Aqua Vista Primary spell ’victory’ after close battle
Province’s only drummie in SA squad 30 EL pupils wow audience in first FinLit Spelling Bee
A LILYFONTEIN Primary School pupil has been selected for the South African Majorette and Cheerleading Association national team for next year.
The team will be travelling to the world championships, which will be hosted in Cape Town next year.
Grade 7 pupil Sibulele Kentane is the only majorette to be selected from the Eastern Cape.
Kentane’s coach, Amy Stanton, said in order to be selected for the Protea team, one had to first be awarded provincial colours, which the 13-year-old received two years ago.
Stanton said majorettes also had to have their Samca colours, which Kentane received early this year in Maritzburg.
Kentane said: “I was shocked at first but now am honoured to have been chosen.
“I’m so excited to be part of the squad that will go to Cape Town for the World Championships. It’ll be exciting to meet drummies from other squads and share ideas and experiences with them.”
The coach said Kentane had travelled to Johannesburg three weeks ago to try out for the Protea team. The young star was the only junior to do so.
Stanton described Kentane as a very dedicated pupil, and someone who showed great leadership skills and was highly disciplined.
“Sibulele is a very dedicated child and if she puts her mind to something, she really goes all the way to make sure she achieves it. She is lovely to coach.
“Her selection is testimony to her talent, fitness, character and, above all, her hard work and attitude. Lilyfontein school and her coaches are extremely proud of her and we wish her well for the 2018 International World Championships in Cape Town,” she said.
Coached by Amy and Calista Stanton, the Lilyfontein majorette team are currently the champions in the Eastern Cape and recently won fifth place at the nationals.
Kentane is yet to receive her Protea blazer and will travel to Johannesburg for team rehearsals in preparation for the championships.
She will represent the country at the world championships in September next year.
TWO pupils from an East London primary school came out tops in the country’s first Financial Literacy (FinLit) Spelling Bee.
The competition was hosted by the Eastern Cape department of education and the Banking Association of South Africa.
Selected from various schools in the East London district, 30 keen spellers filled the Education Leadership Institute hall in Stirling and wowed the audience with their proficiency in spelling out financially related words.
The FinLit spelling bee lasted for eight intense rounds, and in the final round pupils were not only required to spell the words, but also provide a definition.
Aqua Vista Primary School pupils Lona Dunga and Vuyolwethu Madlebe won first and second place respectively, while third place was clinched by Lisakhanya Mzingayi from Cambridge Primary.
Aqua Vista Grade 7 economics and management science (EMS) teacher Nomvuko Jilaji said she was extremely proud of the pupils.
Jilaji said the department had sent a list around with hundreds of words for pupils to practise. Many pupils were familiar with most of the words as they had been used as part of the EMS curriculum.
Jilaji added that she had also often held spelling bee quizzes in her classroom as a way to prepare the pupils for the competition.
“I have been coaching and working closely with them and they are both really good pupils. Both have been performing exceptionally well in EMS.
“Lona’s English is very good and she achieves good marks. This came in very handy for the competition.”
Aqua Vista principal Ambeline Ross said the school was very proud of the pupils.
“We are on the outskirts of East London and for us to be able to participate in the competition and win the overall competition is really just prestigious for us. They have represented us well,” said Ross.
Eastern Cape department of education provincial planner Zoliswa Angelina Matshingana, who was the guest speaker at the competition, encouraged teachers to be actively involved when educating pupils and go the extra mile.
Matshingana encouraged teachers to make sure pupils read as much as possible.
“We as the department and the teachers must make sure that pupils perform well at school.
“We need to encourage pupils to read and work together in being actively involved in educating pupils,” she said.
Financial education manager at the Banking Association of South Africa Mvelenhle Yaka said they were pleased to be a partner in the competition and hoped to roll the event out to other districts.