Message from the office

As parents to girls, I thought this article was a very interesting read…

https://www.bestofparenting.com/teaching-girls-to-stand-strong-in-the-face-of-mean-behaviour/  (shortened)

Teaching girls to stand strong in the face of mean behaviour

Psychologists and child behaviourists have long observed that when it comes to friendships, young girls display ‘relational aggression’ far more than their male peers. This is when one person intentionally hurts someone that they have a close relationship with through their words and/or actions. Common examples of this include gossiping, name-calling, exclusion, teasing etc., and most girls will experience at least one, and sometimes all, of these things at some point during their time at school.

There is also evidence to suggest that girls feel it more acutely when their relationships break down. Girls tend to crave emotional connectivity with other girls and they forge strong and intense relationships as a result, so this may offer some explanation as to why it can be so devastating for them when these relationships end or turn sour. 

The social groups formed by young girls also tend to be based on a very obvious hierarchy, and so when one girl feels that her position within this hierarchy is being threatened by another they verbally retaliate by lashing out with hurtful words. 

So the question is, how can we encourage our daughters to behave kindly and respectfully towards others in order to develop healthy and long-lasting friendships?

Here are our top 6 tips for preventing relational aggression in girls and helping our children better cope with such bullying:

1. Encourage empathy in your children so that they start to understand the effect that their behaviour has on those around them. A really simple effective way of doing this is to ask your child as often as possible: “How would you feel if you were in that person’s shoes?” or, “How would you feel if someone acted in that way towards you?”
2. Try to become more aware of when your child is using relational aggression. You may notice that they have certain triggers, and when you can identify their triggers you can then focus on redirecting their energies in a more positive way. 
3. We may not be aware that we’re being verbally unkind towards them. We might say something like “Why are you so naughty all of the time?”. By using this phrase, we are inadvertently sending our children the message that it’s ok to treat other people disrespectfully, so they’ll start replicating this behaviour within their own social groups.
4. Give your child lots of opportunities to socialise – the more they interact with others, the more confidence they will gain in their social skills.
5. Ask them what character traits they think are needed to be a good friend, as this will help your child understand how to develop a strong and long-lasting friendship.
6. Teach them that other people’s opinions are only opinions. They should take them as such and stand strong in the face of bullying. A great thing to teach them is to be able to say with confidence: “Thank you for sharing, that is your opinion” and stop interacting with the person who is being unkind, as any answer is likely to just generate retaliation and escalate.

---

Staff News

We wish to welcome Ms Megan Jonkers to our teaching staff. She has taken over the Grade 4F class and has fitted right in! We said farewell to Ms Featherstone at the end of last term.  

---

Worker of the Week

Well done to Naleen Ngamale for the lovely sentences she wrote this week!

 Music

Congratulations to the following girls for achieving colours awards for music, based on their ABRSM examination results:

Half Colours

Azile Hambaze & Yusrah Suleman

Full Colours

Aliyah Bezuidenhout, Chikhulupiriro Mitochi, Mila McConnachie & Kungothando Ngangani.

Well done, girls!

Tennis Achievement

Marizaan Boucher played in the Tennis South Africa Eastern Cape Masters Tournament and won her matches. She is currently ranked number one in the Eastern Cape and 14^th in South Africa in the U12 division.

Well done, Marizaan!

---

School fees for 2025

On Tuesday we held our SGB AGM meeting and presented the proposed fees for 2025. These fees have now been adopted and are as follows:

School fees per learner:

• Grade 00 & R – R26 500 per year
• Grade 1 to 3 – R24 600 per year

Grade 1 to 3 learners will pay a once off amount of R1750.00 on the 1st day of school – this will be for her stationery, books, workbooks and Friday Feast. 

• Grade 4 to 7 – R24 000 per year.

Grade 4 pupils will pay a R400 workbook levy at the beginning of the year.  Grade 4 to 7 pupils will pay R365 a year for their art lessons. 

• Hostel fees: R 77 000 per year  
• Music fees per leaner: R4 400 per year

Please also note that if fees are paid in full by 28 February 2025 a discount of 5% will be granted.

Fees may be paid in 10 equal instalments commencing on the 1st February and ending the 1st November 2025.

 Chess Champs

The VP Chess Champs for 2024 take place this afternoon. 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.

B-League Gala

Selected swimmers will travel to Newton Park Swimming Pool in Gqeberha on Saturday to participate in the B-League gala. Travel safely and swim well, girls!

 Cricket

We are delighted to host the KFC Mini Cricket Festival at VP on Friday, 25 October. The participating Grade 2s & 3s will receive notices next week.

 PJ Fun Run

This annual event will take place on Thursday, 24 October. Anyone wishing to participate can collect an entry form from Ms Knott-Craig.

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 sunflower oil. Please drop donation off at the office.

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

 Checkers Minis

Please consider donating your Checkers Mini’s to our Grade R classes where they will be used as a wonderful resource for imaginative play.

Birthday wishes

We wish the following staff and girls a very happy birthday for next week: Anam Makaphela, Abigail Green, Othawe Mjekula, Limnandi Zweni and Asiphithemba Thomas. We hope you have a very happy day!

Please take note that no newsletter will be sent out on Friday, 8 November.

Regards

Mrs Rafferty

PRINCIPAL

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

UPCOMING EVENTS
Fri. 18/10	·         VP Chess Champs. ·         Grade 7 Committee meetings
Sat. 19/10	·         B-League Gala.
Thurs. 24/10	·         PJ Olivier Fun Run @17:30
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.