Home   Home Contact Us Contact Information Map and Directions About Bellavista Bellavista Handbook    Code of Conduct    History               Outreach       Promotion of Access Manual School Curriculum    School Song    School Uniform    Sports Policy               Staff    Calendar Academic Calendar 2012 Events Calendar Provisional Academic Calendar 2013 News Bellavista Bears    Bellavista Goes Green    Golf Day Registration Form In the Classroom     Newsletter    Last Months Newsletter    Principals Report AGM 2011 Understanding ADHA Gallery Admissions School Fee Schedule Step by Step Guide Batu Assessment Costs BATU Introduction Batu Talks Bellavista Graduate School Payment Process 2012 Procedure for Assessment Questionnaire Weblinks Adobe Reader Bendels Tax Consulting British Dyslexia Association Central Auditory Processing Disorder I S A S A                      Kelly Kaye Social Worker                        My School           Private Property           S A A L E D           SA Schools Collection           T H R A S S                             Wikipedia  The Bellavista Handbook The Past Bellavista School had the seeds for its growth planted in 1966 by two fathers whose sons were not making progress in regular schools and were rapidly losing their self confidence, their self esteem and their interest in school. These gentlemen, Mr J. Blankfield and Mr L. Yorke formed a committee along with Shirley Cohen, an educational Psychologist and Mr Griffiths, a retired school inspector. They decided to establish a non profit making school for children experiencing learning difficulties. The school opened in 1967 in a beautiful house in Parktown and moved to its present Birdhaven property in September 1969 in order to expand the school to provide remedial assistance for more learning disabled children. Even to this present day, the number of children requiring intensive remedial assistance far outnumber availability of places in remedial schools. The development of Bellavista School over the years has been directly related to the foresight, knowledge and enthusiasm of the Board of Governors, the active Parents Association and committed school principals, who have been instrumental in raising funds to enable the school to develop its facilities. ***************  Our Vision: "A view to a brighter future" ***************  Our Mission: To deliver excellence in education to children who experience barriers to learning and to equip them with life skills enabling them to embrace their future. *************** Bellavista School is a multi-cultural, co-educational, independent remedial School catering for 190 pupils from Grade 0 to Grade 7. It is situated in the suburb of Birdhaven and caters for children from Johannesburg, Sandton and the North, South, East and West Rand. Bellavista School is for children with learning potential who experience specific or generalised learning difficulties and require full time placement, with the necessary supportive therapies to develop strategie sto manage their learning difficulty. We ultimately aim to mainstream our children to regular schools. We believe that every child has strengths and weaknesses. We aim to encapsulate their strengths and promote these, whilst helping the child develop coping strategies for his/her areas of weakness. The ultimate aim is that each child reaches his/her full potential. As each child's background and learning potential is unique, the time needed to spend within this environment will depend upon each individual. As a professional institution, a dedicated, highly qualified staff of occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, remedial therapists, psychologists and remedial teachers work as a team with the children and, importantly, the parents to meet each child's needs. Bellavista feels a responsibility and duty to share recent information and research on learning difficulties with a wider community. To this end, the professional staff are involved in workshops where assessment tools, new approaches to teaching reading and spelling as well as techniques to develop emotional intelligence, cognitive strategies, thinking skills, study skills, auditory processing and sensory integration are shared with educators from both public and independent schools. In addition, information evenings are held regularly throughout the year when guest speakers address parents, educators and therapists on topics and issues which impact on learning, for example: depression, attention deficit disorder, sleep disturba nce, equine therapy and the impact of divorce. The curriculum course we follow follows the National Education Department's Revised National Curriculum with its associated Outcomes Based approach. In addition, Bellavista School emphasizes the development of cognitive thinking skills, shared problem solving and co-operative learning groups and efficient study methods. Our learning programme incorporates specific remedial approaches as well as speech and language, occupational and psycho therapies. Design and Technology, Art, Computer Literacy, and entrepreneurial skills are considered important to equip the children with life skills for the future. Bellavista offers a wide range of outdoor extramural activities such as Soccer, Cricket, Netball, Archery and Cross Country with competitive participation. The children also enjoy Volleyball, Softball and Athletics. Chess, Arts and Craft, Music, Dance and Drama provide for the more culturally orientated child. The children perform in assemblies, music festivals and talent shows each year and every second year the whole school is involved in a full musical and drama production. Outings to theatres and visits by travelling thespians are encouraged. School trips develop the exploration of ecological issues whilst the opportunity for teamwork, friendship building and the fostering of self responsibility is enjoyed by all. Visits to venues of an educational nature complement and reinforce classroom teaching. Recognition through points and merit badges (20, 50, 70 and 100), special certificates of merit and the awarding of colours is granted to every child thought to have made extra effort and to have given of their best at all times. Bellavista provides outstanding preparation for children to mainstream after leaving Bellavista as balanced, happy, responsible, independent and coping young people. ***************  The Present: The Board of Governors originally leased the land Bellavista is currently situated on. The Local Government sold us the land in 2005. On this land we can truly attempt to create a legacy for future generations of children who have learning potential but who struggle to fulfil this potential within the mainstream school. We have built a two storey school to create more spacious classrooms extending onto covered patios as well as building more and larger therapy rooms to allow for comfortable individual and small group therapies. The junior phase classrooms from Grade 0 – 3 are situated on the ground floor, with the necessary storerooms an ablutions. A large play therapy room has been built along with psychologists' consultancy rooms. The Grade 0s, 1s and 2s share the playground leading off from their classrooms onto a sensory garden with jungle gyms, cycle tracks and sandpit. The therapy centre is situated above the Junior Department comprising of therapy rooms for the Occupational Therapists, Speech Therapists and Remedial Therapists. In between the Junior and Senior Phases are lovely, quaint courtyards for children to sit in and are utilised for their leisure or the more tranquil activities. The children, parents and staff all lovingly tend the gardens about the property. The Intermediate and Senior Phases comprise of spacious Grade Four to Seven classrooms. Rooms for Muic, Drama, Science, Art and Design & Technology rooms are situated in this area for the use of the whole school, with tuition given by the specialist teachers in their fields. Above these is a user friendly Media Centre, comprising of an interleading library and computer centre, equipped with an interactive whiteboard. An ampitheatre allows for large group multimedia learning. A lift has been installed in the 'clock tower' at the entrance to the Junior and Senior Phases respectively to facilitate movement for children/adults with disabilities. These are exciting timesfor the stakeholders in Bellavista : the children, parents, teachers, therapists and Board of Governors. ***************  The Future: We hope to extend our school hall and roll out exciting technology to every venue. ***************  CLICK HERE to view more of the Bellavista Handbook