This newsletter provides updates from Southern Cross Schools in Hoedspruit, South Africa. It discusses that staff and students recently attended an advanced snake handling course, participated in family building day where they worked on various maintenance projects around the school, and the preschool students pledged allegiance on a game drive where they saw rhinos. It also announces that the second term activities have begun and many students excelled on international benchmark tests in math and English.

1. Southern Cross Schools
PO Box 116
Southern Cross Schools
Hoedspruit
1380
Phone: 015 793 0590
E-mail: raptor@scschools.co.za
Weekly Newsletter 11 of 2011
A Peek at Last Week … School for the Planet Week 1 of April 2011
• A number of our kayakers re- College Learners Complete Snake Handling Course
ceived their new kayaks and
went off to test them in the
Blyde River on Sunday 10 April.
• Eighteen SCS staff and learners
attended an advanced snake
handling course at the school on
Saturday 9 April.
• Some parents and many staff
and learners got stuck in on
Family Build-it Day on Saturday
9 April.
• The 2nd Term afternoon activity
p rog ramme kic ked- off on
Wednesday 6 April.
handling. Eighteen SCS staff and College learners
• Lessons for the start of the 2nd Mr Arno Naude, chairman of the Gauteng Herpeto-
attended the course. In the photographs above we
Term began at 07h15 on Monday logical Association, offered a snake course at SCS
can see the learners being taught to handle a
4 April. on Saturday 9 April. The course included snake iden-
Snouted Cobra. All photos taken by Kathleen Painter.
• Our boarders arrived back after
tification, snake bite first aid and venomous snake
the holiday on Sunday 3 April.
SCS 2010 Grade 9s Excel In IBTs
• SCS Photo Club photos and
Every year a number of our learners write the Interna-
school art work was displayed at
the Zandspruit Open Day on tional Benchmarking Tests (IBTs). Learners from
Saturday 2 April. Grade 3 to Grade 11 are given the option of writing
standardized test in Maths, English and Science. In
Important Dates: 2010 fifty four countries worldwide participated in the
tests. Our Grade 9 learners sat the Maths and English
U9-U13 Netball vs. 12 IBTs last year. The results achieved by our learners
Fauna Park at home. Mar are on the whole very pleasing. Alexis Mes and
We welcome Mrs
Samantha Dold in particular excelled. Alexis was awarded a Certificate of Dis-
Primary School Net- 13 Pauline Blunden our
tinction for English and Samantha received the same for Mathematics. Their new Grade 0 teacher
ball Cluster Trials. Mar
results in these two subjects placed them in the top 1% and 7% internationally, to SCS. We wish her
U9 to U12 Netball vs 14 respectively. In the class 14 and 9 of the 31 learners achieved in the top 35% a long happy stay at
Mariepskop at home. Apr internationally in both English and Mathematics, respectively. Southern Cross.
College boys’ and girls’ 14 Pre-schoolers Pledge Their Allegiance
hockey vs Heuwelkruin Apr Southern Cross Schools parents, Jonathan
at Capricorn. and Nicolette Beretta, hosted the SCS
Pre-school to a game drive around their
College Pool Party 15
organized by Gr11 Apr Motlala Game Farm. The Pre-school pre-
Committee. sented Jonathan with a “Stop Kill-
ing Rhinos” sign (donated by Rael Loon,
U16 & Open Netball vs 16
another SCS parent). The Beretta’s had a
Heuwelkruin. Mar
rhino poached on their property earlier
Reach-a-Cross Educa- 16 this year. The children were lucky enough
tors’ Workshop. Mar to see black and white rhino including a 6
week old white rhino calf.

2. Build-
School for the Planet - Getting Stuck In On Family Build-it Day
Southern Cross Schools
PO Box 116
Hoedspruit
Limpopo
1380
Phone: 015 793 0590
Fax: 086 530 5153
E-mail:
raptor@scschools.co.za
A number of tasks around the school were rooms were decorated. Many hands make light
tackled by the parents, staff and learners who work! A morning of work like this achieves more
arrived for Family Build-it Day. Drainage ditches than we would be able to get done in a whole
were dug, grass was planted, old tyres were term with the ground staff. Thanks to all who
transformed into playground seats, paving ar- contributed to the day by donating their time,
eas were levelled and prepared for laying the materials, money or labour. It would be great to
Sustainable Living Hint: paving, flower beds were developed and bath- have more parents involved next time around.
Plant indigenous trees! Trees The Pre-school encourages Green Awards
use carbon dioxide from the its parents to go GREEN
atmosphere to grow and give with our revamped recycling The following Green Awards were presented
off oxygen. Indigenous trees centre. at assembly on Friday 8 April:
are also much more water Most of the art activities
efficient than the majority undertaken in the pre- Grade 1~ Tristan Cary; Grade 2 ~ Ruben
of exotic species. So, plant school are with recycled Venter; Grade 3 ~ Erryn Morrison; Grade 4 ~
indigenous trees! materials. All paper used in
Meg McSmith; Grade 5 ~ Devon Wilkes;
the pre-school for painting
is recycled from the school Grade 6 ~ Caitlyn Schulze and Grade 7 ~
a office. Bernadette Naude.
.c o. z
ols
ss ch o
nc ro s No Shoes Day
her
sout Lea rne rs ga ve
w.
ww their feet a
breather for char-
ity by ditching
Gawaine Evans (Gr11) has been selected their shoes on
as one of the final 22 in the U18 Limpopo Tuesday 5 April.
hockey squad. We wish him everything of Over R700.00 was
the best in the final trials. raised for charity
and many pairs of
Thank You: shoes were do-
• Alan McSmith for the “Life nated. Thanks to
Lessons” presentation made to all who got into New kayaks were delivered to a number of the
the Grade 4 class. the spirit of the school’s paddlers this past weekend. Here some of
day and donated the paddlers look optimistically at the stream that
• The Blair family for the
money and shoes. flows through the school!?
donation of books.
• Jane Frampton for mounting
art work and photos for the Boarding House News
SCS presentation done at the
Zandspruit Open Day. The boarders are all back and have settled quickly the Shuttle for the start of the Easter weekend.
back into their daily routine. The renovations in The Shuttle will leave the boarding house at 12h30
• Maureen Martus for donating Jackalberry Lodge have been completed and the on Wednesday 20 April. All packing and seat allo-
a box of books for the school boarding house leaders have moved into their new cation is done well in advance of departure and so
library. rooms. it is extremely important that parents are diligent
• Dave More O’Ferrall for Some painting and repairs have also been done in about booking places for their children on the
donating two high quality both lodges and the paving in the Recreational Shuttle. Boarders who are not booked on the Shut-
Lapa was completed. tle by the day before it leaves will not be accom-
speakers to the school.
Planning is well advanced for a solar powered modated and bookings made less than five working
pathway lighting system. Fundraising for this pro- days before departure will be charged a late book-
ject will be taken on by the boarder parents as ing fee. Cancellations of the return trip which are
soon as we have clarity on what it will cost. done after the Shuttle departs on its trip for Gau-
Work will also start soon on the building of a brick teng will be charged the full Shuttle fee.
braai and counter for the Recreational Lapa. We do trust, however, that we will not have to
We would like to remind parents to book places on implement any of these penalties.