JANUARY 2016
Our very first day...
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AVONDALE SGB SHUTS DOWN SCHOOL
Give us a new school, or else...
A
PETER LUHANGA
Fed-up with an a non-conducive environment to learning and teaching, the School Governing Body (SGB) at Avondale Primary School decided to shut down the school indefinitely on Wednesday, 20 January, with parents threatening to set the school alight, saying its unsafe.
EXCITED: Grace Adonis and Zeeya Volkwyn are two of hundreds of grade R`s that started their formal school careers earlier this month. They attend Wesfleur Primary school, one of two local schools that was recently revamped into a modern, state-of-the-art school. Both girls were equally SEE MORE PHOTOS ON PAGE 4 excited about their very first day at school.
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Parents and teachers supported the SG`s decision, with more than 500 pupils and approximately 50 parents protesting. The school’s entrance gates were locked at 7am with the protesting pupils and parents carryingf placards that read: “Rebuild our school. It`s unsafe for kids”; “why can`t we have a new school?”; “Ons is gatvol” and other messages. Huge holes in the ceiling, enormous cracks in the school`s prefabricated walls, broken
window panes, and toilets in a shocking state characterises the 39-year-old schoolbuilding built during the mid seventies. “We want the Education MEC to come and meet us to give answers as to when they will rebuild our school. If the MEC will not meet us, the shutdown will be indefinite,” said SGB chairman, Shane Jennicker. He said however that this will not disadvantage the pupils. “Educators have committed to work overtime to catch up on lost school days, when the school re-opens. The school has been left to deteriorate for many years. Enough is enough,” he said. “We want a new school. The current infrastructure is decaying. In winter the classrooms are soaking wet and in summer it`s inhumanely hot.
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