October 2017

Dear Parents,

TEXT BOOK REQUIREMENTS FOR 2018

The booklists reflecting the textbook and stationery requirements for your son/daughter for 2018 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 2017 and buy second hand books for 2018. 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 29th 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 2017
Saturday 2nd December / 09h00 - 13h00
Monday 4th December / 07h30 - 13h00
Tuesday 5th December / 07h30 - 13h00
Wednesday 6th December / 07h30 - 08h00
10h00 - 12h00
Friday 8th December / 13h00 - 13h30

The shop will be open briefly in January primarily for new pupils. These opening times for January 2018 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.
  • The date for annual price increase of textbooks for a number of textbook suppliers has changed in 2017. Whereas in the past,the prices used to increase midyear, now the price increase will happen on 31 December. It is definitely in your financial interest to buy textbooks in December as opposed to January next year.
  • In addition to the above point 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.

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3.

  • POLICY for ordering textbooks for Grades 0-12when there is no stock on the shelf is as follows:

If a book that is required by a student is not available on the bookshop shelf, and has to be ordered, it will need to be paid for in full before the order is placed. Thispolicy(implemented in Dec 2015 for some grades) 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.

  • 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 Gr 10-12 must be bought as these need to be used in the examinations.

  • We have done our best to “guesstimate” how many books are needed but there are bound to be inaccuracies, as well as the fact that publishers are notoriously late in printing books.
  • 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 2018) 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)