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Sports & Culture

About Us

Sports

Extra-mural’ refers broadly to those learning/development activities that take place in the time and space beyond the classroom-based, school timetable. Most typically this is in the afternoons after formal class but can also comprise early mornings (e.g. morning swimming, choir and public speaking) as well as breaks, nights, weekends, and holidays. ‘Extra-mural’ literally means ‘beyond the walls’. Extra-murals are therefore significantly more than traditionally associated ‘sports and clubs’.
 
Extra-murals are key to a balanced curriculum, healthy lifestyles, an enhanced school experience, and promote personal, social, and community development. They include a wide range of activities and provide safe and healthy spaces, improve academic achievement, and trigger positive change in young lives.
Good sportsmanship provides guidelines that can be generalized to classroom and lifelong achievement. Participation in challenging sports activities teaches children to love classroom challenge. It also teaches children to function in a competitive society.
 
Our society is competitive, and we should teach our children to function in competition and how to both win and lose. Children must learn that winning and losing are both temporary, and that they can’t give up or quit. Learning to become a team player is also important.
 
The world of sports mirrors how one can play the game of school and life. Good athletes stay in the game and play their best even when they are losing. They know they will win some and lose some. They discipline themselves. They practice with grueling regularity the necessary skills for their sport. Education, life accomplishments and creative contributions involve similar perseverance and self-discipline.

Our School

Craighall Academic Information

ATHLETICS

Over 60 children participate in the athletics team and the team is currently in the B league. The children participate in long distance events (400m and 800m), 80m sprints and relays. Children from grade 1-7 are encouraged to attend.

CRICKET

Cricket takes place in terms one and four. We have teams from u9 through to the Commonwealth team. We have fielding practice as well as specialised net practice. We form part of the ‘KFC mini cricket’ league hosted by Rosebank; this allows our grade 1s and 2s to develop a love for the sport.

CROSS COUNTRY

We have about 35 children who participate in cross country. We form part of the Northern Cluster District. Many of the children ran very pleasing times this year. The children run long distances, which takes a lot of motivation and determination.

HOCKEY

We have 6 teams, a boys and a girls team for u9, u11 and opens. We form part of the D9 hockey group. Pre-season training starts in the second term to prepare everyone for matches in term three. In the last year, the interest in hockey has grown tremendously. We have over 90 children who participate currently.

MINI TENNIS

Mini tennis occurs throughout the whole year. We encourage all of our Grade 1 and 2 boys and girls to participate in this. During mini tennis they learn basic ball skills and begin to learn foundational skills for the game of tennis.

RUGBY

We offer rugby to the children from u9 onwards. Over 50 boys participate in rugby and we take part in the Johannesburg Primary Schools Rugby Association. We have pre-season training in the second term to prepare for the actual season in third term. Our fixtures fall on a Saturday at various venues.

SOCCER

Boys and girls alike are encouraged to take part in soccer. The season takes place during the second term. We are able to field two teams per age group from u9 right through to u14s. We have junior soccer which also takes place in the second term which allows for our u7 and u8 children to gain exposure to soccer and develop skills needed later on. We have u11 and open girls’ teams which compete in their own league.

SWIMMING

We are currently in the B league for swimming. Our children continue to do very well. We won every gala in the first term. We have over 60 children who participate in the swimming team.

About Us

CULTURAL

Learning is a creative process. What we learn depends, for the most part, on how we learn, on the learning place and learning atmosphere, the time, the rhythm and the clearness of presentation. Learning by means of art-based methods opens up specific spheres of experience and development Art and culture are indispensable elements of a comprehensive education, the objective of which is to achieve the maximum benefit for and best possible development of each and every individual and thus enable every individual to participate actively in society as a constructive member of the community.
 
Artistic processes are always those that involve a seeking of individual paths, and at the same time they promote and expand creative thinking. They bring new understanding of oneself in combination with greater understanding of and new connections with the world. They produce insight and knowledge in a special way.
 
Thus we offer a variety of activities, over and above the timetabled experiences, to develop these vital skills.

Our School

Craighall Academic Information

ART

Extra- mural art is for children in grades 4–7. They are encouraged and guided to enter art work for the Eisteddfod and for other art competitions that arise from time to time. Competitions aside, children are involved in various art projects that stretch their creative skills and understanding of art.

CHESS

Our chess club is finally reaching the standards we envisioned for it. We have about 30 children who are dedicated to chess. The skill levels are varied - from beginners to proficient players. We are hoping to build the proficiency that will allow us to compete against nearby schools. From 2016, computer-based chess will be introduced to make it more enticing and exciting.

CHOIR

The choir consists of between 70 and 100 children. Each year there is a different theme which allows for variety and the continuous learning of new material. Every year the choir participates in the Eisteddfod. We also host a choir festival where various local schools come to showcase their talents; it is an event not to be missed.

COMPUTER CLUB (Project Research)

The Computer Club is a 45 minute session for all learners from Grade 1-7. The primary focus is creative thinking and planning as well as consolidation of work taught in class. We use two very specialized programmes for this: Junior Primary Club: Knowledge Network® 6to9 Senior Primary: Knowledge Network® 10up The Computer Club is very popular with the foundation phase with class sizes reaching over 60 learners per session!

DANCE

We are so lucky to offer two dance sessions as an extra mural; one for juniors and one for seniors. These classes are designed to teach students different styles of dance, such as Hip Hop and Modern Jazz. These classes give the students the opportunity to express themselves, develop their self-esteem and confidence while having fun learning to dance.

DRAMA

This extra- mural is for grades 5–7. Due to large numbers of eager performers, auditions are held to determine who is chosen for this group. The children are involved in the drama Eisteddfod, both individual and group. They also work towards a show, either as leads in the school concert or as performers in the extra mural concert.

MATHLETICS

Each child from Grade 2 – 7 is given a log-in code for Mathletics. We do Mathletics during school and homework is given for the children to complete. This extra mural allows children to complete their homework at school as well as develop their skills in Maths.

PUBLIC SPEAKING

The skills required to speak to an audience are developed in order to build confidence. The pupils practise on a weekly basis and those whom we feel are competent speakers are encouraged to enter the Eisteddfod as well as other various public speaking competitions.