May was an extraordinary month for me!  I met numerous people wanting to collaborate with e-Classroom in different ways.  Remarkably, we all share the same vision: to expand the education services we offer to the benefit of our learners. I have spent several enthusiastic hours meeting with key educators, and looking at fresh opportunities which are to be launched in the coming months. Here’s a sneak peak for you….

We have partnered with ebeam who provide interactive classroom solutions for schools. Many schools are interested in adopting ICT, but also have concerns. It is not an easy decision to make because the systems are costly and require technical expertise to implement and sustain. We are confident that together with our partners we can ease any apprehensions you may have involving the way forward. We will provide you with a free consultation and a thorough needs-analysis before considering any ICT  requirements. Most importantly, we offer FREE technical training and support during and after installation.

A further development is the launch of our “Books to buy” section. This will be available at the beginning of next term and will afford you the opportunity to buy readers and text books online. We shall also be providing short stories in PDF format which can be downloaded FREE OF CHARGE for pupils to use for class reading. These will promote expressive reading, improved word recognition and vocabulary extension.

In addition, our conscious cooking classes kick off next term. I am thrilled about bringing this enrichment project to schools! The Conscious Cooking Course educates children about the impact that their food choices have on personal health, our communities, animals and environment. By working in groups to prepare wholesome and affordable meals, children learn the value of renewable and efficient cooking methods. The course ensures that children learn to identify good nutrition and making the healthiest food choices.

More detailed information will follow next term on our new projects.

COMPETITIONS:

Classrooms of the Future

E-Classroom is currently running a “classrooms of the future” competition during which we encourage all grade 6 learners to “think collaboratively and innovatively” to describe their ideal, future classroom. This competition has been a great hit. Entry forms can still be downloaded from the e-Classroom website.

Animation Generation Competition

The aim of this competition is to inspire learners to express their talent and creativity by drawing cartoon characters. This competition closes on the 3^rd September. There are fabulous prizes and the top three entries in each of three age groups will have their artwork displayed on Cartoon Network!

Lucky Star Competition

Learners are invited to create their own unique and delicious fish dish! This competition is open to all schools and age groups and closes 30 September 2012. Log on to the e-Classroom home page where you can click onto the competition page to download the entry form.

 

CURRENT:

Our Father’s Day cards are on-line! We also have new Geometry and Phonics worksheets online for grades 2 and 3.

We are, as always, busy with development of our support material for the grades R – 3 CAPS LIFESKILLS curriculum, for the 3^rd and 4^th term. It is time consuming to source sponsorship for this development, but our user numbers are proving that we are a favourite education portal and sponsors are increasingly interested!  We had 23 000+ users visiting and downloading content from our website in May alone. We are proud of our achievement thus far. As the word spreads, the numbers keep growing, so thanks to all of you for your continuous support.

Sponsorship thanks for May:

BIC – Father’s Day cards

FLIPFILE – Alphabet activity sheets

PICK N PAY – Healthy food worksheets

FABER CASTELL – Learn to draw activities

SAFARI FRUIT – Mathematics worksheets

 

Until next time………

Take care

Natalie

www.e-classroom.co.za

 

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” ― Nelson Mandela