Cedar House as experienced by existing parents – we list comments from parents on why Cedar House remains the school of choice for their child/ren - please also find each parents’ contact details should you wish to speak directly to existing parents.
From a Parent’s ‘Thank you’ letter…
- I have seen big and small things at Cedar House which I haven’t seen elsewhere so here is a small sample of what I’ve loved about your school.
- It’s about education rather than schooling.
- It’s reflective and kind yet never ‘heavy’ or insular.
- It has strong leadership which allows the teachers and students to be themselves - warts and all. The youngsters I encounter haven’t felt labelled and trapped in their experimental personas. (This is a BIG one for me Frank. I’ve encountered energetic and charismatic principals who subscribe to positivity and are much admired by the public. But unlike Cedar House, their schools leave me feeling hollow. They are caught up in collective ’spin’ with students and staff paying lip-service to key values while dissent and difference is driven underground. Talk of ‘authenticity’ and ‘own voices’ is easy but the practice is difficult and all too rare. I think that’s what I’ve come to admire most about the Rumboll-November leadership.)
- It doesn’t infantilise teenagers. The adults on the staff really talk to them. They are encouraged to experience and to enjoy their worlds and to go beyond the suburbs.
- It has good teachers who love their disciplines.
From another ‘Thank you’ letter…
I love the way that matters are not swept under the rug at Cedar House - everything is brought out in the open and dealt with squarely and fairly. I love the way all the children are made to feel so important - that they get to make decisions, where appropriate and are brought into discussions around matters that concern them directly. I am so relieved that serious matters, relating to drugs and alcohol have a zero tolerance policy at Cedar House. It actually makes the children feel more secure, knowing that they have definite boundaries. I am so impressed by how passionate all the teachers are about the subjects that they teach and how they manage to pass that on to the students. I am so thankful that when Michael does have issues, he has teachers and counsellors there who understand him and go out of their way to make him feel better. I am always amazed by the fact that every teacher seems to know all of the Cedar House parents and how they always make the effort to engage with us about our children. I like the fact that the staff expect so much from our children and push them gently to achieiving their absolute best.
A Grade 9 parent says…
“My first impression of Cedar House School is that it is a life changing environment where the students are not only taught academia but how to grow and learn about the world around them. My daughter left a very structured, “old fashioned” traditional all girls school where she felt restricted and tired of the humdrum of school. Upon joining Cedar House this year in 9th Grade, she has become a more enlightened, enthusiastic and excited child about her life in general and more specifically her attitude towards studying is alarmingly (!!!!) conscientious and serious. Her self-esteem has risen sky high not only because she is allowed to wear her own clothes which express her exuberance for life, but because all the students from grades 12 to 8 are friends and they interact with each other. I think the Principal, Frank Rumboll, is a “Mighty Mouse” who has created an environment of love, caring, focus and intellect for his children. I particularly am inspired that the students are exposed to many extra curricular activities which are innovative, thrilling and life changing. As a parent, I’m delighted to be a part of this wonderful, happy and exciting school. What a difference it has made to my daughter’s and my life.” - Annie Conradt
If you have any queries about sending your child to Cedar House that I can help you with, please contact me on my cell 082 845 4390 or email me at annconradt@gmail.com.
Grade 11 parents’ comments:
Why I recommend Cedar House.
“My daughter was very unhappy at her previous high school. It was clear that the school was more interested in fitting a square peg into a round hole at whatever cost to the peg than truly educating my daughter. My daughter is a very keen dancer and was even doing dance theory as an extra subject outside of school, yet the school would not recognize her dancing in any way whatsoever. They continually tried to force her to do school sport (despite the fact that it clashed with her dancing) and told her that she was not participating in the life of the school if she didn’t. She also found the large school led to the formation of cliques amongst the girls and some real nastiness if you didn’t make it in the right clique.
Cedar House has had no problem in recognizing and encouraging my daughter’s dancing and she is now able to take it as one of her seven school subjects rather than an extra. The smaller school means that cliques are far less likely to form and there have been no incidents of group bitchiness at Cedar House. All in all, I find that the school treats her as an individual, acknowledging her strengths and supportive of her weaknesses. While my daughter still feels that school is a bit of a drag, she is much happier at Cedar House and I am delighted with the way that she is learning to accept herself.” Ingrid Freitag.
If you have any questions you would like to ask of Ingrid Freitag, please contact her on w 021 4011557, h 021 674 1554, cell 083 2333 126 or email ifreitag@justice.gov.za or freitagit@telkomsa.net
Edith Velk, says “Cedar House is a home from home. All the teachers are my child’s second parents. When I drop him at school I know that he is well cared for and well taught. Jesse has been encouraged, embraced and loved and has excelled in everything he does. He is passionate and engaged in his work and pays attention. Teachers have been supportive when emotional and psychological problems arise. The school has been very accepting of any problems and has effectively dealt with them. Mr. Rumboll’s and Cheryl Gammon’s doors are always open and available for discussion of any problems. Jesse’s self esteem and self confidence has improved tremendously.” Edith Velk.
Edith can be contacted on cell 082 2966 112 or tel 021 689 1231.
Should you have an interest in a Grade 10 Cedar House parent’s perspective:
“Why Cedar House is my school of choice -
- My child can walk to school.
- The only bullying done in the school is by Mr. Rumboll.
- You need to fit the school to the child and Cedar House is the perfect fit for my child.
- Emphasis on Art and Design and Computers.
- Teachers with enthusiasm and energy.
- Having come from a small school environment I wanted more of the same.
- My child is dyslexic - I needed a school that would encourage and help him with his work, he would not have fitted into a main stream school.” - Louise Hunt.
Louise Hunt can be contacted on cell: 072 355 8393 or tel 021 797 6498.
Kim and Philip Orolowitz have the following comments on Cedar House:
“We have always encouraged our daughter to think for herself, be an
individual, and not to bow to peer pressure.
At Cedar House, I feel that she has been able to grow emotionally, to
question (politely, we hope), and to grapple with what she really believes.
I feel that she has been afforded the space to do this, and encouraged in
this quest. Cedar House is a safe and intimate environment for teens to
begin to come to terms with the complicated and sometimes frightening
issues facing modern adolescents and young adults.
Academically, she has been challenged and extended, and I feel that she has
achieved more than she would have done if she had attended a large
main-stream school. She is excited by her subjects, and from my
perspective, she often seems to put in more effort than required from the
teachers because she is so enjoying the material.
The atmosphere is the classroom seems to be extremely happy, and the
learners in her class are very close. Friendships are forged between
classes. Debbie has made friends in the grade below her and several in the
matric class. (At time of writing this, she is in grade 10)
I would highly recommend Cedar House to any parent considering it as a
possible option for their high-school going child.”
Kim and Philip Orolowitz can be contacted on tel 021 712 6661, cell 083457 0583, philipandkim@iafrica.com
A Grade 9 parents’ perspective:
“After visiting Cedar House for the first time on the school’s Open Day in 2006, my daughter declared that there could be no other school for her, this was her spiritual home. My husband and I weren’t quite so immediately certain, but one year on we can only agree with her. I believe Cedar House’s greatest strength lies in its ability to value and respect each individual in the school community - staff and learner - and in its ability to allow each one to be an individual. At the same time, it demands of each individual respect and tolerance for each other, making responsibility for the community and broader society a key part of the school’s ethos. This is exactly what I would want from a school preparing young people to go out into the world; it teaches them, on the one hand, to be able to be themselves and think for themselves while, on the other hand, it requires of them that they take responsibility for other people. And it does this in an environment that is challenging – academically, personally, morally – and at the same time supportive. The staff’s commitment goes well beyond their teaching duties and from what I observe of the learners they seem to be stimulated and vibrant young people, warm and kind to each other, and above all happy.“ says Moira Levy.
Moira can be contacted on tel h 021 671 5239 or cell 083 455 5536
A grade 8 and 10 parent, Kim van Besouw, says…
“Our two boys started at Cedar House this year in Grade 10 and Grade 8 and we can’t believe the difference in them this year to previous years. From having to drag them out of bed last year, they are now up and ready to leave for school. Our dinners are filled with stories of ‘awesome Mr Jacoby’, how English has come alive with Mrs Rumboll or how well Mrs Glenday explains trig. Sometimes we’ll be treated to a passionate rendition of Romeo and Juliet or Macbeth; we’ve had a lesson on the stars and on working out the height of the Cedar tree. My point is that our boys are excited about what and how they’re learning, not to mention that surfing is compulsory (my husband can’t get over this – he used to bunk traditional sport to go surfing!) or that they can skateboard at break. At the same time they are careful to hand in homework on time for fear of upsetting one of the staff – these people truly care for them; they have a relationship with them and this makes them motivated, confident and feel valuable as people.
If you would like to ‘get your children back’, to enjoy them once again and to see them happy, excited and fulfilled, then send them to this awesome place they call ‘school’. Not only will your children love going to school, but you will stand back amazed as you watch this passionate and dedicated team of educators transform your children into the wonderful people they were meant to be”. Kim van Besouw
If you have any questions you would like to ask of Kim van Besouw she may be contacted on 021 7022 737 or 082 561 2327 or email vanbesouw@mweb.co.za