Muizenberg Junior School - Seagull Yearbook (Cape Town, South Africa)

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As 1987 draws to a close so does our three year term of office and I should like to review it briefly Firstly, school fees were increased and together with stringent control measures and a vast improvement in the payment ratio the financial position of the school improved dramatically. These stringent financial controls willunfortunatel now always be part of our day to day financial Y planning as the cutbacks in education tal e effect Secondly the bus was sold as it had become uneconcrmical to run We are at present negotiating the purchase of a minibus. A sincere thanks to all the parents and teachers who transported children to and from matches. Without their assistance our sporting activities would surely have ground to a halt. This year saw the introduction of a new look uniform and a new sport - soccer. Both have proved to be very popular and have rapidly become part of the school life at M.J.S. i Contact and oo-operation with the High School has developed into joint planning meetings and we look forward to further opportunities to serve our joint interests. I During the year we said farewell to parents and teachers alike and at the end of this year we must again bid farewell to all those leaving the school and we wish them well wherever they may go. In conclusion I should like to thank you for your support through troubled times. It has been most gratifying to know that we could always depend on full parent co-operation. It has made our task that much easier. Wishing you la blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year. JEREMYPOOLE SCHOOLC1lVlMI'I'I'EECI-IAIRMAN SCI-III. QlV1'MI'I'I'EE Mr J Poole iCnairma.n7 Mr R Pringle Mr R Crowhurst Wice-Cnairmanl Mr E Smith - Mrs M Montgomery Mr J Kipps Mrs A Myers Mr D Potgieter P T A REFLECTIONS ON 1987 As our fundraising year of 1987 draws to a close, we can, I feel, look back on a successful year of fundraising for Muizenberg Junior School. We land hopefully youl , enjoyed fundraisers such as the Barn Dance held in May, The International Evening and the 'Great' M.J.S. Sleep Out. I E r I: M J S pupils were very enthusiastic about the Craft Classes which were C ! run on two occasions during school holidays, some lovely handmade 5 Christzmas Gifts were madeQ The 2nd International Evening once again proved a great success and it , was very encouraging to see the tremendous turn-out of family and friends. I! I An enthusiastic response was received for the Friday 13 Sleep Out at . Sandvlei, with the children using great imagination in creating their 1 COStUITES ! 1 A tremendous rapport exists between the M.J.S. staff and the P.T.A. y Cormiittee and I thank the Staff sincerely for all their help and co- y operation during 1987. To you, the parent, a very sincere word of thanks. Without your backing i and support we cannot function as a fundraising body. 'Every financially J successful fundraiser helps to keep the schools budget in the Pink . L, Finally, to all those hardworking P.T.A. Ccmmittee members, many, many 5 thanks for your loyal support and back-up throughout the year. - were an excellent team. To those brave souls who have offered to yi serve a second year on the Committee - see you next year ! Year, and I am sure May you all have a very happy Christmas and New will have a tremendous fundraising year in 1988 oo SCHOOL CIMMI'I'I'EE CHAIRMAN'S REPORT ' ' ' , I I o TESS LOUW CHALRLADY 1987 P.T.A. mMVlI'I'l'EE Mrs T Louw Mrs FNJones Mr J Kipps Mrs A Venables Mrs J Jacobs Mrs F Calverey C Chairlady J K Secretary J C Treasurer I Mrs Potgieter Mrs C A Sharpe Mr C Plastow Mrs D Kenney QPre-Primary Representati Mr E Smith iSchool Committee Representative! WE g we , ' W ..,,,.., 7 I , 5 , ,, R Q - 5 gg. :V .,-g,l1'. ...,,Q1-3 .3 z ,

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NEW POLITICAL DISPENSATION It is just as well that our financial and educational system is healthy, for developments, especially political developments are at work which are already profoundly effecting our educational system as we know it at present and we as a school and you as a parent body must be prepared to face the challenge of what is going to happen to us in the future. Under the new political dispensation Education is an Own Affair - it no longer falls under the jurisdiction, of the Old Cape Provincial Council but is controlled directly from Pretoria. Frcxm Pretoria the money trickles to the 'various Departments and the emphasis is on the word trickle. Add to this fact that our Director of Education, Dr Walters is working on the same budget as 1986 and you will begin to appreciate some of his fand our! problems. A first result has been the abolition of teachers' posts. A second is that it is now far more difficult to secure teaching posts even when a school's enrolment is increasing. The third effect - and the one that touches us rmore personally has been the drastic cutbacks in terms of what the Department provides. This school' hall of this kind, for example, will not be in the plans of schools to be built in the future, unless the school corrmunity is prepared to finance the building costs. If this school hall were to burn down tomorrow the Department will not rebuild it - and so it has to be insured by M.J.S. - a further drain on our school funds. The fact that we no longer have a maintenance grant for our fields and equipment is well known to you. The pool chemicals amount will be R35 tjmousand next year so if you want your chi.ld to swim, which I'm sure you do, you have to pay for it. There is also the warning that if school expenditure on text-books, electricity, water and the telephone not be reduced by 252 Kas compared with 19867 - then the school is liable for payrment. In the circumstances I expect that all schools will have no option but to raise their school fees considerably in order to maintain their basic facilities Cteaching aids, library books, audio-visuals, copying facilities, sporting facilities and equipment, grounds machinery and so forth! . In order to keep such an increase as low as possible it is imperative that parent and pupils support the staff in ensuring that text-books and exercise books are properly looked after and that children are taught the importance of caring for school equipment and facilities. oompunazms IN EDUCATION , It is not only the new Political and Financial dispensation that is going to effect us. Altogether another sphere which is increasingly dermanding our close attention is the dramatic grcwth of the Computer, which is now so much part of our modern-day living that we as parents and teachers simply must give your child every opportunity to master basic skills and to provide funds for more computers. Our school is fortunate in having an expert in Computer Education join our school r year, namely Mr Peter Rickards, to whom we look for guidance in this context. Fortunate is M.J.S. too, to have a parent group which has sustained the Computer Club over the past few years. NEW METHODS 'IO ENHANCE THINKING SKILLS This last year, the teachers and I have attended courses and seminars I concerning new meduods in teaching your child thinking and reasoning skills to unlock the potential of that miracle organ which is the brain. In addition in-service training courses are planned for next year at M.J.S. PLEASANT VDRKIINK: ENVIRONMENT And then last, but not least, we need to look at the appearance and image of our school. Plans and moves are underway to improve those very im- portant First Impression areas: namely the Secretaries' office and foyer, and the Staffroom, a room to which so many dignitaries are invited. I think you will agree, that our hard-working Secretaries and Teachers also deserve a pleasant yet efficient working environment. CDIXULUS ION In conclusion, I give you earnest assurance that we will stay up at the front with the best of them, we will continue to improve ourselves Cboth teachers and pupils! and we will continue to improve our facilities, if the finances are provided. But whatever we do, we need you, the parent at hcme, supporting us positively in all our endeavours for the ultimate benefit of your child. RWJUST

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Possible two highlights this year for us all were the visit of 'Grannies' MUIZENBERG JUNIOR PRE-PRIMARY ' During the year we had a major change in the Pre-primary. We said good- bye to Mrs Payne who left with her husband to manage a holiday resort in Sedgefield. It was a pleasure to welcome Mrs Karen Prins as our new teacher and it has been a joy to work with someone who has vision and enthusiasm and endless energy. During theuyear the children have been taken on outings of an educational nature which have included places like: Mineral World, Tokai Forest, Sheep Farm, Container Ship, S.P.C.S.7 Snake Park, Fire Station: World of Birds: S A Naval Band and others. HEAD GIRL Sf HEAD BOY REPORT 1987 This year has been a very busy year for everyone at M.J.S. The pupils of the school have been a part of many activities in and out of school. One of the most fun and profitable activities has been the participation of the pupils with the Fairest Cape Association. We have also been on clean ups with our non-european twin school Steven Road Primary. We are the first european and non-european schools to do so. And on account of that our name has been mentioned in many newspapers for e.g. The Argus The Cape Times, The Sunday Times and our local newspapers. 'Ihis year the Language Festival Day, Arbor Day and Founders Day fell on the same day. For Arbor Day we planted over 50 trees at Sandvlei. on Mother's Day and an activity morning lSaturdayJ for Fathers and Children for Father's Day. Needles to say, our land of 'Australia' was the gem of the International Evening Cwe're not biased are we ?J As a result of our fundraisers - ' C a rummage sale, cake sale, Easter Rafflel we were able to purchase blinds for the classroom, erect a new side gate, hang a commando net, build a drying rack, purchase blocks, tools and other equipment for the children and begin with the plans to build a platformfactivity corner., which will be handed over for completion next year. We are grateful to Mrs Dixon for her work in training the children to swim. Also to Susan Forshaw for her involvement and help during the year. I would like to corrmend the Pre-Primary Committee on their successful 'Boot Sale' which was a first for Muizenberg Junior. Their enthusiasm and hard work has helped to make the Pre-Primary department more effective in preparing the young-ones for Junior School. May I in closing wish you all a happy and safe holiday and much joy as we celebrate the birth of God's Son at Christ-mas time. ROY GLOVER PRE-PRIMARY CHAIRMAN P.T.A. PRE-PRIMARY CI1'MI'I'1'EE: Mrs D Kermey Mrs M van Schoor Mr R Glover lChairmanJ Mrs G Van del' MGIWS Mr J Donaldson fTreasurerJ Mrs B Adams Mrs J Lewis lsecretaryl MIS E COWHH After that we assembled in the hall for the Language Festival presented by the pupils and the Founders Day service, presented by Mr Raven. There has been a few athletic outings and galas throughout the year and we have had our fair share of defeats and victories. This year's General Knowledge team has participated in many quizes against Western Province Preparatory, Westcott and Kirstenhof. Unfortunately we lost the Triangular Cup to Kirstenhof but we know that next years team will win it back. We also participated in our first Music Quiz at Grove Primary against 5 other schools. All those involved with music and singing at our school can be proud of our many Eisteddfod achievements and we are lucky to have had very good teachers. Our annual International Evening passed with flying colours. We made R2 700. It was even better than last year's due to the enormous response of the teachers, the parents and especially the pupils. 'Ihere have been many rumours that die change from rugby to soccer was not a good choice. But this is not true. We have done exceptionally well. Especially our Under 13 team who only lost one match in the entire season. Our class camps this year have been the best ever. The Std 5 camp was very exciting, as we had talks and slides about the place were we stayed which was Hout Bay. The Prefects Camp was also enjoyable and will stay in our memories for a long time. g Just recently we had our Sleep Out. Although the weather wasn't on our side, it was a very successful project. We have enjoyed this year very much and we all hope the next Std 5's will enjoy it just as much l From all the Std 5's we'd like to thank the school for 7 happy years. KIM IVDNIGQWERY QJINION ATKINSON