1. education
2. school

Volume 38
14 November 2014
Grade 3 Helderberg Hike!
On Friday we went up the Helderberg Mountain. We had to wake up
early and go to the Nature Reserve. My mom packed three bottles of
water. I said it was too much but at the end of the day it was all
finished. We started to hike up the mountain. I could see all the
beautiful flowers. It was very hard, but I did it. We saw lots of flowers
as we got closer to the gorge. The gorge was nice and cool and the
tree roots looked like little stairs going down the mountain. I didn’t
drink the stream water. I would rather have my own. I also had some
food and then we were off. When we were almost at the top, I could
see where we began and I could not believe my eyes how far we
had gone. When we got to the bottom the sprinkler was on and we
all jumped through the sprinklers. When I went to the bathroom there
was a gigantic spider on the roof. On the way out I saw a big
tortoise. When I told my brother how far up the mountain I went, he
didn’t believe me. (Amelia de Beer)
On Friday morning I got up very early to hike up the Helderberg Mountain. We started at about
7:30. It was time to start going up the mountain! It was getting pretty hot and JP, Mikey and I
decided to over-take the girls and get to the front. So off we went. Every time the path became
bigger, we overtook a girl. We got to the front when we got to the gorge. After that we went
behind the dome and came down the same way. It was a beautiful hike! (Matthew Lowe)
On Friday morning it was the Grade 3 hike. It
was at the Nature Reserve. I couldn’t wait to
climb the Helderberg Mountain because you
would see all sorts of animals. We also went
to a river to cool us down because it was a hot
day. Anna and Kayla fell a lot. I saw a red and
black grasshopper. It was amazing. We saw a
lot of things like bees, grasshoppers, tortoises
and flowers. When we got to the top, we
looked down and the view was beautiful.
When it was time to eat, I wanted to sit in the
shade. I saw a shady spot. I saw three
geckos. When we came down I was so tired,
but I didn’t give up. (Zenade October)
HeadLines…
Non Nobis Solum Leadership Programme
Against the backdrop of the chaos that erupted in our Parliament yesterday, we have to know
that real leadership is desperately needed in our country. Last Friday was the deadline for the
completion of the Grade 7 Leadership Programme. What makes our programme so different is
the fact that the children choose to be part of it and have to use their own initiative to design and
complete it. Every participant has to complete 50 hours of service, at least 40% of that time
being offered outside the school in the wider community. That our children have made an
impact on this community is beyond question. The experiences they have had have also
broadened their view of our world beyond the “bubble” that is our
school. They can all afford to feel proud of themselves. They
have also had to learn a new skill, organise an event and
conquer a physical challenge. The picture of Daniel Love
swimming to Robben Island with just Table Mountain standing
out in the background made me think about just how exciting
and challenging this programme can be. Well done to each
Grade 7 who completed the programme. We are proud of you.
Examinations
Our Grade 6 and 7 pupils are preparing for their final examinations, the last hurdle for our Grade
7 pupils of 2014. They will be writing in the Simpson Hall as usual and we wish them all the
best with their final preparations and for the actual examinations.
Helderberg Hike
Thanks to Mr Cod and his team for ensuring the safe return of all the hikers last Friday. It is
evident that the children loved the outing up the mountain and helped their parents along too!
Beach Run
Thank you to all of you who were up early last Saturday to enjoy our annual run on the beach.
The run was not as competitive as the sand castle building competition where our young….and
not so young pupils tried their best to impress the judges. Thank you to all the staff for their
assistance on the day.
Chris Storey – Headmaster
[email protected]
As a gesture of thanks to our ever-smiling, hard-working Kitchen, Cleaning and Garden staff
as well as the Security Guards, we would like to present them all with a Christmas Hamper of
special treats from the Somerset House Family. If you would like to contribute, please send
your donation to the Grade 2 Thöle classroom. There will be 22 hampers in total and
contributions of food (luxury or basic items) would be most appreciated!
2015 Parent Handbook
The Somerset House Parent Handbook has been updated - a comprehensive and useful tool
for new and existing Somerset House families. The updated version can be found under
“Admissions” on our website www.somersethouse.co.za.
Recycling
2014
TOTALS SOAR FOR SECOND WEEK …
Yet again friends of the endangered GIs heeded the call,
and their generosity and kindness were nearly
overwhelming. One of our old friends from years gone by
made a surprise visit to the GIs, bringing with him a huge
145kgs of newspaper. It’s always good to see people
returning to help the cause – thank you. The ‘secret’
supplier of paper for Mrs Thöle’s Grade 2s had been busy
during the week, unpacking box after box after box of paper.
So it is looking like a real battle building up between the
Grade 3s and 2s – the 2s have it at the moment, but only
just. The Crew was brilliant as always – skillful WBDs and
high speed GIPs. Well done to all – and even a photo of
some of the GIPs conquering the GIs…
7M
7U
6M
6O
5B
5V
4J
4M
3P
3R
2C
2T
1B
1dP
27.6
5.0
8.3
5.3
67.7
35.8
52.0
27.4
11.8
71.0
133.4
22.7
41.8
71.3
Weekly
Total
REMEMBER, YOUR LOCAL GI NEEDS
Weds
5 Nov
581.1
Weds
12 Nov
31.0
3.0
25.2
193.4
6.0
6.3
362.5
4.2
631.6
Totals
38.6
42.7
59.9
126.7
101.7
120.8
90.1
71.6
366.8
369.2
236.3
520.6
95.8
112.6
2353.4
YOU!
Past Pupil Lize Mynhardt – Almost in the Finals!
Last Sunday evening, past pupil Lize Mynhardt
made it through to the TOP 3 of SA Idols! We
now anxiously wait to see if she has made it
through to the FINALS!
SA Idols is broadcast on Sunday afternoons at
17h00 on MNet and Mzanzi.
Siblings and Waiting Lists
We have already started with the enrolment
process for 2016 in some grades, so please
ensure that all younger siblings have been
added to the waiting list. Siblings do have
priority, but places can only be allocated to
them when the Pupil Application form has been completed and the R250 administration fee
paid. (This amount goes up to R350 in 2015) Siblings who are only registered after the 2016
enrolment process has been completed will have to be placed on the waiting list.
Photos
If you have taken photos of Somerset House children during the course of this year in any part
of their school life, we would be most grateful to get copies for use in our school magazine as
well as for marketing and archival purposes. Photos can be given to Tracey du Toit on flash disc
or CD/DVD. Photos can also be sent to Tracey by e-mail at [email protected] but
please send them in small groups and in the highest resolution possible. Many thanks!
Grade 3s Capacity and Mass
The Grade 3s have been learning about capacity and mass and have thoroughly enjoyed
measuring and doing practical activities. They worked in groups, some outside measuring
volume of containers, and some inside weighing different objects.
Grade 1 Orals
The Grade 1s did their first orals this week The topic was “All About Me.”
They absolutely wowed their teachers!
Drama News
This week the Grade 1s had the privilege of watching the Grade 5 Drama plays. The Grade 5s
enjoyed performing to their buddies and entertaining them with their talent - proving that hard
work brings success. The plays were excellent, costumes beautiful and fun was had by all. The
Grade 6s also performed their well-rehearsed Drama plays to the grade 2s this week. Well
done, Grade 6s, and thank you for coming, Grade 2s!
Living Maths Top Scores
Congratulations to the following pupils who were top-scorers in their respective grades in the
recent Living Maths competitions.
Grade 4
Top Individuals
Grade 5
Top 3 Pairs
Grade 5
Top 3 Individuals
Grade 6
Top 3 Pairs
Grade 6
Top 3 Individuals
Grade 7
Top 3 Pairs
Grade 7
Top 3 Individuals
Sam Chemaly
Eric Böhmert
Louise Hoepfl
Stefanie Human
Eric Böhmert
Cáit O’Malley
James Royden- Turner and Arden Scholtz
Sam Uys and Christopher Young-Pugh
Joshua Cox and Jordan Heymans
Sean Irwin
Jaden Bouah
Reece Aitken
Dhania Schultz and Dylan Smit
Stephanie Bihl and William Vine-Morris
Daniel Abelson and Daniel Louis
Kristen Böhmert
Daniel Mudge
Anna Mares
Ethan Lombard and Tomás Swart
David Irwin and Daniel Love
Garrick Hugo and Matthew Cilliers
Harry Hugill and Benjamin van Schalkwyk
William Hall
Nicholas van der Merwe
Joshua Kondonis
Artists of the Week
Congratulations to Chakara Blake and Aleks Borchardt in Grade 5 for their imaginative
interpretation of “The Woodash Stars”, a story by the author, Marguerite Poland. It tells of how
the milky way was created by a young San girl.
Sports News
SUMMER ASTRO HOCKEY LEAGUE
This week our U11 and U12 A
and B hockey teams played
Astro
matches
against
U11 A
Somerset College. Our teams
U11 B
played exceptionally well and
U12 A
the results are as follows:
U12 B
GIRLS VS
SOMERSET COLLEGE
2-0
0–0
17 – 0
3–0
BOYS VS
SOMERSET COLLEGE
2-1
0-1
6–3
4–3
PSI INDOOR HOCKEY SERIES
We have an update for you on the teams for the PSI National Indoor Hockey Tournament.
Congratulations too to Duran Vlok who made the Scorpions team and to Sam Raats who has
now been included in the Foxes team.
Congratulations!
Boland Foxes
Boland
Boland Wild Cats
Scorpions
We wish you well for Girls
Yvonne Huysamer
your tournaments.
U13
Janka Scholtz
Boys Munnik Huysamer
Daniel Love
Ethan Lombard
U13
Sam Raats
Duran Vlok
SH TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Our SH Tennis Championships have been taking place this term. Thank you to all participants
and congratulations to all our semi-finalists.
Semi 1
Semi 2
JUNIOR GIRLS
Chloe Smit
Andrea du Plessis
Sofie Schaefer
Julia Sloane
JUNIOR BOYS
Nic Lombard
Nic Cilliers
Sean Irwin
Gordon Morrison
SENIOR GIRLS
Tatum James
Yvonne Huysamer
Carla du Plessis
Kayla Coetzer
SENIOR BOYS
Munnik Huysamer
Ziggy Dalton
David Irwin
Kai Greig
The players with bolded names in the table above won their semi-final matches and we wish
them luck for the finals.
BEACH RUN
Our annual Beach Run took place on Saturday and we were blessed with a lovely morning for it.
A total of 273 athletes took part as we coloured the beach with various bright shapes and
creations.
Our top 3 positions in the various age groups went to the following athletes:
1 Km
2 Km
4 Km
1st Place
Connor
Nathan
Wihan
Coetzee
Muggeridge
Joubert
nd
2 Place
Joshua
Michael
Stephanie
van Graan
Shepstone
Bihl
rd
3 Place
Carl
Luke
Matthew
Schaefer
Griffiths
Eames
6 Km
Luke
Eames
Saurabh
Roychoudhury
Daniel
Abelson
Congratulations too to our fancy dress winners:
Oakwood
JP Group
1st Place
Princesses
Mitchell Bros
& Super
Super
Heroes
Heroes
2nd Place
SP Group
Hawaii
Babes
Pairs
Captain
Underpants
Classes
JP
Pirates (1D)
Wacha
Lookin @
Ghosts
SP
Orange You
Glad? 6M
3rd Place
Mime Artists
Lifesavers
Thank you to all our Somerset House families who joined us bright and early for this exciting
event.
Week 6: Programme for week ending 22nd November 2014
Mon
Tues
17 Nov
18
Wed 19
Thurs 20
16h40
14h30
16h40
09h00 – 13h00
14h30
14h40
14h45
Fri
21
08h00
13h40
Sat
22
No Sport for Grades 6 & 7 – all week
Summer Astro Hockey – Under 11 Boys
U9 Tennis Festival:
Boys at De Hoop; Girls at Somerset College
Summer Astro Hockey – Under 11 Girls
JP Tereo Fun Day
Exams for Grades 6 & 7
Oakwood New Parents’ Tea
Cricket v Beaumont : Under 9A (A); Under 9B (A)
Tennis Matches Under 11 only
Exams for Grades 6 & 7
JP Assembly
SP Assembly