Luveve High School marks 50 years
Headmistress Mrs Gertrude Ndlovu’s speech on the occasion of the school’s 50th Anniversary and Speech and Prize Giving Day. N behalf of the school and prize winners here present, I am delighted to welcome you all to this very exciting back to back occasion characterised by the 50th Anniversary celebration and speech and prize giving for the talented, hard-working students and staff as we celebrate 50 years “Sisemfundweni – The Luveve we want.”
Our theme ladies and gentlemen is heavily inclined towards that deep search for identity and a sense of belonging as we seek to achieve the best education we on offer in a life time.
As we mix and mingle with young people, we take great pleasure in rejuvenating ourselves and continue to get even thirstier for those vital aspects of young people leading to a better understanding of our learners. This does not only give us a better position to develop learning programmes, improve teaching strategies, encourage interesting study habits that are beneficial to all of us but allows us to adapt fast to changing trends and respond to new ideas in the society. This is a top secret shared with you in the belief that you will keep for it makes Luveve continue to shine even at 50 years of age.
Luveve High School has an enrolment of 1 662 students of which 773 are males while 889 are females. There is a staff compliment of 29 male teachers and 49 female teachers all of whom are qualified with three holding Masters Degrees. Luveve has 25 non-teaching members thus bringing the entire staff complement to 103.
Luveve High School, even at 50 years, still has that unique aspect of being the only school in the Western suburbs of Bulawayo running as both day and boarding school. The school has a self-contained sewage system and also offers accommodation to teaching and nonteaching staff. Our boarders’ sphere of influence reaches as far as Kwekwe, Victoria Falls, Hwange, Matopo and a larger part of Matabeleland South. Academic offerings The school has a wide range of subjects designed to equip our products with valuable skills aimed at enabling them to compete effectively out there in the market. We draw our inspiration from the fact that our
Ocarefully grafted unique curriculum which integrate well into the New Curriculum aligned directly with the needs of the society and conforms even better to the New Curriculum Development targeted at equipping the product with an illusively rich exit file. Subjects on offer are as follows: O’ Level: English Language, Literature in English, Ndebele, Mathematics, Integrated Science, Biology, Geography, History, Religious Studies, Commerce, Accounts, Computer Studies, Fashion & Fabrics, Food & Nutrition, Art, Technical Graphics, Metal Work, Wood Work, Building Studies, Physical Education and Business Studies.
A’ Level: Literature In English, English Language and Communication Skills, Ndebele, Divinity, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Geography, History, TCD, Computer Science, Computer Studies, Accounting, Economics, M.O.B. and TG.
Even at fifty, we are proud of our Discovery-enriched Curriculum known as DEC which encourages all our students to make an original contribution to their field of study as an integral part of their professional education. Such a strategic approach prepares the learner to know how to generate new knowledge in order to meet the demands of the Modern-day workforce, to practise professionally at and beyond the level of international standards.
In order to demonstrate the practicality proof of the fact that experience counts, while “wine gets tastier with age”, we carefully listen and respond to the World around us, a strategy that benefits the learner as they progress to a new job, new university, new carrier and new life.
Luveve High School’s quest for seeing beyond the future inspires us to believe soon and very soon, we shall be celebrating the birth of Luveve High SchoolUniversity. The rich evolution of our history gives us a strong foundation to start thinking outside the box and consider twinning up with a local University which will be specialising in Vocational, Technical subjects such as Art, Metal Fabrication, Carpentry and Joinery, Brick Laying, Building Studies, Textiles and many others.
Luveve High School, being a non-selective centre continues to command a high standard of performance with the advanced level pass rate currently standing at 91 percent up from 80 percent in 2014 and ‘ O’ Level being 18 percent up from 12 percent in 2014. Among the high ranking subjects such as Literature in English, IsiNdebele, Economics, Biology, TCD, History, Geometry and Mechanical Drawing, our pass rate currently stands at 100 percent at A-Level.
Allow me to draw your attention to the fact that we still need to invest in producing a pass rate beyond or above the national standard.
A number of our students are admitted at the local and international universities, Polytechnic colleges, teacher colleges and nursing schools to mention but a few. Our direct products include Professor CB Nyathi Co-Vice Chancellor of Nust, Prof. Welshman Ncube — renowned legislator, Kennedy Ndebele of Highlanders Football club, Dr Charlie Dube, Lison Ncube former Child Parliamentarian and Headboy and interestingly Busani Sibindi his Deputy Headboy as well as Mr W Ncube the former School Head and not forgetting our Guest of Honour . Ladies and gentlemen, this is just a sample of the many other individuals out there , who are prominent figures in the society. Allow me to challenge these individuals to form a strong alumni , take a moment to think about their secondary and high school days and say to each other, “We need to plough back” and make Luveve the “Luveve We Want.”
Further, the school embarks on various enrichment programmes like NUSTSEP for Mathematics and Science students and HOCIC for English students. Such exposure has opened up even wider opportunities for our students as illustrated by the following achievements:
1. One STEM beneficiary Bongani Ndlovu won a STEM Air Ticket to Silicon Valley University in America and will be among students from the other provinces flying to America. We also have two students who won IPods and are currently seriously enjoying access to current information through taping into technology. The two students are: Virima Mayibongwe and Ndiweni Ntokozo in L6Sc.
Our L6 student, George Nkosi competed in the Old Mutual Mathematics Olympiad, did extremely well and won himself, one parent, his patron and of courses his head a ticket to Harare booked for a night at Meikles Hotel.
Under School’s Annual Sport, Science and Arts Festivals, Luveve High School is an undoubtedly excelling institution in sporting activities. The school’s name is a household name when it comes to Volleyball, a number of students have competed at National and International Level. We greatly appreciate the massive effort applied by the coaches, managers and students thus displaying a very high level of commitment. Mr William Mazviro and Madam Thabani Siziba are the people at the helm of it all.
Luveve High School is the current holder of the Nash Debate competition cup and is currently preparing to go to Botswana (Gaberone) to compete at International level in December. Kuthiwa Udiwo lufuze imbiza— incidentally the Speaker also happens to be the current Nash Bulawayo Metropolitan Province Chairlady. We want to thank Mr Misheck Tshuma and Mrs Ottilia Mbiba for nurturing the team’s talent to this magnificent level and continue to challenge them to work towards years in existence. This does not go without saying that the school is confronted with infrastructure that has over-lived its tenure. This therefore means that the school is carrying an extra burden to refurbish its aged infrastructure, reticulation system and at the same time work towards capacitating the modern and technological structures to remain competitive in today’s society. Financial support, infrastructural development and proper reticulation cannot be divorced from quality education.
I am reliably informed, though disappointingly, that parents at this school have a culture of not paying fees, and in cases where they make payment plans they never fulfil them. Surprisingly, the very parents demand impressive results from the school. The question is: How does one get good results with no resources? May we please honour our obligations.
I recognise that the school is threading on a legacy of great achievement and most preferred school which we need to uphold and most probably surpass as enunciated in today’s theme. As parents we are the important authors of Luveve High School destiny as a vision without action is a daydream and action without a vision is a nightmare. So we need to develop the will to help our children be who they are. An investment in education pays the best interest. To The Staff: I am reliably informed that the school boasts of all qualified staff some of whom have Masters Degrees. It is a positive step in the right direction in realising one’s confidence in the capabilities of the teaching personnel. I, therefore challenge you to a lofty vision bringing the Cup home from Botswana.
At Luveve High School, as we continue to search for the lost glory, we encourage every participant to re-direct their energies to making their best to regain its former glory as the most preferred school. We not only expect the learners to become active, we also expect that they be thankful to parents, teachers and the society as a whole for affording them the opportunity to tap wisdom oozing from the dedicated duty conscious teachers readily awaiting dishing out that overflowing knowledge to active recipients and with learners at heart.
Our students are not in any case a misfit in the society because as they leave school they take with them the virtue of “give” rather than just “take” as clearly indicated by the presence of Dr Ndebele W who sacrificed his time to make a few dollars and chose to spend the greater part of the day with us today. We also have a number of former students who made various donations in cash or kind based within and abroad.
To the class of 2016, please note that as you leave your school for your second home, you fly away like birds, catch the wind and begin your journey, your odyssey and seek your dream. Always dream big for it pays to keep moving not minding the speed but valuing the need to continue gathering strength and courage as long as you keep your heads down to quickly identify and avoid obstacles lest you fall and probably fail to rise.
CHALLENGES We are still struggling to greatly improve our OLevel results. Limited resources are a stumbling block resulting mainly from non-payment of fees by most parents who are abusing the government policy on fees payment. It is our wish that all parents play a responsible role and allow their children to invest in education if we are to break that assumed perpetual seed of poverty.
My sincere thanks go to our Guest of Honour, all our invited guests, sponsors, parents, teachers and students for your continued support of Luveve High School.
To the alumni and parents here with us today we thank you for coming back to your second home and remember to always allow God to take the lead.
I thank you all, please enjoy the rest of the day and always remember Luveve High is your school— make Luveve “The Luveve We Want”. of leading in the provision of quality education for socio-economic transformation. You are the icons of these children hence your conduct should be such that you dedicate yourselves to this noble profession where you appreciate the mammoth task that you deal with the most delicate, volatile but most useful part of the human — the mind of the child, which can transform the world. Hence, your prime task is to ensure that the education you offer prepares the children to access the tools of the new economic and curriculum frontier and develop fundamental values of ubuntu/unhu and skills that will last for a lifetime to help them live the world amicably. Commitment to duty can never be overemphasised at this forum but Nikos Kazantzakis notes that ideal teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross, then having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create bridges of their own.
Consequently, I call upon the educators here present to help the students to the threshold of their minds and to teach their students to see the vitality in themselves. Educators need to appreciate that their task rests in helping the students think of education as a means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into a benefit for everyone and greater strength of the nation. As teachers we need to keep in mind that we are working towards the implementation of the new curriculum and continuous assessment in the year 2017 in line with the Zim-Asset goals. So let us help our students get the best of education for a nation without education is a dead nation.