Power of the pen prompts a day in PA
Makhanda pupil receives his prize
Ten pupils from Holy Cross School in Makhanda had a morning to remember in Port Alfred on Thursday September 14 and all thanks to the power of the pen. Grade 7 pupil Lethu Sipayile, one of six prize winners in Talk of the Town’s Youth Day essay competition, was accompanied by his classmates.
They visited Talk of the Town, StendenSA and the NSRI.
In the Talk of the Town newsroom, the grade 7s enjoyed a presentation by manager Anneli Hanstein on how the community newspaper had its beginnings in the home of one of its cofounders.
“Their children and their friends used to come after school on production day to help hand-collate the copies, which were printed right here in this room!” she told the amazed grade 7s.
They were fascinated as she tracked the newspaper’s journey through to its purchase by Arena Holdings. A presentation followed on how the newspaper is produced now from the news diary to dummy to design, printing and distribution.
Talk of the Town’s second annual Youth Day essay competition was open to pupils in Makana and Ndlambe. A number of excellent entries were received on the two topics: Is the June 16 commemoration still relevant? and What young South Africans need today/Message to the president.
Co-judge Khanyisa Daweti congratulated all the pupils. “Just for making the effort to enter, you are all winners,” she said, before presenting Lethu with his voucher from Pick n Pay.
“Remember, every one of you can be anything you want to be,” she told the young adventurers.
And adventure they did.
Next up was a visit to StendenSA, where Meagan Alexander gave them a tour of the campus and told them about the private higher education institution’s degree programmes in disaster management and hospitality management.
A tour of the National Sea Rescue Institute’s Port Alfred Station 11 base followed, hosted by volunteers Trish Solz, Louise Ferguson and Hank Rynberg. They were thrilled with their tour of the base and a talk on water safety made a strong impression on the group.
The last stop was Kelly’s Beach, where Talk of the Town published Lethu’s essay in our Youth Day edition, along with a selection of other entries.
Winners and runners-up in the two essay topics were as follows:
Is the June 16 commemoration still relevant?
First: Naliyah Santos-Osman R500 from Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty Port Alfred plus a voucher for a burger, chips and milkshake for two
supervised young people at the Halyards Hotel pool deck.
Second: Christiaan Naude R200 voucher from BUCO plus a R350 voucher from The Jewellery Shop.
Third: Lethu R250 voucher from Pick n Pay.
What young South Africans need/ Letter to the president:
First: Lucky Hoyi R500 from Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty Port Alfred plus a voucher for a burger, chips and milkshake for two supervised young people at the Halyards Hotel pool deck.
Second: Iminqweno Moko —A bluetooth speaker from Tech Hub.
Third: Jani Muller R50 voucher from Sports n All plus R200 voucher from Continental Restaurant in Kenton.
Congratulations to everyone who entered and thank you to our sponsors for the great prizes.