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Dear Teachers, Parents and Students

I am excited to join The Bay Academy and to contribute to its future growth and development as an excellent, innovative, student-focused learning community. As previous head of various schools, my roles and responsibilities have included strategic planning and change management processes. My educational philosophy is based on the belief that the best schools offer an educational experience that shapes confident, curious and well-rounded individuals. My objective is to work closely with teachers, students and parents towards a common vision of excellence at The Bay Academy whereby students can flourish and teachers feel supported to nurture a genuine love for learning.

I am deeply interested in student achievement and success. It is important to recognise that the factors that contribute towards and ultimately determine a child’s achievement and success at school, are complex and varied.

In his book, “An Ethic of Excellence” (2003), Ron Berger highlights the importance of why culture matters when it comes to student success. There is no magic solution to make children succeed at school. The curriculum matters! The physical classroom environment matters! Appropriate technology enhanced equipment and programs matter! But only as part of a strong classroom culture or school culture are those things valuable.

Based on my own observations and experience as principal of various schools over the last 25 years, I agree with Berger that achievement of students is governed to a large degree by their family culture, their neighbourhood culture and their school culture. I would add that powerful social media platforms have possibly surpassed neighbourhood, family, and school as the most important cultural influence for some of our children.

Students may have different potentials, but, as Ron Berger highlights “in general, the attitudes and achievements of students are shaped by the culture around them: students adjust their attitudes and efforts in order to fit into the culture. If it isn’t cool to raise your hand in class, to do your homework, to care openly about school – this is a powerful force. If the peer culture celebrates investment in school – it’s cool to care – this is just as powerful.”

At The Bay Academy, we should commit as teachers, parents and students, to continue to consciously shape our culture as a place where it is safe to care. Let us support each other to strengthen a culture of care and excellence.

Kind regards

Pieter Steyn

Principal

Dear Parents,

Compassion, Carrying Another’s Burden and Time

Daily I witness acts of compassion at The Bay Academy. This may be a student assisting a peer, or a teacher supporting a student, or a teacher caring for another teacher. At times, this can also be the school caring for parents.

These significant acts of compassion reminded me of the notion that one should not aim at carrying one’s friend’s burden, but rather carry the burden with him or her; that is, helping, rather than taking over.

When experiencing these situations, we often try to resolve another person’s problems rather than express compassion by just being there for them.

By being there for them, you penetrate the “dark cave of solitude”. Sometimes the person suffering just needs you to “join them in the lift going down and not to take that person to another lift in another building”. Therefore saying, “I am here for you, rather than this is how you can solve the problem”.

I think we can all acknowledge that everyone has some battle they have had to fight. They may appear to be fine, they may appear to have the perfect life, but deep beneath that seemingly calm veneer, there often lurks the need just to have someone to be there with them. 

Compassion is powerful. It has value that, more than ever, needs to be cherished and nurtured. Tragic world events typified by economic and conflict refugees, environmentally displaced people and local challenges in our beautiful country all contribute to a society that needs to take cognizance of sharing the burden of others, to be compassionate and more importantly, act on it. Being compassionate is a verb after all!

I believe we can all acknowledge that compassion is a virtue we all cherish. However, in some situations, there is a fine balance or point in time when compassion in the form of support needs to be reduced to ensure resilience is developed. The danger of maintaining support when not necessary can lead to an individual developing a reliance on support and becoming dependent. This is a very difficult situation and decision to make when support needs to be tapered off and resilience enhanced.

In my experience with students who need compassion, The Bay Academy is an outstanding environment. It is a space where compassionate teachers are very professional in initially supporting through compassion, and then guiding students to take ownership and accountability, and subsequently develop resilience. In a small school, such as The Bay Academy, this care and individual attention is possible.

I recently watched a wonderful clip from the actor Tom Hanks. He and fellow actors were discussing the important notion that time is your friend and that difficult times, requiring compassion, shall pass.

That, with time, you will traverse these difficult times and be that much more robust on the other side.

I applaud those students who may have needed compassion at the school for some time but have since mastered coping skills to provide them with grit for the future. Know that you have my respect and that you will be better equipped for what inevitably life will throw at you.

Kind regards,

John Alexander

Principal

Dear Parents,

At the end of 2023, I anticipated 2024 as being the year where “dragons be here”. I was intimating that 2024 would be a year of unknown challenges. I echoed this in a School Assembly about how the world is more unpredictable.

We have now reached the end of the 1^st quarter of 2024 and a few “dragons” have emerged. Internationally, to name a few: Presidential elections are becoming more tense and moving away from the perceived norm. The UK and EU are dealing with increased climate change and refugees. The Middle East conflict has intensified and the Cold War tension has been reignited. Southeast Asia has seen rising anxiety with North Korea threatening regional stability.

Closer to home, we have had political and economic scandals, flooding, devastating fires, rising unemployment and the deteriorating status rating of our economy.

I do not think I am alone in feeling the torque of modern life and how difficult it is to be buoyant about where we live and the times in which we live.

However, I happen to watch a series of video clips by Michael Charton. He is a passionate South African. His craft is story-telling and he invites his audience to walk in the shoes of his real-life characters.  His powerful stories allow us to relate. One remembers his stories by how they make you feel.  I urge you to listen to his stories.

I took stock after watching his videos and treasured, that despite the angst we share at the moment, we as South Africans have much of which to be proud. Our history as a country has depth.

I was particularly moved by the story about “Sailor” Malan, a famous South African fighter pilot from the Battle of Britain. Being a bit of a military history aficionado, I know of his exploits. What I did not know, and which Michael Charton so beautifully captures, is his role in protesting against apartheid.

I watched Michael Charton’s short piece on the history of the national anthem, Nkosi Sikele’iAfrica. How it had been introduced during the early rugby tests shortly after the fall of apartheid. How those of us who were there struggled with the new words, but felt that something special was going on. A country, as a whole, was being reinvented.

Another story describes the link between Rudyard Kipling’s “If” poem and South Africa.

How this poem, at the time, a simple collection of paternal thoughts for his then 13-year-old son, John, became a timeless lesson for life.

I always found it so outstanding and yet did not know that as tennis players enter centre court of Wimbeldon, they walk beneath a powerful and moving extract from the poem, “If you can meet triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters the same.” What gravitas in these magnificent value-laden words.

These and other stories, some forgotten, are well-researched and narrated by Michael Charton and bring perspective and pride to living in our troubled but beautiful country.

Reflecting back on the 1^st Quarter, I have been witness to many Bay Academy stories. They are simple ones, nothing to write home about type stories. However, when you perceive them regularly, then you understand why we have such pride in our school.  The genuine care a teacher exhibits for their charges. The child who is sensitive to the needs of others and the parent who acknowledges the extra mile that the school has gone for their child. The smile and warm greeting one hears as you walk between classes. These, and many other small “pay it forward” moments, perhaps singularly do not amount to much, but collectively make our school so special.

If, like me, you are finding that the “dragons” are emerging, then remind yourself of what has been achieved, both in South Africa and at The Bay Academy.

Kind regards

John Alexander

Principal

Dear Parents,

Why are children different these days?

 Welcome back to school and the start of 2024. I trust that the holidays were a special time to spend with family and recharge before commencing the academic year.

It was wonderful to welcome 20 new students at the Student Orientation Day and to see all the High School parents once again at the Meet the Tutor Evening.

The students on the first day of school were excited to return to school and to catch up with all their friends. The teachers, as always, lost no teaching time in class and students even had some homework on their first day!

As always, in these newsletters, I will focus from time to time on broad educational matters. These thoughts will support parenting and in turn, I trust, will enhance your child’s learning and school experience.

I came across an article that after I had finished reading, I  just knew that the next step would be to share the sentiments expressed.

The article was published by Victoria Prooday, an Occupational Therapist and entitled, “Why our children are less patient, more lonely and more entitled than generations before?”

In this article, the author comments in her introduction that she had observed that:

“Children today aren’t prepared for life the way that they used to be. Now they are expecting more but doing less. They are coming to school but struggling to learn and stay focused. They want to do more, but have less focus.”

The full article can be found at: https://yourot.com/parenting-club/2016/5/16/why-our-children-are-so-bored-at-school-cant-wait-and-get-so-easily-frustrated

So what dilemmas have led in the author’s opinion to this concerning state of affairs?

While many points are elaborated on, I will only focus on 3.

1. The increasing amount of screen time:

 That technology is often used as a “baby sitting” service. Playing computer games and surfing the Internet will keep the child occupied. Unfortunately this approach has a detrimental impact. As the author so clearly describes:

“We play with our kids’ nervous systems, with their attention, and with their ability for delayed gratification.”

Compared to virtual reality, everyday life is boring. After hours of virtual reality, processing information in a classroom becomes increasingly challenging for our students because their brains are accustomed to the high levels of stimulation that video games provide. The inability to process lower levels of stimulation leaves students vulnerable to academic challenges. Technology may also disconnect us emotionally.

2^nd The instant gratification syndrome:

 This instant gratification is one of the eroding factors in building resilience. Again as the author so clearly outlines:

“The ability to delay gratification is one of the key factors for future success. We have the best intentions — to make our children happy — but unfortunately, we make them happy at the moment but miserable in the long term.  To be able to delay gratification means to be able to function under stress. Our children are gradually becoming less equipped to deal with even minor stressors, which eventually become huge obstacles to their success in life.

The inability to delay gratification is often seen in classrooms, malls, restaurants, and toy stores the moment the child hears “No” because parents have taught their child’s brain to get what it wants right away.”

3^rd The need for fun all the time:

“We have created an artificial fun world for our children. There are no dull moments. The moment it becomes quiet, we run to entertain them again, because otherwise, we feel that we are not doing our parenting duty. We live in two separate worlds. They have their “fun“ world, and we have our “work” world. Why aren’t children helping us in the kitchen or with laundry? Why don’t they tidy up their toys? This is basic monotonous work that trains the brain to be workable and function under “boredom,” which is the same “muscle” that is required to be eventually teachable at school.  When they come to school and it is time for handwriting their answer is “I can’t. It is too hard. Too boring.” Why? Because the workable “muscle” is not getting trained through endless fun. It gets trained through work.”

In my opinion, when children are bored it is then that they are creative. That is the time when the mind has time to fire up the imagination, to be inquisitive and to daydream.

I have no doubt that being a parent is challenging and parents all try to do their best.

So after reading the article cited above and the 3 highlighted points, what pragmatic advice can be considered?

1. Spend more time with your children but with no screens. Talk to them.
2. Let them be bored. Make them wait for what they want.
3. Replace extrinsic rewards with intrinsic. That it is important to just be told, thank you for emptying the dish washer, cutting the grass or doing school work well. We have started a culture and expectation that it would be abnormal for someone not to be awarded a prize or certificate, even if they achieved nothing significant. Give responsibilities and ask children to do important but monotonous work. This builds resilience and awareness that all activities are not fun and that not all come with rewards.
4. Set boundaries. When do we have family time? When are all electronic media switched off? Have consistent bed and meal times.

As mentioned, I would highly recommend visiting and reading the full article at the link provided at the outset of the article.

I wish you all the very best for 2024. As always I appreciate your support and if there is anything I can do to assist you, please do not hesitate to contact the school.

Kind regards

John Alexander

Principal

Dear Parents,

Spirit of Montessori continues in the High School

I never had any exposure to Montessori teaching before I arrived at The Bay Academy. However, for those who have a sharp memory, you may recall an article I wrote concerning my initial exposure to Montessori teaching when I first arrived at the school. That within an hour, I was a complete convert. In my past High School teaching, I had always propagated the concept of experiential learning. Teaching Geography using mini wind tunnels for hurricane studies, shaker tables for earthquakes and stream table simulators for river studies were typical of my approaches. These were outstanding and enabled Geography laboratories to be established in various schools.  Little did I know, at the time, that my approach supported the Montessori method.

There are 6 core beliefs that constitute the Montesssori method:

1. All children have “absorbent minds”
2. All children pass through “sensitive periods”
3. All children want to learn
4. All children learn through play/work
5. All children pass through stages of development
6. All children want to be independent

I just wish to focus on points 1, 3 and 4. In a High School meeting recently, I asked the teachers to celebrate their “best practices”. That is, describe teaching methods they felt the students enjoyed and experienced enhanced learning. In this manner, the teachers as a team would listen to others celebrating their teaching and in so doing, encourage each other to seek out new innovative teaching strategies. These discussions would also foster collaborative teaching approaches across different subjects.

In summary, it was an outstanding meeting with teachers visibly excited as they outlined their methodologies.

In Grade 7, the students had recently developed electric quiz boxes. These projects encouraged the students to understand electrical circuits, and they had great fun making up the wiring diagrams. When connecting the question with the right answer, lights flashed and buzzers sounded when the correct circuits were completed.

In English, the students have done transactional writing. They learned how language can be used in travel writing to appeal to an audience. In addition, students took on the role of presenting a myth or a legend to the class to deepen their understanding of cultural stories.

In Afrikaans and Spanish, there are plans to take the students on an excursion to a local restaurant. Here they will conduct the entire meal in their 2^nd Language. There is also talk of a “paella versus potjiekos” competition between the students who either study Afrikaans or Spanish.

In Art, the students have been sculpting and using linocut to print their creations.

In Mathematics, they have been using interactive quizzes and using instruments to highlight their learning. In Geography, senior students have been conducting extensive fieldwork. 

In Business Studies, the students have been busy with a product launch. This has involved a survey, then design and finally advertising of the product in front of a panel of adjudicators.

In Drama, students have been performing puppet concerts, writing and editing their own stop-motion video material and creating radio dramas. In History, podcasts have been created.

Physics has seen students creating lava lamps, manufacturing magnets to study magnetic fields and studying gravitational forces.

Environmental Management has seen students starting to work on simulators that illustrate the effects of volcanoes,  earthquakes and tropical cyclones. The effects of these natural disasters are graphed on their severity and impact.

In Biology and Chemistry, students have completed dissections and studied exciting chemical reactions.

These recent examples of High School teaching highlight the nurturing of the 3 Montessori pillars that I mentioned earlier.

That is, every child has a learning absorbent mind and learns well through the method of play.

It has been a privilege to have been invited by the teachers to witness these teaching experiences. The students and teachers jointly shared the excitement of the methodology. I have no doubt that these positive practices will enhance the growing diligent work ethic that is prevalent in the school. This in turn, will translate into students recording even better examination results.

I will end off by expressing my appreciation to the High School teachers for so enthusiastically “thinking out of the box” with their teaching. I also wish to thank our Montessori School for laying the foundation for students who have progressed to the High School campus. The students are so receptive to this style of teaching and their inherent curiosity to be lifelong learners.

Kind regards

John Alexander

Principal

Dear Parents,

Theodore Roosevelt – The man in the arena

Welcome back to the final term of 2023. I cannot believe how time has flown and that the end of the year is approaching with the important final examinations. 

In the first Assembly of the term, I highlighted to the students the 4^th term time frame. That while the term itself is 10 weeks long, there are actually only 7 weeks to the examinations. In light of this, I then encouraged the students to initiate a structured revision programme. To assist with this programme, the school will be conducting weekly sessions on examination techniques and study methods.

I highlighted many points during my Assembly address, but the key component I wish to single out for academic success in this newsletter is hard work. 

To this end, I wish to turn to Theodore Roosevelt.

Theodore Roosevelt eloquently and profoundly commented in his  “man in the arena”:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

In my Assembly, I mentioned that not all students can achieve distinctions, but all students can record their very best, irrespective of ability to succeed in the examination and academics overall, all students, regardless of ability, are required to “be in the arena”. To exhibit determination, commitment and a superlative work ethic. To struggle against procrastination, distractions and other personal challenges.

If a student has been ”in the arena” and invested significant time and effort and recorded their very best work, then they can look back with pride on their academic journey. This sentiment is true for the high-achieving academic scholar who records outstanding excellence in examination results, and it is also true for the student whose results do not come easily. In both situations, the gifted academic and the student who struggles will need to have been “in the arena” to excel and take pride in their work.

I set a challenge to the students. Many schools celebrate 100% pass rates. This pass rate is normally referring to the Grade 12 results. A 100% pass rate at Grade 12 is to be celebrated. However, my challenge to the students is to achieve a 100% pass rate in all Grades. This is a huge challenge, but a goal that is worthy to attain. Am I being unrealistic? I think not.

As I explained to the students in the Assembly, sometimes students do need to repeat a year. It is in their best interest due to missed work or other factors. These are legitimate and well-thought-out decisions made by the school in consultation with the student and family. These students do not form part of my challenge as there are sound grounds for them repeating a year.

For other students, to progress well to the next Grade with their best results is expected. Expected not only by their teachers and their parents but more importantly, should be expected by the students themselves.

As mentioned, the teachers and school will provide important support in exam techniques and study methods. However, each student will need to step into “the arena” and work hard. Parents, we ask that you support your child and the school in our endeavour to achieve a 100% pass in all Grades at the end of the year.

Kind regards

John Alexander

Principal

Dear Parents,

Geography in Focus

As mentioned, I would be alternating my broad educational writing with newsletters highlighting various subjects or activities within the schools.

Previously in this series, Art was celebrated and, in this edition, Geography is the focus.

Ricardo Vasapolli, our Geography teacher shared the following:

The Grade 8s started the year by exploring the concept of Geography and what this entails, culminating in some excellent posters by the students. Following this, they worked through Mapwork, then onto Plate Tectonics and related topics of Earthquakes and Volcanoes. Starting Term 2, the students dove into Rocks and Soil and ended with Rivers and The Water Cycle. Term 3 starts off with Weather and Climate, and then moves into Urban Geography.

The Grade 9s started the year with Fieldwork and Mapwork skills, so they should be able to describe with pinpoint precision the route from school to home! Term 2 began with Plate Tectonics, building on from last year, and then moving on to the Water Cycle, Rivers and Coasts. Term 3 started with Weather and Climate and will move into a different section of Urban Geography after the Mid-term test – feel free to ask them questions about Cape Town’s rain and why they should be careful when going near rivers.

The Grade 10s in Term 1 focused on Rivers and exploring a range of concepts, from the Hydrological Cycle, to pollution in rivers and to the reasons why some dams were built. This course also entails fieldwork, and the Disa River inside the school’s boundary provides an excellent, hands-on opportunity to explore concepts learned in class and gain some practical experience. 

Term 2 was all about Coasts, including coastal landforms, coastal conflicts and coastal management strategies. Once again, fieldwork was carried out. This time it was off to Hout Bay beach. Unfortunately, the weather was not ‘beach day’ weather. However, lots of learning was still able to take place despite the conditions, and it was an excellent reminder to the students that sometimes fieldwork can be challenging and missing class time is not all it’s cracked up to be.

The Grade 11s in Term 1 learned about Fragile Environments and Climate Change, looking particularly at desertification, deforestation and climate change. They ended the term with their Mock Exams and then, with only a few weeks of Term 2, revision was the name of the game until their Final Exams started in May. Term 3 has started for them, but they have begun their AS Level Geography course which starts off with World at Risk, looking at the natural hazards that affect the world.

Last, but certainly not least, the Grade 12s. They started off the year looking at Urban planning, problems and regeneration, before finishing Term 1 with 4 weeks of Fieldwork, culminating in a 14-page document summarising all that was conducted – all a requirement for the course.

Their fieldwork was also a trip to Hout Bay beach, but due to it being earlier in the year, the weather was superb, as seen above! They also wrote their Mock Exams at the end of Term 1 and then had a few weeks of revision in Term 2 before they went off to write their final exams and finish off Geography as an AS Level subject – just waiting for their results in late August.

A wonderful summary of the inquiry-driven learning being experienced in the Geography Department.

Kind regards,

John Alexander

Principal

Dear Parents,

Leadership and Trust

What makes a great leader?

The High School will soon be announcing the Student Representative Council members for the term. These are students duly elected by their peers to serve as representatives of their Grades.

Being elected by your peers is an acknowledgement of confidence in the relevant student’s leadership ability. This is, to a large extent, built on trust.

I have spent considerable time reflecting on the notion of leadership. There are numerous theories and vast amounts of literature written on the subject.

It is a topic that stimulates debate and encourages questions to be raised. Inevitably we cast a critical eye on present world leaders. We hold these leaders accountable to lead exemplary careers, yet in my opinion, they fail dismally in many cases. Condemnation of leaders has been expressed when leaders deviate from a sound moral compass and start down the path of poor judgement and corruption. They often become self-serving and not selfless. They ignore the intrinsic reward of improving the lives of others and rather treasure the extrinsic reward of possessions and a lavish lifestyle.

At The Bay Academy, as do other schools, we have the window of opportunity to inculcate sound leadership qualities in the leaders of tomorrow.

I have alluded to the importance of trust as a key requisite in leadership, and I will now elaborate on this opinion.

Trust is not easily developed. However, it is remarkable how rapid trust is built in more extreme situations. Soldiers sharing a foxhole in combat depend on each other for survival and build a very deep brotherly connection. Circus acrobatic performers exhibit great trust in their partner’s ability to catch them. They just know that the hand will be there to catch them. In rock climbing, a belayer will hold the rope while you ascend the rock. They will arrest your fall by ensuring that the rope is held. That trust is there; it is almost tangible through that rope.

You can research all the masses of literature and make copious lists of the elements of leadership. However, I will relate a personal experience that will hopefully shed light on what, in my opinion, is the core requisite for true leadership.

As a young boy, I recall as part of my school’s outdoor education programme, having to hike what is termed “around the world”. This is a circumnavigation of a local mountain range. In the year when I embarked on this hike, they extended the traditional length and duration of the hike. As students, we set off, no staff to supervise, just a senior boy who leads each group. All went well until the night when a cold front arrived dumping profuse amounts of rain. Wind lashed our rudimentary shelters and snow fell on the higher mountains. Miserable, shivering we woke up on the mountain to zero visibility. Fortunately, we had a wonderful student leader who retained his composure and sat us all down and chatted to us. He reassured us that he knew where we were, he knew the path to follow and we were not in any danger. He said we needed to “man up” and see the conditions as a bonus, in that for years to come, we would be the group that completed the course in the prevailing miserable conditions. “Character building,” he said.

From being miserable and scared little boys, we puffed out our chests, encouraged each other and eventually, after another sleepless night, up mountain and down valley, crossing swollen rivers and many kilometers under our boots, we concluded the hike. Needless to say, I recall a great sense of pride in completing the challenge and being in awe of the senior boy.

So, what characteristic of leadership would I intimate is the core requisite from this story?

It is simply “Trust”.

Good leaders create conditions where followers trust their leader. People will believe and follow you if they trust you. They will follow you even if it is from a sense of curiosity. Where will the leader take me?

They trust the leader because he or she shares the risk. Trust allows them the confidence to know that they may well be led into the unknown, but the leader has their best interests at heart.

This means that being a selfless leader will generate trust. He or she serves the group and is not self-serving. The leader, having a clear vision and mission that is shared with the group, also instills trust.

In order to maintain trust it sometimes requires you to “man up”. You may be terrified, but you should not look terrified. You may be cold and hungry, but you must not appear to be cold and hungry.  Because if you do appear cold, hungry and terrified, then those that you lead will be cold, hungry and terrified.

So, to the new Student Representatives and others in our school who take up leadership positions, as you embark on your tenure,  I encourage you to serve others, be brave in seeking out new opportunities, carry the mantle of privilege and responsibility that you will now bear with grace. Above all, light that spark of leadership by building trust with those that you serve.

Kind regards

John Alexander

Principal

Dear Parents,

High School Subject Focus – Art

If you are a regular reader of my newsletters, then you will note that the focus of this newsletter is somewhat different from my previous publications.

I wish to alternate my broad educational writing with newsletters to celebrate teaching in classrooms. This edition hones in on the High School, however, I will also include Montessori activities in future issues.

As noted from the title, this newsletter will applaud the High School Art students’ work under the guidance of Christian Graser, their talented Art teacher.

I will let the images and explanations speak for themselves:

The Grade 7 Art students started the year learning about perspective. They learned about Brunelleschi and discussed how the problems facing early Renaissance artists (how to create the illusion of depths on a 2-dimensional surface), are the same as those faced by the special effects wizards of modern cinema. They applied their understanding to a challenging cityscape of Venice (which defies simple perspective by having multiple vanishing points as the buildings turn along the canals), and completed their exploration of perspective by applying it to structures and interiors that they transformed with their imaginations.

Term 2 was all about trees and drawing outdoors – watercolour painting by the river, pen drawing down by the field, pencil studies of trees (learning about simplification, volume and marks to create the impression of boughs and leaves), and then about the work of artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser before creating their own Hundertwasser-Inspired Landscape.

The Grade 8 students spent the 1st Term learning to draw with a pen, developing a broader mark-making vocabulary to describe different surfaces, and then applying that skill to a surrealist artwork.

In Term 2, they started on a sculpture project inspired by Netsuke figurines. To prepare for the Netsuke sculpture, and to familiarize themselves with clay sculpting, they began with a ball of clay and the instructions to turn it into an ox. A few restrictions were placed on them to encourage them to engage more carefully and consciously with the medium – they were not allowed to add or subtract any clay from the ball, and they were not allowed to remove a piece of clay from one place and reattach it in another; everything had to be accomplished by pushing and pulling from the central mass.

The Grade 9 students explored the relationship between and translation from text to image. Each student was given a card with a different image on it. Without revealing the image to each other, they wrote a text describing the image as accurately and in as much detail as possible – subject matter, placement, disposition, colour, style, etc.

That description was given to one of the other students, who then attempted to recreate the image of the original card based only on the description. Thereafter, the image cards were revealed, and the students were given the chance to make a copy of the original, and that is what the final outcome showcases: the original image card, the textual description, the visual interpretation of the text, and the copy of the original.  

The senior Art students are busy with their amazing portfolio work, but space limitations in the newsletter curtail inclusion. Having studied their work, I am so proud of their work commitment and depth of talent.

Congratulations to all the Art students and their Art teacher, Christian, for superb work.

Kind regards

John Alexander

Principal

Dear Teachers, Parents and Students

I am excited to join The Bay Academy and to contribute to its future growth and development as an excellent, innovative, student-focused learning community. As previous head of various schools, my roles and responsibilities have included strategic planning and change management processes. My educational philosophy is based on the belief that the best schools offer an educational experience that shapes confident, curious and well-rounded individuals. My objective is to work closely with teachers, students and parents towards a common vision of excellence at The Bay Academy whereby students can flourish and teachers feel supported to nurture a genuine love for learning.

I am deeply interested in student achievement and success. It is important to recognise that the factors that contribute towards and ultimately determine a child’s achievement and success at school, are complex and varied.

In his book, “An Ethic of Excellence” (2003), Ron Berger highlights the importance of why culture matters when it comes to student success. There is no magic solution to make children succeed at school. The curriculum matters! The physical classroom environment matters! Appropriate technology enhanced equipment and programs matter! But only as part of a strong classroom culture or school culture are those things valuable.

Based on my own observations and experience as principal of various schools over the last 25 years, I agree with Berger that achievement of students is governed to a large degree by their family culture, their neighbourhood culture and their school culture. I would add that powerful social media platforms have possibly surpassed neighbourhood, family, and school as the most important cultural influence for some of our children.

Students may have different potentials, but, as Ron Berger highlights “in general, the attitudes and achievements of students are shaped by the culture around them: students adjust their attitudes and efforts in order to fit into the culture. If it isn’t cool to raise your hand in class, to do your homework, to care openly about school – this is a powerful force. If the peer culture celebrates investment in school – it’s cool to care – this is just as powerful.”

At The Bay Academy, we should commit as teachers, parents and students, to continue to consciously shape our culture as a place where it is safe to care. Let us support each other to strengthen a culture of care and excellence.

Kind regards
Pieter Steyn
Principal