Bergvliet Primary School Unclaimed

Bergvliet Primary School is a public, co-educational school providing education from Reception Grade to grade 7. The school is managed by a Governing body elected by the parent body.

It is unbelievable to think that, as you read this newsletter, we will have come to the end of the First Term of 2019. How time flies when we have fun! In the previous newsletter we spoke about our plans for 2019. One of those plans was to develop our learners’ thinking and reasoning skills, thereby becoming a fully – fledged ‘thinking school’. We implemented certain strategies in order to achieve our objective, starting with the Thinking Hats, then moving on with the Thinking Maps, and this year, focusing on the Habits of Mind. There are 16 Habits of Mind (HoM) which we will work through with the learners. Lessons and assemblies have focused on two this term: Persisting and Managing Impulsivity. The Habits of Mind are closely related to our BPS values. Every Habit of Mind is always accompanied by a visual picture, which helps the learners relate to and identify with the quality which we are trying to instill. With constant reminders, learners are able to internalize the message, and then apply it in their interaction with others. So why teach the Habits of Mind? In the 21st century, success is not measured by test scores, but rather by how a learner thinks and solves problems in all spheres of life. The Habits of Mind are dispositions that are skillfully and mindfully employed by characteristically intelligent, successful people when confronted with problems which at first seem to have no solution. When we draw upon these Habits, the results are more powerful, of higher quality and greater significance than if we fail to employ them. As we move through the year, you will hear more about the other Habits of Mind as we unpack them at school.