Pupils excel in reading and writing contest

At least 17 schools in the Soutpansberg West Circuit participated in the circuit's curriculum-based reading, writing and maths competition held at Benny's Care Sports Academy last Wednesday.

Ms Marthie Rossouw, the circuit's curriculum advisor, said the competition was for the foundation phase (Grade R to Grade 3). “The children demonstrated confidence in a manner that left teachers from diffent schools moved,” she said. “The judges couldn't hold back their words of encouragement for the children, as they witnessed and adjudicated the competition in great awe.”

The pupils were given prizes in the form of trophies, school bags and other related articles as a form of encouraging them to work harder. “We believe that a competition of this nature only not benefits the learners, but the educators as well,” Rossouw said.

She mentioned that teachers spent a lot of time directing their energy towards teaching the children to read and write. She added that the competition further served as a platform to test the good work that the educators were doing in schools. “The good work of any teacher should be seen in her or his learners,” she said. “You can't say you are an educator when in fact your learners can neither read nor write.”

“I think the competition was a success,” she added. “Learners and teachers benefit a lot because they get exposed to other schools and can learn from each other. Learners are exposed to something bigger than just the classroom. They get the opportunity to develop their personality and become confident. This competition is part of the curriculum and it helps teachers to cover the curriculum content.”

The learners who managed to get excellent marks in the circuit leg of the competition will then compete with learners from other circuits at district level. The dates are yet to be announced.

Date:13 August 2014

By: Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.

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