Dear Parents
Compliments of the Season and a Happy and Prosperous 2017 to all and a warm welcome back especially to new pupils and parents.
We have had a very good start to the term with everyone settling in very well and quickly. The ECD (Grade 0) pupils amazed us all on Tuesday morning when they all marched into assembly so confidently as if they were used to doing it every day.
We also welcome our first boys into the ELP classes, who have also settled in extremely well.
This year we welcome to our Staff Mrs Bimha, who now joins us a permanent Grade 2 teacher, Mrs Olivier (Grade 3) Mrs Shaw (Grade 5 ELP), Mrs Manning (Grade 6 ELP), Miss Olivier (Sports Mistress) and Mrs Fick (Grade 7 and Senior Teacher).
The meetings this morning for parents to meet their teachers went well and I enjoyed talking to the Grade 1, 5 and 6 parents.
Unfortunately, work on our tennis development area, indoor hockey and new car park came to a standstill at the beginning of the holidays owing to the heavy rains that made it impossible for the heavy trucks and earth moving equipment to access the area. The whole project will be completed by the beginning of the second term though.
The Afternoon Activities Timetable and Term Calendar have been forwarded, as have the Hostel Lunch letters and Day Boarding letters. As afternoon activities, hostel lunches and Day Boarding all start on Monday, the completed returns must be brought back by Monday morning at the latest please.
We are also forwarding Pupil Information Update forms that should be filled in and returned on Monday. This information is extremely important, as we require updated contact details for parents as well as medical and general information on pupils.
Please note that afternoon activities are compulsory for Grade 3, 4 and 5 pupils on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and for Grade 6 and 7 pupils on Monday and Wednesday afternoons.
The morning bus service from Borrowdale Race Course is also operational. However, bus tickets are required before a pupil may get on the bus and there is a waiting list as the bus is full.
1st Term 2017 School fees were due on the first day of term. However, parents wishing to go on a payment plan may do so by filling in an Acknowledgement of Debt form. There is a $100 Administration Fee for this. To avoid paying the Administration Fee, the 1st Term fees have to be paid in full by 20th January. Please note that we require physical proof of payment of fees in order to issue receipts, as our bank statements do not indicate who deposited the fees or whom they are for. Until we can ascertain who a deposit is for the fees are put into our suspense account. This does frustrate many parents who pay the fees but don’t bring in proof of payment and then receive statements indicating they still owe fees. However, without proof of payment or transfer we have no means of knowing who the fees are for.
After such a good start to the term we look forward to a wonderful year.
Yours sincerely
R J Crook
HEADMASTER
Friday, 13 January, 2017
