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Welcome HOME.
To all our new students starting at Sun Valley Primary, we extend a very warm welcome to the HOME of POSSIBILITY.
Changing schools can be a frightening experience. It rates high in this list of the most stressful experiences in life. However, starting at Sun Valley Primary is very different because this is HOME.
On your first day, simply arrive at Reception by 07:30am. Your class teacher will meet you in the foyer and together you will go to class. There you will meet the rest of the class. Someone in the class will volunteer to be your ‘buddy’ for the first two weeks. Your buddy will show you around the school and explain how things work.
You will also join a Co-op Group. From Grade 1 to Grade 7, our students sit in Groups of four. This Group is called a Co-operative Learning Group. Because we believe that collaboration is a key twenty-first century skill, our students learn how to work effectively as an individual within a high performing team.
Soon after finding your feet you will meet your HOOFie Family. Our school is divided into families of seven, one student from each Grade making up a family. Here you will meet students from all the different Grades and participate once every two weeks in an activity.
Times and Routines
School starts at 07:45 each day. Try to be at school by 07:30. Traffic is really bad as all 1200 students are delivered to school. In order to manage the flow of traffic we have created a voluntary ONE WAY system. This means that the front passenger door is always on the side of the school. This counter-clockwise traffic flow ensures that our students stay safe and the traffic moves quickly. Please do not park in the DROP & GO areas and avoid mounting the curb, parking in drive-ways or on our neighbours lawns. A little stroll to the gate is good for all of us.
School closes at 14:15 from Monday to Thursday for all students from Grade 1 to 7. On a Friday we close at 13:00. For the first three days of the academic year we close at 13:00.
If your child is sick, please contact Reception and inform the school. A digital note is then sent immediately to the class teacher. We track absentee levels very closely. Late-coming is recorded on our data-base and parents are summoned to disciplinary meetings when it becomes habitual. Punctuality is a core value at Sun Valley and habitual disregard for this essential life-skill is dealt with firmly.
After-Care
We have a wonderful After-Care called Home Base. It is open from after school until 18:00
Monday to Friday. It is closed on all Public Holidays, School Public Holidays and School Holidays. However, during the School Holidays - we offer
Holiday Care at R550 per week. The minimum enrolment is for one week during the Holidays.
Home Base enrolment is for a Term. Casual Daily Care is available. Simply contact Reception to inform them and you will be billed on your Silvermine Academy account.
For a brochure on Home Base, please contact Reception.
Silvermine Academy (NPO)
Our registered non-profit organisation - Silvermine Academy was developed in 2004 and over the past 12 years has contributed to providing quality education. The NPO runs Sunbird Pre-Primary, Silvermine Academy - The High School, The Music Academy, Home-Base, Outdoor Education, Sport Tours, Birdie Num Nums (Tuckshop), The Clothing Boutique, The Stationery Shoppe and Student Transport. The operating profit from these divisions is invested back into our Group of Schools. As a result, we have one of the finest community school campuses with a fleet of vehicles to safely transport of students.
Parents will always receive two accounts. The Sun Valley Primary School account is for School Fees and all other fees are invoiced on your Silvermine Academy account. Accounts are emailed to parents and payment is required in advance as we have a massive salary budget to cover each month. Deadlines are strictly enforced in order to manage such high demand with so few Administrative Staff. Individual leeway is not possible in a school of 1200 students. Diarise the deadline and make payments promptly.
Sport
We play! Our Sport has improved dramatically over the past 5 years under the leadership of our Senior Deputy Principal, Brad Keller. If you drive past our school you will notice our students participating in highly structured training with outstanding coaches. We invest heavily in our Sporting programme and the results speak for themselves. Each Term the Sport Directorate publishes a brochure with all the Sport that is offered. Most Sport is offered as part of the School Fees unless it is offered by a private contractor. This is clearly indicated in the Sport Brochure.
Music and Drama
We are a creative school. Music is big at Sun Valley. Under the able leadership of Brenda Feldtmann, our Music Academy is respected for their standard of Music tuition and performance. The Academy offers tuition in many instruments and one can enjoy numerous concerts during the academic year. From piano to guitar, drumming, violin - you name it, we offer it. The Music Academy brochure is available at Reception. Every second year we produce a Musical. Here every child in the specific Phase participates. Those who really do not want to be on the stage opt to help backstage or with the sound or lighting.
CorrespondenceWe have tried to move away from paper as the source of communication. Short SMS messages are sent to parents when required. We make use of our FACEBOOK page to keep our parents briefed on all events. Like our Facebook page and receive all the updates.blogs.sunvalleygroup.co.zaOur BLOG is a great spot to keep up to date with all events. In the blue banner at the top of the page you will notice the label CALENDAR. Click on the calendar and navigate through the entire Group of Schools planning. If you use the SEARCH button and type in CALENDAR you will
find many articles on how to navigate the calendar system.
The BLOG is our weekly Newsletter. Each week different sectors of our Group of Schools write articles on what they have been doing.
All the photographs taken during the year are uploaded to both Facebook (selected) and to Flickr. These can be accessed from our BLOG as well.
Occasionally a note or invitation will be sent home via the TAKE HOME DIARY. It is important to check this Diary in case there is a message from your child’s teacher.
Tuesday night is always NIGHT SCHOOL or CONVERSATION TIME. This is an hour each week when the Senior Staff share what is happening at our school or when they create time with the School Governing Body (elected parent representatives) to listen to parents. Use this time to engage with School Leadership.
Parentline is held three times a year. At this scheduled meeting your child’s class teacher will give you feedback on your child’s academic performance. From Grade 4-7 the students are
trained to lead this interview. They will share with you their digital portfolio of their best work and address their challenges and struggles. Together, parents, child and teacher - they navigate a roadmap to success. Never miss a Parentline. HOME AssemblyYou will notice on the digital calendar that Friday is our Family Assembly Day. Each Grade gets an opportunity to lead our Assembly twice a year. These performances are most entertaining and generate space for Creative Expression. By Grade 7 your child will be so confident on the stage that you will be astounded at their ability to engage with adults.
Discipline or ReflectionThe word discipline comes from the Latin word discipulus (disciplina). It means to ‘instruct knowledge so that you can correct yourself’.
Discipline is not about punishment when working with children. It is about instructing them so that they can can make the necessary changes to the way they behave. This process of becoming aware of yourself is called REFLECTION. It is the ability to look at your behaviour and ask …“What is happening in my life that is causing my body to behave like this?” Your child may be sent home with a REFLECTION CARD. This is a sheet of paper where they have to reflect on an event and seek to record how they could improve their behaviour. Foolish parents return the form refusing to allow their child to take responsibility for their actions and seeking to make excuses or blame others. Most of those parents are permissive. Because they have failed to set boundaries for their own children, these children battle to socialise in an acceptable way. When they err (and we all err), they have no strategy to process the correction.
Our Reflective Discipline programme is incredibly effective. Don’t miss the Night School on Reflective Discipline.
Our School is privileged to employ a highly qualified Counsellor. This means that there is always someone to talk to when students battle to verbalise what is causing the trauma. Children today are highly stressed. The level of anxiety is at a very high level and we work hard to create a learning space free of anxiety.
Interventions We all learn differently and at different speeds. Some of us experience neural roadblocks. The
brain is an amazing organ. The more we learn about the brain the better we teach. Because of brain plasticity (the ability of the brain to find different pathways around a roadblock), we are able to correct many of the challenges facing children at school.
We have an entire Directorate at the School that addresses Interventions. Our SBST (School-based Support Team) meets every week with a different Grade to discuss those students with roadblocks. Our on-site Occupational Therapist, Speech Therapist, Remedial Teachers and Sensory Motor Teachers will address issues raised once the parent has been informed. Medical intervention may also be necessary. The Intervention Directorate will walk this road with you. Occasionally we find that some children need an accommodation. We currently have over 20 students who have full time Facilitators in the class with them. This is the real world - and in the real world many of us battle. What we know is that those who learn how to struggle, become successful adults.
School Fees 2017R22 360 per annum (R2032.73 x 11 months)School Fees are due on the 1st of each month in advance.FNB - Sun Valley Primary SchoolAcc: 50210763485Fish Hoek (202309)
Boutique Times (School Clothing)Mon - Thurs: 07:30 - 08:30 and 13:30 - 14:30Fri: 07:30-08:30 and 12:00 - 13:00
Medical InformationEach Term, the Medical Card must be completed in the Take Home Diary so that we have the latest data on your child.
Stationery FeeThe stationery fee covers most stationery requirements during the year.
Welcome HOMESo welcome HOME. We look forward to sharing this sojourn with you.
Reception: 021 - 785 2722Email: [email protected]: Sun Valley PrimaryTwitter: @sunvalleygroupBlog: blogs.sunvalleygroup.co.zaWebsite: Sun Valley Group of Schools
