Hudson Happenings
12 March 2015
From the Headmaster’s Desk
School Governing Body Elections
Our SGB elections occur every three
years and allow all parents an
opportunity to vote in those parents
who have the time, energy and skills to
serve our school in key areas. Our
elections will be held in our main
school hall next Thursday 19 March
from 18:00. We shall begin with an
interesting and informative
presentation by previous headmaster,
Rob Prentis, who will share with us the
progress being made by our history
committee on the Hudson Park coffee
table book. Rob's presentation will be
no longer than 30 minutes and,
thereafter, the election will be held.
All in all, we request no more than one
hour of your time. You need to be
there to ensure that we reach our
quorum of 300 parents in order for the
election to be held. The portfolios of
our six parent members are:
1. Legal: We need a lawyer who is
able to meet with staff and/or parents
when legal advice or support is
required. This person must know the
SA Schools' Act and be able to assist
whenever we face any legal issues.
2. Finance: We need an accountant to
determine our budget, chair our
monthly FINCOM meetings and work
closely with our bursar and credit
controller. This person has to meet
with parents from time to time
regarding school fee issues.
3. Grounds: We need an engineer
who can meet fortnightly with our
ground staff heads to prioritise
maintenance issues. This person will
also head any capital works projects
and determine our grounds and
maintenance budget each year.
4. Strategic planning and marketing:
We need a marketing specialist who
guides and formulates our vision
(Vision 2020) and meets with teams
who have visions in their particular
areas. This person determines what
we need to do to brand and market
our school.
5. ICT: We need an IT specialist who
meets with our school's ICT team and
determines the ICT vision. He/she
needs to help guide our ICT direction
in areas such as e-learning.
6. Staffing: We need an HR specialist
who will sit in on all our evening
interviews to help us find the most
suitable candidates whenever we
have staffing vacancies. This person
also handles staff welfare.
As you can see, these parents are
volunteers who must be passionate
about our school and have the time to
serve the entire Hudson Park family.
These are not status positions, but
positions for servant leaders prepared
to plough back into our school. I thank
the outgoing SGB for their selfless
service to our school over the past
three years and for setting an example
to the next team of governors.
Grade R 2016
The closing date for the first round of
applications for Grade R 2016 closed
today. We shall continue to accept
applications, but they will only be
considered if further gaps arise in the
coming terms.
The Hudson Park Label
We often tell our children how they
help us, through their behaviour and
dress, amongst other things, to form
the HPPS label. Thank you to all our
parents who assist us in this regard by
ensuring that your children are neatly
and correctly dressed at all times and
that you also insist on basic good
manners such as standing to address
adults, greeting them and standing
aside at doorways to allow adults and
girls through first. Please, also set the
example by placing any litter in the
drums provided on our campus and
insisting that your children do
likewise.
Staffing
We congratulate Leah Phillips who
gave birth to a boy on Friday. Grade 6
teacher assistant, Kerryn Hein, has
tendered her resignation effective the
end of this term. We are in the process
of finding a replacement for her.
Ian Lehy
Red House Avenue, Vincent 5247 | Telephone 043-7263220 | Fax 043-7262821 | Email [email protected]
Hudson Park Aftercare
Weekly Dates
12 Mar
13 Mar
14 Mar
16 Mar
Grade 4 Science & Tech Test
Grade 5 Language Test 2
Musical Evening
Cricket
U13B vs George Randell
Home
Cricket
U13A vs Cambridge
U11A vs Cambridge
U10A vs Cambridge
Away
Away
Home
Grade 6 Nat Science Test
Grade 7 Maths Construction
Cricket
U10B vs Kings College
FP Awards Assembly
Grade 7 Maths Construction
18 Mar
Grade 4 Maths Test
Grade 6 English Language Test
Grade 7 Maths Construction
Gr 2-3 SACEE Spelling Bee
20 Mar
School Governing Body Elections &
Address by Mr Prentis 18:00
Grade 5 FAL Test 2
Grade 5 Maths Assignment
Civvies Day (Children 4 Children)
Tennis
A League vs Stirling
Extramurals End
23 Mar
Reading Week
Limited Winter Extramurals Begin
24 Mar
iPad Information Meeting 18:00
Reading Week
Grade 7 Camp
25 Mar
26 Mar
Away
Multicultural Assembly
Grade 7 Tech Prac Deadline
Cricket
U9A vs Stirling
Tennis
A League vs Merrifield
17 Mar
19 Mar
Main Hall
Away
Are you battling to fetch your child in
the afternoons and need a safe and
secure environment where
homework is supervised and children
are given a meal. There are still places
available in our aftercares.
Application forms can be collected
from the offices.
School Calendar
Home
Main Hall
Year
2015
2016
Term 1 21 Jan-1 Apr 13 Jan-18 Mar
Term 2 13 Apr-26 Jun 5 Apr-24 Jun
Term 3 20 July-2 Oct 18 Jul-30 Sep
Term 4 12 Oct-9 Dec 10 Oct-7 Dec
George Randell
Main Hall
Away
Main Hall
Hobbiton
Reading Week
Grade 7 Camp
Hobbiton
Reading Week
Grade 7 Camp
Hobbiton
Parents’ Prayer Group
Parents are welcome to join our parents’ prayer group on Thursdays
(7:30-8:00) in the coffee shop to pray for our school with Andrew Everitt.
School Shop
Open from Mondays to Thursdays
from 12:00 - 15:00. Flip flops are
now available.
Contact Julie Holmes on 083 417
8114 or [email protected].
Lost property can be collected
from the school shop.
From the ICT Department...
Introducing iPads at School
Hudson Park Primary School is committed to preparing our pupils for their future.
Digital communication and mastery of devices are essential skills that they will
need.
After three years of investigation, research and observation, a decision has been
taken to include Apple iPads for pupils in our delivery of the curriculum. This is a
bold and exciting venture and will benefit all Grade 4, 5, 6 and 7 pupils in 2016.
Pupils and their families will be required to provide their own devices as an
integral part of our learning programme.
A different development strategy has been chosen for the Foundation Phase. At a later stage, these grades will be
catered for during classroom group mat sessions. Individual ownership of iPads is not envisaged for them.
All new developments generate excitement, trepidation and many questions. We will be hosting an information
evening for current Grade 3, 4, 5 and 6 parents on Tuesday, 24 March at 18:00 in the main hall at school.
Foundation Phase parents are also most welcome. A panel has been assembled for an informative presentation
and to address your queries. Looking forward to seeing you there.
Parenting for the Digital World
We may think of our kids' online,
mobile, and technological activities
as "digital life," but to them it's just
life. In their world, being able to
connect and communicate 24/7
from just about any location is
normal – and expected! Between
Grade R and Grade 5, kids go
through rapid growth in learning
about many topics, including digital
media technologies. From playing
games on their mom or dad's cell
phone, to learning how to point and
click a mouse, to navigating online
by themselves, kids this age are
participating in a connected culture.
Why Does It Matter?
Young children need to learn early
how to make good choices so they
can take advantage of the powerful
technologies available to them. And
to make these good choices, kids
need parental guidance.
The stakes are high because our
kids' technological abilities can be
greater than their maturity and
judgment. Having unrestricted
access to information and people
can result in gaining a wealth of
information and experiences. But it
can also mean accessing
inappropriate content and making
inappropriate contact with others.
The difference between a great
experience and an iffy one lies in the
decisions kids make. Just as kids
learn to eat properly, swim safely, or
carefully, play nicely with others,
drive a car carefully, they need to
and respect their teachers. Now
know how to live in the digital world
we have to extend those lessons
responsibly and respectfully. Their
to a vast, invisible world.
ultimate success depends on their
= Pass along your values. As a
abilities to use digital media to
parent, you can translate your
create, collaborate, and
values into the digital world and
communicate well with others.
h e l p k i d s u n d e rsta n d t h e
Those who master these skills in
implications of their actions.
using digital tools will benefit from
Oftentimes the same rules that
the digital world's awesome power.
apply in the real word apply
Common Sense says:
online, such as "be nice to
= Teach your child to bookmark his
others," and "don't say mean
or her favourite sites. This way,
things."
your child is less likely to go
= It's hard to know how much
somewhere online you don't
freedom to give kids. We want
want. Use safe search options on
t h e m t o e x p l o r e , e n j o y,
Web browsers to make sure your
communicate, and create. We
child can search safely.
also want them protected. If our
= Consider using filtering and
kids are going to thrive with
blocking software to help
digital media, we must balance
protect younger children from
the negative with the positive,
accessing inappropriate
privacy with protection. As our
content.
children grow, they need more
= Kids often don't understand the
independence and privacy. But
implications of their actions. But
parents have to be sure their kids
we do. So we have to remember
know how to be safe and
to extend our basic parenting
responsible before letting them
wisdom to the digital world. We
loose.
teach kids to choose their words
From the Pastoral Department...
Visiting Langham House
Please Assist
On Friday afternoon, 6 March, the Outreach group entertained the
Langham House residents with singing, dancing and music. They also
gave the residents tea and biscuits.
We are appealing to companies to
financially support the various
Hudson Park outreach projects
(through either a weekly, monthly,
annual or once off donation).
These are community based
projects supporting vulnerable
children, animals and the elderly.
Queries may be directed to Mr
Lands, ([email protected]) .
This is your opportunity to make a
difference and obtain "free"
advertising for your company!
Overheard:
"My visit to Langham House taught me that my service was anticipated
because of the elderly's spiritual, emotional and physical needs. It also
taught me not to demean, ridicule or embarrass the elderly when
talking to them. I am now able to select my words carefully" - Lihle Meki,
7C
"It feels so nice to do something for people and make them happy. You
walk into a room filled with excitement and anxiousness and walk out
filled with joy and experience. It is amazing to hold someone's hand to
make them feel better. What a wonderful experience". - Nandita
Jowaheer, 7C
Ongoing Collections
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=
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Stationery
Pet collars and leads
Sandwiches and fruit
FP on Tuesday
SP on Friday
Bread tags
Second hand clothing
Used postage stamps
Upcoming Events
Multicultural Assembly - 13 March
Children are encouraged to wear
traditional attire/dress for this
occasion on Friday, 13 March.
Beach Cleanup - 20 March
The Hudson Park Port Rex Lions
Cubs, the Outreach Group and the
Eco-Club will be cleaning up
Nahoon Beach on Friday 20 March
(14:30-15:30 ). All are welcome to
join us.
Civvies Day - 20 March
Children are encouraged to wear
civvies and donate a litre of long
life milk. All milk collected will be
donated to the Children 4 Children
organisation who assist in feeding
child headed households. Please
support this project so that we can
alleviate some of the hunger in our
community.
Reading Week
Reading Week will take place at our school from 23-27 March!
This will include a variety of fun-filled, reading-related activities
such as mystery readers at break time; treasure hunts; lucky
draw; get caught reading campaign; Skype interview with an
author; Xhosa reading event; connect@thelibrary with your
parents and more. Details will follow in a circular.
We will also be giving children an opportunity to present our
school with a brand new or good quality second hand book for the
library and will donate some of the proceeds to African Angels. So
please go through your shelves to see what quality books your
children have grown out of and would like to pass on to younger
learners.
Please will you contact Paula Morrell at [email protected] if
you are able to contribute any prizes to our lucky draw.
We look forward to an exciting week and would love you to share
it with your child by taking extra time to read together or visiting
our library after school on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from
14:00-14:45 or on Wednesday from 13:00-13:45.
Toys for Aftercare
If you are emptying out your
children's toy boxes and you find
any toys that you would be willing
to donate to the Junior Aftercare it
would be much appreciated. The
toys need to be large enough that
they cannot be hidden in pockets.
We would also appreciate ageappropriate DVD's (for Grade R's
and Grade 1's).
Competition runs from 1 March-30 April.
Hudson Park
Supporters Club
Please join us at the Front Row at
Hudson Park Primary.
Date: Saturday, 14 March
Time: From 14:30
A meal consisting of a steak, salad
and a roll will be available for R60.
Rugby on TV:
Stormers v Chiefs 15:00
Cheetahs v Sharks 17:05
For more information contact Ryno
Wolmarans on 083 390 2507.
From the Sports Department...
Sports Results
2 March 2015
Cricket
U13: Lilyfontein 34/10 (P. Notununu 6/12, R. Jones 3/8)
HPPS 38/8 Hudson won by 2 wickets.
U13: HPPS 92/5 (L. Swinney 38, M. Naude 20) Nahoon U13A
36/10 (L. Nkonki 5/5, R. Anderson 2/10) Hudson won by 56
runs.
U13C: HPPS 105/5 (N. Heshula 31 n.o., J. Roux 23 n.o.)
George Randell 95/7 (N. Heshula 3/19, S. Mgidi 2/16)
Hudson won by 10 runs.
U11A: Cambridge 39/10 (T. Stagg 3/12) HPPS 40/2 Hudson
won by 8 wickets.
U11: HPPS 136/2 (N. Bashe 22, A. Mandile 43 n.o., C.
Schwagele 40 n.o.) Selborne U11C 29/10 (K. Metu 3/9, A.
Gazi 3/4 C. Schwagele 2/8) Hudson won by 107 runs.
U10: HPPS 246/5 (B. Goss 89, O. Newland-Nell 90 n.o.)
Cambridge 46/10 (B. Goss 8/10 including hat trick) Hudson
won by 200 runs.
U9: HPPS 84/8 (A. Price 31, A. Richter 24) Selborne 62/5 (A.
Price 2/9, S. Stagg 2/6) Hudson won by 22 runs.
Mini Cricket
U9A: HPPS 32 Kings College U9A 19
U9B: HPPS 29 Kings College U9B 13
Squash
Congratulations to the following squash players who
achieved the following results at the recent Border squash
tournament.
Boys U13: R. Sinclair 18th, R. Hall 30th
rd
Girls U13: T. Emslie 3
Boys U11: J. Van Oordt 2nd, J. Sinclair 10th, M. Donaldson 19th
th
th
Girls U11: K. de Bruin 4 , C. Sanders 6
The Top 8 final swimmers for the 50m events.
These swimmers came in the first three positions
in their age groups for the Top 8 trials. (50m,
100m and IM)
Hudson Park Primary won the Preston Trophy
(U13 freestyle relay) at the Athlone Shield at King
William's Town on Friday. The team consisted of
Timothy van Harmelen, Joshua Emslie, Kimeshan
Chetty and Daniel Emslie (in front).
Our Superb Swimmers
Our Outstanding Cricketers
As the first half of the cricket season comes to an end, special mention
needs to be made regarding the excellent performances by our cricketers.
To date we have played a total of 50 matches, winning 40 (a win ratio of
80%) across all our teams. So far we have 3 unbeaten teams, U9A, U10B
and U11B. The following cricketers have done exceptionally well and
produced some magical figures with both bat and ball: Tyler Stagg took 7
wickets for 5 runs against Selborne, Lethu Gwarube 7 wickets for 14 runs
against Dale, Joshua van Oordt scored the first century of the year with 116
against Dale and Brad Goss took 8 wickets for 10 runs against Cambridge
and 7 wickets for 9 runs against Queens. We are proud of all our cricketers
and wish them luck for the rest of the season.