Message from our Principal Cheryl Bleeker
About Eastside School
Come on a journey with us.
Eastside School strives to answer the question: How do we prepare our children to live meaningful, wholehearted lives in a volatile, uncertain and complex world?
Our hope is to encourage development in our learners which will make them spiritually secure and emotionally confident individuals who can reason clearly and solve problems creatively. We want every child in our care to love God and love the way He made them, to celebrate the differences in others and confront conflict calmly and competently.
The natural environment is important to us and we actively encourage learners to value it and protect it for future generations. We aim to inspire our learners to love learning and to use failures as stepping stones towards excellence. Finally, and very importantly, we focus on preparing every child at our school to face an uncertain future with courage and fortitude.
Our method: We aim to deliver educational content and skills development through structured, age-appropriate activities in a family-like environment. Our staff regularly reviews the scope and sequence of our curriculum as well as the mechanisms and procedures of assessment to ensure that we deliver on our goal of reflective learning (or metacognition). We actively cultivate a culture of self-awareness and self-regulation in our learners by providing tools for socio-emotional stability and empathy.
Our history so far:
Our story began in 1970 not far from our current school premises when Sister Aquanata Mary Natterer transformed the Garsfontein Mission at 457 Jacqueline Drive, Garsfontein, into a nursery school called Sungarden Nursery School. Here is a short recap of our story so far:
1970 – The Sungarden Nursery School is started in September of this year by the Holy Cross Sisters at the Mission Home.
1971 – The school is officially registered with the Department of Education and the school year commences with 130 pupils.
1987 – The Roman Catholic Church takes over the running of the school on behalf of the Holy Cross Sisters and professional teachers are appointed.
June 1991 – The school relocates to the premises of the Glen Methodist Church.
January 2011 – Sungarden Nursery School becomes Eastside School as the school moves into newly built classrooms on the property of Eastside Community Church. The school is initially registered with the Department of Education for Grades 1 to 3.
2014 – The first Grade 1 class starts at Eastside School.
2018 – The school gets a new logo and opens its first Grade 5 class.
2019 – Eastside School celebrates five years as a primary school. A wing consisting of two new classrooms is built as an attachment to the west side of the church. The new classrooms are named ‘River Hall’.
2020 – The school becomes a full primary school with classes from Grade R to 7. As is the case nationwide, classes are taught online throughout the Covid-19 lockdown. The first class of Grade 7s graduate from Eastside School.
Tools for achieving our vision:
- A CAPS compliant curriculum taught from a biblical worldview;
- Passionate and qualified professionals;
- An evolving campus;
- A dedicated parent body; and
- A diverse school council.
We value the active involvement of our parents and the wider community. Their contributions help make our school such a special place to grow and learn. And very importantly, we have staff members who care and pray for our school and the children in it.
A distant destination? We don’t believe so. We are already on the journey and this is where we are heading.
Our facilities:
Our school is situated adjacent to the Moreleta Kloof Nature Reserve and a natural wetland. We currently have one class and classroom per grade (with the exception of one additional classroom for the Intersen Phase) but we are growing (refer to expansion project below).
Our extensive playground, with the natural wetland as backdrop, was specifically designed to provide pupils with a variety of activities to encourage development of gross motor skills.
At present, the school sports facilities comprise one soccer field. After completion of the expansion project, the school will boast two soccer fields and two netball fields. Planning is underway for a cross-country track in the greenbelt adjacent to the school.
Expansion of facilities:
We are growing and are in the initial phases of our expansion project. Plans have been drawn up and approved and construction is set to start soon.
What will the new facilities entail? The first phase of our expansion project will include:
– A new entrance to the school
– Three additional classrooms
– Additional ablutions
– An additional soccer field
– Two netball fields.
During Phase 2, three additional classrooms will be added as well as additional ablutions, showers and changing rooms. Plans are also in place to replace the current pre-fabricated classrooms with permanent structures.
Statement of faith
When applying for admission of children to Eastside School, it is important for parents to understand that our curriculum is biblically-integrated, based on the doctrines of Eastside Community Church. Familiarise yourself with our Statement of Faith here.
Testimonial
What our parents say
“My kids have absolutely loved Eastside school, it’s been amazing watching them flourish over the past couple of years. I can highly recommend this school to any parents out there.”
