WATERKLOOF PRIMARY SCHOOL NEWSLETTER 4 – 2016
11 April 2016
Term 2
Mrs S.C. Monyai
Welcome back to all learners, parents and staff. I hope that you all had a good rest during the holidays. Term 2 is a term where tests and exams are written, and I therefore wish all our learners good luck, and encourage them to start studying and not to wait until the last minute!
Parents’ Evening A big thank you to all the parents who attended the meeting on 6 April 2016. All the phases were well attended. Teachers had a chance to share their findings from Term 1 and to give some tips on how to go through this term’s work.
Staffing Mr Moyo got married during the holidays and we wish him many happy years of married life. Mr Webster resigned with immediate effect at the end of Term 1. We thank him for his service to the school.
Winter Uniform Our uniform changeover week to winter uniform starts on 9 May 2016 and by 23 May 2016 ALL children must be in winter uniform. Please see pages 12 and 13 of the homework diary for information on our uniforms.
Congratulations Well done to our Term 1 Top Twenty learners and their parents. We are very proud of you. Many children won prizes for the different activities, sport, cultural, recycling, discipline, etc. A big thank you to the teachers and parents for supporting the learners.
Applications for admission - 2017 Applications for Grade R are handled directly by the school. Grade 1 applications are done online. Parents must register their children online from 11 - 18 April 2016, and apply online starting on 19 April 2016 ending on 1 June 2016. The GDE’s website address is www.gdeadmissions.gov.za. Grades 2 to 7 applications are also handled directly by the school.
Attendance Children are expected to be at school daily. Parents are required to notify the school, in writing, if their child is going to be absent.
Textbooks - Term 2
Mrs S.C Monyai
If the children need to study for exams from their textbooks, the teachers will indicate the sections to the learners. All textbooks must be returned to school on the day of the exam. Textbooks need to be at school daily for learning and teaching. Textbooks that are not returned will be deemed lost, and the replacement fee is R200 for a textbook and R100 for a reader will be charged.
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. There is no teacher supervision.
Dropping off children in the morning The school does not have sufficient parking space for all the parents who drop off their children in the morning. Parents are, therefore, requested to drop off their children and leave immediately afterwards. Traffic becomes congested when parents remain in the parking spaces. This causes other parents to stop in the middle of the road to drop off their children! All parents and children must cross the road at the scholar patrol points. Parents coming into the school must make sure that their cars are locked. Do not leave valuables on the seats. We have had some incidents reported during Term 1 whereby car locks were jammed and valuables stolen.
Gate Guards
The guards at our entrance and exit points are there to make sure that our learners are safe. Kindly co-operate and show them respect when visiting the school.
Late Coming School starts at 07:30. Children can be dropped off earlier, from 07:00, and must be at their line-up area by at least 07:20. This will assist your child not to rush and to start the day calmly with his/her peers.
Exams
Mrs J. Shee
‘What to Learn’ for the exams will be issued to your children on 29 April 2016.
Charity
Mrs J. Shee
Please send a warm blanket and any old clothes to school during this term. Winter is coming and we would like to help those who are in need of assistance. Thank you.
Exam Timetable - Term 2 Please note the changes to the Gr 6 Maths and NS/Tech exam dates as the children have to write the GDE common task papers on the dates specified by the GDE. 1 June
History
Grade 7
2 June
Natural Science/Technology Natural Science EMS
Grade 4,5 Grade 7 Grade 7
3 June
English - Paper 2 Geography
Grade 4 - 7 Grade 7
6 June
Afrikaans Technology
Grade 4 - 7 Grade 7
7 June
Maths Life Orientation
Grade 4,5,7 Grade 7
13 June
Maths Grade 6 (Departmental Common Task Exam)
15 June
Natural Science/Technology Grade 6 (Departmental Common Task Exam)
Learners’ rules No borrowing will be allowed. Questions regarding the formal assessment paper cannot be answered. Only stationery may be on the desks. Cases will be stored at the back/front of the room. Learners must be present for all formal assessments. Any dishonesty will be dealt with severely. All question papers must be handed in at the end of the formal assessment. Learners must take care to write their names on their script. Learners must sit in the places allocated to them. Neatness is an important factor in formal assessments. Answers must be written in a blue Bic ink, unless otherwise stipulated. Learners must raise an arm to attract the attention of the invigilator, e.g. for more paper. Learners cannot “forget” to hand in a formal assessment paper and then “find” it later. Even non-verbal communication is unacceptable (smiles, hand signals, etc). Learners should have a watch to check the time. Good luck charms, etc. are not acceptable. Dress regulations and school rules remain in effect. Answers must be numbered where necessary. Formal assessments should be seen in a positive light – it is the culmination of a large amount of work and a chance to show the staff how much they have learnt.
Promotion Criteria GRADES 4 - 6
SUBJECT Maths English Afrikaans Natural Sciences Social Sciences Life Skills
GRADE 7
SUBJECT Maths English Afrikaans Other Subjects 3 Subjects 2 Subjects
PROMOTION CRITERIA A MINIMUM OF: 40% 50% 40% Two of the following three subjects must achieve a minimum of 40% PROMOTION CRITERIA A MINIMUM OF: 40% 50% 40% 40% 30%
As from this year we have introduced two new reward systems for the children.
Getting Things Right
GTI is a system whereby children receive a tick for getting things right, e.g. doing homework, bringing books to school, behaving in class, bringing back reply slips timeously, having formal assessment tasks signed timeously, etc. If a child receives 17 ticks in each subject during the term, he/she will be given a sticker in their homework diary to show they are permitted to wear civvies for free on the last day of term.
English across the Curriculum - An English across the Curriculum block appears on each written formal assessment
task for every subject. If your child has all the smiley faces ticked for achieving the criteria - neat handwriting, correct spelling, correct punctuation, etc. the slip is placed in a box for a lucky draw in final assembly. The winner, per grade, is given a tuckshop voucher! We hope these means of noticing and rewarding ‘Good Work and Behaviour’ will motivate the children to realise at WPS we focus on the positive!
From the Sportsdesk
Mrs J. de Beer
Congratulations to Morgan Booysen who was selected for the U/13 Gauteng North Hockey team. He will tour with the team at the end of June. Georgia Kennealy played in the Inter Primary Schools tennis championship event during the school holidays and her team, Gauteng North won the event. Georgia never lost a game during this event, and has been selected for the SA Schools Team touring America. Congratulations to her on this well deserved achievement!