Sponsorship Program 2009
Please read through the information below if you are interested in finding out more about the Imhoff Waldorf Sponsorship Program. The Sponsorship Team are looking for sponsors who can help fund the education of children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
If you have any questions, please contact Rebecca Sturgeon either by email - sponsorship@imhoffwaldorf.org or by phone - 021 780 1110.
Download the Imhoff Waldorf 2009 Sponsorship Booklet
Why a Waldorf school for disadvantaged children?
Waldorf education addresses the needs of children from their innermost being to their outermost aspirations. It does this through a thorough and dynamic curriculum that aims to nurture that creative spirit in each child. The creative spirit is what motivates children to attain their aspirations. Materially disadvantaged children are also often neglected as their parents (and sometimes lack of parents) strive hard to simply bring food to the table. Thus:
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We nurture innate resourcefulness and imagination, and emphasize discipline from within.
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We integrate subject skills and have a dynamic curriculum that meets each age group at the deepest levels. Each activity is directly aimed at the specific age group.
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Concern for the environment and a sense of responsibility towards other people is at the center of our curriculum.
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We embrace diversity within the richness of our curriculum and encourage tolerance of others through teamwork.
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Much art, craft, music and hands on work permeates the school.
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Games are integrated into lessons ensuring that the children love coming to school.
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Camps and outings are peppered throughout the year.
This means that no matter where our children come from, each one will be prepared to confront the world in a responsible and caring manner. With this, our children are well equipped with the skills, energy, moral fibre and optimism to cope with and contribute to an increasingly complex and challenging world.
What is special about Imhoff Waldorf School?
Imhoff Waldorf School is based in a rural atmosphere surrounded by developing urbanization and townships. It is adjacent to part of the Table Mountain National Park and has a strongly environmental ethos. Its community ethos is also strong, where the parents provide for ALL needs of the school outside the actual educative needs.
Our school was started, run, and in our case, has been physically built by our community members. Our School offers a beautiful environment to our children, but it runs with the most basic commodities, we still do not have electricity.
A core group of teachers maintain the ethos of the school and are guided by the philosophies of Rudolf Steiner. There is no headmaster, and all decisions are made as a group. The school also supports outside community efforts as principle.
Sponsorship at our School
We are situated near two poverty stricken areas, and some of these children attend our school. Most of them are sponsored, depending on the income of their parents. There are many more who would like to attend our school that need sponsoring.
At present the school budget is stretched to the limit as to how many children we can subsidise. Thus we wish to find outside sponsors for the children we already have so that we can take on new children. As we would like sponsors to take on a longer commitment we have called our sponsorship initiative, the Godparents.
The parents of our school are committed to providing a strong support to this sponsorship program. We already do this in a few ways.
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ALL our paying parents contribute a percentage of their fees towards our poorer students,
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Sponsored children pay as much as they are able. No child is fully sponsored.
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Some of our wealthier parents also do an extra voluntary contribution to our sponsorship fund.
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We also have a sponsorship committee that help to raise funds to that end. Part of this task is also to find outside sponsors.
Our fees are kept as low as possible by using parental energy for everything other than our core teaching needs (teacher's salaries and administration) Our salaries are lower than most schools due to the dedication of our teachers who spend long hours not only teaching, but running the school as well. Not an easy task! There are no superfluous staff members.
Our aim
Our aim is to make our School as accessible as possible to all our surrounding communities, with special emphasis to reach children from very poor economical backgrounds. It is most important that these children come into our school from an early age in order to give them the full benefits of our education, and thus we would prefer sponsors (Godparents) to take on a longer commitment, this could amount to anything from a year to 9 years, depending at which point the child joins the school.
Nevertheless any contribution whatsoever is appreciated, we welcome monthly, yearly or one off contributions.
Type of Sponsorships available to Godparents
Godparents
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Once you, your company or institution become a Godparent you will receive a school report on the progress of your sponsored child at the end of the first and fourth term.
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You will also be welcome to attend our School Festivals & Events and become a Friend of the School.
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Because the school is a registered non-profit Association your donation is tax-deductible.
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You will be making a significant difference in a child’s life...
If you feel that you would like to become a Godparent or offer a donation, please contact Rebecca Sturgeon by emial here - sponsorship@imhoffwaldorf.org