From the Principal's Desk

Welcome to Athlone Primary Schools web-page. It is our conviction that a child’s happiness and success here are improved tremendously when good personal relationships exist between home and school. Our web-page aims to make it even easier for you to be aware of and involved in all our school activities.

 I offer all Athlone parents the assurance of our goodwill and co-operation and encourage your close interest and support in the development of your child as a member of our school community. This is a partnership that we greatly value.

Athlone Primary School has been actively involved in the greater Pietermaritzburg community for over 50 years. We are thankful to have an extremely capable and dedicated staff who endeavour to uphold and improve this excellent service to both present and future generations. Our school is proud to be counted as one of the well-established institutions that contributes to the high standard of education that KwazuluNatal is famous for.

As has been our policy in the past, we continue to look ahead and plan for the future growth and development of our school. 2011 sees the introduction of a full-time remedial teacher at Athlone. We will now be able to offer those pupils who need it, full assessment and remedial support during school hours at no extra cost to their parents. This is a significant development and I am sure will make a big difference in helping children attain the required standards of education at their various levels. This year we have also reintroduced the FutureKids computer syllabus. This is an excellent set of lessons that are taught from Grade 1 to Grade 7 and will help our pupils to establish sound computer skills and confidence in using computer technology.

2010 saw the opening of our first Grade R class at Athlone. Our initial enrollment was 24 pupils. Our dedicated staff set about establishing a very sound and inclusive readiness programme for these pupils. We are delighted to note that the Pre-School opened in January 2011 at full capacity of 40 pupils. The grade R pupils are fully incorporated in our school curriculum and are enjoying professional music, computer, media and swimming lessons in addition to a full pre-school programme. Psychomotor Skills are now part of the curriculum at Grade R level. A general purpose room that will be used for this activity, and will also house a tuck-shop facility closer to the school playground, is currently being designed and will be built this year. Our aftercare facility is also to be expanded. This new building will enable us to free up other space to accommodate our remedial teacher so that she will have a dedicated room in which to work.

Discipline continues to be an issue that all educational institutions have to deal with and maintain. At Athlone Primary School we have a very strict Code of Conduct which we adhere to. Self-discipline will be encouraged in every aspect of the child's education at our school. Our standards are high and in order to maintain them we rely on our parent body to support and uphold our rules. For this reason we encourage all our parents to familiarize themselves with the uniform requirements of the school, as well as the rules related to late coming and sport practice attendance.

A number of other events have been planned for the rest of the year. Please keep a close  eye on our web-page for details of these events so that you do  not miss out.

 The contents of this web-page ought to answer a lot of your questions about the school in general, as well as keep you informed about recent events, sports fixtures and results. There are bound to be some issues or queries that can only be dealt with on a personal basis. If this is so, please feel free to contact us or make an appointment to meet with me or any other member of staff, and we will gladly do our best to help. We have an open door policy in our school and welcome your involvement and support as we strive to do our best to prepare your child for the future.

 Yours sincerely

Anton Wepener