NEW PARENT ORIENTATION 

VISION

Education is very important to our community and for the future growth and development in South Africa, as is the upliftment of our people. For this reason, Firgrove Primary is committed to striving for a positive, happy and balanced learning and cultural learning environment to create connecting skills for our industrial economic needs, core healthy community and world class citizens to set up the pride of our community and country.

MISSION STATEMENT

Our mission is of paramount importance as we consider the child our country`s greatest asset. Following this statement we ourselves aim to educate at all times, first set and therefore constantly strive to a good foundation (base) to establish in order to achieve our vision by:

                                                                                                             
•Developing a single, non-discriminatory school system based on the foundational rights established for learners, educators and parents.

• Promoting a heritage of academic excellence.

• Developing the learner holistically with the perfect foundation for a balanced education.

• Placing key variables needed for optimal educational growth as well the welfare of a learning centred school.

• Making the school accessible to all learners aged 7 to 15 at affordable fees.

• Putting the rights of learners, educators and parents first in order to reach the required standards.

• Achieving attitude of openness between learners, educators and parents.

• Parents, educators and other resources stablished to encourage a constructive contribution to a high quality education.

• Establishing a sense of pride in teachers, pupils and parents for the school's milestones and achievements.

SCHOOL PROFILE

Firgrove Primary School is an ordinary public school that charges school fees in line with the South African Schools Act (Act 84 of 1996). Our school is in Circuit 1 of the Metro East Education District of the Western Cape Education Department. The current acting circuit manager is Mrs. Dube. The administrative assistants of the Circuit is Mrs. C. Newman (Contact No: 021 900 7137) and Mrs R. April (Contact No.: 021 900 7198).

Under the South African school quintile grading system, we are a quintile 5 (well-resourced/least poor) school. This historical grading has become irrelevant because 80 to 90% of the learners we currently serve are underprivileged.  We are “punching well beyond our weight” with the value we offer our community in spite of the lack of funds.

The school’s contact detail are as follows:

Telephone: 021 842 3635
Cell phone: 065 837 1177 (WhatsApp only and only during school hours)
email: firgrove.prim@wcgschools.gov.za

We are a parallel medium school, i.e. both English and Afrikaans are taught as both Home and First Additional Language. Our projected enrolment for 2022 is 10 learners of whom 64 will be in two grade R English classes. We have one Afrikaans class per grade from grade 1 to 7. The School Governing Body will employ three teachers next year to prevent excessively big classes.

The School Management Team (SMT) consists of:

Principal:    Mr. E. E. Wyngaard
Deputy Principal:  Ms. T. Phillips
Acting Deputy Principal: Mr. J. Isaacs
Departmental Head FP: Mrs. B. Manus
Departmental Head FP: Mrs. M. Dilgee
Departmental Head IP: Mrs. Z. Jaggers
Acting Departmental Head IP:  Mrs. B Botha
Acting Departmental Head IP:  Mr. N Saayman 

Acting Departmental Head IP:  Mr. N Kruger 

The School Governing Body (SGB)

The SGB consists of 9 enfranchised members of whom 5 must be parents. Additional members may be co-opted onto the SGB.

The members currently serving on the SGB are:

Parents:      Mrs. B. Antonie (Chairperson), Mrs. S. Samuels, Mr. C. Solomons & Mr. M. Willow

Teachers:   Miss. M. Lyners; Mr. J. Isaacs

Non-teaching staff: Mr. G. Linders

The new SGB election will take place in March 2024.

Requests for a learners to be released earlier must be made by the parent or legal guardian and a valid reason must be provided.

It is important that the parent/legal guardian give consent and a full description if you ask another adult to collect your child from school.

Legally, minors may not be collected at school by an e-hailing service.

If there are any family disputes or separation of parents, the school must be informed timeously. Technically we cannot prevent a biological parent to see her/his child without a court order or formal letter from a social worker.

CONTACT INFORMATION AND TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS

The information that you submit today is taken as the official channel of contact with you as parent. PLEASE INFORM YOUR CHILD’S TEACHER IMMEDIATELY IF YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION CHANGES.

It is also important that your child’s teacher knows who your child travels with and who will regularly collect the child at school.

If, for some reason, a different person will collect your child at school, you must inform her/his teacher in time of the change.

You must inform your child’s teacher who your child’s transporter is and update the number of the transport provider and/or driver regularly.

FULL SERVICE SCHOOL

As a Full Service School (FSS) we have a full time Learning Support Educator (LSEN), Mrs. Strydom and two FSS assistants, Mrs. Steer and Miss Van Wyk. Learner needs are discussed by the School based Support Team (SBST) and tracked from term to term. Based on the needs identified, learners get supported by the assistants over and above the intervention of the teacher. If there is an indication of a serious learning barrier, we have the services of an Inclusive Education Team (IE Team) to observe and/or test the learner. The IE Team consists of a Psychologist, a Speech Therapist and an Occupational Therapist. In addition to observing and/or testing learners with learning barriers, the IE Team also provides therapy to improve the learners learning ability and academic performance.

The LSEN teacher also refers learners to the district School Psychologist for evaluation to establish the type of intervention she/he needs. Evaluation also helps to establish whether a learner needs to be referred to a Special School or a School of Skills. Intervention at school level as well as applications to Special Schools is always done with the knowledge and consent of the parent/legal guardian. Referrals are always preceded by a consultation with the parent or legal guardian.

ALLERGIES AND OTHER MEDICAL CONDITIONS

It is important that you inform your child’s teacher of any allergies or other medical conditions that your child suffers from. If your child must take medication, use an inhaler, need to be injected for diabetes or need to eat regularly for diabetes, it is essential that her/his teacher knows about it.

Staff can only give medication or administer other forms of pharmaceutical items prescribed by a medical professional. It is advisable that medication is only sent to school if it is prescribed to be taken during school hours. If not, please give such medication at home.

SCHOOL FEES AND FUNDRAISING

School Fees for 2022 has been approved by parents at the annual budget meeting held on Thursday 4 November 2021. The amount per year for grade R is R2500 and for grades 1 to 7 it is R1200. The payment of school fees is compulsory. Parents or guardians who cannot afford to pay school fees must apply for exemption from payment of school fees in writing on the prescribed form. Proof of the inability to pay must accompany the application. Part of the application is a sworn statement (affidavit) by the parent or guardian to confirm the reason for the inability to pay. Parents/guardians and/or learners who receive a social (SASSA) grant MUST ALSO APPLY FOR EXEMPTION. Documents to submit to confirm that you qualify for exemption include, but is not limited to:

Ø  Letter to prove receipt of a SASSA grant

Ø  Retrenchment letter

Ø  A sworn statement that the learners is in your care and that the other parent cannot or will not pay child support.

Ø  A sworn statement that you are unemployed for a period of time

The School Governing Body reserves the right to request additional proof of a parent’s inability to pay school fees.

Grade R learners are not considered part of mainstream education, i.e. they do not form part of legally compulsory education, and is therefore not eligible for exemption. A parent/guardian can only apply for exemption for the specific year. School fees due for previous years must be paid.

The School Governing Body may institute legal action to retrieve overdue school fees where parents neglected to pay.

SCHOOL BANK DETAIL

ACCOUNT NAME:  FIRGROVE PRIMARY SCHOOL
BANK:                  FNB SOMERSET MALL
BRANCH CODE: 200 912
ACCOUNT Nr:        53800345655

Reference:  Your child’s NAME AND SURNAME

School fees can be paid  

Ø  In cash

Ø  via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)

Cash deposits into the school’s bank account is not encouraged because it results in cash deposit fees for the school. It also requires you to send the deposit slip to school. The most cost effective way of paying school fees is by setting up the school as a beneficiary for EFT, ATM or scheduled monthly payments.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO USE THE LEARNER’S NAME AND SURNAME AS REFERENCE FOR ALL PAYMENTS TO ENABLE US TO ALLOCATE THE PAYMENT TO YOUR SCHOOL FEE ACCOUNT.

Please note that your own deposit slip or proof of electronic payment is your proof that you made a payment. The school only issue receipts for cash payments

As is the case for all schools, we need to raise extra funds to cover all the necessary expenses. Parents are expected to support fundraising efforts and events as far as possible.

Parents are also encouraged to look for donations from the companies or individuals they work for. Items donated can either be used as is at school or used for fundraising efforts.

A parent can also “work off” her/his child’s school fees by rendering a service that we need. Please let us know if you are interested in doing so.

SCHOOL UNIFORM

The Learner Code of Conduct outlines the required school uniform for learners from grades 1 to 7. It is not necessary for grade R learners to wear school uniform.  School tracksuits and rain jackets can be purchased through the school from the authorised supplier. Prepayment is required and the item ordered and it is normally available in two weeks. Please do not buy school tracksuits, ties and rain jackets from unauthorised suppliers. In many such cases the design is different from the approved school uniform items.

If there is a reason for your child not being able to wear school uniform (items lost, too small or torn), please inform your child’s teacher to avoid possible disciplinary action. Please inform the teacher when the item will be fixed or replaced.

ATTENDANCE AND PUNCTUALITY

Please make sure that your child is at school for every school day and arrives on time. Learner attendance is taken in the first ten minutes of school and posted online for the Western Cape Education Department. Late coming disrupt a class, hampers the administrative process and starts your child’s day in an anxious and rushed manner.

You must inform the school if your child will be absent, for what reason and for how long. Please send proof of the reason. This is compulsory If your child misses an assessment due to the absence. If your child is absent for more than three days without you contacting the school, we will contact you to establish the reason. A learner who is absent for more than ten school days with no contact from the parent and if we are unable to reach the parent, will be deregistered from the school’s enrolment.

LEARNER TRANSPORT

Most of the learner transport providers comply with regulations and we have very few challenges associated with the transport of our learners to and from school. The school has a healthy working relationship with drivers affiliated with the Macassar Learner Transport Association (MLTA). The principal convenes a meeting with transport providers/drivers once a term to facilitate good service and safety of learners.We encourage compliance with the relevant regulations and request operators to submit proof of compliance to the school.

In spite of all these steps, it is the duty of the relevant local and provincial authorities to enforce measures for compliance. The school does not have any jurisdiction over tarnsport operators and drivers.

The agreement to transport learners is between the operator and the parent and neither the school nor the WCED can be held accountable for any loss or injury while learners are in transit.