| The primary school aims to provide quality, innovative education for children from grade 00 to grade 7. Our caring environment fosters learning and personal growth, by way of a dynamic curriculum taught by an enthusiastic, dedicated team of educators. Class numbers are relatively small and a well balanced programme exists to meet the needs of each individual whilst providing a healthy element of competition which encourages each pupil to do the best with what they have. Catholic, gospel values form the basis for every aspect of learning. Respect , tolerance and understanding of all other faiths and cultures are encouraged.
We follow the ISASA three term calendar and the outcome based education curriculum.
All pupils entering Marist Brothers Linmeyer are required to do a formal age appropriate assessment. Successful applicants then meet with the HOD and Principal. This is followed by an Open Day where parents and pupils are invited to the school to meet with the Board of Governors, and Staff. The pupils are given a guided tour of the school to familiarise themselves with the school. A co-curriculuar computer course is offered by Futurekids at the Primary School. 
SPIRITUAL The origins of the school can be traced back to France and its founder Marcellin Champagnat, therefore Catholic doctrine forms the basis for the very existence of the school. Our religious programme is designed to suit the varied needs of our pupils , with special emphasis being placed on solid moral standards, together with self discipline, justice and service to the community. Each class from grade 00 to grade 7 is involved in an outreach programme of their choice.
Spiritual education is provided via the formal curriculum and includes preparation for first holy communion in the foundation phase in accordance with diocesan policy. Catholic feast days and regular masses form an integral part of the school calendar . Father David Dryden is our College Chaplin and is in attendance at the school at least once a week, usually on a Friday.
PRE-SCHOOL Two grade 00 classes with 20 pupils per class and three grade R classes of 25 make up this phase. The three learning areas in grade R are Numeracy, Literacy, and Life Skills. Emphasis is placed on preparing the pupils for grade one. In grade 00 the emphasis is on gross motor development. To enhance the learning experience, children enjoy a number of visits to places of interest throughout the year. In addition, they are exposed to puppet shows, wildlife interest groups and other visiting educational programmes. Pupils visit the media centre as well as the Futurekids computer centre on a weekly basis. During the reception Phase pupils are introduced to initial swimming skills by one of our Pre-school teachers who is a fully-qualified swimming teacher. Although no official school sports are offered in the reception phase we do offer play-ball, golf, pottery, art, ballet, gymnastics and tennis. These activities are all added extras for the parents account. Drama classes are offered at no extra cost to the pupils. At the end of the Reception year the pupils have an annual graduation ceremony and they are awarded a certificate. In addition, there is an annual concert. The preschool has one fund raiser per year and it is extremely well supported by all our pupils and parents.
Grannies and Grandpas are invited to a day in the preschool and this is a highlight of the term!
FOUNDATION PHASE The three learning areas covered in this phase are Numeracy, Literacy and Life Skills. Music and movement, computers and physical education taught by specialists ensure that every aspect of the child’s intellectual, emotional and physical growth is covered. In grade three the pupils spend their first night away from home on a school tour. This is cause for great excitement. Pupils in need of academic assistance, occupational therapy, speech therapy etc are able to make use of qualified therapists in a specialised centre which aims to provide assistance to enhance mainstream education. This facility will include a class where pupils can get specialised help during the school day. Computer classes and music and movement (Kindermusik) are weekly activities for the foundation phase pupils. A recorder group is run by our music specialist in the afternoons for those pupils with a musical flair.
Continuous assessment is carried out in the foundation phase and reports are handed out three times per year. Parents are kept well informed of their children’s progress all the time. We operate an “open door” policy and encourage parents to voice their concerns or communicate with staff at all times. An exciting “paired reading” programme is used in grades two and three to encourage reading. The boys in our College are given an added extra by having a bookshop entirely to themselves once a year! The Primary School puts on a production every year in which many pupils participate and some years the pupils in the entire Primary School take part in a mammoth variety show. We enter our pupils in the Eisteddfod annually and choir festivals regularly. Our sport is growing in leaps and bounds with our soccer boys reaching the finals and our swimmers winning most galas. Tennis is enthusiastically supported with many pupils taking part including a Saturday league. Our junior school has a basketball team and many netball teams. The cultural aspect of our pupils development is not neglected with chess being a popular pastime as well as a very active co-worker group. Our wild life club enjoys many outings as well as a number of guest speakers every year are invited to address them. These addresses are delivered by specialists in their fields.
INTERSEN PHASE In this phase there are three classes per grade with no more than 28 pupils per class. There is no class teaching as pupils are taught by specialist subject teachers. The eight learning areas in the phase are Literacy, Maths, HSS, EMS, NS, LO,AC, Technology. Grade four to six pupils are assessed continuously throughout the year and a formal summarise assessment is written in the third term.OBE reports are issued at the end of each term. Grade seven forms part of the senior phase and an OBE report is issued in the first term only. Continuous assessment takes place throughout the year and formal summative assessment at the end of the second and third terms. Grade seven academic standard in English, Afrikaans and Mathematics is monitored by the writing of the shared assessment with other ISASA schools. To assist our grade seven learners with subject and career choices psychometric testing is administered by external psychologists towards the end of the year. At a follow up parent/psychologist interview pupils are informed of their strengths and weaknesses.
Pupils experiencing difficulties are offered academic support by their subject teachers. All grade 7 learners participate in our Monitor system which is aimed at developing leadership skills in all our pupils . They are assessed on criteria such as openness to guidance, empathy , punctuality, loyalty, diligence, initiative etc. In keeping with the Marist Brothers tradition Religion is at the core of all education. There are three RE teachers in this phase. All pupils regardless of their own personal creed attend all masses and assemblies. No one is excluded from one of these, while at all times respecting other learner’s beliefs and culture. Over night educational tours are undertaken on an annual basis. These tours are voluntary and vary in length from three to five days. Pupils are accompanied by members of staff. To ensure that all learners receive a holistic education a rich cultural program is offered. This includes entrance into eisteddfods, speech competitions, choir, chess and an annual production. Sport plays an integral role in the development of our pupils. School leagues as well as private school leagues are entered into, with our pupils doing very well especially in soccer and swimming. Our netball team as well as our cricket teams did us proud this year. An outreach program is actively encouraged with all classes in the school “looking after” a charity of their choice. The Marist co-workers are actively involved in supporting The United Cerebral Palsy Association.
DAYCARE The School’s daycare facility, which is run by dedicated staff members, is open to all grade 00 to Grade 7 students. There is a termly fee for use of this facility. It operates from after school until 17.15 every school day. Lunch is provided for grades 00 and 0 and sandwiches and juice for all the students. We offer homework and reading supervision and supervised play. The Holiday programme runs from 07.15 to 17.15 daily with fun filled activities. There is an additional daily fee charged for use of the facility during School holidays. We are closed during midterm and December holidays.
SPORT
Sports available at the Primary School:
CRICKET
Cricket is the major sport in the summer season. We practice twice a week and play one league match on a Wednesday. At Marist Brothers Linmeyer we have two u11 (Terhorst) teams and two under 13 (Commonwealth) teams. We also take part in a night series competition during the months of October and November. This is one of the highlight of the cricket season. Many outside coaches from cricket clubs are also employed to improve the standard of cricket at the school.
SWIMMING A few years back Marist Brothers Linmeyer built their own 8 lane swimming pool. This makes swimming much more accessible to the children in the school. Swimming takes place from under 9’s to the under 13’s and we participate in the Gauteng schools league, with swimming galas every Friday afternoon. At Marist Brothers Linmeyer we have an A and B swimming team. We also host an interhouse swimming gala once a year which is enjoyed by all.
SOCCER Soccer takes up the bulk of the winter and is the biggest sport in the school as far as numbers is concerned. We have specialised coaches for each age group from under 9 to under 13. We have A teams for each age group and a development section for those that do not make a team. Each team practices twice a week and plays a league match on a Wednesday afternoon. Marist Brothers Linmeyer also enters into the Gauteng Cup competition which is a knockout competition. We are very proud of our U13 team which won the whole competition last year. Marist Brothers Linmeyer also takes part in many mini tournaments on Saturday mornings.
TENNIS Tennis takes place in the summer season and we have two specialised coaches in Mark and Paulo Harrison assisting the children. Tennis matches take place on Thursday afternoon and we have recently joined the Saturday morning league at the Brackenhurst tennis club.
BASKETBALL Basketball has grown immensely in the last couple of years. The practices have both a girls and a boys team at Marist Brothers Linmeyer. Basketball takes place every afternoon and is available to pupils from under 9 to under 13.
GIRLS SOCCER The fastest growing sport in the school is girls soccer. At the moment girls soccer is only available to grade 7 girls but this will change in the next year as we get more coaches available. We have two girls soccer teams that practice once a week and play matches every Friday afternoon during winter. The first season was a huge success with Marist Brothers Linmeyer winning the majority of their games.
NETBALL Netball practices take place twice a week and we play matches on a Thursday afternoon. We also take part in tournaments on Saturday mornings to give the girls more exposure. We have one outside coach employed to improve the standard of the netball.
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