It was smiles and a few tears as children throughout Germiston made their way to school last Wednesday to kick off the 2019 academic year.
Principals and teachers were well prepared for the children and the year started smoothly with very few hiccups.
Grade Ones, although nervous, were thrilled to be at ‘big school’ and couldn’t wait to start learning.
The GCN spoke to a number of schools to find out how their first day went.
“Everything is running fine,” said principal of Afrikaanse Hoërskool Retha du Toit.
“We have 240 new Grade Eight learners and also a few more in other grades.
“We started off with almost 100 more learners than last year.
“It is a bit of a struggle to get enough desks in all the classes, but we are winning and are fortunate that we still have the same staff as last year with the addition of two new teachers.”
Retha expects a very busy year ahead.
“We hope to create as many opportunities for learners to take part and excel as possible.
“We are all positive that by the grace of God, this will be a good and blessed year,” she said.
At Hoërskool Vryburger High School things were also plain sailing.
“Everything went well for the first day.
“We welcomed 112 Grade Eight learners to the school but we still expect some more learners join the ranks,” said Ian Olivier, principal of Hoërskool Vryburger High school.
Laerskool Die President also saw a good start to the year.
“I am happy to report that everything went smoothly and all children were working hard on day one,” said Laerskool Die President principal Sybrand van Dyk.
“We welcomed a total of 120 bright-eyed little ones to our school who trust us with their futures.”
Galway Primary School welcomed 195 Grade One learners.
“The first day went very well I think,” said Galway Primary School principal Koos Pretorius.
“We started out day at 7.30am and by 8am all of our learners were in class.
“The only hiccup we had was that two learners were unaccounted for but it was soon discovered they had simply joined the wrong class.”
It was all smiles at Wychwood Primary School last Wednesday as learners flocked to the school.
Linda van Schalkwyk, the principal of the school, said that they had a good start to the year.
“There were many parents who didn’t want to leave their children,” said Linda.
“Most of the children were happy for them to go and we only had a few tears.”
The school has two Grade One classes.
Linda added that they are looking forward to the year ahead and have lots of work, sport and fun activities planned for the children.
“The new academic year got off with a bang,” said Lanette Fouché, the principal of Germiston South Primary School.
“We are excited and it is going to be a good year.”
Lanette said the day went smoothly as the preparation was done at the end of last year.
The school boasted a new Grade R class bringing the total to four classes and there are five Grade One classes filled with eager learners.
Lanette added that all learners were already working hard and the first day saw the school rules being explained to them.
“It was hectic at collection time on Wednesday so we have put some measures in place which will help alleviate the traffic congestion outside the school,” she said.
Colin Mann Primary School welcomed a group of cheery first-time school-goers last Wednesday morning during the back to school mania.
The carefree children filled the corridors and designated classrooms, eager to get the ball rolling on learning.
The school currently has four Grade One classes and each accommodates a maximum of 35 children.
Though admission and settling down was easy for the teachers and children, the front office still housed a number of parents who had to be turned away or placed on the school’s waiting list due to lack of space.
“Our school’s infrastructure is old and the classrooms were designed for smaller numbers,” said Nicky Shortt, the acting principal.
“With a lack of classroom space and limited space on the school grounds, the school has only been able to accommodate 35 learners in each class in the foundation phase.
“In the senior phase, we currently operate on a one to 40 ratio.”
In the past, the school could only accommodate 25 learners per class and has made some strides in accepting more applicants.
As the school year begins, Nicky has advised all teachers to take it one day at a time, in order to succeed.
At Hawk Academy, as children happily ran from their parents and into their classrooms, a number of other learners were still in long admission queues with an uncertain future.
The school opened its doors to 85 registered Grade One learners.
Judging by the number of people waiting to be assisted outside the administration office, the school’s principal, Agnes Mkhonto, feared they would have to turn many of them away due to an influx of applications and limited space.
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We have three Grade One classes that can hold up to 40 learners each,” said Agnes.
“Though we only have 85 learners in total at the moment, we are looking to accommodate 35 in each class and if needs be, a maximum of 40.”
The school, which ended with Grade Eight classes in the past, has introduced a Grade Nine class this year.
The GCN endeavoured to contact all the city’s schools to get feedback on the first day of school.
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