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Piet
Retief Street STRAND 7140 South Africa
Phone:+27 21-8531045 Fax:+27 21-8538978 |
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PRINCIPAL'S BLOG
28 April 2010
News from the Office of the Principal
The 2010 school year has been a very
impressive one to date for the school community as we celebrate the 130th
birthday of the school. Since humble beginnings in 1880 with one teacher and a
small group of learners to the present day modern and well established centre
of primary school excellence, Hendrik Louw Primary has grown in stature. When
the Minister of Education in the Western Cape, Donald Grant, awarded the school
an award on 25 March at a gala function along with several other schools in the
Province, a well known academic standard was a re-affirmed – the school’s
excellent record of teacher / learner instruction in the classroom. There are 1
018 schools in the Province and only 24 were awarded certificates in either
numeracy, literacy or overall improvement. The province is divided into 8
districts and Hendrik Louw Primary was recognized as the top school as regards
numeracy in our district, a truly remarkable achievement. Last week one of our
learners, Mark Doyle, was included in the small 8 learner Western Cape team
that will be participating in an international mathematics competition in Seoul
Korea in July. After walking away with the two top awards at the end of last
year’s Cami Speed maths competition in George, we again realize the value of
the quality education the teachers at the school offer to all learners in our
classrooms. Well done to all my mathematics staff from grade R to 7!
The festive programme at school is busy,
vibrant and all-inclusive. All staff and learners were issued with special
celebration golf shirts, a wonderful day of games and fun was arranged for the
24 February launch and now we are working hard to ensure that the International
Evenings of 1 and 2 June with a distinct Soccer World Cup flavour is a
wonderful and unforgettable success. In the 3rd school term we host a two night
choir festival involving 14 schools over two nights in the town hall with more
than 1 000 persons in attendance on each night. In September we wrap up the
cultural side of the school’s programme with a week long feast of dancing and
singing involving all 800 learners on stage in a full school hall.
The sports programme is busier than normal
with whole school code participation against Stellenbosch Primary, Beaumont,
Somerset West Primary and Hermanus. It is always great to see 100’s of learners
and as many supportive parents at these multi-code sport tournaments. For the
1st time ever it is truly a privilege to play on our ‘new fields’ and by that
we mean the whole field under the ground irrigation / sprinkler system and pump
house facility. The difference that has been made to the quality and softness
of surface is quite amazing.
The governing body is busy with strategic
plans as regards expanding existing school facilities and we are in for some
pretty exciting times as the envisaged building plans unfold. More about this
as we progress and design what the new Hendrik Louw will offer the community of
the Helderberg.
We also experienced with sadness the day
two of our learners were involved in motor car accidents. Mary has recovered
well but Johannes, a lovely grade 3 learner, is still in a coma – we are
waiting praying and hoping for a miracle in his life.
Various matters of school management and
leadership remain a challenge: school finances in these recessionary times,
enrolment is at a premium and we lack accommodation space, maintenance of
quality staff, working towards excellence within departmental frameworks which
are not conducive to support and understanding, and the change in family values
and norms. We are however hopeful and always positive in our approach to work
and the issues we deal with. It was heart warming and very encouraging when we
received very good rating s by our parents, staff and senior learners in a
recent whole school survey which assessed the school in many different spheres.
We look forward to the busy month of May,
the approaching winter, the long school holidays that lie ahead and like the
rest of South Africa to a successful and most enjoyable FIFA World Cup Soccer
tournament. A great event is a great country!
Best wishes to all our readers until we
‘web page read again’ in July
Yours sincerely
Lewellin Brown
1 December 2009
My end of the year message to all
concerned:
After 11 months of very good, dedicated and
intensive hard work at the school by some real amazing teachers and parent
volunteers, it all comes to an end in about a week’s time when we close doors
after the last bell early on Friday 11 December. Looking at the body language
of those around me, learners and staff, one realizes that the Christmas
holidays is indeed a welcome blessing and needed by all. Teaching has always
been a demanding profession on everyone working in a classroom, nowadays even
more so as the demands of society change.
Just days ago we were informed via the
media of changes in the curriculum, a new vision, improved capacity and service
delivery by the department and several other objectives – all very interesting.
We wonder how / when / why / by who all these announced political initiatives
will take place. We hope for, but we doubt! The successes, and there are many,
at Hendrik Louw Primary is due to some wonderful efforts by teachers and
parents who want their students to be at a good, healthy and vibrant school. No
state support has contributed to the very good name of the school, the passion
of the staff, the achievements of learners in many spheres and happy parents:
actually a sad situation. All the honour and thanks to the locals in the
Strand.
Learners receive their final reports on
Friday and 796 learners will be promoted to the next grade and 4 learners will
be repeating a grade with support. In the recent November National Literacy and
Numeracy tests we scored 90%+ in all grades 1 to 6 as far as learner capacity is
concerned --- this is an excellent result taking the diversity of the school
population into account. We strongly believe that our core business, teaching
learners to read / write / do arithmetic, is very healthy and it is our fervent
mission to maintain and even raise the benchmark levels on the academic side.
2009 will be regarded as very successful
on both spheres culture and sport with numerous provincial and local
achievements. Learner participation in school activities is high and the
package we offer to a parent for the fees we charge is a bargain. The end of
term infrastructure improvements at the school has been pretty busy: the full
playing fields (10 000 sq m) has been fitted with an automatic sprinkler
irrigation system which will greatly enhance the quality of our fields, a new
staffroom is being equipped to better meet teacher demands, the principal is
moving office for the first time in the school’s history to a venue better
suited to a new style of management, a medical room is being equipped to manage
illness and injury at the school and our very busy sports office is being
revamped to better deal with the demands made on our xtra-mural programme. We
are looking forward to 2010!
My sincere appreciation and very best
wishes to all my learners (proud of you), my excellent team of teachers and
wonderful secretaries, and to a very loyal and supportive parent body. Working
at Hendrik Louw is a lot like a good marriage, one wants to give more because
of the privilege of being associated with the school.
Christmas blessings to all and a good and
happy 2010 to all those at HLPS.
Your principal
Lewellin Brown
6 September 2009
It was probably the most wonderful month
of my life having had the opportunity to travel to three continents – ten cities
in just over a month in July / August with my wife. We have the most amazing
memories and will forever cherish the friends made and being able to enjoy a
wide variety of cultures, peoples, food and lifestyles. A great big wonderful
world we live in, yet small and close in a sense. Coming back to my own very
good, busy and vibrant school where teachers were full steam at work was a
challenge in itself. The third term at school is normally the busiest of the
year as we work at ending the year well and, try to complete the full package
of the 2010 planning w.r.t. finances, staff, the calendar and enrolment. This
all needs to be done with balance and wisdom as we commemorate our 130th school
birthday next year with a very big focus is on celebrations in a very wide
sense.
The global recession has also affected
school finances as parents who normally pay the school fees now struggle with
low turnovers at the workplace, and with less income there is less available to
pay. We have re-budgeted and should end the year well within the adapted
framework within which we now spend. The new 2010 budget and school fee
structures will be presented to parents at an open meeting on Tuesday 13
October.
The biggest challenge facing education in
the Helderberg is the lack of place at schools for learners, and in the Strand
the situation w.r.t. especially English learners has become very serious.
Schools are interested to know what the Education Department plans to do as
there is no more (very little) place at schools to accommodate the demand for
especially primary education. Hendrik Louw Primary, with the exception of 5
places in two Afrikaans classes, is 100%+ full as regards 2010 – this has been
the position since May this year.
We look forward to rewarding our learners
at a week of Award Ceremonies in October – Sport on Monday 26 October, Culture
on Tuesday 27 October and Academics on Thursday 29 October. These three
functions will see the school hall full on all three nights as about 300
learners receive trophies, shields and certificates.
On Wednesday evening 11 November we have a
very special night at the school as we welcome the parents of our new 2010
grade R and 1 learners to the school at a special orientation evening. We start
the new school year with about 180 ‘babies’ and these young 5 / 6 year olds are
very precious to the school and our staff. It remains a one of the great joys
of being a teacher to see these children grow, mature, learn and develop into
healthy, well balanced teenagers.
With only two weeks to go before the 10
day Spring Holidays we look forward to ending the term well. Our Grade R
graduation ceremony in a week’s time and the departure of 50 senior learners on
the annual Orange River outdoor adventure are the two highlights we still look
forward to.
Best wishes to my excellent staff and very
supportive parents.
Blessings – Lew Brown, your principal
From the OFFICE of the headmaster
It is with great joy that
I write this last letter at the end of another successful, rewarding and happy
1st semester: 2009. I briefly comment on the following three matters
and then wrap-up with my very exciting long holiday plans that lie ahead –
Sport: We have arguably enjoyed one of the very best 2nd
term winter code seasons ever with some very good results in all codes. The
term started very well with the rugby and girls hockey tour to Argentina which
was filled with unforgettable memories for all in the travelling party of 50.
The hard and competitive matches that were played, 4 in the space of 11 days,
proved to be a healthy foundation for these teams to build on. We were somehow
fitter and sharper w.r.t. skills than many of our neighbouring schools. I am
very satisfied with the 1st teams: Rugby, Hockey, Netball. We have
also seen good steady results from the teams in all the other age groups with
several unbeaten at the end of the term --- well done, Hendrik Louw. We are
indeed indebted to a group of dedicated coaches, parents and teachers.
Enrolment 2010: Although it is only early June, with another 7
months remaining before the start of the new school year, we have already put
up the FULL SCHOOL sign in all 24 classes with the exception of a few vacancies
in two of our Afrikaans classes. This is good news for the school, but very
frustrating news for the many parents in the Helderberg – Strand areas that
have applied, and will still be applying, for a place for a learner. Sadly the
Provincial authorities are failing to provide good adequate provision for all
the learners in our area. Parents want their child/ren in a good school and the
pressure on a school like ours is very big and a huge challenge to manage.
Governing Council: Two weeks ago, we along with all schools in the
country, held elections for teachers and parent councillors. This is a process
which is held every three years. The role of school governors is a very
important one and we rely heavily on the expertise of parents in the fields:
management, finances, legal matters. We are blessed in that our council
reflects good diversity, experience, newness and persons with good professional
skills in the various fields.
Lastly: I hope that all my
learners and staff will enjoy the mid-year winter holiday of three weeks that
awaits when the school closes on Friday 26 June. May the start of the new term
on Monday 20 July be a pleasant experience. I also hope that all concerned will
enjoy the annual 9th Interschools against rivals, Somerset West
Primary, two weeks after opening --- the weekend of Friday and Saturday 31 July
and 1 August. I will not be there as I only return to school on Monday 3
August. My wife and I have been blessed with a travel opportunity and we will
be away from home for just over a month on a mini round the world tour:
Best wishes and greetings to all our friends ---- Lewellin
Brown
From the Office to all our internet readers
After a very busy first
term and the completion of one of the school’s best ever school tours to
As mentioned in previous
writings, the biggest challenge facing the school is that of enrolment. Very
meaningful and good discussions were held with FEDSAS officials at the end of
last term and we as a governing council are at present re-visiting our
enrolment policy. The state is not providing sufficient facilities for good,
quality education and in an area which is mushrooming as a residential area,
the pressure on the few existing schools to provide accommodation does not meet
the demand. This is a sad situation which will not change in the near future.
The demands made on a teacher in a multi-cultural classroom are great and we
will have to make the learner:teacher a more favourable one so that learning
remains at the present high standards. According to the latest national
statistics as regards numeracy and literacy Hendrik Louw Primary remains one of
the top 10% schools in the country.
The present very tough
global financial climate and daily economic fluctuations have impacted
negatively on the school’s budget. Nearly 20% of our parents are struggling to
make ends meet and the shortfall in school fee income has placed strain on cash
flow and management. We are however optimistic that with good planning and wise
decisions we will manage and that we will not have to make decisions that could
impact negatively on our core business.
Congratulations to our
deputy principal, Ludwig Nelson, who has just published his second book on
matters: education. The school is indeed blessed to be served by several
teachers of high standing as regards the promotion of a very healthy academic
environment and the school curriculum.
This term we elect a new
council of governors and it is very important that this parent body is well
represented in terms of the skills needed to govern the school. The challenges
facing the modern school in the legal, political, financial and negotiation
spheres are crucial. We trust that our parent body will give us the right
representatives in June to manage this task well and to be a good support to
the principal and his senior staff.
An exciting new item on
the school calendar is our first ever hosting of an ‘Idols type’ competition
for about 80 primary school learners at the Surfside restaurant. Last year we
participated in the very successful Dros competition and because of the amazing
enthusiasm and support received we decided to host our own this year with
several other schools. The competition will take place over 5 nights in mid
June. Watch the school’s web and photo gallery for news and photo’s.
Provisional planning for
an exciting 2010 here at Hendrik Louw where we will be celebrating the school’s
130th birthday is on track and our parents, friends and learners
will be enjoying a full calendar of events. As a school we also look forward to
the 2010 FIFA World Cup Soccer tournament to be held in June / July and part of
our programme will tie up with this international event.
My very best wishes to
all our rugby, netball and hockey teams for a GREAT winter season of
participation.
Until we meet again …….
Lewellin Brown
Headmaster
From the OFFICE
The last web letter for
the 2008 school year from the principal –
We ended the 4th
term and the school year on a high note with two very special Christmas
Thanksgiving Services in our school hall. Pavilions were carried into the hall
so that the elevated seats created an amphitheatre type of atmosphere allowing
everyone to be very close to the choirs whose performances were truly stunning.
Our school enjoyed wonderful blessings this year and we are indeed grateful to
be a part of the Hendrik Louw environment.
The summer holidays that
lie ahead are long: 5 Dec to the 1st day of school for our learners
– Wednesday 21 January. We hope that our families and the many tourists, both
local and international, that will be visiting the Helderberg, will be blessed
with real good Cape Town warm weather, and not so much wind. We stay in a very
pretty and scenic part of the country – mountains, the sea, beautiful beaches,
great outdoor activities, wine farms and yet we are very close to the city
centre.
Once again the school
performed exceptionally well academically with the national statistics as regards
literacy and numeracy placing our school in the top 10% of primary schools in
South Africa. We boast a well equipped and motivated team of teachers who will
continue, and even further improve, the standards of learning here at the
school.
As far as learner
opportunity and tours are concerned we look forward to some exciting dates on
the 2009 school calendar: firstly the rugby and girls hockey tour to Argentina
at the end of March – a group of 47 form Hendrik Louw leave Cape town in Sunday
29 March for 12 days of South American hospitality, several matches, visits to
schools and a wonderful cultural experience. Later in the year we take a senior
choir of 100 learners to the Northern Cape for our first ever tour of this
nature. We will be visiting schools singing, dancing, reciting and sharing some
real great on stage experiences with some very distant fellow South Africans.
We greet several very
good staff: Lisbe Geldenhuys grade 3 after 16 years service, Christa van der
Merwe who will be studying full time for an M-degree, our two sport managers –
Jaco and Petrie who be farming and studying respectively. Three new teachers
join the staff and we do believe that they will enrich our capacity – Grant
East, Marcel du Toit and Annelene Viljoen. Our very best wishes to these
teachers for many happy and rewarding years at the school.
Senior staff, the
principal, secretaries and our ground staff will be back at school on Monday 12
January. All the teachers will be back at school on Monday 19 January.
Challenges that we will
be facing early on in the new year:
1. Enrolment pressure,
especially in our English classes,
2. A continued lack of real
support from the Education Department which means that the pressure to excel, to
do well, to provide for – etc, rests solely with the schools management team
and, great and loyal parent support,
3. Financial constraints as
challenging global market conditions effect our capacity to provide excellence
and facilities / resources within the framework of a limited budget,
4. With fairly rapidly
declining moral standards and values, the breakdown of the traditional family
structure, the management of discipline is becoming a very challenging task in
the modern school.
5. Keeping our staff abreast
w.r.t. the use of technology, knowledge, understanding and adapting to the
demands of change so that we remain relevant thus being able to ensure that we
provide our learners with the skills needed to be efficient in the market place
with its new needs.
My personal BEST wishes
to all the readers of our school’s web, our parents, my staff and my learners -
may you enjoy a wonderful Christmas and a very good and enriching 2009.
Till we meet again on
this site, regards.
Lewellin Brown
26 August 2008
SPRING news from the
headmaster’s desk:
Here in the Western Cape
we enjoyed a wet winter with lots of good old fashioned rainfall patterns, dams
that nearly full, and some lovely ‘warmer’ days from time to time. One
actually becomes slightly ‘scared’ when thinking of the time of the year we’re
in: within the next 2 months we hold all our annual awards evenings (sport,
culture, academic), in just over 3 months the school year would have ended, 4
months to go to Christmas, etc …… in this process of being busy and striving
towards excellence and opportunity for our learners, we still need to be
patient and to enjoy the day that God blesses us with – here we at Hendrik Louw
have lots of reasons to be THANKFUL for.
Reflecting on the past
term thus far:
1. For the 1st
time ever we achieved a complete winning ‘whitewash’ in all three first team
codes against traditional rivals Somerset West Primary – our best performances
ever on the big sport weekend which involved more than 800 learners,
2. We will have to re-consider
our options w.r.t. the number of sport matches we play as the existing leagues
do not meet our criteria and objectives. Too many schools do not field
sufficient teams for our players in the B, C, D teams and we would love these
learners to also play on a regular basis,
3. Academic results at
school are still rated as very good – several ‘inspections’, both
internal and by outside officials, confirm the healthy structures within which
our staff work every day,
4. We had a visiting UK
private schoolteacher in one of classrooms for two weeks and the comments
received w.r.t. lessons preparations and work schemes and the way in which our
learners work was very heart warming and encouraging,
5. The winter flu really
made demands on staff, who are always very faithful as regards school
attendance, with up to 5 teachers absent and in bed on certain days. Special
thanks to the many volunteers who helped keep systems ticking,
Preparations are in full
swing at the school for the following functions/activities:
1. Mass choir performances
with guest artists in the Town Hall with 1000+ persons in the audience next
week,
2. Our annual
grandfather/grandmother morning of spoiling the aged with song and dance in
September,
3. The school’s first
cultural awards evening promises to to be a special night with a wonderful
programme in 3 weeks time,
4. In just over 4 weeks a
group of 50 senior students leave for the 8th annual Orange River
adventure – 4 days of a most unique and exciting water experience ‘out in
the wild’,
5. The big annual interhouse
athletics meeting which involved the whole school in the 1st week of
the new term.
Tendencies that worry:
1. The fact that just over
70 parents school fee accounts have been handed over for collection – one just
wonders where the priorities of certain modern day parents are when it comes to
their children and a good education?
2. Increasing signs of
bullying / fighting / aggression among many young South African learners on the
playground and in the classroom. On a daily basis the national media is sadly
full of reports and incidents. We already feel the strain and effects at school
in our programs of monitoring behaviour and discipline. We wonder what lies
ahead in this ‘minefield’?
3. We are at present turning
down applications of new prospective parents who are often desperately looking
for a good school at the rate of 3 to 5 a day. This is major reason for concern
as it is only August with another 5 months to go and the pressure of too little
quality space for learners is mounting.
Be assured that we as
staff, and I as your headmaster, still enjoy a good days work here at Hendrik
Louw – still regarded by many as one of the best and most welcoming primary
school environments in the Province. It remains an honour and a privilege to
work with the children of the Helderberg. Our BEST wishes to all our families.
Greetings
Lewellin Brown
18 June 2008
From the Office
As the 1st semester draws to a close, and
the first real signs of the Cape Winter are felt, we look forward to another very
good end-of-term here at Hendrik Louw Primary. As mentioned previously,
education in South Africa today is in a very challenging phase of development
and many schools are experiencing great difficulty as regards staff,
discipline, the curriculum and finances. Here at Hendrik Louw we are also
‘exposed’ too many of the challenges, but we do enjoy wonderful blessings and
the standard of schooling is high. Arguably the school’s greatest asset is the
strength and commitment of an excellent team of teachers and admin staff, and
we know that our parent community and education department are indeed very
happy with the Hendrik Louw team of educators.
Matters worth mention here at the term’s
end:
1. Congratulations to our 8
new provincial players / stars: Zander and Dehan (rugby), Chadley, Anmore and
Nasheeta (hockey), Melissa and Amy (tennis) and Schoeman who will be touring
with WP cricket in the UK next month.
2. All our touring teams are
practising here in the ‘off season’ until the last week: Port Elizabeth (rugby
& netball) and Argentina (rugby and hockey).
3. Although South Africans
are facing very tough economic times our parents who pay their school fees in
full (78%) have remained faithful and this is a real joy to the management of
the school.
4. We say farewell to
another excellent young member of staff who will be furthering her teaching
career in Adelaide Australia. Our staff turnover at school is very low as we
believe that people enjoy working here at HLPS. Sadly however we do lose
teachers to schools in the UK, USA, Down Under. Best wishes to Marilene de Witt
– thank you for your wonderful input.
5. Several staff members are
spending money this year as their own children make marriage plans: Marlene
Punt, Denise Booth, Emmie Jackson, and Marina de Milander – best wishes with
all these exciting plans.
6. Our biggest sports day of
the year takes place here at our sport fields on Friday and Saturday 25 &
26 July against the teams of Somerset West Primary. More than 400 of our own
learners will be participating on these days. In advance we thank our parents
for wonderful support.
When the new term starts on Monday 14 July
we start with the following activities
from a leadership, management and strategic perspective:
1. All the 2009 enrolment applications,
with special emphasis on grades R and 1. Nowadays with overfull schools and
very little state assistance, this process has become very important and is a
difficult one to manage. When a school has a good name, like Hendrik Louw, the
pressure as regards too many applications and determined parents who want their
children at our school, becomes a sensitive and very challenging process to
manage
2. The 2009 draft school fee
budget. We have already started with provisional estimations as regards a feasible
school fee structure and the projected expenditure profile. Our strategy this
year is to announce the new structures as late as possible as this will ensure
a fairer 2009 school budget. We are faced with ‘daily’ / regular increases as
regards cost of living and this makes the preparation of a budget very
difficult as we need to be sensitive to our parents, who as consumers, are
often finding it tough to meet all their living expenses. The payment of school
fees is compulsory, but we would also like our parents' attitude towards fees
to be willing and positive.
3. The allocation and
appointment of the 2009 staff establishment will also be finalised in August /
September. Here we also spend time finding coaches and supply staff for the new
school year.
4. The HL Year Book / Manual
with all the school’s policies, matters day to day, all rosters, the calendar
for the year, sport and PTA functions, special days and our vision and
objectives for 2009 receives thorough attention in September.
Next year sees the school in its 129th
year of primary education --- we look forward to 2010 when sometime after the
FIFA soccer world cup we’ll celebrate 130 years of opportunity, excellence and
vibrancy here at the school. In 2009 we also send, arguably our last, sport teams
to Argentina – rugby and hockey – this will be our 3rd visit to this beautiful
country and we have over the years built excellent warm relations with our
South American friends. This is an opportunity of a lifetime for a primary
school learner.
Best wishes to all our parents and WEB
readers.
The next message from the OFFICE will be
at the end of the winter season.
Lewellin Brown
7 May 2008
Here comes some news from the OFFICE as
the 1st signs of the colder month May start to show us that the Cape Winter is
just around the corner. After all the ‘disruptive’ long weekends of last month,
a unique South African feature nowadays, and one that is pretty disruptive to
the maintenance of normal good schooling, we now focus on 8 weeks of teaching
excellence with a full school.
Arguably the greatest challenge facing
school management today is the provision of quality education within the
enormous constraints facing a school budget – i.e. from school fee generated
income. In the present economic climate all parents are facing own challenges
financially as costs rise on a regular basis w.r.t. transport, fuel, municipal
services, food, bond repayments and the like with no or little salary
increases. The commitment and ability to pay school fees will take strain, and
that leaves a school in a real dilemma as fees cannot really be increased at
this time. What are the options - offer a smaller package as regards
extra-murals, re-look at the use of technology, staff reductions, a cut back in
resources and the offering of opportunities, etc ---- all of the above
inevitably will lead to a lowering of standards. Once standards drop, then the
capacity to re-lift / raise the benchmark, will become a near impossibility.
All of the above just to illustrate the huge challenge facing a good school
today.
Just a ‘dream’ of mine in passing --- If
one looks at all of education in SA today with all the good things happening,
exciting new ventures and ideas, the enormous challenges facing us to eliminate
backlogs and to the raise standards, the difficulties w.r.t. discipline,
teacher training, lack of resources and infrastructure and many others, I
somehow think that ‘lots of the issues will be solved’ if the persons/parties
in control of managing/leading education were totally committed to ensuring 25
learners in a classroom conducive to good learning. This MUST be the goal that
all parties relentlessly strive to achieve as soon as possible. What a GREAT
day for everyone that would be, and beneficial to all South Africans. It is possible
to attain this, I believe, but then the political will and capacity must be
there to ensure that quality education for all is the first and most important
priority in our country.
Hendrik Louw has created additional sport opportunities
this year for both boys and girls in that the sport programme has been so
structured allowing learners/parents the choice of two winter codes that can be
practised. Many children are now at school in the afternoons, 4 days a week,
participating in sporting skills and games in a structured manner. It is always
conducive in the promotion of balance and healthy development that children
participate in games, enjoy normal playing activities, read and learn, and
spend family and friends time together. Parents, in these times of modern
business and pressure, need to prioritize well so that overwork, too much
stress, too many demands, too much / too little (?), don’t impact negatively on
the child. My very BEST wishes to all our parents in the tough and wonderful
world of being a good parent. Enjoy being part of a family, enjoy your child in
their young years, enjoy and APPRECIATE your child’s good school and the staff.
Until we meet again via the net
Blessings and greetings
Lewellin Brown
18 February 2008
It is with joy and pride that I write this
first 2008 newsletter to all the readers of the HL web as we have really
started the new school year well, with many positive moments already at these
early stages. Our enrolment is high – 845 learners, too high as far as we are
concerned. Over crowded schools is a national problem and is not being
addressed with the urgency it deserves. As we make plans to reduce class sizes,
hire in more staff that we pay out of own pocket, so the people move in from
other parts of the country at a pretty brisk rate and further add to the
enrolment challenge. It is very tough in the existing climate to refuse entry
to a learner if we are the closest school to home. No new schools are being
built in our area, and there are no plans for new schools. New residential
suburbs in the Helderberg are mushrooming and everybody wants their children in
a good school – we can understand that. Sadly all the schools in our Basin are
not good schools and thus the pressure on enrolment at the existing good
schools is very high.
The 10 positives
at Hendrik Louw at the present are:
o
A
very good team of experienced and committed teachers,
o
A
full extramural package with lots of variation,
o
Opportunity
by way of exciting tours for senior learners,
o
Good
management and healthy governance,
o
Involved
parents although many are full day working employees,
o
A
very good and clean infrastructure and sport facilities,
o
Arguably
the best presented curriculum in the classroom with excellent results as
compared to any other primary school in the region – we are very proud of the
high standards we achieve w.r.t. our core business: classroom instruction,
o
The excellence
as regards the name ‘Hendrik Louw’ – a very healthy brand name in which to work
and teach,
o
Visible
warmth and passion with regard to what we do here at HLPS,
o
Happy
learners who function well in a safe & balanced environment every day.
We have over the
years acquired the very good and regular habit of benchmarking our school
package, vibe, the quality of what we do against some of the best schools in
the Province. We regularly interact with others in the business, we talk, we
ask advise and then re-evaluate ourselves within the constraints within we work
– community, perceptions, finances, resources, capacity and then ensure that we
strive to implement the best possible for our school and its learners.
Mediocrity in the broader field of education is very evident – as long as we
have the will to do better, we will. We do sincerely thank all role players,
especially some real amazing parents and members of the local business
community, who inspire us, who encourage us, who are always available to assist
although their own programmes are also full – we appreciate.
Sport: Our very
strong girls hockey (Indoor) is once again doing remarkably well, some athletes
have shown themselves to be stars, and a few of our cricketers are really doing
well. Although still summer, we start with provisional planning as regards the
BIG Winter Three – netball, hockey, rugby, as from early March. Our boys and
girls, for the 1st time ever, will be attending a hockey clinic in
Durban at the end of March.
Rugby and netball
will be touring the Eastern Cape in the mid-season. We start the second school
term with a real banger – the popular Saturday morning of fun and clinics for
all three sporting codes on the 19th of April. All parents welcome
to attend.
Lastly, for some
or other reason, the annual first term fundraiser always works well here at
school. For the past 10 years we have managed this very basic project and
always with success. An amazing thank you to our parents and learners for
patience with the school, for understanding why thus drive is important, and
for once again supporting the school. Thus far after two weeks we are still on
target to reach the R100 000. This will entitle all to an off day on
Thursday 20 March making it possible for all our holiday travellers to reach
destinations before the Easter rush the day thereafter. Thank you everyone – we
appreciate your efforts.
Your Headmaster
Lewellin Brown
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