Welcome to our lifestyle
Fees & Admin
2012 Administration
Click here to download the pdf version
1. Introduction
We would like to
take this opportunity to welcome all our new families to
HeronBridge College. We trust that your time with us
will be happy and fulfilling.
In order to assist
parents (new and existing) with planning for 2012, we
set out below details of our school fees, the education
levy, a brief summary of our billing methods, and
general administrative information. More detailed
information will be available at one of the Registration
Days on 7th or 9th January 2012, from the relevant
school reception office throughout the year, or on the
School Communicator – see paragraph 20 for more
information on this.
This letter has been prepared to
address questions frequently asked by parents. Should
you still have any queries, please feel free to contact
us at any time.
2. School fees 2012
Below is
a schedule of school fees for 2012
3.
Registration fee
A non refundable
registration fee of R380 is payable with all new
registrations and waiting list applications.
4. Refundable deposit and annual deposit
top-up
In terms of the enrolment contract, a
refundable, interest-free deposit equal to one term’s
fee is payable to secure a place. This deposit will be
increased annually in January of each year so that at
all times it is equal to one term’s fee. This annual
increase is referred to as the “deposit top-up”.
Statements will be sent out early in December detailing
the top-up amount. Payment of the deposit top-up must be
made before Registration Day in January of each year.
At the end of a learner’s final term at HeronBridge
(provided the requisite notice has been given) the full
amount of the deposit held at that date will be credited
to the fees’ account and the credit balance on the
account refunded.
5. One Term’s notice
Parents are
reminded that in terms of the contract of enrolment
signed by them, they are required to give a full and
complete term’s notice in writing, on or before the 1st
day of the term, if it is their intention to remove
their child from the College. Should notice not be
received on the 1st day of term, parents will be liable
for a term’s fees in lieu of notice. Please note that
notice is required should your child be leaving at the
end of Grade R or Grade 7, as without notice it will be
assumed that he/she will continue to the next phase.
6. Education Levy
From 2012 all
compulsory grade specific charges will be covered by an
Education Levy calculated per grade. This levy will be
closely controlled and monitored, and will be for the
benefit of all children in that grade during the year.
The levy or part thereof is not refundable, should a
child not participate in any planned outing or event
covered by the levy. Full details on how the levy is
calculated, are available on request.
7. Billing procedures generally.
7.1. School
fees and the education levy are payable monthly in
advance over 10 months, commencing on 5 January 2012.
Payment is by way of debit order.
7.2. Parents may choose to pay school fees termly in advance (3 instalments on 1st January, 1st May and 1st September), or in one lump sum on 22 November (Early Bird) or 3 January (Annual). The education levy can also be paid in one amount on 3 January. Parents will have the opportunity in October of every year to decide whether they wish to choose an advance payment method for the year ahead. If no advance payment is arranged, parents will be billed monthly as this is the default method of payment.
7.3. Fees and levy will be debited on the first day of each month over 10 months (Jan-Oct) unless an advance payment option has been chosen. All fees and levies (except Early Bird and Annual) are payable by debit order on the 5th of the month – per Clause 8 below.
7.4. Parents will always be informed in advance and agree to any additional charges.
7.5. A statement will be emailed to parents on about the 20th of each month. You are requested to go through the statement and immediately contact the Accounts office if there are any queries. Our method of communication is email. Should you not have access to email, we will send a statement home with your child.
7.6. If you are happy with the account, it is not necessary to take any further action, except to ensure that there are sufficient funds in your account on the 5th of the following month to meet the debit order.
7.7. Debit orders will be processed for the full balance outstanding on the statement at the end of the month. Once the debit order instruction has been sent to the bank it cannot be reversed. It is important to note that should you wish to avoid the debit order being processed, you need to pay the account before the last working day of the month by direct transfer into the College’s bank account.
7.8. Registration for Aftercare and the bus is by the term, but this termly charge will be split over three months. Ad hoc charges for Aftercare will be billed monthly in arrear.
7.2. Parents may choose to pay school fees termly in advance (3 instalments on 1st January, 1st May and 1st September), or in one lump sum on 22 November (Early Bird) or 3 January (Annual). The education levy can also be paid in one amount on 3 January. Parents will have the opportunity in October of every year to decide whether they wish to choose an advance payment method for the year ahead. If no advance payment is arranged, parents will be billed monthly as this is the default method of payment.
7.3. Fees and levy will be debited on the first day of each month over 10 months (Jan-Oct) unless an advance payment option has been chosen. All fees and levies (except Early Bird and Annual) are payable by debit order on the 5th of the month – per Clause 8 below.
7.4. Parents will always be informed in advance and agree to any additional charges.
7.5. A statement will be emailed to parents on about the 20th of each month. You are requested to go through the statement and immediately contact the Accounts office if there are any queries. Our method of communication is email. Should you not have access to email, we will send a statement home with your child.
7.6. If you are happy with the account, it is not necessary to take any further action, except to ensure that there are sufficient funds in your account on the 5th of the following month to meet the debit order.
7.7. Debit orders will be processed for the full balance outstanding on the statement at the end of the month. Once the debit order instruction has been sent to the bank it cannot be reversed. It is important to note that should you wish to avoid the debit order being processed, you need to pay the account before the last working day of the month by direct transfer into the College’s bank account.
7.8. Registration for Aftercare and the bus is by the term, but this termly charge will be split over three months. Ad hoc charges for Aftercare will be billed monthly in arrear.
8. Payment by debit order
A debit order will be processed on the 5th day of every month for the total amount outstanding on your statement. Details are as follows:
9. Methods of payment
9.1. Debit
orders. The debit order system administered by the
College is our preferred method of payment, the only
exception being the lump sum payments in November and
January which should be made by bank transfer or cheque.
9.2. Bank transfers/ efts. Although all parents are required to sign the debit order instruction, some prefer to pay the account themselves by direct transfer. You are welcome to pay the full amount owing on your statement by cheque or eft, provided that the payment reflects in the College’s bank account before the last working day of the month, so that the balance on your account is zero at month end. If the balance is zero, the debit order will not be activated.
9.3. Cash. For security reasons we do not accept cash payments on the College property. Any cash payments should be deposited directly into our account at any First National Bank branch.
9.4. Credit card. The College does not have credit card facilities. However, parents are welcome at any stage to make use of the credit card facilities at the Uniform Shop provided the commission charge of 3% is added to the payment.
10. Returned Debit Orders and
RD Cheques9.2. Bank transfers/ efts. Although all parents are required to sign the debit order instruction, some prefer to pay the account themselves by direct transfer. You are welcome to pay the full amount owing on your statement by cheque or eft, provided that the payment reflects in the College’s bank account before the last working day of the month, so that the balance on your account is zero at month end. If the balance is zero, the debit order will not be activated.
9.3. Cash. For security reasons we do not accept cash payments on the College property. Any cash payments should be deposited directly into our account at any First National Bank branch.
9.4. Credit card. The College does not have credit card facilities. However, parents are welcome at any stage to make use of the credit card facilities at the Uniform Shop provided the commission charge of 3% is added to the payment.
Should a cheque or debit order be returned by the bank due to insufficient funds, an administrative fee will be levied as follows:
First Return: R150
Second and subsequent Returns R200
Second and subsequent Returns R200
11. Interest on Overdue Accounts
Interest at 2% above prime will be levied monthly on all amounts which are not paid on due date.
12. Default on payments
The contract of enrolment sets out the responsibility of the parent to settle all accounts timeously.
Should an account be in arrear for longer than 30 days, the College will take whatever action it deems necessary, including but not limited to, refusing entry to the learner at the start of the following term or after half-term. In particular, no learner may go on an outing or tour, or be registered for an external examination, if the account is not up to date.
Grade 12 learners whose accounts are in arrear will not be allowed to attend any matric farewell events or write their examinations as a candidate of the College. They will be entered as a private candidate and will need to find an alternative venue to write their examinations.
Should no satisfactory arrangement be made, all arrear accounts will be handed over for collection, and parents will be credit listed.
It is, however, important to stress that if parents do have a financial problem, our door is always open to discuss this, and to see what arrangement can be made regarding payment of the outstanding amount.
13. Registration Days – Saturday 7 and Monday 9 January 2012
At least one parent from each family is required to attend one of our Registration Days - either the Saturday or Monday before the start of school each year. Attendance at Registration Day is compulsory for every family – both existing and new. It is not essential for pupils to attend, but they are welcome to do so.
On this day, parents will be able to: confirm/update their personal details and contact numbers, collect their stationery and text books, register for aftercare and external extra murals, register for the bus (or collect bus cards if already registered), collect timetables, and purchase uniforms from our uniform shop. All accounts must be settled in full before the registration process can be completed.
The times and full details of the registration days are sent out to parents before the end of the 3rd term.
14. Aftercare
HeronBridge College provides an aftercare programme for Pre-Preparatory children and Preparatory children up to Grade 5 during the school term. Lunch is provided every day, and those children who stay for the whole afternoon will have their homework supervised. Pupils are required to register for the year, but can give notice at the end of each term if they don’t wish to make use of Aftercare in the following term.
The termly charge for Aftercare will be billed over three months, and accounts will be debited on 1st February, March, April (1st term), 1st May, June, July (2nd term) and 1st Sep, Oct, Nov (3rd term). The charge for Ad hoc visits will be billed in arrear on the 20th of each month.
Full details are available on Registration Day in January, when you will have the opportunity to register for the year. Details are also available on the School Communicator or from either of the school reception offices. The necessary enrolment and indemnity forms must be completed before a child may attend Aftercare.
Charges are set out in the table below.
15. Uniform Shop
HeronBridge College has its own Uniform Shop with the full range of academic and sports uniforms, school bags and school shoes. Our staff in the uniform shop will be able to advise you on the correct clothing required for every situation.
In addition to new clothing, the shop has a limited range of good quality “nearly new” uniforms at 50% of the cost of new items. The shop is open every day during school term, and at the beginning and end of school holidays. Open days and times are published on the School Communicator.
Uniforms can also be purchased through our On-Line shop – see www.heronbridgecollege.co.za - and then collected from the shop.
The Uniform Shop does not operate accounts, but will accept cash, cheque or credit card payments.
16. Bus fares
The College provides a bus service along many routes in the mornings, and early and late afternoons. Full details of times and routes will be available on Registration Day in January or throughout the year on our website and the School Communicator or from the school reception offices. The morning routes in particular are very popular and seats are allocated on a first come/first served basis, so we encourage parents to register as soon as possible.
Bus cards are issued upon completion of an application form and indemnity, and must be shown to the driver on every trip.
To simplify administration, pupils are required to register for the whole year, but can give notice and return their bus card at the end of each term if they don’t wish to use the bus the following term.
The termly charge for the bus will be billed over three months. Accounts will be debited on 1st February, March, April (1st term), 1st May, June, July (2nd term) and 1st Sep, Oct, Nov (3rd term).
Bus fares for 2012 will be as follows:
17. Textbooks and Stationery
17.1.
Pre-Preparatory
All stationery requirements will be purchased by the school on your behalf. The cost is included in the education levy.
17.2. Preparatory School
• Junior Preparatory – Grades 1 to 3
All stationery requirements will be purchased by the school on your behalf. The cost is included in the education levy.
• Senior Preparatory – Grades 4 to 7
Exercise books and workbooks are supplied by the school, and the cost thereof is included in the education levy.
A list of compulsory stationery for 2012 has been sent out to all parents. Stationery ordered from Waltons will be available for collection on Registration Day.
A list of textbooks required has been sent out to parents with order forms for Basically Books. These textbooks will be available for collection on Registration Day. Books can also be purchased direct from Basically Books on Registration Day.
17.3. College
Stationery and text books must be purchased by learners in accordance with lists distributed by the College. These lists can be found on the School Communicator under resources.
• College Stationery:
Parents can (but are not obliged to) order stationery in advance from Waltons. Order forms are sent out in October and the stationery must be collected on Registration Day.
• College Textbooks:
Textbooks can be ordered in advance from Book Bound. Order forms are sent out in October and the text books must be collected on Registration Day. Books can also be purchased direct from Book Bound on Registration Day. For certain subjects, textbooks or notes may be supplied by the school during the year, and these will be for parents’ account.
Workbooks and printed notes
In certain subjects the College prepares and supplies notes and workbooks. Where these are for the whole grade, the charge has been included in the education levy, but parents will be billed for any subject specific workbooks. Parents will always be informed in advance of the cost involved.
• Calculators:
Approved calculators are available from the HeronBridge Uniform Shop.
18. Tuck shop and CanteenAll stationery requirements will be purchased by the school on your behalf. The cost is included in the education levy.
17.2. Preparatory School
• Junior Preparatory – Grades 1 to 3
All stationery requirements will be purchased by the school on your behalf. The cost is included in the education levy.
• Senior Preparatory – Grades 4 to 7
Exercise books and workbooks are supplied by the school, and the cost thereof is included in the education levy.
A list of compulsory stationery for 2012 has been sent out to all parents. Stationery ordered from Waltons will be available for collection on Registration Day.
A list of textbooks required has been sent out to parents with order forms for Basically Books. These textbooks will be available for collection on Registration Day. Books can also be purchased direct from Basically Books on Registration Day.
17.3. College
Stationery and text books must be purchased by learners in accordance with lists distributed by the College. These lists can be found on the School Communicator under resources.
• College Stationery:
Parents can (but are not obliged to) order stationery in advance from Waltons. Order forms are sent out in October and the stationery must be collected on Registration Day.
• College Textbooks:
Textbooks can be ordered in advance from Book Bound. Order forms are sent out in October and the text books must be collected on Registration Day. Books can also be purchased direct from Book Bound on Registration Day. For certain subjects, textbooks or notes may be supplied by the school during the year, and these will be for parents’ account.
Workbooks and printed notes
In certain subjects the College prepares and supplies notes and workbooks. Where these are for the whole grade, the charge has been included in the education levy, but parents will be billed for any subject specific workbooks. Parents will always be informed in advance of the cost involved.
• Calculators:
Approved calculators are available from the HeronBridge Uniform Shop.
The College Canteen services the College campus and the Sports Complex, while the Prep Tuck Shop supplies food to Prep and Pre-Prep pupils, parents and staff.
In order to limit the amount of cash brought to the school, all College and Preparatory pupils are issued with their own personalized “debit cards” which must be used for all purchases. There is an initial charge for the card which will be debited to your school account. Funds must be deposited in advance directly into the bank account, and pupils are not permitted to buy with cash.
Cards for Pre-Prep pupils are not compulsory, but families who wish to make use of the tuck shop can order a card from the Pre-Prep reception office.
Canteen/Tuck Shop cards are unfortunately not interchangeable as the two systems operate independently, but it is possible to have a card linked so that purchases can be made with the same card at all the different points. Full details are available on Registration Day or from the office throughout the year.
19. Extra charges
The education levy introduced in 2012 will replace most of the incidental charges previously debited to your account. The following are examples of charges that may still appear on your account from time to time:
•
Year Book
Our Year Book will in future be published in February, so that all the year-end events can be included in it. The charge for the year book will be per family, and families will have the opportunity to order as many as they wish, or may choose not to receive one. You will hear more about this closer to the time.
• Subject specific charges
Should there be an expense which applies only to pupils studying a specific subject, those parents concerned will be informed of this, and their accounts debited.
• Sports and Co-curricular tours and charges
Sports tours are optional, and parents will be informed of the opportunity for their children to take part in these.
• Optional payments
Civvies Days, charity collections, etc are optional, and should parents choose to contribute, their accounts will be debited accordingly. Eisteddfod and competition entry costs will be debited if requested by parents.
• Bus and Aftercare
These charges are billed monthly to those parents who make use of the service.
20.
CommunicationOur Year Book will in future be published in February, so that all the year-end events can be included in it. The charge for the year book will be per family, and families will have the opportunity to order as many as they wish, or may choose not to receive one. You will hear more about this closer to the time.
• Subject specific charges
Should there be an expense which applies only to pupils studying a specific subject, those parents concerned will be informed of this, and their accounts debited.
• Sports and Co-curricular tours and charges
Sports tours are optional, and parents will be informed of the opportunity for their children to take part in these.
• Optional payments
Civvies Days, charity collections, etc are optional, and should parents choose to contribute, their accounts will be debited accordingly. Eisteddfod and competition entry costs will be debited if requested by parents.
• Bus and Aftercare
These charges are billed monthly to those parents who make use of the service.
It is essential that parents have the School Communicator installed on their computers. This will keep you up to date with everything that is happening at HeronBridge at all times. In addition to news, the Communicator will give you access (through the Resources tab) to all documentation, timetables, stationery lists, application forms, etc. To download the Communicator go to www.school-communicator.com and choose Downloads/HeronBridge College.
A newsletter "The Heron" is emailed to parents every second Monday and from time to time you will receive school specific emails. Accounts are emailed on the 20th of each month and then again after the debit order run has been completed. Our website is updated weekly. Please log on regularly to keep up to date with what is happening at HeronBridge College. Go to: www.heronbridgecollege.co.za.
We also have a Facebook account “HeronBridge College” as well as a Twitter account “@Herontweets”.
21. Any questions or queries
If you have any queries regarding fees or charges, please contact our Accounts office at accounts@heronbridge.co.za, telephone number 0861 HERONC (437662) or on the direct Accounts line
079-697-2565.
School specific queries should be addressed to the relevant school – telephone 0861 HERONC (437662) or (011) 540-4800. Emergency cell numbers for each department are on the School Communicator.
Kind regards,
Beth Tomlinson
Financial Manager
CONTACT NUMBERS FOR HERONBRIDGE COLLEGE
Main telephone: 0861HERONC (0861 437 662) | Admissions: 079 508 7436 | Fax: 011 388 1948 | Accounts: 079 697 2565
