PE LESSONS AND WEARING OF PE KIT

Dear Parents / Guardians,

Welcome back to the new school year. We hope this will be a smooth-running year.

With regards to the Physical Ed lessons that form part of the Life Orientation syllabus, we will be doing Physical education for all grades this year. This is a good decision for a couple of reasons; namely : exercise releases stress, exercise develops core muscles which is critical for learners who sit at desks and at computers for a big part of the day, and it creates a 'feel good' space for learners amongst other things.

We have had to change a few arrangements to fit in with the safety protocols.

All learners that are doing Physical Ed as indicated on their timetables must arrive at school in their PE kit. They will stay in their kit for the whole school day. This must be the correct shorts and t-shirts, not "civvies". I am aware of the problem with some kit not being available as yet, your child can just wear appropriate kit until this new kit is available.

This will alleviate the number of people in the bathrooms trying to change into kit. If your child is not doing PE they must please come to school in their uniform.

Safety protocols will be adhered to at all times. Please encourage your child to participate in these lessons.

Any queries can be addressed to me at afriedenthal@fairmont.co.za

We look forward to starting this year.

Regards

Anne Friedenthal

Subject Head: Life Orientation

FROM THE HEADMASTER'S DESK

3 December 2021

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s), Staff and Learners

The year is coming to an end and once again we had to adjust and cope with new challenges. The new variant of the Covid virus again forced itself into our lives and I have no doubt that the new "wave" will soon have a major impact on the Western Cape. I am just glad that it stayed away while we were writing exams and that we could complete the exams without major interruptions. We had one learner who tested positive this week. This was our first case since the last "wave" and we treated this case according to the health protocols.

It was again a year where we could not have all the activities that we are so used to having. The whole school experience is more than just attending class. The contact between learners, educators, parents, staff, coaches, etc outside of the classroom is an important part of the school experience and that I have missed. I am sure most of you missed it too. I am an optimist and I know that we will get through this and that we will again have the full school experience. We are fortunate that we could return most, if not all our grades, for a large part of the year. Many schools in our province and in the rest of the country could not bring all the learners back, every day.

The NSC and internal exams went well and we are now going into a process where we check and enter marks. Next Friday will be the Progression and Promotions meeting where we present our results to the team from the Education Department. Academic reports will then be finalised and handed out on Wednesday, 15 December 2021.

On Monday, 6 December 2021, we will have lessons where we will go through the exam scripts and marks will be checked by the learners and the school day will end at 13h30. From Tuesday, 7 December to Tuesday, 14 December, we will have various activities at the school to keep our learners busy, with the school day ending at 13h00 and on Wednesday, 15 December, we are issuing the Academic Reports. Our learners will be dismissed after 09h00. If your child displays flu-like symptoms or he/she was in contact with someone who contracted Covid, please do not send your child to school next week.

Staff news:

The following educators are leaving us at the end of the year: Ms Michelle van Wyk, Ms Melinda Barnardt, Mrs Samantha Bezuidenhout, Mrs Janecke de Wet, Mr Ehber Burger, Mrs Jenan Kingwill and Ms Amy Leerkamp. I want to thank them all for what they have done for Fairmont and wish them all the best for the future.

The following new educators will join us next year: Mrs Yaseera Gani (Maths), Mr Ohann van Dyk (CAT), Ms Odette Booysen (Natural/Life Sciences), Mrs Lesley-Anne Neumann (Maths) and Mrs Ananda Muller (EMS/Business Studies).

Mr Jody Erasmus has been promoted from Sports Co-ordinator to Marketing Manager, and Mr Thabo Spelman was appointed in this vacancy left in the sports' office. Ms Tiffany Fitzgerald will join us in the Finance Office next year.

Mrs Adri van Niekerk is currently on maternity leave and Mrs Chrisna Coetzee is in her place until the end of Term 1. Mrs Adrienne Goslett is going on maternity leave from January 2022 and Mr Jordan Wilke will be standing in for her for this period.

45 of our educators are also involved in the Matric NSC marking and will go off to mark next week. I want to wish them all the best.

Attached to this email are flyers from 2 of our suppliers: MySchoolBag and School & Leisure.

Our 2 other big suppliers are De Jagers (DeVille Centre), and Spectra (Glengarry Centre).

Thank you to all the learners who contributed to all the activities at school and for staying focussed on their academics. Thank you to our parents and the Governing Body for your support and encouragement throughout the year. Your emails and messages of appreciation and support for what we are doing were of immense value. The Fairmont staff and educators were outstanding this year and again proved that they are the best.

Lastly, I want to wish all our Monty families a blessed Festive Season and, if you are going to travel, then travel safely and enjoy your time with family and friends.

Yours sincerely

Mr L.M. Erasmus

HEADMASTER

FROM THE HEADMASTER'S DESK

15 November 2021

Dear Parent(s), Guardian(s), Staff and Learners

Our Matrics are well into their final examinations and so far the question papers are reasonable and of a good standard. I want to appeal to them to keep on working hard and to prepare well until the last day. The senior grades have now also started with their exams and the junior grades will start on Friday, 19 November 2021. A reminder that if your child is going to be absent for an examination, to please phone reception and inform us. Official documentation will be required and will need to be sent to Mrs Louw at Reception.

I do not want to even mention the dreaded Covid virus, but fortunately we have had no cases reported to us for a while now. Long may that last. I also want to assure you again that we will continue to enforce all the rules and regulations regarding this pandemic. With the risk of Covid still around, I want to appeal to all the grades to refrain from attending parties, sleepovers and large social gatherings so that you can stay healthy and able to write the November examinations.

Our sports' teams are doing extremely well and we will continue with a few more matches in the next few weeks. We are also planning to have our Christmas Concert in December, but we will communicate the details at a later stage.

Our new Gym Manager, Ms Liza Duckitt, joined us from Paarl Boys' last week and our new Sports' Administrator, Mr Thabo Spelman, joined our Sports Office at the beginning of this week. I want to wish both of them a happy and rewarding time at Fairmont. We want to again pick up the “Fit Fairmont” concept next year and will give you more details later.

The pandemic definitely had a major influence on us as individuals and then the school as an organisation. It has also, however, helped us to re-evaluate what Fairmont is all about and what we can continue with as a school and what we should focus on. We developed a slogan at our Staff Exec Planning Weekend that says; "Reposition, Reset, Restart".

At the beginning of 2022, we will be strict on school rules that deal with appearance and behaviour. This is only one of the focus areas, but it is one where we need your assistance as parents. Please ensure that your child has the correct uniform and that we cannot fault their appearance when they leave your home and arrive at school.

The learners will be pleased to know that we are planning to restart Café Monty next year and adverts have already gone out for tenders. Our Treasurer, Mrs Debbie Giles, is heading up a team that will look at all these tenders.

Stay safe and have a relaxing weekend!

Kind regards

Mr L.M. Erasmus

HEADMASTER

IN ADDITION TO ACADEMIC LETTER- TOP 10 - LIST GRADE 8-11- TERM 3 -2021

23 October 2021

Good afternoon Parent(s) / Guardian(s)

Please find a letter attached for your attention regarding the addition to our Top 10 List of learners in grades 8-11, attached for your attention.

Have a relaxing weekend.

Regards

Mrs M. Esmeraldo & Mr P. Botes

HEADS OF ACADEMICS

FROM THE HEADMASTER'S DESK

15 OCTOBER 2021

Dear Parents/Guardians, Staff and Learners

Welcome back and I want to wish you all the best for the last stretch. This term is an exam term and the Matrics are writing their all-important National Senior Certificate Examinations. From Friday 15 October we will have all the grades back at school, every day. This will give us more time to prepare our classes for this term’s assessments.

We have not had any Covid cases reported to us this week and hopefully, this will last for the remainder of the term. Please continue to be vigilant and as previously communicated, we are returning all the grades on Friday 15 October. We will continue to screen, sanitise and fog the school and adhere to all regulations regarding the pandemic. I just want to again appeal to the Matrics to try and stay Covid free these next two months. Do not attend parties and gatherings. If a Matric candidate is infected with the Covid virus it would then mean that they will have to write the supplementary exams in June next year. Your whole future is put on hold if this happens.

All the grades will be writing exams this term and I want to remind you of the following that applies to all the grades, including the Matrics;

• If you are ill and cannot write a paper, you need to contact the school that morning of the exam before 08h00.

• A Medical Certificate is required if you are going to miss an exam because of a medical reason.

• There will be no second opportunity for those who miss an exam, except for the Matrics who will write supplementary exams in June next year if they have a valid reason for missing an exam.

I want to congratulate our Learner Leader Execs for 2022 who were announced on Thursday. Our school is in good hands with these outstanding youngsters.

Senior Council

Treasurer - Isabella Abrahams

Secretary - Yasmine Kalemba

Vice Chairperson - Jade Lopes

Chairperson - Sarah Fehrs

iMpact

Treasurer - Daniella Trow

Secretary - Khanya Arosi

Vice Chairperson - Izabella Fouche

Chairperson - Camilla Veitch

RCL

Treasurer - Ross Norman

Secretary - Bella Cloete

Vice Chairperson - Bashier Makadam

Chairperson - Uyanda Khoza

Prefects

Deputy Head Girl - Meleah Smith

Deputy Head Boy - Dean Brown

Head Girl - Chaerin Kim

Head Boy - Nhlakanipo Ndlebe

I was delighted that we were able to host our annual Hockey Tournament over the September Holidays and even though fewer teams participated, it was still highly entertaining and competitive. Both our teams did extremely well with the Boys’ team winning the final and the Girls’ team narrowly losing their final. Both teams played against Somerset College in the finals.

The Matric Valedictory Assembly will be held on Monday 25 October. We will unfortunately not be able to invite parents to this occasion as we will not be able to maintain the required social distance in the Student Centre if we include the parents. We will however look to live stream the assembly. More information will be provided next week.

I want to appeal to those parents, staff and learners who have not yet filled in the Inclusivity and Diversity Questionnaire to please do so. The more responses we have, the more accurate our data and feedback will be.

A few weeks ago there was a serious accident involving a car and a pedestrian at the traffic light in Durban Road near the school. I have received a letter from a lawyer acting on behalf of one of the parties and they asked for our assistance in finding eyewitnesses to the accident. If you have seen the accident and you would be happy to talk to the lawyers, then please let me know by emailing Mrs Maggs, my Personal assistant and I will put you in contact with them.

As a school, we want to end the year off on a positive note and I want to appeal to the learners to work hard and for them to fulfill their commitments right to the end.

Have a wonderful term 4.

Yours sincerely

Mr L.M. Erasmus

HEADMASTER

FROM THE HEADMASTER'S DESK

8 OCTOBER 2021

We got through the “3^rd Wave” and term 3 fairly unscathed, and I want to thank all the staff and learners who all contributed to a successful academic term. Thank you to the parents for your trust in us and the support and good wishes we have received this term.

I am happy to announce that we had no reported Covid 19 cases this week following the one confirmed case we had last week. The Matrics are finishing off their exams this week and will receive their reports next term. The other grades received their reports this week. Please go through the report with your child and discuss the results with him or her. If you need any assistance from us, please do not hesitate to contact the grade head. We are here to help and want to be of assistance on this journey through our school.

Next term starts on Monday, 11 October 2021, and we will start the term with Week 2. We will continue to rotate the grades for the first 4 days, but from Friday, 15 October, we want all the grades back.

Grades at Home

• Gr 10s Monday, 11 October

• Gr 11s Tuesday, 12 October

• Gr 8s Wednesday, 13 October

• Gr 9s Thursday, 14 October

From Friday, 15 October, all the grades will be back at school for the remainder of the term.Please keep in mind that the Matrics are writing their finals and will be in the student centre for most of the term.

You have received the Assessment Calendar for next term. Please study this to know what is being assessed and when it is assessed. I am a bit concerned about our Matrics and feel that they need to relax and “switch off” next week to recover for the final stretch next term. Exams are stressful and they need a total break before we start with the NSC exams in October.

In term 4, we normally switch to summer uniform. We will allow for the transition from winter to summer uniform for the first two weeks of the new term. For these two weeks you may wear either the summer or winter uniform depending on the weather, but you may not wear a combination of both uniforms. From Monday, 25 October, we want all learners to be in summer uniform.

Thank you to those who have already completed the Inclusivity and Diversity questionnaire. We will share the findings with you and the Inclusivity and Diversity Committee will address the issues raised. With you assistance, we want to create a school where every single learner, member of staff and parent feel they belong.

We have prepared the school budget for 2022 and this will be presented to the parents on Tuesday, 2 November 2021 for approval. I want to thank the Governing Body and our Treasurer, Mrs Debbie Giles in particular, as well as the members of staff and Mrs Elphia Wait, our Business Manager, for all the work that went into preparing the budget.

It was wonderful to see some sort of normality on Thursday when we had the Inter-House Athletics’ Meeting at the Parow Stadium. The event was held without spectators, but it did not lack in effort, fun, spirit and intensity. A number of records were broken, but I was most pleased with the level of participation of our learners. It is so good to see 30 grade 8 girls participating in the long jump for instance. I want to wish our 1^st Boys’ and Girls’ Hockey teams all the best for next week when they participate in our annual Easter Hockey Tournament. The tournament is being held later due to Covid restrictions and there are a lot fewer teams, but at least we are able to host the event. Thank you to our Hockey staff who are sacrificing their holidays to do this for us.

We would like to share our sincere and heartfelt condolences with Hoërskool Durbanville and the family of the Matric boy who tragically passed away this week. It is so sad and reminds us to cherish our loved ones.

With World Teachers’ Day on 5 October, I want to use this opportunity to thank our teachers for what they do for our learners and for all the hard work under difficult circumstances this year. Thank you to all the Admin Support and ground staff. Your efforts this term have not gone unnoticed and I want to thank you for all your hard work.

I wish all our families a fantastic time together next week and, if you are going to different parts of the country, that you will travel safely.

Yours sincerely

Mr L.M. Erasmus

HEADMASTER

EXAM PROCEDURES FOR WEDNESDAY, 13 OCTOBER

28 September 2021

Dear Parents/Guardians

EXAM PROCEDURES FOR WEDNESDAY, 13 OCTOBER 2021

The first Wednesday of next term will be an exam day for all grade 9 – 11s and some grade 12s. We ask that parents please study this letter with your son/daughter to be prepared for that day.

Grade 8s:

- At home

Grade 9s:

- Will be writing their annual systemic tests.

- It is compulsory for all grade 9s to attend.

- Learners not at school on that day, must provide us with a valid reason for being absent.

- All learners must be at school at 07h50. Learners will be dismissed at 12h50.

- All grade 9s to have a pen, pencil and calculator at school.

- No borrowing will be allowed and exam rules apply.

- We ask that learners leave their cell phones at home on that day.

Grade 10s & 11s:

- Will be writing English Paper 3 from 09:00 – 12:00.

- All learners to be at school at 07:50. Learners will be dismissed at 12:30.

- It is an official exam; therefore, learners must be at school. Learners must provide the school with a valid reason if absent on that day.

- Grade 10s will be writing in exam venues on the first level and grade 11s will be writing in the student centre.

Grade 12s:

- Grade 12s will be writing the Life Orientation Supplementary Exam. That is only for grade 12 learners who have missed the first opportunity.

- The exam will be from 09:00 to 11:30. Matrics to be at the Upper MPC exam venue already at 08:00.

We wish all learners well for this exam day.

Kind regards

Mr P.P. Botes

HEAD OF ACADEMICS: JUNIORS

FROM THE HEADMASTER'S DESK

23 September 2021

Dear Parent(s) / Guardian(s), Staff and Learners

The Matrics are busy with their Prelim Examinations and the other grades are finishing off their tests and other assessments. With term 3 ending next week, we will issue reports to all the grades this term, except the Matrics who are writing up to the last day of term. Their reports will be issued in term 4.

ACADEMIC DATES TO NOTE FOR TERM 4

13 October

• Grade 12 LO supplementary

• Grade 10 and 11 will be writing their final English Paper 3 examinations

• Grade 9 will be writing the WCED systemic tests - no preparation needed

21 October

• Grade 12 will have their Valedictory ceremony

• Grade 8 - 11 will be writing their final Life Orientation examinations

The Covid numbers have been decreasing over the last two weeks with only 10 learners in the whole school testing positive last week. On Monday this week, we only had 1 confirmed case and no confirmed cases on Tuesday. We are considering returning all the grades in term 4. The Matrics will be writing exams and will not be in the main building of the school. If we continue to see a decline in the number of infections, we will present a plan to return all the grades. This will be sent to the WCED for approval. We will inform you when we have made the final decision and the Department has given us permission.

We announced our learner leaders last week. These learner leaders make up the RCL, Prefects, Impact and Senior Council. These youngsters are amazing people and will take us forward in 2022. I want to congratulate them and thank their parents or guardians who have raised fantastic boys and girls.

The full list is as follows:

PREFECTS

Dean Brown

Marc Bulman

Trent Garbutt

Chiedza Kapfunde

Chaerin Kim

Makayla Knoesen

Kira Langeveldt

Basil le Roux

Emma Lock

Amber Loxton

Megan Moorhouse

Nhlakanipo (Nipo) Ndlebe

Haylee Nell

Claudia Padachi

Heather-Lynn Pelser

Graeme Porter

Daemon Sakalis

Zahraa Sattar

Meleah Smith

Kelly Standley

Zeca Teles

Nina-Simone van Staden

Kennard Ward

Changrui Yu

REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL OF LEARNERS (RCL)

Rachel Abrahamse

Ibby Chow

Zeike Prinsloo

Shayne Williams

Murray Brand

Kyle Coetzee

Daniela Demaio

Caleb September

Connor Abrahams

Bella Cloete

Maya McIntosh

Kira Pombo

Uyanda Khoza

Bashier Makadam

Ross Norman

Kai Smith

iMPACT

Skyla Botha

Tanner Christians

Sienna Heath

Isabella Carneiro

Daniel Carneiro

Sophia Carneiro

Alec Goodrich

Emma Simmons

Khanya Arosi

Melinda Gietzmann

Elise Jongsma

Luke Maclean

Sibahle Siwa

Daniella Trow

Camilla Veitch

Lauren Whittaker

Gloria Akana

Kaylee Fester

Izabella Fouche

Seohwi Kim

Nicole Ransom

SENIOR COUNCIL

Selina Barbosa

Kiara Gordon

Keira Klopper

Jamie Love

Gabriella Stewart

Isabella Abrahams

Sarah Green

Yasmine Kalemba

Isabella Smithdorf

Ivy Stoffberg

Sarah Fehrs

Monique Frantz

Jade Lopes

Cara Wiese

Kaitlyn Zaal

We will announce the Executive members for these bodies at a small assembly early next term.

Some of our parents are continuing to park illegally when waiting or dropping off their kids. This causes a lot of frustration and even anger amongst some of our parents who obey the rules and regulations. Please follow the rules and regulations.

We recently sent out a request to all parents, learners and staff to participate in our Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging survey that will be sent out shortly. To complete the survey, you will be emailed a unique link which you simply need to click on and follow the instructions. Thank you for your participation in this process.

We will present our proposed Budget for 2022 to the parents on Tuesday, 2 November 2021. A letter was sent out this week.

I am excited that we will be able to host our Inter-house athletics next week (see email sent out this week).

I want to wish you all a wonderful long weekend.

Yours sincerely

Mr L.M. Erasmus

HEADMASTER

FROM THE HEADMASTER'S DESK

10 September 2021

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s), Staff and Learners

Academics and Covid

We have started with our Matric Prelim Examinations and the Matrics also wrote their Final National Paper for Life Orientation on Monday. We are running this exam almost exactly like the Finals at the end of the year so that our Matrics can get used to the procedures. The rest of our grades are busy with their tests, and we are continuing with the same arrangements where one grade is at home per day. With the current infection rate, we feel it is best to continue keeping the numbers in the school lower than full capacity. This means that the Matrics are on their own in one part of the school and we have three, instead of 4 grades in the school building. We are also confident that we have the Curriculum covered for the year.

On Monday we had 9 learners who reported to us that they have contracted Covid last week. From Tuesday onwards, we had an average of 2 Covid cases a day. It is not a lot considering that we have 1,440 learners. However, we are monitoring the situation on a daily basis and luckily we have also noticed that the infection rate is slowing down. I do not normally do this, but I have included an advert of Mr Charles Rudolph's company. He is one of our parents who is fogging our entire school twice a week at no cost to the school and in the process has saved us a tremendous amount of money. This is the least we can do to thank him for his generosity. Please find his adverts attached to this email.

Leadership Bodies

We are announcing our leadership bodies for 2022 next week. We had interviews last week and voting has taken place. I want to wish all those who applied to these bodies everything of the best.

We are busy evaluating the entries for our Virtual Talent Show/Competition and the results will soon be announced. On the sporting front, the Winter Sports are starting to make way for the Summer Sports.

I cannot wait for things to return to normal again. I miss seeing our performers on the stage, at Eisteddfods, our players in the pool and on the fields and courts. I miss the interaction with the kids and the spontaneity between them. I miss the excitement of good performances, come-from-behind victories, and the valuable lessons learnt from losses. I miss those "goose-bump" moments! Everything seems so cold and clinical at the moment and I feel sorry for our kids who are not having a full and diverse school experience.

Hopefully things will soon get better.

Regards

Mr L.M. Erasmus

HEADMASTER

FROM THE HEADMASTER'S DESK

30 August 2021

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s), Staff and Learners

September Examinations

We are fast approaching these critically important Examinations. My advice to our Matrics is that they must prepare extremely well for these exams. By the time they sit for their finals in November, they will, in many cases, write on the same work again. By putting in the hard work now they will reap the benefits when they write their NSC examinations. I want to again appeal to the Matrics to not attend social gatherings from now until after the exams. Stay away from activities and other people where you may be exposed to the virus.

Sport in 2022

The situation with Covid over the last two years has given us, as a school, the opportunity to reflect on many things. The school has grown busier as we added more and more activities over the years and, with the multitude of activities going on, we often lose focus. It has now become clear that we need to concentrate our efforts on fewer activities and, by doing so, raise the standards of those activities that we do offer.

If we offer an activity at the school then we need to pull out all the stops to do this at the highest possible level. We have tried to do too much pre-Covid. It has put pressure on the budget, staff and facilities and for that reason, we have decided to stop offering some activities and sports from 2022. Many of our educators are also involved in our extra academic programme after school and that has in turn taken staff away from extra-curricular activities. Academics is after all our core business. (Later this term I will explain a new initiative we have developed and will implement from 2022 to improve our academic results even further.)

It was a difficult decision, but we must do what we feel is in the best interest of the school. After careful consideration, we have decided to only offer the following sports from 2022:

Summer:

Athletics

Basketball

Cricket

Equestrian

Indoor Hockey

Swimming

Tennis

Water Polo

Winter:

Soccer

Rugby

Hockey

Netball

Table Tennis

Cross Country

Squash

Chess

Equestrian

It will be disappointing for some learners and staff, but some of these sports we are discontinuing have had low numbers or can be played at club level. In most cases, these sports are played at very few schools. We will however continue to recognise our boys and girls who achieve at club level.

I hope you understand our reasons behind this decision and that you will continue to support us even if you do not always agree with us.

Covid-19

Our daily attendance for grades 8 - 11 has consistently been on 90% and above, but our Matric attendance has dropped over the last week or so and we suspect it is because of the approaching examinations. This is normally the case before exams, but I want to encourage you to insist that your child comes to school right up to the last day as we still have work to cover. We continue to report Covid positive results to the authorities on a daily basis. You will remember that I thanked one of our parents, Mr Charles Rudolph, who uses his company, "Hygiene and Bug's 'R' Us” to fog our school against Covid every Saturday and has been doing so since last year. Mr Rudolph is now fogging the whole school twice a week while we are in this "3^rd-wave". This means that the school is fogged every Wednesday and every Saturday! He does this at no cost to the school and we are extremely grateful to Mr Rudolph for his generosity. Schools and other institutions pay a lot of money to get their buildings fogged and here we have a parent who does this for free.

Staff News

We are continuing to fill staff positions for next year. We recently appointed Mr Jody Erasmus as the new Marketing Manager. You will remember that Mr Erasmus is one of our Sports' Administrators and we will have to fill his position when he moves over to the Marketing Department in 2022. Our Gym Manager will start in November this year and I will say more about her at a later stage. Mrs Marnitz, our Printing Administrator, lost her mother and one of our parents, Mr Gibbs, the father of Zuki, also passed away last week. I want to express our sincere condolences to these two families and all those who have lost loved ones recently.

Sport

Our Hockey teams recorded good results last week with the 1^st Boys' team winning 7:3 against Paarl Boys' and the 1^st Girls' team beating Rustenburg Girls' High 3:0. Table Tennis continues to do well and I want to compliment the 1^st Girls' team on their 5:1 victory over a strong Jan van Riebeeck team. The Soccer teams are also very busy at the moment and have also done very well. I want to single out the U14A Boys' team who beat Herzlia 3:1 and the U14A Girls' team who beat Herzlia 4:1 this past week. Our Netball sides played against Stellenberg last Saturday and even though our opponents have been playing in the premier league for years, we did extremely well. Most of the scores were close and we even had a win for one of our teams. We are building our Netball teams up to play in the premier league and this was a good day for us. We are planning to have our Inter House Athletics Meeting on 30 September. At this stage, no spectators will be allowed to attend. This athletics meeting will be held under strict Covid protocols.

Thank you for being such supportive members of the Fairmont Family. Stay safe and healthy, and may all of you be blessed with happiness and prosperity.

Yours sincerely

Mr L.M. Erasmus

HEADMASTER

FROM THE HEADMASTER'S DESK

17 August 2021

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s), Staff and Learners

Over the last two weeks we have had a number of positive cases reported to us and it seems to have reached its peak during the middle of last week. Since then we have had fewer cases reported. It is imperative that we stay focused. If your child keeps the 1m distance, wears her/his mask and sanitizes regularly, then he/she should be fine at school even if he/she was in the vicinity of a Covid-positive person. I have, on numerous times in the past, explained what close contact means and sitting in a class, 1m apart, with your mask on, is not ‘close contact’. Please continue to remind your son/daughter to keep to these regulations and protocols. My concern is that not much social distancing is taking place when the youngsters get together after school hours and over weekends. Please limit these contacts with friends and extended family.

All schools were given a limited time to complete their Prelim Examinations for Matrics which caused a lot of anxiety for our learners. Unfortunately, we have to abide to the timeframe, but we were able to spread the papers out by using a Saturday and the Public Holiday. This arrangement is not ideal but it helps to relieve the pressure a bit and received the approval and gratitude from our learners and teachers. I cannot emphasize enough how important these exams are. It will be the first time since the Matrics were in Grade 10 that they will be writing a subject under exam regulations. Preparing well for these exams will be of immense value for the November Examinations.

Some of our Hockey teams played matches against SACS over the weekend and there are more matches against Paarl Boys' and Rustenberg Girls' this week. The Squash team played against Milnerton on Monday and recorded a good win. It is good to see some form of normality returning, but I can assure you that we follow strict protocols when we play these matches. We will also monitor and evaluate this decision on a daily basis and will make the necessary adjustments if needed.

Please follow the road rules when exiting or entering the drop-off areas in and around the school. From time to time our guards receive abuse from drivers when they are reprimanded for not following these rules. These rules keep our learners and staff safe when hundreds of cars drive through these areas on a daily basis. Our learners have right of way and drivers need to be on the lookout for them at all times.

Last weekend we heard the sad news of the passing Mrs Barbara McMillan. Mrs McMillan taught Life Sciences and went on early retirement a few years ago due to ill health. She was a stalwart in her department and a well-loved member of staff. I want to express our sincere condolences to her family and friends.

This is a very stressful time for all our families and I want to assure you that you are in our thoughts and prayers.

Kind regards

Mr L.M. Erasmus

HEADMASTER

FROM THE HEADMASTER'S DESK

30 July 2021

Good day Parent(s)/Guardian(s), Staff and Learners

It was so enjoyable to see our first Olympic Gold medal in the Swimming on Friday morning from Tatjana Schoenmaker and the Mens' Hockey side have displayed the grit and determination that I would like to see in all our teams. Our own Olympian, ex Monty Richard Murray, was unable to compete this year after his team had to withdraw from the Triathlon team competition when one of his team members picked up an injury during the individual event. I wonder who our next Olympian will be?

Academics

It has been a good start to the 3rd term this week and we are up and running. The Matrics have already written their L.O. test on Thursday, and all the grades will start with their tests in the second week of this term. Reports will be issued in the first week. You must please be aware that the marks on the report cannot be compared to an exam term. We only wrote tests last term and the marks will, in many cases, be higher than exam terms where more work is covered and the paper is much longer. However, it still gives you a good indication of how much effort your son/daughter put into last term. The Matrics will start with their Prelims this term and must use the time productively to be ready for these examinations. They do not have a lot of time left and every lesson is critical for their preparation.

Uniforms

We are experiencing delays from our kit suppliers, Canterbury, due to material shortages, and the unrest in KZN has also had an effect on production and deliveries. Hopefully the situation will improve soon, but we will let you know as items arrive. We will make the new kit available to the Grade 8 learners first and then offer it to the rest of the school. (It is interesting but sad that we received a number of queries from people in KZN, following the unrest, who are now considering leaving KZN and moving down to Cape Town.)

Appearance

Maintaining discipline requires us as a school and you as parents to work together. We will confront learners who do not follow the appearance rules, but it is your responsibility to make sure your child leaves home neat, clean and presentable. Remember, they are a reflection of you and us as a school.

Matric Dance

As I said previously, we do not know whether we may have a Matric Farewell this year and I doubt whether the situation will improve over the next few months. There are Covid and Lockdown restrictions in place at the moment that prohibit these gatherings, and the WCED has also discouraged schools from having these kinds of events. It would also be irresponsible of us to expose our Matrics to possible infections when they are close to either writing their Prelims or their Finals and we are running out of time. Last year, the Matric parents organised a function for the Matrics after the exams, in December, but you must please realise that, as a school, we cannot get involved with private parties. The last subject this year is written on Monday, 6 December with the next day as a reserve day if CAT or IT had an issue on the day they wrote their paper. The WCED has also asked Matrics to be available to rewrite papers after the exams have ended in case of a rewrite for any of the other subjects. Keep this in mind when you make holiday arrangements for December.

Covid 19

Almost all our members of staff are vaccinated. We had a few learners who notified us that they are positive and have not yet returned to school after the holidays. It does feel that we have more children in isolation since this pandemic started. The so-called "third wave" definitely affected our families and this week alone we have 8 learners and two educators at home. I read somewhere that the Western Cape had 427 positive learners on Monday this week. I can assure you that we are staying vigilant and will fight this battle with you. To those who have lost family members or friends during this time, I pray for peace and comfort for you and your loved ones at this difficult time, and offer our sincere condolences to all of you.

Staff news

We are currently in the process of interviewing candidates for the HOD post left vacant by the departure of Mrs Nicolette Solomon, as well as the Marketing and Gym Manager vacancies. Congratulations to Mrs Adrienne Goslett and her husband Robert who are expecting their first child, and Ms Megan Albertyn who got engaged over the holidays. Mr Ehber Burger (ex-Monty) is in Mrs Solomon's place for the rest of the year, and Mr Andre van Eck is standing in for Mrs Mariaan Vos who is on maternity leave for the rest of the term. Mrs Anneme Wessels will soon return from her maternity leave with Mr Braam Zeilinga helping us out until she returns.

I wish you all a wonderful, safe, healthy and rewarding third term.

Mr L.M. Erasmus

HEADMASTER

FROM THE HEADMASTER'S DESK

30 June 2021

Dear Parent(s) / Guardian(s), Staff and Learners

Term 2 has come to an end sooner than we thought but, as I said in my previous communication, it worked out well for us. We completed our assessments last week and we would have continued with new work in these last two weeks. This can now be done when we return next term. Our learners and staff have worked hard this term and deserve a rest. Term 3 is expected to start on Monday, 19 July 2021, and I hope this will be possible and that the ‘third wave’ would have subsided.

In my last communication, I said that we will start with the grade 8s not at school. We had to adjust the calendar because of the changes and it now means that the grade 11s will not be at school on Monday, 19 July. The grade 8s will join us on the first day. You will receive the assessment calendar shortly, indicating the set tests and the dates stipulating which grades stay at home.

We say goodbye to Mrs Nicolette Solomon who has accepted a position at DF Malan and we want to wish her all the best. She has given many years of loyal and dedicated service to Fairmont and I know she will be missed. I also want to thank Ms Odette Booysen who stood in for Mrs Karien de Jongh while she was on maternity leave.

As previously mentioned, we will issue reports after the school holidays. Please go through the report with your son/daughter and if there are any concerns, feel free to contact us. The Matrics have about a month left from when we start with the new term to when we start writing Prelim Examinations. This year has flown by and before we know it, they will be sitting for the Finals.

We have not made a final decision with regards to the Matric Farewell and we are delaying this decision for as long as possible. The reality is that it will be highly unlikely that we will be able to have one this year.

Thank you for all the support we receive, and I want to wish you a relaxing and enjoyable time with your families.

Kind regards

Mr L.M. Erasmus

HEADMASTER