Huge increase in numbers for Summerhill

There’s great excitement at Summerhill Prep School, in Hazyview, which has seen a sudden huge growth in pupil numbers. Hazyview’s only ISASA-registered school has seen an increase of 20 children and kicks off 2012 with a total number of 115 learners.

Two new classrooms have been completed during the school holidays, to accommodate the larger numbers of children in the pre-school and across the board new teachers have been employed to ensure that classes remain small and that individual attention is retained.

Summerhill is very grateful for the generous donations of a number of Hazyview businesses which allowed the building to be completed to such a high standard and within budget : Vuka Crushers, Mac Steel, Numbi Tile and Deco, Quality Bricks, Harmony McQueen Farming.

The school also has a new maths and music room and a fully-fitted computer room. Principal Coco van Aardt plans to have uncapped wireless Internet installed by the end of the first term.

“This is a very exciting time for our unique little school,” says Coco. “Our rapid growth is testament to our very high standard of education and we plan to build on that by placing even more emphasis on our academic achievements this year. To this end, we are investing in the very latest maths books, we are expanding our library and we have introduced Zulu lessons at all levels. These have been greeted with great enthusiasm by our teachers and learners alike.”

Ongoing improvements are also planned for Summerhill school sport with a new sports coach appointed and plans to resurface the tennis court. The Cycle Club continues to grow, the rehabilitation of the soccer field continues but the emphasis this term is on general fitness and athletics. The school aims to build on the sporting successes of last year, when Summerhill became a force to be reckoned with in all disciplines! Readers with some spare time to assist the sports coach are urged to contact the school.

The Odd Comic Quote:

AN UNNAMED GRADE 1 STUDENT: (explained in class) - "I know how chickens mate. The male jumps on the female and pecks her on the head. The female starts clucking!'

AN UNNAMED GRADE 7 STUDENT: (written at the bottom of homework) - "Ma'am. The reason why I haven't been doing as well this week is I don't know."

AN UNNAMED GRADE 2  STUDENT: "We must vote for the DNA at the next election"

AN UNNAMED GRADE 1 STUDENT: "Milk comes from a cows bladder"

Summerhill Prep School broadens its reach

Summerhill has  broadened the reach of its pupils in many ways. The school is nearly 13 years old – the same age as its oldest learner – and is celebrating this milestone with a range of exciting new activities for the active and the not-so energetic.

For example, the school now has its own newspaper, Jet’s View, named after the recently retired school dog. The assembling of this exemplary publication gives the Grade 6s and 7s a valuable insight into the complicated world of publishing and journalism.

The same learners also benefited from the donation (by Sean Barry of Riverview School) of a Morabaraba board. This strategic board game has been played throughout the African continent for thousands of years.

Summerhill is increasingly proud of its multi-cultural approach and its African roots. In Social Science/History, the Grade 4 and 5 girls even designed some latter day fashion for young San girls and watch this space for more news on the choir’s African music repertoire! In the meantime, the boys were doing ‘boy things’ – making poison arrows, building tower cranes and creating wire skeletons.

In Grade 1, the learners were concentrating on healthy eating, turning their classroom into a kitchen and cooking up a storm – in this case a powerful, vitamin-enriched storm. Meanwhile the Grade Rs, in a rather messier culinary experiment, learned about the importance of their five senses by eating blindfolded.

At the core of every school must lie a sense of community and Summerhill is stepping up its efforts in this regard. An amount of R5000 was raised for the Sizabantwana Orphanage and, in a moving ceremony, a cheque was handed over to Pastor Frank Mashego. Summerhill had recently hosted a group of Canadian volunteers, who came to demonstrate the importance of Outreach programmes. This donation to Sizabantwana was an opportunity to prove that the school is taking its community responsibilities seriously.

Of course, Summerhill will soon be hosting its annual 4x4 Outdoor Adventure and Family Fun Day again. This year it falls on 1st and 2nd June. Make a note in your diary now – and for 4x4 entries, call Billi Grey on 082 922 9626 or go to www.summerhill.org.za. There’s a new course designer and the prizes are going to be better than ever!