1

From the Headmaster

Mr R E Daly

This year has started with much excitement as the Campus Development gets underway.

Added to this have been the accolades that have come our way this year. Let me list some of

them:

19th in the province for matric results

8th in the province for best average in Maths and English in the systemic tests

Inclusion in the Circle of Excellence 100 Schools in the country (ranked 1st last year)

Further funding from the Optima and Epoch Trust. (R340 000 for 2014)

Miss Horn (Winner at National Teaching Awards, Excellence in Physical Science Teaching)

Prize: R200 000 computer lab donated by Telkom

The Dynamix win the High School Slam in the Waterfront and will perform with

Shakatak in the Cape Town International Jazz Festival

17 athletes selected for the Northern Zone athletics team and then 5 selected for the Western Cape team.

2 athletes selected to compete at the SA Championships.

Our Drum Majorettes came 2nd in their first indoor championships.

We commenced our Astro and have redesigned the existing fields to accommodate our

summer and winter sports.

Completed a total refit of the Consumer Studies Room

TERM 1 NEWSLETTER

T h e S e t t l e r s H i g h S c h o o l

Volume 6, Issue 1

March 2014

2

Pastoral Report

Mrs L Hall

We started this year with the launch of the theme for 2014 Reflect Respect by Mr Smuts.

Reflecting respect starts with respect for yourself which then leads to respect in all other

spheres of life. The theme encompasses all aspects of school life looking at values such as

accountability, punctuality, commitment, perseverance, thorough preparation to name but a few.

We will be focusing on these different aspects throughout the year and ask you to please

support us and discuss these values with your children.

Excellent discipline and teamwork was displayed during the Inter-house Gala, Inter-house

Athletics and Inter-schools Athletics. The learners displayed exemplary behaviour, a positive

spirit and pride in our school at all these events. We won the cheerleaders cup and came

second in the cheerleading. Our children did, however, show immense sportsmanship and their

behaviour and co-operation on the day could not have been better.

On the 24th January 2014 the actor Christo Davids (Errol from the soapie Sewende Laan) visited

the school causing great excitement among the learners. His message to the children was that

your role model should be the person that you see in the mirror every morning because when

you are a role model to yourself then you can be a role model to others.

A week later we were visited by the two actors Donnalee Roberts and Ivan Botha (Annelie and

Pieter from Sewende Laan) for the launch of their movie ‘Pad na jou Hart’. Once again there

was great excitement throughout the school.

Tuesday 11 February 2014 was the formal induction ceremony for the Representative Council of Learners (RCL). This was the first time we had this ceremony and it was a very special

dignified occasion. The RCL members also lead devotions in the Grade assemblies every

Wednesday morning.

School Council which consists of RCL and prefects (45 learner leaders) as well as the School

Executive committee and Management committees ( 30 teachers) met on Friday 28 February

2014. There were two proposals namely the updating of the school code of conduct and the

proposal to outlaw the wearing of grasshopper shoes. After healthy discussion and debate the

changes to the code of conduct were approved with minor adjustments and the grasshopper

proposal was referred for further investigation to the Pastoral management committee. The

3

role the learners play in Council is impressive and invaluable and the confidence with which

matters are debated is commendable.

We have 9 trained peer counsellors this year. They are, Zoe Meiring, Zakiyyah Hoosain,

Channing Adams, Shana Herringer, Tamlyn Sherry, Miche Jeffries, Karl Hendricks, Don Maisels

and Sandrine Mpazayabo. These learners are available for peer counselling as it may be required.

We also have three grade 10 and one grade 11 learner on the Junior City Council. They are

Vivek Abrahams, Mohini Anand, Kayla Barendse and Sandrine Mpazayabo. Considering that this

council comprises about 50 learners from all over the peninsula it is remarkable that we have

such a large contingent.

Mrs Abrahamse has arranged a Career Expo for the school on 24 March 2014 and The

Standard Bank Rocking Road Show presented a career show to the Matric group, on 5 march

2014. The organisers commented on the spirit and talent of our learners.

In the fourth term of 2013 the Governing Body recommended to the Head of Education that

two of our learners be expelled. Both recommendations were upheld. Tyler Arends a grade 8

learner was expelled for selling dagga at school and Grant Cloete a grade 11 learner was

expelled for repeated gross insubordination. The Cloete family appealed the expulsion but the

Minister of Education upheld the decision of the Head of Education.

Bullying in any form will not be tolerated and we wish to encourage parents to report any such

incidents, as school must be a place of safety for all our learners and bullying that is ignored

leads to serious problems.

The safety of the learners early in the mornings and after school in the afternoons is a concern.

No learner should walk to or be alone at the station or in an isolated place on the school

grounds as there has been a number of muggings this term. We are in the process of having the

plans approved for the front gate which will be manned by guards 24 hours a day. Please talk to

your children regarding the use of their cellphones on the way home as this invites

opportunistic thieves and could have dire consequences. As a safety measure the back gate

(next to the outside courts/Oosterzee side) will only be open as follows: 7:00 – 8:00 and 14:30 – 15:00.

Another area that remains a cause for concern is the number of learners who arrive late for

school. Lateness impacts directly on learning. Although there has been a slight improvement

since learners sit a 30 minute detention the day after they were late, we appeal to all parents to

discuss the importance of punctuality with your children and to make every effort to ensure

punctual arrival for school. We accept that public transport is not what it should be, but

alternatives need to be explored.

In an endeavour to brand our school positively and to create a sense of pride we have adopted

an official sport and culture practice uniform. This uniform includes official match kit, the ‘old’

white Phys Ed top, the ’new’ Phys Ed top, the ‘new’ blue practice t-shirt and the house t-shirts.

The navy shorts may also be worn for practice. The only socks that may be worn for practices,

are the ‘old’ navy socks with white stripes or the ‘new’ navy and blue hooped socks. The official

track suit is also part of this uniform. Please assist us to ensure that there is uniform

implementation of this uniform.

4

The general appearance of our learners is good. They have to wear winter uniform for

Founders Day on 24 April 2013 and the official change over to winter uniform will be 5 May 2014. Please use the holidays to check that your child’s winter uniform still fits and that the

dresses are not too short.

The counselling department under the guidance of Mrs Abrahamse is available to see the

children regarding problems, but also to give guidance regarding studying as well as career

guidance. Please encourage your children to make use of this service.

Academic Report

From the Headmaster

The new pass requirements for Grade 8 & 9 are of a much higher standard than previously and

are reflected in these statistics.

I wish to congratulate all pupils who have succeeded in these exams.

The results are as follows.

Grade 8: 251 candidates,

54 Not passed ( 21,5% )

Pass Rate: 78,5%

Grade 9: 257 candidates,

105 Not passed (40,9%),

Pass Rate 59,1 %

Grade 10: 263 candidates,

189 University Requirements (71,9%)

10 Not Passed (3,8%),

Pass Rate: 96,2%

Grade 11: 254 Candidates,

187 University Requirements (73,6%)

4 Not passed (1,6 %),

Pass Rate: 98,4 %

Grade 12: 215 Candidates,

184 University Requirements (85,6%)

7 Not passed (3,3 %),

Pass Rate: 96,7 %

We have moved to a new admin programme and are unable to determine the top

achievers according to our criteria. This will be acknowledged next term.

5

Miss W Horn

The school continues to improve our academic focus this term. The following have been

posted on our website: Program of Assessment that outlines all tasks, test and exams per

subject for the year as well as the exam and test timetables for the year. Please use this to help

your child with time management and prioritising of work so that all tasks are handed in on time

and they give themselves ample opportunity for preparation for tests and exams.

SUBJECT CHANGES

Subject changes may only take place after the June examination. Please make any requests

on the request form (available from Ms Horn) after the June examination.

SCHOOL BASED ASSESSMENT

The following important information in the NATIONAL PROTOCOL FOR ASSESSMENT

GRADES R – 12 was highlighted at a WCED meeting:

A learner (grade 10 to 12) who does complete the school based assessment (projects, orals and/or

practical) and does not have a valid excuse (doctors’ certificate or the like) will not be allowed to write

the final November examination for that subject. This means the learner will NOT BE RESULTED for

the subject. The learner will need to repeat the subject and redo the School-Based Assessment

component for the subject

Simplified, this means if a learner does not hand in a project, an oral or complete a task for the

school based assessment and they do not have a valid excuse, they will not simply just be given

zero for the incomplete assessment but will not be able to write the final exam in the subject

and thus would not have a result in the subject for final promotion requirements. Please take

note of this especially in subjects that have a practical component.

PROMOTION REQUIREMENTS (CAPS)

The following are the pass requirements for Grade 8 and 9

A learner must obtain, at least a:

1. Level 4, (50-59%) in one language at Home Language level.

2. Level 3, (40-49%) in the second required official language at First Additional Language

level

3. Level 3, (40-49%) in Mathematics

4. Level 3, (40-49%) in any three (3) of the other required subjects

5. At least Level 2, (30-39%) in any two (2) of the other required subjects.

The following are the pass requirements for Grade 10-12

A learner must obtain, at least a:

1. Level 3, (40-49%) in English HL

2. Level 3, (40-49%) in two other subjects

3. Level 2, (30-39%) 30% in three additional subject

6

Progression: Progression occurs when a learner does not meet the pass requirements but

has already spent two years in a grade. They progress to the next grade with no guarantee of passing the next grade or any acknowledgement of the grade they progressed from.

Progression in grade 10-12 does not guarantee the final certification of a learner in Grade 12

and such a learner must comply with the certification as contemplated in paragraph37(1)(a) of

the policy document, NPPPR to enable him/her to obtain a NSC.

A learner must offer two official languages unless classified as an immigrant. Immigrants may do

another officially recognised subject in place of the second official language. Application to the

WCED for immigrant status is completed by the head of academics.

Bachelors pass: In order to obtain a bachelors pass a learner must obtain 50% in four subjects.

(Life Orientation is not included as one of the subjects).

GENERAL INFORMATION

As part of our endeavours to improve the quality of learning, extra or alternate academic events

have been offered this term.

The grade 11and grade 12 learners wrote the Science and English Olympiads.

The grade 10 Life Science group went to St James and Kirstenbosch gardens to complete

a practical activity on ecology.

The academic manco has also re-launched a peer tutoring system. Learners volunteered to be

peer tutors in the core subjects in each grade. They are being supported by the educators in the

different subject areas. A learner makes an appointment with a peer tutor who then helps them

with the work. We hope that learners learning from each other will have a positive impact on the academic results.

All learners that have not passed this term will have to attend an Academic Development

seminar on the 23 April which will address study skills and other skills to help the learner

improve their results. The top academic learners in grade 10 -12 will be invited to attend an

Academic Achievers seminar on 9 May which will be used to inspire them to get even better

results.

Extra-tuition:

Mr Nicholls is available for extra help with Mathematics for all grades from Monday to Thursday

(after school to 16:00). Some of the Grade 12 Mathematics classes have had lessons from 06:00

in the mornings at school with their math educator while other classes have been taught in the

evenings. Please contact your child’s mathematics teacher to find out the arrangements for that

particular class.

Physical Science extra lessons take place in lab 1 with Ms Horn. They are meant for

consolidation of concepts and are also used to do and mark extra worksheets given for

consolidation of concepts. Grade 12 – Monday at 06:30 – 07:30, Grade 11-Tuesday 06:45 –

7:35 and Grade 10 - Thursday 06:45 – 07:35.

The Grade 8 learner’s wrote a baseline test in English and Mathematics. Each parent should

have received a report indicating these marks. Some learner’s that have been identified as having

7

some difficulties with the required math concepts will be asked to attend extra – tuition during

term 2. You will receive notification about this next term.

Please use this term to catch up on any projects that are due for next term and to consolidate

any problem areas identified in the control tests. But also put aside some time to rest and

recharge for the new term.

CLUB 21: This is a select group of the top 21 academics in the school (all grades). This term

they attended the Leonardo da Vinci exhibition which was a remarkable display of the master’s

work.

8

Contact

Miss T Magson

For the very first time there was no need for an Orientation day as there were no new staff

members joining The Settlers High. Mrs Nieuwoudt returned after a year off where she was in

Namibia with her family.

The staff got into the spirit of Valentine’s Day by wearing red, pink and white. Each staff

member was given a small gift at the Valentine’s tea provided by the Contact Manco.

We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Mr and Mrs de Vries’s bundle of joy in April. Miss Pienaar

will be getting married in the holidays and will return as Mrs Toerien. We wish them all well and

look forward to their return to school after the happy events.

Mrs Munro will leave us at the end of the term to relocate to George where her husband has a

position in the Military. Mrs Munro will be sorely missed in the Music Department and especially

in the Orchestra which she conducted with great flair. We wish her and her family all the very

best as she takes up a Music position in George.

A touring group from Wagenburg Gymnasium in Stuttgart will be joining us for two weeks as

part of our cultural exchange programme. We thank the host families for opening their doors to

them and showing them true South African hospitality.

The Past Pupil Committee is up and running again and will be hosting a summer sizzler get

together. They are very active on facebook which helps all to keep up with school events.

The school is very proud of Miss Horn as she won the National category of teacher’s awards

for Excellence in Physical Science Teaching. Miss Horn also graduated with a Diploma in the

ACE course which she received cum laude.

To the parents, thank you for your continued support at our functions and sports matches and

for transporting your children to and from activities. Both the learners and teachers appreciate the interest you show. We look forward to your continued support in the future.

9

Sport

Mr B Neethling

First Term 2014

The first term started, as usually, on a high note with the athletics going at full pace in the first

week of school. This was accompanied by cheerleading, with the grade 8 learners having to

learn the new songs and moves. We are amazed at the way Mr Smuts goes about his work,

keeping tight control over the learners, whilst allowing them to execute the moves,

accompanied by their singing and the cheering.

Swimming.

The swimming training commenced on the 27th of January and on every Monday, Tuesday,

Wednesday and Fridays there were morning sessions whilst on Tuesdays there was an

afternoon session.

This year the team participated in three inter-school gala competitions, and for the first time in

a long time, we managed to successfully pitch a full swimming team from U/14 to U/19.

With a lot of hard work and commitment on the part of our teachers and the learners,

swimming at our school has a bright future. The school received nine starting blocks and lane

dividers on a loan basis from a neighbouring school.

The school’s Inter-House swimming Gala was held on the 23th of January where Bain took the

honours of winning the competition and Pringle winning the Spirit Cup.

Athletics

Our Inter-House Athletics Competition was held at the Parow Track on the 20th of January

where Pringle House won the competition as well as the Spirit Cup.

On the 14th of February the Interschool’s Athletics was held at the Bellville Velodrome.

Fairmont took the honours in the athletics competition, Durbanville won the Spirit Cup whilst we won the Cheerleading Trophy. The school can rightly feel that we did not do as well as in

the past. The athletics coaches and teachers realise that there is a lot of hard work ahead if we

want to reach the heights we attained in the past.

Our learners also need to realise that everybody needs to make a concerted effort to

participate and not to leave it to a few individuals, who are already stretched to the limit. The

school has some fine athletes but for some reason they are not pulling their weight.

Five of our athletes were chosen for the Western Cape Athletics Championship. They are

Tarryn Solomon (100m), Jodee Johannes (Long Jump ), Zoe Meiring (Triple Jump ), Elijah

Akudugu (Triple Jump) and Gardeo Isaacs ( 400m).

Basketball

Basketball had a very successful season with all of the matches being played. Unfortunately no

team reached the finals but that does not take away the success this sport code has had over

the last couple of years. The Western Province Trials is starting this week and we hope to have

a couple of our promising players included in this squad.

10

Summer League Hockey

Many of the regular hockey girls have been part of the Summer League Hockey program which

ensured that the girls stay fit and play at a competitive level, whilst in a way getting ready for the

ensuing hockey season. At the start there was only one senior team, but now we have two

teams in the competition, including thirteen grade eight learners.

There is quite a bit of excitement with regards to the construction of our very own Astro Turf.

We shall soon have first class playing facilities at the school of which we can all be proud. We

believe that with the help of our own new facilities and our top coaches at our school, hockey

will attract even more players which will ensure a brighter future for hockey at The Settlers

High School.

Cricket

Our first team, under Mr Petersen’s guidance, has done remarkably well this season, beating

Fairmont and De Kuilen, schools that have always been our nemesis in the past. The school has

through Coaching Dynamics, obtained the services of two good coaches that are doing

wonderful work with our boys. We hope to see some more improvements in the future.

A school from Australia will be visiting us during the month of September, playing a cricket

game against our U/15 cricketers as well as a soccer game against our U/16 boys. The boys will

be hosted for two nights by our learners.

General Comment

The school’s Summer Colours Meeting was held during the first term. At these meetings the

learners who have excelled in their particular sport codes, are nominated for the different

awards, namely, team, merit, special merit, junior honours and honours. These learners will be

awarded their certificates at the Awards Ceremony at the end of the first term.

Lastly, a word about our teachers who sacrifice a lot of their time and effort to administering, managing and coaching our learners. They go about it in a professional way, never complaining

about the task, always ensuring that the learners receive full benefit from the game. We have to

ensure that, in spite of the long hours we spent at the school, that we do not lose our focus and

stay mindful of the fact that we have a job to do. It is a job that does not easily gets rewarded,

but which provide endless joy and excitement to our learners. It is on the field that our learners

are moulded to become competitive, display sportsmanship, play hard but strictly according the

rules of the game and become friends for life.

11

Cultural Report

Mr H Smuts

The first term was, as usual, a busy and exciting cultural term at The Settlers. The term started

with the annual One Act Play festival. This year houses once again selected a published play and

were allowed to adapt these plays for their production. The Grade 12 directors were:

BAIN: Amy Braaf and Yusrah Safedien

PRINGLE: Sabieda Abdullatief and Micaela Philander

SHAW: Kerryn Sauls and Shana-Lee Engel

All three houses staged entertaining and well-rehearsed productions. The results were:

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Sinhle Radebe (Pringle)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Tiny Zake (Shaw)

BEST ACTOR: Gavalen Flandorp (Shaw)

BEST ACTRESS: Sameenah Kader (Shaw)

BEST PRODUCTION: Bank, Bank: He Shot Me Down (Shaw)

Congratulations to all the learners involved in this successful event.

This year The Settlers learners can choose from a variety of 40 different societies. All these

societies were launched during the Cultural assembly at the start of the year and learners signed

up enthusiastically to participate in these activities.

Cultural Mondays ensure that all learners have the opportunity to participate in the cultural

activity of preference. Mondays are divided into three cultural slots in order to accommodate

all the general societies as well as large performance groups

12

The Afrikaans debating team participated at the Woordfees in Stellenbosch. This team consisted

of Tatum Jacobs, Ruth Jantjies and Ashliegh Dreyer.

The Interact society continued with their various activities. Learners are encouraged to bring

non-perishable food on Fridays as part of the Food Drive as well as collect bread tags in order

to donate our fourth wheelchair to someone in need.

Our jazz group, The Dynamix, had a busy start to the year. Besides provided background Music

at the Grade 7 Information evening and school functions, they participated in the High School

band Slam at the V&A Waterfront, the Cape Town International jazz Festival Schools’

Workshops and at Jazz on the Lawn at St Joseph‘s Marists College.

This group of musicians won the High School band Slam and will receive R20 000 of equipment

for the Music Department. At the Jazz Festival workshops, they were also selected to be the

opening act for Shakatak at the festival. Congratulations to this group on these remarkable

achievements.

Learners also had the opportunity to enter for the Tygerberg International Eisteddfod. These

learners and groups are hard at work to present their items at this prestigious competition

during the second and third term.

Rehearsals for the Drama production are in full swing and ticket sales will start during next term.

Tickets will be R50 each and will be on sale at the school during first break daily. The Dramatic

Production will run from 13 to 16 May.

The second term will be very busy with Drama production, the Choir competing in the

Tygerberg International Eisteddfod as well as the various debating and individual competitions

entered.

Thank you to all our learners, teachers and parents for making this term such a memorable

cultural experience.

DATES FOR TERM 2

7 April: Terms 2 starts

23 April: Academic Developmental Seminar

24 April: Founders’ Day 12:30

25 April: Freedom Day Assembly 13:00

28 April - 2 April: Mid-term break 9 May: Top Achievers Seminar

13 May - 16 May: Dramatic Production

30 May - 17 June: Mid-year Exams

9 June: Governing Body Finance Workshop 19:30

17 June: Grade 11 Seminar

25 June: June Reports issued

26 June: Parent Interviews (by appointment) 17:00 – 19:00

27 June: Last Day of term

13