BFF Club

/in , , /by

BFF CLUB

The school recently joined hands with The Shamwari group to form a BFF club (Born Free Foundation) club. The club’s programme is designed to impart knowledge and change attitudes, generally relating to animal welfare and conservation, involving long term engagement with a group of stakeholders and aims to:

  • Increase knowledge about wildlife and biodiversity (threats and benefits)
  • Increase positive attitudes towards wild animal conservation.
  • Increase knowledge of the benefits of practices that promote good animal welfare.
  • Increase the number of people actively engaged in ongoing programmes of work.
  • Decrease in acceptance of practices that result in bad animal welfare or cruelty.
  • Increase in perceived future opportunities/prospects for individuals.

The number of learners that can take part in the activities of the club is limited to between 36 and 50 learners but the school only took 30 participants. Wildlife club places are open to grade 5 to 11 learners and Grade 12 learners are not included in the club due to their workload. There is no limit on how long learners can be part of the wildlife club. However, to remain part of the club learners must:

  • Attend at least 90% of club sessions and have clear reasons for any absences
  • Regularly get involved with activities arranged by the club
  • Conduct themselves in a way that is consistent with Born Free’s and the club’s ethos.
  • If learners fail to achieve the above, they will be given one warming. If no improvement is made, they will forfeit their place.

Places that become available will be allocated based on the strength of the application. Learners can gain points (to be signed off by the club patron) for taking part in activities arranged by the club such as litter picking, school garden and other relevant activities. The group will be divided into 2 or 3 groups when teaching, to compensate for the differences in comprehension.  Theses group can be formed based on schooling level/grade as follows:

  • Low grades (beginner)
  • Middle grades (intermediate)
  • Seniors (advanced).

Learners can move between groups the longer they are in the club, different activities need to be developed per module/topic to accommodate different groups and allow for the advancement of learners. Roles within the club (e.g., captain) will be rotated each year

Digital badges

/in , /by

The Power of Digital badges

Reports from researchers shows that rewards promotes learning. The rewards seems to have many positive effect not only on learning, but also on the personal development of learners. Through badge rewards they are able to gain confidence and their grades improve entirely. I believe that is why the school decided to adapt and is now starting a new tradition where learners will be rewarded in the form of being given digital badges for a term. The teachers are hoping it will encourage earners to find value and motivation in mastering the steps toward their high school goals. On the 4th of June a badge ceremony was conducted at the assembly and learners were given their badges to appreciate the good work they did in the 1st term.

We are looking forward to many more badge ceremonies.

Welcome Miss Ntozini

/in /by

Welcoming and introducing Miss Zimkhitha Ntozini to our small family. Miss Ntozini was born and bred in Grahamstown. She went on to study at Rhodes University where she did Politics and Psychology before she did her PGCE in Foundation phase. She is a sports person and adores adventure. She now teaches Grade 2. Miss Ntozini is goal driven and lives by a code (“Throw me to the wolves and I’ll return leading the pack”) which mean that with every given challenge, she does her best to complete and to be prosperous.

Welcome Miss Ntozini!!