A hearty welcome back to you all! We trust that the holiday was enjoyable and that all our youngsters now have energy abounding and are ready to tackle the winter term.
Winter Uniform
Children may continue to wear full summer uniform while the weather is still so warm, however, they may also elect to wear winter uniform if they are cold in the mornings. Once it is consistently cold, it will become compulsory for all children to change to winter uniform. We will notify you of the date (on D6) once it has been decided.
Introduction of Blazers
We were delighted to receive overwhelming support of the proposal to add blazers to our school uniform this year. We had only two comments from parents – one concerning the colour and the other concerning the wearing of formal uniform (including blazers) every Friday during winter.
The uniform suppliers have been given the go ahead and we are hoping that there will be availability by the end of May for Grade 4 to 7 pupils. We shall keep you posted. Of course, a transition period will be allowed; the length of which will be determined by the supply and by the cost factor.
All senior prep children will need to have a blazer by January, 2013 at the latest. A final policy regarding the wearing of blazers has been drawn up and will be available for information on the D6 shortly. A big thank you to the members of our uniform committee for their work in this area.
Staff News
Congratulations to Miss Thomson who was married in the April holidays. We wish Mrs. Thomson-Miles a lifetime of happiness with her new husband.
Welcome back Mrs. Sandra Edwards who was away on Long Leave last term and we thank Mrs. Gayle Roberts for the sterling job she did in Mrs. Edwards’ absence. We are glad to have you back at school, Mrs. Edwards!
We have appointed two new Grade Nought teachers for our Nursery School next year. Mrs. Karen Beehan is a past parent (Joshua is now 20 years old and a student at the University of Pretoria). Mrs. Beehan has a diploma in Early Childhood Development and has been teaching for twelve years; first at Lonehill Nursery School and for the past six of these at 100 Acre Wood. Mrs. Beehan will be taking over Mrs. Bain’s class in September so that Mrs. Bain will be able to spend her time ensuring that the Nursery School is properly set up and equipped for the 2013 start up. We look forward to welcoming Mrs. Beehan to Grade 0 in September.
Mrs. Kim Trevisan will be the third Grade 0 teacher in 2013 alongside Mrs. Newman and Mrs. Beehan. Mrs. Trevisan has a BA in Communications and Psychology and a Diploma in Education from RAU. She has taught for the past 11 years at Scottburgh Primary School in KwaZulu Natal and has been in Grade 2 for the past 4 years. It will be an advantage to have a Grade 0 teacher who understands the transition to the big school and we very much look forward to having Mrs. Trevisan on our team.
We shall begin interviewing for the Grade 00 and Grade 000 teachers and their assistants within the next month.
Nursery School
We are delighted to announce that we have had an almost 90% take up of the places offered for 2013 in our new Nursery School, already. We are very pleased to have been so quickly and so well supported by our community and we shall endeavour to do everything in our power to be worthy of the confidence which has been placed in us.
The site is now being cleared in preparation for the demolition of the house. Foundations will follow shortly.
In Conclusion
I found the article on Healthy Portion Sizes quite useful and have included it above for your interest. We all want our children to be healthy!
We have an exciting term ahead. We shall have every one of our 374 children (and all our staff) involved in our full school drama production of The Sea Carousel this month. In addition we shall be breaking ground with the Nursery School. We live in exciting times!
We wish you all a wonderful and productive winter term ahead. Warm regards
MRS N. HILLEN HEADMISTRESS
Healthy Portion Sizes
One out of every 10 children is overweight.
This means there are 155 million overweight children worldwide, with about 30 to 45 million of these classified as obese. In South Africa, almost two out of every 10 children are either overweight or obese.
One of the reasons for increasing obesity is the ever-growing portion sizes. Dinner plates and glasses have become larger, restaurant servings have increased, fast food outlets are using bigger drink and chip containers than ever before and packaged food has ballooned.
Practical portion sizes
It is easier to visualise a portion in terms of everyday objects to help you and your children pick appropriate quantities. Here’s a helping hand:
1 portion of carbohydrates is equal to:
1 slice of wholewheat bread = 1 single CD case
1/2 cup cooked brown rice or wholewheat pasta = 1 computer mouse or rounded handful 1?2 cup of high fibre cereal = 1 tennis ball
1 cup of air popcorn = 1 cricket ball
1 portion of protein is equal to:
85g of lean meat, fish or skinless poultry = 1 deck of cards or iPod 2 tablespoons of peanut butter = 1 ping-pong ball
2 tablespoons of hummus = 1 ping-pong ball
1 portion of fruit and vegetables is equal to:
1 cup raw leafy vegetables = 1 cricket ball
1/2 cup vegetables = 1 computer mouse
1 medium fresh fruit = 1 tennis ball or size of your fist
1 cup of berries = 1 tennis ball or size of your fist
1/2 cup chopped or canned fruit (in juice) = 1 computer mouse
1 portion of dairy is equal to:
28g cheese = A 9 volt battery
1 cup of low fat milk = 1 cricket ball Small pot low fat yogurt = 1 tennis ball
Tips for controlling portion sizes
• Buy packs of snacks that are individually packaged in smaller sizes. • Serve food and drinks using smaller plates and glasses.
• Dish up in the kitchen and avoid keeping serving dishes at the dinner table.
• When eating out, always go for the smallest size and never supersize.
• Let children serve their own meal – it will help them to start understanding serving sizes.
• Don’t force children to finish all the food on their plates, let them listen to their internal hunger signals.
• At a restaurant, if opting for a dessert, share it.
By eating healthy portion sizes, you limit the risk of overeating and help to prevent obesity.
Originally published in ISASA Weekly Bulletin (20 April)
