9. The following policy was tabled for
ratification by Council:
·
Amended Employment of Spouses
& Immediate Family Policy
10. The following policies were tabled for the
information of Council:
·
Entrance Fee Policy
·
Additional Languages Policy
(copy attached for information as Annexure A)
11. The Executive is in the process of reviewing/
drafting/ finalising the following policies:
·
HIV/Aids Policy
·
Academic Support Policy
·
First Aid Policy for Staff
·
Drug & Alcohol Policy
·
Sport & Overseas Tours Policy
·
Fundraising Policy
·
Saints Branding Policy
·
Computer, Internet, E-mail
& Telephone Usage Policy – currently with the Staff Forum
·
Medical Aid and Medical
Assistance – currently with the Staff Forum
·
Amendments to the PDP Policy
·
Policy on Psychometric Testing
THE
CO-ORDINATE MODEL & GENDER ISSUES
12. The co-ordinate model remains a key goal on
the College’s Strategic Plan. The Heads
and senior staff are committed to seeking ways of ironing out logistical
difficulties that emerge; seeking opportunities for the schools to work
co-ordinately; and maximising the benefit that this model has to offer for all
on campus.
CURRICULA
13. Many of you will have read in
the newspapers that the FETC is no more!
It is now known as the National Senior Certificate (NSC). This suggests that the original aim of trying
to marry education and training has been abandoned as perhaps unattainable,
which suggests that we are reverting to a traditional split between education
and training.
14. Possibly the most significant
element of the National Senior Certificate that will affect St Stithians is the
introduction of a new subject, as of 2006, Accounting, in both the Boys’ &
Girls’ Colleges.
15. Another significant input is
that Life Orientation will now become compulsory for Grade 10, 11 and 12 and
assessed in terms of the new rules of combination.
16. We have had extensive
communication with parents, both through newsletters and information evenings,
about the changes that affect the current Grade 9s (Grade 10, 2006).
17. The NSC (FET) Committee met on 19 October 2005
and agreed on a proposal that has been submitted to and approved by the College
Executive. This is enclosed as Annexure
B for information.
EMPLOYMENT ISSUES
18. In line with the SEC Constitution, the Skills & Equity
Committee and the College Staff Forum meet on a monthly basis during the
term.
19. Ms Sue
Tasker has taken over as Chair of the Staff Forum.
20. The
reports from the respective Chairs of these Committees are enclosed.
LEVEL 6
LEARNERSHIPS - INTERN PROGRAMME
21.
Mrs
Linda Galanakis, an English Teacher in the Girls’ College, co-ordinates the
Level 6 Learnerships at the College. In
this capacity she sits on the SEC; liaises with all five schools and their
interns, working closely with both the trainee teachers and their mentors;
liaises with the universities about recruiting interns; and works closely with
the Saints Foundation in developing the proposed Maths/ Science Institute.
22. A competition was run amongst staff to find a
suitable name for the latter and the name selected was Thandulwazi :
Maths and Science Institute. Thandulwazi
is Zulu for love of knowledge.
23. The Foundation is confident that enough
funding will be found to employ a full-time Director of the Thandulwazi Maths and Science Institute in 2006 and this
post will be advertised on 13 November 2005.
COLLEGE STAFF UPDATE
24. Each Head will report on their
school’s staffing, as required by Council.
25. Rev
Jeanette Krige will be leaving the College at the end of 2005 and we look forward
to welcoming Rev John Tshabadira to the College. The two probationer Chaplains, Rev Teboha
Lekitlane and Rev Pumla Nzimande, will remain at the College in 2006.
26. Mr
Marc Falconer has resigned as the Director of the A-Level College
and will take up the Headship of Kind David High School (Linksfield) in May
2006. This position too will be
advertised nationally on 13 November 2005.
27. The
Sotho Teacher too has resigned, rather suddenly, and we are struggling to find
a replacement teacher for the campus classes to take up this post in January
2006. We have already had one
unsuccessful recruitment process and have now decided to advertise more widely,
including in the Sunday Times and the Sowetan, as well as
approaching various language institutes to see if we can source a suitable
teacher. This matter is raised at
Council level, as sustainability of a subject in a school is dependent on
suitable staffing and access to resources.
I will keep Council abreast of this matter.
PR/MARKETING/COMMUNICATION
28. The
PR/Marketing Committee continues to meet at least twice a term.
29. A second
advert was placed in The Star (Workplace) and Sunday Times in July 2005 for a
Marketing Director. Over 300
applications were received. Three
different people carefully reviewed the CVs received and a dozen applications
were short listed for an initial round of interviews with the Rector in
mid-October. Five applicants have been
selected for a second round of interviews with a selection panel in
November. The College hopes to make an
appointment with effect from 01 January 2006.
SAINTS JUBILEE HISTORY
30. The Rector met with Sandi
Ahrennbrecht (of CREDA Publications) in October 2005 and agreed on the dust
cover for this significant coffee table book.
Due to delays with sourcing photographs, the history will go to print in
November and be ready for distribution in early February 2006.
31. An order for 2000 copies of the
history has been placed and the Saints Family has been given the opportunity to
pre-order their copies.
PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN THE COLLEGE
32. The report of the Chair of the Saints Parents’ Association is
attached for information.
STATUS OF THE
PROPERTY
33. Mr Steyn/ View Road: this matter was removed from
the Council Agenda some months ago.
However, Mr Steyn has written to Bishop Paul, concerning St Stithians’
approach to the development of his property.
The Bishop has asked me to comment on this and a request for further
information has been sent to Mitzi Venn, the previous Town Planning Consultant,
and a reply is still awaited.
34. Erf 32 (Peter Place): we have formally replied
to the owner of Erf 32 indicating what type of development we were prepared to
countenance at this site, which would require access off our Erf (the entrance
to Peter Place). We await their
response.
35. The Rector continues to meet at least once a
term with the Town Planner, Mrs C Mitchell, who monitors property issues and developments for the
College.
PROPERTY RATES
36. Nothing further to report.
RANDBURG REVITALISATION PROJECT
37. The Johannesburg
Development Agency (JDA) recently established the Randburg Development Forum
and St Stithians College, as a key institution close to the Randburg CBD,
participates in this forum. The College
hosts the monthly meetings of the forum, which are attended by the Rector, or
in his absence the Saints Operations Manager.
CAPITAL
PLANNING AT ST STITHIANS
38. We are fast approaching the
stage when the debt will be fully repaid and the College will be in a position
to start working on major capital projects.
In 2003 the College Executive took the strategic decision to place a
moratorium on allocating funds towards new buildings, once the classroom blocks
at the Girls’ Prep had been completed, until the debt had been repaid. We decided instead to focus our attention on
the upgrading of older facilities and some of the more aesthetic aspects of the
school, such as paving. However, as we
approach the end of the debt, we need an effective and efficient process of
decision-making around Capex planning at the College. Although we have not discussed in detail
issues of governance, one definition suggests that the distinction between
governance and Operational Management is that governors should be responsible
for the future of the College, while Operational Management takes care of the
day-to-day management of the institution.
While this may be a fairly crude description, it makes the point that
capital expenditure and the decisions on Capex allocations, should rest with
the Council of St Stithians College and not with the operational
management. Obviously, Council is not in
a position to make such decisions without recommendations from the Operational
Management, but it is important that there is a ‘distance” between the
recommendations made and the decisions taken capital expenditure.
39. It is suggested that requests
for capital expenditure be thoroughly motivated by the schools to the
Rector. Such recommendations should then
be thoroughly discussed and debated within the Finance Committee of Council and
the latter should present a report and recommendation to Council.
40. Further, it is recommended that
Council takes an in principle decision to set aside approximately 1% of
turnover annually to serve as a way of building up reserves for the College.
41. It is suggested that terms of reference of the various Council
Committees, as they have been developed, take into account this suggestion,
i.e. it would need to be incorporated into the terms of reference of the
Finance sub-Committee, and the procedure which currently sits within the
portfolio of the P & D Committee removed from the terms of reference of
that Committee.
WORLD CUP
2010
42. The World Cup will be held from 11 June to 11 July 2010 (31
days). 44 games will be hosted at 12
venues (this may be reduced to 10). The
Johannesburg City Council is expecting an influx of 363 000 visitors to the
city (263 000 of these from outside Africa);
and 290 000 of these to arrive by air.
The Department of Transport has set aside R 3 billion for the upgrade of
roads and infrastructure. The Gauteng Province has developed the Gauteng
Integrated Implementation Plan to plan for 2010 and the Johannesburg City
Council has also established a 2010 Mayoral Sub-Committee. Sandton has been designated as the base for
FIFA and all the FIFA Officials. This
event has enormous potential for St Stithians College and provides the
opportunity for the College to bid to be considered to be a host venue for one
of the teams. I will be recommending to
ISASA that the school holidays for 2010 take into consideration the timing of
the World Cup, so that we do not add to traffic congestion. This would also enable us to offer the
College as a host venue for one of the teams.
We will progress this matter in the months ahead.
CORPORATE
SPONSORSHIP & ADVERTISING
43. The Sponsorship Consultant’s
continues to seek alternative sources of income for the College and to build on
exiting relationships with sponsors.
ISASA & SAHISA
44. The Rector
has been invited to participate in a think-tank scheduled for 04 November 2005,
involving ISASA and SAHISA representatives, to discuss the role of ISASA and
its relationship with SAHISA.
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES & CONTACTS
Visit to the Indian School
Oman
& Round Square International Conference September/October 2005
45. During
late September 2005, the Rector accompanied a group of Saints learners and
staff from both the Boys’ & Girls’ Colleges, to visit the Indian School
in Oman and to attend the
Round Square International Conference in Melbourne.
46. Whilst in Australia, the Rector used the opportunity to
visit schools in Melbourne, Sydney
and Perth and
gained some interesting insights during these visits. A full report on this trip will be published
in due course.
47. During
such visits to other schools, the focus has been on issues of governance; and
management structures in large, complex educational institutions. It is hoped that some of the insights gained
will assist the College in its deliberations around governance and management.
Invitation to join the G20 Schools
48. Dr Anthony
Seldon, Head of Brighton College and Headmaster-elect of Wellington College
(UK), in co-operation with David Wylde, is launching the G20 group of schools
at a conference to be held at Wellington
College in March
2006. Dr Seldon visited Saints on 24
October 2005 and met with the Rector and Ivanka Acquisto. St Stithians College is one of five South
African schools, which has been invited to join this very select group of
international schools.
Academic Support / Inclusion Conference 2006
49. Following
the highly successful Inclusion Conference held at Nedcor from 12-14 May 2005,
the organiser Dr Melodie Hougaard (Wessels) is hard at work planning the 2006
conference. Saints has been asked to
host one or two post conference workshops in May 2006.
50. The Saints
Academic Support Programme, was reviewed in the Colleges by a team of experts
from RAU. Following the RAU reports, the
programme has been under review by a cross-campus committee, which is drafting
a policy, looking at the staffing needs of the programme, and the way forward.
51. This
review process is extremely interesting in that it is grappling at a fairly
in-depth level with the notion of teaching and teaching pedagogy within the St
Stithians family of schools. It has the
real potential to utilise the combined intellectual capacity of the College,
together, to reflect on the nature of education on offer at the College, which
is an exciting process.
THANKS
52. St
Stithians College continues to be a place of boundless energy, innovation and
ideas, exciting challenges and educational excellence.
53. I am very
conscious of the value of having a supportive Chairman and Council to assist
and offer guidance to the Operational Management of the College. The role played by the Council is greatly
valued and appreciated and I wish to express my gratitude to the Chairman,
Vice-Chairman/ Treasurer, Trustees and Council Members for their time, ongoing
commitment to the College, wise counsel and expertise.
54. My sincere
thanks go too to the team of Heads, who manage and lead their schools so
professionally; to the Bursar, Mr Johnny Smith; the Operations Manager, Mr
Michael Meyers; and my Personal Assistant, Mrs Bev Johnson, for their hard
work, support and efficacy throughout the year.
STEPHEN LOWRY
RECTOR
24
NOVEMBER 2005
ANNEXURE A
ST STITHIANS COLLEGE
POLICY: ADDITIONAL LANGUAGES
(FINAL: 15 SEPTEMBER 2005)
Introduction
1.
St Stithians College is committed to the promotion
of language equity and language rights as required by a democratic
dispensation. This is dependent on the availability of adequate resources and
the demand for languages made by the learners. Languages will be offered in the
context of the National Language Policy framework. It is the College’s aim that
by Grade 12 learners should be proficient (speaking, reading, writing) in at
least one of the additional languages.
The College Policy
2.
The medium of instruction at the College is English.
3.
Afrikaans, Southern Sotho and isiZulu are offered as
additional languages.
4.
All learners will offer two SA languages for the
Senior Certificate examination:
4.1
English First Language as the medium of instruction.
4.2
One other additional South African language
(Afrikaans, Southern Sotho, isiZulu.)
4.3
Both languages may be offered at First Language
level.
5.
Foundation Phase (Grade 0 – 3. Grade 3 learners are
taught at the Girl and Boy’s Preparatory Schools): All three additional
languages are taught. The approach is conversational and informal in nature.
6.
Intermediate Phase (Grade 4 – 6). All learners do
two out of the three additional languages. The assessment is based on the
assessment standards of a second additional language (see definition below).
7.
Senior Phase / GET (Grade 7 - 9) and FET Phases
(Grade 10 - 12 for those who will matriculate in 2005, 2006 and 2007): Learners
choose one of the two additional languages they chose to do in the Intermediate
Phase. The assessment is based on the assessment standards of a first
additional language (see definition below).
8.
FET Phase (grade 10 – 12 for those matriculating
from 2008): Learners will have to choose two official languages, provided that
one of the two official languages is offered on the Home Language level, and
the other, on First Additional Language level, and provided that one of the two
languages is the language of learning and teaching.
Additional Languages
9.
The Revised National curriculum Statement makes a
distinction between a first additional language and second additional language:
9.1
“The first additional language assumes that learners
do not necessarily have any knowledge of the language when they arrive at
school. The curriculum starts by developing learners’ ability to understand and
speak the language. On this foundation it builds literacy. The learners are
able to transfer the literacies they have acquired in their home language to
their first additional language.
9.2
By the end of Grade 9 learners should be able to use
their home language and first additional language effectively and with
confidence for a variety of purposes”
9.3
“The second additional language is intended for
learners who wish to learn three languages. The Assessment Standards ensure
that learners are able to use the language for general communicative purposes.
It assumes that less time will be allocated to learning the second additional
language than to the home language or first additional language.”
Immigrant
Status (candidates matriculating in 2005, 2006 and 2007)
10.
The definition of an “immigrant”, as amended in the
Government Gazette dated 27 November 1998, is as follows:
10.1
A child or a dependent of a diplomatic
representative of a foreign government accredited in South Africa; or
10.2
Any other person who:
10.2.1
Having begun his or her schooling at a South African
school, has attended school outside South Africa for two or more
consecutive years after Grade 6 or its equivalent.
10.2.2
First entered a South African school in Grade 7 or a
more senior grade.
11.
Immigrant status and the Senior Certificate
(non-University endorsement): A candidate who has been granted Immigrant Status
can obtain a Senior Certificate by offering six subjects, but they only need to
pass one of the official languages, First or Second language.
12.
Immigrant status and a University endorsement: In
order to obtain an endorsement, an immigrant must offer and pass a language
chosen from Group D in place of one of the languages from Group A, or his or
her mother tongue on the Advanced Level instead of the compulsory First
Language Higher Grade.
Immigrant
Status (candidates matriculating from 2008)
13.
GET Phase: In Grade 9, an immigrant must offer a
minimum of two official languages, one of which must be the language of
learning and teaching. A learner must obtain an achieved rating in only one of
these languages.
14.
FET Phase: The rules for Immigrant Status in the FET
phase remain the same. In order to obtain an FETC a learner with immigrant
status need offer only one language but must still have seven subjects. As yet,
there are no additional provisos for endorsement.
15.
Learners with barriers to learning may be exempt
from some of the measures mentioned in the above policy.
APPROVED BY THE COLLEGE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:
12 SEPTEMBER 2005
ANNEXURE B
ST STITHIANS COLLEGE
NATIONAL SENIOR CERTIFICATE (NSC)
1.
The FETC committee has been meeting for the past 18
months to ensure that the College is ready to implement the new NSC in Grade 10
in 2006. The committee consists of the Rector, Mesdames Borello and Prinsloo,
and Messers Ryan and Knowles from the Girls and Boys Colleges
respectively.
2.
The task of the committee was complicated by the
fact that government policy kept on changing right up until the last few
months.
Basic Structure of the NSC
3.
Four fundamental subjects:
3.1.
L1 (4½ hours / week);
3.2.
L2 (4½ hours / week);
3.3.
Maths / Maths Literacy (5 hours / week);
3.4.
Life Orientation (2 hours / week).
4.
Three other subjects (3 X 4½ hours / week).
5.
While the NSC mentions the hours above ISASA advises
us that it is not imperative that we allocate those hours to the subjects (cf
correspondence from Sue Rees-Gardener, ISASA). Legislation requires that we
meet the outcomes of the new curriculum and so the hours of teaching are not
legally binding on us. Our curriculum is a 24,5 hour week while the NSC
recommends a 29.5 hour week.
Other Decisions
6.
Accounting:
6.1.
we will offer this from 2006.
6.2.
We need another teacher at BC in 2006.
6.3.
GC can absorb this in 2006 but will need to appoint
new staff after that.
7.
Additional Mathematics will probably be added to the
new FETC with its examination being outsourced from the Government to the IEB –
clarity is still required on this. We will teach it as an 8th
subject (as we currently teach it as a 7th).
8.
Maths Literacy: if offered, this should be able to
be absorbed in both schools by the current staff.
9.
Immigrants: current situation will remain, but they
may offer another subject and not just another language. This will be for their
own expense.
10.
IT / CAT: we will offer IT but not CAT, apart from
those who take it as part of an IEP.
11.
Sotho: we recommend that Council be asked to amend
its decision regarding this and place a threshold of 5 / grade on the offering
of this.
12.
Staffing and teacher loads: we are aware that we
face a period of transition to the new curriculum. We need to maintain some
idea of the budgetary parameters of the new curriculum. Guidelines are:
12.1.
25 – 29 learners in a class in the Colleges.
12.2.
Teacher load: 80% of a learner timetable / week.
APPROVED & ADOPTED BY THE COLLEGE EXECUTIVE: 31 OCTOBER
2005
REPORT FROM
THE ST STITHIANS COLLEGE PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION (PA) MR G CARTER
Tuck Shop
The tuckshop, at
the request of the Prep Heads, is only selling healthy foods to the Prep boys
and girls. This has caused some stress
between the tuckshop staff and the parents and learners. Otherwise the
tuckshops are running smoothly.
My School Card
The "My School Card" is still bringing in funds for the PA.
One issue still needs to be resolved:
q
We need to sort out the My School Card payment to
parents who would still like to receive monies due to them.
Values Committee
The values committee is planning to repeat the successful soccer
tournament with the new Grade 8s next term.
Desk Diary
Our thanks to the co-ordinator of this project, Mrs Denise Martin. The School Diary is being prepared for
release shortly.
Five Year Plan
The PA is in the
process of creating a five year plan. The following activities are in progress:
q
We will be campaigning for a better turnout at the
next AGM. Maybe a guest speaker will be
used as a draw card.
q
We are currently in dialogue with the heads of the
schools, in order to understand their wishes from a PA in the future, so that
we can generate a five year plan for the PA.
