Crossroads
Chronicle
14 January 2015
DATES TO DAIRISE
14 Jan Mon
16 Jan Fri
19 Jan Mon
20 Jan Tues
21 Jan Wed
22 Jan Thur
23 Jan Fri
26 Jan Mon
28 Jan Wed
29 Jan Thur
6 Feb Fri
18 Feb Wed
19 Feb Thur
20 Feb Fri
23 Feb Mon
24 Feb Tue
25 Feb Wed
26 Feb Thur
Welcome Assembly
Hearing Screening
Gr 0-2
Hearing Screening
Gr 3-5
Hearing Screening
Gr 6-7
PTA Meeting –
Boardroom 18:00
Parent Information
Evening: All Parents
to meet in the Hall
at 19:00
Class and Individual
Photos
Extra murals begin
Senior Unit Gr 4-7
Information
Evening 19:00
Junior Unit Gr 0-3
Information
Evening 19:00
Gr 7 IEPs
2C, 4Y, 6L IEPs
1B, 3V, 6R IEPs
2D, 3H, 5T IEPs
1V, 5D IEPs
1H, 3S IEPs
0, 4R, 5W IEPs
School closes 12:00
for mid-term break.
Return Tues 3 Mar
CALENDARS AND
DIARIES
2015
This is an appeal for donations
of large wall calendars for
classrooms and offices, as well
as desk dairies (both large and
small) and year planners. Kindly
send them to the school office
for distribution to staff.
IMPORTANT
s
Please note that there will be a Newsletter at the beginning of every
week. The Newsletter will be displayed on the School’s website
(www.crossroadsschool.co.za), and on the d6 Communicator. It is of
paramount importance that these letters are read as there is always
valuable information included in them. Please ensure that every
parent has downloaded the d6 to their smartphone, computer, laptop
or tablet so as to be kept abreast of important happenings. Do not
hesitate to call the office if you require assistance in downloading
the programme. Finally, please ensure that we are kept informed of
any changes in telephone or cellphone numbers or email addresses.
MESSAGE FROM OUR PRINCIPAL
Welcome back! I hope you all had a good holiday season and are
feeling rejuvenated as the year starts. Welcome back to all the
families who are returning to Crossroads, and a brand new welcome
to those who are joining us for the first time.
Welcome to the following new members of staff:
Liz van Dyk – Afrikaans (part-time)
Gemma Ahlschlager – Gr 0
Abbey Hardingham – Gr 1
Tandy Storie – Gr 3
Carolyn West – Gr 5
We congratulate Catherine Raynham, our former Gr 0 teacher, who
has accepted the position of Deputy: Academic. We are also happy
to announce that Mapuso Ramotso, a qualified teacher who is well
known to Crossroads as she has been employed as a facilitator and a
teacher’s assistant for many years, will be teaching a Grade 4 class.
If, during the year, you have any concerns about your child I
encourage you to contact either your class teacher or therapist in
the first instance as they will be interacting with your child on a
daily basis and will therefore develop a solid understanding of your
child’s needs. Should you feel the need to communicate with
someone else the following staff are also available for consultation:
Deputy Principal: Therapy
Mrs Cornelia de Kock ([email protected])
Deputy Principal: Academic
Extra murals start on
Monday 26 January
KARATE
Lessons will continue this year
as follows:
Gr 1 - 3: 13:45-14:30
Gr 4 – 7: 14:30 – 15:15.
Please note that times may
change subject to final
numbers.
Enrolment forms will be given
out at the first karate lesson
on Tuesday January 27th. Fee
information and banking
details will be included.
Karate suits are not
compulsory for the classes
unless the child would like to
attend events or tournaments
later in the year. Please sms
queries to Ryan on
072 435 4917 or
[email protected]
FIELD GOLF
Golf Champs Junior Academy.
Gr 1+2 13:30-14:00
Gr 3-7 14:00-14:30.
If you would like your son or
daughter to play golf, please
contact Dave Lewis on 082
731 8648 or
[email protected]
Ms Catherine Raynham ([email protected])
Senior Unit Head of Department: Gr 4 – 7
Mrs Betsie Le Roux ([email protected])
Junior Unit Head of Department: Gr 0 – 3
Mrs Pam Batwell ([email protected])
Please do not hesitate to call my secretary, Barbara-Ann, if you wish
to make an appointment to see me.
Please note that staff can be contacted by various methods:
 Write a message in your child’s homework book
 Leave a message at the office for a teacher/therapist to
return your call
 Send an email to the teacher/therapist (every member of
staff has an email address and in general, it is the first name
followed by …… @crossroadsschool.co.za)
NEW BUS TRANSPORT SERVICE
We are presently trialing a morning bus run from Yeshiva College in
Glenhazel to Crossroads daily. If interested, please contact the
school for details.
MUSIC
Music is now offered as a subject for Grades 0 – 3 for 30 minutes a
week. Extra Mural Music is also on offer, and limited to 10 pupils a
week. See the extra mural schedule.
PTA COMMITTEE MEETING
The first PTA meeting for the year will be held on Wednesday 21st
January at 18:00. Parents who are interested and willing to work for
our children and school should make every effort to attend. Our
major fundraiser for the year, Crossroads Carnival, takes place in
March and we need as much assistance as possible. The meeting will
take place in the Board Room and access to parking is through the
Staff Car Park in 13th Street.
IMPORTANT NOTICES
NEW PUPILS
UPDATED ASSESSMENTS
If your child was in therapy
prior to coming to Crossroads,
please ensure that we have
the most up to date report
from their previous therapist;
this helps give our therapists
a better understanding of
your child.
During this week your child will bring home Family/Parent/Learner
Forms. Kindly take the time to check that the details printed on the
forms are correct and make any changes necessary in the shaded
column alongside the information. Medication forms will also be sent
home. Please return both these forms to School as soon as possible
so that our database can be updated.
Parents are encouraged to consult the Building Positive Outcomes
Policy on the d6 Communicator where all information relating to
school rules and procedures can be found. This document has been
posted under “Resources” and should be referred to throughout the
year. For your convenience, we have listed a few important points:
CELLPHONE POLICY -A reminder that we do not allow cellphones
at school.
Remember the 3 rules:
Be safe
Be responsible
Be respectful
We have a number of ongoing initiatives to raise
funds both for Crossroads
School and for our
Outreach initiatives
NEWSPAPERS
These are collected for Mondi
re-cycling as a fundraiser.
No bottles, cans or garden
refuse please!
SCHOOL SUPPORTER
CARDS
Please continue to use these
cards wherever they are
accepted. Additional funds
are generated through the
cards for the school. If you
do not have a card, please
order one from Ronel in the
school office. There is no
cost attached to this.
PRINTER CARTRIDGES.
Send used cartridges to the
office for recycling.
BREAD TAGS FOR
WHEELCHAIRS
Place your unwanted bread
tags in the jar in the office.
It takes 200 kg of tags to buy
one wheelchair
PARKING FOR THE FIRST WEEK
To help with the smooth flow of traffic and to alleviate congestion,
we suggest that for the first week of this term (i.e the 14, 15 and 16
January) the dropping off and collection of children should take
place as follows:
Grades 0, 1, 2 and 3: parents should use the usual parking area in
2nd Avenue;
Grades 4 – 7 parents may park on the field above the teachers
parking area in 13th Street and walk their children to class. The gate
will be open from 07:00to 07:45 and from 13:00 to 14:15.
To avoid congestion and to ensure that the car park operates
smoothly and is safe for our children, please DO NOT park in the
demarcated drop off zone – this area is for picking up children who
are waiting in that area and can climb into your car immediately. DO
NOT SPEED through the car park – remember that children are
walking in that area and it is up to you, as the responsible adult, to
ensure their safety.
COLLECTION OF CHILDREN
Gr 0: must be collected from their classroom (13:00).
Gr 1 + 2: must be collected from the quadrangle (13:30).
Gr 3 + 4: must wait on the paved area above the driveway, adjacent
to the school hall (13:45).
Gr 5 to 7: must wait on the terrace behind the Art Room and be
collected at the end of the driveway. (14:00).
Please remember that all grades finish at 13:00 on Fridays (Gr
0s at 12:45). If parents find collection times difficult, please
contact Joanne, who runs a fun-filled, action-packed Aftercare
on the premises. Arrangements can be made for full or part
afternoon care. For more information contact Joanne on 082 336
8768 or email her on [email protected]
IMPORTANT DATES FOR THIS TERM
A Term Plan has been posted on the d6 Communicator and can be
referred to throughout the term. Kindly diarise dates and remember
that parents are expected to attend all functions.
GENERAL
ABSENCE DURING SCHOOL TIME
All effort should be made to schedule doctor and dentist
appointments for the afternoons or the school holidays. However,
should your child need to leave school early due to an unavoidable
appointment, for illness, or for any other reason whatsoever, the
parent collecting must please come to the office FIRST to sign out
the child. The parent will be given an Exit Card, which must then be
handed to the teacher. Please endeavour to have your child dropped
at school before the first bell (07:40). Late arrival causes anxiety
and disruption and unsettles the whole class as the teachers are
busy organizing the learners during the first part of the morning.
Teachers cannot spend time chatting to parents as their class needs
to be settled.
CONGRATULATIONS
Hearty congratulations are
extended to Selina
Matswalela, our Clerical
Assistant, whose daughter,
Lovedonia, received “Best
Student” award from
college at the end of 2014.
SCHOOL FEES
Please note that school fees are payable in advance on the first day
of each month as per your Method of Payment form. Statements
will be distributed via child mail this week.
Annual fees should be received by 30th January to qualify for the
5% discount. Annual Insurance, Tours Levy and Bookpack fees are
also due.
BULK SMS FACILITY / D6 “RED ALERT”
All important school related information concerning cancellation of
sports matches etc will be made utilising the bulk SMS facility or
the d6 “Red Alert”. Please check your cellphones/computers etc for
messages, and ensure that the office is notified of any cellphone
changes. As the SMS facility allows for only one cell number,
messages will be sent to mothers’ phones only, unless otherwise
notified by parents.
Congratulations also go to
Cornelia De Kock, Deputy:
Therapy, whose son,
Wybrand, graduated from
medical school last year.
D6 SCHOOL COMMUNICATOR
Please go to www.school-communicator.com to download this
programme, which is used extensively for important information
pertaining to the running of the school.
Well done to these two
hard-working young
people!
EXTRA-MURAL ACTIVITIES
All afternoon activities will start on Monday January 26th January. A
timetable will be sent out this week. Please take time to study it
with your child and help him/her to choose at least one activity, and
return the reply slip to school as soon as possible.
LIBRARY
We have a tradition at Crossroads School whereby pupils are
encouraged to donate a book on the occasion of their birthday. The
child’s name is placed in the book in acknowledgement of the gift,
and mention is made of this in the weekly newsletter.
We thank Kiara Oellermann, Gr 5H in 2014, for the donation of a
Birthday Book.
UNIFORM SHOP
The Second Hand Uniform Shop is run by the PTA and is open weekly
on a Tuesday between 7:00 and 7.30pm. If any parent wishes to
assist on a roster basis please contact Kate Englesman on
[email protected].
TUCK SHOP
The tuck shop is outsourced to a private convenor who prepares nutritious
food for the pupils. Only crisps, energy bars, Liquifruits, bottled water etc
are sold – no fizzy drinks or sweets. The tuck shop is open at both breaks.
During first break there is a lunch menu with hot food available and at
second break snack foods are on sale. Grades 0, 1, 2 and 3 use the pre-paid
system. Grades 4 – 7 should bring the correct amount of money for their
purchases, on a daily basis.
Please note that prices could change without notice.
For a full list of the menu and prices, please look on the d6 Communicator.
Messages from a grateful parent:
A very BIG thank you to ALL you wonderful ladies!! It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know you all.
Thanks once again for ALL your help, assistance and support – on so many levels during our journey at
Crossroads. My son has really enjoyed his time at Crossroads and he has come on in leaps and bounds. He was
so excited to receive the trophy for “D E T E R M I N A T I O N”. He has grown and matured to a wonderful
young lad who is ready to embark on his new chapter of high school.
………and from a past pupil:
Hi, I’m 16 and I left Crossroads just over 6 years ago.
The reason why I’ve chosen to write this letter is because I have been wanting to say thank-you, thank-you to
the school and thank-you to the Crossroads Family for all you did for that little blonde girl who played soccer
during the breaks and was so unorganised she had to have shelves next to her desk in Mrs. Miles class. That
little girl who would have never dreamed of pursuing a career in medicine because she thought she didn’t have
the brains and would never have imagined going on exchange because she didn’t have the independence. So for
that little girl I say thank you. I’ve been contemplating this letter for well over 2 years and if I had it my way
I’d be up on the stage front hand centre were Mrs Jones use to stand giving a speech to the present students.
That’s simply not possible because that little girl who didn’t have the confidence or independence is now on
exchange in Germany, but not from South Africa, from Australia. I’ve done a lot, the past year that she would
never have dreamt of doing I moved to Melbourne, Australia, made the first major choices toward pursuing a
profession in medicine and went on exchange only 11 months after moving to a new country.
Earlier this year I had the pleasure of doing work experience or job shadowing, which is a compulsory part of
year 10 in Victoria, at Peninsula Health in the DOM Care unit shadowing Physios, Occupational Therapists and
Speech Therapists who work with the old generation. They had seen that in my application I had put my
preferences as paediatrics and so organised me a placement at the Frankston Hospital working with children
for my final day. That final day set my mind back on track to achieving that little blonde girls dream that she
had from Grade 3, she wanted to be able to help children the way her teachers and therapists at Crossroads
had helped her and so when asked in class what she wanted to do, she was always the first to answer with
complete certainty “an Occupational Therapist.”
Though I have had the same career path in mind for 7 years, I’ve come to realise my strengths and now a
career I never dreamt I’d be interested in is suddenly my new passion and I’ve set myself a goal – one of the
many life lessons taught to me by the crossroads family, I remember many times being told by Mrs. Miles “You
need to set yourself goals so that when you achieve them your able to enjoy the satisfaction.” That goal as I
mention before is to pursue medicine as a career probably in paediatrics, the great thing is that even if I don’t
achieve this goal I know I’ll be more than satisfied becoming an Occupational Therapist as I know the
difference it could makes in a person’s life as well as how much joy it brings me.
I’d like to thank a few of the staff members in the amazing Crossroads community because without them I
wouldn’t be where I am today and I am so extremely grateful for all their help and encouragement. Though I
know many of the teachers that taught me may not be there anymore their mark will stay on the school forever
and in many of the student’s hearts
To Mrs. Macardo , my 3rd grade teacher and introduction to Crossroads, thank you for encouraging me to make
new friend as well as allowing us to write “SCHOOLS OUT!” on the board for the last day of term so we could
act out a scene from High School Musical 2. A word that will always remind me of you is ‘because’ because I was
so proud that I had learnt to spell a ‘big word’ for one of the many Spelling Tests I had in your class.
To all my therapists: Nadia, Taryn and Hellen thanks for getting me out of class to have some fun! I always
loved my sessions when I got to see you all, as you weren’t just therapists you because our friends. I remember
when the OT’s use to come in and check our posture and I would purposefully slouch and fidget in hope of
getting to sit on one of those blue triangle things, so thanks for never making me sit on one as I learn how to sit
up straight on my own, though I could do with one now because I don’t have to ‘try’ to slouch in a chair anymore
I just do.
To Mrs. Miles, for allowing me to give you Back/neck massages to get out of doing maths, spray painting my hair
at the Fun Day and later having to hold it up when I went apple bobbing and for teaching me a sneaky tip,
grabbing the stalks. Let’s not forget about my lovely set of shelves which helped me to get myself organised,
thanks for them as well.
To Mrs. Le Roux, thanks for making my final year at Crossroad so amazing. I remember many enjoyable
moments spent outside under the tree across from your class read and though I don’t read for ‘fun’ now, I did
back then. The meaningful hugs and asking how I was meant the world to me in the years that followed when I
came to a Fun Day or Movie Night.
To Mrs. Art let’s just say you’re the only art teacher I’ve ever had who used turps with pastel, I was absolutely
horrified when my art teacher at Trinity told me that I “couldn’t do that.” Thanks for the days spent under
your mulberry tree making friends during my extra art classes and for all the Paper Mache fun.
To Lauren at the front desk for putting up with Thando and I during break and after school when we came to
pester you.
To Barbra in the front office for all your help when I felt sick and needed a lie down.
To Mrs. Young for all the laughs though I never had you as a teacher you were always there to lend a helping
hand.
Finally to Mrs. Jones, who somehow managed to remember every single child’s name, I was utterly heart broken
when I learnt you had left knowing how much joy you brought to the environment.
Though I know I have forgotten a few names I would like to thank the crossroads Staff for all they’ve done for
me on my incredible journey. I’m glad I was able to share my story with you and I do hope it gives parents an
idea of how great Crossroads truly is and that it reminds the teachers at crossroads how special what they’re
doing is to their students and know how much of a difference they make in our lives.
Currently two of my younger cousins Daniel and Ethan are attending Crossroads and it brings me so much
happiness to hear the difference it is making in their lives and how much fun they’re having,
I know I’ve said it multiple times throughout this letter but thank you, thank you for turning that once shy,
insecure, little blonde girl into someone who is confident, independent and most of all someone I’m proud to be.