Dear Parents, Staff and Friends
September Examinations
The September examinations which replace the June examinations will start on Thursday 3 September and end on Wednesday 23 September. In order to comply with COVID health and safety protocols all grades will be split into two groups and will be writing two sessions a day. Please note that these assessments form a component of the November final promotion mark.
Mrs Vellema
It is with great sadness that we have to say goodbye to a much loved Grade 2 teacher, Mrs Natascha Vellema. Mrs Vellema has had to leave us for severe health reasons and is unable to return to work. Her classes will be managed by Ms Retha Smith. We wish Mrs Vellema a speedy recovery and everything of the best for the future.
General FET academic progress
Despite the challenges of the COVID pandemic and the transition from classroom to online and back to classroom teaching, we have achieved remarkable progress with those learners who have engaged with the teaching and learning and have followed instruction and direction.
The shortened June holiday and the cancelling of June exams and our online teaching since 14 April, dramatically extended teaching time. In most cases we were not only able to make up lost time but are in fact ahead in most subjects compared to this time last year. To prepare our Matrics for the prelim and final exams we have restructured the normal prelim study leave and have introduced a blend of “in class” and “online” instruction and enrichment to this to support them and allow them to mentally and academically adjust and prepare with our guidance and direction. The focus will be on quality at school modules, exam practice, self-study and application for higher order thinking. As educators we believe that we need an appropriate response to these unusual circumstances which requires something of a paradigm shift away from the normal as the normal no longer applies.
Important Dates
Errata
Please not the errata to the previous version published in the Newsletter 3 August. My apologies for any inconvenience caused.
Friday 7 August
Whilst the public schools have closed for tiered levels and a phased reopening, we have remained open and functional. We have decided to make Friday 7th a holiday which taken with the holiday on Monday 10th will give our learners and staff a welcomed rest. This is in line with what the majority of independent schools are doing given that most have been fully functional since shut down.
Monday 10 August
Public holiday
Friday 14th August
Grade 4 and Grade 5 to attend school as a test exercise
Teacher appreciation
As I’m writing this, I have just returned from a walk down to the Foundation Phase via some of the Primary School classes. At the Foundation Phase, they’re doing reading, a maths exercises, and counting games. I could hear the joyful Grade R voices as they read out allowed to their teacher. At the primary school classrooms, I came across a teacher making an online video chat for her class and preparing work to send out onto Edmodo and WhatsApp, checking in with some of her learners, asking are they are OK, letting them know that teachers are here for them and to help where they can.
When this pandemic began, teachers were given little notice to transition very quickly to distance learning or e-learning, sometimes with little or no training. In many cases, they had 48 hours or a weekend to reinvent lessons for an already planned curriculum, learn new technologies, find non-technology solutions to student learning, and figure out how to keep students engaged. For the most part, the entire Easter holiday was taken up with learning new skills and preparing to transition into a fully online program.
They have returned to a situation that demands they now perform two jobs that both require significant time for preparation and execution. Classroom teaching and then preparing online material and distributing it is time consuming and intellectually demanding.
I know our teachers are struggling mentally and emotionally; like the rest of us, they have to balance home and work and how to do their life’s work from afar while simultaneously caring for students in the classroom, grieving losses, managing personal anxieties and facing major disparities as they do their jobs.
How do we even begin to appreciate teachers in this current situation? We’ve seen celebrity tweets and photos and blogs that we must pay teachers more, maybe even a million rand a year. While it’s unlikely in practice, the sentiment is right about the value of skilled professional educators. If you are a parent, a community member, or a school board member, one of the best ways to appreciate teachers is to not forget what this experience has been like. A year from now, whether we’ve resumed “normal” school again or not, let’s put this greater understanding of the value of teachers to work by rethinking the policies and practices that affect educators.
While we might not have a million rand to pay each teacher, the very least we can do is send an email, create a social media post, or leave a voicemail to say thank you to our teachers. A million thank you’s can go a long way toward acknowledging and celebrating every teacher everywhere.
I would like to thank the many, many parents who continue to meet their school fee obligations despite these very trying times. Your commitment and support is valued and together we will complete the academic year.
Yours sincerely
Brian
