BRIDGE HOUSE PRE-PRIMARY

PREPARATORY

C O L L E G E No 38

N E W S

www.bridgehouse.org.za

Grounds and Cleaning Staff

COLLEGE

can do

25 November 2011

44 071kms!

Congratulations to the Servest grounds staff, the Berco cleaners, Mr Wally Felder, Mr Demitri Paulse and Mr Faldien Ramjan, who between them have clocked up a total of 44 071kms, with most of them achieving an individual total of between 1000km and 5000km. This total does not include the steps they do in their working day but has been achieved by riding or walking to work. Many of the staff live in Franschhoek and travel the +/-20kms to school and back on bicycles which were donated by Bridge House parents and staff. Thank you to those of you who donated bicycles.

Total kilometres to date = 293 739km

Greetings from India…… We have been here for a total of seven weeks with only two weeks left to go. Time seems to have flown by. It feels like only yesterday when Mrs Watson told us that we would be going on exchange to India and now it is almost over! Vivek High School is very different to Bridge House. For one, they celebrate Founders’ Week and lots of blood sweat and tears (no exaggeration) goes into it. Both of us participated in a traditional Indian dance called a Dandiya dance, which we performed at the prayer meeting on the last day of the Founders’ Celebration.

Amy and Sally in the Vivek High school uniform at school.

Other items during Founders’ Week included two plays (which were in Hindi), a contemporary dance (which Purvai (host) took a part in), a rock concert and a field display (which included a march past, two drills and a Punjabi dance, as well as a gymnastics display, a Tai Kwando, a karate and a kick-boxing display).

Amy and Sally in traditional Indian clothes, which they wore for the Dandiya Dance

the Prayer meeting atwon a gold The current happening at school is the Inter-houseperformed Athletics, at where Sally (Rundle) school. medal for shot put. Not long ago we attended a camp with all the exchanges in Chail (a town in the Himalayas). The camp included lots of walking (and we were able to clock up 512 km for the fittest school challenge), zip lining, abseiling and artificial valley crossing. Our most recent adventure was a trip to Amritsar. We visited the world famous Golden Temple, which attracts more visitors than the Taj Mahal. We also went to Jallianwala Bagh, were the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre took place. We are having so much fun here. Sally has been to Agra and Delhi, while Amy is going to see those places at the end of her exchange. We are missing you all at home and we hope that your exams are going well. See you soon!

Amy Kulsen and Sally Rundle

Guten tag from Germany …….

Louisenlund situated at the Große Breite of the Schlei, in the beautiful countryside of Northern Germany

I can’t believe how quickly exchange is going! I’ve been at Louisenlund for a little over a month now and I’m having the most amazing time ever. The school is wonderful, but in some ways very different from Bridge House. Most of the students are boarders; we have five meals a day and we have lessons for an hour and a half at a time and, we go to school on Saturdays! There is a lot of free time too and we have a social every Friday night . I have been to Hamburg for a weekend; I did a day trip to Lübeck, a medieval town nearby and I spend a lot of time hanging out with friends here at school. It’s starting to become colder, and morning temperatures of below zero degrees are becoming common. It’s definitely not as wet as Cape Town’s winters yet, but I’ve been told that will change soon. I’m very excited to see snow. I am going to Denmark next weekend and I’m planning on visiting Berlin whilst I’m here still. The big city “vibe” and freedom of life here in Europe is amazing and I am very excited to see the rest of the area. It’s wonderful to just get on a train or catch a taxi to get to where you want to go! Good luck with the rest of your exams (if they aren’t all finished by the time this is published). I’m missing you all lots and I can’t wait to see you all again next year. Lara Buys

Goddag from Denmark ……. Well, I’m going to skip the small talk and get stuck into the interesting stuff! Herlufsholm (my host school) is AMAZING! It’s the oldest, most prestigious school in Denmark, and was founded in 1565, just a tad older then Bridge House, exactly 447 years older. The students here are awesome and I’ve made great friends so far! I’ve been in Denmark for roughly five weeks now, and it has honestly been the most enjoyable experience of my school career. Old schools have old traditions… many old traditions! I quickly learned not to walk on certain paths, being thrown into an icy pond was more than a reminder! The school is home to around 700 students, boys and girls. Being a boarding school, we are only allowed to go home every second weekend for a “reijse weekend” which is a long weekend. So far, I’ve visited Copenhagen a few times with friends, watched the Denmark-Sweden football game, been to plenty of “Café Aftens”( which are parties hosted by the school on the weekends that you stay at school) – they’re pretty crazy! Before exchange I was privileged enough to attend the Round Square conference. I’m sure you’ve heard all about it through the Newsletter, so I’ll keep it short. Meeting the queen was fantastic – meeting hundreds of like-minded teenagers was even more fantastic! I really do feel lucky to have attended the last true “World Conference” as Round Square will now begin dividing the conference between different global regions! It’s starting to get pretty chilly here; frosty mornings are the norm, and snow is expected soon. I hope that SA weather is treating you all well! I don’t miss it yet, but I’m sure I will! Anyway, I don’t want to take up the whole newsletter, so from Denmark, I wish you all good luck with exams and have a great festive holiday! P.S what’s going on with the Water polo? Hope the results improve! I’m currently playing with a local club. Playing against 30-year-olds does get quite interesting! You can follow my blog on 72daysofeurope.blogspot.com . Hensyn Chris Bolton

Chris Bolton (centre) and Danish friends from Herlufsholm

Hello from the USA …… I’m currently on exchange at the Hotchkiss School in a small town called Lakeville in Connecticut. It is an exquisite boarding school situated on a lake in the middle of a forest. The campus is huge and the facilities are endless but the highlight of the campus is definitely the diversity of people who are just absolutely amazing! I’ve been here for almost three months already and the time has just flown by. The school has presented me with so many opportunities such as going to see a play at Yale University, helping on a Habitat for Humanity project, learning a bit of Arabic, joining a meditation club, watching a typical American football game, going to a pep rally and, hopefully soon, learning how to play a bit of basketball! One of the most memorable parts of my trip was in late October where I experienced an unexpected snowstorm which caused the electricity all around the state of Connecticut to go off. The school ran on generators for two days until everything went a bit crazy and the school had to be shut down for four days. Students were advised to go home which proved to be quite an adventure because I had nowhere to go home to, but luckily a girl invited me to stay with her in her apartment in New York City and so I got an opportunity to see the sights as well as go apartment trick-or-treating on Halloween! I am currently in New York City for Thanksgiving holiday with Itzel (my exchange student) and I am going to experience a typical Mexican Thanksgiving, which should be fun! I now have less than a month left here before I leave and although I am excited to see everyone again, it’s going to be extremely difficult to say goodbye to this beautiful place that has become my temporary home. Good luck to everyone for the rest of your exams! Give it that last bit of effort before the holidays! Missing you all so much! Love from the USA. Aimée Bosman(:

Aimée with friends at a football game with the Hotchkiss mascot, Bucky the Bearcat.

Important Notice about turning off valves on the school property Please, parents, staff and pupils, do not under any circumstances, turn off any valves or taps on the school grounds. There are two ends to the underground piping system and if a valve on one end is closed off the water pressure will cause the kilometres of underground piping to 'pop' (break from the pressure). Replacing this piping will be a very expensive and time-consuming exercise to repair and during this time our fields will not get any water.

Past Pupil News Congratulations to Pierre de Vos (Matric 2006) who heard this week that he has passed his final year of a BAcc LLB at Stellenbosch University after five years of dedication and hard work. We are proud of you, Pierre!

Individual Music Lessons There will be no individual music lessons in the last week of term. Fees will be refunded for those pupils who did not receive their eight weeks of tuition this term. The Music Department would like to take this opportunity to thank all the parents for their support during 2011.

Buses Please note that all the buses will leave school at 14h00 next week.

Uniform Shop The uniform shop will be open on Thursday 1 December for the last time this year from 07h30 to 08h30. It will not be open on Friday 02 December. Next year, the shop will be open on Monday 9 January and Tuesday 10 January from 09h00 to 12h00.

End of Term School ends at 11h00 on Friday 2 December 2011 and re-opens on 11 January 2012.

Please remember food for Christmas Hampers We are collecting non-perishable food for our grounds and cleaning staff as a thank-you for all they do for our children during the year. We like to make up these hampers with a combination of basic and luxury items and we would be grateful if you could donate one luxury item such as sweets or biscuits and one staple item such as sugar, tinned food etc. Please deliver these items to the Prep Office by Monday so that we can begin making up the hampers.

Advertise your business in the 2011 Bridge House Magazine Contact Robyn Opperman [email protected] or Gill Malcolm [email protected] for details.

Home at Pearl Valley for rent Beautiful 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom home with a large double-volume open-plan lounge and dining room and basement entertainment room. Situated on lake and with a pool. Available immediately. R17 000pm. Contact Anoop at 084 654 0645 or email [email protected]

Very experienced au pair available for full or half day Please contact Astrid on 0766540842.

The Kusasa Project is looking for Educational Toys for 4 & 5 year olds - must be in good condition. A Jungle Gym with slide and swings. Contact Jacquie Spiers 0791832822 or office on 021 8763735

Cash tickets at the door The beautiful grounds of Lac de la Lune in Franschhoek will be opened for the first time to host a special Christmas presentation of Handel’s Messiah on Sunday 4 December at 4.30pm For more information contact Louise on 084 682 1337.

Second-Hand Clothes Please bring me all your BH clothing that you are no longer using and I will sell it for you in the second-hand shop. I need stock of everything, especially small-sized clothes. Thank you for the support. Ruth Gouws