Wynberg Girls' Junior School News

Newsletter 10

11th May

Dear WGJS Family

 What cold and miserable weather we are experiencing. Fortunately it is only the weather that is depressing. Spending each day with your girls is a joy to the staff and the volunteers involved in the school.

 We are very proud of the generous Wynberg spirit which has yet again been demonstrated in the last couple of weeks. Wynberg families donated well over 1000 books to help furnish libraries in less fortunate schools. Since last week the school's foyer has been covered each morning with bags of clothes collected for Hospice. Thank you for your generosity shown toward others and the values you are teaching your daughters in the process. This week has been designated EQ week and promises to be another exciting week of exploration and discovery in the field of emotional intelligence, understanding ourselves and those around us. A highlight of the week promises to be talk by Katherine Mills on Thursday evening. She will be talking to parents about improving communication between themselves and their children.

 Parent Empowerment presentation

The Wynberg Campus will be hosting a presentation at Wynberg Boys' Junior School, at 19h00, on Wednesday the 12^th of May, covering the topic of ‘teens and technology'.  In this day and age our children are living in a very different World to the one that we grew up in. In order to stay abreast of these changes and to help us to understand our children, it is important that we keep ourselves informed.

This presentation will cover topics such as MIXIT, Twitter, the internet and Facebook. What are these phenomena and how do they affect our children? Is there anything we can do to protect our children from the negative side effects associated with technology?

 Are you able to help?

We are looking forward to starting the next phase of building on the swimming pool structure. This is, of course, an expensive operation. We are appealing to any parent who may have a contact in the building supplies business. We need everything from steel girders to roof sheeting and bricks. There are also a number of opportunities to be involved in advertising around the pool. If you would like to be involved or are able to help in some way, please contact Simon Mc Queen on his cell 072 450 2146.

 Grade 7 Trading Day

Well done to all of the Grade 7 girls for a fantastic trading day. Thank you for the hard work. I am proud of all of you. Mr Schlebusch.

 E-Learner registration for grade's 4 and 7 only: Reminder

A reminder that all Grade 4 and 7 learners need to pay their once off registration fee of R60 by the 31st of May. Your daughter can only start her e-Learner tests once this fee has been paid.

 Music Department

We would like to remind you of the following music events during May and June. Please book your tickets well in advance to avoid disappointment!

 Just a kind reminder that the Internal Music Exams are scheduled from Monday 17 May to Friday 21 May.

 Len's Flower Bulbs

You would have received your bulbs for planting at the end of last week, we trust that your gardens will be a sea of many pretty colours in the Springtime.  Thank you for your support!!

 Two Thousand And Ten Global Cup Of Soccer - Saturday 29 May 2010

 With only 19 days to go before we have OUR official kick-off to our very own Global Cup of Soccer, we still require an additional 100 players, closing date for entries is the end of this week. We encourage you to take part in this once in a lifetime opportunity and support your girls' and their school.  If you have not yet entered, either as a player or a referee please do so as soon as possible, without YOU we cannot make this event a success.  We would also like to take this opportunity to thank our main sponsor - CAPE NATURE - who have sponsored a weekend away for a family of 4 to Groenvlei Bush Camp - visit them at www.capenature.co.za for further details of other venues that they have on offer.

 Come on girls, get your dads and moms entered into this FUN Day of Soccer and if you have not yet entered, please do so, DUKE needs you to be there!!!!!!

 Do you have a My School Card?

If you do, please don't forget to swipe it. If you don't, then please contact Mrs Moore at the front office for an application form. Last year we raised R12000, but we could collect a lot more if you and I remember to swipe. 

Dates To Remember:

May

            10 - 14           EQ Week

            12                    Parent Empowerment presentation

            13                    Communicating with your children - Katherine Mills

            26 - 28           Grade 5 Camp

            28                    Extra Murals end

In Conclusion

This being EQ week, it is an appropriate time to discuss one of the guiding principles in this, our Gracious Society. It is our intention, as a staff, to nurture intrinsically motivated girls, learners who are motivated to learn because they want to and not because they have to. This is easy to say, but much more difficult to achieve.

Extrinsic motivation typically utilises rewards and punishments to increase learner motivation to succeed. Intrinsic motivation, meanwhile, attempts to help students enjoy learning. The problem with extrinsic motivation is that it's not sustainable. As soon as you withdraw the punishment or reward, the motivation disappears. You also get diminishing returns - If the punishment or rewards stay at the same level, motivation slowly drops off. To get the same motivation next time requires a bigger reward. Most dangerous however, is that motivation through reward and punishment reduces intrinsic motivation. It saps the child's desire to perform because it is the right or satisfying thing to do and the reward or punishment becomes the focus. This is called the over-justification effect.

Rewards and punishment do have some value as they provide short term results when needed. We like to believe that we use these systems as tools, when necessary, as we strive for intrinsic motivation. There is no doubt that the girls put great value on certificates and high marks, but we must be aware that these cannot be the sole motivators and that an emphasis on achievement, because she is worthy of the effort, is the focus.

A child's self esteem is of vital importance in this process. Self-esteem is not developed through baseless praise, but recognition of their value as people. The vast majority of children do not naturally have a desire to learn. This is a value that needs to be taught by the school as well as in the family.

 We are very proud of our girls and enjoy watching the development which is happening in each one of them.

  Best wishes

 SR PAYNE

ACTING PRINCIPAL