Wynberg Girls' Junior School News
News letter 1
28th Jan
1/2010
13 January 2010 Dear WGJS Family Welcome back! We extend a special word of welcome to all our new families and look forward to a long and happy association with you all. We focus with excited anticipation on the year that lies ahead! As I look at our annual programme, I know that there is much to be enthusiastic about. My staff has spent an enormous amount of time, in the last months of 2009 on planning for 2010. They are well and truly prepared to give your daughters the wonderful, well balanced education they deserve. STAFF NEWS We welcome the following new staff to WGJS and have no doubt that they will receive your full support: Mrs Verster – Music Miss Kocsis – Grade R Miss Bezuidenhout – Grade 1 Miss Whitfield – Grade 5 Miss Lyddell – Grade 6 Miss Yeats – Grade We welcome Mrs Randelhoff back to WGJS. We are delighted that the WCED has returned her to us! She will be in Grade 1. It is with regret that I also have to inform you that Mrs Laughton will not be returning to Grade 1 at the end of this term. She is to be a stay-at-home mum with her baby daughter. We thank her for 6 years of outstanding service and await her return to education in the future. MEET THE EDUCATORS/ NEW PARENTS’ EVENING On Wednesday 20 January at 18h00 the Foundation Phase parents are invited to meet their daughter’s teacher at 18h00. There will be a slightly different arrangement this year. We ask all parents from Grade R – 3 to meet in the school hall for a brief general meeting before proceeding to the classrooms. Our new parents will receive an invitation to an informal reception to meet the Governing Body and staff at 19h00. This will enable you to go to the classrooms first. On Thursday 21 January, the Intermediate and Senior Phase parents are invited to meet the teachers. Once again, we will all meet in the school hall for a brief meeting before proceeding to the classrooms. During the classroom meetings, you will be informed of what you may expect for the year as well as hear about what we expect from you and your daughters. Please make every effort to attend these very important meetings. It’s all so much simpler when you know exactly what is going on. Please be aware that the educators will be unable to discuss individual cases with you at these meetings but they will be more than happy to set up appointments with you to discuss your particular concern. Parents new to WGJS will receive an invitation to attend an informal gathering with the staff and Governing Body after the Parent/Educator Meetings. EARLY CLOSING Please note the Grade R and Grade 1’s school day will end at 12h30 until Friday 12th February. Thereafter they will leave at 13h00 on Monday to Thursday and 13h30 on a Friday. EARLY CLOSING Please note the Grade R and Grade 1’s school day will end at 12h30 until Friday 12th February. Thereafter they will leave at 13h00 on Monday to Thursday and 13h30 on a Friday. E-LEARNER REGISTRATION FOR GRADE’S 4 AND 7 - COMPUTER DEPARTMENT WGJS is a registered e-Learner Centre and our computer lessons are aimed at allowing our learners to have the opportunity to achieve an international certificate in computers. Last year all our Grade 4 and 7 learners were successful in showing that they had the knowledge required to achieve this certificate. We are hoping that this year ALL our Grade 4 and 7 learners for 2010 will register to allow them to achieve the basics before moving onto the ICDL international certificate in high school. Additional information about this course can be collected from Miss Adams. All we require from our parents is a once off course fee of R50 which is sent to the ICDL Foundation and can be paid at the school’s finance office as soon as possible. This fee is essential to your daughter’s ICT education as they are required to complete online tests and will then be prepared for the next step in the ICDL. Your daughter can only start these tests once this fee has been paid. MUSIC DEPARTMENT – MISS LEONARD We would like to wish all the girls and their parents a prosperous 2010. We look forward to working together this year developing all the eager young minds to become talented musicians! We welcome Mrs Renata Verster to our department. She will be teaching piano, flute, recorder and Foundation Phase class music. We trust that she will enjoy being part of our department. Individual music lessons will commence as soon as the timetables are finalised. Lesson times will be confirmed with the class teachers and pupils concerned. Please diarise the following for this term: Senior Choir rehearsals Tuesday 14:00 – 15:00 Monday 7:30 – 8:00 Vocal Ensemble Weekly rehearsals To be confirmed Junior Choir Tuesday 8:10 – 8:40 Variety Concert (Masque Theatre) in conjunction with WGHS Vocal Ensemble Thursday/Friday 19:30 Saturday 14:30, 18:30 21/22/23 January Music Movie Tickets for sale Friday 26 February Choir Camp Senior Choir Friday/Saturday 5/6 March Grand piano inauguration Tickets for sale Thursday 18 March May our music fill your ears with joyous sounds this year! MY SCHOOL CARD If any of our new families have not yet completed the “My School Card” application form, please do so as soon as possible. Our school benefits every time the card is swiped at the participating stores at no cost to you. It is a simple way for the school to raise additional funds. PA/FUNDRAISERS AND EVENTS CO-ORDINATORS The Parent Association constitutes an extremely vital cog in the wheel of school life. For 2010, we have a core group of highly motivated parents, headed by Mrs Lyn Makinson, who will be relying on your support throughout the year to reach our much needed targets. Involvement in all areas of school life is a very positive experience and certainly enhances your daughters’ view of school. We have a notice board outside the school hall, dedicated to “forthcoming attractions” as well as important information regarding our progress in fundraising. Please make yourself available to assist in at least one of the events and certainly diarise all the events to avoid any clashes. FUN raising is a key element in all our FUND raising activities. We begin the year with our Camp Out on Friday 29 January. More details will follow. SCHOOL FEES AND EXEMPTIONS – Finance Office We wish to thank all those parents who have paid their school fees for 2010, in advance. There is also a far greater number paying by debit order. This is a great help to the school as well as being a time saver. We encourage you to use this system. Should you still wish to make use of the debit order system, please obtain a form from the Finance Office. Further information may be obtained from Mrs Yardin or Mrs Korck. Please complete the form as soon as possible and make the necessary arrangements. We wish to remind parents who feel that they qualify for exemptions or partial exemption on fees, that the forms are available at the Finance Office. You are required to come in to the school and sign for the application as per the legislated regulations. The deadline for submitting the completed forms is Friday 19 February 2008. The Governing Body Finance Committee will process these applications. We ask you to consider your options very carefully as the school is almost totally reliant on school fees to operate efficiently and effectively. We do not receive any compensation for exemptions from the Education Department. Please note that this concession on fees does NOT apply to Grade R which is privately operated. GOVERNING BODY BY- ELECTION Please take note that a separate letter informing you of the School Governing Body By - Election which takes place on Tuesday 16 February at 18h00 is attached. We need to replace one member of the SGB whose daughter has now left the school. Currently, we have one co-opted member who is prepared to stand for office but obviously, this is an open election and should you wish to nominate someone whom you feel has the expertise we may require, please follow the legal procedures. It is a legal requirement that we have a quorum of 15% of the total number of children present at the school, represented by the parents, at the By-Election before we may proceed. Therefore I appeal to you to make every effort to attend and avoid us having to wait another 30 days for a second attempt! The elections are swiftly conducted and the meeting is usually concluded without any delays. EXTRA-MURALS All extra-murals begin on Monday 18 January. FLOWERS FOR THE FRONT OFFICE – MISS WESTON We are looking for volunteers to provide flowers for the Office. All you would need to do is send a large bunch of flowers to school on a Monday morning. This would take place twice a year. You would leave the flowers with one of the secretaries in the office. You would not need to arrange the flowers but if you are able to, that would be greatly appreciated. Please indicate below if you would be able to assist us. SCHOOL UNIFORM We, the young ladies, parents and educators, are all very proud to belong to the WGJS family. Certain standards have been set and need to be maintained in order for us to continue to be seen as a fine example to all. A high standard requires attention to detail, hence our requests to you to ensure that your daughters wear the correct school uniform, neatly, at all times. While the initial outlay may appear expensive, it costs far less in the long run than if you had to acquire a wardrobe of casual clothing and shoes for you daughters were uniforms to be abolished. The “Wynberg” label costs a fraction of the designer labels our girls are all attracted to! Please be aware that no outrageous hairstyles or altered hair colours are permitted. Fashionable, sweeping or hanging fringes are to be kept back, away from the face in hairclips or a hair band. Only small studs or sleepers, one in each ear, may be worn. PUNCTUALITY We realise and accept that the traffic outside school this morning was extremely congested which hampered punctual arrival. It should lessen over the next few days after our Grade 1’s have settled in. It is imperative that the girls arrive at school at the correct time every morning. I cannot emphasise this enough. Often, when the girls arrive after the bell has rung, it is not their fault, but in fact parents who have been responsible for their late arrival. Punctuality is part of self-discipline and most certainly, respect. We understand that crises do occur but for the most part we urge you to ensure that your daughters arrive at school in good time. All latecomers are to announce themselves at the secretaries’ office so that we are aware that they have arrived safely. MOMS WHO PRAY Should you like to be part of the group of moms that pray for the staff, their families and the girls’ of Wynberg Girls’ Junior School, please contact Mrs Appleton on 082 790 5264 for details. ABSENTEES Should your daughter not be coming to school for any reason, please contact the secretaries by 09:30 on the morning of her absence. This is very important. This enables us to organise extra work for your daughter should it be required but more importantly, we know that she is safe and that nothing has happened to her on her way to school. DATES TO REMEMBER: January 18 Extra-murals begin 20 Foundation Phase Meet the Parents at 18h00 New parents function at 19h00 21 Intermediate and Senior phase Meet the Parents at 18h00 20-23 Vocal Ensemble performs at the Masque Theatre 29 Camp Out IN CONCLUSION Start as you intend to finish. In other words do not be distracted from the wonderful intentions you have to make 2010 a special year. Begin with a flourish and end it in the same way. Work hard at maintaining all your good intentions. It requires self- discipline and conditioning! We plan to do our very best and will not be happy with mediocrity! We will endeavour to have a school filled with eager, enthusiastic learners. We must provide dynamic, motivating educators. We dream of polite, respectful learners. We must provide sound role models. We imagine a school where there is no bullying. We must ensure policies are in place and that the girls are protected and that perpetrators’ behaviour is altered through programmes. All this I am willing to do. However, the school can only do so much in 5 hours a day. Society takes care of the rest! So, only if we work together, model the standards, values and morals will we succeed. I’m willing to try, I know you are too! A quote from Barbara Jordan, mother of the basketball player Michael Jordan follows: Give your children the priceless, lasting gifts of character: concern for others, self esteem, freedom to dream, integrity, independence, responsibility, confidence, values based on good judgement or reasoning and spiritual faith. The best way to do this is through you own example. Best wishes W M CONDIE (MRS) PRINCIPAL