Grade 7
In their final year at The Grove, we strive to stretch the children academically and to give them life skills. At the beginning of the year the learners attend a leadership course run by the staff which prepares them for their position as leaders of the school. Each child is placed on a committee and given responsibilities to help staff run the school efficiently. These responsibilities include mediating on the playground, supervising the younger children on rainy days, running the library and computer room and assisting mothers at the tuckshop. Twelve children, whose leadership skills have been recognised by their peers, are democratically elected by the Grade 7s onto the Student Representative Council (SRC).
Grove children are also encouraged to consider those who are less fortunate than themselves. Each term, a different class gets the opportunity to host 150 senior citizens to dinner and an evening of entertainment in the school hall. Both generations delight in meeting and spending an evening together. Our other outreach project is a poverty-stricken nursery school which is situated close to the Oudtschoorn campsite which we visit annually on our Grade 7 camp. The children who attend this nursery school suffer from malnutrition and other socio-economic ills. To raise funds so that they can have fresh fruit and vegetables on a regular basis, the Grade 7s organise and run their own Market Day.
We strive to ensure that work covered in class is both relevant and practical. The Market Day, for example, is an EMS project where learners are assessed on their entrepreneurial skills. Experiential learning is also encouraged. The Grade 7s have a Slave Day where they all come to school dressed as slaves and perform various aspect of slavery. In Natural Science, learners are encouraged to explore the environment, taking measurements and collecting samples. One of the English prepared reading tasks is to read children's stories. Assessment is based on learners' ability to engage their audience. The Grade 7s read to the Grade 1s who enjoyed the stories enormously.
