Children should be seen and not heard!

Reading, Writing and Arithmetic! Year 5 experienced a Victorian Day at school yesterday.  It helped them understand what it was like for children back then - using slates, practising their handwriting using ink, rote learning, having to wear the dunce hat and doing drills. The adults certainly enjoyed the day being very strict and swinging the cane around but did the children?

The visiting Inspector

 Drill time

Reading

Science - A study of an apple

What the children thought:

11^th December 1896

Today we had reading lesson; students came out and read the book Alice in wonder land. I was too scared to read because sometimes when I read I mumble and I did not want to get the duce cap. Next it was hand writing, at first it was hard but I soon got the hang of it. It was breakfast, I was very hungry and I only had an apple. It was math and I was told to say my 2 times table I was scared but I did it. Later the inspector came, it was not very pleasant because people in my class did not know their spelling or their times tables but I did. It was lunch, for me it was ok. Science was the last lesson of the day, we learnt about the inside of an apple, I forgot all the parts and I did not know what to do.

My favorite lesson was hand writing and my worst was science.

Lois 5A

A Victorian Day At School

First thing in the morning when I got in class we learned a song about how God made the earth. After that we did drill we had to stand in separate lines boys and girls. Miss Knghorn counted to 4, number 1 we had to put our hands on our shoulders, number 2 we had to put our hands in the air, number 3 we had to put our hands on our shoulders, number 4 we had to put our hands by our sides. We did that for 45 minuets.

Then we went back to class and got our lunch and went back out to eat it.  I enjoyed having my cheese, bread and milk. In our lunch break we weren’t aloud to talk.

Then we did some reading and also we had to do our handwriting, the pencils we had to use were with ink. My pencil kept on running out.

The inspector Mr. Suter came in, then Miss Naidoo asked me to say my 5 times tables I got them all right, but Paul wore the dunce cap for not knowing his 6 times table.

Miss Guvender taught us how to make a Victorian toy,  I had to do a thaumatrope . It was fun.

Then we had another break which we had our play outside, we played football.

After that we had to cut an apple. Miss Naidoo taught us about different parts of that apple (stalk, crown, fleshy bone and seeds).

At the end of the day we packed up and went home.  

Mohamad Al Shwaik 5A

Dear diary,

today I was is in my victorian school. First we sat in neat rows and then our teacher who we had to call ma´m (who was very strict) told us to go to the playground and check how we are behaving. The boys had to march with the shoulders behind and the chest out. The girls had to walk with a book on their head and it was not allowed to fall down. When we came in again we learnt our times tables and I had to wear the dunces hat because I didn´t know my 6 times tables. Afterwards we did some handwriting and then came the inspector who asked me to spell buffalo which I didn´t know how to spell. Then it was break and our teachers went with us down to the eating tables we were not allowed to talk and then the bell rang and we went out to play with the toys our teachers gave us.

After break we practiced spelling words and than we did a crafting lesson. We had a lot of fun doing it because we did a thaumatrope.

That was it for the day.

Paul 5A

Dear Diary

                 Today was Victorian day. I was so excited as I got ready for school.  Paul came to pick me up and he looked amazing, his face was covered with muck. When we got to school I saw my friend Maia, she had a beautiful dress on.  After that we lined up and went up to the classroom.  Miss Naidoo was dressed like a Victorian teacher. We all unpacked our bags and found a seat. Miss Naidoo said that we had to call her mam and we were not allowed to turn around and she also said a few other rules .Then we went out to the playground so that the teachers could inspect how clean we were.Miss Kinghorn said that a boy called Peter Parker had died. We all had to think about Peter Parker for a moment. Then we all were taught how to walk properly. The boys went off and the girls including me had to balance a book on our heads.We were then told to walk with the book still on our heads.  It was so fun although I did drop the book once or twice.After balancing the book on our heads  we returned to class. We were learning our times tables Paul had to put on the dunce hat and he was so embarrassed.  We all had to write the 3 times tables on our sates I brought a slate in from home.After that we got an ink well and a a Quill and practised handwriting.Then Mr Sooter the inspector came in and asked me how to spell ostrich. It was so embarrassing. we also   After that we had our  Victorian snak I had a massive chunk of cheese and could I not eat it all. Then we played with a hola hoop and we also played hopscotch. After the bell rand we did drill. We all went back to class then the boys went in to the  Mrs govenders class and the girls went in to my classroom . We did craft and my art was horrible. Then it was break and then we got back inside. We learnt about the apple for about half a hour. Then Mrs Naidoo was nice again and we talked about our day. It would not be fun to be a Victorian child.

Kate 5A

Dear diary ,

                   Today was Victorian day . I thought it would be good , but as the lessons started I got to know that Victorian schools were very strict . We were not even aloud to smile . We wrote 3 times table on slates with chock which was interesting as we normally don't use chock and slates in class . We also did reading from the book 'Alice in wonderland' . Well we also did body posture that was kind of fun for me because we had to put a book on our head and walk but sometimes the book fell down . For lunch I only had an apple , some bread and milk . In the end of the day we did some craft work but we did not have scissors to cut the paper  with . The two best things I liked were that we did handwriting and that girls & boys were separated .The most boring thing was to learn about the apple .Now I got to know how Victorian schools were like !!!!!!!!

Simran 5A

Dear Diary,

Today, onDecember 11, 2012, we had Victorian day. The things I liked about Victorian day were crafts, drill and handwriting. The things I did not like were arithmetic, science and spelling. I think Victorian day was scary and at a point I thought I was going to get hit by a cane!!! I would not want to be a Victorian because it’s boring, teachers are very strict, you have to march and you are not allowed to look around.

Nahyaan Nasser 5A

Dear diary

 Today in school wasVictorian day. It was scary because we could not laugh.

The worst thing was when we had to write with ink it kept on running out!

And the funniest thing was when Paul had to wear the dunce hat.

When we did the drill it was a bit tiring but we had to live with it.

We only can say for the female madam and for the male we had to say sir.

We only could it bread, apple and cheese. But the best part when we did the math because we did not use our copybooks we used the chalkboard and it was fun.

But be careful is you wear something that looks expensive than the teachers will say, that you stole it.
Zaina 5A

Victorian day….

I enjoyed the handwriting lesson the most because we all got to right write with ink. I also liked the first break because we played with Victorian toys. Me and my friend played hop scotch. When we were learning about the apple during the science lesson, I liked it because  learned new things that  I didn’t know and Miss Govender let us eat the apple once Victorian Day was over, and we could relax again.

I didn’t like the arts and crafts because weaving was a bit hard to do because we couldn’t use scissors to cut the paper into strips ,so it was up to our hands to do the job!

Well, Victorian day wasn’t  as fun, stress-free and challenging  as our lessons today, but at least we lived a Victorian life for a day!

Camila  Saldugaray 5C

Victorian day

Victorian day was astoundingly fun but the teachers were extremely strict and no one was allowed to smile or put their hands on the table .We had to call our teacher ‘mam’ and if a male teacher came in, we had to call them sir . I liked practicing our hand writing , as we go to write with ink and a quill . I didn’t like the drills because they were exhausting. I also didn’t like repeating everything over and  over again but the science lesson was fun. We had an inspector come  over who  tested us on our spelling and maths . Victorian day was reallyfun!!!

Nancy 5c  

MY DIARY

Today we had Victorian day- it was great fun. I loved the hand writing, the science and the maths. I didn’t enjoy drill or pronunciation because the pronunciation was easy. The drill was nothing like P.E today it’s just like putting your hands up and down-I prefer P.E today. The hand writing was nicer in the Victorian times than now. The teachers in Victorian day were very strict. Sometimes they hit you with a cane if you were naughty or you would have to wear the dunce hat. When we had to call the teachers ‘sir’ or ‘ma’am’, I tried my best not to smile or laugh and I didn’t so I didn’t get caned (pretend) or wear the dunce hat and that was how my day went in school.   

Sara Captan 5C

Year 5 Victorian day

I liked Victorian Day because we got to write with an old pen and ink. The ink was smelly and we were told to use little bit of ink so we don’t spill it. We made a thaumatrope during our craft lesson which is a Victorian toy. 

Also, I was lucky not to experience the Victorian cane, which happened when my best friend Youssef nearly got whacked by a powerful cane. Luckily Mrs Govender was tricking us and whacked the table instead of whacking Youssef!

At lunch time, I opened my old Victorian pail and ate my apples imagining what life was like for a real Victorian. Then, we went out for break and we played Victorian games such as, rolling hula hops and hopscotch.

It was amazing to experience how life was for a Victorian child.

                                              Mustafa Sawalhi 5C

 WHAT I THINK OF VICTORIAN DAY

I think that the Victorian day was both scary and interesting, and here is a list of things that were hard and scary!!

ü They could have hit us with canes.

ü We couldn’t put our hands on the table.

ü We had to stand up any time someone came into the classroom.

ü The teachers were strict. (Very strict!)

 And here are some of the good things that happened.

ü Miss .Govender was not so strict.

ü We got to write on slates.

ü We saw Miss. Govender act like she was hitting a boy with a cane.

ü It was funny when Mr.Suter was the inspector and he came in looking very serious into our class inspecting us, we had to hold back our smiles or we would be punished!!

I enjoyed the day though I didn’t like the food we had to eat, and I didn’t like the strictness of the teachers even though we knew they were just acting.

Aya 5C


Dear diary,

Victorian day was fun, we all had to dress as victorians mostly the girls were dressed as maids and the boys as poor children on the street, but I hate the part when the teachers were a bit stricked. And we also learnd about apples and what there is inside them. Anyway the exercise kept my body awake and I actually felt like a real victorian student in school days. So I do not whant to be a victorian student because to me it also felt a bit dull and poor .

Isabelle Louise Sagawe 5A

Dear diary,

On 11th December 2012, I had Victorian's day and I learned a lot about Victorians such as when the Victorian children in the line the boys and the girls had separate lines and when they walked their shoulders had to be back and lead with their chin. 

The teachers were very strict and scary with their canes and they also wore weird looking clothes. I got scared when the professor came in (Mr. Suter).   I really liked cutting the apple and doing craft work. 

The exercises we did were very hard at the begging of the day and at the end of first break. I did not like when we had to touch our toes without bending our knees. The first exercise I did was the easiest. 

I liked learning about the apple and sketching it with labels. I enjoyed doing the multiplication. The dunce cap was hilarious. I really liked cutting the apple and doing craft work. 

As a conclusion I did not really enjoy the Victorian's day although there were some fun lessons.

Husain Imam 

5A

December 11^th 2012

VICTORIAN DAY

 Today we had a Victorian day. We had to dress like poor Victorian children and bring a Victorian lunch box, which included crusty bread, a chunk of cheese, apple or orange, and a glass bottle of milk. It had to be put in a basket, bucket or linen bag. My mum gave me a linen bag. Ms Kinghorn or should I say “Ma’am” made a detention cap. She organized the tables like in a Victorian school, and we did the lessons just like the Victorians would. Ms Kinghorn acted like a very strict Victorian teacher, and nearly made Sadie and me cry. I have to say “I WANT MY TEACHER BACK!!”

By Suzannah Read (5B)

Victorian Day Diary Entry

December,11 2012

We, the students of Year 5, were observing ‘The Victorian Day’ in school today. We had to dress up as a student in the Victorian era. I wore a white long sleeved shirt with a brown coloured vest, a brown cap and blue trousers.

Initially, we had an assembly in which we sang a song. This was followed by an inspection by the teachers. They checked if our nails were cut and our face was clean. The teachers were strict and gave bad and mean remarks to the kids who had long nails. At first even I panicked but was glad to see my nails were cut.

Later, we had a reading session in class. The teacher picked up few students who were asked to read a few pages from a book written by Charles Dickens. Kids who couldn’t read properly were shouted at and were humiliated.

Then, it was time for lunch. I had bread and cheese. I couldn’t eat all the bread so I shared them with my friends. After eating, I played with some Victorian toys. When the bell rang we lined up for drills. Girls were supposed to be in one line and the boys in another. The teachers showed us some exercises which we had to follow.

We went back to class and had a spelling test. Kids who couldn’t spell the word had to stand in the corner and wear a dunce hat. I was one of those people. I thought it was unfair because the others got easier words.

Now it was time for maths. We said the 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7 times tables. If we made a mistake we had to start all over again. Then the Inspector came and asked us some questions.

Then we did some handwriting practice. It was pretty hard because they wrote it in a complicated way.

Then it was lunch. I played football and tag for ten minutes. Then we had to line up. It had taken us a lot of time to go back to class because we were not quiet.

Then we had Science period.  We had to bring an apple and find out the parts of the apple and name them. We even had to draw a diagram of an apple and label it. When the bell rang, it was time to go home.

For me, it was quite an unpleasant day and felt lucky not to be born in the Victorian era.

Sahil (5B)

Victorian Day

“Right come on in!”, shouted Ms Kinghorn.  This is how Mam (Ms Kinghorn) addressed us when came in the class and I was really shocked but then suddenly I realized that it was Victorian day.  Every year to understand the glorious Victorian era year 5 celebrate Victorian day.  The teachers were wearing typical Victorian clothes and they were very strict.  I wore a white shirt, a dark green three quarters trouser, a waist coat and a cap.  The first thing we did was to march (for boys) and to walk with books on our heads (for girls).  Next up was writing on slates while we were doing that the school inspector came and asked us questions.  Now it was lunch time it was also the worst lunch I ever ate I can’t believe Victorian children can eat that every day.  Now was the worst part of the day THE DRILLS.  For a whole hour we had to do exercises it was terrible.  Now was the best part of the day we went off to Mam Govinder’s class and we made a thaumatrope it was so cool.  It was second break nothing special happened there.  The last lesson was science our topic was THE APPLE we cut the apple in half and we drew it and labeled pieces of the apple.   

Tainmoor (5B)

Dear Diary,

On Tuesday was the best day ever because it was Victorian day we acted like Victorian by wearing clothes like them and eat only bread and cheese and drink milk or water. We wrote with ink it was so fun but if we smudge the ink we get hit with a stick. The worst thing was the drill we need to do   exercise the whole hour the Victorian children always do it at school.  Whenever a child does something wrong he/she gets hit by a stick or goes and stand in a corner and wear a hat that says DUNCE.

I think the Victorians are unlucky because they get hit with a stick and their teachers are so mean and they only eat a little.

Sarah (5B)

Today year 5 had Victorians day. We dressed and studied at school like Victorian children. The boys wore caps, trousers, shirt and vest. The girls wore a black or brown long skirt, white hat and white apron. The first thing we did was assembly. In assembly we sang a song and the girls had to put a book on their head and they had to balance it. The boys learned to march. Then we did drill. After that we went to the class room. During the lesson Ms Kinghorn was very strict. She shouted a lot and sometime whipped the stick on the table. It made us scared.  Then we had snack time. We only brought bread, cheese, an apple or orange and a bottle of milk. They all wrapped in a napkin. But the fun part was that we got to write with ink in a handwriting book. Some of the children had to stand in the corner and wore dunce hat because they were naughty. It was a horrible day but at least I knew how the Victorian children felt.

 Bianca(5B)

On Tuesday 11^th December, we had “Victorian Day”.  We had to dress up as a child in Victorian times and I chose to be a poor child.  The teachers were very strict, just like they were back then, and it made me feel like we really were living in Victorian times.  For lunch we had to bring stale bread and an apple and we weren’t allowed to bring plastic, but had to wrap our food in a tea towel.  We wrote with ink and drew with chalk.  The whiteboard was blacked out to look like a blackboard.  We had to call the teachers Mam and Sir.  The boys had to practise their marching and the girls had to walk with a book on their heads.  At the end of the day, I was glad that I wasn’t a child living in Victorian times. 

Emilia Hermecz 5B

I had so much fun. When we entered the class we had to find any seat and unpack our bags then we first stood up and remembered our fake class mate Peter Parker who died of cholera. Then we did all the school rules and we weren’t allowed to smile or speak because children should be seen and not heard.

After our lessons we went one period early to lunch. For lunch we were supposed to bring

·         Crusty bread

·         Milk in a pail  bottle (not plastic)

·         Butter if your family had some money

·         Apple or orange

·         Cheese

I brought some of it.

Then we put our food on the floor where all the food goes and when it was really break time we played. When break was over we did exercise. After the exercise we did tables and then the inspector came and tested us and asked about famous Victorians. Someone in my class answered our classmate Peter and then everyone laughed. He went and we did spelling and then we read a story and it was break again.

After break we did a project about apples and we cut it and drew the apple and labeled it. Then it was home time. We packed, went home and I felt fresh.

Areesha (5B)

Victorian Day was good but t was too scary. I had to go to the corner one time because I talked. Our food was only cheese, fruit and milk. I was starving. The teachers would put you in the corner if you laughed, talked, could not do your timetables and last but not least you could not move when you were in the corner. That was horrible. And they would hit you with the cane sometimes. Mostly they hit the cane on the table and say something about your family. Would you like this during Victorian Day?

Ahmed (5B)

Victorian day….

I enjoyed the handwriting lesson the most because we all got to right write with ink. I also liked the first break because we played with Victorian toys. Me and my friend played hop scotch. When we were learning about the apple during the science lesson, I liked it because  learned new things that  I didn’t know and Miss Govender let us eat the apple once Victorian Day was over, and we could relax again.

I didn’t like the arts and crafts because weaving was a bit hard to do because we couldn’t use scissors to cut the paper into strips ,so it was up to our hands to do the job!

Well, Victorian day wasn’t  as fun, stress-free and challenging  as our lessons today, but at least we lived a Victorian life for a day!

Camila  Saldugaray

Victorian day

Victorian day was astoundingly fun but the teachers were extremely strict and no one was allowed to smile or put their hands on the table .We had to call our teacher ‘mam’ and if a male teacher came in, we had to call them sir . I liked practicing our hand writing , as we go to write with ink and a quill . I didn’t like the drills because they were exhausting. I also didn’t like repeating everything over and  over again but the science lesson was fun. We had an inspector come  over who  tested us on our spelling and maths . Victorian day was reallyfun!!!

Nancy 5c  

MY DIARY

Today we had Victorian day- it was great fun. I loved the hand writing, the science and the maths. I didn’t enjoy drill or pronunciation because the pronunciation was easy. The drill was nothing like P.E today it’s just like putting your hands up and down-I prefer P.E today. The hand writing was nicer in the Victorian times than now. The teachers in Victorian day were very strict. Sometimes they hit you with a cane if you were naughty or you would have to wear the dunce hat. When we had to call the teachers ‘sir’ or ‘ma’am’, I tried my best not to smile or laugh and I didn’t so I didn’t get caned (pretend) or wear the dunce hat and that was how my day went in school.   

Sara Captan

Year 5 Victorian day

I liked Victorian Day because we got to write with an old pen and ink. The ink was smelly and we were told to use little bit of ink so we don’t spill it. We made a thaumatrope during our craft lesson which is a Victorian toy. 

Also, I was lucky not to experience the Victorian cane, which happened when my best friend Youssef nearly got whacked by a powerful cane. Luckily Mrs Govender was tricking us and whacked the table instead of whacking Youssef!

At lunch time, I opened my old Victorian pail and ate my apples imagining what life was like for a real Victorian. Then, we went out for break and we played Victorian games such as, rolling hula hops and hopscotch.

It was amazing to experience how life was for a Victorian child.

                                              Mustafa Sawalhi

WHAT I THINK OF VICTORIAN DAY

I think that the Victorian day was both scary and interesting, and here is a list of things that were hard and scary!!

ü  They could have hit us with canes.

ü  We couldn’t put our hands on the table.

ü  We had to stand up any time someone came into the classroom.

ü  The teachers were strict. (Very strict!)

And here are some of the good things that happened.

ü  Miss .Govender was not so strict.

ü  We got to write on slates.

ü  We saw Miss. Govender act like she was hitting a boy with a cane.

ü  It was funny when Mr.Suter was the inspector and he came in looking very serious into our class inspecting us, we had to hold back our smiles or we would be punished!!

I enjoyed the day though I didn’t like the food we had to eat, and I didn’t like the strictness of the teachers even though we knew they were just acting.

                                                                                                By: Aya Al Araj

                                                                                                           5C

                                                                                                December 11^th, 2012

Victorian day was hard because we were not allowed to smile, look back and do many other things that we normally do .My favorite part of the day was handwriting. I loved the ink and the pen. We did all our times table from 3 to 12. 2 people in my class got the dunce hat but thankfully it was not me! The worst part of the day was drills because it was so confusing but it was a great day. The inspector came into our class and it was Mr. Suter. He asked me a question. It was ‘How do you spell buffalo?’ I spelt ‘buffulo’ incorrectly, but never mind- luckily I was not caned or made to use the dunce cap. Mrs. Kinghorn laughed but she acted though she was coughing. It was fun.

Maryam 5C

Today I had the experience of Victorian School life. I went early to school. My teacher told us how to behave as Victorian children and we had to call the male teachers ‘sir’ and the female teachers ‘maam’. We were not to be heard, or seen. We weren’t even allowed to smile or laugh. The only thing we were allowed to do was sit down and put our hands on our lap quietly without fidgeting. If anyone entered the room, we had to stand behind our chairs and greet them. The teachers were so strict. If you said the wrong answer, you will get caned. Writing with ink was so hard! If you made just a little smudge, you would wear a dunce cap!

Omar 5C

Today, on Victorian Day, all the teachers were so mean, BUT it was just role play. The best lesson of all was science which was during the last period. After the lesson, we were allowed to eat the apple as we had come to the end of Victorian Day.When Miss Govender got Youssef and smacked his hand with the cane, it was really LOUD! What do you think she hit?

A)   The boy

B)   The table

C)   Nothing

ANSWER : B

I was a pauper and my name was John. We had to do drills ( Of course, Victorian Drills/ PE). The inspector came in. Sadly 5c didn’t do well. Mr Sooter was the inspector. We had to call everone sir or ma’am. Aya had to use something that stopped her from fidgeting. Camila had to were a dunce cap!

Aryaan 5C

Today was Victorian Day. It was awesome! We did handwriting, drill and ate food that Victorian children would have eaten. Something I didn’t like was when the teachers were strict! They HIT us with a cane, but it didn’t really happen. We made our own Victorian toy and everyone dressed up as Victorians. In the end it was awesome because everyone was just role playing. In science, we learned about the apple. Finally the teacher explained that they were only acting. We were fooled because at first we were really scared that we would really get beaten, but realized that it was all an act!

Zayd 5C

Today , Victorian Day was amazing because we learnt a lot about Victorian life style and life in Victorian schools. We had to exercise- marching and doing other exercises like moving our arms forward, backwards, marching etc.  We learnt all about Victorian Schools in our  homework assignment, and we actually got to be Victorian children today. We had an inspector come in our class room. We had to stand up and greet the person who comes into  our class and bow or curtsey. We also had to stand behind our chairs to be able to ask or answer questions, while we always needed to call a women ‘ma’am’ in the school and call a man sir. Whenever we are asked to do something we had to do it instantly-and not  do it 10 seconds later. If we did, that was wrong and we got told off. We couldn’t smile, talk, play or do anything unless we were asked to, for example: when we come into the class, we have to stand behind our chairs, we couldn’t touch anything unless we were asked to, we couldn’t go out of the class room in the middle of a lesson for a drink of water or to go to the toilet. If anyone did something bad, they will get caned or they will have to put the ugly dunce hat on and stand in the corner or put their nose to the wall. Also, if someone can’t sit on the chair properly and if they fidget, they will have something like hand cuffs, but olden Victorian ones put on both of their hands. That’s how Victorian schools were- the teachers were so strict and they would never ever smile at all! It was a very bad day for all the children, but for some of the children who are intelligent, they would never be in trouble. Today was a really fun day that I will never forget –ever!

Diana 5C

Dear diary.

I am going to share something about our Victorian day at Bisak. First we sat in neat rows and then our teacher who we had to call ma´am (who was also very strict) told us to go to the playground where they took the register,did a cleanliness check and also checked how we were behaving. The boys practised good posture by standing up straight , then they had to march with the shoulders back, chin up and the chest out. The girls had to walk with a book on their head and it was not allowed to fall down. This was their lesson called’ Deportment’. I didn’t have to wear the DUNCE cap because  I knew all my times tables!  Afterwards we did some handwriting and then …in came the inspector who asked me to spell inventions which I didn´t know how to spell. Then it was break and our teachers went with us down to the dining tables we were not allowed to talk. When the bell rang and we went out to play with the Victorian  toys that our teachers gave us. After the break we practiced spelling words and then we did a craft lesson and made  thaumatrope.I really enjoyed my experience as a Victorian child- I liked making my Victorian toy, am very thankful that teachers are not so strict today and do not use the cane, while I am glad that our lessons are more exciting and interesting- not just chanting and rote learning.

By;Hassan Khatri 5c

September 17 Sunday 1842

The first thing we did at school was unpack our bags and wait for ma’am to come inside the classroom. After taking the register, we had to sing a hymn. Sadly Peter Parker from Miss Kinghorn’s class expired and Miss Naidoo spoke to us about the importance of cleanliness to keep disease away, while Nicholas was away with diphtheria. The boys had to practise marching and how to stand still and upright, then we did handwriting and reading. While we were reading, the inspector came in and gave us hard questions that I hardly knew, eventually we ended up getting a poor grade from the inspector. After the inspection left, we had arithmetic. In arithmetic we chanted our times tables then we had a very short break. Immediately after our short break we had drill, next we had crafts and boys and girls had to switch classrooms where the boys learned how to make a toy and the girls learned weaving. The boys, ,including me, made this fun and enjoyable toy which was called the thaumatrope. Since we were fond of playing with the toy, ma’am was kind enough to let us take the instructions and create our own thaumotropes. We had a very short break . Shortly after break we had our last lesson which was science and in science we were studying an apple. We had to look at a cross section and longitudinal section of the apple and label the parts of the apple.

By Aryaan Syed 5C

Victorian Diary

Today was a Victorian school day at Bisak. I loved the hand writing lesson because we wrote with ink and that was the best part of the day for me. The drill was tiring because we had to copy the teacher over and over again. We also put our hands in front of us, then down, then up, then moved them from side to side. It was tiring! We also had to keep straight all that time.  Two people wore the dunce hat because they did not know the answers or their times tables and we could not smile or look at each other or turn around. I thought it was hard. Then the girls did weaving out of paper that was quite fun.  Oh and I nearly forgot- we had spelling. It was easy. Then we had the school inspector come in and he asked me what is 9 times 6. I replied ‘54 sir’ he said ‘Yes, but why is your face so dirty?No time to wash your face?’  Ms Govender admitted that she found it hard role playing being a very strict teacher, that is why we sometimes caught her smiling.I had so much fun…

Areej   5C