The Master Edition Issue 04

April 2014 - Issue 4 - Graphic Edition

AWARDS EVENING See our award winners from the evening see the

THE MASTER

EDITION

Franchisees • Managers • Tutors

DIFFERENCE that a great

CENTRE DESIGN can make

IMAGES help us to remember

information

meet and greet the

GRAPHICS department

There are three response to a piece of design YES! NO! and WOW!

Graphic Design will save the

Rock & Roll does

WOW is one to AIM for.

- Milton Glaser

You can have an experience in

WORLD

right after

- David Carson

The public is more familiar with bad design than good design. It is, in effect, conditioned to prefer bad design, because that is what it lives with. The new becomes threatening, the old reassuring.

front of a Rembrandt or in front of a piece of

Graphic Design.

- Stefan Sagmeister

I strive for two things in design:

- Paul Rand

D I G I TA L D E S I G N

PAINTING is like

SIMPLICITY & CLARITY

except the

DRIES

PAINT NEVER

Great design is born of those two things.

- Lindon Leader

Content precedes design.

Design in the absence of content is not design, it’s decoration.

- Jeffrey Zeldman

I’ve never had a problem with a dumb client.

There is no such thing as a dumb client. Part of our job is to do work and the get the client to accept it.

- Neville Brody

Socrates said, ”Know thyself”.

I say, “Know thy users”.

And guess what?

They don’t think like you do.

- Joshua Brewer

- Bob Gill

It’s through mistakes that you actually can grow.

You have to get BAD in order to get GOOD. - Marian Bantjes

A designer knows he

is all about making other

DESIGNERS FEEL LIKE

I D I OT S

has achieved perfection

BECAUSE

not when there is

THAT IDEA

nothing left to add, but

WASN’T THEIRS

when there is nothing left to take away.

- Antonie de Saint-Exupéry

- Frank Chimero

18

Meet and Greet the Graphics Department 18

Debbie Tavares

19

Patricia Van Driessche

20

Melissa Sauls Jumat

21

Gerda Heyns

22

Nathaniel Witten

23

Desnique Robyn

24

Megan Antonie

25

Georgia Viljoen

Beautifully designed centres

08

What impact does the visual design & location have on a centre?

08

Cape Town

09

Lynnwood

10

Stellenbosch

Features “The right tutor for your child�: Words to strive for.

04

Adrie shares some advice on how to educate parents about choosing a tutor.

06

Mathematics tuition at a glance.

Marius takes a look at tuition in South Africa and around the world.

26

Make contact with your clients.

Tamsin takes a look at several contact points a centre has with potential clients.

Master Maths Awards Evening 2014 12

Our award winners for 2013.

What a stunning evening!

Articles 07

Meet our new centres.

26

Images help us to remember.

27

Special projects feedback.

Cover Design Featured on this cover are the winners of the Master Maths Franchise of the Year 2013 and the Master Science Franchise of the Year 2013. From left to right: Ebrahim and Razina Salie from Claremont (Master Science award winners) and Kim and Paul de Villiers from Witbank (Master Maths award winners).

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Editor: Tamsin Haley Design & Layout: Trish Van Driessche 3

“The right tutor for your child” - Words to strive for

By Adrie Schoeman

We live in a very competitive world. Due to the importance of mathematics and physical science in different careers, such as engineering, medicine and economics, emphasis is placed on the process of enrolling more learners in these subjects. This article is not about the poor results which are achieved by South African learners nationally.

There is more than enough reading material available to the general public on this topic. How to go about choosing extra tuition assistance, is something with which we can help learners and their parents.

At some point, most learners need academic support, and a tuition service can provide them with this. As Master Maths has been a competitive company in the industry since 1976, it is fair to say that this is not a new problem. It is not even limited to South Africa. However, with our 37 years of experience, we have been able to identify a trend of an increased need for academic tuition in the past few years.

The private tuition industry has exploded; we can see this in the increased amount of enrolments that our centres have had, as well as the growth of our competitors. A challenge that we do face, is the lack of quality assurance that this industry provides to clients. There are currently no regulations in tuition services, offered to school learners.

There is no monitoring body who can step in if a company is not delivering on what they promise. Tuition is not cheap. Parents are asked to trust that the tuition that their children will receive is what tuition institutions promised to deliver. I cannot speak on the behalf of other institutions, but I can state that Master Maths and Master Science would appreciate such a quality assurance assessment body. We can only trust and hope that instutitions like UMALUSI, will find avenues whereby each person who is willing to offer tuition or academic support services, will be forced to apply for accreditation. This will provide concerned clients with a governing body, which has regulations that all tuition services need to abide by, and make sure the standard of tuition is on par. This cannot happen quickly enough!

Currently parents either need to sift through lists and lists of advertised tuition companies, or rely on referrals.

Obviously we would like to approach these parents and say “Spare yourself the effort and enrol at your nearest Master Maths and Master Science centre”, but this would be unethical, as we are certainly not the only service provider who can offer their children quality tuition. Unfortunately, the reality is that there are many opportunistic so-called “tutors” who are in it for a quick buck. Learners and their parents deserve more than this. They deserve to get value for their money.

Guidelines for providing information to parents.

Inform parents about our proven track record.

Tell potential clients what you can offer them without embellishment.

Talk to parents about taking action when problems arise.

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Explain to parents how our system can be adjusted to their child’s specific needs.

A+

?

Be prepared to answer parents’ questions accurately.

Inform parents that we supply regular feedback on their child’s progress.

Master Maths centres can provide guidance to parents, to help them make an informed decision when it comes to the tuition of their child. Here are some guidelines:

•

Talk to parents about taking immediate action when a problem arises. Problems in the learning process never just go away. The sooner they act, the better their children will achieve.

•

Advertising is often an emotionally-compelling tool, used to entice parents to buy or use the first product that they come across. Often, this advertising is littered with false promises that create unrealistic expectations for the learner’s progress. Many parents have already wasted too much money on ineffective services. Make sure that you tell potential clients what you can offer them, but not to embellish the results that they can expect.

•

Inform parents about our proven track record. Be prepared to answer any questions that they may have about our product and programme, as well as about any of the tutors at the centre and their credentials.

•

Explain to parents how our system can be adjusted to their child’s specific needs. Also explain how the evaluation process works. Parents want to know why their children are not performing well in a specific subject.

Explain that the first step to helping their child is to find out what their specific needs are. The first step that the parents can take on their path to finding the right tuition service for their child, is to speak to the learner’s school teacher for subjects like mathematics and physical science. You can then inform them that the learner may need assistance with filling in gaps in their knowledge and mastering of basic skills, before being able to tackle grade-level skills. Inform them that just assisting learners with their homework will not help in the long run, as the deficits that they have will still exist.

•

Parents have the right to question whether or not the tutors that are working with their children are trustworthy and responsible. Talk to them about the different type of tutors, and that a good tutor not only knows about the content that they work with, they also need to have the right skills to transfer their knowledge to a learner. Parents should be looking for a structured training programme, with set goals to ensure that their child receives the effective tutoring that they need. Share with these parents how Master Maths and Master Science can offer this to them. Most important is a centre which offers this tuition service in a non-threatening, friendly and professional environment.

•

Feedback is an important aspect of any tuition service. The parent should receive regular feedback from any tuition service their child partakes in. This is a strong point for Master Maths and Master Science, as we aim to inform the parent of their child’s progress, and answer their questions about their child’s tutorage.

These guidelines should help you give parents the information they need to make a decision regarding tuition services.

To end, I would like to share the conclusion paragraph from a study done in the Eastern Cape in July of 2009 by David Morgari, from the Institute of Science and Technology Education; Hanlie Coetzee, from the Department of Mathematics at the Walter Sisulu University; and Riette Maritz, from the Department of Mathematics at UNISA: The study has revealed some rather significant findings about supplementary tuition. That is, it is not only confined to poor performing learners; parents are anxious about ensuring their children acquire plausible education; learners’ participation in supplementary tuition is driven by an urge to acquire good results and enhanced opportunities to study what may be referred to as financially rewarding science-related careers (e.g. engineering, actuarial science, medicine and so on); some teachers participate in supplementary tuition for financial benefits; girls use supplementary tuition to make up for the teaching and learning challenges they experience in their classes; and there is still problems associated with NCS implementation in schools.

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Mathematics Tuition at a Glance

By Marius Myburg

Mathematics education in South Africa has received its fair share of attention in recent years. Although there are many articles about mainstream mathematics education, very little information is available on extra tuition in South Africa. Let’s take a look at tuition in some other countries and in South Africa.

Extra mathematics tuition in other countries The list of countries where extra tuition is commonplace, or where it is growing significantly includes; Canada, Japan, Kenya, South Korea, Mauritius, Romania, Singapore, Turkey, United Kingdom and Hong Kong, to name a few (Dang & Rodgers, 2008).

In some countries, such as Lithuania, Mauritius, Korea, the Ukraine and Hong Kong, teachers are restricted from providing extra tuition to their own learners. The lawmakers do this because some teachers do not teach the whole curriculum and then provide extra tuition for profit to fill the gaps (Dang & Rodgers, 2008). This is the reason why countries such as Mauritius have completely banned extra tuition in the past. It might explain why extra tuition enjoys a less than rosy reputation in some countries. However, these bans were ineffective because of the government’s inability to enforce them. A study done in 2004 indicated that 87% of grade 6 learners in Mauritius received extra tuition (Kulpoo & Soonarane, 2005).

A common perception is that counties experience high levels of tuition is a direct result of the education system failing. Although it might be a contributing factor (CDE, 2013), it certainly is not the only, or even the main reason. The table below (Dang & Rodgers, 2008) describes the frequency of tuition in some of the best performing counties in terms of quality of education: Country

Amount of extra tuition received

*TIMSS ranking

Rep. of Korea

On aggregate 73% of all school going learners

Singapore

*PISA Score Mathematics

Science

Reading

1st

5 th

7 th

5th

49% of primary and 30% of secondary school learners

2nd

2 nd

3 rd

3 rd

Hong Kong

On aggregate 50.6% of secondary school learners

4th

3 rd

2 nd

2 nd

Japan

64% of grade 8 learners receive mathematics tuition and 41% receive science tuition

5th

7 th

4 th

4 th

Taiwan

81%

n/a

4 th

13 th

7 th

10th

26 th

26 th

26 th

United Kingdom On aggregate, 27%

*These are ways to compare mathematical and scientific performance of the learners in different countries. The first method is the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS, 2011), which measures trends in mathematics in the 4th and 8th grade. The second method is by using the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA, 2012), which tests mathematics, science and reading skills of 15 year olds.

As seen from the table above, in some countries with very high educational standards, tuition is quite common. Education is an incredibly competitive area in Asia. It has been noted that in the Republic of Korea, parents spend more money on extra tuition than what the government spends on formal education (Coetzee, 2008). The significant differences in performance in subjects like Mathematics and Physical Science, observed between Asian countries and the rest of the world, could be boosted by their extensive private tutoring sector (Coetzee, 2008).

Who attends extra tuition?

Statistics on the Asian countries indicate that their academically strong learners attend tuition, along with those learners who struggle with the subject. It is observed that learners from wealthier and higher educated households, are more likely to attend tutoring and are willing to spend more money on extra tuition (Dang & Rodgers, 2008).

There is also the theory that the demand for private tutoring most likely comes from busy families that have two or more children.

The reasoning is that because these parents are otherwise preoccupied, they have less time to monitor homework, and thus seek substitution in the form of enriched after-school care. However, a study conducted in Canada revealed that parents that opt for extra tuition are more intensely involved in their children’s schooling, and report more time helping with homework and volunteering at their school (Davies, n.d.).

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In Mauritius, it was found that Mathematics was the one subject that parents felt they could not assist their children with because they themselves were not comfortable with the subject. Tuition services give them the option to help their children achieve academically (Dindyal & Besoondyal, 2007).

Tuition in South Africa.

Unfortunately, very little reliable information is available about extra mathematics tuition in South Africa. One of the most useful studies is a master’s thesis done in 2008 about supplementary tuition in the Eastern Cape (Coetzee, 2008). It also discussed mathematics as a subject from the learner and teacher’s perspective. Here are some of the key points from the mentioned thesis: The schools: 10 schools in the East London school district were used. These schools were identified based on their performance. All these schools were high performing with an average mathematics class size of 27 (well below the national average) and a matric pass rate of close to 100%.

What the learners had to say: Only 30% of learners were satisfied with their current Mathematics mark. 90% of learners reported that they found Mathematics extremely important for their future. 49% of Mathematics learners wanted more school time allocated to the subject. Only 2% viewed supplementary tuition in a negative light. Only 11% of learners said the subject was too difficult. 47 % of mathematics learners had problems with previous years’ work. Only 11% indicated that the teacher did not explain clearly in class. Only 11% said that classes were too big. 47% of learners indicated that the syllabus was too long. It is interesting that 51% of learners acknowledge that they did not work hard enough at the subject.

The teachers’ point of view: Teachers who took part in the study were exceptionally well qualified compared to the national average. 91 % had taken mathematics at university level and the average age was 42.2 years (according to the TIMSS report, learners who are taught by teachers over the age of 40 achieve better results). The study highlighted some interesting facts. 87 % of teachers experienced difficulties completing the Grade 10 and 11 syllabuses. 43% felt compelled to rush work despite the fact that some learners could not keep up.

91% of teachers gave extra help to learners after school hours. 86% of teachers thought problems carried over from previous years contributed to poor performance in later years.

Teachers who are trying their best and even helping learners after school, cannot really be blamed for the bad marks if the odds are stacked against them. Does the problem not perhaps lie in the basic mechanics of modern schools, not just in South Africa, but in other countries too?

So why is extra mathematics tuition growing in South Africa?

As seen in Asian countries, extra mathematics tuition is not necessarily growing because the education system is failing. Master Maths has been providing extra mathematics tuition since 1976. There is no doubt that all the negative media articles about our public education system have helped the growth of extra tuition, but it is not a direct cause and effect relationship. Some of our best performing Master Maths centres have more than 50% private school learners, and if media reports are to be believed, private school educational standards would have remained relatively stable in recent years (hence the growth of the private school sector).

We have seen from studies that wealthier, higher educated parents, and parents who are more involved with their children’s education, are more likely to send their children to receive extra tuition. The number of university graduates in the South African labour force has more than doubled in the past 15 years (Altbeker & Strome, 2013) and could explain some of the increases in learners attending tuition. We have also seen that pro-tuition parents realize that they are unable to help their children with the more difficult subjects such as mathematics and physical science.

In South Africa and the rest of the world children are experiencing increased competition. Only the highest achievers will get into the most sought after universities. Parents know this and want to provide their children with every possible opportunity to succeed academically.

Is there really still a choice?

A lack of time and an increase in competition is resulting in children experiencing ever increasing stress levels (Staessen, 2011).

Can they really afford the extra stress of falling behind with their mathematics and not to be confident about their future? If learners start to show difficulties in mathematics, parents have no choice but to seek help earlier rather than later.

There might be a multitude of reasons why extra tuition is on the rise. But even if we resolve the problems in our public education system, one thing is for sure: extra mathematics tuition is here to stay, and it will become more important and prominent in years to come.

Sources: 1. 2013. Extra Maths Tuition in South Africa: A short summary of an exploratory investigation. Johannesburg: The Centre for Development and Enterprise. 2. 2011. TIMSS. Newton: Lynch School of Education. 3. 2012. PISA. Paris: OECD. Altbeker, A. & Storme, E. 2013. Graduate Unemployment in South Africa: A much exaggerated problem.

Johannesburg: The Centre for Development and Enterprise. 4. Coetzee, J. 2008. Supplementary Tuition in Mathematics: Exploring the Industry in the Eastern Cape.

South Africa: UNISA. 5. Dang, H. & Rogers, F. 2008. How to Interpret the Growing Phenomenon of Private Tutoring: Human Capital Deepening, Inequality Increasing, or Waste of Resources? Washington: The World Bank. 6. Davies, S. No date. School choice by default? Understanding the Growing Demand for Private Tutoring in Canada.

Canada: McMaster University. 7. Dindyal, J. & Besoondyal, H. 2007. “Private Tutoring in Mathematics: The Mauritian Experience”, Proceedings of the Redesigning Pedagogy: Culture, Knowledge and Understanding Conference. Singapore. 8. Staessen, J.A. 2011. South African Teens: High Suicide Risk. [Online] Avaliable: <http://www.health.am/psy/more/south_africa_teens_high_suicide_risk/>

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Catching Up With Our Centres

CAPE TOWN The Cape Town centre has been a Head Office owned centre since 2012 under the management of Hannelie Brink. Hannelie previously worked in the Somerset West centre, and was overjoyed and exicted to return to Master Maths to take responsibility as manager of the Cape Town centre.

There are many different challenges associated with running a Master Maths centre. One aspect that owners and managers need to take into consideration, is whether or not their centres are big enough to adequately cater for their existing clients, as well as allowMEET the TEAM ing room to grow. Moving to a new, bigger centre can be very daunting. Hannelie’s first question when she saw the new premises was “How are we going to fill this Hannelie Brink place?” This was linked to another problem, as at the time the schools in the area were “not really encouraging their learners to attend Master Maths”.

Overcoming these challenges came down to a few different factors. The first factor is Hannelie’s attitude to business. She believes that there are five internal aspects which contribute to a successful centre, namely “teamwork, personal interest in every learner, treating all clients with respect, the location of the centre and the professional setup of the centre”. And this is exactly how Cape Town dealt with the challenges of moving to a bigger centre. The entire team worked on providing an excellent service, and they took full advantage of the location which was chosen through the use of signage and setting up a modern, professional looking centre. Thanks to all these factors, they enrolled many new learners!

Amy-Lee Davis

Jacques Pienaar

Hannelie prefers an open-plan setup for the centre.

She says that it allows “tutors to move in next to a learner in order to assist them”, instead of leaning over a cubicle and being in the learner’s personal space. It also makes it easier to monitor if learners are doing their work or are “texting or checking messages on their cell phones”. It has also helped them to “spot the reserved learner, who is too shy to ask for assistance”, as the cubicles made it easier for these learners to stay under the radar.

An opinion from a centre which only uses the Master Maths and Master Science posters provided by Head Office on their walls: “We have a number of learners with ADHD in our centre and our experience is that too many pictures and posters might divide their attention.”

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Elthea Ruiters

Catching Up With Our Centres

LYNNWOOD Master Maths Lynnwood has been in operation since 2009. In the last four years, the centre has undergone many changes as the owner, Ann de Budè, looked for ways for her business to be more successful. One of the big decisions that Ann made was to move her centre into a commercial property in 2012.

Ann is a fan of change, so the experience of moving to a new centre was thrilling for her. She also felt that it would be good to “have a business in an area where it can grow and be MEET the TEAM recognised by the passing public”. Ann’s biggest concern was losing current learners, because some of them would struggle to attend classes at the new centre, as Ann de Budé it was too far for them to get there. Despite this happening, “the centre’s numbers have grown with new enrolments”.

Making sure that your centre has a good location is one thing, but getting it recognised is another issue completely. Ann is ecstatic about the signage that has been developed for her centre, and finds it to be effective, as it can be seen from the road. With a centre with such large windows, signage can be a very effective way of attracting a potential client’s attention.

The centre itself is important when creating a productive learning environment. Ann thinks that the open-plan setup of her centre works well, and that the learners “like the vibe of being part of a busy group”, rather than shut off from other learners in a cubicle. Ann believes in making the centre feel as professional as possible, thus decorations are limited, with only a few inspirational quotes and Master Maths posters on the walls. The one thing that everyone at the centre works towards is ensuring that there is “a nice ambiance which both relaxes and fires the learners up to do their best”.

Elmarie Vermeulen

Gareth Peplar

Lauren de Budé

An important aspect of any business is to never get too comfortable, as this is when competitors can get the upper hand on you.

After four years of owning her centre, Ann still sees it as “a work-in-progress, as I am in the process of making changes every day that I think will work better.”

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Catching Up With Our Centres

STELLENBOSCH

MEET the TEAM Maretha van der Westhuizen started her journey with Master Maths at the Paarl centre, where she worked as a tutor before purchasing Master Maths Stellenbosch in Maretha vd Westhuizen 2005. One of her favourite things about her centre is being on the third floor of her building which has a stunning view of Stellenbosch!

Finding the right location for a centre can be a challenge. Maretha waited for months to get the location they have at the moment, but it was worth it. In less than two years the Stellenbosch centre had to move twice, each time into a bigger premises, to accommodate more learners. There is always a financial risk when making a move, but Maretha’s opinion is that the risk is limited: “Our business is low-risk as there will always be learners who need extra maths and physical science classes. If you can prove to people that you are a good service provider, the rest will follow.”

The centre is decorated with Master Maths and Master Science posters, some inspirational quotes, and several pot plants. As Master Maths Stellenbosch was first situated in a school, the move to a business premises afforded them the opportunity to make sure that their computers, and the rest of their equipment, were colour co-ordinated, to help create a more professional centre.

The open-plan design of the centre works very well, and Maretha finds that the best thing about it is that “you can stand anywhere and see everyone at the same time”. The team also finds that at least half of the computer screens are visible at any one time, no matter where you are in the centre. This helps them to quickly identify which learners need help.

What makes the Stellenbosch team work so well?

“All the tutors get along really well. We have a passion for what we do and find it meaningful to help others. Humour and socialising is part of the job, so we look forward to each day we spend in the centre!”

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Maryke vd Westhuizen

Madri Fry

Lize Cillie

Letisha Weyers

Meet Our New Centres FREE STATE

BLOEMFONTEIN PRELLER Chantal Goodlet has opened her second centre in Bloemfontein! With the first one in Grey College, the new centre has opened in Preller Square. Chantal is excited about this next step for her business, and feels that the extension was long overdue!

DOUGLAS Eddie de Villiers is the owner of Master Maths Douglas in the Northern Cape, which he runs with the help of Hanlie de Villiers. Before joining Master Maths, Eddie taught maths from his home, but he found that he could only tutor one grade at a time. Master Maths allows him to leverage his skills and allows him to give individual attention to each learner.

“I can now reach more learners at the same time. Each one of the learners can now receive an individual lesson.”

Eddie & Hanlie de Villiers

NORTHERN CAPE

Chantal Goodlet

“Through the years I have learnt that in order to run a successful centre you have to work hard, be ethical in your business practices, offer a great service and always have the learner’s best interests at heart.”

LUSAKA ZAMBIA

Dycris Hanzala is opening the first Master Maths centre in Zambia! He has spent 5 years in both South Africa and Zambia teaching maths, and is looking forward to the new challenge of opening a Master Maths centre. Dycris has always been interested in using technology to teach maths, and he looks forward to introducing our system in Lusaka.

Dycris Hanzala

“Master Maths makes me excited because it is an excellent system.”

MIDSTREAM

“I love maths and I love kids, having a Master Maths centre allows me to interact with kids and to see them bloom as they understand and enjoy maths like I do.”

GAUTENG

Eliz van Eeden has a varied and very interesting CV. She has worked for twelve years as a maths and computer studies teacher, and as a computer software quality controller for the last fourteen years! Each time she drove past one of our centres over the past three years, she dreamt of owning one herself. Now, that dream has come true!

Eliz van Heerden

NYLSTROOM LIMPOPO

Rutendo Nyamayaro from Master Maths Bela Bela has opened a second centre, approximately 25km from Bela Bela. Modimolle and Vaalwater were in need of maths help, and parents requested that a centre be opened so that their children could receive the tuition they needed.

Rutendo Nyamayaro

“Besides giving the learners self-reliance, we also try to cultivate a culture of critical thinking, coupled with thinking beyond just maths.”

Carin van Jaarsveld noticed the growing concern in her community about learners who were struggling with maths. She decided to take advantage of this opportunity and has now opened her own Master Maths centre! Her centre has helped her to realise her dream of owning her own business, and she hopes it will help her learners enter the career of their dreams in the future!

“Not seeing any results in mathematics can really affect the way you feel about the subject.”

Carin van Jaarsveld

FREE STATE

VREDE

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CATEGORY A 2013 WINNERS: In recognition of excellence On the 22nd of February 2014 selected Master Maths and Master Science Franchisees flocked to Johannesburg.

They were invited to join us at the Indaba Hotel and Conference Centre for the 2013 Franchise of the Year Awards. What a stunning evening it was!

Carol Marneweck, Devon Winterbottom & Melanie Bedworth from Master Maths Alberton accepting their award.

Robyn Hoffe (Sandton) couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make it to accept her award, so she sent us this photo afterwards.

Thank you Jerry Bouwer for accepting it on her behalf!

Master Maths team, Anita Kotze & Carol Marneweck looking pleased with their award.

Adrie Schoeman & Pieter Henning from Master Maths Somerset West posing for a picture after the awards.

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Tessa Erasmus from Master Maths Northcliff accepting her Recognition of Excellence award in Category A.

CATEGORY B 2013 WINNERS: In recognition of excellence

Sorita Groenewald from Silverlakes, accepts their award in Category B in recognition of excellence.

Annette Ludwick from Master Maths Kuruman accepting her award in Category B.

Master Maths Newcastle’s Marici Hendrikse is all smiles while she collects her award.

A quick photo opportunity with Montana’s Nico Kriek after the awards.

Claudia Wartington from Master Maths Polokwane receiving her awards.

Moreleta Park’s Helen Kriek looking stunning while posing for a picture.

Bonnie Prinsloo awarding Randpark Ridge’s Brenda Vaughan with her Master Maths award.

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CATEGORY C 2013 WINNERS: In recognition of excellence

Marisa de Lange from Master Maths Brits with her Category C in recognition of excellence award.

Master Maths Mokopaneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Elsie Myburgh looking pleased with her award.

Edus van Heerden, owner of Master Maths Paarl, receiving his award.

Yolanda van Niekerk from Master Maths Wellington receiving her award from Bonnie Prinsloo.

The Master Maths Franchises are divided into different categories, based on different criteria, such as the size of the area that they operate in. Franchisees in these photos were awarded a certificate for their outstanding achievements over the last year.

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MASTER SCIENCE 2013 WINNERS: In recognition of excellence

Carol Marneweck, Devon Winterbottom & Melanie Bedworth (Alberton) accepting their Master Science award.

Master Science Bethlehemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Anel Crous accepting her in recognition of excellence award.

For the first time, the Master Science Franchise of the Year was awarded. Thank you to all the centres that have worked hard since the introduction of the Master Science product to the market. After only two years since its launch, we have seen the phenomenal progress that this Franchise has made. As this was the first time that we handed out this award, there was only one category.

Carol Marneweck & Shivonn Cuhna for Master Science Glenanda with Heidi Schoute-Vanneck.

Master Science Bloemfontein owner Chantal Goodlet looking pleased with her award in this new category.

Debbie & Jan de Plessis from Master Science Jeffreysbay accepting their award.

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FRANCHISE OF THE YEAR WINNERS FOR 2013

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Master Maths Franchise of the year

Master Science Franchise of the year

Witbank - Paul & Kim de Villiers Overall & Grand Prize Winners

Claremont - Ebrahim & Razina Salie Overall & Grand Prize Winner

Master Maths Category B Winner

Master Maths Category C Winner

Bryanston - Jerry Bouwer & Andrie Bouwer

Swakopmund - Anja & Hermann Volkmann

Thank you to all of the Franchisees who joined us for the evening. Without your hard work, the evening would not have even existed. Also a big thank you to the Head Office staff members that planned and executed the evening from the Western Cape, specifically Gia and Trish for their hard work. We canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wait to share the next awards evening with all of our Franchisees at the conference next year!

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Nam cursus. Morbi ut mi. Nullam enim leo, egestas id, condime tum at, laoreet mattis, massa. Sed eleifend nonummy diam. Praesent mauris ante, elementum et, bibendum at, posuere amet, nibh. Duis tincidunt lectus quis dui viverra vestibulum. Suspendisse vulputate aliquam dui. Nulla elementum dui augue. Aliquam vehicula mi at mauris. Maecenas placerat, nisl at consequat rhoncus, sem nunc gravida justo, quis eleife What’s a Picture Worth? arcu velit quis lacus. Morbi magna magna, tincidunt a, mattis non, imperdiet vitae, tellus. Sed odio est, auctor ac, sollicitud in, consequat vitae, orci. Fusce id felis. Vivamus sollicitudin metus eget eros.Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senect et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. In posuere felis nec tortor. Pellentesque faucibus. Ut accumsan ultricies e

What’s a Picture Worth?

be Without visual memory, we wouldn’t retrieve – anything we see.

able to store – and later

related with a number of higher Visual memory capacity has been cor ic success. cognitive abilities, including academ of all our senses, vision is the In one study, it was suggested that mory formation. strongest and most influential in me studied as a picture will be better It is generally accepted that an item a word. remembered than an item studied as it their verbal label and When pictures are studied, they elic stored as memory. thus 2 representations or codes are omatically elicit a Words, on the other hand, do not aut ly impoverished picture, and thus they have a relative memory representation.

INTERESTIN G THINGS ABO UT OUR VISUAL

than either written or spoken Real objects are better remembered words, both tested immediately.

The key with visuals is to use them smartly. Overuse of visual stimuli can detract the viewer’s attention from the message we would like them to focus on. For example, if our modules had too many images, the learners may not focus as intently on the theory they need to learn, or the examples that they are practicing. Our graphic design team ensures that images are used effectively, so that the learner remains interested in the content before them, but does not become distracted by too many design elements. You can see the same concept being put to use in your signage, adverts and any other marketing material which is issued from Head Office.

“Memory for pictures: Sometimes a picture is not worth a single word”, J.M. Oates & L.M. Reder “Memories, Photographs and the Human Brain”, J. Sarinana “What makes an image memorable?” P. Isola, J. Xiao, A. Torralba & A, Oliva

17

meet the

GRAPHICS department

Debbie Tavares Debbie has been working with Head Office since the initial stages of the digital version of our programme. It was a huge challenge as there was plenty of work to do, but she enjoyed being part of the design and development stages. Debbie hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always worked with us full-time, but after five years of contract work, she has joined us in the office again, as the manager of the Graphics Department. Her job includes graphic development of the modules, training of the designers and supplying doughnuts to her team when they are approaching deadlines. A large part of her job is liasing with the other departments at Head Office.

Debbie studied at Rhodes University originally towards a degree in Physical Education, but decided to change courses after two years to Fine Art, majoring in Oil Painting and History of Art. She decided that graphics was a line of work that she would like to follow, as it was the best creative option for her and offered the best career prospects.

Her first job was as a graphic designer in the printing industry. She remembers cutting out colour separations by hand and spending time in the darkroom for all the photographic development that needed to take place. After that, she worked in a design capacity. Master Maths was an amazing option for Debbie, as she saw an opportunity to build a career with the company, rather than to just have a job.

Down time for Debbie includes watching series, but she has a passion for painting and writing, while being kept company by her cat which decided to adopt her about a year ago. She enjoys thinking alternatively and not thinking at all [Ed note â&#x20AC;&#x201C; not at the same time Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sure!]. Debbie is very close to her family, and they are a big part of her life.

Debbie had two different jobs while she was studying. One was working behind a bar at a student pub, which she describes as absolute madness. The other was working at a co-op doing silk-screening by hand. The CoralDraw clipart book actually used some of these designs in their Africa section.

18

meet the

GRAPHICS department

Patricia ‘Trish’ Van Driessche Trish has been with Master Maths for about 11 years. Her role in the Graphics Department includes assisting in the production process and administration of the department. She also works closely with the Marketing Department for all of their design needs.

Graphics has always been her passion, as she is creative and enjoys drawing. The best part about her job is that she has free reign in her design work. The Graphics Department is an interesting place to be at Head Office, as there is a great atmosphere in the office, and Trish enjoys working with everyone in the department.

Trish believes that a good maths teacher has a thorough understanding of the subject, and they have to want to convey this information to their learners. They also need to have patience and a passion for helping their learners succeed to the best of their ability.

There are a few things that Trish likes to do to relax, and what she ends up doing depends on her mood.

Some of her hobbies are photography, reading and drawing. She really enjoys crafting and digital scrapbooking in her free time. Trish has two very different favourite films: Day After Tomorrow and Pride and Prejudice.

There is a theme of travel in Trish’s life, as her two most memorable experiences have to do with seeing new places. Her first voyage was when she flew to Florida to visit an old school friend. It was the first time that she had been on an aeroplane, and the first leg to Miami was seventeen hours long. She then caught another two hour flight to Tampa before being able to reunite with her friend for a three week holiday. Trish found it to be rather nerve-wrecking. Her second travel memory was spending some time in Francistown in Botswana. It may go down as the country with the best sunsets in Trish’s book.

Trish is an animal lover of note. Any animal she comes across receives as much love as they can take. She has a strong voice for animal rights as well, and hates to see any animal mistreated in any way

19

meet the

GRAPHICS department

Melissa Sauls Jumat Melissa has been with Master Maths for ten years. She came into contact with the Master Maths brand through the first company she worked for. We almost missed out on having Melissa work at Head Office, as she was planning on starting a career in beauty therapy! Luckily, her brother introduced her to Flash, and she has never looked back.

When asked about her home life, there are some rather interesting things that come up in conversation. She says that her pets are her husband and daughter, her idea of relaxing is drinking cider and watching TV, or drinking cider and listening to music, and then “dance to the music because of the cider”. Her main hobby is to frequent malls and do lots of window shopping. Her way of making sure she doesn’t spend too much money, is to reward herself. When she doesn’t buy any clothing she allows herself a sushi treat.

Her mother is a teacher and Melissa admires her hands-on approach. She’s of the opinion that good teachers can relate to anyone, irrespective of what their background, religion or beliefs may be, and also taking the time to understand how learners’ minds works. Teachers can use this information to create a better perception of how to approach learners and adjust their way of teaching so that the learners understand.

Melissa’s favourite things about working at Master Maths are having found something that puts her “OCD” to good use (as design is extremely precise), being able to solve any problems that may arise and being rewarded with chocolate for a job well done by the module authors!

What does Melissa do in the Graphics Department? I’ll let her tell you herself…

“I layout maths and science (not so much science, I’m allergic) information from storyboards, supplied by our maths and science authors, in FLASH, edit and add sound to it, dash it with some animation and BOOYA! One TOTALLY AWESOME module that will help kids achieve maths and science GREATNESS!”

20

meet the

GRAPHICS department

Gerda Heyns You may remember Gerda from her short stint as our receptionist back in 2008.

Now, she spends her time in the Graphics Department working on science modules and editing the sound. Her favourite part of her job is figuring out how to get the animations to work properly.

Gerda loves South Africa and feels that it is absolutely stunning. She spends her time enjoying the great outdoors while she trains for marathons and ultra-marathons. When asked where she would like to live, she concluded that as long as there are stunning views, plenty of animal and bird sounds, and an absence of traffic and people, she would be happy.

Reading is something that Gerda does to relax, and she enjoys watching movies that provoke you to think about the “story behind the story”. Her favourite foods are chicken, vegetable, nuts and fruits.

Graphic design is a challenge which Gerda enjoys. The challenge comes from learning while working on new designs, thinking outside the box to come up with solutions, and doing different things with colours, graphics and animations. She finds that graphics can help you to manage your emotions, by getting lost in her own world. It even helps her to relax! She says that the one thing she loves about her job is that she is always working on something new, which doesn’t give her time to get bored of what she’s doing.

Gerda’s definition of a good teacher is someone who is patient, and who is willing to spend time with their learners until the learner understands what is being asked of them and how they can move forward in their work. This type of teacher can understand that each learner comes from different backgrounds with their own problems that they are dealing with.

Gerda’s two most thrilling experiences include bungee jumping off the Bloukrans Bridge, which is the highest commercial natural bungee bridge in the world, and the different emotions and thoughts going through her head during a marathon.

21

meet the

GRAPHICS department

Na�aniel Witten Nathaniel was born in Cape Town and has been with Master Maths for almost three years. He is currently continuing his studies by completing a National Diploma in IT through UNISA. One of his subjects was graphic design and he enjoyed it thoroughly.

He takes pleasure in working at Master Maths and enjoys that it has grown into such a well-known, respectable company. He has many roles in the Graphics Department, and these include creating maths modules, translating both maths and science modules and creating graphics for the books.

Pizza, burgers, ribs, chicken or pretty much anything that can be called food is Nathaniel’s favourite food!

This is most likely coupled with his favourite way to relax, which is watching movies. He has many favourite movies, but mentioned that The Avengers is one of them.

Working with the community is close to Nathaniel’s heart. Not only is he part of the choir at his church, but he is also a Sunday school teacher, and is part of the youth group. He’s very active with the youth group and often goes on camps with them. He’s involved with charity drives for different causes, like working at soup kitchens and visiting old age homes to sing for the elderly.

Electronics are also one of his hobbies. He’s always taken much joy out of taking different electronic components apart, and has a great interest in robotics. He enjoys it so much, that he hopes that one day he will be able to study mechatronics, or something in the robotics line.

Nathaniel believes that a good maths teacher never underestimates or gives up on a single learner. They also need to be patient and understanding.

Nathaniel’s rather different hobby.

With the youth group, Nathaniel takes part in dragon boat races once every two years. They compete against different church districts in the greater Cape Town area. So if you ever see any large dragon boats in the canals at Canal Walk, you might just bump into Nathaniel! Last time they competed, his team came first in the qualifying races.

22

meet the

GRAPHICS department

Desnique ‘Nikki’ Robyn You’ll know Desnique as Nikki, who joined Master Maths as our receptionist at Head Office. She moved to the Graphics Department quite quickly. Her primary function in the Graphics Department is printed materials.

She was born in Stellenbosch, and grew up as an only child. She does say that although she is an only child, she was never spoilt, as her parents taught her to work for what she wanted. Their motto which they passed on to her is straightforward: “Nothing in life comes easy and simple. Work hard and you will get far.”

Nikki enjoys taking part in sports, but especially gymnastics, swimming and tennis. She did gymnastics for eight years, and in 2001, she made it into the South African Gymnastics Federation Competition. She walked away with fifth place in her age category. In 2005, she followed this performance up with a gold medal for the Boland trials. Gymnastics is still one of her passions, but sadly she can no longer compete because of a neck injury.

Family is important to Nikki, especially her little girl. She spends plenty of time with her family, especially taking road trips with them. Her most recent road trip was to Cape Agulhas, and she enjoyed being so close to the Arniston shipwreck that she could touch it.

Nikki enjoys working in the Graphics Department. She finds the work interesting and she has enjoyed learning new skills in the last few months. The methods and the style of work entertains her creative side. Her favourite part of the job is finally getting something right that she has been struggling with, and receiving praise from management for figuring it out. She is very happy to be working with Master Maths and hopes that she will be able to learn as much as she has in the last few months.

Some of Nikki’s favourite things include breyani, Twilight and watching movies on her bed. She also has two dogs and two fish tanks.

23

meet the

GRAPHICS department

Megan Antonie Megan is one of the newest additions to the Head Office team. She is the eldest of three children, and enjoys spending time with her family, especially her five year old boy, Ethan.

Her role in the Graphics Department is to work on modules and assist with printed material. Her favourite thing about her job is knowing that learners will be able to develop the skills they need to be able to understand maths and physical science better.

Megan was born in Somerset West. She doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have pets at the moment, but she loves border collies and huskies, as they are fun rascals and are great with children. She enjoys reading in her free time, and her favourite book is Eye of the Tiger by Wilbur Smith. Megan appreciates the way he writes and how he is able to create visuals that allow the reader into his mind. She also enjoys music, with some of her favourite bands being Nickelback, Staind and Lifehouse. Live music is a always a great experience, and Megan enjoys going to concerts. The last one that she attended was Nickelback when they were in Cape Town in 2013.

Nature is one of Meganâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s big loves, especially the ocean. This could explain why her favourite food is seafood. She is lucky enough to have family that she can enjoy sharing this outdoor love with. They make sure they spend family time together by going camping, taking walks, spending time on the beach and long drives. She enjoys spending as much time with her family as possible, and appreciates every moment they have together, such as when they have lunch together.

Her favourite movie is Aladdin. The series that she enjoys watching include Dexter, Criminal Minds and The Vampire Diaries.

If Megan could pick anywhere in the world to live, she would pick Tahiti. She finds the culture fascinating and the natural beauty of the islands breathtaking.

24

meet the

GRAPHICS department

Ge�gia Viljoen Meet Georgia, the newest member of the Graphics Department. She’s so new that she is still finishing off training before she starts to work on the modules and printed material. She’s looking forward to getting to work, so that she can find out which part of her job is her favourite!

She matriculated from Parel Vallei at the end of 2012, and took a gap year last year. During her year off, she flew to Florida with her twin sister and mother to visit family. Visiting different amusement parks, historical buildings and markets, as well as meeting some family she had never met before, made this trip the most interesting experience that Georgia has ever had.

Georgia enjoys playing hockey and jogging. She finds that running helps her clear her mind, and she enjoys the benefits of getting fit while doing it. Her favourite movie is Shutter Island, which she finds you have to concentrate while watching to make sense of what is going on. Figuring out the plot gave her a great sense of accomplishment. She loves reading, spending time with her friends and family, and massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) like League of Legends and World of Warcraft.

In her opinion, a good maths teacher is someone who is able to think on their feet and be able to come up with creative solutions to problem solving. This is especially important if a learner doesn’t understand the work and they need to find a way to communicate with them effectively.

A teacher’s listening skills are very important in this process.

How Georgia sees graphic design: “Graphic design gives you the opportunity to illustrate your thoughts and ideas into simpler art. Design is one of those fields that requires the designer to be really passionate about it, similar to people who go into medicine or law. You can’t just decide to do it, it has to be something you have your heart set on, as it’s very intense and demands all of you. Graphic design focuses on the technical aspects of the discipline. It combines computer knowledge and an artistic eye to create graphics for different platforms.”

25

MA K E C O NTACT W I TH YOUR CLIEN T S People can only become your clients after they have made initial contact with the Master Maths brand. Otherwise they wouldn’t know that we are able to help them with their maths and physical science tuition needs. But what are potential clients experiencing when they come in contact with your centre. Here are some of the main contact points that you have control over, and some food for thought about what your potential clients’ first impression is of your centre.

By Tamsin Haley

A N SW ERIN G THE PHONE Is the phone always answered in a friendly, polite tone? Does the person who answers the phone identify themselves, mention the centre name and ask how they can help the caller? What happens when there is no one to answer the phone? Is there a voicemail to collect the messages? Are the messages on voicemail listened to and dealt with to help the clients?

WE B S I T E E N Q U IRIES Are your enquiries responded to within the acceptable time-frame of 24 hours?

Are they phrased in a friendly and helpful manner? Will the person receiving the email feel offended by how something is phrased?

YO U R CEN TRE E XT E RIOR master

maths

What does it look like? Does it come across as clean, neat and professional?

Do you have signage which clearly identifies it as a Master Maths and/or Master Science centre?

YOU R C E N T R E IN TERIO R What is the first thing that someone sees when they walk in the door? Have you continued your Master Maths branding through use of wall posters? What else do you have on your walls? Is it necessary for the feel of your centre? What does the paint on the wall look like? Is the centre clean? Does it look professional?

STA FF M EM BERS Are your staff members presentable when wearing their uniforms? Do they speak about Master Maths in such a way that anyone who overhears their conversation would be happy to let them tutor their child?

ADV E R T I S I N G Are the newspapers and magazines that you place adverts in ones that people read? What are the chances that your advert will be placed next to an advert that is “unfavourable”? How often does you advert fall on the right-hand page of the publication, i.e. the first page that the reader’s eye falls on when they turn a page?

26

In previous issues of the Master Edition, we provided information on the School Change Project and the Parabora Foundation. As it’s now a new year, and a new group of grade 12’s have written their final exams, here’s an update on how these projects are doing.

SCHOOL CHANGE PROJECT This project is being run in the Free State with Hercules Dreyer from the University of the Free State. When we last chatted to them, they had eighteen schools from the Motheo district taking part in the project. Master Maths became involved by sponsoring a laptop for each school, with the Master Maths programme on it, to be used by the teachers for class preparations and in the classroom.

The project now has twenty-two schools involved and it’s still growing!

85% of the grade 12’s from these schools passed their exams at the end of 2013. The Bachelor passes in these schools increased by 35.5%! The Free State was announced as the province with the highest matric pass rate, for the first time in history! There are plenty of projects going on in the Free State to improve the state of education, but the School Change Project definitely added to these great results!

Their next set of goals: having fifty-three schools enrolled in the project, to add more resources where it is necessary and then to continue to strive for better results each year!

FEEDBACK FROM SOME OF OUR

PROJECTS PALABORA FOUNDATION With a history of producing fantastic grade 12 results, 2013 was no different for the Parabora Foundation. Their two centres have about 500 learners enrolled for extra maths tuition.

In 2013, the Parabora Foundation had forty-nine grade 12 learners enrolled for mathematics at their Master Maths centres. 92% of these learners passed their mathematics exams. The overall average for these learners is 63.3%. It’s great to see that the foundation is still producing fantastic grade 12 results.

The Parabora Foundation took Master Science on for the pilot period of 2013. Forty nine learners from the foundation wrote the physical science exams in 2013 and 94% of them passed. The overall average for this group is 58.4%. This was a successful pilot period for Master Science and we hope that 2014 will yield even better results!

27

Paint a different picture

A splash of paint can have a marvellous effect on the way people perceive a business.

It can add colour and brighten your day when you walk through the doors of a centre.

In the past few years we have had a few centres ask us what would be the best colours to choose when painting the inside of their centres. Our background colour of our Master Maths and Master Science brands were chosen because they would stand out on a variety of mediums.

However, they are a bit too ‘bright’ for the entire inside of a centre.

The following colours, originally discovered by the Witbank centre, are also the colours we would suggest if you are interested in painting the inside of your centre: The codes are (all PLASCON cards) Lighthouse view G7 - C1 - 4 Mirage Jet B3 - E2 - 2 Bashful Blue B3 - C1 - 4 Here is what some of the other centres had to say about these colours: " The paint colours have made the the walls less part of the building and more part of the centre. They create a calm and luxurious feel for each of the learners" - Paul de Villiers, Witbank

“The colours introduced into the classroom have a calming effect are professional but yet have a modern twist.”

- Lynn Glover, East London.

“There are huge trees outside, and the harmony between our blue, grey and light turquoise inside and the greens outside creates a calming and very pleasant atmosphere.”

- Annamie Odendaal, Morningside

If you are interested in painting your centre in these colours, give Head Office a call to discuss it further.