New principal reels in digital age at Kenmont School
Zelda Dempers said the ideal situation would be for each classroom to have a laptop, projector and a smart-board and for each learner to have a tablet to work on.
KENMONT School’s newly appointed principal, Zelda Dempers, is ready to introduce the school to the fourth industrial revolution, which is the age of technology. The technologically savvy principal’s big project this year is fully migrating the school to a more digital teaching and learning environment of mostly tablets and Powerpoint presentations.
“My aim is to bring in sponsors to equip every learner at the school with a tablet each and we hope to do this as cost-effectively as possible in terms of software. If all goes well by the end of this year, most teaching material will be on Powerpoint and learners will be able to download the lesson. The aim is not to, however, go completely paper-free,” said Dempers, who still encourages writing on pen and paper.
The mother of two is dedicated to her work and is constantly looking for ways to get more funding to better the facilities offered at the school. “I’m passionate about our learners because special children have had to work for what they have. They are willing to do what it takes to get where they are. They don’t take things for granted,” she said.
She added that ideally, each classroom should have a laptop, projector and a smart-board, and for each learner to have a tablet to work on. There are approximately 25 learners in a class, however, this is not yet possible because of financial constraint. “We are appealing to businesses to sponsor a single classroom and to brand it with the company logo and colours. This is a powerful advertising tool and can also be a tax-deductible expenditure,” she said.
Dempers is not a stranger to the managerial position at the school, as she was at the helms as deputy principal just a year ago, and a head of department for 16 years at the school’s Further Education and Training. She began her career at the school in 1996 as a teacher and held her post for 7 years before being promoted.
Under Dempers’ leadership, Kenmont School now has a website, designed and created by her and she ensures that it is regularly updated with developments at the school. A vocational unit was also recently added at the school to create opportunities for learners not coping in the pure academic stream to be employable in the commercial and hospitality industries.
Kenmont is a school for learners with specific learning disabilities. Its mission is to provide appropriate, quality education with well-trained and well-equipped staff in classroom and subject teaching and in the fields of psychology, remedial, speech and occupational therapy. Its main focus is to promote lifelong learning to enable learners to continue with further learning and skills in a fully inclusive society and occupational environment.
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