Support your local school in Cape Town

We At WEPS Really Need Your Support

This is an open letter to companies and individuals who may be in a posistion to support our school.

This is the first time we are seeking assistance in this manner.  However we are currently in desperate need of funds to sustain all our programmes at school.

Since we are a public school (classified among the richest schools in SA - Quintile 5), we only receive limited suport from WCED.  The fact of the matter is that although we are classified as a Quintile 5 school, we are in fact among the poorest schools in the country, due to the fact that we serve the poor communities such as Khayelistha, Langa, Nyanga, Crossroads and Woodstock to name a few.  More than 90% of our learners live in the black townships.

It is evident that most parents are finding it diffucult to make ends meet.  We can see this by the fact that almost 50% of our learners receive meals via our feeding scheme.  The limited financial support we've received from parents during this year further highlights this dilemma.  So far less than 37% of school fees and fund raising fees have been received for 2016.

Due to this our learners have not been using our computer lab (that was vandalised during the 2015 December school holidays), since the beginning of this year - because we just don't have the funds to do the necessary repairs.  In addition to this we need to do urgent repairs to class rooms and our toilets.

We also need volunteers who can offer an hour or two of their time to assist our learners to improve their levels of literacy and numeracy.

Companies or individuals who would like to support us are welcome to contact us, via the contact details provided on this blog/ website. 

Quintile system perpetuates school inequality

Although I do not fully agree with all the arguments raised by Roxanne Henderson and Nic Spaull below, I do agree that the Quintile System is not fair, especially to those poor schools that fall in Quintiles 4 and 5.

Quintile system perpetuates school inequality‚ Equal Education says

Roxanne Henderson | 17 June, 2016 13:10

Schools in quintiles one to three receive more in government funds and often do not charge fees. File photo

The privatisation of education must fall so that the money of South Africa's rich can filter through to poorer schools‚ advocacy organisation Equal Education (EE) has said.

Speaking at its Teaching and Learning Summit on Friday‚ EE secretary-general Tsepho Motsepe said that no public money should be spent on private schools.“The Public Investment Corporation (PIC)‚ and any other public entity that has invested in any private schooling entity‚ should immediately withdraw such an investment‚” he said.
“Profit-driven individuals or donors” should also refrain from pumping money into these already wealthy schools‚ Motsepe said.
The number of private schools in SA are on the rise‚ which Equal Education condemns.
Motsepe also said that the quintile system currently employed in SA's schools must be abolished.
The quintile system places schools into quintiles one to five‚ and subsidises them accordingly.
Schools in quintiles one to three receive more in government funds and often do not charge fees.
But‚ according to Motsepe‚ this system has perpetuated inequality in the schooling system‚ with wealthier schools in quintiles four to five attracting better teachers.
Traditionally‚ these schools are able to employ more teachers and offer them better salaries.
A new model is needed where middle-class parents paying school fees at top schools subsidise poor schools instead.
“We have a responsibility to the poor. The poor continue to access poor schools and are affected with youth unemployment‚” Motsepe said.

Education in SA – Still separate and unequal

Nic Spaull, an education researcher in the Economics Department at Stellenbosch University, has the folowing to say:

When allocating funding to schools, the Department classifies them into one of five categories called quintiles. Each quintile is meant to have 20% of schools ranging from Quintile 1 (the poorest 20% of schools) all the way up to Quintile 5 (the richest 20% of schools). The funding allocations are pro-poor with Quintile 1 schools receiving R905 per learner and higher quintiles receiving progressively less funding all the way up to Quintile 5 schools which receive R156 per learner. 

(Nic blogs about education research at www.nicspaull.com and he can be followed on Twitter @NicSpaull.)

Learners addressed regarding social crimes

Constable Patricia (from Woodstock Police Station) came to address our learners this morning regarding social crimes and anti-social behaviour.  The discussion included sexual behaviour and abuse, drug abuse and gangsterism.

Here are some pics:

Prefects for Term Three & Four (2016)

The following Grade 6 and 7 learners have been selected as the Prefects for 2016.
Congratulations to all of them!

Day One Activities at Camp

Hi All.
(Mr Louw, our current Grade 7 educator, who joined the learners on the camp, sent this report:)

Day 1 went pretty well. There was one teacher per school. The excitement built up as we were on our way and finally reached the camp at about 11:15. We were all shown our dorms and put our belongings down then went straight to the hall. Here Mr. Lappies spelt out the rules of the camp and the kids were divided into 6 groups with 6 kids per group. We then went to the beach where the kids played in the water a bit then were asked to create a logo and song for their group (pics to follow ��).

Points in the form of beans were given to the winner and all other teams. Dried beans are awarded as prizes and for courtesies done by kids. Bean points will be added at the end of the camp and winners and prizes will be chosen. This helped tremendously with the discipline of the kids. No incidents to report to date and their behaviour has been examplary. We then walked back to the camp.

We changed clothes and were ready for the reptile show. It was really fascinating. We saw lizards, frogs and lots of snakes both venomous and harmless. And oh yes the albino python which weighed 45kg (still a baby) and was about 6.2m long. We were allowed to touch most reptiles and some pics were taken. After a short 10 min rest we went back to the beach area where the groups competed with each other in a mini olympic games. Again beans were awarded for the winner and subsequent teams.

At about 18:15 we enjoyed a hearty supper. We had speghetti and mince, battered fish and pickled (ingelegde) fish. After a short rest where kids had free time to play ball games, after sunset we were back in the hall for a DVD show about our environment. The last activity for the night was a night hike. It was lights out soon after our return.

Day 2 holds more excitement with an early start of about 6.00am ending off with group concert and poitjie kos competitions ...

Mr. Louw over and out for now ��

25 February 2016 at 02:51

Preparing for 2016 Swimming Gala

Our learners have been visiting the Trafalgar Swimming Baths weekly this year in preparation of our Annual Swimming Gala, which is scheduled for next week.

Here are some photos of the learners enjoying themselves at the baths:

Soetwater Camp

A group of 12 of our Grade 7 learners left yesterday morning on a free 3-day camp to Soetwater.  They went with learners of Rahmaneyah and St. Mary's. This trip is sponsored by the Waterfront Rotary Club.  Here are some photos of them leaving school: