The School Corridor Tatler

For the past three years, we have been actively promoting independent reading at our schools.  In 2013, Colleen Diedericks, then the Foundation Phase Subject Adviser, and I implemented a Literacy Improvement Strategy in our circuit. The Literacy Strategy was designed to meet three objectives. THREE OBJECTIVES OF THE LITERACY STRATEGY Firstly, we wanted schools to explore and interact with research that sought to explain how schools themselves entrench low literacy levels because of organizational and classroom teaching problems. Secondly, we aimed to help schools expand their peer networks so that they could have access to more resources and support. Thirdly, we believed that a corporate book reading campaign would help to galvanize school's literacy improvement programmes and energise them to lift the reading levels at their school. That is how the Reading 40 Books Per Learner Campaign came into being. Let me give you an overview of the build up to launching the Re...

Lavender Hill is a community that is under siege, but Lavender Hill will never be a trending favourite with mainstream media. Yesterday, children as young as eight years old, who were on their way to school, saw once again, how one gangster was killed by another rival gang member. The shooting took place at about 8 0'clock on an open field opposite Hillwood Primary School. School children use the very same open field as a thoroughfare to their schools. You will see children in their various school uniforms from Zerilda Park Primary, Hillwood Primary, Levana Primary, Prince George Primary and Lavender Hill High School, walking to their only real hope to help them escape the poverty and other evils of their neighbourhood. When the shooting happened, the children were there on the field, caught in this crossfire. Young children watched the shot man stagger across the field and then saw him jerk before finally dying.  These same children are writing their final examinations....

On Tuesday evening, Cape Town Opera in collaboration with St. Mary's R.C. Primary School staged Mozart's "The Magic Flute". The performance was exquisite. The school children held their own against the professional opera singers as The story of The Magic Flute unfolded on the stage. The colourful stage  The children made the opera a magical, accessible story to the audience of doting parents, grandparents, siblings and friends. As Prince Tamino wins the battle to save his sweetheart, Pamina, from her evil mother, the Queen of the Night, the children danced, sang and acted like professional actors. They slipped effortlessly into their various roles as they transformed into birds, crocodiles, snakes, fire or the ocean. The energetic opera created the ideal platform to showcase the talents of these young school children. The appreciative audience applauded the singing and acting throughout, creating a fun, enjoyable experience for those on and off the st...

Grade 12's at Ocean View High School Yesterday the Grade 12's started their NSC 2015 examination in full swing. I monitored the English examination at Ocean View High School where 140 students were ready to write their first paper of the Grade 12 final examination.  The untold stories of these resilient youth at Ocean View High school and all other schools across the country, can fill volumes. Fourteen of these Grade 12's  at Ocean View High School were relocated to homes in Ocean View over the weekend. These learners live in Masiphumelele, an informal settlement that has been raging with unrests for the past few weeks. On Sunday, the principal and teachers of Ocean View High offered to accommodate their learners from Masi. These vulnerable learners need a place of safety and a space where they can study. The school heads of Bridgetown High School and St. Andrews High School. Masiphumelele High School is seriously under threat because of the violence and...

The Drilling Squad competition of the Steenberg-Lavender Hill schools was held today on the sports field adjacent to Floreat Primary School.  SAPS, who run these drilling teams as their outreach programme to schools, organized this historic Steenberg-Lavender Hill Drilling competition. The trophies for the various categories The schools that participated were: Steenberg High School, Lavender Hill High School, Sibelius High School, Hillwood Primary School, Levana Primary School, Sullivan Primary School, Lourier Primary School and Delta Primary School. SAPS members and two of our school heads, Hilton Palanyandi (Delta) and Noel Isaacs (Floreat) All the cadets were well disciplined. It was fascinating to watch the young drill squad captains taking their squads through their paces. The camaraderie was amazing. Delta Drill Squad was the overall winner. Most of the schools won various awards for best drilling, best dressed, exhibition and march catego...

Annelize Robson, the Deputy Principal and Tourism teacher at Lavender Hill High School, has won the prestigious national Tourism Teacher of the Year Award. The Tourism Teacher of the Year Award was developed by Global Travel and Tourism Partnership - South Africa (GTTP-SA). The Award Ceremony was held at the National Careers Expo Gala Event in Bloemfontein on 02 October, 2015. This award gives national recognition to Tourism teachers who make a difference in the lives of the learners, the school and the community where he or she teaches. The Tourism and Travel Subject adviser, Ms Sharmini Naidoo and the principal of the school, Faseeg Manie, must be on top of the world for having their nominee for the Tourism Teacher of the Year Award confirmed to be the best on a national platform. Profile of Annelize Robson Annelize Robson has been teaching at Lavender Hill High School for decades. As the Tourism teacher, she has received excellent results for her subject, Tourism, at the ...

World Teachers' Day, especially in our country, deserves more than a mention on social media and as a news brief on radio and television. We should trumpet the invaluable role our teachers play. When the children of the poor masses make their way to their schools, they find teachers who are ready to cultivate their vision of hope. When these same children, who are enveloped in the hideous traumas of poverty and crime, our humble nation-builders are there to build their broken spirits. Teachers are ordinary folk with their own vulnerabilities and fears, yet they have committed to their calling to transform young people into responsible, caring, well-adjusted adults of tomorrow. They are the majestic eagles of our classrooms. The theme of this year's World Teachers' Day, is appropriately on teacher empowerment and building sustainable communities.  Although we have a long way to go to ensure that we build our teachers' capacity and to restore the dignity of thei...