News from the Headmaster

It is all systems go at St Francis College and everyone at the school is excited about what 2020 has to offer. The children have already started their swimming at Liquid Lines in preparation for the B and C group galas which will take place on most Saturdays through January and February.

Parents were treated to a lovely cup of coffee on arrival at school on the first day. This was very welcome given the rather cool weather conditions. A big thank you to Richard and Joha Moolman and Greg Darke for making the arrangements for the coffee machine, coffee pods, frothed milk and sugar.

Lucy Kotze is back in the office after being off on maternity leave for most of last year. It is lovely to have her back again. We also welcomed Kathy Kopke as the grade 2 teacher. Kathy was at the school last year doing remedial classes and some teaching, but it is super to now have her in a full-time capacity in grade 2.

The staff will enjoy a staff development session on the afternoon of 31 January. This will be presented by Dr Darryl Smith who is a local counselling psychologist. We are grateful to Darryl for this support of the school.

The annual family braai is scheduled for the first week in February. This is a chance for all families at the school to relax, socialise and get to know each other. By then the school will be well into the swing of things and ready for everything that is planned for the first term. Some of the highlights on the planner are the Greenwood sports tour to Plettenberg Bay, the Wacky Woods Camp and the Beach Fun Day.

STAFFING GRADE 0 

Mrs Kym Clephane has informed the school that she and her family will be relocating to Johannesburg at the end of the first term. Mrs Clephane has served the school loyally and enthusiastically for the past two years. We thank Kym for her professional and dynamic service to the school and we wish her, her husband Scott and the children, Ben and Layla, everything of the best as they make the transition to the big city.

The grade 0 post is being advertised and it is expected that a new teacher will be appointed for the start of term 2.  Please see advert at the end of the newsletter.

SUPERVISED HOMEWORK

One of the ideas surveyed for this year was the introduction of a supervised homework session from 15:00 - 16:00.  In the first and third terms, this would be available on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.  It would not be available on a Tuesday in these terms because of the children having swimming at Liquid Lines.  In the second term the sessions would be available from Monday to Thursday.  The supervised homework sessions would be for children from grade 1 to grade 7.  

The cost for this will be R75 a week (per child) in the first and third terms (three sessions) and R100 per week (per child) in the second term (four sessions).  The child must be signed up at the beginning of a term and must be committed to a full term.  Billing will be for every session during the term, regardless of whether the child attends every session or not.

We are wanting to push ahead with this idea.  If you wish to sign your child or children up for this additional service, then please complete the reply slip in the office.

Mathletics & Reading Eggs

We have once again been given the opportunity to sign up for Mathletics or Reading Eggs at a reduce rate for 2020.  Mathletics will continue to be part of the Grade 7 curriculum, so it will be paid for out of their school fees.  Other Grades can benefit from this programme as an extra tool to supplement their school work.  The research shows that your child's Maths and/or reading will improve by using these programmes three times a week for 20 minutes.  The Maths Seeds programme is the Mathletics programme which has been designed for the Grade 0 to Grade 2 children.  If you would like to sign your child up for this please complete the form in the school office by Tuesday 4th February. Please note that those who used the programme last year, the programme will come to an end on 31 January 2020.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND MARKETING

The school’s marketing strategy involves, to a large extent, showcasing the activities which take place at school, both on the Upper Campus and at the Nursery School. As a result, numerous photographs of the children doing various activities, either in the classrooms or outdoors, are posted on our facebook page, on the website and on Instagram. Some pictures also appear in the local print media. If any parent is uncomfortable with their child’s picture being posted on social media or in the print media, they are requested to inform the office of this so that preventative steps can be taken. We are in the process of drawing up a social media policy. Vikki Hodder is our media liaison person. 

Parents' Association 2020

We welcome the following people to the Parents Association:
Antoinette Pearton, Helen Collins, Caroline Anderson, Fran Eden, Heather White, Elizabeth Anderson, Roger de Doncker, Jenna van der Westhuizen and Vicki Hodder. 
The PA had their first meeting on Thursday night and Heather White was elected as Chairperson.  Caroline Anderson was elected as Secretary.  The main event this term will be the Golf Day to be held at the Village Golf Course on Friday 27 March.  A Valentine's raffle will also take place in February..  Anyone else wanting to join  please contact the office.  

LOST PROPERTY

There is a lost property box outside the toilets at the front of the school. It is currently full of items, mostly from last year. Parents are welcome to look through the box for missing items.

The problem of clothing items getting lost is most extreme at Liquid Lines. This is one of the reasons why we like children to get changed back into their school clothes after swimming. If they put their clothes back on then they cannot leave items behind. However, swimming costumes or underwear are often left behind. In dealing with these lost property items, it is often the case that items are not marked with the owner’s name. After swimming this week we had the following unmarked items left at the swimming pool: two school shirts, a girl’s Speedo costume, two goggles, two caps and a pair of underpants. These can be claimed at the office.  

THANK YOU FROM THE GARDENING CLUB

A huge thank you to Chio Moulang and Saskia Boonzaier for their donations. Chio organized lots of bags of compost and she brought in a carpenter to complete the build on our seedling area. Saskia lent us her gardener to help tackle the December weed growth and she managed to organize with the municipality for grass cuttings for us to use as compost. We are very excited to prep our beds and get them ready for another year of healthy produce. 

Superspar Monthly Draw

Congratulations to Mr J Syme who won the  R1000 SUPERSPAR vouchers for the January draw.

Forms can be obtained from the office and a debit order of R50 a month as part of fund raising could win you a R1 000 shopping voucher from the St Francis Bay Village Square Superspar.

If you would like to enter into the monthly draw for just R50 per month please inform the office on info@stfranciscollege.co.za