Dear Parents
Mandela Day may have fallen during our school holidays this year, but that didn’t stop us from finding our own special way to celebrate his legacy. This week, our school family came together in the spirit of generosity by collecting tinned food for the Grace Foundation. As a creative tribute, the donated tins were arranged in the shape of a Madiba shirt, a small but powerful nod to a man who wore his compassion as boldly as his colours.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed. Your kindness and enthusiasm truly made a difference.
“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.” – Nelson Mandela
Thank you to every parent and child who contributed, whether it was a single tin or a whole bag full. Every donation made a difference, and we are so proud of what we achieved together.
A total of 1,251 tins were collected across the school!
Here’s how each class contributed:
Roo's House – 41 tins
Kanga's House – 94 tins
Pooh Bear's House – 110 tins
Tigger's House – 59 tins
Honey Bee's House – 195 tins
Crackerjacks (combined) – 132 tins
Rabbit's House – 59 tins
Owl's House – 150 tins
Piglet's House – 411 tins
A huge congratulations to Piglet’s House, who brought in a whopping 411 tins! They’ll be enjoying a special ice lolly treat next week to celebrate their wonderful effort.
If you have any empty boxes lying around at home — or if you’re expecting a Takealot or OneDayOnly delivery soon — we’d love to put those boxes to good use!
Please send any clean, empty boxes to the office. We’re getting ready for some exciting box construction fun, and every size helps!
Thank you for your support and creativity!
As we welcome many new families to our school, the information below serves as a helpful reminder for all.
Breakfast - At Home
Breakfast is crucial for young children as it provides the essential nutrients and energy needed to start their day. After a night of fasting, a nutritious breakfast helps replenish glucose levels, boosting concentration, memory, and overall cognitive function. It also supports physical growth and development, promotes a healthy metabolism, and helps establish good eating habits. By ensuring children have a balanced breakfast, we set the foundation for a productive day and a healthier future.
Snack and Lunchtime - Provided at School
A healthy and well-balanced diet is provided each day, which includes a mid-morning snack, lunch, and afternoon snack. Please ensure that your little one has a wholesome breakfast before coming to school each morning, thus optimising their learning. Providing an additional snack is at the discretion of the parent. Please ensure containers are clearly marked and that the snack is nutritious and nut-free.
Nut Allergies
We appeal to parents not to include items containing nuts or related products for cake sales or snacks, as any ingestion or contact with such products will trigger a severe allergic reaction if learners with allergies come into any form of contact with them.
Wet Wipes and Tissues
Please send a box of tissues and a packet of wet wipes to school with your child, at the beginning of each quarter.
Sunblock and Hats
Please apply sunblock on all exposed parts of your child’s body before they come to school in the morning. We will endeavour to re-apply sunblock throughout the morning using the bottles of sunblock provided by parents that will remain in the classroom. A clearly marked hat MUST REMAIN in their school bag, for daily use. The sun is extremely dangerous for young skin, so PLEASE help us to protect your children.
Immunisation Information
Please ensure that your child’s immunisations are up to date and provide a copy of your little one’s health card with their updated immunisations if you have not already done so.
Shoes
At this stage of your child’s development, they must wear shoes that fit correctly and allow for safe and free movement. Please ensure that your child wears shoes that allow for this development without compromising their safety (e.g. slip-slop beach shoes are dangerous, especially when running or climbing in the garden).
Lost Property
This a reminder to all parents to please make sure all your child’s clothing, lunch bags/boxes and water bottles are clearly labelled with their name and surname.
For the safety and comfort of all children, parents, and staff, we kindly ask that your dogs are not brought onto the school premises.
In our ongoing commitment to prioritising the safety and well-being of our little ones, the school gate access times are as follows:
Morning drop-off: Gates open from 7:30 to 8:30.
Half-day collection: Gates open from 12:45 to 14:00, as aftercare begins promptly at 14:00.
Aftercare collection: Gates open from 16:00 to 17:00.
Late Collection Reminder: Late collection can leave children feeling unsettled and also impacts our staff and their families. Please ensure that your child is picked up on time. A penalty fee will apply for late collection.
To help make the half-day collection time (12:45–14:00) more convenient, Grade 000 and 00 children will be waiting in the foyer for quick and easy collection.
However, we have noticed that many parents collect their children after 14:00. Please be aware that from this time onwards, all children will transition into aftercare, and accounts will be billed the ad hoc aftercare fee for any additional care provided.
AFTERCARE LOCKERS
Each child attending aftercare from Grade 000 to Grade R has a designated, labelled locker space for their bags in the passageway closest to reception. This ensures the safekeeping of their belongings and makes it easier for parents during afternoon collection.
To prevent unauthorised members of the public from gaining access to the College during events and at peak drop-off and collection times, we continue to have tight security controls i.e. access control and car identification stickers.
Parents are required to have car identification stickers (1 sticker per family) and if one is required, please collect it from reception.
This sticker is for the primary parent who drops and collects. 1 sticker will be allocated to each family and in exceptional cases 2. But no more than 2 will be permitted per family. By displaying the sticker on your car you will gain easy access to the College premises. Vehicles that do not have a sticker will have to be scanned.
‘At the Gate’ is an access solution the College will be implementing at the same time and involves the car licence disc as well as your driver's licence to be scanned. This information is stored on a secure database off-site for future reference should the need arise. Pedestrians will also be required to produce identification.
Please read through the Parent and Learner Directory, which includes important information about Parklands College and the Pre-Primary learners.
DreamWorks Madagascar – A Musical Adventure JR. features original music and lyrics by George Noriega and Joel Someillan, and book by Kevin Del Aguila.
As the show opens, we learn that Marty the zebra may be celebrating his tenth birthday at the Central Park Zoo with his friends Alex the lion, Gloria the hippo, and Melman the giraffe, yet he longs to experience life outside of the zoo’s walls. When Marty eventually escapes, his animal friends from the zoo pursue him into New York City. After reuniting, the animals are chased by the police, and ultimately felled by tranquilliser darts. They awake, trapped in crates, on a ship, which, through a series of events, is thrown off course. Upon reaching land, the animals discover they have been shipwrecked on the island of Madagascar. Ultimately, it is only in being so lost that they can begin to discover where they really belong.
Every Grade 4 - 6 learner as well as every Grade R - 3 dancer is getting ready to Move it! We hope to see you join in the fun too! Ticket Sales are now open! Book here via Quicket.
“Hidden Heroes hide their capes.
They’re just like you and me.
They make magic every day,
But do it quietly…”
Pumpkin gets a fright when she wakes up to a noise outside her window. Her dad takes her to the window and shows her that there are hidden heroes at work, carting their trash away in a large truck. This opens Pumpkin’s eyes to the world around her, and she notices hidden heroes everywhere she goes. And at the end of the day, she sees her dad parking his ambulance and realises that he is a hero too! Acts of kindness executed quietly, can change the world around us.
Pumpkin and the Hidden Heroes is the latest book by one of our favourite local author heroes, the delightful Bianca Flanders. It is suitable for all ages.
2025 Dates
Please note that there has been a slight change to the 2025 dates indicated in blue below:
Provisional dates for 2025
Summer Quarter: 20 January – 28 March
Autumn Quarter: 08 April- 25 June
*Mid-term break: 29 April – 2 May
Winter Quarter: 22 July – 23 Sept
Spring Quarter: 14 October – 05 December
28 July: Extra murals commence
2 August: Happy Birthday Jo
8 August: Happy Birthday Asange
8 August: Grade R Cake Sale
9 August: Public Holiday: National Women’s Day
12 August Music Tree: Grade 0000- Transport
13 August Music Tree: Grade 000 - Transport
Happy Birthday Shannon
14 August Music Tree: Grade 00 - Ocean & Beach
15 August: Happy Birthday Mavis
16 August: Happy Birthday Busi
1 September: SPCA Dress-up Day @R20 donation in celebration of Spring Day
5 September: Grade 00 Cake Sale
9 September: Happy Birthday Kim
12 September: Reports sent to parents
13 September: Open Day
13 September: Happy Birthday Ntombi
15 September: Happy birthday Zodwa
15 - 22 September: Report Feedback Meetings Grade 0000 - R
16 September: Special Person’s Day Grade 000 11:00-12:00 (Tea and Coffee for Adults in Foyer)
17 September: Special Person’s Day Grade 00 11:00-12:00 (Tea and Coffee for Adults in Foyer)
18 September: Special Person’s Day Grade R 11:00-12:00 (Tea and Coffee for Adults in Foyer)
19 September: Grade 000 and Crackerjacks Cake Sale
Special Person’s Day Crackerjacks 10:30 - 11:30 (Tea and Coffee for Adults in Foyer)
22 September: Happy Birthday Lungi
23 September: Gilly Southwood: SA Heritage Day Storytelling and dress-up
23 September Last day of the quarter
24 September: Public Holiday: Heritage Day
Extra murals have now been finalised, the form has been locked for submissions and extra murals will start on Monday, 28 July.
Each grade has the opportunity to contribute to their grade cake sale, and there is much excitement as the children eagerly look forward to their little monthly treat.
We request that items such as cupcakes, popcorn, crisps, muffins, etc. be sent to the class on their allocated cake sale date. We also recommend that your child spend no more than R2 at the cake sale to save some appetite for lunch! You are welcome to send the term’s money in advance (i.e. 3 x R2 coins, with a total of R24 for the year per child) or send in the R2 on cake sale days in a sealed envelope/packet. Please ensure that items donated for cake sales do not contain nuts and that no sweets are sent in. We love healthy goodies, especially popcorn!
Winter Quarter
8 August: Grade R
5 September: Grade 00
19 September: Grade 000 and Crackerjacks
Parents who want to assist with their child's class/grade cake sale are welcome to notify their child’s teacher. Please arrive no earlier than 09h45 to help set up the items.
We’re excited to welcome Music Tree back this August! This interactive puppet show combines songs, rhymes, stories, musical instruments, and imaginative play to create a fun and educational experience for our little ones.
Each grade group will enjoy a themed session:
12 August – Grade 0000: Transport
13 August – Grade 000: Transport
14 August – Grade 00: Ocean & Beach
The Music Tree show is always a highlight—packed with excitement, movement, and lots of opportunities for children to sing, engage, and explore sound through storytelling.
A fee of R65 will be billed to your account.
We are passionate about a creative, rich, authentic, and layered approach to learning for our little ones. Theme-related learning allows for the child to learn about their world and the world around them. Below is an overview of our Summer Quarter weekly theme discussions and learning focus, as well as an overview of the 2025 themes.
Please view below for details on our winter quarter theme discussions in each grade:
College parents are able to list their businesses in our Parent Business Directory for free – www.parklands.co.za/parent-business-directory/.
Should you be interested in marketing your business to over 1000 families, email: marketing@parklands.co.za to get started.
All listings will be subject to the College’s final approval.
This week's feature business is...
It’s been a real joy to welcome the children back and to see classrooms, playgrounds, and creative venues filled with curiosity, focus and excitement once more. A heartfelt thank you to our support and ground staff for their quiet dedication and all the behind-the-scenes work over the holidays; it never goes unnoticed.
Wishing all our families a restful and happy weekend!