International Conferences

What a privilege it is to be the principal of Pinelands North Primary School! This has been the year of international conferences for me, and because of the Governing Body’s belief in growing our staff, and paying for it, they have sent me to two of these conferences this year.

The first was in February in Cape Town: The Art of Thinking conference run by the International Association for Cognitive Education in Southern Africa. Rose-Anne Reynolds and I attended this three day conference on behalf of the school. I don’t think I have ever been in such esteemed company! Only about 180 delegates attended but about a third of these were foreign, and most of the foreign delegates  were professors! Rose-Anne and I networked at every opportunity and so had the privilege of having indepth conversations with Professors from Israel, Singapore, United Kingdom, Norway and USA, and with several from South Africa.

The discussions revolved around thinking skills predominantly; how to teach these in schools, how to train teachers in the skills first and how to find out whether schools were in fact teaching thinking in their schools. The reason we attended was to increase our knowledge for our Creative and Talented programme. This programme is run for our talented and diverse thinkers in the school, and I came away inspired to continue our task of producing bright pupils who can solve world problems, and to research the subject further!

Two years ago, in 2007, the Governing Body sent me to Auckland, New Zealand, to an International Principals’ Conference where I first decided to start a programme for our brightest students. This year I again had the privilege of attending this international conference: this time in Singapore. I spent seventeen days away – the first in Singapore and then the final five in Thailand.

Wow! The conference was initially affected by the Novel N1H1 virus, but that didn’t deter the 1500 principals from getting excited about improving their schools back home. Interestingly enough, only 7 principals from Cape Town attended, but there were 200 from South Africa in total (the second largest group attending)! We visited schools, even though this was difficult in the health circumstances, and we networked with principals worldwide.

I returned renewed, and beaming, having again realized what a super school I belong to – our primary school in the small enclave of Pinelands, provides an exceptional world class education! Nothing I saw in Thailand or Singapore was unusual for me – we compare very favourably internationally.

Having had that reaffirmed, makes these two conferences worthwhile! Thank you, Pinelands North, for always being at the cutting edge of learning around the world, and for including me in this learning – I love it!

'It takes a village to raise to child'

There is an African proverb which says “It takes a village to raise a child”. This became a topic of conversation at one of our new teachers’ meetings this year. Pinelands North is the epitome of this proverb. The whole community takes responsibility for the development of your children – from Karen in the tuckshop who watches your child’s nutrition, to Cathy in the uniform shop who kits out children of unemployed families with uniform donated by you.

Discipline is also one of the ‘whole village’ issues. Some children arrive at Pinelands North from other schools unable to control their behaviour, and they leave in grade 7 as different children – in fact, when Valentine, our Deputy, was first at the school he asked me one day if a particular child had been at the school for his full primary schooling. I looked at him strangely as it was so – the child had only been with us for two years. On querying why he had asked, he replied that he could see the difference in this child compared to the rest of his class! I was astounded, and very pleased that people could see such an obvious difference. We all make a difference to every child here.

Even though zenophobia raged all around us earlier this year, our children of all colours, religions and countries, stood together to decry the situation, and they asked, with puzzled expressions, ”How can people behave like this to each other?” Discrimination is so foreign to them because our school ‘village’ includes all peoples of the world.

The ‘village’ of Pinelands North includes you, the parents, pupils, grandparents, neighbours, past pupils and families, Pinelands community members and teachers. Because we all care, our children grow into exceptional human beings who are able to hold their own in society at large, and in our wonderful country in particular.

Thank you for the part you play in the village, in this our sixtieth birthday year, with pride in your achievements. You made the year what it has been, and together we will continue to raise our Pinelands North children for the next generation.

Truly African School in Pinelands

The other day I pondered on how Africa and its problems are affecting our school, Pinelands North. We are currently advertising several posts – teacher aides, a teaching post and a sports’ administrator. We have been overwhelmed by the number of refugee teachers applying, not only for teaching but for anything! We have also, this year, had several refugee families join our school family. Most of these families have left their homes, families, excellent jobs and possessions because of unrest in their own African countries.

South Africa is a haven for them now and we need to remind ourselves every day of the privilege of living in this country rather than in any other on this continent. Even though we hear daily about escalating crime,

most of us are seldom affected. When I interview prospective parents, several ask about the security of the school and I tell them that the reason we originally erected the fence was to protect our copper pipes!

As a school we really are privileged; we have supportive families who ’buy in’ to our school ethos, excellent staff who we can still handpick, facilities that rival many a private school and education standards that most new children to the school can not attain!
Thank you to all those who have made this possible; the past and current staff, parents and governing body members and the pupils who daily follow our motto – Aim High! Visit us to experience this wonderful ‘haven’ firsthand, and visit our website at www.pnps.co.za.

World Class Ubuntu in Action!

Flying back from Johannesburg on the eve of our school’s 58^th birthday, I sat next to an Australian ophthalmologist and his Chinese wife.  They were flying to Cape Town to attend a world ‘retina’ conference and had never visited Africa before.

After finding out that I was a principal, they quizzed me on education in South Africa.  After the usual question of how many white and black children we had, I proudly informed them about our wonderful ‘world class’ South African school – about how I didn’t in fact know that answer – I knew we have 451 pupils and about 40 staff, but I couldn’t ‘classify’ anyone.  It wasn’t even necessary to do that because we are all members of an ‘ubuntu’ community in pursuit of world class excellence!

Wow!  I’ve always known that this is a very special school, but sitting in the aeroplane watching the setting sun that evening, I realised how privileged I was to be part of ubuntu in action – how much my life has been touched by all the wonderful children, staff and parents I have worked with in the past 10 years.

Thank you for the part you have played in the building of this community, and, if you haven’t been part of the Red School before, visit us to see ubuntu in action!!

Our Special Reality

… a beaming little girl rolls by, pushed by several friends all enjoying the sunshine.

… a miserable boy sits on a bench under a stop sign and immediately he is surrounded by helpful, friendly children.

… pyjama’d children lie on the classroom floor covered with sleeping bags as their pyjama’d teacher reads to them.

… a yellow labrador mooches over to a group of ducks to see if they have found discarded playground crumbs.

… a boy in a wheelchair holds the end of a skipping rope so that his friends can jump over the rope.

Did these ‘cameos’ produce the ‘aah’ response in you, the ones usually felt in a ‘feel-good’ movie?

In fact these are not movie cameos – this is reality, the special reality seen daily at our school!  What a special place this is.   During this year the inclusivity process has been consolidated and it has also become national knowledge – the word is out that Pinelands North is the place to educate your children if you wish them to grow up in the real world.

I’m so proud to be the principal of a school that reflects a truly diverse South African society! 

Go to our website to see for yourself or, if you’re feeling down and need a ‘feel-good’ movie, visit our wonderful school instead!

                                    

Our first few Inclusive Success Stories

We realised, that although we’ve made a difference in many children’s lives, we had affected some children radically.  As a staff this year  we put together a list of children who we saw as being particular success stories of Pinelands North.  We also asked our parents to write to us if they felt that their children fell into this category. These are, therefore, some of our very first special children:

David White 1998-2003

David’s mom came to see us in 1998 after having been to many schools.  David was attending Vista Nova and had been there for two years before they decided he needed to be in the special class as he was ‘unteachable and would never learn anything’. This school sent a 26 page report from their specialist team to explain why he was a ‘hopeless case’. David spent his first 21 days on life support in intensive care, had a stroke and then a major operation for a tumour in the neck.   While in pre-primary his teacher noted that he had learning difficulties and they referred him to Vista Nova.

Pinelands North Primary School accepted David into Grade 2 at the age of ten years. At first he was brought into our school on a termly basis – we wanted David to be happy and if he stopped coping, then we believed we needed to move him for his benefit. Now, David is in Grade 7, though his short term memory is poor and he struggles every day, he always tries his best.   He can read, write, count, draws well and is able to converse eloquently.  

David has made incredible progress.   Each year his learning programme has been adapted slightly to suit him – he uses a calculator in mathematics, does not focus on languages other than English and has help deciphering tests as he has the knowledge but often can’t apply the knowledge to the questions. Socially David has developed well and is exceptionally well behaved and polite.   He has never suffered from peer pressure but is always supported by his classmates who help him every step of the way. David writes : “All the teachers have done their best to help me since Grade 2.   I now can read and write and count and look after myself.   I find Grade 7 very hard and struggle with maths and Afrikaans.   I have come a long, long way and am really going to miss Pinelands North.”

Joaquim Strumpher   1998-2001

Joaquim was brought to our school by Cape Youth Care, a care facility for boys with problems.   He had just been removed from Vera School, a school particularly for autistic children. He was enrolled into Nancye Homer’s Grade 4 class.  From the beginning, Joaquim presented as an angry, insecure, uncontrollable boy who threw books and desks around the classroom whenever he felt out of sorts. During this year he was loved and hugged by Nancye continually and he began to settle down.   He realised that he was more able and capable than he had thought he was!  Cape Youth Care arranged for him to be fostered by Chris and Clare Docking during this year too.During Grade 5 he was still volatile, unsure of how to show his anger and frustration, and he had problems with boundaries and consequences of his actions.  He needed constant encouragement and positive reinforcement and slowly he began to be more accepted by his peers.

Joaquim showed an inherent musicality by spontaneously playing on a piano outside the music room.  He played at every opportunity; before school, at break times and even after school.   He would often ask Tina Sheard to show him a new section of a song and eventually he was entertaining the teachers and his peer fan club.  Joaquim loved this attention and he also found that while playing, he was able to relax and just be himself. At the end of this year, he was awarded a special music bursary by our school which enabled him to follow our school music programme in piano and theory. Joaquim continued to need lots of encouragement, support and structure at home and at school but made enormous strides emotionally. During Grade 6 he loved playing the piano and soaked up information.  Any music theory work, however, sent him into a deep sulk and he showed a great frustration at having to read music.   He is aurally talented and has perfect pitch and musicians with this gift sometimes find it hard to read music because they can learn it simply by listening.

During Grade 7 Joaquim involved himself in the lighting and sound team for which he received a service award at the end of the year.  He played the piano until the end of Grade 7 and performed at our Art and Music function to great acclaim.  During this year Joaquim showed great maturity and was able to communicate well with adults particularly.  He seldom became angry and was able to control his behaviour and his emotional outbursts. He then went to Oude Molen and visited us regularly.   Joe now smiles at his own recollections of “what a difficult child he must have been” but he is so grateful to PNPS for what the school meant to him.   He writes, “The thing I really respect about the Red School is that they always respected me even when I totally ignored them and did the opposite of what was instructed.   The school pushed me and had to build me up from scratch.   This took a lot of work from the teachers’ side and was a real work out for Mrs Morton. I am so grateful to the school that practically gave me a new beginning to life as a normal child.   I must have been  so difficult to work with and thank you everyone for the time you spent getting me into line.”

Jagger Fabian 2000-2003

Jagger came to Pinelands North from Camps Bay Primary School.   His principal, Bernie Segal, phoned to ask us to take him as he was arriving late every day and had huge behavioural problems.

He came to Ilse Gouws’ class in Grade 4 in July.   He was continually distracted, could not sit still, shouted out and questioned authority all the time.   He seldom completed any work and had particular difficulties with mathematics. Mom promised to be supportive and involved on his enrolment but wasn’t!  She seemed intimidated by Jagger and spoilt him unbelievably. During Grade 5 Jagger was very aggressive and tried to gain attention by being the class clown. Many meetings were held between Jenny van Velden, mom and senior staff and he was often on report.

Kim Lawrence took him on in Grade 6.   Here he continued to be attention-seeking, disruptive and a bully of other pupils.  Because of these problems, we called his mom to a disciplinary hearing at which Jagger admitted that he had lied about many things to make himself appear more ‘cool’ in the eyes of the class e.g. watching pornography.  We asked his mom to remove him from the school as at the end of the second term.  After this meeting Jagger and his mom finally started getting his life in order.   We noticed a huge improvement in his attitude towards his school work, to his peers and in his general behaviour.  We wrote to his mother and told her that we would reconsider Jagger leaving as we had been so impressed with the change in him.

This positive improvement continued into Grade 7 where his teacher described him as “kind, concerned and entertaining” and that he was “trying hard”!  This was a complete makeover. Now, Jagger is unbelievably polite and well-mannered, interacts well with adults and his peers and the school has an excellent relationship with his mom too!

Catherine Pretorius   2000-2002

Catherine came to our school in Grade 5 and joined Rose Casserley’s class.   When she arrived she lacked confidence, particularly in maths because she believed she could not do this subject.  She was very fearful and believed that she was stupid. Rose worked hard with her and she grew in confidence.   By the end of Grade 5, she loved mathematics and was doing exceptionally well in all subjects. During Grade 6 Catherine’s confidence grew – she has a lovely sense of humour, worked hard and produced good work in all subjects.   She occasionally displayed nervousness but began to feel more and more accepted.

During Grade 7 she was unbelievably confident in that she interacted well with adults and was not afraid to speak her mind even if her peers didn’t agree with her.  Her stall for her entrepreneurial project was excellent – she had made soaps and had sewn things from scrap fabric. She left for high school ready in all aspects to approach life positively.

Michael Mgodeli  1999-2000

Barry Clarke, a neighbour of our school and Pinelands’ Rugby Academy coach, phoned to ask if we could take a boy who he saw as a future “little Tiger Woods”! Barry believed that Michael, who was at Athlone Primary, had huge potential particularly in various sporting fields.

When Michael arrived he was a 12 handicap at golf and played for Metropolitan. Michael was a quiet, gentle boy who was completely unsure of himself.   During his Grade 6 year he developed confidence.   He attended as many different sports as possible and started to believe that there was nothing he couldn’t do!

Academically Michael was weak but he was very hardworking.  We in fact believed in him so much that we tried to get him a bursary at Rondebosch Boys’ High.  Unfortunately this didn’t happen and he left us for Pinelands High, academically stronger and with a belief that he could achieve anything.

Toni Roberts 2003

Toni was born in 1993 with a very rare, unpronounceable genetic skin disorder.   Apart from having to deal with the disorder itself, it was feared that she would have to attend a school for disabled children because her skin, the largest organ of the body is so fragile.   In the dermatology world these children are called “butterfly children” because their skin can be as fragile as a butterfly’s wings.

Naturally if a normal public school was not going to be able to take her it was felt she would have to go to a private school where the classes are smaller and the staff more caring.   For the first three years of schooling she attended St George’s and it worked well. Then her parents discovered PNPS!  Fortunately her mom was able to experience PNPS not only from the outside as a parent but also from the inside as a student teacher.   The moment she walked into the school, she  knew she wanted to work there.   The moment she worked here, she knew she wanted her children to attend this school. Her mom discussed Toni with the principal and it was recommended that Toni spend a week at PNPS before a decision was made.   Nancye Homer who would more than likely be her grade 4 teacher, took Toni under her wing for a week.   Before she visited the school, the children were informed of her disorder, had a chance to discuss the physical condition and the emotional strains and saw pictures of her (all organised by the school).   The PNPS children came out tops; they were so caring and careful and genuinely interested and concerned that she had a fantastic week!

Toni’s mom believes that her child is a well-adjusted, happy little girl in a secure, caring, loving environment where she plays chess, sings, does art and even Phys.Ed. because your child accepts her as she is and because of the amazing teachers who give their all, not only to the academics of our children but also to the moral, ethical, spiritual and emotional side of all our children. Toni is a very brave little girl who participates in all school activities, even those which could be a danger to her.   She entered the interhouse cross-country competition and shows great perseverance in subjects like technology where even children without a handicap really struggle.