Westwood International School
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Westwood International School is an English-using international school in Gaborone, Botswana. It was founded in 1988 with sponsorship from the American and British governments and in collaboration with the Ministry of Education. US, British and South African teaching materials are employed.
In 2004-5 there were 644 students and 57 faculty members. The school has a 46,000 square metre campus with 37 classrooms. Westwood is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and the European Council of International Schools.
The principal is Michael Francis.
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[edit] Mission Statement
Westwood International School provides a quality international education for students of all backgrounds, enabling individuals to confidently meet future challenges as life long learners.
[edit] Major policies of School Council
Each year the School Council undertakes each year to set the fee structure for the following year after a complete review of the academic, professional and administrative needs of the School. Parents are notified well in advance of annual fee increases. In addition, the overall size of the school and the total enrolment figures for classes are set, as a matter of policy, by the School Council. From time to time other important policy statements and documents are published or summarized in the School Newsletters or announced at the Annual General Meeting or through periodic letters from the Principal.
Members of the community are free to appeal a written decision of either the Principal or School Council itself. The appeal should be in writing and processed through the Principal’s office. The Principal has been authorized by the School Council to hear such appeals immediately and attempt to resolve any situation that may arise through clarification of circumstances or review of the facts. If a satisfactory resolution of the appeal does not result, the Principal is obliged to present the facts of the appeal to the School Council at the earliest possible date. The decision of the School Council on any question of appeal is final.
[edit] Authority of the School Council and articles of association
The Westwood International School Council acts as the overall legal and corporate authority of the School. All activities, programmes and groups within the Westwood International School community fall under the legal authority of the School Council. Decisions regarding the direction of the school programme as well as all decisions of a general policy nature are taken at the level of the School Council.
During the first ten years of the life of Westwood International School the School Council has been directly, although sometimes quietly, involved in the securing of land for the new school, developing the basic policies for the School and establishing a strong financial base of operations. Most importantly the School Council has been involved in raising funds for the development of the School on a permanent site in Gaborone West enabling the development of a combined international primary and secondary programme, the only one of its kind in the country.
In December of 1994 the School Council ensured the continued development of the programme by securing the registration of Westwood Secondary School by the authorities. [Government Gazette - 9 December, 1994]. This has served as the legal and ministerial authority for our secondary programmes. The School Council has further developed the secondary programme with the addition of a one year HIGCSE (matric equivalent) 12th year programme in 1999 and the two year IB diploma programme beginning 2002.
[edit] Election and appointment process
There are presently twelve members (Councillors) serving on the Westwood International School Council. Four members are elected from the body of parents in the community, four members are elected from the corporate community in Westwood and one member each is appointed from : The Ministry of Education, The British High Commission, The American Embassy and Debswana Diamond Company.
[edit] Westwood PTFA
The Parents, Teachers and Friends Association (PTFA) is open to all parents, members of Staff and well-wishers of the School. The Association’s objective is to raise funds for the School for the purchase of “extras” not budgeted for or covered by school fees, and to have a good time while doing so!
The 2004 PTFA committee have had an outstanding year, raising in the region of P80 thousand towards the purchase of a new bus. The main functions over the year were the annual Westwood Golf Day in February, the raffle of two Zippy Nippy scooters in the first term, and a hugely successful and enjoyable evening with South African comedian Barry Hilton in the second term. There were also two craft fairs which provided indirect support for the school within the community.
Plans to set a new Guinness World Record TM in Simultaneous Balloon Popping were twice thwarted by new (and ultimately out-of-our-league) records which replaced the original number of 416. It was a great idea to start with, but as the Record approached 3000, it would have been unsafe to have attempted to break it at the School.
Mention must be made of Ursula Nunes, Chairperson for 2004, who worked tirelessly and selflessly for the good of Westwood. Without her drive and enthusiasm, the achievements of the PTFA over the year would almost certainly have been far lower than they were. Ursula stepped down from the chair at the AGM in October, and Lisa Muirhead has taken over. We wish the new Committee success in 2005.
[edit] School academic facilities
The school's facilities are wide ranging and many of the facilities can be seen on other pages of the web site.
The buildings at Westwood International School have been purpose built to cope with the diverse climate found in Botswana. All the classrooms and offices have air conditioning for the summer and heating for the winter. The campus is planted with a range of trees, which provide natural shade, and throughout the campus are thatched awning’s for use during breaks. The administrative offices are located throughout the school, with the main area at the front of the school. The school nurse and counsellor also located in this area. Throughout the campus, two-way communication is available via an intercom system to the administrative area.
The primary classrooms have age appropriate furnishings, with use of specialist facilities for Art, D&T and IT. Those learning to swim have the starter pool suitable for younger children to gain confidence, before graduating to the 25-metre pool; the pool area has seating available for spectators, which is fully covered. The library is divided into primary and secondary areas with materials and furnishings suitable for the relevant age groups.
In the secondary school Art, D&T, Music and IT have specialist rooms; the sciences have dedicated laboratories for Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
The Matlwaneng Hall used by students for assemblies, concerts and plays is also available for use by the wider community for cultural events.
The above does not by any measure cover the extent of the facilities at Westwood but we hope gives you an overview of the campus.
[edit] School sports facilities
Westwood's extensive facilities include a hall, Mantlwaneng, a fully-equipped library and computer room, tennis and football fields, volleyball and basketball courts, a six-lane swimming pool and climbing wall.
