Answers to some questions about The Troutbeck School.

WHEN DID YOU SET UP THE SCHOOL?

Our license was granted by the ministry of education in January 2015

CAN A RELATIVE VISIT MY CHILD AT SCHOOL?

Yes relatives may visit your child providing they all have your permission and such permission which will have been communicated to us in the registration form and who is also in possession of your child’s password. On occasion this may seem bureaucratic however our primary responsibility is to you and the trust you place in us to care for your child. Should there be a family tragedy or other significant event please communicate with us.

WHAT HAPPENS IF MY CHILD BECOMES ILL AT SCHOOL

Should your child become ill we will consult with you using the details provided on your registration form. In addition we have an agreement with our local GP who runs a clinic with beds in Nyanga that we ourselves have used.

HOW DO I CONTACT MY CHILD

In an emergency you may contact your child via the school office.

HOW DO I GET TO THE SCHOOL

To reach us take the “SWIFT” turn to the right 1km after the Troutbeck hotel and follow the sign posts to the school.

Due to the dust road we firmly recommend using a 4×4 vehicle for the climb up to the school itself. In the rainy season be sure you know how to engage four wheel drive as the water on the clay road surface makes the drive a bit more challenging. Feel free to give us a call at any time on your journey.

For our morning devotional

WHO IS LOOKING AFTER MY CHILD Your child is cared for in the following ways: from an academic perspective your child’s teacher is the primary responsible adult during school hours; outside of formal teaching time you child’s Governess is responsible for their care and wellbeing. Over and above these are the school directors who are wholly accountable for the wellbeing of all at the school.

MY CHILD HAS ALLERGIES

Where possible we will accommodate the needs of a child provided they are made known to us via the application form. It should be understood that peanuts (groundnuts) are part of life in Zimbabwe – and we cannot and do not undertake to remove them from a child’s environment here at the school.

WHAT IS THE ATMOSPHERE AT SCHOOL?

The atmosphere we strive to provide through all the school staff is relevant to the goals of educating each child and preparing her or him for their life ahead. Consequently formal school time follows a typical Montessori regimen with the teacher facilitating a calm learning environment. Outside of formal teaching hours we are often working on elements of life skills via the caregiver responsible. All time at the school should be calm, filled with enjoyable learning and playing, including treating fellow children and adults as we ourselves would wish to be treated. As parents or guardians of a child at the school we encourage you to visit us and sit in on any aspect of the school day.

WHAT IS THE MOBILE PHONE (ELECTRONICS) POLICY

Its is our policy and rule not to permit children to possess mobile phones or other electronic devices or games, including iPads, mobile phones, electronic music players iPod etc. Any found will be confiscated and the parents informed.

MY CHILD IS ALREADY BEGGING ME – SAYING THEY WILL NEED TO USE THEIR IPAD & SMART PHONE & LAPTOP AT SCHOOL TO STAY IN TOUCH, TO USE THEIR EDUCATIONAL APPS, CALL HOME ETC …

As parents of a 6 year old and 9 year old, who spent the last 6 years in the USA we know the pressures that the modern world can place on children and their relationships. It is our own belief (and having grown up and been educated before most of todays electronics existed) that electronics do not form the core of a child’s development or education or show them how to explore the world or develop learning or their creative processes themselves. After all, we adults grew up and were educated without them and yet were able to invent them and learn to use them widely ourselves .

Anecdote: at Montessori school in America ours were the only children able to be taught handwriting straightaway – because of their level of hand to eye coordination and fine motor control. What about the other children you ask! Well, first the teacher had to train them to hold their pencils and then train their eyes, muscles and brains accordingly because all they knew how to do was swipe the screen of the family iPad with two fingers. This was not developing their bodies to be ready for handwriting at the correct age.

WHAT IS THE ENTRANCE FEE USED FOR?

The entrance fee is used by the school in the following ways that will directly benefit your child during their time here at school. For example we purchase educational materials for the Montessori classroom and school in general. Most recently we purchased Lego Mindstorms EV3 and Lego WeDo 2.0 robotics sets with an iPad so that the children can learn about programming. We maintain an extensive library of factual books and novels for the children to use at any time. We organise golf, horse riding and music tuition. The school is currently, 2017 – 2018, investing in a new boarding residence that will be home to your own child and others in the years to come.

Books on the human body