27 October 2016

Dear Parents,

TEXT BOOK REQUIREMENTS FOR 2017

The booklists reflecting the textbook and stationery requirements for your son/daughter for 2017 have been placed on the school website ( Hard copies of these booklists will also be available from the school office.

Please read the contents of this letter carefully so that the end of year proceedings may run as smoothly as possible.

SECOND-HAND SALES:

We will still be facilitating the second-hand “market” as before which will allow you to sell books from 2016 and buy second hand books for 2017. We do, however, encourage you to sell/buy all second-hand books before this day by making your own private arrangements and not to exclusively rely on this facility.

Date: Wednesday 30th November 2016

Time: 18h00 – 19h00

Venue: School quadrangle (weather permitting)

Tables will be set out for you to display the books that you wish to sell. Remember you determine the price that you wish to sell your books at.

As a guideline, the following pricing for second-hand books is suggested:

-A book in good condition (can last for another 2 – 3 years)

=60% to 70% of the cost of a new book;

-A book in average condition (can last for another 1 – 2 years)

=50% of the cost of a new book;

-A book in poor condition (e.g. damaged spine, written in or torn pages)

=25% to 30% of the cost of a new book.

Please use the new book prices on the website to price your old books.

Please bring change for buying and selling.Capitalism is always a bit messy, but it works. That is essentially what we are doing in the quad. Enjoy the experience and get into the swing of it!

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2.

PURCHASING OF NEW BOOKS

New and a few second-hand books may be purchased from the school’s own bookshop which is situated in the quadrangle next to the Streams ramp.

WHEN:

BOOKSHOP OPENING TIMES December 2016
Saturday 3rd December / 09h00 - 13h00
Monday 5th December / 07h30 - 13h00
Tuesday 6th December / 07h30 - 13h00
Wednesday 7th December / 07h30 - 08h00
10h00 - 12h00
Friday 9th December
(while reports are being handed out) / 13h00 - 13h30

The shop will be open briefly in January ONLY for new pupils. These opening times for January 2017 will be advertised.

PLEASE NOTE:

  • Purchase of textbooks cannot, unfortunately, be charged to the school account. Bank cards (preferred) and cash may be used. No cheques please.
  • POLICY for ordering textbooks for Grades 10-12

If a book that is required by a Gr 10-12 student is not available on the shelf, and has to be ordered,it will need to be paid for in full before the order is placed. This policy(implemented in Dec 2015) became necessary because many books that are ordered come from overseas and are not returnable. Unfortunately, in the past, some students didnot buy the books that were ordered for them and the school had to carry the cost of the write off.

If the price, that the ordered book arrives at, differs from the price that was paid a credit will be passed or the difference will need to be paid.

  • The policy for ordering books for Grs 0 – 9 remains the same as before ie. The book is paid for on collection.

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3.

  • E-Books:

The bookshop does not sell e-Books. The students need to purchase them off the internet.

I have not recorded the availability of eBooks on the textbook lists because their availability is very dynamic, changing from month to month. The onus is on the individual families to research and purchase eBooks should they be required.

A few general websites where eBooks may be researched are (and there are many more):

Please note that clean, hard copies of the Afrikaans literature books used in the SHS must be bought as these need to be used in the examinations.

  • It is very important that new textbooks are purchased (or ordered if there is no stock on the shelf) this side of the December holidays.If we have shortages we can then order over the holidays.Textbooks ordered in December generally arrive in January or February.Experience has shown that it is very difficult to obtain books from the publishers in January. Books that are only ordered in January usually arrive in March, April or even May.
  • We have done our best to “guesstimate” how many books are needed from Gr 0 – 9 but there are bound to be inaccuracies, as well as the fact that publishers are notoriously late in printing books. Should this be the case, we will be taking orders at the bookshop, which will be issued as soon as the books are available. We will notify you as soon as the order arrives, and the book may then be purchased from the bookshop (or collected from the bookshop if the student is in Gr 10, 11 or 12 and has already paid for the book).
  • If a book is marked “NEW”/ “NUUT” on the booklist, there will not be any second-hand books available on the second-hand market.
  • Please understand that your children are expected to have textbooks on day one of the first term, so that effective teaching can begin.
  • IF POSSIBLE (if the book is still going to be used in 2017) sell all your child’s textbooks. WITH ALL THE CHANGES IN TEXTBOOKS, IT IS STRONGLY ADVISED THAT YOU DO NOT HOLD OVER ANY TEXTBOOKS FOR SIBLINGS.
  • The school is very aware of the costs to parents and in choosing textbooks. There has been careful consideration of the cost vs. the quality offered by the textbooks. Unfortunately textbooks that come from overseas are subject to our poor exchange rate and are expensive.

STATIONERY

No stationery will be sold from the bookshop. Please purchase the required stationery as specified on your son/daughter’s booklist at any retail outlet.

Please do not hesitate to contact me in connection with textbook queries.

Kind regards,

Lynn Budge

(TEXTBOOK CO-ORDINATOR)