• The child who loses a day of schooling loses as much as we would have lost in a week in our day.
• A child’s academic progress and career can be crippled by absence.
• When returning to school after an absence due to illness, please send an explanatory note to the teacher responsible.
• The school needs it for record purposes.
• Please make appointments at doctors, specialists and dentist during holidays and in the afternoons.

“The Library is not an aftercare, please make the necessary arrangements so that your child is supervised in the afternoons.”

 This aspect of the school programme is clearly defined and restricted by departmental policy. The following objectives must be noted:

Homework assignments are not intended to keep children indoors and out of mischief for long hours; on the contrary, homework assignments are geared to:

• Impress – by means of suitable, regular repetition – certain aspects, concepts and skills already dealt with in class.
  Problems experienced with these repetitive exercises indicate to what extent the pupil has or has not mastered what has been taught.
• Develop beneficial study habits; regular work and diligence being emphasized.
• Promote self-activity and the assumption of responsibility – punctuality and originality being of primary importance.
• Homework assignments do not necessarily involve written work.
  If no written homework is given, pupils must spend time on spelling, reading and learning cultural subjects.

Time-tables are issued at the beginning of the year.

Parental interest and supervision, though commendable and beneficial, could be detrimental if pursued to the limits of active involvement.

PLEASE DO NOT DO THEIR WORK FOR THEM, RATHER SEE THAT IT IS DONE

Sport and cultural

Teachers go to a lot of trouble to organize sport and cultural activities on a large scale. A detailed time-table will be made available at the start of each term. As your child has first call on the teacher’s attention and service during the morning, so the school has first call on your child’s support and participation in the sporting and cultural activities after school. 

By giving loyal support the school can do well, which is a positive building block in the education of your child. These activities have a positive influence on the work done in class. On the sports fields pupils and teachers become better acquainted. 

Pupils are inspired by this more personal acquaintanceship to achieve better results in class. 

This is even more the case when parents attend matches and performances and show their interest. 

We even have some parents assisting us as coaches. When arranging private classes, e.g. music, ballet, horse riding, etc., please first consider the above and arrange for days which do not clash with the major sporting days at school.

Please do not send your child to school with large sums of money.

Many parents do this in order that pupils can do shopping on their way home, pay for taxis or sent to pay accounts.

To look for lost or stolen money may prove to be embarrassing to pupils and teach

Teachers have classes to attend to, therefore parents who wish to discuss a child with the teacher must first obtain permission from the office before going to the classes. 

You are welcome to discuss your problems in the office.

Please refrain from discussing them with your friends.

Often your “friend” tells the principal about your complaints but the principal cannot act on secondhand information.

Pupils often tell stories about teachers, at home.

If you promise not to believe all these stories, we promise not to believe all the stories they tell us at school about you and what happens at home.

This aspect of education has become extremely important to the staff in order to successfully perform their duties as teachers.

It proves an impossible task if the school lacks the support of the parents.

Parents will receive a “Discipline and Behaviour Code” form. Parents must ensure that their children understand the contents, sign the form and return it to the class teacher.

Merit System

Westfields Primary School will focus on positive behaviour and preventative measures rather than punitive actions to improve discipline. In some cases, the shift has been associated with conscious whole school efforts to consistently praise and reward acceptable behaviour so that it becomes the norm throughout the school community.

The Westfields Primary School merit policy establishes that all learners are to maintain a minimum of sixty five (65) merit points. When a learner allows his/her merits to fall below sixty five merits because of consequences related to disciplinary referrals (Pink slips) he/she is considered a learner not in good standing and is required to make up these merits.

The Demerit System

Educators themselves should, in the first instance, attempt to correct learner behaviour. If this is inappropriate or ineffective, then the demerit system may be put into effect. The demerit system emphasizes consequences and accountability. Learners must be informed of the demerit point lost at the time of the misdemeanor. The number of demerit points given depends on the seriousness of the incident. When a learner’s merit balance goes below 65, he/she is put on a weekly Principal’s Report. Learners appearing on the Principal’s Report list for a second week may not participate in any school activities or sport activities until the needed merit points are earned.

Guidelines to the Merit and Demerit System

Every learner begins the school year with 100 merits. When a learner makes a poor choice, merits may be taken away (demerits). Each learner is required to maintain a merit record of at least 65 merits to remain in good standing. A learner is required to earn merits immediately upon falling below 65 merits. At Westfields P/S teachers carry a blue slip to award merit points for those learners who deserve them.

VIEW – Westfields-PS-Merit-system