Dear Educators

Welcome back to school! We hope you had a very restful holiday and are rearing to tackle all the challenges that lie
ahead this year. We have some exciting news for you and your learners.
During the first term of this year we will be sending the Sunday Times to your school with copies of the tabloid “It’s My Business” inserted into it.

Sunday Times – It’s My Business

Small business enterprises are the unsung heroes of South African business. They abandon the safety of a salary cheque for the murky, choppy, shark-infested waters of entrepreneurship, and they survive. When these entrepreneurs are looking for tips and advice on how to run their business they turn to Sunday Times’ bi-weekly
supplement – It’s My Business.

It’s My Business is packed to the brim with straight talking, no nonsense information on how to run a small business. The stories told in this supplement are from real-life small business owners who speak candidly about their successes and their failures, and share what they have learnt with the rest of the small business community.

With 2.3 million readers, It’s My Business is South Africa’s preferred resource for small business owners. Publishing dates until the end of March 2009 are 1 February 2009, 15 February 2009, 1 March 2009, 15 March 2009 and 29 March 2009.

In addition, Avusa Education has developed an educators’ resource booklet called News to Use which is targeted at Grade 10-12 learners who are doing business studies. This booklet is available to your teachers for free.

Sunday Times – ReadRigtht

The Sunday Times will continue to provide you with quality educational supplements. This year ReadRight will publish the Sunday Times storybook initiative, in partnership with publishers Oxford University Press, Maskew Millar Longman and MacMillan, the project supports the National Department of Education’s Foundations for Learning campaign to improve the reading and writing skills of children in Grades R-six. All 24 cut-out-and-keep storybooks are published with advice and tips for parents and teachers on how to help children with their reading. We urge you to get parents involved and to collect these valuable storybooks for your school. ReadRight is an insert in the Sunday Times Magazine (published during term times) and is targeted at young children between the ages of six and 14; learners can SMS ROCKZ and their details to 32545 to become a member of the ROCKZ Club.

Sunday Times – Skillz Magazine

Skillz magazine, a production of Football for an HIV Free Generation (F4), uses the excitement around World Cup 2010™ to engage young South Africans in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Featuring the world’s and South Africa’s top soccer stars, the magazine draws on soccer to teach life lessons and encourages young people to make a positive difference in their communities. Published quarterly in the Sunday Times and distributed to 2 300 schools throughout South Africa, Skillz teaches the youth how to follow the 3 Skillz to Win in soccer and life: Know the Game, Build Your Team and Make Your Move. The 3 Skillz to Win help youth to achieve their goals, stay strong when faced with challenges, and protect themselves and others from HIV and Aids.

As a teacher, Make your Move! Join the F4 movement and fight HIV and AIDS in South Africa: – Use Skillz life skills and as a HIV and Aids education tool. Every quarter, Skillz’ Coach’s Corner features a simple activity that you can do with your learners to teach them about healthy living. Get the first edition of Skillz in the Sunday Times on 1 February! – Get trained! You may have an opportunity to be trained as a Skillz Coach. E-mail Nozi at nozi.mncube@avusa.co.za if you are interested in this training.

Sowetan, Daily Dispatch and Herald – Power your Future

Power Your Future (PYF), an educational supplement published in the Sowetan, Daily Dispatch and Herald newspapers every Wednesday (during term times), it is targeted at older learners in Grades 10-12. PYF contains cut-out-and-keep curriculum pages as well as vital information on career choices and life skills advice. Learners can join Planet PYF, all they have to do is SMS PYF and their details to 32545.

Newspapers in Education Workshops

Avusa Education will also conduct free workshops for your teachers as part of our Newspapers in Education (NIE) initiative thatprovides meaningful support to schools.

Avusa Education invests over R1 million a year in running workshops for educators on how to use newspapers as a tool for teaching. Educators are provided with quality teachers’ guides. These workshops and resources are tailor-made to suit the needs of educators in different phases: Foundation, Intermediate, Senior and Further Education and Training. They also demonstrate how newspapers can be used in almost every subject area.

If you’re interested in a free workshop at your school, please contact us with your details. Also be on the lookout for loads of ideas on how to use newspapers in your classroom.

SMS the word TEACH to 32545 to stand in line to win great prizes and to receive SMS teaching tips and details of what educational resources Avusa publishes every week in term times.

Oxford’s full-colour, illustrated, bilingual dictionaries are available in a range of South African languages. The dictionaries, which are suitable for learners of English and other South African languages, contain words arranged by theme. Other features include the use of words in specific contexts and phrases, showing learners how to create their own sentences; a storyline the learners can follow, with characters they can relate to; and activities to do individually or in class to give them practice in the language. There are also suggested lesson plans, teacher/parent guides, curriculum references and model answers.

For more information or to place an order, visit www.oxford.co.za Win, win, win!!!

We are giving away one full set of these dictionaries. To win, SMS the word DICTIONARY and your SCHOOL NAME followed by your name, grade and address to 32545.

One set contains individual dictionaries for: Afrikaans and English, IsiXhosa and English, IsiZulu and English, Sesotho and English, Sesotho sa Leboa and English, Setswana and English, Tshivenda and English, and Xitsonga and English.

For more information please contact:
Phanuel Mnguni, Schools’ Training Co-ordinator, on 011-280 5041 or mngunip@avusa.co.za
Or
Nozi Mncube, Schools’ Marketing Assistant, on 011-280 5374 or nozi.mncube@avusa.co.za