Life Orientation
"Look ahead to a life worth living..."
The opening words of our school song are what the Orientation Programme is all about at Fairways Primary School. The Department was formerly known as the Guidance or Lifeskills Department and it encompasses many areas of the school curriculum both in and out of school. It guides and prepares learners for the biggest test of all, Life itself together with all its possibilities and it is central to the holistic development of all learners. It is concerned with the social, emotional and intellectual growth of our next generation.
Life Orientation is a learning area that progresses from the Foundation Phase right up to the Senior Phase and continues into the High School up to exit levels.
Included in the curriculum are five specific outcomes, namely:
Health Promotion, Social Development, Personal Development, Physical Development and Movement and Orientation to the world of work (from Grade 7 only).
As part of the Life Orientation Department an internal counselling service is offered under the guidance of the Head of Department Life Orientation and one other trained educator. Both have training in counselling, trauma debriefing and grief counselling. Parents are also counselled should the need arise.
In the school situation topics like Drug awareness, Alcohol and Substance abuse, Sexuality training, and HIV/AIDS awareness are dealt with in class as well as in group discussions and talks by professionals in those fields. The Grade 7 learners participate in the Family Life Programme, Education for Living.
The Pupil Development Programme begins in Grade 6 and is a system whereby each learner is able to progress along 5 levels finally reaching Honours level in Grade 7. This programme evaluates learners on a continuous basis in the following areas of their school life:
Academics (with each learner having his/her goal to strive towards)
- Extra Mural involvement
- Community Service
- Conduct and Character
The aim of the programme is to give learners the opportunity to develop to their own potential.
At Fairways we also pride ourselves in the fact that the learners are always made aware of animal welfare, the aged and underprivileged, abandoned babies and the physically and mentally challenged as well as community service in the communities in which the learners live.
We all look ahead to a life worth living!
"Let us cherish the relationships we have with those who love us and promote ourselves physically, emotionally and spiritually"
Irma BombeckJOAN SMITH
HEAD OF DEPARTMENT: LIFE ORIENTATION
