WATERKLOOF PRIMARY SCHOOL

NEWSLETTER 9 – 2015 20 April 2015

Mr van Niekerk leaving School Governing Body

The SGB has been informed by Mr van Niekerk that after much consideration, he has decided to accept an incredible job opportunity in the aviation field, and will commence his new career on 1 August 2015. It is with a heavy heart that we advise you that he is therefore tendering his resignation as Principal of WPS.

Mr van Niekerk has advised that he will continue in his position as Principal until the end of Term 2 of the 2015 academic year and will ensure that the transition in handing over to the new (or acting) Principal is managed smoothly and efficiently.

In his time in serving the “Waterkloof Family”, Mr van Niekerk has been a remarkable leader, educator, mentor, guide and advisor to several generations of pupils and parents and his contribution, dedication and hard work is much appreciated.

Appeals Mrs J. Shee

Please take note that parents may appeal report results if they are not in agreement with their child’s academic report. Forms are available from the front office.

Assessment Plans Mrs J. Shee

Assessment Plans for Grade 4 to 7 are on Communicator. Hard copies were sent to parents on the first day of school this year. Please use these plans to assist your child with his/her school work, studying and planning.

Homework

NO homework will be uploaded onto Communicator. Children need to learn how to use a diary correctly and they need to learn the responsibility of writing down and doing their homework daily. Reminders of items for projects may be placed on Communicator from time to time. Staff will be checking in register period every morning that children have brought their Homework Diaries to school. The onus and responsibility to write down the homework remains the child’s!

Information Evening and Special Invitation Meeting Mrs J.Shee

Thank you to all parents who attended these meetings. Your commitment to your child’s future, together with ours, can only assist your child to be successful at school.

Term 2 Staff Consultation Days and Times

Grade 4 Thursday 14:00 Grade 6 Tuesday 14:00 Grade 5 Thursday 14:00 Grade 7 Tuesday 14:00

Exam Timetable Term 2 - 2015

GRADE SUBJECT DATE Grade 4 Natural Science 4 June 2015 English 5 June 2015 Afrikaans 8 June 2015 Maths 9 June 2015

Grade 5 Natural Science 4 June 2015 English 5 June 2015 Afrikaans 8 June 2015 Maths 9 June 2015

Grade 6 Natural Science 4 June 2015 English 5 June 2015 Afrikaans 8 June 2015

Maths 9 June 2015

Grade 7 Life Orientation 3 June 2015 Natural Science & EMS 4 June 2015 English & Geography 5 June 2015 Afrikaans & Technology 8 June 2015 Maths & History 9 June 2015

Please note that children will write their exams and the Grade 4 to 6 children will continue with a normal academic day after the exam sessions. All eight lessons will be taught, but the periods will be shortened. The Grade 7s will have a study session between their papers.

Charity Mrs J. Shee

Winter is on its way and our blanket drive begins today. If you are at all able to, please send a warm blanket to school. All blankets will be sent to organisations who have come to rely upon our support of their efforts to assist the homeless during our cold winter months. Please be compassionate and generous - thank you.

Recycling Mrs L. Eagle

In spite of a few problems with our recycling collectors we had a very successful first term with the recycling programme. I would like to thank everyone who is bringing their recycling to school on Wednesdays. Due to the cessation of the street collection of recyclable goods we have had a number of people from the community wanting to add to our programme. Unfortunately, our bin with bread tags was secretly emptied during the term so we have had to start this collection again! Please send all the bread tags you can find - we would really like to provide a needy person with a wheelchair! The bin is now kept under lock and key, and tags can be placed in the containers in the register teacher’s class.

The new venture - a collaboration with the Cartridge Guys - has also taken off well and a good many empty cartridges were collected. The voucher system is working well and we hope that more children will be motivated to bring empty printer cartridges to school for recycling. A R2.00 voucher is given for each cartridge, and each voucher is redeemable at either C. Goodies (school shop) or the tuck shop. Congratulations to the winning class of Term 1 - Grade 6 Wissing - and each child received an icecream as a reward. Grade 7 Law was the runner-up. Keep up the good work!

Two keen Grade 7 boys, Mark Serfontein and Cameron Ras, have helped me collect some statistics which I think you will find insightful. Each week an average of 51 cars empty their recycling on our school premises. This represents less than 8% of the number of families in our school. This means that there are many more families who could contribute to our recycling endeavour. Come on Moms and Dads, each little bit helps.

Thank you once again to all the helpers who assist with the recycling programme - the team of Grade 6 monitors, moms Laurianne and Jeanette, Mrs Linda Williams and Lukas. You are all doing a magnificent job in keeping the programme going.

From the Sportsdesk Mrs J. de Beer

Tennis - Georgia Kennealy has been selected for the SA Primary Schools tennis team going to the USA. Georgia was a member of the Gauteng North Primary Schools tennis team which won the provincial tournament.

Squash - Aren Repko has been selected for the Gauteng North U/13A squash team who will take part in the SA Country Schools Festival in Bloemfontein from 30 April to 3 May 2015.

Skateboarding - Brian and Michael Stylianou in Grade 5 excelled in skateboarding during the school holidays. Brian was placed first and Michael third, and they will now be attending the ‘Kimberley Diamond Cup Grand Slam Skateboarding Competition’ to be held on 18 April 2015. The competition is part of the qualifiers for the 2015 South African U/13 Championships and for the TopGrom International Series.

Well done to all the above children.

Charity - SPCA Mrs A. Stobbart

Thank you to all those children and parents who donated their small change to the SPCA. We managed to collect R600 last term.

The tins will remain in the classrooms and we urge the children to bring along any small change. Any amount is welcome and desperately needed by the SPCA to look after unwanted pets.