 5 Eng/Maths Interventions: Ms Miskin 13:00-14:00 (Voluntary)
Wednesday 22 May	Senior Choir – 07:15-07:45 Junior Choir – 07:30-08:00 HOCKEY – U13 1sts/2nds (13:00-14:00) (Mrs Andrews) VG Field HOCKEY – U13 3rds/4ths (13:00-14:00) (Mrs Sauls/Mrs Coetzee) Fergusson Field NETBALL – U11C/D – (13:00 – 14:00) (Mrs Kruger) NETBALL – U10C/D – Court A/B (13:00 -14:00) (Mrs Britz-Nel)
Thursday 23 May	Senior Choir – 07:15-07:45 Junior Choir – 07:30-08:00 NETBALL – U12/U13 C/D – VGHS Courts (13:00-14:00) (Ms Vongo) INTERVENTION SESSIONS Grade 4 Intervensions 13:00-14:00 Grade 5 Maths Intervention: Ms Miskin 13:00-14:00 (Voluntary) Grade 7 Maths Intervention: Mrs Coetzee 13:00-14:00
Friday 24 May	Orchestra 13:00-14:00 Chamber Choir 13:00-14:00
Saturday 25 May	HOCKEY AND NETBALL vs DSG

VP Newsletter 10 May 2024

10th May 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

Today’s message has to be to our VP moms- to all the women; mommies, grannies, big sisters and aunties who nurture, care for and support our little girls every day. Here are a few special messages from our VP girls to their moms.

Aleah Grade R

My mother is special. She’s cool and compassionate but she knows when to step her foot down. My mother has impeccable style and looks gorgeous everyday. I love her.

Avuzwa Grade 7

Dear Mom,

You are my everything.

You make me laugh and smile,

You’re my wall to lean on.

I would never trade your love for anything.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Azile Grade 7

Hlalumi Grade 2

My mom has taught me many life lessons. How to be well-mannered, being grateful for what I have and being thankful to go to a school where I meet all the children that are like my sisters, and teachers like my parents. I admire my mom because she knows what’s right and wrong. Manahil Grade 7

Dear Mom

Thank you for teaching me to be the girl I am today.

Jazlin Grade 7

To the world you are a mother, but to your family you are the world.

Alizia Grade 7

Dear Mama

You are the best Mama ever. You are always there when I need you. You make me feel very very loved at home and you always make me feel like I am the best chef, singer and queen in the world. I am very happy that I am your daughter. You are the kindest-hearted mother in the world… well to me and my sister of course. I love you lots. Sinesipho Grade 5

Dear Mom

I just wanted to tell you why I love you so much. I love you because…everytime I’m sad you always find a way to make me happy by just looking at me and when I look in your beautiful brown eyes I see and I know that you love me very much! Lulo Grade 4

To my mother

You should appreciate yourself. You are always there for me. You are kind, honest, sweet and loving. I appreciate you taking risks and sacrificing things for me. You are so pretty or beautiful or I just cannot find the words for how good of a mother you are. You do a lot of things for me. You help me, you love me and do everything for me that I need you to do. Misha Grade 4

We wish you a very happy Mother’s Day on Sunday. May you be spoilt!

Ndlulamthi Badges
Congratulations to Luhle Songongo, Andisiwe Mraji, Leah Doyle, Glennis Chakurungama and Nakhane Klei who all received their badges at Monday’s assembly. Well done, girls. We are so proud of you!

Worker of the Week

Congratulations to Lucy Bennett who is our Worker of the Week for good work in isiXhosa. Well done, Lucy!

Assembly

Thank you to Grade 4F for their lovely assembly on believing in yourself and overcoming your challenges. Our next class assembly is only on the 27 May and will be hosted by Grade 3D. We are looking forward to our first Foundation Phase class’ message!

Creative Arts Workshop

This afternoon the Grade 7 learners will prepare for their mid-year practical performance and theory exam at school from 14:00. We request that your daughters are collected at the Pre-Primary Gate at 16:25. No later than 16:30. This workshop is compulsory, as we are preparing for their mid-year exams.

Music

SAC/DSG Music Festival

Nine VP girls will perform at this music festival on Monday morning. Performers are reminded to wear full winter uniform. We wish you all the best, girls!

Mini Maestros

Eighteen VP girls will perform at this annual competition, which is being held at the Kingswood Music School on Friday morning. These girls are to wear civvies and their Mini Maestros T-shirts. Play well and make us proud!

Assessments

All music pupils will play their Term 2 music assessments next week. Keep up the good work, girls, and GOOD LUCK!

School Times

As from Monday, 13 May until Friday, 24 May to accommodate the writing of examinations by Grade 4-7 and to ensure that girls still remain active, the academic school day will end at 13:00 and the extramural programme will run from 13:00-14:00. Please ensure that arrangements have been made for your daughter to go home promptly at 14:00 (or 13:00 if she is not doing extramurals) every day to prepare for her next exam. The revised extramural programme for these two weeks accompanies this newsletter.

Exam Timetable

Date

Exams

Mon-Wed

13-15 May

Grade 4-7 Creative Writing (HL&FAL)

Thursday,

16 May

Grade 4-7:

· SS Geography

· Art

Friday,

17 May

Grade 4-7: – Afr/Xhosa (FAL) Language and Comprehension

Grade 7: Technology

Grade 4-6: Life Skills

Monday,

20 May

Grade 4-7:

· Maths Paper 1

· English Language and Comprehension

Tuesday,

21 May

Grade 4-7: Maths Paper 2

Grade 7: Life Orientation

Wednesday, 22 May

Grade 4-7: Natural Sciences

Grade 7: LSPA Practical

Thursday,

23 May

Grade 4-7: SS History

Grade 7: LSPA theory

Friday,

24 May

Grade 7: EMS

Be a good ambassador!

Please make sure that your daughter is dressed neatly and in full uniform when out in public. We want our girls to look neat and be good ambassadors for our school. Dress codes that apply at school, apply when out and about too.

SPORT

Derby Day at Erica Primary

On Saturday, 11 May our netball and hockey teams will be travelling to Erica Primary in Gqeberha to participate in their Derby Day. Please make sure your daughter is dropped off at the Huntley Street gate by no later than 06:00. The fixtures will be as follows:

Hockey

		Field A		Field B
	8:30	U13A Erica vs Priory
	9:10	u13B Erica vs VP		U13C Erica vs Priory
	9:50	U13A Priory vs VP		U13D Erica vs VP
	10:30	U13B Erica vs Priory		U13C Priory vs VP
	11:10	U13A Erica vs VP
	11:50	U13B Priory vs VP		U13C Erica vs VP
			Astro 1		Astro 2
9:00			u9B Priory vs VP		u10C Erica vs VP
9:30			u9A Erica vs Priory		u10A Priory vs VP
10:00			u9B Eriva vs VP		u10B Erica vs Priory
10:30			u9A Erica vs VP		u10A Erica vs VP
11:00			u9B Erica vs VP		u10B Priory vs VP
11:30			u9A Priory vs VP		u10A Erica vs Priory
12:00					u10B Erica vs VP

Netball

	Court A	Court B
9:00	u10B Erica vs VP	u13A Erica vs VP
9:30	u9A Erica vs VP	u11A Erica vs VP
10:00	u10A Erica vs VP	u12A Erica vs VP
10:30	u9B Erica vs VP	u11B Erica vs VP

Please fetch your daughter from the Hostel gate in Hill Street. We expect to be back in Makhanda between 14:30-15:00. We will use our Whatsapp Broadcast groups to keep you informed. Please arrange transport accordingly.

Tennis

We wish Stella Mullin, Marizaan Boucher, Kaylee May and Daniella McLean the best of luck for their tournament on Sunday, 12 May. Play well, girls!

Hockey Clinic

On Saturday, 18 May Ms Knott-Craig and Mrs Andrews will be running a hockey clinic for all the U10 hockey girls and the U13A&B hockey teams. The girls involved will receive a letter with further information.

Change of date

Please note that the hockey and netball fixtures against PAH and DSG will take place on Saturday, 25 May at VP.

VP’s Got Talent

A reminder to submit your entries. The closing date is on Friday, 24 May. Entry forms must be accompanied by the entry fee of R10 per person auditioning.

Slipper Day – 31 May

If you would like to wear slippers at school AND support a good cause, please remember to support our efforts to raise money for the Reach for a Dream Slipper Day. Girls can purchase a sticker for R20 and will then be allowed to wear slippers at school on Friday, 31 May! All the proceeds will go to Reach for a Dream, an organization that strives to fulfil the dreams of children who are suffering from life threatening illnesses.

Birthday wishes

We wish the following staff and girls a very happy birthday: Mrs Andrews, Alonge Loyilani, Sairaah Govender, Lunje Manzana, Lubeluhle Peteni, Unako Sigwinta, Esihle Xulu, Lulolodwa Siko and Alumindawo Xibiya. We hope you have a very happy day!

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

Upcoming events

Fri. 10/05

Grade 7 Creative Arts workshop 14:00-16:30

Chamber Choir cancelled

Sat.

11/05

Derby Day @Erica Primary, Gqeberha

13-24 May

Gr 4-7 academic day ends at 13:00. Extramurals are from 13:00-14:00.

Please see exam timetable for scheduled exams.

13-17

May

Music Assessment Week

Mon

13/05

SAC/DSG Music Festival (Soloists)

Thurs.

16/05

U8&9 Hockey vs Oatlands @VP

Fri.

17/05

Mini Maestro Competition

Sat.

18/05

U10 & U13A&B Hockey clinic

Fri.

31/05

Slipper Day

VP Newsletter 3 May 2024

3rd May 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

I trust that you have had a lovely Workers’ Day and that you were able to spend wonderful quality family time together.

I read this article which I thought I’d share extracts of, about the importance of parent/child quality time. (https://extension.sdstate.edu/why-spending-quality-time-your-children-important)

Life is busy, especially for parents and families. As the days go by our to-do lists become fuller and other priorities seem to take precedence over quality family time. Research shows that it is vital to schedule recurring family time with your children. As busy parents, you spend plenty of time with your children, however is it truly quality time? Quality time with your children means giving them your undivided attention. Spending quality time with your children does not have to be a huge undertaking, it can be as simple as taking a few minutes each day to spend together without any distractions.

According to research children who experience quality time with their caregivers are less likely to have behavioural issues at home or at school. Showing your children that you love and care for them helps to keep them mentally and emotionally strong and as a parent the best way to do this is to spend quality time with them on a regular basis.

Here are some simple tips for spending quality time with your children:

Connect daily with your child. Whether it is face-to-face connections before school and work or sending them a little note in their lunch bags, any type of connection with your children is important and valuable.
Tell your child that you love them every day. Let your child know why you love and value them.
Create some routine rituals, such as picking and reading a short book before bedtime.
Reinforce positive behaviours with your appreciation.
Cook a meal and eat together. This allows for the family to talk to one another as well as fosters teamwork.
Schedule time to do an activity with your child, let them choose. Such as crafting, baking, family game night, etc.
Play with your child, even if it is just for a few minutes.
Tell jokes and laugh with your child. Laughter is great for improving emotional health.
Take time away from technology and just spend time listening and talking to your child.

Making a meaningful connection with your daughter is important and can be a simple priority to incorporate into your daily schedule. Doing as such, will have a lasting impact on them as they grow into contributing adults in the future.

Assembly

On Monday we had enjoyed an assembly presented to us by Grade 4K about trying to find a silver lining in every situation. On Monday, 6 May it will be Grade 4F’s turn to present their assembly. Parents are welcome to support. The assembly will start promptly at 10:15.

Worker of the Week:

Well done to Carla Frazer for her beautiful project on the Ladybird. Keep up the good work, Carla.

Personalities of the Week

Congratulations to the following girls who received their certificate for the Personality of the Week at our assembly on Monday.

Emihle Siwa for Empathy and Helpfulness
Jade Thompson for Perseverance
Kenzeigh Scear for Helpfulness on the Sportsfield.

Thank you for the positive impact you all make!

Sportsmanship Trophy

Congratulations to Esethu Stamper for displaying a positive attitude and for encouraging her teammates at the netball fixture against Gill College. Your enthusiasm was very encouraging to your team, Esethu!

Merit Achievers

Well done Shaziah Loutz, Emihle Siwa, Manahil Rizvi, Zaydiah Adler, Abigail Green, Abenathi Kulati, Milani Nothoko, Linomtha Kula and Asanda Mbolompo who have received over 250 merits so far this year. Keep it up, girls!

At our assembly on Monday we thanked Mr Wayne Weber and Mr Nolan Berriman from Settler City Toyota for their sponsorship of our U13A hockey teams match kit and for the practice tops for our U13A hockey and netball teams. We thank them whole-heartedly for the generous sponsorship.

We would like to thank Dr Bellingan, from the Albany Museum for donating three butterfly displays to the Grade 3 classes. The Grade 3s also had a very interesting and informative presentation about insects from Dr Bellingan.

Thank you, Mr Abrahams and the local EMS team for an informative lesson and demonstration on First Aid for our Grade 2 & 3s. The girls also had the opportunity to see all the emergency medical equipment that first responders use.

Winter Uniform

Please note that as from Monday, 6 May all girls must be wearing full winter uniform: school skirt or navy blue pants, long sleeved white shirt, navy blue stockings/nylons or navy blue long length socks. Navy blue jerseys, pullovers, VP/VG drimacs, blazers and/or the thick VG jackets are permitted. Girls are not to wear their tracksuit tops with their school uniform. Plain navy blue scarves may be worn (not green). Beanies are NOT part of our school uniform.

Please Note

As from Monday, 13 May until Friday, 24 May to accommodate the writing of examinations by Grade 4-7 and to ensure that girls still remain active, the academic school day will end at 13:00 and the extramural programme will run from 13:00-14:00. The revised extramural programme for these two weeks will be sent out with the newsletter next week.

Music

Scales tests

All music pupils will play their scales tests next week. Keep practising, girls!

ABRSM exams

Girls who are eligible for these practical exams received their letters this week. Kindly note that the entry period is from 20-31 May.

VPKC orchestra rehearsal

Our orchestra will rehearse with the Kingswood string ensemble on Monday 6 May, at 15h30. Letters went home this week and transport arrangements have been finalised.

Friday rehearsals

Please note that due to the Grade 7 Creative Arts workshop, the Orchestra and Chamber Choir will not have their usual rehearsal on Friday, 10 May.

Creative Arts Workshop

On Friday, 10 May the Grade 7 learners will prepare for her mid-year practical performance and theory exam at school from 14:00. We request that your daughters are collected at the Pre-Primary Gate at 16:25. No later than 16:30. This workshop is compulsory, as we are preparing for their mid-year exams.

Tuesday Newsday

Members of our Media & Marketing Committee were tasked with illustrating this week’s edition of the Tuesday is Newsday publication which is shared nationally. Well done and thank you for your beautiful drawings! The Tuesday is Newsday is shared amongst our Intersen Phase girls and used for General Knowledge purposes. Next week’s edition will also be illustrated by members of our Grade 7 class. We look forward its release next week.

SPORT

Lorraine Sports Festival: The U13A hockey team will participate in the annual Lorraine Festival on Saturday, 4 May 2024 in Gqeberha. The fixtures are as follows: 08:18 VP vs Lorraine; 10:06 VP vs Riebeek; 11:18 VP vs George Suid; 12:30 VP vs Sunridge; 13:24 VP vs Hangklip. Play well, girls and have fun!

Hockey Match: On Wednesday, 8 May 2024 the 3rds and 4th teams will be playing a match against St Marys starting at 14h30. All support will be appreciated. Parents are to enter through the office gate, Beaufort Street.

Hockey Clinic: On Thursday, 9 May selected U7 & U8 hockey girls will participate in a hockey clinic at Kingswood College. Girls involved will receive a notice. We are certain this will be a fun learning experience for all.

Derby Day at Erica Primary: On Saturday, 11 May our netball and hockey teams will be travelling to Erica Primary in Gqeberha to participate in their Derby Day.

The fixtures will be as follows:

Hockey

		Field A		Field B
	8:30	U13A Erica vs Priory
	9:10	u13B Erica vs VP		U13C Erica vs Priory
	9:50	U13A Priory vs VP		U13D Erica vs VP
	10:30	U13B Erica vs Priory		U13C Priory vs VP
	11:10	U13A Erica vs VP
	11:50	U13B Priory vs VP		U13C Erica vs VP
			Astro 1		Astro 2
9:00			u9B Priory vs VP		u10C Erica vs VP
9:30			u9A Erica vs Priory		u10A Priory vs VP
10:00			u9B Eriva vs VP		u10B Erica vs Priory
10:30			u9A Erica vs VP		u10A Erica vs VP
11:00			u9B Erica vs VP		u10B Priory vs VP
11:30			u9A Priory vs VP		u10A Erica vs Priory
12:00					u10B Erica vs VP

Netball

	Court A	Court B
9:00	u10B Erica vs VP	u13A Erica vs VP
9:30	u9A Erica vs VP	u11A Erica vs VP
10:00	u10A Erica vs VP	u12A Erica vs VP
10:30	u9B Erica vs VP	u11B Erica vs VP

Swimming news: We’ve received the schools’ results from the Level 1 gala which took place on the 2nd March. VP came 7th out of a total of 14 schools – a wonderful achievement!

Slipper Day – 31 May

If you would like to wear slippers at school AND support a good cause, please remember to support our efforts to raise money for the Reach for a Dream Slipper Day. Girls can purchase a sticker for R20 and will then be allowed to wear slippers at school on Friday, 31 May! Please buy these in advance from Mrs Mgogo. If you would like to bring slippers to school to wear for the day without buying a sticker you may do so for a R10 donation. All the proceeds will go to Reach for a Dream, an organization that strives to fulfil the dreams of children who are suffering from life threatening illnesses.

Birthday wishes

We wish the following staff and girls a very happy birthday for next week: Mrs Wilhelmi, Mrs Kruger, Milisuthando Nkayi, Inomusa Tauzen, Luna Copteros, Lunje Giyose, Zoe Green, Anopa-Nyasha Thondhlana and Ithandile Hilta. We hope you have a very happy day!

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

Upcoming events

Sat.

04/05

Lorraine U13 Sports Festival @Lorraine Primary, Gqeberha

Mon. 06/04

· Winter uniform

· Grade 4F assembly @10:15

Wed.

08/05

3^rd& 4^th hockey team vs St Mary’s @VP 14:30

Thurs.

09/05

U7&U8 Hockey clinic @KC

Fri. 10/05

Grade 7 Creative Arts workshop 14:00-16:30

Chamber Choir cancelled

Sat.

11/05

Derby Day @Erica Primary, Gqeberha

Mon.

13/05 – Fri. 24/05

Gr 4-7 academic day ends at 13:00.

Extramurals are from 13:00-14:00.

Fri.

31/05

Slipper Day

Exam TImetable

Date

Exams

Thursday,

16 May

Grade 4-7:

· SS Geography

· Art

Friday,

17 May

Grade 4-7: – Afr/Xhosa (FAL) Language and Comprehension

Grade 7: Technology

Grade 4-6: Life Skills

Monday,

20 May

Grade 4-7:

· Maths Paper 1

· English Language and Comprehension

Tuesday,

21 May

Grade 4-7: Maths Paper 2

Grade 7: Life Orientation

Wednesday, 22 May

Grade 4-7: Natural Sciences

Grade 7: LSPA Practical

Thursday,

23 May

Grade 4-7: SS History

Grade 7: LSPA theory

Friday,

24 May

Grade 7: EMS

VP Newsletter 26 April 2024

26th Apr 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

We celebrated Arbour Day today and our girls certainly looked like a forest of autumn trees in their different colours. Ms Miskin gave a short talk on the importance of trees and we bought an orange tree to plant on our campus which we hope will bear fruit in the years to come. Thank you for the wonderful donations of plants we received to beautify our school!

It is so important that we teach our children to respect their environment and the world around them. Our children will build “the world of tomorrow” so it is for this reason that it is one of a parent’s essential duties to educate their children to respect the environment. Safeguarding the ecosystem in which we live means learning to take care of yourself and the people you love, so that the planet is a more beautiful place to live. It is up to us adults, above all, to set a good example, because children learn by observing us and copying our habits.
But how can we go about teaching our children to love the environment?

Here are some simple tips to set that example:

Teach your children to always look for a bin when out and about. Hold on to your rubbish until you find a bin and never ever throw your litter out the car window!
Wherever you go, like a picnic spot or hall, make the whole family pick up any litter, so that you leave the space as you’d like to find it.
Help clean up your community by keeping the area around your home and school, litter free.
Teach children to separate plastics, glass and paper so they will understand that there are types of material that are compostable and others which are biodegradable.
Teach them how to look after things through small projects such as caring for a plant or planting a small vegetable garden, this teaches them to know when to sow a seed, how to water it and how much light it needs to grow.
Allow your child to experience nature as much as possible. Understand the importance of breathing clean air and let them discover the wonders that our beautiful land offers us. Take time to go for a walk on mountain drive or down the street and point out the flowers, trees and insects and, if you know their names, teach your child what they are called.
Teach your child to NOT simply throw things away when we don’t like them anymore or they are no longer perfect, but rather to find an “alternative solution”. Teach them to Upcycle, share with their younger cousins or friends, or to share them with children less fortunate than themselves.
Establish simple habits such as always turning off the lights when you leave a room or turning off the tap when you brush your teeth. This way they will learn that energy and water are precious resources not to be wasted.

Practices repeated will become habits, changing habits. The planet will become a better place to live. (adapted from: https://www.naturino.com/en_en/teaching-children-to-respect-the-environment/)

We must teach our children to smell the earth, to taste the rain, to touch the wind, to see things grow, to hear the sun rise and night fall – to care. ~ John Cleal

Assembly

We had a lovely assembly presented to us by Grade 5K encouraging our girls to embrace their uniqueness and think for themselves.

On Monday, 29 April it will be Grade 4K’s turn to present their assembly. Parents are welcome to support. The assembly will start promptly at 10:15.

Indlulamthi Badges: Congratulations to Bridget Akpeng, Maya Christian and Lunje Tshiki who all deservedly received their Indlulamthi Badges at Monday’s assembly. Thank you for being exemplary VP girls!

Worker of the Week: Halle Orsmond is our Worker of the Week for her wonderful work in class. Well done, Halle!

Merit Achievers: Well done, Avethandwa Xhango and Stella Mullin who have received over 250 merits so far this year. Keep it up, girls!

EP Hockey: Congratulations to Madison Edwards for making it into the second round of the EP hockey trials. Good luck and play your best this Sunday, Madi.

Public Holiday: Please note that next Wednesday, 1 May, is a public holiday (Workers’ Day) and there will be no school on this day.

VP’s Got Talent is now open for entries

Entry forms are now available from the office. Once the form is completed girls are to return the form with the entry fee (R10 per person auditioning) to their class teacher. If it is a group entry, groups must delegate the entry to one person to do. The closing date for entries is Friday, 24 May.

Gill Results: Thank you to our parents for their wonderful support at Gill and to our parents who were patiently waiting for our delayed return.

Netball

U8A VP 2-7 Gill; U8B VP 3-4 Gill; U9A VP 1-19 Gill; U9B VP 3- 5 Gill; U10A VP 1-11 Gill; U10B VP 0-5 Gill; U11A VP 4-8 Gill; U12A VP 8-9 Gill; U12B VP 2-6 Gill; U13A VP 6-10 Gill; U13B VP 9-7 Gill.

Hockey

U8A VP 0-10 Gilll; U8B VP 0-3 Gill; U9A VP 3-0 Gill; U9B VP 0-1 Gill; U10A VP 0-1 Gill; 2nds VP 0-0 Gill; 1sts VP 1-0 Gill.

Well done, girls. It was our first game and you made our school proud.

Netball Round Robin

On Wednesday, 24 April VP, Ntaba Maria, St Mary’s, Fikizolo, and Good Shepherd participated in the U12 and U13 Round Robin at VP. The players enjoyed their matches and made their schools proud. VP’s results were as follows:

U12: VP 9-2 St Mary’s; VP 5-11 Good Shepherd

U13: VP 4-3 Good Shepherd; VP 7-6 Fikizolo

Lorraine Sports Festival

The U13A hockey team will participate in the annual Lorraine Festival on Saturday, 4 May 2024 in Gqeberha.

The fixtures are as follows:

08:18 VP vs Lorraine

10:06 VP vs Riebeek

11:18 VP vs George Suid

12:30 VP vs Sunridge

13:24 VP vs Hangklip

Play well, girls and have fun!

VP Whatsapp Broadcast group

Thank you to all the families who returned their consent forms for a school Whatsapp Broadcast group. We are in the process of adding all the numbers and will hopefully have it operating soon. In order for Whatsapp to know that we are not sending spam please add the school cell phone number to your contacts: 0834682706. Please note that this number will only be used to send out messages to parents. Calls or private messages to the number will not be answered. All communication with the school must continue to come through the office 0466224850 or email admin@victoriaprimary.co.za

Slipper Day – 31 May

If you would like to wear slippers at school AND support a good cause, please remember to support our efforts to raise money for the Reach for a Dream Slipper Day. Girls can purchase a sticker for R20 and will then be allowed to wear slippers at school on Friday, 31 May! Please buy these in advance from Mrs Mgogo. If you would like to bring slippers to school to wear for the day without buying a sticker you may do so for a R10 donation. All the proceeds will go to Reach for a Dream, an organization that strives to fulfil the dreams of children who are suffering from life threatening illnesses.

Birthday wishes: We wish the following girls a very happy birthday for next week: Angela Ndhlovu, Kayleigh Scheepers, Alonge Loyilani, Sairaah Govender, Lunje Manzana, Lubeluhle Peteni, Unako Sigwinta, Esihle Xulu, Lulolodwa Siko and Alumindawo Xibiya. We hope you have a very happy day!

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

EXAM TIMETABLE

Date

Exams

Thursday,

16 May

Grade 4-7:

· SS Geography

· Art

Friday,

17 May

Grade 4-7: – Afr/Xhosa (FAL) Language and Comprehension

Grade 7: Technology

Grade 4-6: Life Skills

Monday,

20 May

Grade 4-7:

· Maths Paper 1

· English Language and Comprehension

Tuesday,

21 May

Grade 4-7: Maths Paper 2

Grade 7: Life Orientation

Wednesday, 22 May

Grade 4-7: Natural Sciences

Grade 7: LSPA Practical

Thursday,

23 May

Grade 4-7: SS History

Grade 7: LSPA theory

Friday,

24 May

Grade 7: EMS

UPCOMING EVENTS

Mon. 29/04

Grade 4K assembly @10:15

Wed. 01/05

Workers’ Day (Public holiday)

Fri. 03/05

Grade 7 Committee meetings

Sat.

04/05

Lorraine U13 Sports Festival @Lorraine Primary, Gqeberha

Fri.

31/05

Slipper Day

VP Newsletter 19 April 2024

19th Apr 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

Tomorrow we have our first Saturday winter sports fixtures against Gill College. As a parent I used to love watching my children playing in their various sporting matches. As a very competitive person I often found it difficult to be a quiet supporter on the side but I knew how embarrassed my children would get if I somehow made my presence known, besides from the encouraging cheer that is always appreciated.

As parents, especially to those of primary school age, it is critical that we find the balance between encouraging our children to grow their talents and to find joy and fun in sport. Sometimes when we are too competitive and too judgemental we take all the fun out of the game. Your daughter will feel the pressure of your expectations and forget to have fun.

Cheer your daughter from the sidelines and support her teammates. Support her coaches and their decisions – they are all trying their best. Do not coach on the side lines as this may contradict what they have been told as a team and by their coach. Do not get involved during team chats – leave that to the coach and the team. Do not undermine or speak poorly of your child’s coach in front of your daughter as this will affect her willingness and eagerness to give her best. And please please please, do not chirp the referee!! It is far too often that matches turn nasty not because the players are bad sports but because the adults involved have forgotten the ethics and value of sportsmanship and instead promote winning at all costs, and this gets tangibly absorbed into the spirit of the game being played.

Remind your daughter that she needs to play her best and support her teammates even if she isn’t in the team she hoped to be in or playing the position she wanted or if she isn’t in the starting line up or does not play a full game. In primary school, building character through sport is just as (if not more) important as learning the sport itself. Her coach will note her positive attitude and her team spirit – a coach wants a player who gives of her best (regardless of her situation), follows instructions, shows a willingness to learn and grow, and who is an encouraging and supportive teammate. Often these nurtured attitudes will go a long way to developing a successful player later in life.

I want to thank our eager and encouraging parents who find the time to come cheer our VP teams on and we are grateful for the very supportive parent body that we have. Praise your little girl’s efforts, point out her strengths and moments of greatness and sure, give her some tips, but above all, teach her to be a good sport (as this permeates into all of life) – win or lose.

Worker of the Week: Congratulations to Isabella Tladi for her wonderfully written and presented Afrikaans poem about a lion.

Indlulamthi Badge: Congratulations to Iminathi Ndilele who received her Indlulamthi badge at Monday’s assembly. We are proud of you, Iminathi.

Merit Achievers: Well done to Cassandra Radovic, Maya Christian, Ifeoma Nnadozie, Lisakhanya Cetu, Mila Nongubo and Lelethu Mlisa who have received over 250 merits so far this year. Keep it up, girls!

Astroquiz results: Congratulations to the following girls who made it through to Round 2 of the SAASTA Astroquiz, which will take place on the 16th of May:

Team 1: Lunathi Mkosana; Lunathi Zikishe; Talitha Dingani & Cassandra Radovic

Team 2: Maya Christian; Zaydiah Adler; Indiphile Zondani & Shaziah Loutz

Assembly

This past Monday we enjoyed Grade 5M’s assembly where our girls were encouraged to be brave and try something new and not be afraid to fail.

Grade 5K will be presenting their assembly on Monday, 22 April. Parents are welcome to join us. The assembly will start at 10:15

SPORT

Netball vs Kenton-on-Sea

On Wednesday, 17 April our netball teams played matches against Kenton Primary. It was an amazing start to our season as our girls showed true sportsmanship and dedication. The scores were as follows:

U10A VP 2-6 Kenton; U11A VP 1-0 Kenton; U12A VP 8-2 Kenton; U13A VP 10-4 Kenton

Well done to all the girls!

Fixtures vs Gill College, Saturday 20 April

We will be playing our first fixture against Gill College on Saturday, 20 April. Girls who are involved have already received letters. We have decided to travel to Somerset East via Fort Beaufort as the road to Bedford is in such bad condition. Girls are to be dropped off at Huntley Street gate by 05:45. The bus will leave promptly at 06:00. We will be unable to wait for any latecomers. If you are driving your daughter yourself, please ensure that she arrives at least 30 minutes before the start of her game.

We will leave after the last match. I implore you to please be waiting for your daughter at the hostel gate entrance in Hill Street by 14:30.

Hockey Fixtures:

09h00: First Team (U13A)

09h50: Second Team (U13B)

10h50: U8A, U9B, U10A

11h10: U9A,U8B

Netball Fixtures:

09h00: U11A,U10B,U8B

09h30: U10A,U9B,U8A

10h00: U9A

10h40: U12A,U13B

10h15: U13A,U12B

Sarah Baartman netball trials

On Wednesday Zadiah Adler, Iminathi Ndilele, Indiphile Zondani and Unako Dlepu will participate in Sarah Baartman netball trials at Kingswood College. We wish them all the best!

Round Robin Netball Tournament
On Wednesday, 24 April we will be hosting a U12 & U13 Round Robin Netball Tournament at VP. Matches start at 14:00. Parents are welcome come and watch please use the Beaufort Street office entrance.

Due to these matches the U10 and U11 netball girls’ practice on Wednesday, is cancelled but girls are encouraged to support the matches.

Arbour Day: On Friday, 26 April we celebrate Arbour Day at school. Girls may dress in brown, green, yellow and orange civvies. Donations of plants towards the school gardens will be welcome but are not compulsory. Join us in celebrating the autumn leaves.

Slipper Day – 31 May: If you would like to wear slippers at school AND support a good cause, please remember to support our efforts to raise money for the Reach for a Dream Slipper Day. Girls can purchase a sticker for R20 and will then be allowed to wear slippers at school on Friday, 31 May! Please buy these in advance from Mrs Mgogo. If you would like to bring slippers to school to wear for the day without buying a sticker you may do so for a R10 donation. All the proceeds will go to Reach for a Dream an organization that strives to fulfil the dreams of children who are suffering from life threatening illnesses.

Dropping off items at the office: Our office staff are inundated with items being dropped off for the girls throughout the morning. Please note that only birthday cupcakes, deliveries for boarders and items specifically requested by teachers may be dropped off at the office for your daughter during the school day.

Birthday wishes

We wish the following staff member and girls a very happy birthday for next week: Mrs Olivier, Sanelisiwe Mbete, Oyintando Sinam, Uzugcinabazalibakho Gongqoba, Lithalethu Hulu, Ahlumile Njovane, Buchulebenkosi Qeqe, Uthando Dyantyi, Manahil Rizvi, Silubonile Royi, Kolo Sikhwivhilu and Lusenathi Tunzi. We hope you have a very happy day!

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

UPCOMING EVENTS

Sat. 20/04	Netball & Hockey vs Gill College @Gill
Mon. 22/04	Grade 5K assembly @10:15
Tues. 23/04	Sarah Baartman Netball Trials
Wed. 24/04	· U12 & U13 Netball Round Robin @VP · U10& U11 netball practice cancelled
Fri. 26/04	· Arbour Day – wear civvies in green, brown, yellow & orange · Boarders’ Leave Out weekend
Sun. 28/04	Boarders’ return from Leave Out
Fri. 31/05	Slipper Day

12th Apr 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

VP Newsletter 12 April

12th Apr 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

Wishing all our Muslim families a blessed Eid filled with happiness and cherished moments with loved ones.

This term is an examination term for Grade 4 -7 and exams will be written from Thursday, 16 May – that is only five weeks away! The examinations will be based on work that is covered in Term 1 and 2. It is certainly not too early for your daughter to start setting up a study timetable and to start making notes and revising work covered in class, especially as we also have a very busy sporting programme and many matches scheduled for this term. I would also advise that your daughter spends time in the afternoons practising concepts done in her Mathematics lessons and that she uses this time to ask her teacher for help if there are still concepts she is finding challenging. Encourage your daughter to read on a daily basis as this will also help her with all content subjects as well as in English. A little bit every day from now will make the daunting task of writing exams seem very manageable when it is broken down into smaller daily tasks.

Ways to encourage your daughter to get going:

Create a small neat desk space just for her to study at.
Make sure her desk area is well-lit and well-ventilated.
Purchase notebooks for her notes.
Highlighters and different coloured pens make note-making fun!
Provide sucking sweets and water for her desk.
Limit noise and distractions in your home.
Ensure that she has regular breaks (of about 5 – 10 minutes). For study time; Grade 4 & 5s will probably only be able to focus for 20 – 30 minutes at a time and older girls up to an hour at a time – but this can vary from child to child.
Make sure her breaks include movement to get her brain and body awake – this will help boost brain function when she is ready to face the books again. No screen time!
Please note: Continued sporting and physical activities increases the flow of oxygen and blood to the brain and boosts focus and concentration when study time comes.
Limit household chores (but don’t do away with them altogether)
Test her when she has finished revising a section.
Allow her to play ‘Teacher’ and teach you (or her siblings, or dog or stuffed toys) any concepts that she is learning.
Ensure that she gets a good night sleep
Encourage, support and praise your daughter’s efforts every step of the way.

Exam timetable

Date	Exams
Thursday, 16 May	Grade 4-7: SS GeographyArt
Friday, 17 May	Grade 4-7: – Afr/Xhosa (FAL) Language and Comprehension Grade 7: Technology Grade 4-6: Life Skills
Monday, 20 May	Grade 4-7: Maths Paper 1English Language and Comprehension
Tuesday, 21 May	Grade 4-7: Maths Paper 2 Grade 7: Life Orientation
Wednesday, 22 May	Grade 4-7: Natural Sciences Grade 7: LSPA Practical
Thursday, 23 May	Grade 4-7: SS History Grade 7: LSPA theory
Friday, 24 May	Grade 7: EMS

Assembly

On Monday Grade 6P presented their assembly on being able to work through the hard times and persevering and speaking to those close to us when feeling down. What a very special assembly! Thank you to the Grade 6P parents who enthusiastically supported their girls’ assembly.

On Monday, 15 April, Grade 5M will be presenting their assembly. Parents are most welcome to join us. The assembly will begin at 10:15.

Winter Uniform

Although we are only meant to start wearing our winter uniform as from the 6 May, the Makhanda weather has different ideas and winter seems to have come early! Your daughter may wear her winter uniform on the colder days but we appeal to you not to mix summer and winter uniforms.

Worker of the Week

Imanathi Mcophele is our Worker of the Week for her very good work in Afrikaans. Well done, Imanathi!

Merit Achievers

Well done to Olothando Sityata, Isla Orsmond, Amyoli Loli, Misha Potts, Amyoli Sesani, Lethisa de Maar, Liyabona Benyane and Imanathi Mcophele who have received over 250 merits so far this year. Keep it up, girls!

Grade 6 & 7 Social

On Friday, 12 April the Grade 6/7 VP/Graeme social will take place at Graeme College. The entrance fee is R20 and there will also be a tuckshop available. It will be cash only. The social starts at 18h00 and ends at 21h00. The music will be turned off at 20h50. Please ensure that you collect your daughter no later than 21h00. All vehicles enter through the main top gate and exit out of the Hostel bottom gate.

Netball vs Kenton-on-Sea

The U10A-U13A netball teams will be playing matches against Kenton Primary on Wednesday, 17 April at VP. The matches start at 14:15 and end at 15:00. We wish all our teams the best of luck!

Parents are welcome to support. Parents MUST enter through the Beaufort Street, office entrance.

Fixtures vs Gill College, Saturday 20 April

Hockey Fixtures:

09h00: First Team (U13A)

09h50: Second Team (U13B)

10h50: U8A, U9B, U10A

11h10: U9A,U8B

Netball Fixtures:

09h00: U11A,U10B,U8B

09h30: U10A,U9B,U8A

10h00: U9A

10h40: U12A,U13B

10h15: U13A,U12B

We will leave after the last match is finished and expect to arrive back at 14:15. Please fetch your daughter at the hostel gate entrance in Hill Street.

Please take note: The U13 DSG Hockey and Netball Festival that was scheduled for 19-22 April has been cancelled.

Extramural update: Please note that as Mrs Rafferty has to attend a meeting in Kirkwood on Tuesday, 16 April there will be no Strength Conditioning on this day. The Wednesday slot will continue as scheduled.

Slipper Day – 31 May

If you would like to wear slippers at school AND support a good cause, please remember to support our efforts to raise money for the Reach for a Dream Slipper Day. Girls can purchase a sticker for R20 and will then be allowed to wear slippers at school on Friday, 31 May! Please buy these in advance from Mrs Mgogo. If you would like to bring slippers to school to wear for the day without buying a sticker you may do so for a R10 donation. All the proceeds will go to Reach for a Dream an organization that strives to fulfil the dreams of children who are suffering from life threatening illnesses.

VP’s Got Talent

Our exciting PTA Fundraiser this term is: VP’s Got Talent

Enter our VP’s Got Talent competition under one of the following categories:

Singing: Group or Individual
Lip Sync: Group or Individual
Dance: Group or Individual
Musical Instruments: Group or Individual
Poetry
Open Category: Anything entertaining goes
Family Category: Do any act in the above categories with a VP girl/s and family members.

✩♬✩♬✩♬✩♬✩♬✩♬✩♬✩♬✩♬✩♬✩♬

Auditions will take place in the afternoons during the week of the 3-7 June. Entries: R10 per person auditioning.

VP’s Got Talent Show with our finalist will take place on the 13 June at 17h30.

✩♬✩♬✩♬✩♬✩♬✩♬✩♬✩♬✩♬✩♬✩♬

Birthday wishes

We wish the following staff member and girls a very happy birthday for next week: Mrs Barrow, Chikhulupiriro Mitochi, Grace Kretzmann, Uminathi Solani, Kaelyn Westcott, Skylar Haywood, Unakho Maxhaulana, Esisiphiweyo Pinyana and Aliyah Bezuidenhout. We hope you have a very happy day!

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

UPCOMING EVENTS

Fri. 12/04	Grade 6&7 Social @GC 18:00-20:50
Mon. 15/04	Grade 5M Assembly @10:15
Sat. 20/04	Netball & Hockey vs Gill College @Gill
Tues. 23/04	Sarah Baartman Netball Trials
Wed. 24/04	U12 Netball Round Robin @VP
Fri. 26/04	Boarders’ Leave Out weekend
Fri. 31/05	Slipper Day

VP Newsletter 5 April 2024

5th Apr 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office
Welcome back to the start of Term 2! I trust that you had a lovely time bonding with your daughters during our short break and that you didn’t eat too many chocolates (at least not all at once).

Just before we broke up for our holiday, we were delighted to hear from GADRA that VP was once again the top performing school in Makhanda in their ‘reading for meaning’ research done with twenty four local primary schools. Although we have not received the full report we were notified that VP was the only school where 100% of the learners met the threshold considered to be able to read for meaning.

We are extremely proud of our Preprimary, Foundation Phase and Grade 4 teachers who have all played their role in ensuring that our girls are all able to understand what they are reading.

I feel it is important to note that we not only expect our girls to comprehend what they read but we also expect our girls to answer questions in full sentences, using correct spelling and grammar. We also expect our girls to be able to answer higher order questions, to be able to predict, make connections, be able to outline key and supporting details, review pre-reading predictions and questions, make inferences, be able to summarise their text, be able to sequence their text, make comparisons and form their own opinions.

All these are practised, revised and sometimes assessed as ‘reading comprehensions’ as they are indicative of how well a child has understood the text if she is able to analyse and reword it herself. These skills not only demonstrate our girls’ comprehension but they are essential skills for learning content subjects and making notes and ensuring understanding.

We are aware that we have a
Message from the office
Welcome back to the start of Term 2! I trust that you had a lovely time bonding with your daughters during our short break and that you didn’t eat too many chocolates (at least not all at once).

Just before we broke up for our holiday, we were delighted to hear from GADRA that VP was once again the top performing school in Makhanda in their ‘reading for meaning’ research done with twenty four local primary schools. Although we have not received the full report we were notified that VP was the only school where 100% of the learners met the threshold considered to be able to read for meaning.

We are extremely proud of our Preprimary, Foundation Phase and Grade 4 teachers who have all played their role in ensuring that our girls are all able to understand what they are reading.

I feel it is important to note that we not only expect our girls to comprehend what they read but we also expect our girls to answer questions in full sentences, using correct spelling and grammar. We also expect our girls to be able to answer higher order questions, to be able to predict, make connections, be able to outline key and supporting details, review pre-reading predictions and questions, make inferences, be able to summarise their text, be able to sequence their text, make comparisons and form their own opinions.

All these are practised, revised and sometimes assessed as ‘reading comprehensions’ as they are indicative of how well a child has understood the text if she is able to analyse and reword it herself. These skills not only demonstrate our girls’ comprehension but they are essential skills for learning content subjects and
Message from the office
Welcome back to the start of Term 2! I trust that you had a lovely time bonding with your daughters during our short break and that you didn’t eat too many chocolates (at least not all at once).

Just before we broke up for our holiday, we were delighted to hear from GADRA that VP was once again the top performing school in Makhanda in their ‘reading for meaning’ research done with twenty four local primary schools. Although we have not received the full report we were notified that VP was the only school where 100% of the learners met the threshold considered to be able to read for meaning.

We are extremely proud of our Preprimary, Foundation Phase and Grade 4 teachers who have all played their role in ensuring that our girls are all able to understand what they are reading.

I feel it is important to note that we not only expect our girls to comprehend what they read but we also expect our girls to answer questions in full sentences, using correct spelling and grammar. We also expect our girls to be able to answer higher order questions, to be able to predict, make connections, be able to outline key and supporting details, review pre-reading predictions and questions, make inferences, be able to summarise their text, be able to sequence their text, make comparisons and form their own opinions.

All these are practised, revised and sometimes assessed as ‘reading comprehensions’ as they are indicative of how well a child has understood the text if she is able to analyse and reword it herself. These skills not only demonstrate our girls’ comprehension but they are essential skills for learning content subjects and making notes and ensuring understanding.

We are aware that we have a high standard of expectations from our girls in their English lessons and that it does require hard work from pupils and teachers alike, but we also know that this gives our girls an unparalleled foundation for their schooling and studies.

‘Students who have the opportunity to write in conjunction with reading, show more evidence of critical thinking about reading’.

Staff News
Congratulations to Mr and Mrs Roberts on the birth of their baby girl, Annabel Grace on Thursday, 28 March. We wish their new little family health, love and plenty of sleep.

Assembly
On Monday we look forward to Grade 6P’s assembly. Their assembly will start at 10:15. Parents are most welcome to join us.

Grade 3-7 Report Discussions
We will have our report discussions on Tuesday, 9 April. All Grade 4-7 teachers will be available in the school hall from 16:30 -17:45. Grade 3 teachers will in their classrooms at the same time. Please limit your discussion to 5 minutes in respect for other parents waiting. If you feel you need a more in-depth meeting with your child’s class or subject teacher, please make an alternate appointment to meet with him/her.

PTA Meeting
We will have our first PTA meeting of the term on Thursday 11 April, in our hall at 17:15. Please try to be there to plan our upcoming events for the term.

Astroquiz
We have 40 Grade 7 learners participating in the SAASTA Astroquiz on the 11th April from 14:00 – 14:30. Best of luck to these girls – reach for the stars !

Hearing Screening
Speech therapist, Lara Day will be conducting Hearing Screenings at VP, starting on Tuesday the 9th of April. If your daughter is in Gr 4 – 7 and you would like her to be screened, please kindly make contact with her teacher for a consent form. All Foundation Phase pupils will receive a form, we would like to encourage Foundation Phase parents to take advantage of this worthwhile screening. The cost of the Hearing Screenings is R130 payable to VP in cash or by EFT (Please reference: ‘Child’s name and grade/Hearing Screening’).

Conquesta
Should you wish for your child to participate in Conquesta 2024, entry forms are available from Mrs
Sauls. Conquesta is only open to Grades 4-6. Please complete the entry form and return it to school in an envelope, marked “Conquesta” with the relevant entry fee and your child’s name and class. Closing date for entries is Friday, 12 April.

Netball – U13 Sarah Baartman Trials.
Congratulations to Indiphile Zondani, Zaydiah Adler and Unako Dlepu who made it through to the next round of the u13 Netball Trials. They will be participating in the Sarah Baartman trials on the 23rd of April.

Tennis News
Congratulations to Marizaan Boucher who participated in the TSA Junior National Championships in Bloemfontein. She won 4 out of her 6 singles matches and ended 18th out of 64 players in her age group.
Congratulations also goes to Marizaan and her partner who won their doubles division at the Junior National champs!

Winter Season Away matches
During our netball and hockey season we have many away matches over the weekends which require us to book buses to transport our girls. This costs us an exorbitant amount of money and we appeal to you that if you are planning to support your child that you please transport her to the match. It is most upsetting when we have empty buses on our return as girls then go home with their parents and we are paying for unnecessary hire and transport. Please help us save costs in this regard.

Donations
Mrs Olivier is requesting donations of old newspapers.

Birthday wishes
We wish the following girls a very happy birthday this week or next week:
Carla Frazer, Lulo Kota, Phumelela Macetyana, Alexis Killian, Sivuze Xamleko, Sahlulo Kutase, Zenazi Gqeke and Uyathandwa Macanda.
Have a lovely day!
Warm Regards
Mrs Rafferty

Upcoming events
Monday, 8 April
VP Applications open for 2025
Assembly Grade 6P
Extramurals begin
Tuesday, 9 April
Grade 3-7 Report Discussions
16:30-17:45
Thursday, 11 April
Astroquiz 14:00-14:30
PTA Meeting 17:15
Friday, 12 April
Grade 6&7 Social @Graeme
Closing date for Conquesta entries

VP Newsletter 20 March 2024

20th Mar 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

We have come to the end of another extremely busy term and I have been incredibly proud of our girls across the grades. Their behaviour, team spirit, helpfulness and enthusiasm has been commendable. I would like to thank our Grade 7 girls in particular who have taken their committee roles so seriously and have played a critical role in ensuring that all our girls have a happy day at school. I would also like to thank the staff for their hard work and dedication to VP which has contributed to this successful term.

I trust that you will read through your daughter’s report closely with her this holiday. Praise her efforts where she has clearly given her best. If you have noticed from the teacher’s comment and/or from her results that your child needs a bit of guidance or intervention in one area or another, please do not delay to meet with your child’s teacher next term or endeavour to put in all the measures possible that can assist her. Remember your child’s academic success is reliant on your support at home.

We have scheduled to have Report Discussion on Tuesday, 9 April from 16:30-17:45 for Grade 4-7. Please prioritise this on your calendar to meet with your child’s teachers to discuss any concerns or simply to find out how your daughter is doing in the classroom. All teachers from Grade 4-7 will be available in the hall during this time.

I hope that you will have a wonderful holiday with your daughter and that you are able to have some quality time together and to ensure that your daughter has a break and a good rest before the start of a new and busy term. Please also make sure that she reads at least one book this holiday.

Message from our SGB Chairperson

Mrs Thando Qeqe

It is incredible how swiftly time has passed. It is almost unbelievable that we have already concluded the first term. I am proud of everyone who has seized this opportunity and made the most of it.

Despite a busy start to the year, our teachers have continued to inspire and nurture our girls. I extend my heartfelt thanks to Mrs. Rafferty, all our dedicated teachers and support staff members for their tireless efforts and commitment to providing quality education.

This term, our girls have shown remarkable perseverance and eagerness to learn, and equally so, their parents and guardians have demonstrated unwavering support and partnership in the education of their children – thank you or all those who have remained committed to paying school fees. I urge all parents and guardians to continue prioritizing the prompt payment of school fees, as your contributions play a vital role in sustaining our school’s excellence.

As we look back on the past few weeks of this academic year, let us also celebrate the successes and milestones we have achieved together. From commemorating our school’s birthday to embracing our rich heritage, academic achievements to extracurricular accomplishments. Each success is indeed a testament to the dedication and hard work of everyone involved.

I emphasize the importance of open communication with the school. Should you encounter any challenges or concerns affecting your daughter’s well-being or academic performance, please reach out to their class teachers. Your feedback is invaluable in creating a supportive environment for all students.

Lastly, as we approach the Easter break, I encourage each of you to prioritize family and rest. Whether you are embarking on a journey or enjoying a staycation, I wish you all safe travels and a rejuvenating break.

Thank you for your unwavering support and dedication to our school community. Together, we will continue to nurture and empower our girls to reach their fullest potential.

Congratulations to the following Grade 4-7 girls who were the Top Ten academic achievers in their grades.

Grade 4

Isla Orsmond
Libby Everton
Emihle Kulati
Amyoli Loli
Kaylee May
Cayden Strauss
Madison Conroy
Misha Potts
Caitlyn Bodill
Tessanne Arries

Grade 5

Makatendeka Chakona
Haset Sintayehu
Ababalwe Ngwetsheni
Maham Rizvi
Owekhethelo Gongqa
Ella Radovic
Yusrah Suleman
Siphesihle Chrisjan
Amari Funani
Amy-Leigh Jacobs
Olothando Sityata

Grade 6

Nakweziphi Mthetho
Eila Chirombo
Imanathi Mcophele
Uzosule Kanana
Isabella Tladi
Mila Nongubo
Sibonokuhle Benge
Esethu Stamper
Aliyah Bezuidenhout
Mila McConnachie

Grade 7

Azile Hambaze
Maya Christian
Emilie Niesing
Emily Steele
Stella Mullin
Daniella McLean
Hlalumi Balfour
Ifeoma Nnadozie
Amyoli Sesani
Emery Klyvie

Full/Half colours

We congratulate the girls who received full and half Colours this term:

Tennis Full Colours: Stella Mullin, Marizaan Bowker and Madison Edwards

Athletics Half Colours: Daniella McLean (re-award), Abenathi Kulati (re-award), Aleesia Jonker (re-award), Micarlin Daniels, Nakweziphi Mthetho and Unako Dlepu.

Swimming Half Colours: Daniella McLean and Madison Edwards.

Netball Half Colours: Iminathi Ndlilele

Congratulations on this wonderful achievement, girls!

Worker of the Week: Our W.O.W. is Luniko Hulushe in Grade 3 for getting full marks for every single spelling test this term. Well done, Luniko!

Indlulamthi Badges

Well done to all the recipients of Indlulamthi badges this term; Azile Hambaze, Sinembasa Mapipa, Daniella Mclean, Lelona Manyathi, Kaylee May, Uzosule Kanana, Mivuyo Santi, Grace Ruwanza, Luniko Hulushe, Chanelle Musarurwa, Isla Orsmond, Owe Gongqa, Haset Sintayehu, Bridget Akpeng, Ella Radovic, Amari Funani, Olo Sityata, Cayden Strauss, Okuhle Smaile, Misha Potts, Olothando Kanyiwe, Nakweziphi Mthetho, Amyoli Loli, Iminathi Mcophele and Olo Sityata. Well done, girls!

Bathurst Show Art Exhibition: This year the Bathurst Agricultural Show will take place from 22-24 March. The following VP girls will have their art works exhibited at the show:

Grade 4: Misha Potts, Kendra Chrisjan, Lulo Ponoshe, Linomtha Gonyela, Caryne Grobler, Yonelisa Ngaleka, Libby Everton, and Kaylee May.

Grade 5: Chrissy Moriarty, Bridget Akpeng, Yusrah Suleman, Sithe Busakwe, Katherine Marais, and Anathi Mbundlakazi.

Grade 6: Isabella Tladi, Saairah Govender, Alibongwe Mthembu, Mila Nongubo, Kamva Mesani, and Iminathi Mgwebi.

Grade 7: Cherise Mardon, Stella Mullin, Maya Christian, Azile Hambaze, Hlalumi Balfour, Lunathi Zikishe, Emilie Niesing, Emily Steele, Abigail Green, and Luna Copteros.

If you would like to view their submissions please scroll down.

South African Mathematics Challenge

We are very excited to announce that the following learners have made it through to the second round which will be written in May 2024.

Grade 4: Caitlyn Bodill, Libby Everton, Amyoli Loli, Isla Orsmond, Misha Potts and Cayden Strauss.

Grade 5: Makatendeka Chakona, Maham Rizvi and Haset Sintayehu.

Grade 6: Sibonokuhle Benge, Eila Chirombo, Uzosule kanana, Nakweziphi Mthetho, Esethu Stamper, Olutahndo Tube and Junaid Williams.

Grade 7: Azile Hambaze, Emery Klyve and Emilie Niesing.

Good luck for the next round, girls!

Interhouse Cross Country results

Last week our girls participated in the our Interhouse Cross Country. We congratulate all the girls for participating and trying their very best. Below are the Top Ten results per age group.

U/7

Riley-Anne Knott-Craig
Lara-Anne Fouché
Lucy Bennet
Rose Jordaan
Uminathi Solani
Riley-Jo Potts
Maneo Ntsepo
Lubeluhle Petini
Lebogang Mogale
Inomusa Tauzen

U/8

Kaya Jones
Amahle Mchunu
Alunamda Jakavula
Leah Flotman
Okuhle Dyibishe
Tehillah Dingani
Leante Crafford
Lukhololwam Sgam
Alegra Evans
Annabelle Olivier

U/9

Mivuyo Santi
Chanelle Musarurwa
Hlumisa Piti
Anna Malamis
Luniko Hulushe
Lunathi Makasi
Taylynne Thomas
Nakhane Klei
Neo Molefe
Lunje Peter

U10/U11

Esona Makabe
Siarra Appollis
Lunje Manzana
Isla Orsmond
Sinesipho Mafani
Leah Doyle
Bridget Akpeng
Bubele Mvula
Lunje Tshiki
Yusrah Suleman

U12/U13

Daniella McLean
Aleesia Jonker
Stella Mullin
Liyabona Benyane
Lulo Adam
Micarlin Daniels
Anita Nkanyana
Abenathi Kulati
Zaydiah Adler
Junaid Williams

Well done, girls!

Interhouse Singing: Last Friday, all girls in Grades 4-7 participated in the Interhouse Singing competition. Fern, the reigning champions, performed first and set the bar very high. All the houses presented Wamkelekile by Hot Water, and one traditional song of their choice. The girls did a spectacular job of personalising Wamkelekile, and the traditional songs were excellently arranged and performed. Arum were the victors this year, and we are very proud of all the singers, the house leaders and the teachers for making this such a wonderful event.

Highland Dancing: Libby Everton competed in the East Coast Highland Dancing Festival in East London recently. She received six silver medals and was the runner up for the Chelsea Randall Shield and the Andrew McDonell Shield. Well done, Libby!

Easter Egg Raffle winners!

On Monday we did the draw for our Easter hamper raffle. The lucky winners of hampers were Delise Moriarty, Bronwyn Tweedy, Duli Tiuba, Mthetheleli Same and Leezal Visagie. Mrs Purdon’s Grade 6 class sold the most tickets overall – 70 sheets sold!

The following girls sold the most sheets:

1^st Chrissy Moriarty (11 sheets)

2^nd Eila Chirombo (10 sheets)

3^rd Chiku Mitochi (9 sheets)

Thank you for your support!

We are delighted to have raised R22 065

with this fundraiser. Thank you for your support!

Conquesta 2024: Should you wish for your child to participate in Conquesta 2024, entry forms are available from Mrs Sauls. Conquesta is only open to Grades 4-6. Please complete the entry form and return it to school in an envelope, marked “Conquesta” with the relevant entry fee and your child’s name and class. Closing date for entries is 12 April.

Birthday wishes

We wish the following girls a very happy birthday for next two weeks: Elethu-Ibhongo Makeleni, Nozibusiso Maseko, Azingce Gwarubana, Harper Krige, Yhwh-Rapha Matiwana, Siyasisanda Nene, Kaylee Vosloo, Amyoli Matswele, Anovuyo Nkohla, Oluthando Tube, Laraa Andriantiana, Kenzeigh Scear, Khanide Diko, Azile Hambaze, Hlumelo Piti, Kayleah Evans, Lude Hashe and Annabelle Olivier. Have a lovely day!

Message for Gr 7 parents from VGHS

Dear Grade 7 Parent/Guardian

Your daughter/ward has received an Application Book for Victoria Girls’ High School. The closing date for applications is 22 July 14:00 at the offices of Victoria Girls’ High. All relevant information about the process and what documents are required, appear in the book received. Please note that entry into the school is not automatic and that the Admissions’ Criteria is applied. Applicants from VP are given first consideration. Families will receive a phone call and a follow up letter will be emailed by 13 September. To have your daughter’s name added to the 2025 class, you need to meet the deadline of 7 October 14:00 – details will be given in the email correspondence. In order to be fair on everyone applying from the broader community, a VP learner’s space will not be reserved should this deadline not be adhered to. The available space created will be made available to the next Grade 7 on the waiting list. We will not be reserving a place for your daughter if you miss the deadline.

BATHURST ART EXHIBITION ENTRIES

VP Newsletter 15 March 2024

15th Mar 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

On Monday Grade 6G presented a delightful assembly on the importance (and value) of time and time management. Admittedly this is something many people struggle with even as adults but it certainly is a life skill that is worth developing. During this hectic term many of our girls may have battled to juggle their academics, sporting and cultural commitments as well as find time to rest and have some fun. Here are some tips extracted from an article to ponder and to try and implement in our homes to develop our girls’ skills in becoming better time managers. Having an organised home with a routine and structure goes a long way in developing a child who can manage her day and feel confident in doing so.

’Time management for children is the thinking skill that helps them to estimate how long it will take to do something, complete tasks on time, and not waste time’.

Time Management for Children

(adapted from

https://www.scholastic.com/parents/family-life/parent-child/teach-kids-to-manage-time.html)

Find a place for everything. A child can’t finish her morning work if she can’t find her pencil. So organisation has to come before time management. Encourage your child to keep her homework supplies and school books (or room) organised.
Create to do lists and/or create an easy-to-spot weekly checklist such as “Homework in suitcase?” “Diary signed?” will go a long way in keeping your daughter on top of things.
Be clear about consequences. Pupils can and should be held accountable for their own assignments and they need to feel the consequences when they don’t meet their deadlines. As homework and extracurriculars increase, it’s even more important that children learn how to set goals, prioritise, organise, and think flexibly. Your goal as a parent should be to get your child to manage her time more purposefully, without a lot of nagging and hovering.
Work on estimating time. In order to make a realistic schedule, you need a good sense of how long things take. Help your daughter break her day into 15-minute chunks and help her see how much she can do in this time.
Plan for long-term assignments. Deciding when to do tonight’s Maths homework is one thing. Figuring out how and when to tackle the book report that’s due three weeks from Tuesday is quite another. The key with long-range projects is to break them down into smaller steps. Your child can also plan the steps necessary to complete a project by working backward from the due date. Never let her leave this for the night before!
Set priorities. It’s essential that children learn to differentiate between ‘have tos’ and ‘want tos’ and learn to prioritise and self-monitor.

‘Time management is a misnomer, the challenge is to manage ourselves.’ – Stephen R. Covey

‘A plan is, a schedule is when. It takes both a plan and a schedule to get things done’. -Peter Turla

Worker of the Week

Well done to Leah Flotman for being selected as our W.O.W for her beautifully written weekend news.

Indlulamthi Badge

Congratulations to the following girls who were presented with their Indlulamthi Badges at Monday’s assembly. We are extremely proud of all our recipients and we thank them for being such marvelous ambassadors of VP and for the example they set at school: Sinembasa Mapipa, Daniella Mclean, Lelona Manyathi, Kaylee May, Uzosule Kanana, Mivuyo Santi, Grace Ruwanza, Luniko Hulushe and Chanelle Musarurwa. We are so proud of each one of you!

Personalities of the Week

Well done to Madison Edwards and Daniella McLean who received the POW this past assembly for their thoughtfulness displayed at a gala and to Zingce Balani, Iminathi Ndilele and Unako Dlepu for their helpfulness shown towards others during their Grade 7 Technology workshop.

Merit Achievers

Ababalwe Ngwetsheni, Azile Hambaze and Lathisa Ngabaza have received over 250 merits so far this year. Well done!

Assembly

On Monday we look forward to our hostel boarders presenting their assembly. Their assembly will start at 10:10. Parents are most welcome to join us.

Easter Hamper Raffle

Thank you to everyone who donated Easter eggs to make our raffle prizes so spectacular! We will draw the lucky winners’ names on Monday morning. Good luck to everyone who bought a ticket.

Grade 3 & Parents’ Mini Cricket Tournament

On Saturday, 16 March from 09:00 the Grade 3s & their families will have a fun Mini Cricket tournament at VP. We hope you have a lot of fun!

U13 Makana Netball Trials

The U13 Makana netball trials had to be postponed this week due to the rain. They will be taking place on Monday, 18 of March. All selected girls need to please be dressed and ready at 14:00. Play well, girls!

Kingswood College 7-a-side Hockey Tournament

Good luck to the U10 and U11 hockey teams participating in the Kingswood College 7-a-side Hockey Festival this weekend. The fixtures are below, VP 1 is the U11 team and VP 2 is the U10 team. A big thank you to Mrs Andrews and Miss Knott-Craig for accompanying the girls to the festival. Good luck girls and have fun!

7-a-side hockey fixtures

	City Lords Astro Parking Lot Side
Time	Team 1		Team 2
09:25	VP 2	vs	Kingswood
09:50	VP 1	vs	DSG 3
10:15	DSG 1	vs	Bedford
10:40	VP 1	vs	VP 2
11:05	DSG 1	vs	DSG 3
11:30	DSG 2	vs	Kingswood
11:55	VP 1	vs	DSG 1
12:20	DSG 2	vs	VP 2
12:45	Bedford	vs	Kingswood
13:10	VP1	vs	DSG 2
13:35	Bedford	vs	VP 2
13:50	Kingswood	vs	DSG 3
14:15	Bedford	vs	DSG 2
14:40	Kingswood	vs	DSG 1
15:05	DSG 3	vs	VP2
15:30	VP 1		Bedford
15:55	VP 2		DSG 1

Foundation Phase Open Music Class on Tuesday, 19 March

Parents and guardians are invited to come and watch what takes place during a class music lesson, and to see what your enthusiastic girls have been learning. Please use the Beaufort Street office entrance. The timetable for the day will be as follows:

Gr00: Teacher Lee – 08:00-08:30

Gr R: Teacher Kerry – 08:30-09:00

Gr R: Teacher Sam – 09:00-09:30

Gr 1: Mrs Orsmond – 09:30-10:00

Gr 1: Ms Casling – 10:00-10:30

Gr 2: Mrs Andrews – 11:00-11:30

Gr 2: Mrs Olivier – 11:30-12:00

Gr 3s: 12:00-12:40

Orchestra

Our orchestra had their first rehearsal with the Kingswood string ensemble

yesterday, which was a wonderful way to start collaborating with other young musicians. We hope to have a few more combined rehearsals this year and eventually perform together. Details will be communicated once they have been finalised.

Progress Concert

All our beginners and Initial-level musicians will perform at the annual Progress Concert, which will take place in the school hall on Tuesday 19 March at 14:15. Parents are welcome to attend in support of our budding performers.

Mini Maestros:

We are pleased to announce that the South African Society of Music Teachers (SASMT) have once again organised a Makhanda chapter of the annual Mini Maestros Competition, on 17 & 18 May. Eligible pupils received their letters this week. Please ensure that reply slips are completed and returned (with the entry fee) to the music teachers by Monday 18 March.

Piano party

Mr. Wynne’s composition students will perform their original works in the morning on Wednesday, 20 March at their Piano Party. This will give our young composers an opportunity to learn from each other and share their creative ideas. All participants are to please bring some snacks to share (chips/sweets).

Extra murals: Please note that there will be NO extra murals in the afternoon for Grade 1-7 next week Monday to Wednesday. Choir will continue in the morning.

Last Day of Term and Report collection

Our last day of school this term is Wednesday, 20 March.
Our final assembly for the term will be on Wednesday at 08h30. Girls are to be dressed in their school uniform and blazer (no sports clothes on this day). We will be presenting our Top Ten academic certificates in Grade 4-7.
Please note that your daughter’s report will be handed out to her on this last day of the term at 10:30 when she is dismissed for the school holidays.

No reports will be handed out before this time and your daughter is expected to be at school to collect it.

SPORTS RESULTS

Interhouse Gala

On Friday last week we closed our swimming season with our Splash and Interhouse Galas. The girls supported their houses with great spirit and fun was had by all!

The results were as follows:

1st Disa (382 points)

2nd Fern (351 points)

3rd Arum (323 points)

4th Aloe (311 points)

Congratulations to the three girls who broke records this year:

Lilani Wolmarans – 1x25m Freestyle in a time of 22.27 seconds
Isla Orsmond – 2x25m Breaststroke in a time of 55.29 seconds
Daniella McLean – 2x25m Backstroke in a time of 39.50 seconds

Frans Erasmus Netball Tournament

A huge thank you to all the U13 Netball players who participated in the Frans Erasmus Tournament at PJ Olivier last week. All the players showed tremendous dedication and support of each other. Thank you to our hostel supporters too! All the girls had an amazing netball experience and a good start to their netball season.

Birthday wishes

We wish the following girls a very happy birthday for next week: Silindokuhle Demele, Elihle Velem, Lathisa Ngabaza, Luhle Songongo, Onika Jimmy, Linomtha Kula and Emily Steele. Have a lovely day!

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

UPCOMING EVENTS

Sat.

16/03

· Grade 3 Mini Cricket tournament at VP

· U11 7-a-side Hockey Festival at Kingswood College

Mon.

18/03

· Easter raffle draw

NO AFTERNOON EXTRAMURALS FOR GRADE 1-7

Tues.

19/03

· Open Music class (FP)

· Progress Music Concert @14:15

· NO AFTERNOON EXTRAMURALS FOR GRADE 1-7

Wed.

20/03

Last day of term

· 08:30 Academic Assembly

· 10:30 School closes

· 12:30 Hostel closes

· No Aftercare

· NO AFTERNOON EXTRAMURALS

Tues.

02/04

Boarders return to school

Wed. 03/04

Term 2 begins

Summer uniform

VP Newsletter 8 March 2024

8th Mar 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

We certainly have had a few weeks of celebrations and activities. On Monday we had our Induction assembly.

Congratulations to the following girls who were selected into their various portfolios:

Headgirl: Azile Hambaze

Deputy Headgirl: Sinembasa Mapipa

Heads of committees

Discipline: Abenathi Kulati

Sport: Iminathi Ndilele

Community Outreach: Abigail Green

Media and Marketing: Jazlin Crafford

Environmental: Zaydiah Alder

Culture and Music: Lathisa Ngabaza

House Captains

Aloe: Hlalumi Balfour

Arum: Sinembasa Mapipa

Disa: Talitha Dingani

Fern: Abenathi Kulati

Music Captains

Choir: Azile Hambaze

Orchestra: Stella Mullin

Sports Captains

Tennis: Danni Mclean

Swimming: Danni Mclean

Hockey: Azile Hambaze

Netball: Zaydiah Alders

Athletics: Aleesia Jonkers

We wish you a very successful year ahead.

Worker of the Week

Congratulations to Cherise Mardon for doing such beautiful drawings in Natural Sciences. Keep it up, Cherise!

Merit Achievers

Bridget Akpeng and Maham Rizvi have received over 250 merits so far this year. Well done, girls!

PTA Colour Fun Run 2024

We would like to thank the following businesses who made donations towards our Colour Fun Run Fundraising event: Spar, Connocks, Legends, Pick ‘n Pay, Kim Webber Estate, Crystal Clear Ice and ABM Office National. We made a profit of R12 130 from this event. Thank you to everyone for your support and for making this such a successful event!

Assembly

On Monday, 11 March Grade 6G will be presenting their assembly. Parents are welcome to join us. Please enter the hall with the staff at 09:15.

Interhouse Cross Country

On Friday, 15 March we will be running in our annual Interhouse Cross Country event. Parents are welcome to attend.

The Pre-Primary, Grade 1&2s will be running on Fergusson Field from 08:00- 08:45.

Pre-Primary – 08:00-08:15

Grade 1 – 08:15-08:30

Grade 2 – 08:30-08:45

We kindly request that all PP&FP parents enter through the Beaufort Street office entrance as the Huntley Street entrance will be locked and will not be opened.

The Grade 3-7 girls will walk to the Botanical Gardens to start running at 09:00. First off will be the Grade 3s, followed by Grade 4&5s and finally Grade 6&7s.

Pre-Primary girls must wear a shirt in their house colour and black shorts, socks and takkies.
The Grade 1-7 girls must come to school dressed in their house shirt, black shorts, white socks, and takkies.
Please also send a bottle of water, sunscreen and her VP hat/peak.

Interhouse Singing Competition

After the Interhouse Cross Country the Grade 4-7 girls will participate in the Interhouse Singing from 12:00-13:00 in the hall. We look forward to their performances. Parents are welcome to come and support. Please enter through the Beaufort Street office entrance.

Easter Hamper Raffle

Please continue to sell the raffle tickets and remember that additional forms can be requested from your daughter’s class teacher. Please send donations of Easter Eggs in order to make our large hampers. The closing date for sheets to be returned is 15 March. We will draw the lucky winners names on Monday, 18 March.

Grade 7C Extra Art Lesson

Please could all of Mrs Coetzee’s Grade 7 class attend Art Club on Wednesday, 13 March from 15:00 to 16:00. This lesson is compulsory.

SPORT

Frans Erasmus Netball Tournament

We wish our U13A netball team all the best as they play in the Frans Erasmus Tournament this weekend at PJ Olivier.

The fixtures are listed below. I am sure they would love to be supported. Girls must come dressed neatly in their sports clothes or school uniform to support.

Friday, 8 March

13:40: VP vs Good Shepherd

15:00: VP vs Dr Viljoen

Saturday, 9 March

08:00: VP vs LS Handhaaf

08:40: VP vs Settlers Park

10:20: VP vs Ntaba Maria

11:00: VP vs Southbourne

13:20: VP vs Hangklip

Makana netball trials

On Tuesday, 12 March selected U12 girls will be participating in the Makana netball trials at PJ Olivier. The matches start at 15:00. We wish our girls the best of luck!

On Wednesday, 13 March selected U13 netball girls will be participating in the Makana netball trials at VP. All matches start at 14:00. We wish our girls the best of luck

Swimming

Level One Gala

Our girls did so well in the Level One Gala held at the Newton Park Pool on Saturday, 2 March 2024. Well done to Madison Edwards who came second in 50m Butterfly, first in 50m Breaststroke, first in 50m Backstroke, first in 50m Freestyle and Daniella McLean who came first in 50m Butterfly, third in 100m Freestyle, first in 50m Backstroke, second in 50m Freestyle. Well done, girls!

Interdistricts Gala

Congratulations to our Albany Team swimmers who participated in the Interdistricts Gala on Tuesday. Well done to Isla Orsmond who came first in 50m Breaststroke, 3rd in 50m Backstroke; Madison Edwards – first in 50m Freestyle, 3rd in 50m Breaststroke and third in 50m Butterfly; Daniella McLean who came third in 50m Breaststroke, second in 50m Backstroke and second in 50m Butterfly. Well done also to Lilani Wolmarans who participated and improved all her times! Well done, girls!

Tennis results

Our Top 8 VP first team tennis girls played against Port Alfred in Port Alfred on the 6th of March. VP won 64 games to 20. Well done, girls

Winter sport trials

We have finished our summer sports programme and will be moving onto our Winter sports trials. Please read the attached programme and new pick-up times and make the necessary arrangements for transport. Please note that it is compulsory for our girls to do either hockey or netball during the winter season. They may choose to do both up till U11, from U12-U13 girls have to choose between hockey or netball.

Please make sure that your daughter has the correct kit for either/both sport/s. Please also ensure that her match skort (which is only necessary for matches from U10 and older) is not too short or too tight and she is able to run comfortably in it.

Please note the expected kit for winter sports:

For Practices: Navy golf shirt and Black boxer shorts.

For Matches: Navy blue skort (for U10 and older) or black boxer shorts for U8&U9), the white match shirt for all matches from U9 upwards, navy golf shirt for U8 matches

For both matches and practices: VP Tracksuit for over the kit when it is cold and for travelling (not to be worn to practice or play in)

Netball: White socks and takkies

Hockey: Shinpads, navy blue sport socks (not the winter school socks) and takkies or hockey boots.

Please note that the house shirt is for interhouse events only.

SCHOOL GOVERNING BODY NOMINATIONS/ELECTIONS

Nominations for parent representatives on the SGB closed on Monday, 4 March and we are most grateful that the current parents who have served our school so well for the last 3 years, all made themselves available to continue for a second term. As we received the required amount of nominations there is no voting required.

Meet your parent representative on the SGB:

Mrs Thando Qeqe – I have had the privilege of serving as the current SGB Chairperson since March 2023. Through my role as Chairperson, I have dedicated myself to fostering a nurturing learning environment grounded in transparency, accountability, and inclusivity. As a parent of two wonderful children, Lugcolwenkosi in Grade R and Buchulebenkosi in Grade 00, I am invested in the success and well-being of all students at our school. I have a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree from Rhodes University, with a key interest in Strategic and Financial Management. I look forward to this opportunity to serve our school community and work collaboratively with fellow members to achieve our shared goals

Mr Gershwin Sauls – Having served on our SGB for the past year, I look forward to continuing in this role. As a parent of a Grade R student, I am deeply invested in fostering an environment where technology and education intersect harmoniously for the benefit of all our students. I will contribute to the continued success of VP by providing guidance and passion. I hold a Computer Science Masters degree from Rhodes University and bring a wealth of technical expertise to our school.

Mrs Megan Edwards – I have been a parent at VP since 2013, my daughter, Madison Edwards is in Grade 6. I had previously been on the PTA committee since 2016 until 2021 when I was elected to the SGB as treasurer. I worked as an article clerk for a chartered accountant for 8 years while studying through UNISA and have been a bookkeeper for a law firm for 16 years. It has been a privilege to serve on the SGB and I look forward to a few more years.

Dr Tiffany Pillay – I am an ecologist at the Botany department at Rhodes University, with a PhD in Plant Ecology. My girls are Yusrah Suleman (Grade 5K) and Yumna Suleman (Grade R). I have served on the SGB since 2023 as a parent member.

Mr Wesley Phillip – I have been a dedicated member of the SGB at VP serving as the Vice Chairman since 2022. I bring a unique blend of experience and expertise to the SGB, as an Information Technology professional and provide skills and resources to a majority of schools within the Makhanda community alongside my day to day responsibilities at the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity. I am deeply invested in my daughter’s education who is currently in Grade 3. And as a member of the SGB, I am committed to ensuring that all of our daughters will have the resources required to be able to excel and become well respected within the community.

Conquesta 2024

Should you wish for your child to participate in Conquesta 2024, entry forms are available from Mrs Sauls. Conquesta is only open to Grades 4-6. Please complete the entry form and return it to school in an envelope, marked “Conquesta” with the relevant entry fee and your child’s name and class.

Birthday wishes

We wish the following staff and girls a very happy birthday for next week: Mrs Rafferty, Mrs Goodes, Amvuyela Sakata, Luniko Ndyebi, Mbaliyothando Ngwethsheni, Zoë Butters, Leah Flotman,Tehillah Dingani, Buhle Phongolo, Avuzwa Vusani. Have a lovely day!

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

UPCOMING EVENTS

Sat.

9/03

· U13 Frans Erasmus Netball@PJ

Mon.

11/03

Grade 6G Assembly @10:10

Tues.

12/03

Makana U12 Netball trials@PJ

Wed.

13/03

Art class for Gr 7C 15:00-16:00

Makana U13 Netball trials@VP

Fri.

15/03

· Interhouse Cross Country

· Interhouse Singing

Deadline for Easter Raffle

Mon.

18/03

· Easter raffle draw

Tues.

19/03

· Open Music class (FP)

Progress Music Concert

Wed.

20/03

Last day of term

· 08:00 Academic Assembly

· 10:30 School closes

· 12:30 Hostel closes

· No Aftercare

VP Newsletter 29 February 2024

29th Feb 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

Happy Leap Day to you all!

Here is a beautiful message to inspire you this 29^th of February 2024. (Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration)

“Today is an ephemeral ghost…

A strange amazing day that comes only once every four years. For the rest of the time it does not “exist”.

In mundane terms, it marks a “leap” in time, when the calendar is adjusted to make up for extra seconds accumulated over the preceding three years due to the rotation of the earth. A day of temporal tune up!

But this day holds another secret—it contains one of those truly rare moments of delightful transience and light uncertainty that only exist on the razor edge of things, along a buzzing plane of quantum probability…

A day of unlocked potential.

Will you or won’t you? Should you or shouldn’t you?

Use this day to do something daring, extraordinary and unlike yourself. Take a chance and shape a different pattern in your personal cloud of probability!”

Farewell

We had a wonderful send-off for Mr Greyling on Monday and we thank the parents who came to support him on the day. Today is his last day at VP and he is certainly taking on all that a Leap Year represents. We wish him all the best for his future.

Founders’ Day Celebrations, 1 March

Please take note of the arrangements for our Founders’ Day tomorrow:

08:30 Assembly.

Girls to be dressed neatly in their school uniform (Grade 1-7) with blazer (Grade 4-7). Parents and extended VP families are welcome to join us.

Colour Run

Girls must bring a change of clothes to school that you are happy to get dirty (the colours show up best on white). Please pack sunblock, a hat and plenty of water as it is going to be a very hot day tomorrow.

The times are as follows:

Grade 00&Rs – 10:00-10:45

Grade 1-3 – 10:45-11:30

Grade 4-7 – 11:30-12:30

If you and/or your daughter has pre-orderd a boerewors roll, please make your way up to the Playbox/Staffroom after your daughter has finished her event to collect it. The Grade 00&Rs will have their rolls delivered to the classroom.
There will be a tuckshop available that will be open for the duration of the event.
If your daughter paid for a hair colour spray and photo she can do this at the stall on the field.

Girls can go home straight after their event is finished or they may be collected at normal time (13:00)

Parents are to please use the Beaufort Street office entrance and make their way to the Top Field.

Worker of the Week – Well done to Emihle Siwa for her lovely work done in NS. Keep it up, Emihle!

Induction Assembly

On Monday, 4 March we will be having our induction assembly where we will be announcing our various sports and music captains, the Heads of our Grade 7 committees, and our Head Girl and Deputy Head Girl for 2024. All parents are welcome to join us for this assembly for these exciting announcements. The assembly starts at 10:00. We ask that you please be seated by 09:55.

Interhouse Gala (Gr 3-7) &

Splash Gala (Gr 4-7)

These will take place on Friday, 8 March. The Splash gala will take place from 07:45-10:00 and our Interhouse gala will take place from 10:30-13:00 (please note the change of end time from last week’s letter).

Gr 1-2s must be collected from 10:30 to 10:45 from the Huntley Street gate on this day. It is compulsory for all Gr 3-7 girls to attend both galas for the entire duration. Parents are welcome to attend and must enter through the Beaufort Street gate.

All girls are required to come to school dressed in their house shirts, black shorts and takkies or VP flip flops for the day. Swimming caps and towels are essential for all learners as everyone will be participating in the different galas for the day.

All girls involved in the Splash Gala may come to school wearing their swimming costume under their school sports clothes. Please ensure that your daughter packs underwear to change into after the Splash Gala. Please also ensure that she has a black speedo costume (if not a team swimmer) which is the correct size and that the material is not perished.

Easter Hamper Raffle

Your daughter would have received a raffle to sell today, as our second PTA fundraiser for this year. Please endeavour to sell the entire sheet. She is always

welcome to collect another if she wants to sell more. Please note that R50 will have to be paid if the raffle sheet is lost.

Please send donations of Easter Eggs to make our large hampers. The closing date for sheets to be returned is 15 March. We will draw the lucky winners names on Monday, 18 March.

Technology Workshop

Attention Grade 7s

All Grade 7s must attend the exciting technology workshop tomorrow Friday, 1 March. This is a compulsory group activity where students will calculate their Term 1 results. The workshop will begin promptly at 13:15 in the hall.

Each group is expected to bring their own cardboard boxes.

We look forward to seeing everyone there for a productive and fun-filled day of learning!

Parents must please collect their daughters at the hostel entrance in Hill Street at 16:30.

Conquesta 2024

SGB nominations & elections

Nominations for parent representatives on the SGB are now open. Please collect a form from the office if you wish to nominate someone. Please note nominations close on 4 March. The election (if required) will take place all day on Thursday, 7 March.

Milk Carton Plastic Lids

Mrs Olivier is asking for your assistance in collecting milk carton’s plastic lids. You can send them directly to Mrs Olivier or drop them off at the office.

Outreach

‘It takes a village to raise a child.’

Nigeran Igbo proverb

As the Grade 7 Community Outreach committee, we are focusing on education this term. We believe that although some items might seem to be of no use to you they might be a treasure to those less fortunate. We would like to encourage our girls and parents to donate educational items – focusing on school shoes but including unisex school shirts, stationery and reading books. We ask you to please keep in mind that we are trying to restore dignity to those who are less fortunate than us and ask that you keep this in mind when considering the condition of items that you are donating.

SPORT

Tennis

Marizaan Boucher has qualified for the Tennis South Africa Junior Nationals tennis tournament which takes place in Bloemfontein from the 21^st -26^th of March. This is a remarkable achievement as only the Top 60 and 4 wildcard players have qualified. Well done, Marizaan!

Results versus PJ Olivier

VP took 33 games to 27 won by PJ. VP won the nail-biting encounter by 6 games. Well done, girls!

Swimming

Level 1 Gala – Good luck to our girls participating in the Level 1 gala in Gqeberha on Saturday.

Interdistricts Gala

We wish our Albany Team swimmers all the best for the Interdistricts Gala which takes place on Tuesday, 5 March at the DSG Aquatics Centre. Swim well, Madison Edwards, Lilani Wolmarans, Daniela McLean and Isla Orsmond!

FP Open Swimming lesson

Next week our Grade 1, 2 & 3 parents are invited to attend an Open Swimming lesson to see the progress their daughter has made at swimming this season. The lesson takes place between 13:00 & 14:00.

Grade 3s on Monday

Grade 2s on Tuesday

Grade 1s on Wednesday

Netball

Frans Erasmus Netball Tournament

The U13 Frans Erasmus will take place at PJ Olivier on Friday, 8 & Saturday, 9 March. Matches will start at 13:00 on Friday and 08:00 on Saturday. We wish our u13 Netball girls all the best.

Ad Hoc Boarding in the hostel

Please note that if you are ever in need of safe and convenient temporary care for your daughter, we do cater for all VP girls (Grade 1-7) to use the hostel on an ad hoc basis. The cost is R280 per night

including all meals. Please contact the school office for further details.

Drop-offs at the office

We appeal once again to parents/guardians not to drop items off for girls during the school day at the office. We are constantly inundated with deliveries! If an item is urgently required the teacher or the office will call with a request to drop it off. If it is your daughter’s birthday you are most welcome to drop cupcakes for her at the office during the school day.

Birthday wishes

We wish the following staff and girls a very happy birthday for next week: Ms Featherstone, Mr Wynne, Ubulumko Dunywa, Mvelo-Entle Ntlajeni, Kefilwe Racoco, Lilitha Kulati, Kaylee May, Ndalo Mvula, Mila Nongubo, Leane Boucher, Amila Mdingi and Asante Tetani. Have a lovely day!

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

27/02- 4/04	SGB nominations open
Fri. 1/03	Founders’ Day assembly@08:30Colour Run Pre-primary: 10:00 Grade 1-3: 10:45 Grade 4-7: 11:30 Compulsory Technology workshop for ALL Grade 7s 13:00-16:30 in the hall.
Sat. 2/03	Level 1 Gala, Gqeberha
Mon. 4/03	Induction Assembly @10:00Grade 3 Open Swimming lesson 13:00
Tues. 5/03	Interdistricts Gala 10:30@DSGGrade 2 Open Swimming lesson 13:00
Wed. 6/03	Grade 1 Open Swimming lesson 13:00Team tennis match vs Port Alfred High @PAH
Thurs. 7/03	SGB election
Fri. 8/03	Splash Gala 07:45-10:00 (Gr 4-7) Grade 1&2 home time 10:30-10:45 Interhouse Gala 10:30-13:00 (Compulsory Grade 3-7)U13 Frans Erasmus Netball Tournament
Sat. 9/03	U13 Frans Erasmus Netball Tournament

VP Newsletter 23 February 2024

23rd Feb 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

This term has certainly flown. I feel like we have just started the year, yet we only have three and a half weeks left of the term and so much to be done before then.

On Monday we will be hosting our farewell assembly for Mr Greyling who has been teaching at VP for 30 years, since 1994! The assembly will start at 10:00. All extended VP families are most welcome to join us in our farewell. All girls (Grade 1-7) must come dressed neatly in their school uniform on this day. Grade 4-7 girls must come dressed in their blazers. No sports uniforms, please.

On Friday the 1 March we will be having our Founders’ Assembly at 08:30. Our guest speakers are our very own Ms Nwabisa Jamela and her sister, Thandile. Both are old VP girls and they are both still very involved and valuable to our VP and VG communities. We are looking forward to them sharing their stories with us. All parents and extended VP families are more than welcome to join us for this special gathering to celebrate our school’s past and the impact VP has had on the lives of many.

At our SGB meeting last week, the parent members spoke about the fond memories many people share of being VP girls. I don’t think many people who walk through our corridors as either pupils or staff members, leave without many fond memories and the staff at VP endeavour to ensure that these happy memories continue to remain for all who pass through here.

We didn’t know we were making memories, we were just having fun’’ – Winnie the Pooh

“No school without spectacular eccentrics and crazy hearts is worth attending.” – Saul Bellow

We welcome Mrs Kruger back to Grade 5 when she returns from her maternity leave on Friday, 1 March.

Worker of the Week

Congratulations to Elam Ntlokwana for doing such beautiful work in isiXhosa. Keep it up, Elam!

Personality/ies of the Week

Congratulations to Sinesiphe Mafani, Iminathi Malusi, Lwandisiwe Siqwede, Amari Funani, Zizo Zomelele and Makatandeka Chakona who all received our P.O.W for their display of thoughtfulness and kindness towards a fellow pupil.

Ndlulamthi Badge

A hearty congratulations to Azile Hambaze who is the first recipient of the Ndlulamthi Badge this year. She is resilient, responsible, polite, and always neatly dressed, and therefore an excellent ambassador for our school. We are very proud of you, Azile.

Merit Achievement

Well done, Makatendeka Chakona who has already received 250 merits this year. Keep it up, Maka!

Youth Theatre

On Thursday, 22 February we were visited by the Youth Theatre Touring Company. Our Pre-primary and Foundation Phase girls thoroughly enjoyed the production of ‘Mr Hare meets Mr Mandela’ and our IP girls delighted in their production of ‘Wanda the Musical’! What a treat to be entertained and inspired by such brilliantly put together productions and relatable stories!

Colour Fun Run

We are hosting our successful Colour Run again this Founders’ Day. As part of our first PTA fundraiser for 2024 all VP girls from Gr 00-7 will take part in a fun Colour Run/Obstacle course and friends and families are most welcome to join in.

Girls (Grade 1-7) must come to school dressed for assembly in their school uniform and blazer (Grade 4-7). Thereafter they will change into casual clothes and takkies/running shoes that they don’t mind getting really dirty! Please refer to the order form for more details and return the reply slip to your daughter’s class teacher with the correct payment. Girls are welcome to go home after their event is finished or they may stay until the usual closing time at 13:00.

Please note that the closing date to order boerewors rolls is Tuesday, 27 February by 13:00. The closing date for entries to the Colour Run is Thursday, 29 February at 13:00.

Kind Club

The Kind club will be raising funds at the Colour Run by having a colour hairspraying stall and a mini photo booth. For a cost of R10, girls can have a colour sprayed on their hair and then pose for a fun photo. We would like to encourage the girls to pre-order to avoid disappointments. Money to be paid to class teachers by Thursday, 29 February.

Technology Workshop – Attention Grade 7s

All Grade 7s must attend the exciting technology workshop on Friday, 1 March. This is a compulsory group activity where students will calculate their Term 1 results. The workshop will begin promptly at 13:15 in the hall. Each group is expected to bring their own cardboard boxes. We look forward to seeing everyone there for a productive and fun-filled day of learning! Parents must please collect their daughters at the hostel entrance in Hill Street at 16:30.

Easter Egg donations

Please donate Easter Eggs for our annual PTA Easter Egg hamper raffle!

Milk Carton Plastic Lids

Mrs Olivier is asking for your assistance in collecting milk carton’s plastic lids. You can send them directly to Mrs Olivier or drop them off at the office.

Outreach

‘It takes a village to raise a child.’

Nigeran Igbo proverb

SPORT

Tennis

On Wednesday our VP team played against Kingswood College. VP won 31 out of the 52 games, winning by 22 games. Well done to all our team girls on their wonderful performance.

Swimming

Congratulations to Daniella McLean, Madison Edwards, Isla Orsmond and Lilani Wolmarans who have been selected for the Albany Team to compete at the Interdistricts Gala in March.

Selected team swimmers will be participating in the B-League gala this weekend, and the Level 1 gala next weekend, both in Gqeberha. Good luck, girls – swim well!

Ad Hoc Boarding in the hostel

Birthday wishes

We wish the following girls a very happy birthday for next week: Mivuyo Nongxaza,Tasmine Thomas, Taylynne Thomas, Caryne Grobler, Wuve Ngqingili, Halle Orsmond, Indiphile Zondani, Anna Malamis, Michaela Swanepoel and Kgotlelelo Thathe. Have a lovely day!

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

UPCOMING EVENTS

Sat.

24/02

B-League Gala in Gqeberha

Sun.

25/02

Boarders return

Mon.

26/02

Farewell Assembly for

Mr Greyling @10:00

Tues.

27/02

Nominations open for parent members of the SGB

Fri.

1/03

· Founders’ Day assembly@08:30

· Colour Run

Pre-primary: 10:00

Grade 1-3: 10:45

Grade 4-7: 11:30

· Compulsory Technology workshop for ALL Grade 7s 13:00-16:30 in the hall.

Fri.

8/03

· Splash gala 07:45-10:00 (Gr 4-7)

· Grade 1&2 home time 10:30-10:45

· Interhouse gala 10:30-14:00 (Compulsory Grade 3-7)

VP 16 February 2024

16th Feb 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

This week I have re-used a message I wrote for the 4 March 2022 newsletter, as I think it is a good reminder for everyone as we embark on the challenges of settling into a new year and grade with all its expectations. One of the most important traits we can teach our girls is Accountability.

As parents, we need to teach accountability by making sure that our children know that their actions and choices have consequences and that they need to face these consequences. If we continue to blame others for our children’s poor behaviour, find excuses for our children’s poor choices or actions and cover for them or protect them from the consequences of their actions, they will never learn the cause and effect that their life choices have. And unfortunately as a result our children may grow to be entitled young teens and adults. These entitled young teens and adults never acknowledge any mistakes or wrongdoing because they have been brought up knowing that others will always get blamed or someone will always cover for them.

Ask the following of your child:

Does she always blame others for her mistakes?
Is it always the teacher’s or someone else’s fault?
Does she expect you to solve her problems for her?
Does she always find a way to get out of her chores and responsibilities around the house?
Does she never listen to your threats because she knows they are hollow?
Is she unable to identify her role in arguments or disagreements?
Is she able to acknowledge how her actions may hurt others?
Does she often use “I’ll tell my mom/dad/ granny” to sort out her problems?
Do your pleas seem to fall on deaf ears?
Does she relate to peers and adults at the same level?
Is your child able to apologise for her wrongdoing?
Is your child unable to keep her promises?

It is never too late to make sure that your child learns to face the consequences of their actions and be accountable citizens. Sometimes it’s hard as we don’t want to see them suffer, that’s why it is called tough love, but it is far better than watching your children grow into ungrateful and unaccountable teens and adults. Set an example of an accountable adult for your child to look up to.

I think this sentence taken from www.lbliteracy.co.za hit home just how important teaching accountability is:

‘An important distinction to remember is that responsibility can be shared but accountability cannot. Respect your

children enough to hold them accountable.’

‘Accountability breeds response-ability’ – Stephen Covey.

Worker of the Week

Congratulations to Mukundi Thondhlana who is recognised this week for her lovely writing lesson and weekend news.

Keep it up, Mukundi!

Access to campus and security

As part of VP and VGs endeavour to make our combined campuses secure and safe for our girls we have limited access to our campus. All visitors and parents must please report to our office in Beaufort Street and may not use the Huntley Street gate as an access point.

Assembly

Thank you to Grade 7V for their delightful assembly on ‘Shining your own light and appreciating your uniqueness’. On Monday Grade 7C will be presenting their assembly. Parents are welcome to join us. Please only enter the hall at 10:10 with the rest of staff.

Extramurals

On Thursday, 22 February there will not be any extramurals for Grade 4-7 due to staff development. Grade 1-3 must please be collected at 14:00 (Huntley Street) and Grade 4-7 at 13:45. There will be Aftercare as usual.

Easter Egg donations

Please donate Easter Eggs for our annual PTA Easter Egg hamper raffle!

Music

Music pupils are reminded about next week’s scales test. The Term 1 music assessment will be conducted the week after, from 26 February to 1 March. Keep up the good practising!

Farewell

We will be hosting a farewell assembly for Mr Greyling on Monday, 26 February at 10:00. We welcome all parents and extended VP families to join us in our farewell.

Founders’ Day – 1 March 2023

Girls must come to school dressed for assembly in their school uniform and blazer (Grade 4-7). Thereafter they will change into casual clothes that they don’t mind getting really dirty! Please refer to the order form for more details (https://victoriaprimary.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Colour-Run-poster-with-reply-slip-2024.pdf) and return the reply slip to your daughter’s class teacher with the correct payment. Girls are welcome to go home after their event is finished or they may stay until the usual closing time at 13:00.

SGB Elections

We have been informed that our nomination period must end three days before the election and will therefore have to adjust our dates to the following:

Nominations for parent members of the SGB will open at 08:00 on Tuesday, 27 February at and close at 13:45 on Monday, 4 March. The election will take place on Thursday, 7 March between 07:15 and 16:30. If you have any questions please contact our office.

Milk Carton Plastic Lids

Mrs Olivier is asking for your assistance in collecting milk carton’s plastic lids. You can send them directly to Mrs Olivier or drop them off at the office.

Outreach

‘It takes a village to raise a child.’

Nigeran Igbo proverb

As the Grade 7 Community Outreach committee, we are focusing on education this term. We believe that although some items might seem to be of no use to you

they might be a treasure to those less fortunate. We would like to encourage

our girls and parents to donate educational items – focusing on school shoes but including unisex school shirts, stationery and reading books. We ask you to please keep in mind that we are trying to restore dignity to those who are less fortunate than us and ask that you keep this in mind when considering the condition of items that you are donating.

SPORT

Swimming

Our team swimmers took part in the Albany trials yesterday at DSG. We await the results but are very proud of our girls’ performance. We are also proud of our VP staff, particularly Mrs Dewey and Mrs Coetzee who organised this very well-run event.

Athletics

Congratulations to Nakweziphi Mthetho and Nalu Mfiki who both received bronze medals for long jump at the Sara Baartman athletics tournament in Gqeberha on Wednesday. We are super proud of all our athletes who took part in the event.

Tennis

Marizaan Boucher has been selected to take part in the 2024 EC Synergy Cup Tennis Tournament in Cape Town on the 1^st & 2^nd of March. She will receive her EC colours for this achievement. Congratulations, Marizaan we wish you safe travels and much success.

Birthday wishes

We wish the following staff and girls a very happy birthday for next week: Mrs Sopangiso, Ms Songongo, Okuhle Smile, Azoma Lubelwana, Ayomide Booi and Elizabeth Egunlusi.

We hope you have a wonderful day!

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

UPCOMING EVENTS

22/02 – NO EXTRAMURALS FOR GRADE 4-7 – Collection times: Gr 1-3 – 14:00 (Huntley Street) Gr 4-7 – 13:45

23/02 – Boarders’ Leave Out

· Grade 7 Committee meetings @13:00

24/02 – B-League Gala in Gqeberha

26/02 – Farewell Assembly for Mr Greyling @10:00

27/02 – Nominations open for parent members of the SGB

01/03 – Founders’ Day celebration and Colour Run.

· Compulsory Technology workshop for ALL Grade 7s 13:00-16:30 in the hall.

VP Newsletter 9 February 2024

9th Feb 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

We had a wonderful week of reading in celebration of World Read Aloud Day and we received amazing entries for the Reading in Unusual Place Competition. They were all so creative and we thank all our girls and their families for their enthusiasm. Our four winners were Kungothando Ngangani, Chanelle Musarurwa, Zaydiah Adler and Kaelyn Westcott. Well done, girls! Please go to our FB page to see all the lovely photos of the week and our fantastic entries in our competition.

Our motto this year is:

You are a RAINBOW of possibilities

Shine bright

You can learn anything

Your speed doesn’t matter…forward is forward

You are unique

Anything is possible if you try

We want all our girls to be appreciated for their uniqueness and talents and to encourage them to be the best versions of themselves. Their future has endless possibilities but they each need to give it their best to be the best they can be.

We need to teach our girls to embrace their uniqueness and practice self-love and to not compare themselves to others. It is also important for our girls to embrace others’ uniqueness and respect that we each have our own path to follow.

I have often mentioned in our newsletters that the biggest gift we can give our children is unconditional love and accepting them for who they are, and not for who we wish them to be. When a young girl has experienced unconditional love, she will know that she is lovable and she will learn to love herself in turn.

Here are a few tips on encouraging and accepting your child’s uniqueness and loving her unconditionally.

(https://www.hoffstettercounseling.com/post/ways-to-encourage-and-celebrate-your-child-s-uniqueness)

All children are unique in their own way, and one of our top jobs as parents is to nurture those qualities in our children that make them who they are. It’s not as easy as it sounds, especially because life is full of challenges. Yet in so many ways, it’s simpler than we think—and the rewards are infinite.

Bonding and Self-Confidence

Not only will it strengthen your bond with your child, but it will give your child the confidence they need to take that personality and share it with the rest of the world.

Courage to Make a Difference

A child who is loved for who they are—differences and all—is a child who can show up in their life with courage, mental strength, and the resources to make the world a better place.

Strength to Face Adversity

They will be better suited to face challenges from others, because as awful as it is to think about, your child will encounter cruelty and intolerance at some point in life.

Tolerance for Others

Raising children with a foundation of trust and self-esteem will help them weather any storm they find themselves up against—and it will allow them to embrace others’ differences with the same level of acceptance.

Worker of the Week

Well done to Amyoli Sesani for her lovely work in Technology. Keep it up, Amyoli.

Personality of the Week

Congratulations to Riley-Jo Potts who received our POW this week for displaying Resilience and Bravery. You go, girl!

Assembly

On Monday Grade 7V will be presenting their assembly. Parents are welcome to come and join us. You may enter the hall at 10:10 with the teachers. Please do not enter the hall while the girls are still practising their hymns.

Valentine’s Day is Civvies Day!

We will be celebrating Valentine’s Day on 14 February by having a civvies day. The theme will be All about L ve and girls must wear pink, white and red. The cost will be R5.

Farewell

We will be hosting a farewell assembly for Mr Greyling on Monday, 26 February at 10:00. We welcome all parents and extended VP families to join us in our farewell.

SGB Election Notice

Your daughter received a letter today with all the relevant dates for the SGB nomination and election process. Please contact the office if you still have any questions in this regard.

Outreach

‘It takes a village to raise a child.’

Nigeran Igbo proverb

SPORT

Swimming

Our swimming team will be taking part in the Graeme Relay Gala this afternoon at the Kingswood pool. Swim well, girls!
Next week Thursday, 15 February,

VP will be hosting the Albany Trials Gala at the DSG Aquatic Centre. It starts at 14:00, and parents are encouraged to support.

Mini-Cricket

Good luck to our U8 & U9 girls who are playing in their first mini-cricket game of the year at St Andrew’s Fairlawn this afternoon. Girls participating have received a letter.

Have fun, girls!

Athletics

A selected group of our athletes took part in the Zone 1 athletics meet on Wednesday, for the field event. Our VP girls did really well with seven girls qualifying for the next round which will take place on the 14 February 2024 in Gqeberha. The track events are taking place today to determine which girls will be joining the rest of the group on Wednesday.

Tennis

Madison Edwards, Marizaan Boucher, Stella Mullin and Kaylee May went to Cradock on the 6^th of February to represent the Sarah Baartman 1, GAP Team. They did very well and we are so proud of them.
Our Tennis Team will be participating the U10 & U12 TTA/Kingswood College Tournament this weekend. We wish them all of the best. Play well, girls!

Birthday wishes

We wish the following staff and girls a very happy birthday for next week: Mr Greyling, Mrs Coetzee, Amahle Mchunu, Libhongo Mase, Megan van Staden, Liyanda Kutta, Mivuyo Santi and Kaya Jones. We hope you have a wonderful day!

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

VP Newsletter 2 February 2024

2nd Feb 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

At Monday’s assembly we will announce the winner of our Reading in Unusual Places competition and we are grateful for all the wonderful entries. On Wednesday, 7 February we will be celebrating World Read Aloud Day. Our various classes will be doing different activities to promote and encourage reading. Please ask your daughter after school on Wednesday what fun activities she did. We will also have fifteen minutes before break where our older girls will read to our younger ones and this is such a special bonding time for all. Please keep a lookout on our FB page for all the lovely photos that come from this day and to see our delightful competition entries.

Over the past weekend a few of our teachers attended the Rhodes Education Summit. One of the guest speakers on Sunday morning was Dr Barney Mthembu who is the deputy Director-General for Curriculum Policy, Support and Monitoring for the Department of Basic Education. He highlighted the importance of reading and the dire statistics that indicated only a small percentage of Grade 4 learners can read for meaning. He also mentioned how poignant it was that during the looting in KZN in 2021, where most shops were completely looted, Bargain Books was left untouched. He stated that Readers are Leaders and if you can’t read you shouldn’t be allowed to lead. I am sure you can tell just how critical he sees the need to grow a generation of leaders.

At VP we strive to develop not only our girls’ ability to read but also establish the foundation for a lifelong love for reading and learning.

Here are some tips to continue developing reading at home (https://www.twinkl.co.za/blog/ten-ways-to-have-a-reading-friendly-home)

Be a Reading Role Model

It can all start with you. Show your child that you value reading at home, whether it’s on a page or on a tablet.

Have Books Everywhere

Try to have lots of books visible in your house to make reading at home easier.

Start Young

Whatever your age or taste, there’s always something interesting for you and your child to read at home. You can introduce your child to a wide range of books – fiction books, adventure books, picture books, comic books, books about nature, books about space, biographies, autobiographies – the world is yours and theirs.

Create a Reading Corner

By creating a reading corner for children, your child has a cosy, peaceful place that can encourage them to do more reading at home.

Be Positive About Books

You’re never bored if you can read. Be enthusiastic about all the different kinds of books we’re lucky to have and how exciting books can be. Chat regularly with your child about their reading they’ve done at home or at school.

Change Reading Books Regularly

Like all of us, your child will have books they go back to again and again and some books that they’ll read just one time. It’s good, if possible, to have fresh, different books in the house as often as you can. Join your local library and take interest in your child’s reader and school library book.

Link Reading to Creative Activities

Encourage your child’s creativity through books. Reading at home can lead to lots of other fabulous play activities – drawing, rewriting the story with a different ending, dressing up, acting out their favourite parts of the book- the sky’s the limit.

Make Reading at Home Part of the Routine

Reading at home with your child can be part of your quality time at home so it becomes an important, natural part of your child’s day. Reading before bed is comforting, soothing and is more likely to help your daughter to settle to sleep than playing a game on a screen.

Try to Make Sure Your Child’s Books are Suitable for Their Age

Make sure the books they read at home are age appropriate – too easy and your child loses interest, too difficult and they can be off-putting.

Take Books Everywhere

It’s a nice idea to buy your child a little rucksack that they can pop their favourite book into when you’re going out. This can be great to occupy your child if you’re waiting to see the doctor or dentist for example – far better than a cellphone!

‘Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.’ Margaret Fuller

‘Show me a family of readers, and I will show you the people who move the world.’ – Napoleon Bonaparte

‘Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, a duty. It should be offered as a gift.’ – Kate DiCamillo

Worker of the Week

Well done to all Audrey Matanda in Grade 2 for her good work in Maths. Keep it up, Audrey.

Personality of the Week

Congratulations to Mivuyo Nongxaza for being our first recipient of Personality of the Week this year for her display of initiative and for being responsible. Thank you, Mivuyo!

NOTICES

PTA AGM: We are delighted with the number of parents who attended the PTA AGM. Thank you for your commitment to your daughters’ schooling. We are certain that this is the start of a good year and a positive partnership with you and your daughter’s teacher.

PTA Meeting: Our first PTA meeting will be held in the school hall at 17:15 on Tuesday the 6 February. Please join us at this meeting to serve on this committee to help raise funds for our school this year.

SGB Election Notice: All schools are required to have SGB elections every three years. We will do so on Thursday, 7 March. We currently have a very active SGB committee for which we are most grateful and we note that incumbents may continue to serve another term but still need to go through the nomination process. Nominations open on Thursday, 29 February. In the lead-up to this process please consider if you or a parent that you know would be able to bring a valuable skill to our Governing Body and approach them about being nominated. More details about the elections will follow in subsequent newsletters.

Eye Screening: The EyeStore will visit on the 7^th-9^th of February. The Grade 1s and all new girls will receive basic visual screening which will test their visual clarity from a distance, this is free of charge. A letter was sent home regarding more comprehensive tests. Please return the completed letter with required payment as soon as possible if you would like a more comprehensive test for your daughter (or she is not in Gr 1 or new to VP).

HPV Vaccination: The Grade 5s will bring home a Health Department consent form today. This form must be completed and returned by next week in order to receive the HPV vaccination. If you do not wish to consent to your daughter receiving the vaccine you must still return the completed form.

Outreach – ‘It takes a village to raise a child.’ Nigeran Igbo proverb

SPORT

Athletics: A selected group of girls took part at the Zone 1 Athletics meet yesterday for the track events. Our VP girls did very well with 7 out of 12 girls qualifying for the next round, which will take place on Friday, 9 February at Prospect Field at Rhodes. The field events for the Zone 1 qualifiers will take place on Wednesday, 7 February at PJ Olivier and the girls who will take part in this event will receive a letter on Monday.

Tennis: Over the weekend three VP girls took part in the Wilson series tournament. Our girls did very well. Kaylee May came 11th and Danielle McLean came 7th. Congratulations to Stella Mullin for receiving a medal for coming 3rd. Very well done to all of them.

Swimming News

Well done to all the girls who participated in the KC Short Course Gala on Tuesday, and good luck to the girls attending the B-League gala tomorrow in Gqeberha.
Please note that training for Team and Feeder team girls will go ahead tomorrow (Saturday) morning at 10:00. Ms Knott-Craig will be there to supervise the girls.
We are awaiting confirmation of the Graeme Relay Gala next week Friday. Girls will receive a letter next week once we have details.

Cancellation of any sports: Please note that we will not cancel any extramurals without notice due to weather conditions or any other reasons, we will keep the girls busy with something indoors.

We will be selling Valentine’s goodies to raise funds for our sports department please follow this link for the form – Valentine’s Day order form

Birthday wishes

We wish the following staff and girls a very happy birthday! Ms Purdon, Mrs Makeba-Mgogo, Ms Miskin, Iviwe Jakavula, Ngcwalisa Mbambo, Iminathi Mgwebi, Iminathi Ndilele, Hlumisa Piti, Luniko Hlulushe, Nakhane Klei, Zingce Pilisani, Inam Toll, Onwaba Hoyi, Mizaan Marcus, Christelle Ruwanza, Esethu Stamper, Gabriella Cervati, Azuza Mbiza, Ithandile-Inkosi Meke, Zizo Zomelele, Jazlin Crafford, Khanya Kepe, Imanathi Mcophele, Tamera Ngwalase, Kazlin de Maar, Shameega Kholiso, Neo Molefe, and Alondwe Sethi. We hope you have a wonderful day!

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

VP Newsletter 26 January 2024

26th Jan 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

At Monday’s assembly our focus was on Gratitude; appreciating others and appreciating what we have, as well as saying thank you to others. Gratitude involves both feeling and expressing thankfulness.

It is not uncommon as a parent to occasionally feel unappreciated and that our children do not always realise the sacrifices we make to ensure that they have what they need and want. It is important to note that children are not instinctively grateful and that this trait needs to be nurtured at home.

I hope that your daughter has said thank you to you for something you have done for her (hopefully more than usual) during this week of focusing on gratitude. Gratitude needs to be practiced so that it becomes a healthy beneficial habit. A study showed that parents who place a high priority on teaching their child gratitude are more likely to report that they regularly have their child say please and thank you and do chores to help the family and others. (https://mottpoll.org/reports/parent-efforts-teach-children-about-gratitude).

Gratitude also has lifelong benefits including reducing stress, anxiety and depression.

How can you ensure that your daughter adopts a life of gratitude?

(adapted from https://childmind.org/article/10-tips-raising-grateful-kids/)

Set an example

Children learn a lot from watching their parents. Show them what it means to be grateful by offering a genuine “thank you!” to those who do things for you, big or small, including thanking our children for doing things that are helpful.

Point out generosity

Call attention to it when people do things that go beyond what’s expected.

Have a talk

For some children, especially those very young or those who have trouble understanding emotions, it can help to have a talk about how showing appreciation makes other people feel. Encourage your girls to think of people who help them, like the person who cleans the classroom, their sports coach, teacher, kind friend or their granny who looks after them.

Put things in perspective

Talk to your girls about those who are less fortunate. Don’t scare them, but don’t keep them in the dark either. Understanding that not everyone has the same advantages will help them develop

compassion for others and gratitude for their own privileges.

Make gratitude part of bedtime

When you tuck them in at night, ask your child to tell you three things they’re grateful for. Even if they’ve had a bad day it will help them—and you—end each day on a positive note.

“Start each day with a positive thought and a grateful heart.”

― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorns have roses.”

― Alphonse Karr, A Tour Round My Garden

Worker of the Week

Congratulations to Leah Doyle for her beautiful work in English this week. What a great start to Grade 4, Leah!

Thanks

A big thank you to Danielle McLean for the donation of lovely books to our school library.

Class visits and PTA SGM

On Tuesday, 30 January at 17:15 we will have our PTA AGM and class visits. Parents are to meet for a short meeting in the hall and thereafter all Grade 2-7 parents will go to their daughters’ respective classrooms where they will be briefed on the expectations and requirements for the year. Please prioritise this meeting as it is an important information session and a good opportunity to meet your child’s teacher and to ask any questions you may have.

Eye Screening

The EyeStore and Dr Davies Optometrists will visit on the 7^th-9^th of February. The Grade 1s and all new girls will receive basic visual screening which will test their visual clarity from a distance, this is free of charge. A letter will be sent home next week which must be completed and the fee paid if you would like a more comprehensive test for your daughter (or she is not in Gr 1 or new to VP).

SPORT

Tennis

Our Tennis Team will be participating the TTA/Kingswood U10 & U12 annual Team Tournament on the 10^th & 11^th of February. Play well, girls!

Swimming news

Good luck to the team swimmers who were selected to participate in the Kingswood Short Course Gala next week Tuesday, 30th January. The gala starts at 14:00 and parents are encouraged to support.

Some of our team swimmers will also be travelling to Gqeberha on the 3rd February to participate at the B-League gala at the Newton Park Swimming pool. Good luck girls!

NOTICES

Assembly: On Monday Grade 7 Sauls will be the first class to present an assembly. Parents are welcome to join us. Please be seated by 10:10. Please do not enter the hall before this time while the girls are having singing practice. You are welcome to wait in the office foyer or on our playground.

Collection and drop off (Grade 1-7). A reminder about our collection and drop off times:

Morning Drop offs:

FP: 07:15-07:25 Huntley Street Gate

If earlier, please use the Beaufort Street Gate

IP: To be dropped off by 07:20: Beaufort Street Gate

Collection:

FP: Huntley Street Gate:

No extramurals 13:00-13:15;

Extramurals 14:00-14:15

IP: Beaufort Street Gate after school and

after extramurals until 16:30 (Mon-

Thurs) 14:30 (Fri).

FP&IP: After 16:30 (Mon-Thurs) & 14:30 (Fri) the pick-up point will be from Aftercare which is accessed from the Hill Street Hostel entrance. Parents will be charged accordingly.

These arrangements are for our children’s safety so that we can ensure that there is supervision while they are waiting.

Communication Grade 1-7: Please call our school office for any communication with our teachers or to make appointments to see them. You are also welcome to communicate via email (admin or teacher’s email) or a note placed in your child’s homework diary. Please bear in mind that teachers are teaching all day and/or have extramurals and will not be able to check their emails and respond instantly. Please give teachers 48 hours (working days) to respond to emails. If you have an emergency or need a response sooner, please call our office.

Dropping off items at the office: We are into the second week of school and girls must please be encouraged to get organised and not expect items to be delivered to school by parents. Our office staff are inundated with items being dropped off. Please note that only birthday cupcakes, deliveries for boarders and items specifically requested by teachers may be dropped off at the office for your daughter during the school day.

Payments: Please make sure that the correct reference (Account number) is used when making a payment. We have received numerous payments with no reference. If you have made a payment and it is not reflected on your account, please forward the proof of this payment to Mrs Terblanche and indicate your daughter’s name and grade. Please remember that if you pay your fees in full before the end of February you will receive a 5% discount.

Accounts: The school prefers to send accounts via email, however many of the emails bounce back as undeliverable. If you are not receiving your school account via email, please send an email to Mrs Terblanche t.terblanche@victoriaprimary.co.za and state your daughter’s name, surname and grade so that we can assure we have your correct email address.

Ice-cream containers: Our Grade 00s are collecting empty ice-cream containers to use in the classroom. If you are able to assist please drop them off at the office or give them to Mrs Calitz.

Birthday wishes

The following staff and children celebrate their birthdays in the January.

Ms du Plooy, Ms Kasper, Ms le Roux, Ms Lang, Mrs Sauls, Ms Jamela, Zazi Gqamana, Willow Hector, Ingcali-Yomso Mani, Lunje Peter, Mihle Khitha, Oyama Morule, Likamvelihle Dyibishe, Ahlumile Vusani, Kungothando Nzuzo, Rejoice Chatikobo, Sizoluhle Matswele, Caitlyn Bodill, Mbalentle Dyaloyi, Kulowo Msipa, Oyintando Nkatazo, Amyoli Sesani, Zelne Leach, Alibongwe Mthembu, Lunathi Zikishe, Ayazi Klei, Sama Torweni, Bongumusa Louw, Inamandla Mnyapa, Isipho Nelana, Sabrina Nyathi, Nalu Matshaya, Giselle Peters, Owam Bebeto, Ladine van Wyk, Uzosule Kanana, Lulo Ponoshe, Junaid Williams, Zingcwele Mangali, Yonelisa Ngaleka, Isla Orsmond, Aliyah Swartz, Lune Coetzee, Rebecca Phillip, Avethandwa Hambaze, Iminathi Malusi, Lulama Joe, Avela Sigidi, Lilani Wolmarans, Stephanie Folaranmi, Marabel Kuja, Oyintando Gumenge and Sesona Mnqinana.

We hope you had/have a wonderful day!

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

VP Newsletter 19 January 2024

19th Jan 2024 Ilza Lang No Comments

Message from the office

A very warm welcome back to school for 2024 and a special welcome to our new girls and their families. We have had a happy return of pupils who were all eager to start their new year.

We have two new interns Ms Makeba and Ms Stirk who will be assisting in Gr 00 and Gr R this year. They are already part of the VP family and I am sure you will meet them and get to know them in due course. It bodes well for a good year ahead when our staff return very happy and enthusiastic to meet their new classes and to start teaching.

We had our ‘Welcome Back’ Assembly on Wednesday and we focussed on New Year resolutions and using the new year to make new beginnings and a fresh start. We encouraged our girls to set their goals for the new year, which included their academics, relationships, self-growth and extramurals. As T.S. Eliot said ‘for last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.’ We wish you all blessed new beginnings for 2024.

WORKER OF THE WEEK

Well done to Rose Chirombo for being selected as our first Worker of the Week for her lovely holiday news. Keep it up! Each week we will post the photos of all the recipients of a Principals sticker for excellent work on our Facebook page.

DROP-OFF ARRANGEMENTS

I appeal to you to ensure that you drop your daughters off timeously in the mornings (7:20) as the bell rings at 7:25 for lines. All Grade 1-7 girls are required to be at lines to listen to the morning message and any announcements for the day. If your daughter misses this, she is already going to be missing out on knowing what’s happening for the rest of the day. If you are even later and your daughter arrives when classes have commenced, your daughter will be anxious and will take a while to settle before being able to focus. Added to this, her late arrival distracts the other learners and her teacher, when lessons are already in progress.

COLLECTION ARRANGEMENTS

We also request that you ensure that your child is fetched at least fifteen minutes after school or after her extramural ends. We strongly discourage children being left for hours waiting outside for their transport. If you are unable to fetch your daughter timeously please ensure that you register her for aftercare. Our office closes at 16h30 (Mon-Thurs) and at 14:30 on a Friday. Any child who is not fetched by this time will be sent to Aftercare and you will have to fetch her from there. Aftercare is accessed via the VP Hostel entrance on Hill Street. If you fetch your child after 17:30 she will be sent to hostel and you will have to fetch her there. If late collection is a regular occurrence or your child is collected outside of the Aftercare hours, you will be charged Aftercare fees, to your account, regardless of the circumstances.

Grade 1-3 finish their academic day at 13:00 and extramurals end at 14:00. The girls are then taken to the Huntley street gate for collection between 13:00-13:15 or 14:00-14:15 after their extramurals. Children not collected by this time will be brought up to the Beaufort street gate at 13:15 (or 14:15). Please note that no Gr 1-3 child will be allowed to wait at the Beaufort street gate between 13:00-13:15 as there is no supervision. Parents/transport will not be able to access the Huntley Street gate via the Beaufort Street gate during this time.

The academic school day will end at 13h00 every FRIDAY for Grade 1-7.

SCHOOL ATTENDANCE

We would also like to remind you that by enrolling your child at VP, you are under an obligation to ensure that your daughter attends school. If your child is sick or unable to attend school, parents are required to notify the school office by 09h00 on the first day of absenteeism. On your child’s return she is required to bring a note explaining the reason for her absence. If she is absent for 3 days or more or she misses out on a test or exam, a medical certificate will be required on her return which clearly states the dates she is booked off. This is a school policy and must be adhered to. Holidays away and other events should be done over the weekend and during school holidays.

STATIONERY (Grade 4-7)

Please ensure that your daughter has all the stationery required for her grade according to the stationery list sent. All books must be covered and any outstanding items must be purchased by Monday the 23 January.

VP DIARIES

As mentioned in our last newsletter of 2023, all girls Gr 3-7 received our new VP diaries this week. If your daughter loses her diary she will have to pay R50 for a replacement, however we have limited replacements so please ensure that she looks after it. No other diaries are to be used for school.

LABELLING OF ITEMS AND LOST PROPERTY

All your daughter’s possessions from pencils to blazers must be clearly labelled with her name and surname. We cannot be expected to search for items which are not labelled. Lost items will be handed to Lost Property, either with Mrs Orsmond (FP) or Mrs Sauls (IP). We endeavour to return items straight away if they are labelled. Unlabelled items must be collected from Lost Property by your daughter during school hours.

COMMUNICATION

We send out very detailed weekly newsletters every Friday and letters are regularly sent home regarding any sporting or cultural fixtures. Please make it a priority to read your weekly newsletter, your daughters’ diaries and notices sent home. Homework and instructions thereof need to be followed in the classroom setting. Any queries can be directed to our school office during office hours. If you would like to communicate with your child’s teacher please email her or send a note in your child’s diary. Alerts for any unplanned changes will be posted on the D6 Communicator App. You will also find the extramural programme, term calendar and newsletters on the D6 Communicator App.

Photos of school activities throughout the year will be put on the schools Facebook page. Please note access is limited to parents and staff at VP and therefore new parents will have to request access on Facebook.

SAVE THE DATE

Please save the date for the PTA AGM and class visits on 30 January at 17:15. Parents are to meet for a short meeting in the hall and thereafter all Grade 2-7 parents will meet in their daughters’ respective classrooms where they will be briefed on the expectations and requirements for the year. Please prioritise this meeting as it is an important information session and a good opportunity to meet your child’s teacher and to ask any questions you may have.

SCHOOL RULES

Please note the school rules for hair and jewellery and ensure that your daughter is abiding by them:

Hair guidelines

Hair must be neat and appropriate for girls in uniform.
If hair is over shoulder length it must all be tied up (no half ponies). Hair must be away from face.
Hair and extensions should be your natural hair colour.
Extensions and braids are allowed.
All corn rows must be neatly plaited and tied back.
Clips and hair accessories must be black, green or navy. (No decorative accessories, such as beads, are to be worn)

Jewellery

Watches may be worn, if desired. Children are responsible for their own watches.
Earrings – girls may have their ears pierced. Only studs or sleepers (small) may be worn. No coloured earrings are allowed. Only one earring may be worn in each earlobe.
No bracelets, neck or ankle-chains are allowed, unless the bracelets or chain bears a ‘Medicalert’ disc.
All school badges may be worn on the blazer lapel. No badges other than school badges may be worn while in school uniform.

Uniform

Girls are currently in summer uniform. They should not be in long-sleeved shirts, blue socks, stockings or trousers. Please don’t mix the school and sports uniform/tracksuits.

EXTRAMURALS

Please take note of the extramural programme attached and study it closely with your daughter. Participation in our programme is compulsory. Please note that if it rains or is extremely hot we DO NOT CANCEL. Girls will be supervised in the classrooms until their extramurals would have ended. Extramurals will start on Monday, 22 January.

Please note that Art Club will be taking place on Wednesdays at 15:00-16:00 for Grade 4-7. There will be a sign-up sheet on the notice board outside the Teachers Workroom by Monday, as there are limited spaces available.

MUSIC

This year the Victoria Primary Music Department will be introducing a small chamber choir as a new extracurricular activity open to the Grade 6s and 7s. The choir will consist of about 12 girls and will involve formalised vocal training and performances. Auditions will be held on Monday during break, girls wishing to take part must please audition, and prepare a song which they feel shows off their voice the most beautifully! We are looking forward to the wonderful possibilities that the VP chamber choir holds for 2024.

The music department is eager to get started on this year’s repertoire and all rehearsals will commence as per the extramural timetable. This includes the FP choir (Gr. 3), senior choir (Gr. 4-7) and the orchestra. Please ensure that your daughter arrives on time for all rehearsals.

SWIMMING TRIALS: All girls new to VP should please attend swimming trials on Monday, 22 January, at 14:00, in order to be put into their various colour groups for the season. A reminder that girls are to wear black speedos to swimming unless they are in the swim team and have a team costume.

TENNIS TRIALS: We will be having tennis trials during tennis practice slots next week. We encourage all girls interested in playing tennis as a sport to attend. The times are as follows: Monday: 14:00-14:45

Tuesday: 13:55-15:25 (tennis team as selected last year)

Tuesday: 15:30-16:15

Wednesday: 15:00-15:45

Thursday: 13:55-15:30 (tennis team as selected last year)

For sale at school

Swimming caps are available from Mrs Terblanche at a cost of R60 for the regular cap and R120 for the cap that is bigger and will fit over braids.
We are once again offering Flip flops for sale for R100. These VP branded flip flops may be worn with sports uniform and at school during the school day with school uniform. Please note that girls must wear school shoes and socks when they are off campus in their school uniform. No other flip flops are allowed at school.
We are still selling lovely VP branded draw-string bags for R30. These bags will be very useful for sports clothes, swimming costumes, library books and readers or even their lunches.
Please note School backpacks are currently sold out and we will let you know as soon as new stock is available. The cost of the new stock will be R700.
Peaks caps cost R80.

THE VP PARKRUN CHALLENGE: If your daughter takes part in the Parkrun every Saturday morning at 08:00 the Botanical Gardens and has a bar- code, please forward her emailed results to vpparkrun@gmail.com. Mrs Coetzee will be monitoring and encouraging our girls at the Parkrun.

WORLD READ ALOUD DAY: As part of our World Read Aloud Day celebrations (7 February 2024) we would like to run a competition. Girls are encouraged to send a photo of themselves reading in the most unusual place. All entries will be presented and the winner will be announced at our assembly on Monday the 5 February. The winner will win a voucher from Bargain Books. Photos can be sent to admin@victoriaprimary.co.za. Closing date: Friday, 2 February.

2023 SCHOOL MAGAZINE: The 2023 school magazine is available on our website www.victoriaprimary.co.za (click on Magazine tab) or follow the following direct link https://victoriaprimary.co.za/?page_id=2979

If you are unsure of anything please don’t hesitate to call the office on 0466224850 or send us an email on admin@victoriaprimary.co.za or and we will endeavour to assist you.

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

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