Academics

Introduction to Academics at Thomas More College

In the Pre-Primary Phase our pupils are taught vital foundational skills through free and structured play, as well as through a formal School Readiness programme. Learning is achieved through the emphasis on group work and self discovery within a guided programme. The solid foundations established in the Pre Primary create a wonderful springboard to enhance further learning in our Junior Primary Phase. Children are taught to develop a sound work ethic through stimulating their desire for knowledge and understanding. In the Senior Primary School we build on the academic platform set in our Junior Primary. Pupils’ self-confidence, self-esteem and competence are enhanced, and ease of transition into the High School is facilitated by our well-balanced curriculum and nurturing, professional staff. Throughout the first three phases of education, up to and including Grade 9, the pupils are exposed to a wide area of subjects so that pupils can discover where their interests and abilities lie. From Grade 10 to Matric, each subject is studied in greater depth, so it is necessary that a certain amount of specialisation take place. The number of subjects taken is reduced to seven, which means that some choices must be made. Grade 10 pupils in Government schools follow the National Curriculum, continuing in Grades 11 and 12, and culminating in a National Senior Certificate (NSC) at the end of Grade 12. At Thomas More College, pupils write the matric examinations that are set by the Independent Examinations Board (IEB).  Another feature is that all pupils have to do Core Mathematics or Mathematical Literacy, and all do Life Orientation as a formal subject. The NSC promotes the skills of reading, writing and mathematical literacy. It encourages critical thinking and the bringing together of skills, knowledge, attitudes and values in the learning and teaching process. It also aims at developing people who are ready to participate fully and meaningfully in society.

Christian Programme

Our Christian values are embedded in our ethos and permeate all that we do. The school prides itself on developing Christian love and self-esteem in children and a moral code as espoused in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, so that our education remains centered in Christian values which forms the base of judgement and decision making in an ever changing world. Each phase has a Christian leader who works with the teachers as well as outside youth pastors from the wider community to make Christianity pertinent and relevant for the developmental stage of each pupil. This team meets regularly and write a weekly article for our weekly newsletter on a rotational basis . They also plan whole-school Christian activities such as the Christian Arts Festival which runs for a week, Thanksgiving Assembly, Carols service and weekly assemblies across the phases. Pupils are also encouraged to join the phase-specific Christian groups namely: STIC (High School), JAM (Senior Primary) and Pathfinders (Foundation Phase). Once a month Mass is organised for all Catholic pupils who meet collectively. We have a diverse group of Mums Who Pray from all phases of the school who meet weekly on a Thursday from 7.30am until 8.30am in the Indaba Room (Great House). All are welcome – for more info, please contact Heather Ahlschlager on 082 303 0805.

Round Square

Thomas More College is proud to have aligned itself with the Round Square schools’ organisation, a worldwide association of more than 200 schools in 50 countries across 6 continents sharing ambitious and relevant goals for its young people. Thomas More College is presently the only Round Square school in KZN. Children who attend a Round Square school are exposed to a legacy framework of global citizenship, democracy, environmental stewardship, adventure, leadership and service.

Round Square is open to all students in Grades 6-12. The common goal is to develop every child into their whole person through academic, physical, cultural and spiritual experiences.

Being a Round Square school means we commit to preparing our young people, Tomorrow’s Leaders Today, as passionate champions for a positive future. All Round Square schools share a commitment to character education and experiential learning built around the 6 Round Square Pillars:

– International Understanding;
– Democracy;
– Environmental Stewardship;
– Adventure;
– Leadership;
– Service.

These Round Square IDEALS are underpinned by 12 Discoveries that our children will explore on their learning and growth journey here:

Inquisitiveness
Tenacity
Courage
Compassion
Inventiveness
Appreciation of diversity
Ability to solve problems
Commitment to sustainability
Self-awareness
Communication
Sense of responsibility
Team-working skills

These IDEALS and Discoveries are worked into the daily curriculum at Thomas More College to ensure that our young people become exceptional citizens of the world.

Round Square hosts national and international conferences annually for Grade 7, Grade 9 and Grade 11 children. These conferences are student-led, and lead to international collaborations between students on a range of relevant and purposeful projects related to the IDEALS.

After a rigorous application process, Thomas More College is proud and excited to have been accepted as a Candidate School in 2020. We look forward to being members of this globally dynamic, relevant and inspired organisation of schools.

For more information on our Round Square Initiatives, please visit www.roundsquare.org or contact our Round Square Champion, Mrs Cheryl Selley at cselley@thomasmore.co.za

President's Award

The President’s Award for Youth Empowerment (affiliated to the Duke of Edinburgh’s international award) is a global framework for non-formal education and learning. The slogan, Get World Ready, encompasses the ideology of the Award, which is essentially a social qualification that helps young people develop essential life skills.

The Award helps young people develop socially and emotionally in the key areas of confidence, resilience and determination, relationships and leadership, creativity and adaptability, planning and problem solving, managing their feelings, communication, personal and social well-being, civic competence and intercultural competence.

The Award challenges young people to engage in a personal journey and by choosing activities for each section of the award, young people are able to design their own award journey.

As an Award Participant, they have the chance to:

  • Design their own Award Programme;
  • Set their own goals;
  • Record their progress;
  • Make a positive impact on the lives of others through Voluntary Service; and
  • Learn valuable, practical and social skills for career enhancement.

Participants’ must be 14 years old to participate and their activities will consist of Community Service, Physical Recreation, Skills and an Adventurous Journey. A facilitator is on hand at Thomas More College to assist the pupils in succeeding on this journey. For more information visit the President’s Award Website www.presidentsaward.co.za or contact Mrs Penny Thompson on pthompson@thomasmore.co.za

 

Technology

We have a very strong infrastructure to deal with just about any technology that can be dreamed up for educational purposes. We also are able to provide a lot of services that surpass the capabilities of most schools. Some of what we currently use and provide are listed below:

  • Every classroom is equipped with either an computer interactive whiteboard, a television or a projector, depending on what technology would best convey the content being taught in that class.
  • Each phase has access to a CleverTouch Smart Screen allowing interactive group work.
  • The campus is covered by a state of the art Wi-Fi network from Neotel.
  • All of our presentation and meeting venues have high quality full HD projectors.
  • Café de More is equipped with a projector as well as Wi-Fi for our visitors.
  • We have 7 computer labs spread out across the school.
  • Lego Robots are being used in all phases of the school to help introduce children to the concepts of programming.
  • TMC is one of the pilot schools in the IEB Exam Portal. This allows our concession students to write their official IEB exams on a computer.
  • All connections to the Internet are filtered through our proxy server to ensure that no unsavoury content is accessed by the students.
  • Through a system of various electronic boards, we are able to display reminders to parents, as well as providing scoring facilities on various fields.
  • TMC has a system of backup generators.
  • TMC can also electronically track the children during our Long Walk every year.

Devices

  • TMC strives to integrate technology only where it makes sense, as such we progress from a policy of tight control of devices like tablets in our Foundation Phase, to a policy of Bring Your Own Device in the Senior Primary & High School.
  • Textbooks and E-Books are available to our students where applicable.
  • Through our mixture of On-Site and Cloud services, all portals and content is available on the students’ devices.

Media Centres

The libraries also offer a wide range of current books which are suitable for leisure reading as well as curriculum-based tasks. Teaching, as well as the library management, is handled by qualified staff with the help of a state-of-the-art library management system. The libraries are also used extensively by teachers for research lessons. In addition, as part of the English curriculum, each English class is booked into a library for one lesson per cycle where they are able to read quietly and receive assistance in choosing reading material of suitable literary value. Primary School – The Savory Media Centre The vibrant Savory Media Centre has an up-to-date collection of the latest and best in children’s literature and an extensive range of information sources catering for all ages from Grade 1 through to Grade 7. E-books are also available.  A computer lab forms part of The Savory Media Centre and is fully networked. High School – Dalberg Library The Dalberg Library is fully equipped with a large collection of resources which cater for research activities. There are 28 computers which are all fully networked and connected to the internet.

AEU (Accelerated Education Unit)

The A.E.U. (Accelerated Education Unit) serves as a learning support or counselling support for any Thomas More pupil, parent or staff members. This includes aided-learning in the form of Remedial lessons, speech and occupational therapy, language enrichment, study skills, homework supervision, extra lessons and psychological support to any of the members of Thomas More College. We practise inclusive education while catering to each child’s unique and individual needs. To accommodate this we have specially dedicated rooms and offices for therapists and lessons to happen on the premises. The AEU acquires the services of the best available professionals to serve the needs of our pupils.  Currently the AEU offers the following specialists:

  • Counselling Psychologist #*(six sessions covered by the school)
  • Educational Psychologist #
  • Occupational Therapists #
  • Speech & Language Therapists #
  • Remedial Therapists #
  • Private Reading Specialists #
  • Specialist teaching for Dyslexia & Dyscalculia  #
  • Afrikaans assistance #
  • Maths assistance #
  • Small groups during the following subjects: English/Maths/Afrikaans – Grade 6 & 7

# charged privately

In addition, we offer annual visits from the following (at a reduced cost):

    • Audiologist for hearing screenings
    • Optician for eyesight screenings
    • Clinical Psychologist for career/subject testing
    • Dyslexia screening testing
    • Wise Eye Reading screening, testing and follow-up lessons

Concessions are also available in order to enable a learner with intrinsic learning difficulties and/or physical disabilities to show their knowledge and ability in their final IEB examination. It is the school’s responsibility to recommend and provide motivation for the candidates for concessions/accommodations. The eligible candidates must be in High School. Concession requests must be initiated by the High School teachers and heads of department. This request is then followed by a referral to an Educational Psychologist and appropriate scholastic Assessment stipulated by the school.

For more information, please contact Claudia Vosters on cvosters@thomasmore.co.za

Eco School & Conservancy

The Thomas More College campus was declared a conservancy in September 2001. This was initiated after a staff member and some enthusiastic students started tackling the daunting process of clearing the rampant alien growth. The school grounds cover an area of 20 hectares and apart from the buildings and fields, are fortunate to have the source of the Palmiet River, a running stream, forest areas, grasslands, rock faces and several species of small animals such as dassies and genets. There is a wonderful selection of birds, not to mention trees and other fauna. Trails, paths and a few picnic areas have been developed and these are regularly maintained by the service providers of the school. An information lapa can be found near the entrance of the conservancy. Thomas More College educators have unlimited access to the area and so do the pupils. Biology and Geography pupils do research and little ones can walk and just observe something as exciting as seeing a spring for the first time. Arbour days are also observed. Thomas More College has a Board-approved environmental policy and before any development takes place an Environmental Impact Assessment has to be done. In our school gardens we strive to have a 30%/70% exotic/indigenous ratio for planting. The gardens also strive to be environmentally friendly. We have planted at least 300 indigenous trees in the grounds in the last 10 years. We have been re-awarded our international Platinum Flag Status from WESSA annually since 2017. We continue to monitor (High School & Senior Primary alternating), on a monthly basis, the amount of eggs being laid by the Kloof Frog in the Crowned Eagle Conservancy in Gillitts. (This frog, unique to the Kloof area, is on the endangered species list.) The whole school is also involved in recycling. We are now working on our 15th year portfolio.

Community & Social Partnerships (CSP)

Community & Social Partnerships is a whole-school project, with each phase or grade having an assignment. The tasks vary from year-long activities, (e.g. SMILE in Gr 11), to annual projects, (e.g. winter woollies/blankets/love boxes). CSP not only ensures that the Thomas More College community assists the less fortunate, but also brings our pupils into contact with the reality of life for the majority of people, thereby teaching them to be grateful and gaining valuable life skills. All monies spent for CSP are fund raised, primarily through the Sponsored Walk held in Term 1. There is a CSP Committee that meets termly in order to discuss and plan the various phase commitments. Staff representing each phase of the school, a member of the Board of Trustees, as well as the pupil body are all represented on the Committee. Thomas More College firmly believes that before one can receive, one has to give, and this is part of our ethos.

Student Portal

We have a well-developed Student Portal that we are always adding functionality to, to assist and support students in their learning. This is mainly used by the High School, as the focus starts to shift towards the students becoming more independent and responsible, in preparation for real life. This portal is full of information for the student and is a landing place for finding links and information that they will find useful.

There is a section here called LMS, that allows subjects to post notes, activities and tasks for their students to be able to access from anywhere that they have an internet connection. We have had a number of parents wanting to see what is in this section, so we have now made a limited “view” of this inside the Parent Portal too. Some of the features available in the Student Portal are shown on the right.

The students are shown how to access the portal during school time and use the same details to log in as they are given to log in to the school computers. The quick link on the left menu will take you straight to the Student Portal login page.

The address can also be saved in their device’s browser for quick access:

Academic Calendars

Academic Calendars are utilised from Grade 5 through to 12, these are Google based calendars which are available for pupils and parents to keep track of assignments, tests and exams throughout the year:

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