Newsletter

30 November  2011 

Dear Parents

How this year has flown!   It was a very busy one, jam packed with a myriad of activities.    

ACADEMIC MATTERS:

Most of our pupils achieved good results.   The decision to allow a child to progress or not is never taken lightly.   A final decision is only made after numerous means of intervention, such as physical check-ups, extra lessons, parent consultation and professional assessment.   Educators are trained to spot children who require extra assistance and an assessment committee meets to discuss each individual case where a decision should be made.   Parents can be rest assured that they can trust the judgement of the teacher as to when a child should be allowed to progress or to spend more time acquiring the skills needed for the next grade.   We want to do what is in the best educational interest of the child.

SPORT:

Our results improved dramatically towards the end of the year.   It is evident that the newly created Sports Department is starting to pick the fruit of its efforts.   Thank you very much to Mr Van Wyk and his team for all their plans, workshops, coaching etc.   We are very happy with the great improvement. 

CULTURE:

This was a very busy year for our children as well as for Mrs Kingwill and our staff.   The children were given many opportunities to perform on stage.   When you page through your Annual Magazine you will be reminded of all the events and performances in which our children participated. 

Much as we love presenting each and every programme, it will just not be possible to put a big concert on stage next year, such as our Arts and Culture Festival was this year.   The reason is that the teachers will be severely challenged by getting their heads around the new curriculum (Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement – CAPS). There is a great deal of  planning and admin to be done which will claim most of their ‘free’ time.   The CAPS also requires specific goals to have been achieved by  the children on specific dates.   There will not be enough time to rehearse for a big show.    We regret that we have to put a moratorium on this event until everybody has time and energy for a big come-back. 

STAFF MATTERS: 

Our staff rose to every occasion once again!   They not only did their duty, they exceeded what could reasonably be expected of them.   Everybody contributed to the very busy sport and cultural calendar and sacrificed many hours of private time.   My sincere gratitude to every member of staff. 

We are very sad to bid farewell to Mrs McNaughton, Miss Smith, Mrs Van Wyk, Mr Sparrius and Mrs Marais.   The latter three will henceforth serve on the staff at UHS.   Miss Smith is relocating to the Free State in order to be with her fiancé and Mrs Mac is leaving the teaching profession for other interesting pursuits. 

All these people brought many talents and added great value to our school and our lives.   We wish them only the best for the future. 

We have appointed Mrs Bronwynn Kingwill, Mrs Anna Fezi and Miss Sonet Nel in the teachers’ positions and Mrs Estelle Mendes as school secretary.   We look forward to welcoming them to the Union Prep family soon. 

PARENTS: 

We wish to thank you for your loyalty and support during 2011.   We are very grateful for your involvement, support and assistance with sporting and cultural events as well as the team spirit you display when it comes to smaller things such as covering books or sewing costumes.  

GOVERNING  BODY: 

We would like to thank the men and women serving on this body for sharing their expertise and wisdom with us.   Our meetings claim a great deal of their personal and professional time, but their input is very valuable to the school in terms of guidance and governance.   

We wish to thank Mr Watermeyer, the parent and staff members for their selfless service to the school.   We are fortunate to have them on our team. 

Please remember that there will be National Elections in March 2012.   Identify people whom you would like to trust with the wellbeing of your school and nominate them when the time comes. 

We wish you a blessed Christmas Season and much love and happiness for your family. 

God bless
LEONA RICH  
PRINCIPAL