LANDMARK FOUNDATION EDUCATION - GREEN CLUB PROJECTS

GREEN BUTTERFLIES ANNUAL PLANNING CAMP – 17TH – 18TH FEBRUARY 2017EDUCATION REPORT

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This year our annual planning camp took place at school and the church hall. The new incumbents (grade 6’s) were very excited about having the opportunity to join the green club. They were taken though an orientation program so that they may understand the structure of the club.

ART WORKSHOP – PAPIER-MÂCHÉ – RECYCLING AND REUSING – SKILLS TRAININGWe began our session on Friday afternoon with a papier-mâché workshop. Art is an important part of developing confidence and a strong self-esteem. The learners were very receptive and enjoyed it very much. The success of this activity is very high as the product is extremely good. Learners feel relaxed and a sense of achievement. It is also very inexpensive. Educators were also trained in other various applications.

PLANNING SESSION – ELECTION OF COMMITTEE AND TEAM SELECTINGLearners were taken through a nomination process for the election of the committee. A CHAIR, DEPUTY, SECTREARY and TREASURER were appointed. They will be trained into their new positions by Andre Britz, within the following week. It is important that this process be handled with care and that the learners understand their commitment. Other teams such as WASTE MANAGEMENT, LIBRARIANS, BATHROOM MONITORS AND MEDIA TEAM were selected. The leadership of the grade 7’s already in those teams made it possible for the selection to run smoothly. Learners were enthusiastic and very keen to form part of a team. The three educators that accompanied the group for the 2 days will become mentors in various teams.

LANDMARK FOUNDATION EDUCATION – GREEN CLUBS – GREEN BUTTERFLIES – VAN WYKSDORP PRIMARY

FOOD AND CLEANING RESPONSIBILITIESThroughout the 2 days the learners were trained to make their own sandwiches, their own breakfast, to clean up their own dishes as well as clean the kitchen in which they worked in. At the end of the two days we did a major clean up and left the church kitchen as we found it. Often children are completely ill-equipped to look after

themselves. Parents do not teach them basic house maintenance skills and therefore children are unsure of the “big” world. Needless is to say they felt completely empowered and felt proud in the way they could show how well they could clean.

STAR GAZING AND CAMP FIRE EVENTOnce supper was finished and kitchen cleaned, learners made a fire and put marshmallows on the fire.As the night skies filled with stars we lay under them and

took a look at what was visible. They do cover stars, planets, moon phases etc. in the syllabus during grade 6 and 7 and this was a perfect opportunity to introduce them to some aspects of it. Most of the learners had not ever done either of the two activities.

HIKE TO SAN PAINTING SITE– CULTURAL HISTORY – GEOGRAPHY - KNOWLEDGEEarly Saturday morning after breakfast we embarked on a hike that started from the church hall to a farm located around 7km down to the river. Piet Gelderblom kindly allowed the children to

visit a San painting site on his farm. It is quite a unique site as the images are of finger prints and other entoptic phenomena (abstract images). The experience was quite remarkable as the children had never seen san paintings and nor expected them to be on the walls of the cave they leaned against on arrival. As I began to explain how one can never tell what lies in these caves and that the paintings could be right behind them on the walls they were

LANDMARK FOUNDATION EDUCATION – GREEN CLUBS – GREEN BUTTERFLIES – VAN WYKSDORP PRIMARY

leaning on, there was a moment of absolute disbelief and suddenly they shot up and started looking intensely at the rock face. They will never again look at a rock face without first looking for paintings. This was a major breakthrough. The lesson involved San belief, reasons for painting, culture, dawn of mankind, understanding and respect for a cave and archaeological site, awareness of the natural world. We also engaged in geological aspects of where we were and touched briefly on the natural vegetation found in gorges and mountainous areas.As Mr Philander mentioned the grade 7 learners were about to begin the section of work that covers San paintings in their text

books the following Monday. The fact that they had experienced it firsthand gave them the upper hand and better understanding into the subject, thus giving them confidence.

STRUCTURE OF GREEN CLUB FOR 2017COMMITTEEChair: Jameline JacobsVice: Christiano JacobsSecretary: Lizelle Braaf & Ailien WilliamsTresurer.: Deirdré Plaatjies & Bridget Kawere

*BATHROOM MONITORS: Sheman Jacobs, Ashwin Swanepoel, Mikayla Manho, Jame-lee Smith, Rashida Mouries, Bernito de Bruyn, Elmano Arendse, Jay-Will Cloete, Rontiano Oosthuizen, Reezia Dulman

*MEDIA & NOTICEBOARD: Ashwin Swanepoel, Reezia Dulman, Jay-Will Cloete, Nigel Louw, Mathew Makriga

*WASTE MANAGEMENT TEAM: Branwen Cloete, Elzyn Dulman, Avelino Jordaan, Ruan Louw, Elzonia Oktober, Junita Breda, Elmano Arendse, Rontiano Oosthuizen

*LIBRARIANS: Danicka Opperman, Lizelle Braaf, Ailien Williams, Jasmey Smith, John van Wyk, Gavin Booysen, Deidré Plaatjies

STAFF MENTORSHIPM.Pfaff = libraryM.Curlewis = media & noticeboardS.Philander = bathroom & waste

LANDMARK FOUNDATION EDUCATION – GREEN CLUBS – GREEN BUTTERFLIES – VAN WYKSDORP PRIMARY

ACTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONSIn order for the club to function through leadership, learners have to be trained. It will be initially dependent on a strong leadership from the three educators who have shown interest in the Green Club.The learners will need to be trained in the different positions and team responsibilities. Every team has a list of activities and duties; these must be reiterated every year as the new incumbents are introduced to the club. An organogram and photo of each team should be placed on the noticeboard, in this way the school begins to see a leadership program happening with their seniors, this will in turn inspire the little ones to strive to be there one day.

An orientation program should also be initiated at the beginning of every year for the grade 1’s so they get to understand the rules and responsibilities within their school. This should be done by the grade 7’s within the first week of school. The rules regarding the bathrooms and waste management is of utmost importance for the school to begin a healthy discipline and leadership program. Mr Philander could initiate this program and manage it.

It is recommended that the green club members speak to the children during an assembly and the teams introduced to the school. Each team could spend 3 minutes explaining the rules and their duties.

Badges for the different teams will be handed out within the first week of term and presented to the green butterflies in an assembly.

THANK YOUS We take this opportunity to thank Melvin and the two moms that assisted with the operations during the two days. They were very happy to have been part of this and mentioned that they had learnt a lot. The following donors are also to be thanked for their generous donations of fruits and other. We are very happy and thankful that we were able to use the church hall for the food preparation and indoor activity. It really helped us. Andre Britz is an essential part of the Green butterflies, without him it would be very hard to coordinate such a program. Thank you Andre for the work and contacts you bring to the table. We really appreciate the collaboration with the GCBR as a partner in this education program.

DONORSABSA  -  Waterbottles.Dirk Brink  -  GrapesJack Lewis  -  PomegranatesN.G.Kerk  -  Church hallPiet Gelderblom  -  San Painting site

It is also of utmost importance to thank Miss Pfaff, Miss Curlewis, Mr. Philander and Mr Essau for their support and drive to empower the learners for a better future.

In Education,Monica VaccaroLANDMARK FOUNDATION

LANDMARK FOUNDATION EDUCATION – GREEN CLUBS – GREEN BUTTERFLIES – VAN WYKSDORP PRIMARY