Primary School

Pre-School/Grade R

Most of our Pre-School learners are five years old, turning six during the school year. We focus on strengthening of the children’s abilities through play in the various areas of development, early mathematical education as well as phonological self-awareness, so that they are optimally prepared for enrolment in the Deutsche Internationale Schule Pretoria.

In order to make the transition from Kindergarten into Primary School as smooth and harmonious as possible the pre-schoolers participate in many activities of the Primary School. They therefore already know the school grounds and some teachers on their day of enrolment. The close collaboration between the Primary School colleagues supports the easy transition from Pre-School into Grade 1.

Primary School

Our pedagogical motto is: Learning the first additional language and learning to learn through fun and enjoyment.
In Primary School, the cultural skills reading, writing as well as the contents of the school and method curriculum are conveyed. Our curriculum is based on the curriculum of Baden-Württemberg and the South African curriculum. The competencies learnt in the Primary School form the foundation for further learning in Secondary School.

The Primary School offers the option of enrolling children into the Main Stream (German Branch) or the V-Branch (English Branch with emphasis on learning German). In the Main Stream, the medium of instruction is German, with English being the first additional language. In the V-Branch, the medium of instruction is English, with German being the first foreign language.

We cater for the individual developmental stages of the learners through differentiation and keeping our classes to a maximum of 27 learners.

In the Primary School each class has their own class teacher. This allows flexibility of lessons by the class teacher who, in principle, teaches the core subjects German/English as first language, Mathematics and Social Studies or English, Mathematics and Social Studies. The learners feel “at home” in their classroom and their class teacher is their constant contact person for all school-related matters.

Teaching foreign languages begins in Pre-School

English (or German) as First Additional Language, together with Religion (ecumenical) or Ethics, fall under the compulsory subjects. During the course of Grade 4, English as First Additional Language is taught on mother tongue level.

German is the medium of instruction in the Main Stream. Therefore, one of the enrolment criteria into this branch, is sufficient knowledge of the German language. The additional enrolment to German as Foreign Language (DaF) can, in certain cases, become an enrolment criteria.

Our Primary School offers:

Promotion and Support

In the Primary School we want to establish a successive learning environment which does justice to the individual development phases of our learners. For this reason, in the Main Stream, a 2-hourly differentiation offer for the subject German takes place, parallel to the regular lessons, as of the middle of Grade 1, and a 1-hourly lesson in Mathematics as of Grade 3.

In the V-branch, the differentiation offer is also integrated into the timetable. In the subject English, it is offered for 2 hours from Grade 3. The differentiation offer for mathematics is offered 2-hourly in Grade 3 and 1-hourly in Grade 4.

Foreign Languages

Good command of at least one foreign language has become a key qualification worldwide. At the Deutsche Internationale Schule Pretoria, English is therefore already taught in Pre-School (Main Stream) for two lessons per week. In the V-Branch, German is taught for four lessons per week in the Pre-School. In Grade 1 and Grade 2 they have three lessons of German and in Grade 3, the lessons per week increase to five in both branches.

Scientific-mathematical profiling

Pre-School learners, Grade 1s and 2s can also participate in the profiling subject “LEGO”. As a subject of special interest, learners from Grade 3 and 4 can take up “LEGO Robotics” and/or “Small Experiments”.

Open Full-Day Offer

From Pre-School to Grade 2, the children have 30 lessons per week and in Grade 3 and 4 they have 34 core lessons per week.

An additional programme is offered for all children after the end of the day’s core lessons. Parents can choose whether their children should play freely under supervision on the After School Care Centre premises from 12:45 to 14:10, do homework in the homework room, attend an extra-mural activity or be fetched from school.

From 14:30 onwards, the Primary School learners can be enrolled in the After School Care Centre and be cared for there until 17:30.

Contact:

Head of the Primary School
Mrs Schilling
Tel: +27 (0)12 803-4106/7/8
Email: gsl@dsp.gp.school.za

Deputy Head of the Primary School
Mrs De Villiers
Tel: +27 (0)12 803-4106/7/8
Email: stvgs@dsp.gp.school.za