THE GRADE 1’s VISITED RANDOM HARVEST INDIGENOUS NURSERY
The Grade 1’s were finally able to go on their outing to Random Harvest Indigenous Nursery, after having to postpone due to inclement weather last term.
The boys were so excited to hop on the big bus and settled down quickly and enjoyed the drive to Muldersdrift. We were warmly welcomed by the nursery staff and the boys started the morning with a treasure hunt and they were rewarded with an Easter egg and beaded seed treat for the birds in their garden.
Next was lunch under the beautiful acacia trees and then a walk to the compost heap to dig for earthworms. This activity had mixed reviews from squeals of delight to screeches of disgust.
The boys each planted a succulent to take home and look after. A walk to the cows and turkeys ended a wonderful morning, learning so much and breathing the fresh air and enjoying the sunshine.
A big thank you to Random Harvest Nursery for hosting us and taking such good care of the boys.
THE GRADE 0’s LEARNT ABOUT FOSSILS
The Grade 0’s spent this week learning about fossils and playing with their favourite dinosaurs.
NEON NIGHT RUN
The PA Neon Night Run, back on the calendar after a couple of years, proved to be as popular as before with nearly 700 attendees. The golf course was alive with all things bright and bold as young and old tackled the 2km and 4km routes, both proving to be tougher than first thought. Congratulations to the PA, the event was a great success in bringing together The Ridge community to share in a fun and healthy evening out.
MOTHER’S DAY CELEBRATION
During the course of last week, the Grade 0 mums joined their sons for a special morning in The Eagle Room. The boys showcased what they had been learning in their Music lessons with Mrs Ackermann, which included a memorable mother-son dance to ‘Special Star’ at the end of their performance. The boys then pampered their mums with a beautiful manicure, and some were even brave enough to expose their toes to the freezing cold! The boys and their mums then showed off their fine motor and beading skills, and produced stunning pink bracelets as a keep sake from the day. It was the perfect morning for the mums and sons to make memories together, as well as an opportunity for the mums to connect with one another over a cup of tea and delicious eats.
SENIOR PREP ART WORKS
After practicing various design and drawing skills, our boys can be proud of their artistic endeavours.
These works are the culmination of their first term back at school. The artworks are testament to our young and budding artists, who are appreciating that there is more going on in the art room than just the making of a pretty picture!
CONGRATULATIONS TO THESE U12 & U13 HOCKEY BOYS ON THEIR DISTRICT HOCKEY SELECTION
U12 Hockey boys – Iain Thompson & Yousha Gani
U13 Hockey boys – Neo Selibe, Nicholas Vogelzang, Hamza Kaka, Tom Rivett-Carnac
RUGBY vs ST JOHN’S AND ST STITHIANS
RUGBY VS KEPS
U9 CONTACT RUGBY
GRADE 7’s VISITED JHGC
The Grade 7 boys went on an educational excursion to the Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre (JHGC). This excursion formed part of the cross-curricular approach as the boys read The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas in English and they will also be looking at the topics of slavery and South African history this term. The JHGC runs a programme that is specifically tailored for Grade 7 learners and covers issues of identity, personal as well as group and national identity. The tour included a discussion around diversity, difference, “othering” and how these result in the dehumanisation of minorities.
INTER-SCHOOL GENERAL KNOWLEDGE QUIZ
We hosted an Inter-School General Knowledge Quiz at The Ridge, a total 7 schools participated. They were The Ridge, St Mary’s, St Peter’s Boys, St Peter’s Girls, Kyalami Prep, Beaulieu Prep and Christ Church Prep.
The categories for the quiz were as follows: Myths and Legends, Fears and Phobias, Famous Places, Fascinating Animals, Food from around the World and Book Series.
Each round had ten questions, as well as an audience question just to keep the enthusiasm going. We had so much fun and the Quiz Teams and Library Monitors did us proud.
First place went to Beaulieu 1, second place to St Mary’s 1 and The Ridge 2 took 3rd place. A very special thank you to all the behind-the-scenes work that went into setting up and catering for everyone. Another special thank you to Mr. Seakamela who was our MC and the judges: Mrs. Moore, Mrs. Kurz, Ms. McLellan and Mrs. Mbele
NEWS FROM THE LIGHTHOUSE
Globally, research finds that the reading skills of young students specifically Grade 2 and 3 are stalled during the pandemic. Of particular concern is a delay in reading fluency, or the ability to read quickly and accurately read aloud. Reading fluency is fundamental for academic development and problems with this reading skill can influence our students’ ability to learn other subjects as they make their way through later grades. For more information, please see the research done by Standford Graduate School of Education at this link: https://news.stanford.edu/2021/03/09/reading-skills-young-students-stalled-pandemic/
GRADE 5: JUNIOR MASTERCHEF
The Grade 5 boys practised their language and culinary skills when they did a Junior Masterchef (Kokkedoortjie) presentation for their oral assessment.
OLD BOYS REUNION
On Thursday 12 May we welcomed Old Boys from as far back as 1951 to as recent as 2021 to our annual Johannesburg reunion. Thank you to our guest speaker, Doug Gain (1989) for his insight into independent schooling in Johannesburg and his passion for The Ridge School and for what it stands for. Lastly for his perspective on the challenges we face as country in terms of energy supply in the years ahead.
Thank you, also to James Carmichael (1989), our Old Boys Chair and parent, for his excellent hosting skills and running , together with Doug, a rigorous and robust debate.
THE RIDGE WINTER WARMTH APPEAL
