MIDRAND CHATTER 3 February 2012 - Midrand High School

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necessary transport arrangements for departure at 12:30, to avoid your children loitering in the streets as we would have to postpone the Athletics. Please refrain from allowing your children to stay at home! We identified a number of learners who absented themselves on Thursday 9 February because of the school athletics. This situation will not be tolerated as it is in contravention of the Learner Attendance Policy. HOMEWORK IS FOR CHILDREN Article written for THE TEACHER (January 2012) Shanette Tiquin, Shereen Dindar and Soraya Modan Most parents sometimes feel as though they have returned to the classroom as they spend hours doing homework with their children. Shereen Dindar, education specialist and trained Demartini life coach and facilitator from Mpumalanga, described homework as being a means of “re-enforcing what the pupil has learnt at school and to cultivate a habit of being able to work indepen dently, which requires discipline, for future projects once out of the school environment”. Benefits of homework “Homework teaches perseverance, self-discipline and internalises new concepts,” said Shanette Tiquin, principal of the Carleton Jones High School in Carletonville. An added benefit was that it drew parents and guardians into the school life of the child. Doraya Modan, head of department at the Star International Primary School in the Western Cape, said that “doing homework is important in order to ascertain whether the pupil understands the work or not”. Modan said parents should be involved in homework as “family involvement in education is crucial if parents want their children to succeed in school and throughout life”. However, it was important for parents to be “aware and understand how to help without crossing the line”. “Parents must make a conscious effort to limit their help to the bare minimum,” said Modan. “There is a major difference between assisting with homework and ‘doing’ homework. I believe that parents are supposed to assist with homework in order to guide their children in sifting out important and relevant information required to complete certain homework tasks,” said Dindar. Let the child do the work “Pupils accomplish nothing if their parents do their homework for them. In fact, the self-esteem and perseverance of the child can be eroded. Parents are simply fooling themselves at the child will not be able to cope in the exam if the parents have been doing all the homework,” said Tiquin. “Tasks done by parents and caregivers and not done independently by the pupils are reflected in the classroom as children do not get the opportunity to practise what has been learnt in class. On the other hand, children who spend time on their homework, on average do better in class and then in school as a whole,” said Modan. Dindar said that “parents who continue doing their children’s homework also deprive the child of being able to think independently or develop their mental skills, since their creativity and personal opinions are being stifled and their true worth would not be known, let alone be developed”. 2
HOW PARENTS CAN ASSIST – EFFECTIVELY • Designate a specific place for the children to do homework, away from distractions. • When frustrations set in, parents can combat this by helping children to get and stay organised by encouraging good study habits, talking and brainstorming a task before it is tackled. • Re-enforce what has been learnt in other practical ways to develop long-term memory. • Attend to signs of stress in a calm way. • Recognise and offer emotional support where needed. • Work together to review, check and help correct tasks. • Encourage children to complete homework. • Encourage children to take pride in their work and make available all possible resources so that children can conduct the necessary research. • Carefully monitor whether or not they require assistance. • Give children a few guidelines and then leave them to work independent ly. They should only ask for assistance if they are unable to understand the requirements. UNIFORM & LATE-ARRIVAL at School We are extremely concerned that a large number of learners have the incorrect uniform at the start of the new year. This is not the manner we would like to start the new academic year. Once again, learners are still arriving late to school. This will negatively impact on the learners as the School Based Assessment has commenced on the 02 February 2012, and these learners have already placed themselves at a disadvantage. TEXTBOOKS We are extremely concerned that a number of learners have NOT yet collected the necessary textbooks for the 2012 academic year. This is rather disconcerting especially as the teachers are already well underway with the syllabus. Another issue of concern is that a number of matrics learners are in class without textbooks. This poor start to their academic year will seriously jeopardise the results at the end of the year. We urge parents of ALL learners without textbooks to rectify the matter as soon as possible. GRADE 8 Concert The Grade 8 concert took place on the 8 and 9 th February 2012. Our tadpoles worked hard at preparing for their orientation concert. Thank you to all grade 8 parents who attended in support of our children. We would like to thank the Grade 8 Head (Mrs Els) the grade 8 teachers and the Grade 8 Monitors for all their hard work in assisting the grade 8’s rehearse for their concert. After listening to the rendition of the Froggy Song and the School Song, we are convinced that you have all become an integral part of the Midrand Family. RCL Camp The RCL leadership camp took place from the 27-29 January 2012 at the scenic nature reserve in Hartbeeshoek. The learners must be commended for the impeccable behaviour and sportsmanship. We are extremely proud of our newly elected RCL and 3
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MIDRAND CHATTER 3 February 2012 - Midrand High School

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