Various matric learners from the Southern Cape who participated in Stellenbosch University's (SU) Hope@Maties Tutor Project, were rewarded for their hard work during the year at a function last Thursday (29 August).
Top learners from 12 schools were surprised with Recruitment Bursaries from SU during a special function held at the Protea Hotel in George.
The following schools were present: George Sekondêr, Pacaltsdorp Sekondêr, Môrester Sekondêr, Bridgton Sekondêr, De Rust Sekondêr, Thembalethu Secondary School, Sao Bras Sekondêr, Beaufort-Wes Sekondêr, Kairos Sekondêr, Murray Sekondêr, Bastiaanse Sekondêr and Groot-Brakrivier Sekondêr
The learners' parents, school principals, tutors and the cluster coordinator also shared in this experience.
Hope@Maties is a strategic Schools Partnership Project which gives 250 Grade 12 learners from 10 geographical clusters the opportunity to participate in holiday schools. The top matriculants from schools in a geographical area are identified by their school principals and are brought together at a host school. Here they are taught by the best teachers in the area in core subjects such as Mathematics, Science and Languages.
Dr Trevor van Louw, Director at the SU Centre for Educational Leadership and Management (CELEMUS) and me Ilze Gelderblom, Advisor at the Centre for Prospective Students, addressed the learners and their parents at the function in George.
Dr Van Louw's speech referred to the work of the well-known Brazilian educationalist, Paulo Freire, about hope.
"Actions to bring about change must therefore be founded on hope, but must be grounded (or anchored) in concrete actions that we undertake to make what we are hoping for real – or to put it differently - to realise our dreams. Hope must be anchored in practice (doing), because, as Freire rightly argues, 'just to hope is to hope in vain'. These words almost certainly embody the greatest challenge to the realisation of our hope and indeed the dreams that you, your parents and your teachers have for your future," Van Louw said.
He also inspired the learners with practical advice and encouraged them to get clarity about their dreams and work harder than ever before to realise these dreams. "Let your dreams spur you to act and not to evade reality."
To conclude the evening, he motivated the learners to be prepared for a lifetime of self-examination; respecting others; believing in themselves and taking responsibility.
Hope@Maties is a project of the University's Centre for Educational Leadership and Management (CELEMUS), the Centre for Prospective Students (CPS) and Community Interaction (CI). Contact dr Trevor van Louw at vanlouwt@sun.ac.za or 021 808 2923/4709 for more information.
Caption: Dr Trevor van Louw, Director of CELEMUS; Charnay Bowers of Bastiaanse Secondary; Ms Ilze Gelderblom, Advisor of the Centre for Prospective Students; Bradley Thompson of Sentraal High School and Mr Lynthon Jacobs, CELEMUS
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