"Moving forward  courageously"  with a proud German heritage

Although today Michaelis Private School teaches in English and welcomes children from all backgrounds, our roots were founded in a strong German heritage. 

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The idea of beginning a German school came to light in the sixties.  Parents met to discuss the possibility and they concluded that if their children were taught in their own mother tongue that it would benefit them greatly in so many ways.

 

With the help of the German Federal Government, Michaelis Schule opened in the January of 1964 with only nine students.  In the first few years, approximately 60% of the congregation’s children attended the school.  Others only followed once the scholars of Michaelis Schule proved themselves.  The teachers and principal noticed with great excitement that their hard work and dedication had paid off, as students were achieving very good results in high school and beyond.

 

From 1964 - 2022 the school has grown from only nine pupils to two hundred and twenty students.  In 2006 however, steps had to be taken to increase numbers.  Pupil numbers had begun to dwindle due to families moving away and due to almost no growth amongst the German community; this in turn affected the finances of the school.  After the April holidays of 2006, Michaelis opened its doors to English students, thereby beginning an English medium section.  In 2018, it was decided to change the name from Michaelis Schule to Michaelis Private School, so as not to give the impression that the school is only for German speaking students. 

 

At present, Michaelis Private School consists of eighty-nine Kindergarten children between the ages of 2 and 6 years.  There are six teachers and three assistant teachers at the Kindergarten.  The junior school consists of one hundred and twenty-one pupils from Grade 1 – Grade 7.  We have thirteen teachers and two assistant teachers at the school.

 

We decided to embrace technology and all the benefits thereof by introducing iPads into the classrooms in 2019.  This came at just the right time, as Covid-19 hit and we had to switch to online learning in order to continue educating our children.  This technology has proven to be an invaluable tool and both teachers and students have learned so much in these last few years.

 

We have been thankful to be able to build additional classrooms since the schools inception and are extremely excited at the prospect of building a few more.  The junior phase classes have been split in two, in order to keep the class sizes small to allow for individual attention in these crucial foundation years.  Gr 1 – 3 consist of two classes each with a maximum of 12 learners in each class.  From Grade 4 onwards, there are a maximum 24 learners in a class.

 

Throughout the 58 years of the school’s existence the defining features, vision and mission of the school have always remained:

 

• To uphold and nurture our Christian and moral values at all school related activities.

• To develop each individual child to their full potential through quality education, encompassing academics, cultural, sport, social and moral development.  To bring to the fore every child’s strengths and to nurture and develop these to the their full potential.

• To equip each child with the necessary tools to develop their emotional and social intelligence, leading to the overall wellbeing of the student.

• To instill an appreciation and pride for the value that the German culture, language and traditions hold.

• To encourage parent involvement, participation and ownership, as it is critical to the success of our unique Michaelis family.

• To produce the future leaders, thinkers and creators of our country.

• To instill a respect for others, their views and beliefs.

Although so much has changed over the years and we have grown significantly in many aspects, we continue to pride ourselves in our German heritage and strong Christian values.  What a privilege it is to begin every morning with our Heavenly Father and to teach His word to our students.  In keeping God at the center of our school, we know that things will fall into place as they should and we look forward to growing from strength to strength!