SACRED HEART COLLEGE Tel: 011 081 2203 Reception: 011 081 2200 Fax: 011 648 5204 Website: www.sacredheart.co.za
PRE-PRIMARY AND PRIMARY SCHOOL NEWSLETTER DATE: 21 February 2018
Dear Pre-Primary and Primary School Parents
GENERAL: FOR ALL PARENTS The Primary School Newsletter Please note that this will be the last printed copy of the Newsletter. In future the newsletter will be emailed to parents and a copy will be available on the D6 Communicator. Three Ways Nutrition Influences Learning and Performance Advocates of child health have studied pupils’ diets in the United States for more than twenty years. Initial studies focused on benefits of improving the health of students. Though researchers are still working to definitively prove the link, existing data suggests that with better nutrition pupils are better able to learn, they have fewer absences, and behavior improves, causing fewer disruptions in the classroom. Improve Nutrition to Increase Brain Function Several studies show that nutritional status can directly affect mental capacity among school-aged children. For example, iron deficiency, even in early stages, can decrease dopamine transmission, thus negatively impacting cognition. Deficiencies in other vitamins and minerals, specifically thiamine, vitamin E, vitamin B, iodine, and zinc, are shown to inhibit cognitive abilities and mental concentration. Additionally, amino acid and carbohydrate supplementation can improve perception, intuition, and reasoning. There are also a number of studies showing that improvements in nutrient intake can influence the cognitive ability of school-aged children. Provide a Balanced Diet for Better Behaviors and Learning Environments Good nutrition helps pupils show up at school prepared to learn. Studies show that malnutrition leads to behavior problems, and that sugar has a negative impact on child behavior. However, these effects can be counteracted when children consume a balanced diet that includes protein, fat, complex carbohydrates and fiber.
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Promote Diet Quality for Positive School Outcomes Sociologists and economists have looked more closely at the impact of a pupil’s diet and nutrition on academic and behavioral outcomes. Researchers generally find that a higher quality diet is associated with better performance on exams, and that programs focused on increasing pupils’ health also show modest improvements in students’ academic test scores. Every pupil has the potential to do well in school. Failing to provide good nutrition puts them at risk for missing out on meeting that potential. Adapted from: David Just Phd, Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs. 26 June 2014. http://articles.extension.org/pages/68774/3-waysnutrition-influences-student-learning-potential-and-school-performance Sleep and learning There is a strong relationship between sleep problems and poor academic performances among adolescents, a new study demonstrates. The study is published in the Journal of Sleep Research (2016), and shows that the less the adolescent sleep -- the worse the grades get on average. "Our findings suggests that going to bed earlier, and encouraging similar bed- and sleeping times during the week, are important for academic performance," says psychology specialist and author Mari Hysing at Uni Research in Bergen, Norway. "Academic performance is an important marker for future work affiliation and health. Future studies should investigate further how the association between sleep and school impacts upon future educational status and work affiliation," the authors write. So, please get your children to be bed early at night (especially if they are getting up early in the morning). Also try and get them into a habit of going to bed at a regular time. Aplology - Watching how we say things Some parents have been concerned about the use of the phrase “non-catholics”. I agree that this is not inclusive at all. Often these terms come up on forms that are not constructed by the college but by other governing bodies. This is when people are asked whether they are Catholic or Non – Catholic. I really think we should say something like catholic or people of other faiths or none. Going forward, I will make sure that we watch how we say things.
PRIMARY SCHOOL Thank You Rollerblade disco A big Thank you to all the parents who supported the rollerblade disco to date we have raised R9185 for the St Jane’s de Chantal Children’s Home. 2
Halaal Food available at the Tuckshop The following Halaal foods are available in the Primary School Tuckshop: Monday: All Pies, chicken Pregos, veg hot dogs, cheese rolls, chicken rolls. Tuesday: All burgers (chicken, beef, veg), all pies, filled rolls and every second week spaghetti bolognaise, veg hot dogs. Wednesday: All pies, veg hot dogs, filled rolls, hot chips, chip rolls. (fryer only used for chips). Thursday: All pies, toasted chicken mayo, toasted cheese, veg hot dogs, filled rolls. Friday: Pizza (Margherita), all pies, filled rolls, veg hot dogs.
UPCOMING EVENTS Monday 26 February Wednesday 28 February Thursday 1 March Friday 2 March Tuesday 6 March Saturday 10 March
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Grade 6 Camp leaves (Learners to be at school by 06:00) Grade 6 Camp Returns Grade 6’s visit the High School, Grade 6 Parents visit the HS Midterm starts Learners return to school SWIMATHON
FROM THE SPORTS DESK Soccer Academy at Sacred Heart College The Soccer Academy will have girls and boys teams from Under 9 to 17. The Academy will start with trials next week over the mid-term break. The boys trials will place on Sunday 4 March at 09:00 and the girls trials will be on Saturday 10 March at 09:00. The finishing time will depend on the amount of children that attend. START TIME/ DATE
SPORT
Thursday
22-Feb
Friday
23-Feb
BUS LEAVE 13:30 13:00
APPROX FINISH TIME/ BUS RETURN 16:00 16:15
13:30
15:30
DETAILS
Tennis Swimming
U13 Boys v Eden A Gala v Christ Church & Sagewood
Mini Cricket
Mini Cricket Matches
VENU E A Christ Churc h KEPS
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Saturday
24-Feb
Cricket Cricket Boys Basketball Tennis
Tuesday
27-Feb
Tennis U9 Cricket Chess Cricket
Wednesday 28-Feb Boys Basketball Tennis Thursday
01-Mar Tennis
Ter Horst v KEPS Commonwealth v KEPS U11-13 v St Peter's & Dominican U11 Girls v St Dunstan's A U11 Boys v St Benedict's D U9A Cricket v Bedfordview Juniors & Seniors Ter Horst v Hirsch Lyons U11 & 13 v Maryvale
A SHC
07:45 07:45
11:30 11:30
SHC
07:45
12:00
A
13:30
16:30
A
13:30
16:00
A
13:30
17:30
Saheti SHC
14:00 13:30
16:00 17:30
SHC
14:00
16:00
U13 Girls v Marist Brothers Linmeyer A U13 Boys v Bedfordview B
A
13:30
16:30
SHC
14:00
16:00
PRE – PRIMARY SCHOOL Pre-Primary Newsletter 19 February 2018 Thank you for your ongoing support for our Baker Baker campaign on a Friday. The children serve their treats with such pride and it helps the child who may be a little more introverted to really shine for the day. At this stage we are saving up for some blackout curtaining in order for us to make effective use of light and shadow play in the entrance. If any parents have any contact for this, please contact Sue. Future Baker Baker money will be used to buy specifically Reggio equipment, such as wooden toys as well as exploratory scientific equipment. Last year, our Baker Baker campaign helped us towards the refurbishing of the library, our resident skeleton, “Mr Bones” as well as other educational toys. Thank you for your support in this regard. Parent Interviews These will take place on the afternoons of 27 and 28 February. Please sign up on the allotted time sheets available in your child’s class. It is vital that you meet with the teacher to find out how your child has settled this year. If you feel that you need a longer time slot than ten minutes, please arrange a separate time. 4