What better way to start the new year than with a collection of heartwarming and empowering articles from our schools?
This edition provides a diverse set of stories that range from the serious to the light-hearted. Both Michael Curle of Maranatha Primary School and Abigail Le Roux of St Cyprian’s School grapple with transformation and inclusion questions in their two articles, entitled, In pursuit of transformation for reconciliation and From margins to momentum, respectively, while Joyanne West celebrates the role of drama in enabling young children to flourish in, ‘The power of pre-school drama’.
Generating belonging through the mindful design and execution of what could otherwise be rote and routine school activities was the focus of St Stithians’ article, A considered approach to celebrating Heritage Day, while a comprehensive onboarding programme at St Andrew’s School for Girls, outlined on page 63, in, All aboard!, seeks to ensure every Grade 8 child is given the best start to high school.
On a wellbeing note, social interaction and a place to rest and recharge were the chief aims of the biophilic design of the wellness garden at Get Ahead College in Komani in the Eastern Cape.
Noticeably, this edition shines a light on schools that embrace the concept of inclusive education at a whole new level. Some work tirelessly to unlock the full potential of children with significant learning challenges.
In her article, Creating real-world work experience for special-needs graduates, Jeanine Kerr provides a hopeful answer to the question asked by many parents of such children, namely, “Where to for my child after the school years are concluded?”. In it she outlines a dynamic partnership between business and education, which provides skills development and work experience for the children of Unity College for whom some standard work environments could prove to be unsuitable.
On page 16, Jacqui Coetzer shares the SOWLE Centre’s story of hard work and triumph at the South African Sports Association for the Intellectually Impaired (SASAII) games, where four of their learners claimed a collective nine medals. SOWLE Centre’s focus on physical and cultural activities while adapting a world-class early childhood curriculum for their purposes, gives elegant form and structure to the notion of holistic, child-centred education.
Others, such as Jannie de Goede in his article, Enabling mainstream learning for deaf students, promulgate the benefits of mainstream education for deaf children. Of interest is that there are benefits for all pupils in the system, in terms of an expanded tolerance and consciousness of the needs and lives of others. Precisely the kind of empathetic ‘soft skills’ that are some of the most sought-after.
The development of 21st century skills remains a focus, with articles like The spark behind the spark on inquiry-based learning, and Cooperative learning as a catalyst for critical thinking clarifying how these approaches, when done correctly, allow learners to take full ownership of their learning and to engage critically with real-world problems.
Consonantly, SAHETI hosted a multi-school collaborative problem- solving challenge in 2023 which allowed a total of 174 Grade 7s from nine schools from across greater Johannesburg to participate in this experiential learning challenge. An article on this event can be found on page 12.
Finally, the introduction of a regular ‘Milestones’ section will allow schools to celebrate their ongoing success. We wish to congratulate all three featured schools: both St John’s College and Epworth School celebrated their 125th year of existence in 2023 and Waterford Kamhlaba its 60th. May all schools who have celebrated such milestones in the past year see many more years of service and tally many more achievements for their pupils, alumni and community.
Should you wish to be featured in an upcoming issue of Independent Education, please complete the template or send your draft directly to publications@isasa.org for consideration.