CHESTERHOUSE
INTERNATIONAL, INDEPENDENT,
EDUCATION
The Call of the Gryphon
14 November 2014
No: 034/2014
FROM THE HEADMASTER.............
Dear Parents
Yesterday I spent time with our Grade 4s and 5s at their camp at High Africa. I
watched with interest the variety of activities our children were exposed to from
scaling the climbing wall, building rafts and racing them in the river, to intricate
group games and challenges which tested team work and very interestingly showed
who the leaders are.
Justin Harvey
Throughout their busy schedule I was so impressed with the excellent safety
HEADMASTER
measures the staff at High Africa utilised to make sure that the activities were safe
for the children to participate in. High Africa is a lovely camp with comfortable
accommodation, good food, excellent facilities and a skilled and caring staff. Not
only do our pupils have a very exciting time with lots of fun, they are also learning much about themselves,
each other and developing new life skills.
What for me is so heart-warming is the love and care provided to our pupils by the teachers who
accompany them to their camps. Mrs Petersen, Ms Swart, Ms Bruyns, Ms Neal and Mr Leo epitomise for
me what is meant by the term in ‘loco parents’ (standing in for parents) who in most cases have left their
own children at home to supervise and care for other people’s children.
Ladies and gentleman, thank you for your excellent parenting skills and for a job well done!
Courage Inspires
Justin Harvey
HEADMASTER
2014 TERM DATES
Term 4
Monday 6 October – Friday 5 December
2015 TERM DATES
TERM
PERIOD
Term 1
Wednesday 14 January – Friday 27 March
School holiday – 27 February
Monday 13 April – Friday 26 June
School and/or public holiday for all pupils
-27 April to 1 May and 16 June
Tuesday 21 July – Wednesday 23 September
public holiday – 10 August
Monday 5 October – Friday 4 December
Term 2
Term 3
Term 4
Page 1
FROM THE COLLEGE………
Dear Parents and Guardians
I’m sure that in all our families’ households, the end-of-year invitations are piling up
and one’s attention is automatically drawn to 2015. At school, the staff members
too are evaluating 2014 and thinking about the improvements we can make in 2015.
There will be some changes to the school day next year, and we would like all our
families to have timely notice of these changes so that the necessary arrangements
Estelle Snyders
can be made. There will be no change to the start of the day; tutors will thus start at
Head of College
07:50 and lessons will commence at 08:00. As all our families who have been with
us for the past few years are aware, we participate in an Interschools Athletics
meeting in February – the precise date will be communicated as soon as it has been finalised. Until that
meeting, the school day will end half an hour later on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays to allow for a
30 minute Opening Ceremony practice on those days. Once the athletics meeting has taken place, those
days will end at 14:00. On Fridays, school will end at 14:00 for the duration of the year. Mondays, which will
accommodate an assembly slot, will end at 14:30 for the whole year.
Our Fridays will look a little different to the programme we have run for the past few years. Clubs and
societies will be reintroduced on Fridays. Teaching will thus end at 12:20 and then the whole College will
go into extended tutor sessions, and clubs and societies. Twice a year – once in the first term and once in
the third – clubs and societies will be suspended to allow our tutor groups to get an early start on their tutor
outings.
To summarise thus: the start to the day remains the same. Until the Interschools Athletics meeting has
taken place, school ends at 14:30 on Mondays to Thursdays. Once the athletics meeting has taken place,
school ends at 14:30 on Mondays and at 14:00 for the rest of the week. Fridays end at 14:00 from the start
of the year.
Another change we’ll be making is that sports practices will start at 15:00. This will allow an hour for all
pupils who have not gone home to get a head start on their homework or attend clinics. CMS lessons will
also run during this hour.
Because we are concerned about the number of pupils who remain at school in the afternoons without
attending our supervised homework centre, all pupils who have not been fetched by 15:00 will be required
to register at the homework centre for the afternoon and parents will be billed accordingly. No pupils will be
allowed to remain at school unsupervised.
We urge our families to attend the evening functions next year. We try to keep them to one per grade per
term, and there is always an important focus to the evening. It is very important to us to hear your
experiences and concerns so that we can build closer and better aligned ties between home and school.
We also make use of evening meetings to explain the requirements of various elements of the Cambridge
curriculum.
We wish all our families a good week.
Estelle Snyders and the College Team
CHESTERHOUSE CONTACT DETAILS
Phone: 021-975 6650 Fax: 021-975 6649
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
Webpage: www.chesterhouse.co.za
Cnr. Mosselbank River & Falcon Streets, D’Urbanvale Estate,
Durbanville 7550
Newsletter comments to: [email protected]
Page 2
Bronwen Stewart
Head of
Academics
Junior School
Lieze Puren
Head of Pastoral
Affairs
Junior School
From the Junior School……….
Dear Parents
We have three weeks to go until the end of the 2014 academic year. As the days get longer and the
December holidays are upon us we reflect on a wonderful year that has been. We have seen our children
grow in many ways. But before we become too nostalgic we have a few more weeks of hard work ahead.
Our Grade 4 and 5 children departed for their annual camp on Wednesday morning at Worcester at the
High Africa camp site. The excitement was evident in all our children. Some moms quietly shed a tear when
their children waved from the bus. The teachers were definitely somewhat sleep deprived when they arrived
back on Friday afternoon, but everybody had a wonderful time. Thank you to our children for being so well
behaved and to our teachers for looking after each and every child as if they were their own. It was
wonderful to see you all having such a good time.
Our Grade 2s went on an outing to Kirstenbosch today. Although the weather did not really play along the
children enjoyed learning about fauna and flora and different types of soil. Thank you to our Grade 2
teachers for a lovely outing.
On a more studious note; our Grade 6 and 7 children have completed their first week of exams and all is
going well. We have one more week to go until the exams end on 21 November.
If you were privy to being part of the LOST
Mathletics
programmeLOST
this PROPERTY
year we would appreciate it if you could
PROPERTY
provide us with some feedback with regards your experience of this online learning tool. We are
continuously trying to stay at the forefront of educational software and learning materials so that our
children can experience the optimal learning experience at Chesterhouse.
We are also welcoming our new 2015 parents and children to Chesterhouse on 20 and 21 November. This
will be a wonderful opportunity for our new children and parents to familiarise themselves with the school
and what it has to offer.
We would like to remind all parents that school will finish at 13.00 on the Monday to Thursday of the last
week of term. On the Friday, school will finish at 10:00 for all children up to Grade 2 and at 10:15 for
children in Grade 3 to 7.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Kind regards
Bronwen and Lieze
Page 3
GRADE 6
On Friday 7 November, the Grade 6 community of children and parents threw a baby shower for Mrs Wiltshire and
Chloe. For some, this was their first experience with such an event. It was quite amusing to watch the children pass
around the swaddled Appletizer bottle and "rock the baby". Mrs Wiltshire had a wonderful time and was very
appreciative of all the lovely gifts she received. Chloe will be part of the Chesterhouse family some time in
December, just in time for Mrs Wiltshire's birthday on New Year's!
We would like to thank Anareen van Niekerk for organising, and Odette Forrester and Eunice Scott for helping us out
on the day.
Marisa Esterhuizen
Grade 6 Teacher
Interact
October was Breast Cancer Awareness month and the Interacts raised R2000 in the College by having a civvies day
and a cake sale. To create awareness pink ribbons were issued to all the pupils.
Movember is Prostate Cancer awareness month and moustaches were sold to create awareness of this very
common male disease (see photo). We are also calling on all the brave boys and men to participate in the Daredevil
Run on the 30th January at Greenpoint to raise awareness of Testicular Cancer.
The Interacts are also helping out at Oom Piet’s Christmas Party on the 5th and 6th December at Kronendal Farm,
Durbanville. They will be dressing up as favourite story book characters (see photo) and helping to look after the
children attending the event. The Party is being staged by the Rotary Club of Durbanville and we are very happy to be
assisting our sponsoring Rotarians.
Claire Coetzer
Interact
Jenna Hayton, Rebecca Choice, Savanna Stock,
Sadie Adams, Michaella Dowdall, Caitlin Hayton,
Caitlin Devenish, Rene Devenish
Carla Joos, Josh Redelinghuys, Allashay Hurn, Mrs
Claire Coetzer, Michaella Dowdall, Eammon Branco,
Courtney Dowdall, Aasif Melamu, Larissa Bekker,
Zizipho Ngcebetsha, Kelly Prince,
Caley Morgan (front)
Page 4
CHESTERHOUSE ARTIST OF THE WEEK
Rebekah Beelders
Grade 9
SOFTBALL
On Thursday 6 November the College Softball team played their arch nemesis Parklands College. They had been
training for the entire season for this match. A sports man’s mind can be their own downfall and this proved to be
correct. The players struggled to find themselves as well as their killer instinct. They allowed Parklands to dominate
them from the beginning and we could not pull ourselves up to get the advantage. We unfortunately lost the match.
Thank you Coach Mark and players for a nice season. Best of luck for the exams ahead.
Candice Van Zyl
Head of Softball
Page 5
CMS parents are Simply the Best!
Chesterhouse parents never cease to amaze me!
I want to extent our heartfelt gratitude to Mr and Mrs Lambert (parents
of Lisa Lambert in Grade 1) for tuning and adjusting our tuned
percussion instruments as well as our cymbals.
We so appreciate it when our parents offer and share their expertise
with us – all in benefit of our children.
Thank you to parents like you!
Sujana van der Merwe
Director of Music
FLUTTER CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES
FLUTTER CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES IS A
MOBILE FASHION UNIT.
WE HAVE A HOME-SHOP IN STELLENBOSCH, AS
WELL AS DOING PRIVATE SESSIONS IN YOUR
HOME, POP UP STORES AND SOME MARKETS.
PLEASE LIKE OUR FB PAGE TO FOLLOW THE
LATEST NEWS.
OUR PRODUCTS ARE MADE UP OF IMPORTS
FROM MY TRAVELS, LOCAL DESIGNERS AND
SOME OF OUR OWN LABEL.
CONTACT PAULA ON 083 628 7467 OR
[email protected]
Page 6
The 2nd hand store
Shop no longer open on Fridays!
Please contact Natasja la Grange @ the Admin house
On Tuesdays and Thursdays between 12:00 and 14:00
Should you require 2nd hand items.
All stock can be viewed on the website at
http://www.chesterhouse.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2nd-hand-stock-list.xls
We would appreciate any donations of school clothing which are no longer
needed. Your donations can benefit other parents as they will pay a fraction
of the cost for the clothing. Please leave your donations with either of the
secretaries.
With your assistance we can make the 2nd Hand Store a great success.
Michele Heinrich
2nd Hand Store/Lost property
Email: [email protected]
Page 7
Page 8
SH’ZEN
AKWA DURBIES
Swimming lessons
 Learn swimming strokes
confidently
 Important for Biathlon and
Triathlon athletes
 Learn to swim
 Group and individual lessons
 All age groups
 Contact: Swimming instructor
with 20yrs experience
 R55 per lesson
CELIA LE ROUX (WPSIA, SSA)
021 976 8631 / 082 414 7379
FOR ALL YOUR SH'ZEN REQUIREMENTS, OR FOR ANY FURTHER INFO
REGARDING OUR WIDE RANGE OF PRODUCTS, PLEASE CONTACT JOAN
NORTON On 0837270005 OR VIA [email protected]
PLEASE CHECK THE WEBSITE FOR ALL OUR
NOVEMBER SPECIALS www.shzen.co.za
HOLIDAY FUN FIT
CLUB
8-12 DECEMBER
09H00-12H00
Let your kids spend their holiday
having fun and getting fit.
Organized games,
skills, strength,
co-ordination,
swimming, pool
activities, cricket,
soccer obstacle
circuits and a
whole lot more!!
-Venue:
Chesterhouse
-Bookings essential
-hjk
Cost:
R300
CONTACT
Leeart Leo
[email protected]
072 60 27 021
Page 9
FIESTA FOR 1
1 Jalapeño Popper
2 Crispy Chicken Wings
1 Fajita OR Burrito of your choice
3 Chocolate Fireballs
1 Cool Drink, Water, Mexican Organic Coffee OR Tea
ONLY R99
Tacoways Mexican Café in the heart of Durbanville offers a
tasty variety of Mexican dishes, providing a healthy and
fresh option to the Fast Food Industry. Our food is made
daily from fresh ingredients and these include Jalapeño
Poppers, Crispy Chicken Wings, Tacos, Quesadillas,
Tostadas, Nachos, Burritos, Fajitas and a Fantastic Kiddies
Menu. We also offer Gluten Free and Great Vegetarian
Options. Choose Your Heat - No Chilli, Mild, Medium, Hot
OR Extra Hot!
FIESTA FOR 2
2 Jalapeño Poppers
4 Crispy Chicken Wings
1 Portion of Tacos of your choice
1 Half portion of Nachos of your choice
6 Chocolate Fireballs
2 Cool Drinks, Water, Mexican Organic Coffee OR Tea
ONLY R199
Current Specials:
BREAKFAST SPECIAL
Breakfast Burrito (Meaty OR Veggie) & Mexican Organic
Coffee OR Tea
ONLY R45
Tacoways Mexican Café
12 Wellington St, Durbanville
T: 021 975 5606
W: www.tacoways.co.za
Page 10
Chesterhouse Detailed Calendar
Term 4 2014
Date
Junior School
College
Page 11
Page 12
Chesterhouse Detailed Calendar
Term 4 2014
Date
Junior School
College
Page 13