Grades successfully phased in after school break

Schools across the province have begun phasing in various grades on Monday, 24 August following the temporary closure of schools due to the surge in coronavirus cases within the country.

As more grades were phased in, schools adopted a rotating schedule where a particular grade or group will attend school one week and then rotate with another the following week.

At Laerskool President Pretorius the grade 7s and 6s were already attending school, where the grade 6s were divided into eight classes. Grade 4s and 5s were also divided into eight classes.  The primary school began to phase in more grades from Monday 24 August.

According to Vanessa Stewart, the Acting Deputy Principal and grade 3 teacher at Laerskool President Pretorius, Grades R, 1, 2 and 3 came back to school on Monday and each grade was divided into two groups; Group A and B. The Group B’s attended school this week, then the following week, the Group A’s will be at school while the others are at home.

For the learners at home, teaching and learning will continue through online platforms. These include WhatsApp, Google Classroom, and d6. The school usually organises a drive-thru for parents to collect the various learning materials for their children. Worksheets, notes, and assessments would be further explained on the online platforms.

Vanessa encourages parents to work with the children to ensure they will be up to date with their school work.

At B.A. Seobi Secondary School, besides Grade 12s, the learners are expected to attend school on a six-day cycle to ensure that each learner per grade will be taught in all subjects.

Before more grades could be phased in, the school made contact with learners and their parents to collect learning materials for revision of term 1. Notes and assessments were also provided to the learners so they can prepare for their return to school.

According to Mike Mainganya, the principal of B.A. Seobi Secondary School, online teaching couldn’t be carried out over the lockdown period as not all learners have access to social media platforms. So through this, they hope learners will be able to catch up and be prepared once they return to school.

Due to the available facilities at the school, only two grades may be on the school premises and the school has worked out a detailed schedule on when each grade will be attending school. Depending on the schedule, grades 8, 9, 10 or 11 will be grouped with grade 12 learners.

For learners who will be at home, Mike encourages learners to use platforms like Dial-A-Tutor to assist them during that time. The school is also planning on adopting another program that may help their learners and teachers with the teaching and learning processes.

Meanwhile, prior to the school break, Ferdinand Postma High School had already phased in all their grades. Lappies Labuschagne, the principal of Ferdinand Postma High School, says grades 12 and 11 will attend school as normal but grades 8 – 10 will be rotating. This is due to the capacity of the hostel. Through this, the school wishes to ensure that social distance is maintained at all times.

Over the lockdown period, Ferdinand Postma continued with teaching via online platforms which is still used for learners at home due to comorbidities.

In a statement, NW MEC of Education, Mmaphefo Matsemela noted the province’s readiness to phase in more grades. She also expressed her gratitude to educators for the sacrifices made during this time. 

According to Elias Malindi, the Department of Education spokesperson, in order to comply with social distancing, the province is ready to provide boarding schools with mobile hostels.

The department is ensuring the schools that were vandalised during the lockdown period are being repaired. “About 129 schools in the province were vandalised. So far, 112 of these schools are repaired while 17 schools still outstanding with contractors on-site in some,” said Malindi.