Foundation Phase

ACADEMICS / AKADEMIE

Foundation Phase

Our mission is to create a community of compassionate, innovative, life-long learners who continually strive for excellence. Our aim is to promote an academically rigorous curriculum that values the different interests, learning styles and abilities of each learner.

We believe in:

  • Striving for individual excellence.
  • Being tolerant and respectful to others.
  • Accepting differences in each other and learning to embrace them.
  • Showing responsibility by honouring our commitments, working hard and being helpful.
  • Respecting our environment by recycling, conserving our resources, and caring about our carbon footprint in general.

Grondslagfase

Ons missie is om ‘n gemeenskap te skep van medelydende, innoverende, lewenslange leerders wat voortdurend na uitmuntendheid strewe. Ons doelwit is om ‘n sterk akademiese kurrikulum daar te stel wat elke leerder se uitsonderlike belange, leerstyle en vermoëns sal erken.

Ons glo in:

  • Die nastrewe van individuele uitmuntendheid.
  • Geduld en om respekvol teenoor ander te wees.
  • Die aanvaarding van mekaar se verskille.
  • Verantwoordelikheidsin, harde werk en hulpvaardigheid.
  • Die bewaring van ons omgewing, ons hulpbronne en die voetspore wat ons nalaat.

We have two Afrikaans GRADE R classes at Beaumont. Our Grade R’s are registered with the Western Cape Education Department and because they form an integral part of Beaumont, they are incorporated in all our cultural- and sport programmes.  Our Grade R learners are given the opportunity to develop in a safe, structured and stimulating environment where they can be guided to do problem solving in an innovative way. In this relaxed and informal way, they are led to be critical thinkers, at their own pace, and to experiment freely in order to reach their full potential. Our Grade R learners have a beautiful, well-equipped playpark where they can master their gross-motor skills. Assessment happens continuously throughout the day in Home Language, Maths and Life Skills, as set out in the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS).

Our 2022 GRADE 1 and 2 classes are made up of four English and two Afrikaans classes. GRADE 3 currently have five English classes and one Afrikaans class, but it will change to 4/2 when the current Grade 2’s progress to Grade 3 in 2023.

Educators

Our Foundation Phase Educators are all very friendly, approachable, and always willing to go the extra mile with both their learners and parents. They are all highly qualified with many years’ experience in the Foundation Phase. We believe in being eternal students, keeping our approach fresh and current, by regularly attending interesting and relevant courses / Webinars to enhance our teaching skills and knowledge.

Orientation day

Should your child be lucky enough to be accepted at Beaumont Primary, he/she will receive an invitation to attend an Orientation morning at school. Here he/she will get the opportunity to meet his/her new teacher and friends for the following year. This Orientation day normally happens in November.

Academics and Progression requirements:

As per the requirements of the Curriculum- and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) the Subjects in the Foundation Phase include the following:

  • Home Language
  • FAL: First Additional Language (not Grade R)
  • IIAL: Second additional Language: Xhosa (not Grade R)
  • Maths
  • Life Skills

Apart from Xhosa (for conversational purposes only), all the above-mentioned Subjects must be assessed and the following minimum requirements must be attained in ALL 3 of the required Subjects in order to progress to the next grade:

  • Home Language 4
  • FAL 3
  • Maths 3

Akademie en vereistes vir Progressie:

Soos voorgeskryf in die Kurrikulum en Assesseringsbeleidverklaring (CAPS), vorm die volgende vakke deel van die Grondslagfase kurrikulum:

  • Huistaal
  • EAT: Eerste Addisionele Taal (nie Graad R)
  • IIAL: Tweede Addisionele Taal: Xhosa (nie Graad R)
  • Wiskunde
  • Lewensvaardighede

Met die uitsondering van Xhosa (slegs vir gespreksdoeleindes), word al die bogenoemde vakke geassesseer en moet ‘n leerder in AL 3 vakke aan die volgende minimum vereistes voldoen in orde om na die volgende graad pepromofeer te word:

  • Huistaal 4
  • EAT 3
  • Wiskunde 3

Parent Information evening:

Within the very first week of the new school year, parents will be invited to attend a Parent Information evening. This evening will give you the perfect opportunity, not to only meet your child’s educator, but to also attain first-hand the relevant information pertaining to that grade as well as any other important general information w.r.t. Beaumont.

Continuous Assessment

happens daily throughout each term. Most of these assessments are informal and the learners are mostly unaware of them. Examples of informal continuous assessment would include: Listening- & comprehension skills, class participation, peer interaction, concentration, ability to work independently, etc. Weekly Phonics / Klanke and Mental Maths tests are also done continuously but will be less informal as it requires the student to study / prepare for them at home.

Formal Assessments

take place every term (usually between weeks 6-8), in the form of written; practical- and verbal tasks. Some formal assessments would require some preparation at home, e.g., Oral presentations. We endeavour to keep the formal assessment tasks as stress-free as possible: Learners can mostly prepare for these assessments by listening carefully in class and regularly revising concepts at home.

Homework:

Homework will be given daily, with the exception of a Friday. Every grade has their own homework policy that would be discussed in greater detail on the abovementioned Parent Information evening.

Support:

Our first line of support comes in the form of class intervention, small groups, and extra lessons.

  • Learner Support Educator (LSE): Every grade has their own fully qualified LSE assisting with small groups for either Home Language / Maths support or enrichment. This service forms part of your school fees and takes place daily during school hours.
  • Extra lessons: These are offered in Home Language, Maths and First Additional Language (FAL). It is also included in the school fees but only takes place once a week after school hours.

The second line of support is a referral to our School-Based Support Team (SBST). Learners who average within the bottom parameter of the grade in either Home Language or Maths, qualify for group / individual remedial intervention, provided they do not already receive any other academic intervention or remedial privately. After every Formal Academic Assessment, the list of learners is re-looked. Our SBST offers a broad spectrum of support at school and during school hours, however, this is at an additional cost to the parents.

  • SBST:
    • Remedial
    • Occupational Therapy
    • Speech- & Language Therapy
    • Psychologists
    • Counsellors
    • Social Worker

A final line of support will be from the District-Based Support Team (DBST).

Outings:

Each grade either goes on an outing each term, or has special visitors visiting our school. All our outings / visits are designed to coincide with the themes covered during a specific term. This allows our learners to have hands-on experience with the learning material and themes dealt with. We always endeavour to find new outings where each learner would benefit greatly from the experience.

Special days:

We love celebrating ‘special’ days like International Literacy Day or World Maths Day, by having a fun dress-up day. Our work focus for that day would then also relate to what it is we are celebrating. Since Beaumont is an Eco school, we also partake in special programmes / events plotted on the Eco Schools’ calendar, e.g., Water Week, Mandela Day, Earth Hour, Heritage Day, etc.

Value system:

Beaumont also focuses on instilling a strong sense of values in our learners. Our focus is on a different value each month. The values we teach and encourage are: Respect, Caring, Responsibility, Commitment, Tolerance, Compassion, Co-operation, Humility, and Integrity. Our hope is that parents will also encourage these values in their homes.

Sport, Culture & Music:

Beaumont has such a wide variety of Sport-, Cultural & Music activities for learners to partake in. Most of these activities are available to all the Foundation Phase learners. Should you require more info regarding our extra-curricular programme, you are encouraged to visit the respective Web pages designated to it.

Concerts:

Every third year marks our concert year at Beaumont. Even though the Foundation- & Intermediate/Senior Phase have separate concerts, all learners (from Grade R-7), are encouraged to participate. Beaumont concerts are most definitely not something to be missed!