17Jun
Victoria Falls International Junior School ~ Mid-Term 2 2023 Newsletter.
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06Apr
End of First Term 2023 Newsletter – Victoria Falls International School
Dear Parent/Guardian
Salutations to you,
Mother Touch Victoria Falls International School (MTVFIS) would like to thank you all, for being so committed and supportive in all events for 2023 term 1. We are thankful to God for his grace, wisdom, and guidance.
EVENTS FOR THE TERM
i) MEET THE TEACHER
Participation was at a remarkable 98%, parents and guardians showed up in their numbers to meet their teachers. This was a good platform for parents to understand the programs taking place in the school.
ii) EMA-EVERSHARP AWARD
The school performed exceptionally well in the national cleanest school competition and came fourth in all schools in Zimbabwe. This was a great achievement for the school as it was the first time running on such competitive platforms. We were awarded a school banner and we are still running for the Prestine cleanest school and waste management competition in Victoria Falls. Your support in this regard will be greatly appreciated in form of ideas, resources, and any others that you can share with us so that we win it again.
iii) SPORTS
Inter-house Athletics competitions.
Our sports day was filled with so much joy and happiness. Our learners and the staff worked so hard to make the day memorable. Huge applause to them all, the event was top notch and I could feel the energy, excitement, joy, togetherness, and love for all the sports activities. Thank you again for being there to cheer on and support these future gold medalists. Well done to the Teak team for securing first place, it was a tight and close competition and scoped an Athletics trophy. It was a day filled with fun as families came together to support their teams and mix and mingle.
Inter-house Cross-country competitions.
Inter schools athletics competitions
Thank you once more parents for the great support that you offered on the Inter schools competition which was held on 24th of March 2023. You sponsored us with water, and tents and you went the extra mile of assisting in officiating. It was such a memorable day. Mother Touch came second out of the four participating schools namely Amazing Kids, Angels, and Happy Hearts.
iv) TRIPS
ECD Trip
Learners had a great experience at the Victoria Falls International Airport and Pamusha Cruise with 100% attendance. It is the competence-based curriculum that demands that learners are exposed to educational trips. Indeed it proved a crucial point that learners should be exposed to the local environment for general appreciation and to provoke their creative minds.
Grade 6 Excursion
The grade six learners had an opportunity of embarking on an educational tour on the 17th of March 2023 sponsored by Wildlife Trust. They interacted great with the big five giants (Elephants), vulture, wild pig, and the rich natural environment of Victoria Falls. Speaker after speaker came in with a rich environment and animal science teachings. They also had a wonderfully refreshing time as they interacted with each other and the tour guides. A great lesson was learned there as the stakeholders sacrifice their time and resources to give back to the community.
United Kingdom (UK) tour
Registration for the UK tour is still on. MTGS learners will have yet another chance to travel to Wales for the annual music festival and will have the opportunity to tour Wales and London. They will compete with seasoned performers around the world. Registration is already in progress. Travel tentative dates are 2 to 14 July 2023. The trip cost is estimated at USD 2 980 for almost 2 weeks.
The payment plan for those learners who intend to go on the trip is as follows:
| Due Date | Amount USD | Month |
| 30/01/2023 | 500 | January |
| 24/02/2023 | 500 | February |
| 31/03/2023 | 500 | March |
| 28/04/2023 | 600 | April |
| 31/05/2023 | 600 | May |
This amount covers the following:
Airfare
Accommodation
Visa application
Insurance
Food
Transfers, road, and rail transport
Activities
Tour kit
Other requirements
Valid passport (at least 1 year)
Proof of residence
Certified copy of the birth certificate
State person to sign an affidavit
Jabulani (Shangani) Trip
The much-awaited Jabulani trip is still on and you are advised to plan accordingly. The trip is from the 28th to the 30th of September 2023 and is pegged at USD$ 250. The cutoff date for payments is set on the 14th of September 2023.
Grade 7 Local Trip
The Grade 7 will be having a Hwange Safari Lodge Trip which is set on the 3rd of August 2023 and the trip fee is yet to be announced.
v) CIVVIES
We had our exciting 3 civvies days.
Funny footwear, it was a hilarious day. It was laughter all over the schoolyard. Parents’ innovativeness is impressive; we loved all the hilarious footwear choices. Thumbs up and keep it up.
Royal Dressing
We had an amazing time spending a day with our Princes, Princesses, and of course the Queens and Kings.
Funny dressing
The final for the term left people in stitches, as it was all laughter as there were all sorts of weird dressings. Thank you to so many parents for their support and creativity.
ZIMSEC REGISTRATION
Thank you for your cooperation on ZIMSEC registration for the 2023 October-November Examinations. We will communicate the Examination dates to you once they are availed.
HOLIDAY HOMEWORK
Kindly assist the learners with their holiday homework. Let us ensure children develop a culture of reading. You are also encouraged to get at least one age-appropriate reading book for your child which will be shared with other classmates as they read and exchange. Lists of age-appropriate books will be availed to you.
UNIFORMS
The second term falls in the winter season and learners are required to put on the proper winter uniform. The school has introduced a new warm and comfortable jacket costing 35USD. We remind you that uniforms are available at the school. You should purchase the school starter pack for new learners before school opens. Please check the list provided together with the offer letter. Only school bags and kit bags are accepted. The school will not accept any other colors for the school bags. School hats are compulsory. It is school policy for every learner to wear a school hat outside the classroom for the good well-being of the child.
You must prepare and ensure that children will be in the correct, complete, and clean uniforms with neat hairdos daily. Buttons for blazers must be replaced if lost (for a replacement one can purchase a full set of buttons for $1 at the school). Note that blazers are compulsory on Assembly Days. (Mondays and Fridays) For sports, learners should have white sneakers and white socks. Wednesday is School Tracksuit Day and white sneakers for everyone. Thursday is club attire day for clubs with special attire.
CAMBRIDGE TEXTBOOKS
Thank you for the response on Cambridge books. Each child is expected to pay for the 3 sets per grade level at USD 132. Grade (1-7) make your payments for the books at the bursar’s office and collect the books from the stores’ office.
END-OF-TERM ASSESSMENT
Assessments for the term were done and our learners performed to standard. Progress reports have been sent. Please check with the school Administrator if you do not receive notifications by 3/04/23.
CALA
The Continuous Learning Assessment is progressing well. We, however, encourage you to continue supporting the school to ensure we are on target and our learners finish their projects on time. We are now working towards finishing the last CALA items for grade 7 and the first ones for grade 6 2023.
COMMUNICATION
Our communication will come through the Newsletters and the newly introduced D6 Communicator App. You can communicate with the school by calling the admin at +263774021660 or email on inforvicfalls@mothertouch.ac.zw.
Every appointment with the teacher should be done at the office and kindly note that teachers are seen as per appointment.
FEES AND LEVIES
Kindly note that according to our parents’ general meeting held on 23 March 2023, it was agreed that we stagger our fees for the 2nd and 3rd terms. Therefore, it will be $850 for the second term and $950 for the third term then finally $1000 for the next year 2024.
| ITEM | TERM 2 | TERM 3 | TERM 1 2024 |
| ECD | USD$595 | USD$665 | USD$700 |
| JUNIOR | USD$850 | USD$950 | USD$1000 |
Other Services
Registration fee USD$50
Bus Levy (once off payment new entry) USD$100
Desk and Stationery Levy (once off payment new entry) USD$100
Sports Levy USD$50
N.B*
No learner will be allowed into the classroom without an express card issued by the Administrator’s Office.
For inquiries and further clarification, the Bursar can be contacted at infovicfalls@mothertouch.ac.zw or on 0774021660 or Head 0772815185.
For bank transfers please bring proof of payment within 48 hours after paying and ensure you collect the receipt together with the learner’s admission card. A lost card requires a fee of $1 for a replacement.
Office hours – Admin office will close for the public holidays and weekends during the school holidays only. During working days, on holidays the office is open from 8.00hrs to 14.00hrs.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, many thanks go to our parents for trusting in the great unwavering support, our teaching staff and non-teaching staff for the hard work to ensure the learning environment is conducive to excellent results as well as the responsible authority for the provision of excellent resources for the excellent learning process to take place.
Term 2 starts on 8 May 2023.
Wish you a joyful holiday with the Great Global God-Fearing leaders.
Regards
C. Mapenzauswa (Mrs.)
Acting Deputy School Head
06Apr
End of First Term Newsletters Junior School
Mother Touch Junior School (MTJS) would like to thank you all, for being so committed and supportive in all
events for 2023 term 1. We are thankful to God for his grace, wisdom and guidance.
EVENTS FOR THE TERM
Meet the Teacher
Participation was at a remarkable 96%, parents and guardians showed up in their numbers to meet their
teachers. This was a good platform for parents to understand the programs taking place in the school.
06Apr
End of First Term Newsletters Senior School
Greetings.
SENIOR SCHOOL CLOSING TERM I 2023 NEWSLETTER
- Introduction
Dear Parents and Guardians
Greetings to you all.
We thank God for taking us this far as we have come to the end of term 1 2023 well. We would like to thank all
parents and guardians for your support in our endeavor to groom and nurture the child’s talents, abilities and
interests in-order to produce holistic, Great, God fearing Global Leaders. - Teaching and learning
Teaching and learning went on well. The teachers worked well towards ZIMSEC, Cambridge, HEXCO, DELF and
HSK syllabi coverage and gap- filling for any missed concepts in the previous levels due to different reasons.
09Feb
Mother Touch Group of Schools 2023 UK Tour
We are excited that our United Kingdom (UK) tour is on this year after a long break due to the Covid Pandemic. MTGS learners will have yet another chance to travel to Wales for the annual music festival and will have the opportunity to tour Wales and London. They will compete with seasoned performers around the world. Registration is already in progress. Tour tentative dates are 4 July to 14 July 2023. The trip cost is estimated at USD 2 980 for 10 days.
09Jan
Opening First Term Newsletter – Senior School
Greetings to you all.
We hope and trust this letter finds you well and we thank God for protecting and keeping us all. We would like to thank all parents and guardians for entrusting us with these precious children. Mother Touch Senior School (MTSS), is the School of excellence, where Global, God-fearing leaders are groomed in line with our mandate which is to identify the child’s talent and nurture and develop the learner holistically.
Curriculum
We offer a rich and wide curriculum comprising ZIMSEC, Cambridge, HEXCO, DELF, and HSK boards.
Staffing
More highly qualified and experienced teachers who are results-oriented have been engaged as the vision continues to grow. These include Mr. Chiwaya the Physics teacher and Mrs. Muchirahondo the English and literature teacher.
Starting Time
Our school starts at 0715hrs ending at 1500hrs from Monday to Thursday. On Friday school ends at 1300hrs. Monday and Friday are our assembly days and all learners are expected to put on clean, complete, and correct uniforms with blazers. Our sports days are Tuesday and Thursday and every learner should be in his or her full sporting attire.
Uniforms
All learners are expected to put on the correct, complete, and clean MTSS uniform with a neat hairdo as they come to school daily. We remind parents that our school uniforms are available at the school. New learners should purchase the school starter pack which includes all uniforms such as formal school attire, sports attire, Agriculture work suits, gumshoes, white dust coat for T.G., bags, and other items. Branded satchel is compulsory. We have made this decision based on the need to improve quality and excellent school tone. Be advised that plastic bags will not be accepted as bags or kit bags. School hats are
compulsory. School hat is for the well-being of the child as direct sunlight can lead to serious health challenges. It is the School policy for all learners to put on hats outside the classroom.
Teaching and Learning
The following are some of the strategies that we are employing to improve the quality of our results. –
We do fortnightly, monthly, mid-term assessments, and end-of-term examinations. Leaners identified to be legging behind are given remedial work every Friday from 13:00hrs to 15:00hrs.
Teaching time has been extended from 7:15hrs to 15:00hrs for exam classes on Friday.
Monthly tests will be given and parents will get some feedback on the performance of the learners. Daily homework is mandatory. Parents are encouraged to monitor the learners at home. Teachers have already started working on Continuous Assessment of Learner Activity (CALA.) Parents are encouraged to support the learners when doing CALA as it requires a lot of materials and guidance.
Registration.
Cambridge, ZIMSEC, DELF, HSK, and HEXCO syllabus.
All the Advanced level learners will write Cambridge. However, we have a few O-level learners who would like to sit for the ZIMSEC syllabus and will write Shona, FRS, Literature in English, and TG. Math, Geography, Physics, Chemistry, Accounting, Business Studies, and Economics will be registered with the Cambridge syllabus.
Last year’s subject registration was as follows; –
· ‘O’ level ZIMSEC was USD$ 24 equivalents per subject.
· ‘O’ level Cambridge was USD$80 per subject
· ‘A’ level Cambridge was USD$115 per subject.
· HEXCO was USD$40 per subject.
· DELF was USD35 per subject.
· HSK was USD25 per subject.
Parents are encouraged to start preparing for the registration fees with the given guidance.
Cambridge textbooks.
As we continue to thrive for excellent results for our learners, the school has invested greatly in purchasing Cambridge textbooks for all the departments. Learners are requested to pay USD $50 towards renting the books. This is a once-off payment that will enable the school to buy more textbooks. Learners who lose books will be requested to replace them.
EVENTS
The following events shall be done this term as follows: –
Meet the Teacher
In our endeavour to promote inclusive education and good rapport with our parents, guardians, and all stakeholders, we have the Meet the Teacher event. On 20 January, Form 1 and 2 parents will meet the teachers from 8:00hrs to 10:00 hrs while form 3 to 6 will come from 11:00hrs to 13:00hrs on the same day. We encourage all parents/ guardians to come and discuss with the teachers and get to know the school and teachers’ expectations and requirements.
NB. Kindly note that this is not a consultation day.
Career Expo.
MTSS will be hosting a Career expo on 24 March 2023. The purpose of this event is to expose learners to a variety of career opportunities within the country and beyond borders. This will develop their knowledge, skills, and attitude through a planned program of experiences to enable learners to make informed decisions that have a big impact on their lives. Facilitators/Personal from different institutions will be invited on the day to showcase different areas of occupation.
Prefects Training
We thank God for successfully ordaining the 2023 MTSS learners’ leadership into office. The prefects had a 2-day training from 7 to 8 January with very experienced personnel (SCORT). This is a very important way of developing Great, Global, God-fearing leaders. The prefects will continue to be trained in leadership during the term.
Leadership Training
In order to marry theory and practice as stipulated by the New Curriculum and 21st Century learning methods, the school makes it mandatory for learners to undertake leadership training. The leadership training is meant to build confident, assertive, and well-groomed honest leaders who are bound to be trendsetters and world changers. All our learners from form 1 to 6 will go through such training throughout the year at a fee to be communicated.
Boys and Girls meeting
Boys and Girls meetings shall be done fortnightly to help learners to overcome the issues that affect teenagers and others. Outside facilitators in different fields will be invited to teach the learners.
Extra-curriculum
This first term learners will participate in the following non-contact disciplines as we are still in the COVID era:
· Athletics
· Badminton
· Cricket
· Tennis
The School will engage in aerobics for every 30 minutes before sports start for body fitness.
Clubs
Learners are encouraged to participate in at least one of the following clubs as these develop and enhance some life skills and competence.
· Toast Master– aims to foster leadership and communication skills in learners so that they become confident.
· Environmental club– to help learners acquire knowledge on how to manage natural resources and protect the environment and help society how control waste in their areas.
· Youth against Aids– to inform learners about the pandemic and any other diseases on ways to prevent, treat and manage those who are infected and or affected by the disease.
· Christian in Action -to inculcate moral values and instill discipline in learners so that they become God-fearing citizens.
· First Aid– to enhance disaster preparedness and positive response among learners so that they are socially responsible.
· Young Farmers– to impart agriculture production and financial management skills that can be used now and after graduation.
· Chess– to promote the mental health of the learners by developing concentration, skills, and strategic thinking which will help improve learners’ survival skills in day-to-day life.
· Music, Arts, and Drama -to enhance learners with musical arts and drama entrepreneurship skills.
· French– to provide opportunities for learners to practice French speaking skills beyond the classroom.
· Chinese -to appreciate the Chinese language and culture in preparation for the Chinese spoken exam.
· Guidance and Counselling -to eliminate child abuse and gender-based violence by creating awareness among learners on what child abuse is, who the perpetrators are, and how to deal with child abuse and gender-based violence at school and in society.
· Entrepreneur– to assist learners in converting ideas, passion, and dreams into a business
· Science club– to encourage learners to become techno-perineurial by harnessing scientific knowledge to solve real-world problems for the benefit of the school and society at large.
· Traffic Safety and Culinary arts– for life skills.
Allied Arts
MTSS will participate in Allied Art Music Competition throughout the year. We encourage parents to support the learners with the required resources as this is part of the curriculum.
Nonboarders
Lunch may be provided to non-boarder learners at a fee of USD$100 for the term.
Transport and Boarding places
School transport is available on a first come first serve basis. Parents are therefore encouraged to book for term 2, 2023 transport as soon as possible to avoid inconveniences and to allow the school to plan on routes early for smooth operations. On that note, we would like to remind our old and notify our new parents that we do not do door-to-door pickups. On booking, parents are encouraged to check for the nearest possible bus stop. Boarding learners should pay a 20% deposit the last week of the closing of a school to indicate they will be coming back.
Gadgets
Please be advised that learners are not allowed to bring laptops and cell phones to school except for the ‘A’ levels only.
Communication
As MTSS, we believe in 2-way communication which is key to our organizational growth. MTSS communication is through e-mails, website, newsletter, and by the word of mouth through the learners. Parents are therefore requested to acknowledge receiving newsletters and all other communication. All the school reports will be sent through e-mail; hence parents should provide the school with current communication details.
2023 Form 1 and Lower 6 Enrolment
2023 form 1 class are full. Lower 6 enrolments are in progress and classes are almost full as we have enrolled with Cambridge results. We will wait for the ZIMSEC results to fill the remaining places.
The following requirements are needed: –
· Registration fee of USD$50
· Copy of birth certificate
· 1 passport-size photo.
· Copy of latest report.
· Copy of parent/guardian(s) ID.
· Copy of proof of residence.
Fees payments
Fees for 2023 remain as follows: –
· Forms 1 to 4 – USD$350
· Form 5 and 6 – USD$400.
· Boarding House – USD$800
· Parents can deposit the money in the following account numbers
Banc ABC, Heritage branch, ZW 12555355402010 / USD 12555356633019.
In conclusion, let’s work together to encourage and monitor the behavior of our learners at home, academic progress, use of electronic gadgets, and the time the learners get home. A disciplined child is easy to teach.
We keep thanking God for His guidance and protection.
Schools are closing on 30 March 2023.
For further clarification and inquiries call our Administrator/ bursar at 0772 318 890.
Mrs. S. Mabika
Head
For and on behalf of Mother Touch Group of Schools