Pre-Primary Weekly Memo
6 February 2026

Dear Parents

Why Reading Aloud Matters

Reading aloud to children is one of the most powerful ways to support language development and a love of learning. Whether at home, in the classroom, or during shared moments throughout the day, children benefit from hearing stories read with care and expression.

Listening to stories builds vocabulary, comprehension, and attention skills, while also helping children make sense of emotions, relationships, and the world around them. Just as importantly, reading together creates connection and a sense of safety.

Reading aloud doesn’t need to be long or formal. A few pages, a familiar story, or a shared laugh over a book all count. When children experience reading as enjoyable and shared, they begin to see themselves as readers.

Small moments. Lasting impact.

Thank you to the parents who took the time to join us on World Read-Aloud Day on Wednesday. It was wonderful to see the children’s excitement and how a love for reading and learning was nurtured under the majestic trees in the garden — curled up and happily listening to stories.

Spread the word - Open Day

Please share the invitation with friends and prospective families and join us for our Open Day on Saturday, 14 February.

Come and explore our school, meet our team, and experience what makes our school so special.

We look forward to welcoming you! 💛

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WhatsApp Video 2026-02-06 at 08.37.16.mp4

SECURITY AND CAR STICKERS

For safety reasons, no learners are permitted to wait outside the College gates at any time.

Parents entering our campus are required to have a car identification sticker, which can be collected from reception. By displaying the sticker on your car, you will gain easy access to the College premises.

Ed-admin Multi Portal App

Parents are encouraged to download the Ed-admin Multi Portal App. This platform will be used to send important notifications and updates, and it will also provide access to children’s reports when they are released.

Ed-Admin_Multi_Portal_Installation.pdf

Library Adventure

Rory and the Monstersitter

It is date night in Rory’s home and his parents are off to the Cockroach Cafe, leaving the Monstersitter in charge. However, before long, the little ones are hungry and mom seems to have forgotten to leave supper for them. Fortunately, Rory loves to cook. He is forever in the kitchen, rustling up new and interesting creations, like blue pancakes and hairy cupcakes! He enlists the help of his siblings, Fungus, Lily and Baby Grub, to make something special for their meal.

Everyone contributes ingredients, but eventually they still need something big and hairy to add.

After this delicious meal, the little ones go to sleep. Only Rory is still awake when his parents come home, and mommy asks, “And how was the babysitter, dear?”

The first time around, the listeners do not expect that twist in the story, but with repeat readings, they start to pick up clues that predict the wicked ending. This is lots of fun. Gasps and giggles guaranteed!

Elise Crouse - Librarian

Birthday Book Donation

Thank you so much, Reign, for your very kind donation of the beautiful Bluey Mega Book of Stories. The children are already loving the stories, and it will be enjoyed for many years to come.

Happy 4th Birthday, Reign! We hope your day was as wonderful as you are! 🥳📘✨

Outreach

❤️🤍💗 Outreach This Quarter – Celebrating Friendship 💗🤍❤️

As part of our outreach focus this quarter, we are celebrating friendship, kindness, and giving back. In February, we will be hosting a Friendship Dress-Up Day on 13 February, where children are invited to come dressed in white, pink, or red to celebrate friendship and care for others.

A R20 donation will be collected in support of CHOC and children with disabilities. The donation will be billed to your school account.

Friendship Day Video .mp4

A PEEK INTO OUR WEEK

Grade 0000

This week, the Crackerjacks enjoyed a truly fun-filled and magical week. We celebrated World Read Book Day by sharing lovely stories and welcoming our soft teddies for extra comfort and cuddles throughout the day. We also explored our weekly theme, “My Body” with a focus on hands and feet. The children had so much fun with stamp painting using their hands, experimenting with different paints, textures, and sensory materials. These hands-on sensory experiences had them completely in their element, and it was such a joy to watch them explore, create, and learn together with big smiles and curious little hands. We are so excited for next week’s adventure.

Grade 000

My Body – Learning All About Ourselves!

This week in the Tigger and Piglet class, our theme was “My Body”, and the children had so much fun learning about themselves in playful and meaningful ways.

We began by looking closely at our faces in the mirror. Each child carefully drew their own face, noticing their eyes, nose, mouth and hair. It was wonderful to see how proud they were of their drawings and how engaged they were in recognising their own features.

To explore what’s inside our bodies, we coloured in different skeleton parts, learning that our bones help us stand, move and play.

Music and movement were a big part of our week. We sang and danced to favourites like “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” and “One Little Finger”, helping the children identify body parts while developing coordination and listening skills.

We also spoke about keeping our bodies healthy. Together, we discussed simple ideas such as eating healthy food, drinking water, getting enough sleep, washing our hands, and exercising our bodies every day.

We also had a very special celebration for World Read Aloud Day! The children enjoyed a lovely story time in the garden, read to us by one of our wonderful Grade 000 mommies. Everyone brought along their teddy bears from home, who joined in on the fun too! We were completely enthralled by Peppa and her adventures, and it was such a cosy, magical moment shared together outdoors.

It was a fun, interactive week filled with singing, creating, moving and learning — helping our children build confidence and awareness of their amazing bodies!

Video.mov

Grade 00

Our Grade 00 learners from the Roo's House, Honey Bee's House, and Pooh Bear's House are really starting to look forward to their weekly STEAM Park sessions every Monday with Teacher Nikki.

This week, the children were challenged to create something moveable using Lego pieces. They had to really think about how things move, whether it was a swing, a Lego person sliding down, or something that turns, spins, or moves in a different way. This hands-on challenge sparked their interest and excitement.

The learners worked in pairs, which gave them a wonderful opportunity to learn how to work together as a team, share ideas, use their imagination, and develop critical thinking skills. They were encouraged to think outside the box, problem-solve, and bring their ideas to life.

It was amazing to see what the little ones came up with, they really do surprise us sometimes! We are so proud of their creativity, teamwork, and growing confidence in STEAM learning.

Grade R

A Busy and Beautiful Week in Grade R!

What a fun and meaningful week it has been in Grade R! Our theme for the week was “My Body”, and the children were fully engaged in exploring and learning all about themselves.

We did a variety of creative art activities to support this theme. The children enjoyed drawing their own bodies, tracing different body parts, creating bodies using shapes, and even painting skeletons! These activities not only helped them learn about their bodies, but also encouraged fine motor development, creativity, and body awareness. It was wonderful to see how proudly they represented themselves through their artwork!

We also had a very special World Book Day celebration! The children arrived with their favourite book and a cuddly teddy bear, ready for a little storytime magic. Curled up on picnic blankets in the garden, shaded by the trees and surrounded by friends and teddies, they listened to stories and were whisked away into wonderful worlds of imagination.

Thank you to all the families and friends who joined us and helped make this week so special. We are so proud of our Grade Rs and all that they have learned and experienced!

2026 Information

2026 Dates

Summer Quarter: 20 Jan - 26 March

Autumn Quarter: 8 April - 24 June

Winter Quarter: 22 July - 23 Sept

Spring Quarter: 14 Oct - 4 Dec

Summer Quarter Important Dates

SUMMER QUARTER:

13 February: Friendship Dress-Up Day @R20- donating to Casual Day (People with Disabilities)

13 February: Group Photograph at 9:00 Crackerjacks 100 Aker Wood Garden

14 February: Happy Birthday Ingrid Lubbe

14 February: Open Day

16 February: Happy Birthday Olivia Arendse

17 February: Playlab (Grade 000) 09:00 - 10:00

18 February: Playlab (Grade 0000) 09:00 - 10:00

19 February: Playlab (Grade R Edward Bear’s / Rabbit’s) 08:00 - 09:00

19 February: Playlab (Grade R Kanga’s / Owl’s) 11:00 - 12:00

20 February: Playlab (Grade 00) 08:00 - 09:00
20 February: Playlab Grade R (Christopher Robin’s House) 11:00 - 12:00

20 February: Cake Sale: Grade 00 and Grade R (Christopher Robin’s House) Cake Sale

27 February: Making Fruit Kebabs (All grades)

1 March: Happy Birthday Nadine Fourie

2 March: Happy Birthday Vuyo Raqa

9 March: Happy Birthday Abigail De Witt

11 March: Happy Birthday CRPP 46

Everywhere Experience - Circus Performance

Evening Sunset Picnic 17:00 - 19:00 in the garden

13 March: Cake Sale: Grade 000, Crackerjacks and Grade R (Edward Bear’s) Cake Sale

15 March: Happy Birthday Riëtte Pieterse and Eric Mkangeli

16 March: Grade R Reports sent to parents

16-20 March: ExtraMural Open Week

17-25 March: Grade 0000 - 00 Feedback meetings & Grade R Report meetings

21 March: Public Holiday - Human Rights Day

26 March: Last day of the quarter (school closes at 13:00 - No Aftercare)

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...

The Overloaded Child Workshop

Why Kids Are Struggling More Than Ever - and What Actually Helps

Children today are growing up in a world that places increasing emotional, cognitive, sensory, and social demands on them. Many of the behaviours we are seeing - meltdowns, anxiety, withdrawal, defiance, or emotional exhaustion - are not signs of poor behaviour or poor coping, but signs of overload.

This workshop will help parents and teachers better understand what children may be carrying beneath the surface, and how we can support them in ways that are realistic, compassionate, and effective.

In this workshop, they will explore:

Why many children are struggling more than ever
The different types of overload children experience
How overload shows up in behaviour, emotions, and learning
Why traditional strategies often stop working
Practical ways to reduce stress and support regulation at home and at school

This workshop is suitable for parents and teachers of children from early childhood through to the teenage years.

Presented by: Lauren Snailham Clinical Psychologist

With over 18 years’ experience running workshops for parents and teachers on children’s emotional wellbeing and behaviour

Bookings: laurensnailham@yahoo.com

Happy Birthday Teacher Ingrid - 14 February

We wish you a very happy birthday! Your kindness and love for teaching make every day brighter for the children. We hope your day is full of joy, laughter, and all the little things that make you smile — thank you for everything you do!

Conclusion

Next week is Friendship Dress UP Day. Children are welcome to come to school dressed in white, red and pink.

We warmly invite parents to join us in the classroom to read a story to the children. Please liaise with your class teacher, who will be happy to arrange a suitable time and reading slot for you.

We are looking forward to a fun week of stories and smiles!