Private pre-primary & primary school in Johannesburg, South Africa

Charterhouse School, Johannesburg:
Located in Honeydew, Roodepoort, near Johannesburg, Charterhouse is an exclusive coeducational independent school in the finest tradition of private education. At Charterhouse, a structured approach to learning is maintained. The British Syllabus forms the foundation for all syllabus and curriculum development for the school. Specific content is adapted where necessary to ensure that the curriculum is relevant to the South African situation. The curriculum is in line with the Core Curriculum as set out by the Gauteng Department for Education. Charterhouse School is a registered member of the Cambridge International Primary Programme.

Pre-primary Curriculum
At Charterhouse Pre-Primary we foster a structured but loving environment with the focus on the holistic development of each child from a Social, Physical, Emotional and Intellectual perspective. We provide our pupils with the full spectrum of perceptual skills needed for the transition to the formal learning environment at Charterhouse Primary.

Our first term is developmentally orientated focusing on gross motor and concrete experiences. In the second and third term Grade 000 concentrate on a lot of concrete experiences in both perceptual and mathematical areas while the Grade 00 classes do a phonics table, with lots of auditory work. We also follow an exciting numeracy program where each number is associated with a character e.g. Soldier Sam is number 1.

Daily program
- School opens at 07h00 with lessons starting at 08h15.
- A mid-morning snack is provided by the school at 10h00.
- Children are required to bring a lunch box (no junk food) which is eaten at 12h00.
- We run according to the three term Private School calendar. The school is closed during holidays but does provide a holiday program during this time.

Extra Murals
A number of extra murals are offered. These are run by private teachers and are an additional cost.

- Monday - Pottery & PlayBall
- Tuesday - Karate & Swimming
- Wednesday - Ballet
- Thursday - Gym
- Friday - Swimming (during summer months)

Primary Curriculum
The curriculum sets out the most important knowledge and skills that every child has the right to learn. It is the framework given to all Charterhouse teachers, so that each pupil is taught in a way that is balanced and managed, yet hard enough to challenge them. It sets standards that measure how well pupils are doing in each subject, so that teachers can plan to help them do even better.

Science
From the earliest moment of each school day the CHAPS Lab becomes abuzz with children popping in to “visit” the ‘zoo’ of animals. A number of parents also accompany their children on these visits before heading off to work. Our lab monitors arrive well before the first bell rings, to water plants, feed our reptilian and mammalian residents and clean cages and tanks. Breaks and after school are times for a second and third visit for some children. We encourage children to use equipment and apparatus on display during these times too – under teacher supervision of course. All this serves to prove that CHAPS Lab. is a place our pupils feel comfortable in and surely this allows them to learn more readily.

Recently CHAPS lab was visited by an assessor for the Cambridge International Primary School Program and it has been described as world-class and having of the best equipment. These qualities have helped create lessons in which children in Grades 1 to 7 are mentally stimulated and encouraged to investigate the world around them.

Teachers, children and parents become jointly involved in exploring the three categories of General Science: Biology, Physics and Chemistry. Topics such as Plant and Animal Cells (Gr.7), Systems of the Human Body (Gr.6), The Life Cycle of Plants (Gr.5), Electricity (Gr. 4 & 6) and Magnets (Gr.4) are in our syllabus and are made more memorable with the visually stimulating computer programmes (Eyewitness Encyclopaedia of Nature and The Ultimate Human Body) which are projected onto the multimedia screen using a wireless network system.

Senior Computer
The senior computer phase is Grade 3 to 7 and each grade has an hour lesson every week. Our main aim in senior computers is the equipping of the learners for high school by giving them general computer hardware and software knowledge as well as being proficient in both typing and word processing.

There is a synergy between computer lessons and the different subject teaching. Wherever possible computer projects are done in conjunction with the various subject teachers in an effort to make computers an extension of the general classroom.

Emphasis is placed on their typing skills with the first half hour of each lesson dedicated to working in a typing program. The balance of the lesson is used on various projects and work that will be put into their class workbooks. The projects that are completed encompass various word processing skills such as editing text, changing page formats and working in spreadsheets. Photo and graphic editing is taught as well as working in Power Point.

Examples of the projects the learners get involved in are: book reports; word searches; charts representing food chains; plant classification; animal life cycles, bookmarks, time tables etc. There are grade specific projects in the higher grades with the Grade 6's doing a Power Point Presentation on their life at Charterhouse. The Grade 7's do a project on the Solar System which involves collecting information using the internet, preparing a speech, making a model of the solar system and then doing a Power Point Presentation on a planet of their choice. As part of the Grade 7's English lesson on interviews they create a movie about their life by editing filmed interviews with family members and scanning pictures from their childhood. They are free to be creative by adding text, animation, music and transitions.

The children not only learn many different computer skills but have a lot of fun doing it. At Charterhouse they love their computer lessons and are always keen to try new things. They learn to realize that the only boundaries are those set by their own imaginations.

Music Program
The Music program at Charterhouse is truly unique. All children are encouraged to become involved in this subject in some way, whether it be during class music lessons, offered as part of the school curriculum during the school day, or after school through extra mural activities.

Song, movement, dance, and musical rhythms are taught, whilst integrating other subjects e.g. Music from around the World – ‘Geography’; Lessons on friendship using songs like ‘Friends will be friends’ and ‘You’ve got a friend in me’ – Life Skills; General Musical knowledge – Instruments of the Orchestra, Musical Genres; Team building – through Musical Games and Quizzes; Dance & Movement routines – Physical Education, Musical notation and rhythms – Mathematics, and learning songs in other languages such as Afrikaans and Zulu.

According to the Mozart Effect (Don Campbell), as children grow, their social and academic skills can be enhanced by their relationship with music. Music can mirror their half-understood emotions and help them to express what they feel. Making music with others can strengthen their bonds with family, the community, and enrich their lives. Our music program offers these benefits and many more.