WATERKLOOF PRIMARY SCHOOL NEWSLETTER 1 – 2016
20 January 2016
Message from School Governing Body
Mrs M. Dorfan
A warm welcome to all our parents and learners to the 2016 academic year. Congratulations once again to Mrs Monyai on her appointment as Principal. It is the first time in the School’s history that we have a female Principal and we are very proud of her. Please parents, ensure that your school fees are paid on time each month so that the school can continue to operate successfully. Kindly also drop your children on time in the mornings and fetch or arrange to have your children fetched from school at 1:50pm when school closes, or if taking part in extra mural activities, as soon as the activity is finished. The SGB is appealing to parents to please sign up with Macro and My School Card and utilise these cards as the school receives a cash benefit each time you swipe your card. This, together with bringing your recycling to school on Wednesday mornings is a simple way of assisting the school and showing your support. The amounts collected will be published on the communicator so we can all track our progress and strive to improve each month. The SGB wishes all of our parents and learners a successful and blessed year.
Transfer Cards
Mrs E. Westdyk
All Grade 2 to 7 children starting at Waterkloof Primary School, and coming from a South African school, must please submit their Transfer Cards from the previous school to Mrs Westdyk.
Welcome Back
Mrs S.C. Monyai
I hope that you all had a blessed and relaxing holiday so that we can all start the year refreshed. Welcome back to you all, and we wish you a happy and prosperous 2016 academic year. To all new learners and parents we wish you a good and happy stay at WPS.
Whole School Information Evenings Thank you to all parents and learners who attended these important meetings. We managed to distribute textbooks and exercise books. Thank you for signing the important documents that were attached to your information pack. Kindly read your grade related information so that you can stay informed with what is expected from your child.
Assessments Make a list in a diary of all tests, projects and speeches as early as possible as they count for marks at the end of the term. Start checking now!
Staffing
Mrs S.C. Monyai
It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that Dr Biccard has resigned after ten years of service. She has accepted a post as lecturer at UNISA. Parents are requested to send a contribution towards her farewell gift to thank her and show appreciation of all the hard work she has done for WPS. She will be greatly missed by all of us. Mrs A. Wassenaar will teach Grade 3 in the place of Mrs Peacock, and Miss T. Moses has been appointed as a Gr 1 and 2 PE teacher, and Gr 7 Life Orientation teacher. Miss Landsberg will teach Gr 3 to 7 PE starting on 1 February 2016.
Afterschool Procedure Parents must please read section 4 of the information pack. School gates open officially at 07:00 and close at 14:30. Children who are involved in extra classes and extramural activities may remain on the premises until the end of their activity. Parents are required to fetch their children immediately at the end of the activity. Please check the extramural timetable to make the necessary transport arrangements. All children who are NOT fetched by 14:30 and are NOT taking part in any official school activity will be required to wait across the road from the Julius Jeppe gate. They will NOT wait at the Rose Avenue gate anymore.
Textbooks
Learners must be encouraged to look after the textbooks that were loaned to them by the school. No writing in pencil, pen, crayon, marker or highlighter may be done in the textbooks. These are the school’s property, and need to be issued to learners in the following year.
Homework Diary Parents are required to check and sign the homework diary daily. Children arriving late for school are required to produce their diaries to the teachers on duty. A formal register will be kept to see which children have a pattern of coming late. Fill in the first page of your child’s diary with current details, and if there are changes during the year, please make sure that these details are changed both in writing to the office, and in the diary. This page is useful in the case of an emergency.
Physical Education Lessons All children MUST participate in Physical Education lessons as it is a compulsory component of Life Skills. Please send asthma pumps and epi pens, marked with your child’s name, to school if your child uses either of them.
SPCA Charity Drive
Mrs A. Stobbart
Congratulations to all parents, learners and staff for your generous contributions towards the SPCA during 2015. We collected a total of R3500.00 for the year. SPCA collection tins will be placed in the classrooms and learners can bring their small change to contribute towards the SPCA. Any amount is appreciated - the SPCA needs our help desperately!
Beans Project
Mrs J. Shee
Appointments with Teachers
Mrs J. Shee
Please send tins of baked beans to school between now and the end of February - as many tins as you possibly can. These will be sent to the “Bread and Beans” project in our own community. The project is run from the church in Milner Street. ‘Charity begins at home!’ The following consultation times and days are set for parents to make appointments, in advance, via the child’s homework diary to see the grades teachers for Grade 4 to 7. These appointments are strictly by appointment only and 15 minutes long. Grade 4 5 6 7
Day Monday Thursday Tuesday Tuesday
Time 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00
Extra Lessons Children in Grades 4 to 7 in need of extra lessons or additional curriculum time will receive letters informing the parents of the need for their children to attend these lessons. Attendance is compulsory and takes precedence over all extramural activities. Grade 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 7 7
Subject Maths English Maths English Maths English Maths English Art Music
Day Thursday Wednesday Tuesday Monday Wednesday Thursday Monday Wednesday Wednesday Monday
Time 14:00 - 14:30 14:00 - 14:30 14:00 - 14:30 14:00 - 14:30 14:00 - 14:30 14:00 - 14:30 14:00 - 14:30 14:00 - 14:30 14:00 - 15:30 14:30 - 15:30
Extra Afrikaans lessons will take place weekly on Day 1, Period 1 - these lessons are by invitation only.
Second Hand Shop
Mrs E. Westdyk
The second hand shop is looking for good quality second hand uniforms, especially Grade R T-shirts, shorts and sandals. Please leave any contributions at reception.
Recycling
Mrs L. Eagle
WPS is a recycling school! To all our new parents and children - we would love you to join in our efforts at collecting waste. Not only does it teach our children to be responsible and not to litter, it also shows them that every bit of recycling helps to save our resources and make our world a better place. It also helps with environmental management, as I am sure you are all aware that the Pretoria landfills are reaching capacity and this is a pity when so much waste material can be recycled and reused. As we reduce the waste and the landfill volume we are also saving space in the dumps. Lastly, you are also helping to contribute to school funds, as the school is paid for the waste which is collected. This is a very simple way in which you can contribute to fund raising without having to spend a cent! Keep the following handy as it will help you to remember the details of our recycling programme. WHEN? Wednesdays 07:00 to 07:40 WHERE? At the north-east corner of the soccer field - the gate on the corner of Julius Jeppe Street is opened for you to offload your waste. WHAT? Paper & Cardboard are placed in a heap or in the large bags provided directly on the soccer field. No pizza boxes please. Plastic bottles - should be washed and sorted, transparent (coke bottle type). plastic milk bottles. Plastic bags and wrapping materials. Cans - tin (food) cans and aluminium (colddrink) cans. Glass bottles - clean - any colour. HOW? Drive onto the soccer field, get the recycling monitors to allocate points to your child, and then offload your sorted waste into the marked containers. Please make sure that items are clean and hygienic. We DO NOT accept domestic waste – food waste or vegetable peelings, disposable nappies or tissues. We do not want to expose the children to unnecessary danger. No glass may be placed on the field, only paper and cardboard. I still need some extra parent help. If anyone is prepared to help with our recycling project please contact Mrs Eagle on a Wednesday morning at the recycling spot, or via the front office.