New English medium school to open doors in 2016

MOKOPANE – “OUR vision is to offer quality education that improves continuously and that learners will enjoy and thrive in.” Reads the brochure to the new Thorntree Preparatory School in Thabo Mbeki Street.

This English medium school hosted their open day last Wednesday where learners and parents were warmly welcomed with a tour through the school and an information session. Thorntree is offering independent English medium instruction from Gr 0 to Gr 7. A Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) curriculum will be followed, learners will have access to remedial assistance, field trips and will be able to participate in local and national expos and educational events.

Essentially the government school calendar and holidays will be followed and a blended learning-teaching methodology will be practiced.

“The term ‘blended learning’ is generally applied to the practice of using both online/computer based and in-person learning experiences when teaching students. In a blended learning school learners are taught by a teacher in a traditional classroom setting, while also independently completing online components of the course outside of the classroom or in addition to classroom time. Self-paced learning opportunities are facilitated in this way, where learners at different levels can benefit from customisations to their specific needs,” Hilary Knight, co-founder, explained to Bosveld.

“We’re in the final throes of getting our Department of Education registration, and will also be a member of ISASA (Independent Schools Association of South Africa) which is important to us as we’ll be working within the ambit of a large organisation involved with most of the independent schools in SA.”

The goal of the school is to create an environment that allows students to own their own learning. This is made possible through enabling classroom setups that allow for teacher instruction; purposeful use of technology as well as independent and collaborative practice. “Our mission is to teach the academic skills, foster the intellectual habits and cultivate the character traits needed for our learners to thrive in school and in life,” Knight, Delani Hollhumer (co-founder), and Fatima Cachalia, (head of the school), said.

Contact Knight, Hollhumer or Cachalia for more information at 082 805 3275 (Knight), or at 083 393 5594 (Hollhumer) or at 082 897 0579 (Cachalia).