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Regional Athletics Day Details:

• Date: 8 March 2019

• Venue: Tygerberg Athletics Club, Jan Burger Sports Park, De Grendel Rd, Parow North

• Time: 07h30 – 15h30

• Costs: Early bird registration by Saturday, 23 February – R135 (R105 entry fee plus R30 Officials fee) per athlete

Late Registration, 24 – 26 February – R145 (R115 entry fee plus R30 Officials fee) per athlete

– if you’d like to volunteer as an official please add this to your entry form, your children will be exempted from the Officials fee, thus only pay R105/R115 per athlete.

• Dress code: Plain white T-shirt with dark blue or black shorts (athletes will be given a CHE team sticker to wear on their shirts on the day.)

Children born in 2000-2013 may enter.

Entry Forms (please complete 1 form per family) Events per age group on page 2. Excel entry form attached

Please send your entry form WITH proof of EFT payment to: athletics.che@gmail.com

(if you have not received a reply within 48 hours please e-mail again as e-mails can unfortunately get lost in cyberspace)

Dress code and stickers

We need to provide an official for every 10 athletes entered. We have added a R30 officials fee to rent officials. You are welcome to volunteer as an official and will then be exempted from the officials fee for all your children. (Cottage schools/ homeschool centres will only get exemption for 10 children per official volunteering). Please indicate on your entry form if you are volunteering as an official.

Officials please wear a white shirt and white/navy/black pants.

An Annual General Meeting was held on 14 April 2018 at Familier.

CHE AGM 2018 MINUTES

Chairmans Report 2017/18

CHE Constitution as on 14 April 2018

Date: Saturday, 14 April

Time: 10:00

Venue: Familier (in the Coffee Shop), Annandale Wine Farm, Annandale Road, Stellenbosch

RSVP: By Wednesday, 11 April at capehomeed@gmail.com

Coffee/tea for own account

Please remember to bring a sticker of each event your child(ren) will be taking part in. Please make sure that your child(ren) keep hydrated during the day.

Regional Athletics Day Details:

• Date: 14 February 2018

• Venue: Tygerberg Athletics Club, Jan Burger Sports Park, De Grendel Rd, Parow North

• Time: 07h30 – 15h00

• Costs: Early bird registration by Thursday, 1 February – R115 (R85 entry fee plus R30 Officials fee) per athlete

Registration 2 – 4 February – R125 (R95 entry fee plus R30 Officials fee) per athlete

– if you’d like to volunteer as an official please add this to your entry form, your children will be exempted from the Officials fee, thus only pay R85/R95 per athlete.

• Dress code: Plain white T-shirt with dark blue or black shorts (athletes will be given a CHE team sticker to wear on their shirts on the day.)

Children born in 1999-2012 may enter.

Entry Forms (please complete 1 form per family) Events per age group on page 2

Please send your entry form WITH proof of EFT payment to: lizelle.rademeyer@gmail.com
(if you have not received an reply within 48 hours please e-mail again as e-mails can unfortunately get lost in cyberspace)
EFT payments can be made to:

• Bank: ABSA

• Account name: Cape Home Educators

• Account number: 4089098115

• Type of account: Cheque account

• Branch code: 632005

• Reference: your e-mail address

Entries close: Sunday Feb 4th 2018

No late entries will be accepted!!!!

Google Map = https://goo.gl/maps/cvuM8fxqyCt

General info:

1. Please ensure that you are at the venue 30 minutes before your child’s first event as you need to get the T-shirt sticker and the children need to be lined-up before being taken on to the field
2. There will be a march around the field at 7:30. Please can all those athletes that partake between 8 and 9 be there early enough for the march.
3. It is a tartan track, which can get hot later in the day. Please bring tape plasters for your child(rens) feet, if they prefer to run barefoot.
4. The CHE will have an area to all sit together. Last year we got the embankment (as we were the biggest “school”). Gazebos/umbrellas welcome.
5. We will only be lining up children aged 11 and younger. Older athletes should listen to the announcer and report to their own events. If you are unsure where to report, please ask at the CHE gazebo.
6. The final program will only be send out once SACSSA has received all entries. We will e-mail this to all the athletes once we’ve received it.
7. Athletes only compete once (no finals are run at the regional meet)
8. The top 8 athletes from each event progress to the Provincial Meet, 9 March, again at the Tygerberg Athletics Club, Jan Burger Sports Park. You need to enter for this separately. We will send out results once it is available.
9. No medals are awarded at the Regional Meet as this is only a qualifier for the Provincial meet.

Dress code and stickers

– White shirt with dark blue or black shorts
– CHE sticker on left of chest (please collect your sticker at the CHE gazebo)
– Event stickers. Please note you need to provide your own event stickers. A separate sticker is needed for each event as the officials take these at the end of the event to determine placings.
Parents please ensure that athletes have their stickers on when they report for their events.

Please note the stickers for each child also needs to show their school (in our case Cape Home Educators). Example:

John Doe 10 years
Cape Home Educators
High jump

Age is their age on 31 December 2018 eg for children born in 2012 it will be 6. If the student is 9 turning 10 this year he/she is 10 years old! AGE GROUP 16 AND 17 ARE ENTERED AS 17 (Youth). AGE GROUP 18 AND 19 ARE ENTERED AS 19 (Junior).

If you are unsure about the stickers, simply bring empty ones along. We will have a list with the age groups and events for all our athletes at the CHE table. And can help you on the day.

Officials
We need to provide an official for every 10 athletes entered. We have added a R30 officials fee to rent officials. You are welcome to volunteer as an official and will then be exempted from the officials fee for all your children. (Cottage schools/ homeschool centres will only get exemption for 10 children per official volunteering). Please indicate on your entry form if you are volunteering as an official.

Officials please wear a white shirt and white/navy/black pants.

THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR – GENERAL: Curriculum Policy, Support and Monitoring
Department of Basic Education
222 Struben Street
PRETORIA
0001

For Attention: Me P Ngcobo
Comments on the Draft policy on Home Education
We, the Cape Home Educators (CHE) Association, are an autonomous Home Educating association representing our constituents’ home education interests in the Western Cape. The Department of Education has the association on their database as an interested and affected party. In 2014 and 2015 we were invited by the DBE to take part in 2 two-day sessions respectively, which included various presentations from the main home educating associations, legal and other. Together with related dynamic discussion and dialogue, these sessions were constructive and according to Dr. Simelane and others, very informative and educational, but nevertheless too short to adequately address the various complex issues.
BACKGROUND
Since homeschooling was legalized in South Africa at the dawn of our democracy, home education has been growing exponentially. In the 2011 census, there were approximately 58,000 children who were receiving home education in the country as the current education system failed families and could not cater for the various needs which children and families were burdened with. Contemplating international trends, we strongly believe that homeschooling will continue to increase at an exceptional rate.
Art.51 of the SA’s school act of 1996 which addresses home education, is such a failure that it resulted in only 5% of home educators complying with the policy. Due to education officials not understanding the philosophy of home education, a great sense of mistrust has been bred over the years between the home educating community and the Department of Education. Therefore as an association we can appreciate and welcome the efforts of the DBE to rectify the flaws of the current policy. Unfortunately the proposed changes in the policy will make the situation worse and even fewer home educating families will comply. As an association we are grateful for the opportunity to work with government to find workable, viable solutions to these issues.
FLAWED CONSULTATION PROCESS
The policy which was released for public comment on the 17th of November 2017 was already drafted before the consultation process with the home educating community in 2014. After the presentations by the homeschooling community nothing had been changed in the policy. The DBE ignored the inputs that were delivered to them and it is now made clear that the various homeschooling representatives were just invited to these meeting to ” rubber stamp” this policy.
Albert Einsteins definition for insanity is as follows : Doing the same thing over and over and every time expecting a different result. Unfortunately, the DBE has once again, through its repeated actions polarized the home schooling community. Through these repeated polarizing actions the DBE somehow expects homeschoolers to comply and “buy in” to this policy.
Great leadership has a unifying effect and can get groups of people with different points of view to work together. Currently great leadership is not being portrayed by the DBE and as an association we expect unifying leadership from the DBE.

1.Policy Clause 12 Application for registration of a learner for home education
OBJECTION
Parents have the primary responsibility for the upbringing and development of the child. From the ages of 0-7 years and from 15 years to adult, the parents can fulfill their responsibility to their children without having to ask for permission from the Head of Department.
If a child has learning disabilities which the school cannot cater for, the parent should not be impeded by bureaucracy to do what is in the best interest of the child.
If a child is abused, raped or bullied in a school, the parent should not be impeded by bureaucracy to do what is in the best interest of the child.
If schools are overcrowded and the institution cannot deliver adequate education, the parent should not be impeded by bureaucracy to do what is in the best interest of the child.
If it is in the child’s best interest to be educated in an acceptable cultural and religious environment, the parent should not be impeded by bureaucracy to do what is in the best interest of the child.
If a child excels in a certain sport or cultural activity and needs more time to pursue this talent, which homeschooling accommodates, the parent should not be impeded by bureaucracy to do what is in the best interest of the child.
If the child has a physical disability or sickness and cannot function properly in a school environment, the parent should not be impeded by bureaucracy to do what is in the best interest of the child.
If families are living in remote, rural areas far from educational institutions, the parent should not be impeded by bureaucracy to do what is in the best interest of the child.
The above clause proposed restricts the parent to fulfill their obligation to their children.
PROPOSAL
As an association we propose that the idea of having to ask permission from the HOD to home educate the child be removed and replaced with the parent having to notify the department of their intention to home educate.

2. Policy Clause S13(2)(e)(iii)
“arrange for the learner’s educational attainment to be assessed annually by a competent assessor, at the parent’s own expense, who will apply a standard that is
not inferior to that which is determined in the NCS….”
; and
S18.5(2)…use the services of a competent assessor to assess the progress of her or his child ….
OBJECTION
The financial burden placed on Home Educating families by this article, is extremely high. This will make home education unattainable for families of a low income bracket and homeschooling will not be perceived as an educational option for all in South Africa, but only for the rich. Due to this fact, many homeschooling parents will be forced to send their children back to school, which will put further strain on the current institutional system.
Homeschooling families also contribute to the tax base which funds education. In more enlightened countries i.e. New Zealand, home educators receive grants for taking the responsibility to home educate and relieving the educational system and the state of the financial burden.
The department of education will have to appoint officials who can process and assess the reports of the 52 000 children who are currently being home educated. This, once again, will place an exorbitant financial burden on the state and tax payers.
PROPOSAL
The current homeschooling curriculum providers offer various school-leaving internationally accredited qualifications. i.e. Cambridge, SAT’s, GED, CAPS. IEB, etc. These providers are currently, by default, regulating the home education environment.

3. Policy Clause S6.2(2)(c)(6)(a)
“ any parent who without just cause and after a written notice from the Head of Department, fails to comply with subsection (1) is guilty of an offense and is liable of conviction or a fine or imprisonment for a period of six months, or to both such fine and such imprisonment. “
OBJECTION
As home educating parents sacrifice much i.e. an extra income, to do what is in the best interest of their children, they are now also liable to be imprisoned for six years for non-compliance with a draconian policy. Law abiding citizens will be criminalized as opposed to serious crimes of which the penalty is less than aforementioned. This section of the article will once again, drive home educating families into a covert position where they will act like a persecuted minority.
PROPOSAL
The current social, welfare and policing systems are adequate to prevent abuse of children and it should not become the task of the Department of Education.
THE SPIRIT OF THE POLICY
The policy is written from the perverted point of view that parents cannot be trusted with the education of their children and need to be constantly monitored by the State / DBE.
The following is a quote from the Economist: “South Africa has one of the worlds worst education systems.” The publication reported that South Africa ranked 75th out 76, in a ranking table of education systems drawn up by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2015-2016 ranked South Africa last in terms of its quality of maths and science education. 140th out of 140 countries. It ranked South Africa 138 out of 140 countries when it comes to the quality of the education system.
Joan van Niekerk, the manager of training and advocacy for childline South Africa cited a recent report by the Human Sciences Research Council which revealed that 34% of learners experienced sexual harassment and sexual abuse at school from peers and another 14% from educators.
Thousands of pages of reports and research can be presented to prove the point that the South African Education system, under the polarising leadership of the DBE, is crumbling due to ineptness. It can be clearly seen that the DBE cannot be trusted with the education of our children which are the future of our country.
It is clear that the DBE is struggling to monitor and manage its own system and now it wants to manage and monitor homeschooling which it does not understand.
As a responsible parent who has to uphold my child’s right to quality education, the DBE controlled schooling system would be at the bottom of my list of choices.

CONCLUSION
Due to the lack of research by the DBE and proper consultation with the various effected parties, the policy, in its current form, will unfortunately, once again, be rejected by the home educating community. We therefore URGE the DBE to educate themselves with regards to home education and its various philosophies. The home educating community is driven by passionate parents who love their children immensely and have their best interests at heart. Herein is an opportunity for this passion to be channeled by government in the right direction, to benefit education in this country.

Regards

Victor Sabbe
CHE Chairman

The City of Cape Town are encouraging grade 8-10 (in 2018) students to apply to be on the Junior City Council (JCC). Home educated children are encouraged to also apply.

The deadline for the application process is on 1 December 2017.

The relevant information can be downloaded in Afrikaans, English and isiXhosa. As well as the nomination form