Tip's for the first week of school

You’ve changed their diapers, tolerated their terrible twos and taught them to get dressed by themselfs. Now, it’s time for another milestone – the first day of school. Nervous? Excited? Don’t know what to expect? Welcome to grade 1. Here are eight tips to get you and your little one ready for the first week.

The Name Game
Teaching your child to write their name makes for excellent preparation. Small letters are used most commonly, but it doesn’t hurt to teach both upper and lower case. Once they can write their first name, have fun with it. Move onto the last name and then her a sibling’s name or the dog’s name – any practice is good. When you’re done with names, teach your child to write their address and telephone number.

Encourage Independence
Before going into school, most school boards suggest that children be able to get dressed and undressed, and use the toilet independently. They should also know how to put on their own coats and shoes. If your child isn’t up to speed, you may need to get creative. Stickers work well for encouragement. Also, a routine that the child begins to recognize can help. Make sure you allow enough time for each stage so they don’t feel pressured.   

Teach the Basics
Take your child on errands and explain how things work as you go. Stops could include the grocery store, library and post office. As you visit each location, talk them through the steps: “This is where all the produce is, here’s the meat section and this is where we go to pay at the cashier.” General knowledge of how things work makes for good preparation, says
Also, when reading to your child, encourage comprehension by talking about the story and asking questions. For example, what was their favorite part? Or, stop halfway through and ask what they think will happen at the end of the story.

Make Getting Ready Fun
Remember the excitement you felt starting school with new clothes and a fresh supplies? With younger kids, a bag full of gadgets, a new backpack and a few new items of clothing tend to gear them up without any further encouragement. Go shopping together to help get your little one excited.

Ensure that learning doesn't stop on the school grounds.

Season's greetings

Primary and Secondary education in South Africa

School life of young South Africans spans over 13 years or grades. The first year of education, grade R(reception year), is not compulsory, Grade 10,11and 12 are also not compulsory. Usually enroll into grade 1 at the age of six and a half. In South Africa the school year starts in mid-January and ends at the end of November or the beginning of December.

 The average learner-to-educator ratio schools was 31.5:1 ranging from 28.9:1 in the Free Sate to 33.2:1 in Limpopo. Private Schools generally have one teacher for every 20 scholars.

The gross enrollment ration for primary and secondary schools was 94 percent in 2007; this ratio is somewhat smaller when grade R is taken into consideration, because few parents register their children for the reception grade. The department of Education hopes to have grade R in all primary schools by 2010.

Gauteng Primary Literacy strategy

The alphabet made easy

Bold Schools fix-it plan

In a bid to improve the quality of education and matric results, the Gauteng government unveiled a bold plan for government schools, staring in the new year.

Designed by Education MEC Barbara  Creecy, the move has massive implications for pupils, teachers and parents.

In terms of the plan:

• Grade 3, 6 and 9 pupils will write a standardised national test that will determine their knowledge of numeracy and literacy so that areas of weakness can be identified earlier and rectified before Grade 12
• All schools will approach the curriculum standardised fashion, covering the same areas at the same time. 
• 5000 teachers will be trained throughout the year in the curriculum
• Parents will have to attend induction classes at the start of the school year. Schools reopen January 12, and the induction programme will be held on January 8 and 9.

Creey said this was to get parents to take more responsibility for their children's education and would serve to inform them about the year ahead, what was expected of them as their children.

Speaking at a special briefing of editors, Creecy painted a bleak picture of the state of education in the province. According to the latest figures only 30 percent of grade 3s are literate and just over 40 percent pass maths, while slightly more than 50 percent are literate.

At high school level, about 50 percent of children can't read or write, so it is difficult for the department to get the matric results up.

Study Skills-Helping your child along

Improving study skills always leads to better grades. Never forget that making learning fun for your child  will create the most return over the long term, as far as learning and good grades are concerned.

Study habits are learned at home. Parenting means teaching our children these skills and making them habits, study skills are so important that some think grades are a measure of how well parents teach their children to study, more so at primary school level.

Despite the fact, good study habits are largely, a discipline we instill in our children, we must always bear in mind that learning through play inspires children to learn more. Any opportunity to mix play and learning together should be taken.

Let them play while teaching them to recognise all the shapes on their jungle gym

 

TV and Video games are not considered play since they increase anxiety and aggression. At the top of the study skills as a parent is seeing that your child is paying attention to the teacher. Other methods of improving study skills are listed below:

• Visit the class and see for yourself how your child is doing.
• Make sure they answer questions regularly in class. 
• Ensure they begin their studies and homework soon after arriving home. 
• A desk, adequate lighting and a comfortable setting are helpful.
• Find a suitable regular place and time to study
• Homework should be prioritized. 
• Remember to praise children for work completed properly and on time.
• Regular, scheduled play breaks are important.
• Physical movement like playing with friends or going outside to play with the dog.

Good study skills emphasize relaxing and thinking about the challenge (brainstorm possible solutions) before tackling it.

Rewarding a student for a good grades is a judgement call. If it works for your child, why not, remember the bottom line is that our children learn to enjoy learning for learning's sake. This is why making learning fun and learning through play are such excellent study skills.

Subject choice in grade 9

Subject choice in Grade 9 is always a stressful time! Most learners (and their parents), find it difficult to choose subjects for grade 10.

There are so many questions. Which subjects will keep my options open for further study after school? Should I take Maths? What about the other subjects? With the introduction of the new curriculum, learners and parents need information about the new subject requirements and the entry requirements for tertiary study.  

When choosing subjects, it is important that one does the necessary research to reduce the risk of regret. 

"The more a person knows, the better informed they are, the more likely a person makes the best possible decision"

The National Senior Certificate (NSC) has replaced the Matric Certificate. Subject choice in Grade 9 is based on the following:

 

• Seven subjects- The National Curriculum Statement requires all learners in grade 10 to 12 to do seven subjects of which four are compulsory and three are of their own choice.
• Four compulsory subjects- two of these must be be South African languages. Of these, one must be the language of teaching and learning, referred to as the Home Language (HL), and the other, a first additional Language (Add Lang)
• Mathematics or Math Literacy - In addition to two languages, all learners must take either Mathematics or Mathematical literacy and Life Orientation.
• Three further subjects- Learners can take up to four languages as part of their seven-subject package. Some of the approved subjects have been classified as designated subjects, which are suitable for tertiary study.      

 

Requirements for NSC are as follows:

4 compulsory subjects - obtain at least 40%

2 Languages - obtain at least 30%

Mathematics or Mathematical Lit - Obtain 30%

Life Orientation - Obtain 40%

3 Additional choice subjects - Obtain at least 40% in one of the subjects

                                              Obtain at least 30% in the other two subjects.

For more information just ask Blogger and I will try my best to source informed responses to your questions.