THE VINE VOLUME 7

Browsing through the academic

assessments for second term reports, I am

astounded at the amount of quality work

which took place throughout the Lockdown

period. The majority of our students have

produced quality work, which is a great

reflection of staff, parents and students working together!

One of our core values in the Memorandum

of Understanding is FAMILY. We are

adopted into God’s family, so we

intentionally create family and community.

We think like healthy family members and do

what’s best for the whole environment. This

value was clearly evident in the great

support, understanding and GRACE

experienced in the whirlwind of adapting to a

completely different approach to education.

The orientation of new safety procedures for

staff and grades R-3; and the return of the

grade 7s and 12s has been a rewarding

experience! It has been wonderful to have

the vibrancy of interaction on our premises

once again. We have had an opportunity to

refine some procedures before all grades return next term. Although the program will

be very different, we are so blessed to have

our plan in place, and we really believe that

we will not be hindered in continuing to

provide excellent education!

THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to

us thriving in the midst of a world crisis!

Mrs Bev Chambler

Message from the RBCS Heads

How can I describe online learning? The first thing that comes to mind is a roller coaster ride. Most days of the week I have been motivated and determined to get my work done, but there are days,

at least once a week, or maybe two where there is just no motivation at all.

This is because I miss my friends; I miss having people around me; I miss all the laughs in class

and I miss having a teacher stand in front of the class teaching. There is an upside and it is that I

was able to complete the work at my own pace allowing me to work ahead. The whole online

learning experience has taught me to manage my time effectively, to do a lot of research on various

topics and to work independently which has, in turn, given me the opportunity to experience what

my academic life will potentially involve for the next four years of my life when I go to university.

During this period the teachers have really helped keep us motivated. They were always available

to help us with any work we did not understand and answer any questions. So, I just want to thank

the teachers for making online learning easier, for caring about the students in each class, checking

in on us and just doing their very best to make sure that we are able

to continue learning.

Online school has been a mission for me because you have to organise everything yourself. I never

realised how much I relied on the structure the school environment provided until it was taken

away. Creating a timetable for yourself and sticking to it is exceedingly difficult; it takes a lot of disci-pline and that is something that online schooling has been growing in me.

Online schooling has helped us keep up with the work that we must complete this term. We would

be extremely behind without it and everything would have been more chaotic than it is now, having

to worry about marks and catching up on all the work we would have missed. For us matrics, that

has been helpful because we do not have to worry about not being able to apply to university be-

cause we have not finished the syllabus or not being ready for our final exams.

To the management who made it possible for us to still be able to receive an education during the

time of crisis and to all the teachers who have adjusted to a more technological way of teaching,

doing their best to make sure that we understand the work; on behalf of the entire school we would

like to thank you for your efforts and for your heart that has been very patient with us students and

willing to teach and inspire. You are all greatly appreciated.

RBCS Inter House Skipping Challenge

Nothing stops the sports department when it comes to sport, not even the “RONA”.

As a fun family activity and a way to earn House points, Flamingos and Pelicans went skip to skip

with the Inter House Skipping challenge. Students were challenged to upload 1 minute

skipping videos of them with their families over a course of 5 days to earn 5 points for their

respective Houses... Families, friends and teachers joined the students to claim the winning title,

but the narrow win went to the Pelicans by 36 points.

100% MATRIC ATTENDANCE!RBCS was so happy to have 100% matric attendance on 1 June and most Grade 7s also arrived to break the ice.

They were greeted by enthusiastic staff, eager to welcome them back. Although somewhat apprehensive at first, once orientation to the new procedures was presented and break was a buzz with friends

catching up, students were settled and anxiety gave way to enthusiasm.

RBCS has been incredibly blessed to be able to keep students on track during lockdown because of our innovative and adaptive teachers. We welcomed back the Grade 7 and matric students without the pressure of

having to catch up, whilst continuing with our online teaching for the various other grades.

RBCS Meet & Greet!

Singer - Taylor Swift

During the holiday we challenged staff and students to a look alike challenge! You

can imagine our shock when Mrs Buhrmann sent us her look alike photo and there

was no doubt in our mind that she definitely does look like singer, Taylor Swift.

Photography students were challenged this term to

take photos of their Home Life Living during

lockdown.

Photography Portfolio Leader Rochelle Hibbers

shared her favourite photos with us!

During the Lockdown Rochelle

captured all her mom’s favourite food at her birthday

lunch (Happy Birthday Mrs Hibbers). All the

contrasting colours made for a very interesting

image...

AS WELL AS MADE US ALL EXTREMELY HUnGRY!

Mrs Megan Buhrmann

Angelique Reddy started at the RBCS preschool in 2009, a smiling 3 year old.

Her mom, Mrs Katy Reddy, was a teacher in the Intermediate Phase. In 2011

the family emigrated overseas due to Dad’s promotion, then returned in 2018.

Angelique rejoined the RBCS family; this time joined by her little sister,

Gianna - and still smiling!

Thandeka Tshuma, daughter of much loved Mrs Nothando Tshuma, our

high school secretary, has been at RBCS for 11 years. Thandeka started in

Pre1, also 3 years old, and is now blossoming in the Senior Phase!

We’ve all heard the words “We are living in unprecedented times” a lot lately, and universally each and

every one of us has been going through a myriad of challenges and stresses during this Corona

‘season’ of life. A huge part of these challenges have been related to our finances, and trying to juggle our work and home responsibilities along with our children’s school work. Stress and

emotional levels are high. Our future’s are uncertain. And, what is worse, is that no human has the

answers as to what will happen; how long this will last or what the right or wrong choices are. If this is

the level of anxiety we are feeling as adults, we cannot pretend that our children are not being affected

as well.

Children are more sensitive to our own emotions than we may be aware, and perceptive to situations

even if we have purposefully kept scary information out of our communication with them. We need to

be aware of how we are behaving as adults, manage our own anxieties and the conversations we are

having around them concerning the virus.Children are also experiencing huge amounts of anxiety and

stress right now. We have to remember that they are human too, and we need to care for their emo-

tional health as well as their physical health.

Depending on their chronological maturity and their emotional intelligence levels, children will either

internalise their anxiety and become withdrawn, display symptoms of depression, loss of appetite,

sleeping more or less, become clingy, have separation anxiety, or they will externalise their stress. This

could be in the form of acting out, being defiant, making bad choices, purposefully provoking fights with siblings or parents, becoming physically aggressive, increasing risk taking or destructive behaviours,

or suddenly expressing fear over things previously conquered, e.g. the dark, sleeping alone, bugs, bad

guys, etc. And for some, all of the above!

For those returning to school now, there are the added worries of being back out in the world. For most

children they have not seen friends or other adults in months; they haven’t been to the shops, they

haven’t been to the mall, or restaurants. Now suddenly they are thrust back into the ‘land of the

living’. Out there where this scary virus they have been hearing about for months lives. Seeing

everyone wearing masks and other PPE can be a hugely scary experience for young children

particularly, let alone getting used to wearing it yourself. Juggling their own mismatched feelings of

wanting to get out, socialise and get back to ‘normal’, with their fear of what the consequences of the

virus may be.

Children may be aware of the impact Corona has had on family finances. Even if you haven’t discussed it with them, they will have overheard conversations or media. They may be worried how

Mom and Dad will cope and what this means for the family. Will they still have money to buy food? Will

they have to move? Will they not be able to have a birthday party this year? Age appropriate honest

information is important to help manage these fears.

Our little people are in emotional crises, and are trying to be brave. We need to treat them with extra

amounts of love, care and understanding.

Some practical tips to help manage this anxiety and prepare your child for returning to school:

*Take the time (and make the time), to ask them about their specific fears. Let them talk about them in depth. Some of these fears you may feel confidently able to address and subdue. Others you may not have the answers to. Don’t feel you have to. It’s ok to sometimes say, “I don’t know”. Your child is not

expecting perfection here; they just need to feel heard, understood, loved, accepted and supported.

And reciprocate by sharing age appropriately, what may be making you fearful.

E.g. “Yes. I also feel worried about this virus and one of our family catching it, but we are taking every

measure to stay safe, and so is your school. We trust them to do their best to keep everyone healthy.”

Children need to sometimes see us as flawed human beings with weaknesses and not perfect super heroes who have it all figured out. This bar is too high for them to ever achieve, and trying to, will only cause more anxiety and stress.

*Be more patient and loving with regressions. It may be incredibly frustrating for your potty trained tod-

dler to suddenly start wetting the bed again, or your 13 year old to suddenly want to sleep in your room.

However, accept that this is merely a temporary reaction to the stress, and not forever. They are not

trying to be purposefully irritating. We are often so concerned with not setting a precedent and allowing

bad habits that we can be overly strict. Make it clear any allowances are just for now, e.g. “I understand

you are feeling scared right now, I get scared sometimes too. I will lie in bed with you till you fall asleep.”

*Encourage gentle daily physical exercise as this is clinically proven to improve mood and well-being.

More intense cardio in particular, can help alleviate feelings of frustration and anger.

*Encourage healthy eating. We all want to be comforted with food treats during periods of stress;

however, this needs to be kept in moderation. We know that too much junk food and sugar can make us

feel sluggish, bloated or in the case of sugar, hyperactive and less able to control our behaviour/

emotions. Balance the treats with some healthy food too.

*Keep daily routines in place. Children thrive within realistic boundaries that are predictable. It makes

them feel safe and more in control, during a time when everything else feels scary and out of control.

* Encourage digital social interaction. Children have a need to keep in contact with friends and family

during this time, as much as we as adults do. Arrange/allow calls, skype/zoom/whatsapp video

conversations according to your particular family technology rules. Remembering, in particular, family or

friends who are living alone and who may be especially lonely during this social distancing time.

*Encourage the creative expression of thoughts, fears and anxieties. Buy them a diary to write their

thoughts in, draw, create art, collage, compose songs, write poems, etc.

*Pray as a family for our country, our leaders, for those sick with covid-19, for those who have lost jobs

and are struggling to survive financially, for those who are scared and worried.

*Read and discuss, in age appropriate ways, words of encouragement and stories from the Bible that

teach us how to deal with worry and extremely stressful situations.

Returning to school

*Normalise and be age appropriately honest about the changes in the world that your child can expect

to encounter when he/she returns to school, or leaves the house. Ensure he/she understands this is

probably not going to be forever, just what we need to do now.

*If you have avoided explaining about the virus in order to not scare your children, now is the time to

reinforce the basic education on what it is, how it spreads, and what we can do to avoid its spread.

*Ensure children know that contracting the virus does not necessarily mean death.

Explain vulnerabilities and co-morbidity. Knowledge helps to quell hysteria.

*Emphasise that we are all in this together, and we all need to play our part to keep ourselves and

each other healthy. We wash our hands and wear masks not just for ourselves but for others too. We

need to be kind and considerate. Children model parental behaviour and attitudes.

*Be prepared to try different styles of masks and other PPE to find one that your child feels comfortable with. Allow them where possible to choose which pattern/colour they prefer.

This aids greatly in compliance.

*Remind children of the measures in place to keep them as safe as possible, both what in you are

doing as a family and what the school has put in place. For older children, include what will happen at

school should they or a friend fall ill during the day.

* Make sure children are aware that this virus does not discriminate, and if someone is ill with it doesn’t

meant they did something wrong, or that they are bad/dirty. We do not need to be mean to or ostracise

them. It could just as easily be us. We cannot let the virus become ammunition for bullying.

*Employ your children’s natural problem solving skills to come up with creative ways they can still be

social, kind and caring whilst social distancing. You cannot follow them around school all day advising

them how to handle each situation, so prepare them before hand and then trust in their ability to be

careful and make good choices.

*Manage your own expectations of how your children are going to perform/achieve in school for this

year. With all that is going on, many children will not be able to perform at the same level as before.

Remember this is temporary. Remind THEM this dip is temporary. Excessive pressure does not

motivate, it only creates more stress. Allow them the grace to find their feet and rhythm again. Be prepared to accept possible lower grades this year.

* Respect the choices your fellow RBCS parents have made for their families. Some parents may be

allowing their children to return to school, some may choose to keep their children at home, or may be

homeschooling for the remainder of the year. Some may decide to allow their children to repeat the

year. Some may want to keep their children home, but have no other choice but send them to school

because of lack of child care at home. Let’s be kind and nonjudgemental of each other as we are all

doing the best we can.

THE VINE VOLUME 7

MySchool Card

The Woolworths MySchool programme is an easy, non time-consuming way for Richards

Bay Christian School parents to raise funds for our school.

Every time you swipe your RBCS MySchool card at any of the Woolworths stores, they

make a donation on your behalf to the school at no cost to you.

NEW RBCS PARENTS - please remember to change your beneficiary to Richards Bay Christian School.

Click here to sign up online Have you lost your card?

Simply download the FREE Myschool app

on the Apple App Store or Google Play

Store and scan your virtual card, to give

back every time you shop at any one of the

Woolworths retail partners nationwide.

Mrs Campbell

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