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www.thevillagenews.co.za
17 February 2021
LOVE A LITTLE LOCAL
Bush babies of the Kogelberg Writer Elaine Davie Photographer Taylum Meyer
T
he 50 pupils of Pringle House Eco School must be amongst the luckiest in the country. Sheltering under tall trees on the slopes of the Kogelberg Mountains, with the village of Pringle Bay across the valley and the ocean beyond, the little school is as much a living organism in the landscape as the fynbos. Just as in nature, nothing is regimented at the school; the buildings, originally a farm house with outbuildings, have grown haphazardly, with classrooms springing up around the grounds like mushrooms. One has progressed no further than the foundations and a concrete slab, but is put to good use nevertheless. The children, from age 18 months to Grade 6 do not wear uniforms and easily blend into their natural surroundings. As the school enters its 14th year, the Head, Heather Miller, who has been there for four years, is hoping for a less disruptive year than 2020. Having previously taught at big schools in Durban and Johannesburg, she can’t believe her luck at landing up at Pringle House Eco School. “When I tell my former colleagues that I have to dodge guinea fowl and tortoises on my way to work, they don’t believe me,” she laughs. The school did not start off in its present location, though. It began in January 2008 on the verandah of Jo Alves’ house in Pringle Bay, with five pupils. As more and more young people moved into the neighbouring villages in search of a more peaceful environment for their children to grow up in, the demand grew for a local primary school. Soon the numbers had grown to 21, including learners from Betty’s Bay, Rooiels and even Gordon’s Bay, and larger premises were required. It finally ended up in its present location, after first occupying a building in central Pringle Bay. “From the beginning the school was enthusiastically adopted by the community and we get the most incredible support not only from the parents, but from the entire community,” says Heather. Registered as an
independent school and an NPO, it receives no government subsidy, but has recently been allocated a PBO number, which confers Section 18A tax exemption on donors. Although the school fees are not high, some parents are struggling financially as a result of economic fallout from the pandemic. Sustainability is a constant headache for the school and a further concern is that the property they are renting is on the market.
ABOVE: One of explorer Riaan Manser’s expedition boats has been transformed into a sandpit, offering marvellous opportunities for imaginary adventures.
“This is such a perfect place for our children that it would be a major crisis if it were sold,” says Heather. “We are praying that some generous Fairy Godmother or –father will appear out of nowhere and buy it for us,” she laughs. “Because of course, in addition to the government’s CAPS curriculum, we also place strong emphasis on skills development and, as a registered Eco School, environmental education. Our children love coming to school. Every day is an adventure for them; they learn by doing, and personally experiencing the world around them. With so few children enrolled, two grades share a classroom and a teacher, but even so, the numbers are small enough for each child to receive personal attention, which is why even pupils with learning difficulties flourish here.” In fact, the school is like a large extended family. The younger children benefit from doing things with the older children and everyone gets involved with projects like feeding their compost heap, recycling and gardening in their veggie tunnel, where they are presently growing gooseberries and a variety of chilli species with great success, as well as herbs, onions and potatoes. It’s a great thrill for the children to harvest and eat the produce they grow and the plan is for them to start selling some of the veggies, too. They also focus strongly on arts and crafts which are incorporated into the daily programme. So music (including a drumming circle), drama, poetry and art are also used as teaching tools for other subjects. But the best day of the week for the majority of the children is Eco Fri- day when the really fun things happen. Each of the special environmental days, like Wetlands Day, Whale Day, or Polar Bear Day are celebrated with appropriate activities and themed lessons. The children
LEFT: A teddy almost his size. The Nursery is a bright, safe, colourful space crammed with toys for the littlies between 18 months and 3 years.
CUTOUT: Drumming is one of the pupils’ favourite activities, developing a sense of rhythm and co-ordination.
RIGHT: The office of School Head, Heather Miller is a fun place, reflecting the school’s aim to encourage creativity and freedom of expression. also get involved in beach clean-ups and alien hacks and often just go on rambles to see what plants, insects, birds and animals they can find in the bush. Guest speakers are invited to talk to them on topics like baboons, the birds of the area and the seal colony at Rooiels. Probably the most popular, and regular, speaker of all is explorer, Riaan Manser, whose little boy is at the school. The children hang on his every word as he regales them with tales of his many expeditions on land and sea. In fact, the school is very proud to have been given one of Riaan’s boats, which has been converted into a sandpit in the playground. How, one wonders, does the school manage to get through its normal curriculum with so much else going on? “The thing is,” Heather explains, “with such small classes, the learning
process is intensive, so the children tend to get through the work more quickly than those in larger classes. One thing we’re very proud of is how favourably our children measure up at other schools after they leave us. We’re also really happy about how self-confident they are, with creative thinking and problem-solving skills above average.” Heather and her Board have all kinds of plans for developing the school, but everything of course depends on the availability of funds. So step up, Fairy Godperson, they await your arrival. In the meantime, look out for the school’s proudly waving eco flag on the slopes of the Kogelberg. For further information, Heather can be contacted on heather@pringlehouse.org or visit the school’s facebook page.
