Oaks

Introduction

We wish to develop independent learners, with strong moral character that are thoughtful and know their strengths. Our Grades 7 to 9 years (ages 12 – 15) are aimed at helping our Young Oaks find their passions and interests, while our Grades 10 to 11 years prepare our Senior Oaks for their school leaving certificates. We expose our learners to real life learning opportunities and build not only their academic knowledge but also their practical life skills so that they are prepared not just for an exam but for life!

A normal day

Morning Meeting starts at 8 o’clock but our Learners are welcome anytime after 7:30. During the Morning Meeting we greet, share news (not only personal-, but also national- and international news), discuss issues relevant to all for the day or week, share praise items and prayer requests and pray. There is also an opportunity for judicial hearings where complaints and compliments are brought up and dealt with by the community as a whole.

Each child has an individualised schedule and "To-Do-List" for the day that they can do in any order and tick off as they go. The idea is that they learn to plan and self-regulate, taking responsibility for their time and their learning. The children may move freely indoors and outdoors, help themselves to a snack whenever they are hungry and go to the bathroom without having to ask permission.

They seek out facilitators as they need them or attend lessons that they have signed-up for according to their individualised rosters. Free periods are scheduled for all so that they have ample time to engage in meaningful socialisation, but some children choose to knuckle down and get all their work done without any breaks so that they have a large chunk of free time available at the end of the day, while others enjoy pacing themselves with lots of short breaks in between.

At the end of the day the whole To-Do-List needs to be completed. All activity is recorded on a weekly record keeping sheet. Facilitators mark all work (and plan) daily. Should a child appear to not to have grasped a concept it is revised with him the following day before he does corrections.

The Oaks go home at 14:00 Mondays to Thursdays. On Fridays everyone finishes at 12:00. Our terms roughly correspond with public school terms.

What the classroom looks like

We are in a double storey house at the forest verge. We have a covered verandah with a large table and chairs overlooking a safe and shady garden. Our Studio for art, sewing and making snacks is a sunny room with a tiled floor downstairs. The Oaks have a large north facing study as well as a lecture room and toilets upstairs. The study contains desks with adapters for laptops (they have WiFi access), cubbies for each child’s books and a reading library. The lecture room has a central communal table, whiteboard, and basin as it doubles up as a Science Lab.

Curricula

Curricula is highly personalised based on the child’s abilities and career aspirations. All our Young Oaks (12 - 15 year olds) do Afrikaans, pre-IGCSE (Cambridge Checkpoint) English, Science and Mathematics. Money Matters, Coding, Art, Music, Cooking, Sewing, Carpentry etc. are offered as enrichment subjects. Learners’ interest and availability of facilitators are the determining factor in deciding upon these enrichment subjects. We also have a subject called "Greenhouse Time" where time is spent growing our high school learners' emotional IQ.

From the age of 16 we offer preparation for the American GED (and SAT's) as a school leaving option for learners wanting to enrol at a South African FET College or University of Technology. The GED is evaluated by SAQA as the equivalent of a NQF Level 4 (in other words it is a matric certificate equivalent). However, it is also internationally recognised (unlike the NSC) and accepted by accredited American Colleges and Universities for admission to bachelor degrees.

For learners wanting to pursue a bachelors degree at a South African University we offer preparation for Cambridge Assessment International Education IGCSE and AS-Levels.Cambridge Assessment International Education examinations are also internationally recognised. Locally an international full, or conditional, matric exemption can be obtained from either Universities South Africa (formerly known as HESA) or SAQA depending on the subjects written and marks obtained.

Assessment

The Young Oaks’ (12- 15 year olds) work is mostly assessed through continual assessment though end-of-unit tests are also written in some subjects. The goal is mastery. Understanding only half (50%) of the work is not considered mastery. A child only progresses to new work once current work has been fully grasped, not because a certain time of the year has been reached. Each child thus works at their own individual pace and level. There is no such thing as "condoning" at Woodbury. Narrative reports are written in the middle and at the end of the year. The children write their own reports, to share what they have learnt, and parents are invited to browse books at the end of the first and third terms.

The American GED is written at the end of Grade 11 (age 17) and the SAT's (if necessary) at the end of Grade 12. Learners are encouraged to pace themselves and write off GED subjects when they are ready. The GED is written online, at a test centre in East London, and results are immediately made available. The SAT’s is also written online but only at the end of the year at a few exam centres dotted around the country, Mthatha and Bloemfontein being the closest.

Cambridge Assessment International Education examinations (CAIE) are split into IGCSE subjects (with the minimum being 5) and AS-Level subjects (the minimum being 2). The IGCSE subjects are split and written over 2 exam sessions: October/November of the Grade 10 year and October/November of the Grade 11 year. The AS-Level subjects are written at the end of the Grade 12 year. The exams are written at an exam centre in East London and couriered to the UK to be marked at the University of Cambridge. CAIE results are released roughly 2 months after the exam sitting.