Children learn best when they feel safe, appreciated and confident. To this end, Tom Newby School has various activities and programmes that ensure the best possible social conditions exist for learners to reach their full potential.
Effective learning cannot take place in an environment that is not conducive to good teaching. The behaviour management programme at Tom Newby School is designed to ensure that learner behaviour both in and out of the classroom is such that it allows teachers to impart knowledge and provides a suitable arena for learning.
The school rules are divided into five categories: People skills; Respect; Integrity; Development and Etiquette. Expected behaviours and conduct are listed under each category and the possible consequence of not following the rules is listed next to each expected behaviour.
Each learner is allocated 50 Kudos at the beginning of the year. The onus is on the learners to keep the Kudos – we begin the year with the assumption that they are outstanding scholars, and they must prove us right. Where learners engage in conduct that contravenes the Code of Conduct, they are penalized by losing a Kudo. Initially, corrective action is taken timeously and frequently as Kudos are forfeited. Thereafter, action is taken in multiples of five.
At the end of each term, the total number of Kudos remaining for each learner is tallied and learners receive a reward for the number of Kudos that they have retained. At the end of each year, Certificates for Behaviour are issued to learners who have retained all 50 Kudos and, if a learner is able to maintain this high level of good behaviour for three years, his/her name will be placed on an Honours Board in the school hall.
The Governors, Management Team and Teachers are committed to reducing the incidence of bullying at our school. The HUGA program is one of the mechanisms through which unacceptable social behaviour is tracked and dealt with. Should a child at Tom Newby School feel that he/she is being bullied, then a HUGA form may be submitted to school management if the class teacher has not been able to assist.
All formal reports of bullying must be submitted by a parent/guardian/trusted adult. Learners are not permitted to submit a HUGA form directly to the school.
The HUGA form will be forwarded to the school Social Worker or Principal for action. Repeated reports of bullying of, or by, a learner may be referred to the SGB or GDE.
Tracking sheets are used to monitor the learners’ behaviour during class teaching. Learners are given opportunities to re-think their behaviour if they disrupt teaching and learning. Should they continue to disrupt the teaching and learning process, action may be taken according to the Code of Conduct. A quarterly Tanzanite award is issued to learners who have no tracking sheet entries for a term. This award entitles the learner to wear ‘civvies’ for one day in the subsequent term.
Tom Newby Tickeys may be awarded by any staff member, at their discretion, for good behaviour. Tickeys can be exchanged for Smiley Face Stickers or Merits and Tickeys may be accumulated for rewards. These rewards are allocated at the end of the school year and may take the form of a tuck shop voucher, breakfast with the principal or movies with the principal.
Various activities and events are organised during the school year. These activities are designed to raise funds for special projects and to provide an opportunity for children and parents to interact informally and have fun.
Tom Newby School regularly supports community and welfare organisations such as Choc, the SPCA and Rotary.
Our school operates a used clothing shop and parents can purchase school uniforms that are still in good condition from this shop.
Our school is also committed to environmental health and energy conservation. The school has a borehole facility and the importance of water conservation is integrated into class lessons and assemblies. A solar system provides the school with power and we are fully operational during loadshedding.
Tom Newby School has a well-deserved reputation for growing young leaders and confident public speakers. Many of our learners have been elected as members of leadership teams at their respective high schools. The most significant aspects of our school’s leadership development programme are as follows: Grade 1-3 Class monitors; Grade 4-7 Class Tracking File monitors; Grade 4-5 Activity Box monitors; Grade 6 monitors (Scholar patrol, computer centre, media centre, tuck shop, flag bearers and landscaping); Grade 7 Councillors and Executive leaders.