The College of Teachers

Current Members: Kathy Abbott, Anette Bestwick, Tine Bohm, Winifred Bond, Richard Cox, Ann Kantey, Julia O'Leary, Douwe Raaths, Graham Scannell, Leigh Whitesman.

The College of Teachers is responsible for the pedagogical needs and the overall running of the school. Essentially, the group fulfils the functions of a school principal.

The College meets on Thursday afternoons, and tasks (such as chairperson) are rotated and shared. The members study together, conduct interviews, receive visitors, handle correspondence and address discipline issues and other problems that have not been dealt with in the weekly teachers' meetings.   All is dealt with in confidence. All correspondence is answered and confidentiality is maintained – there is a holding slot in the office for receiving correspondence, or it can be emailed to info@michaeloak.org.za . It should reach the school by Wednesday 8h00 for inclusion on the agenda for that week, although it may be held over for a week, depending on pressure of other business.

Parents' concerns
If parents have a concern about a child or the school, it is usually taken to the class teacher first. However such issues may also be raised with any individual members of the College to take to their meeting, or correspondence can be directed to the College as a whole.

The Teachers' Faculty Meetings

Kindergarten (which includes Playgroup), Primary and High School faculties meet once a week on a Tuesday and the three groups also meet very briefly. They discuss day-to-day school issues, how best to deal with festivals, timetables, difficulties in the classrooms, etc and provide support for each other and the children. One of the important aspects of meetings is to focus on individual children in order to understand them better and help them forward in an appropriate way. The applications of children interviewed are presented to the faculty before the child is accepted.