It's Time To Focus On The Future

Ann Morton, principal of Pinelands North Primary in Cape Town, believes this generation of children will be stronger, more empowered and more knowledgeable than their predecessors.

- Ann Morton

Never in recent history has schooling come to such an abrupt end as in the past few months! Schools were informed about five days before, that children were to leave the term two days early, and since then they have been “locked out” of the school premises. School staff were locked out slightly later but have also felt a sense of sudden loss of all things “usual” and familiar.

Every school community member at every school has personally been grieving for what is lost and has been trying to create a new normal for their families and for their schools. These are some of the things Pinelands North Primary has been working on while school has officially been closed.

We have been trying to support our school families. Many of them have had to create a new routine, which adds to the stress of being both a parent and a teacher. Many have had a loss of income, either for one family member or both and are now unable to finance their usual end-of-month bills.

The school has created a solidarity fund, funded by staff and parents who haven’t been directly affected financially by the lockdown. This fund will pay school fees for those families who might struggle to pay them. Weekly letters have been sent out to parents and we have been communicating via Facebook twice a day, trying to create a community in other ways so people don’t feel so isolated.

LEARNING UNUSUAL