Pre-Primary Weekly Memo
4 September 2026

From The Office

Dear Parents

What a wonderful week it has been in our Pre-Primary! Our little learners have been busy celebrating, exploring, and creating special memories through exciting experiences.

From SPCA Dress-Up Day, the children embraced their creativity as they arrived dressed as a variety of animals — from dragons and dalmatians to many other imaginative creatures. It was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate their love for animals while learning about kindness and caring for all living things.

Our Grade 000 learners enjoyed a magical Puppet World Show, where they were reminded that “I am special” and “I am brave.” Through storytelling, music, and sing-along songs, the children were encouraged to believe in themselves and celebrate who they are.

Our Grade Rs also enjoyed an exciting outing to the Museum of Illusions, where they explored fascinating exhibits that challenged their senses and sparked curiosity. From incredible illusions to creative discoveries, the children had so much fun learning through play. The biggest adventure of all, however, was the bus trip itself — the excitement of travelling together, sharing the journey, and creating memories with friends.

Puppet World

IMG_9286.MOV

IMG_9331.MOV

Museum of Illusions

Gate times

Gate times, not parking in front of the gates:

To help keep our school premises safe and ensure that drop-off and collection times run as smoothly as possible, we kindly ask parents to take note of the following arrangements:

Gate Access Times

Morning drop-off: 07:30–08:30
Half-day collection: 12:45–14:00
Aftercare collection: 16:00–17:00

To make half-day collection (12:45–14:00) as quick and convenient as possible:

Grade 000 children will be waiting in the foyer.
Crackerjacks children will be in the Tots 1 classroom.
All other grades can be collected from their classrooms.

Aftercare begins promptly at 14:00. Children who have not been collected by this time will join aftercare.

We also kindly remind parents that all children must be collected before 17:00. Late collection can be unsettling for children and also impacts our staff and their families. A late collection fee will therefore apply.

Should you need to arrive outside of the above gate access times, please park in the designated parking bays at 91 Raats Drive and enter via the pedestrian gate. For safety and access purposes, please do not park in front of the school gates.

Lastly, for the safety and comfort of all our children, families and staff, dogs may not be brought onto the school premises.

Thank you for helping us keep arrivals and collections safe, calm and convenient for everyone.

Cake Sale

Cake Sales – A Monthly Treat!

Each grade has the opportunity to contribute to a cake sale, and the children eagerly look forward to their special treat. We ask that cupcakes, popcorn, crisps, muffins, etc., be sent to the class on the allocated cake sale date. Please ensure all items are nut-free and do not include sweets.

To keep appetites in check, we recommend that children spend no more than R2 at the cake sale. You may send R2 on the day in a sealed envelope/packet or prepay for the quarter (R6 per term, R24 for the year).

🍰 Upcoming Cake Sale Date 🍰

📅 11 September: Grade 000 and Crackerjacks and Grade R (Owl’s)

We appreciate your support in making our Cake Sale a success! If you would like to contribute by sending in baked/bought goods or snacks, please complete this form.

Cake Sale Contributions

We have space for 8 parents to help sell treats on the day. If you would like to volunteer, please complete the form below.

Cake Sale Parent Volunteer Sign Up

Thank you for your support!

Report Feedback Meetings

As the quarter draws to a close, we would like to take the opportunity to thank all the parents for their support throughout.

We invite parents to a report feedback meeting with your child’s class teacher. Click on the class links below to choose a preferred date and time. We encourage every parent to take the time to book and diarise a feedback meeting. This is a very important meeting in terms of your child’s progress and finding out more about their days at school. It is also a wonderful opportunity to have the teacher’s undivided attention and focus on your child. It is a vital aspect of the home-school partnership, and it greatly assists each child’s development and progress when we work as a team.

Crackerjacks

Grade 000

Grade 00

Grade R

Christopher Robin's House (TBC)

Reports will be published on Monday, 14 September and will be available to all parents ahead of the report feedback meetings.
You can conveniently access your child's report through the Ed-admin Multi-Portal App, where it can be viewed and downloaded. For your ease, a step-by-step guide is attached to assist you with the process.

A Peek Into Our Week

Crackerjacks

This week, our Crackerjacks have been learning all about water and air transport. ✈️ They had great fun pretending to be aeroplanes, stretching their arms out wide and “flying” around the classroom!

We also did a sink-or-float experiment, where the children first had to guess what they thought would happen before putting each object into the water. There was plenty of excitement as they discovered whether their predictions were right!

Our SPCA Dress-Up Day was another firm favourite. The children loved arriving dressed as their favourite animals and had even more fun showing us their best animal sounds and movements. 🐾

We’re now looking forward to Special Person’s Day on Wednesday. The children are very excited to welcome their special people to school and share a little bit of their Crackerjacks world with them.

Grade 000

What a busy week we’ve had in Tiggers and Piglets!

We kicked off our new Transport theme by learning all about land transport. The children enjoyed chatting about the different ways we travel and sharing all the vehicles they know – from cars and buses to bicycles, trucks and trains.

We also explored road safety, learning about pedestrian crossings, traffic lights and how to cross a road safely. The children had fun putting this into practice and made their own traffic lights using red, orange and green collage circles. 🚦

To celebrate Heritage Month, we were treated to a special interactive Our Heritage puppet show. The children loved joining in and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. 🇿🇦

It’s been a lovely week of learning, creating and discovering, and we’re looking forward to exploring more about transport next week!

Tigger’s video.mov

Grade 00

What a fun SPCA Dress-Up Day we had! 🐾

Our playground was filled with all sorts of animals as the children arrived dressed in their favourite costumes. From bunnies and ladybugs to zebras, bumblebees and so many more, there was plenty of excitement and laughter throughout the morning.

Thank you to everyone who joined in and helped us support the wonderful work of the SPCA.

Grade R

What a week it has been in Grade R!

Our Grade Rs had great fun celebrating SPCA Day, dressing up as their favourite animals while learning about the importance of loving and caring for them. There were paws, whiskers, wings and tails everywhere – and plenty of excitement too!

We also welcomed spring with colourful animal and flower creations, bringing a lovely touch of the new season into our classrooms.

And what better way to end the week than with our first Grade R outing to the Museum of Illusions! 🚌✨ The bus ride was an adventure in itself, and the children had a wonderful time exploring all the fascinating illusions and exhibits.

A very busy, happy and memorable week for our Grade Rs!

Little tales from. . .

Tale 1:

While walking past the playground, we spotted our Grade 000s running around at full speed. One little one eventually stopped, put both hands on the hips and announced:

“Sjoe, that was a workout!”

Apparently, Grade 000 life is not for the faint-hearted!

Tale 2:

During aftercare, one of our little girls decided she wanted to go and colour in the office.

Teacher Abi: “But I’ll miss you if you go to the office!”

Without missing a beat, she replied:

“This is what I can do for you… I can give you a hug, but then I must go. You will be fine.” 😂❤️

Well, that’s settled then!

Tale 3:

A little discussion during Grade R groups…

Boy: “Teacher Kim, a girl keeps chasing me outside!”

Teacher Kim: “Oh, and why do you think she keeps chasing you?”

Boy, very matter-of-factly:
“Because I am hamsome!” 😎😂

Well, there you have it!

Tale 4:

During graduation photographs, one of our little boys suddenly started crying.

Principal Riëtte asked him what was wrong, and through his tears he explained that he was going to miss Pre-Primary and didn’t want to go to “big school”.

After reassuring him that we would still see him every day, his whole face lit up.

“I’m so glad to hear that… and now I can still love everybody!” ❤️

Tale 5:

Teacher Abigail asked one of our Grade R boys if he was excited for Grade 1.

“Yes!”

Teacher Abigail: “Oh no! Aren’t you going to miss me?”

“For sure… but I’m excited to see all the pretty Grade 1 girls!” 🤣🤣

Well then… Grade 1, here he comes!

Little Readers from Kanga's

Our Kangas had a lovely little reading adventure this week!

They coloured, folded and created their very own books based on Pete’s Buttons, and then had great fun reading the simple CVC words together as a class.

We were so proud to see how eagerly and confidently they joined in, especially when they recognised words all by themselves! It was wonderful to see our little readers so excited about their books and proud of what they could do.

Kangas reading.mp4

Innovation In The Pre-Primary

When Things Don’t Work: Building Grit Through Robotics and Innovation

From building a twister to designing a catapult, our young innovators discovered that the greatest inventions are not created on the first try. They are built through curiosity, creativity, and the courage to keep going.

In the world of robotics, success rarely happens immediately. A design may look perfect on paper, but once children begin building, they quickly discover that real innovation involves testing, adjusting, failing, and trying again.

During our robotics sessions, learners were challenged to create different mechanisms, including a twister and a catapult. While the final products were exciting to see, the real learning happened during the process.

The twister proved to be a particularly challenging build. With many moving parts working together, learners had to think carefully about connections, balance, movement, and how each piece affected the next. When the mechanism did not move as expected, they had a choice: give up or investigate.

They chose to investigate.

They redesigned parts, changed their approach, tested new ideas, and learnt that mistakes were not failures — they were valuable information helping them move closer to a solution.

This is where grit comes alive.

Grit is the ability to continue working towards a goal even when something feels difficult. It is the determination to keep asking questions, keep experimenting, and keep improving.

Robotics gives children a safe space to experience this. They learn that engineers, scientists, and inventors do not get everything right the first time. Great ideas are developed through persistence.

When learners built their catapults, they applied what they had learnt about movement, force, and design. They adjusted their creations, tested their outcomes, and celebrated improvements. The excitement was not only in seeing the catapult work — it was in knowing they had overcome challenges along the way.

The true success of robotics is not just the machine children create. It is the confidence they build within themselves.

Through innovation, children learn:

Problem-solving — looking for solutions instead of focusing on problems.
Collaboration — sharing ideas and learning from others.
Creativity — imagining possibilities and bringing ideas to life.
Resilience — understanding that challenges are part of learning.
Grit — having the determination to keep going.

Every twist, turn, launch, and redesign helps shape young innovators who are ready to face the challenges of tomorrow.

Because in robotics, as in life, the most important thing we build is not always the machine.

Sometimes, it is the mindset of the child building it.

Robotics.MP4

Library News

A Library Adventure

SAVING OUR PLANET

This delightful book is a teacher’s dream, but will also be very useful in every home:

It is in gorgeous colour with inviting characters
It comes with a beautiful poster that will brighten up any classroom display.
It has wonderful information about our planet that is perfectly tailored for even the youngest of our children. Even climate change and greenhouse gases are explained in a simple way.
Every page has ready-made experiments and activities for young scientists to try.
There are lots of easy and doable ideas that everyone can use to turn things around. We also need to pass these ideas around because it is going to take all of us to save our planet. So be the family that reuses and recycles!

Elise Crouse - Librarian

Birthday Book Donation

Thank you to Sinikiwe for kindly donating Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book to our school — a lovely addition for our little readers to enjoy. And a very happy birthday to Sinikiwe for this week! 🎈

Thank you to Madison for kindly donating Sugarlump and the Unicorn to our school — a magical addition for our little readers to enjoy. And a very happy birthday to Madison! 🎈🦄

Outreach

Parent Business Directory

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...

Conclusion

We are so looking forward to welcoming our special people to school from next week!

These mornings are always such a lovely opportunity for our children to share a little piece of their school world with someone special to them. We look forward to plenty of fun, laughter and precious moments together as each grade celebrates its Special Person’s Day.