Entering the second week of Winter School 2013 was exciting for all KZN Ikamvanites, we had gotten the hang of things. The first week had been exciting, challenging and a lot of fun. Learners were looking forward with anticipation to what was in store for them for week two.
Tutoring continued as usual, in the mornings with activities and talks planned for the afternoon sessions. In this the second week, the Love Life Mpintshis continued to give valuable life lessons to learners, while DSW came in to speak about waste management and gave away prizes to those learners who participated actively in the waste management talk. Media, Image and Expression workshops were held where we saw learners learning to express themselves in ways they knew how, ranging from poetry to acting, singing and dressing up in a way that represented their personalities.
The last group of learners did the amazing race, this was the best group by far. They complained, they cried, they argued but they kept going at it. This race taught many of life’s lessons which I don’t think the learners noticed at the time but there were lessons to be learnt like working as a team, persevering and accountability just to mention a few.
The matrics were fortunate to be afforded a chance to watch the movies of the set books they are reading in English. We had Shakespeare’s Othello, Nothing But The Truth and Animal Farm playing for the learners. This was aimed at assisting them to get a better understanding of the books through a visual medium. The English lecturers were also there to assist them with any questions they may have had. For those who don’t do any of the above mentioned books we entertained them with a movie “My Name is Khan”. The lessons in this movie ranged from perseverance to going after what you believe in to kindness being rewarded and the truth being able to set you free. Again the matrics were taken through a financial literacy workshop by Capitec. This was seen as a very important tool for them as they would not only be equipped academically for the “big bad world” but they would also have financial health knowledge. Grade 11 learners had the opportunity to write a Maths Test also supplied by Capitec to gauge their levels of literacy in Maths.
We were also graced by the visit of our National Coordinator, Zamo Shongwe, who came in for two days in the second week. She really just reminded us of why we were there as staff and volunteers and encouraged us to continue pressing on. She also firmly reminded us that we should carry ourselves in a way that is admirable and that the learners can take a pattern from with regards to behavior, the way we speak to each other and to learners, dress code (no caps indoors) and drawing the line between learner and adult.
When we came to the end of week 2, we were tired and drained but content, our goal had been achieved. There were no major setbacks and we all took something away from this experience.
Lloyd Lungu