Achieving excellence against all the odds
ON THE morning of the finals of their spelling bee competition three pupils from Hanover Park, were not sure if they would be able to leave their front doors due to the ongoing gang violence in the area.
But despite their fears they managed to get to the finals and later won the Growsmart spelling bee competition.
Parkfields Primary School principal Diana Williams, who also coached the pupils, explained on the specific morning the children’s parents were scared to send them to the competition.
The spelling bee competition took place at President High School in Goodwood.
“But luckily they made it to the competition and they won. The school also made it to the semi-finals in the natural sciences category.
“The pupils attended all the coaching sessions and worked very hard. Especially if you take into account the circumstances they come from. Last year we made it to the semi-finals,” Williams said.
The winners of the competition are: Salama Jamodien, 11, Tasneema Isaacs, 12, and Tammy Isaacs, 12.
They won prizes to the tune of R20 000 and had to provide a wish list to the competition organisers.
Salama said: “I feel very proud that we won. We worked very hard. On my wish list I asked for an iPad and a printer, that I will be using for my school assignments”.