Ikageng branch was honoured to have visitors from Department of High Education and Training Khetha. The aim of the day was to inform our learners about the different programmes that are offered from Universities, University of Technology and TVET Colleges nationally.With this in mind they encouraged the grade 12 learners to apply and submit their applications as most tertiary institutions are soon to be closing in August, whilst also encouraging the grade 11’s to work very hard and take note that most institution required grade 11 term 4 results for conditional acceptance into courses that learners show interest in and apply for.
The information session had two facilitators from DHET Khetha, Segopotso and Harriet who thoroughly explained the background and the main focus of Khetha, a department formed by Department of Higher Education and Training that deals with offering career guidance support. Khetha is career development servicehelpline which provides free career guidance support and information and advises for both youth and adults in need of such. The main objective of Khetha is to empower all South Africans in making informed career decisions and guiding them through processes that will results in positive career outcomes.
Further into the session, Harriet explained the difference between Universities, University of Technology and TVET Colleges, the various qualifications that are offered from different institutions and things that learner’s need to know before deciding their career path. She further went into details about how the different subject choice s influence and impact on a learner’s professional life.
Below are the insights she shared when deciding on a specific career path:
1. Self-knowledge– self- introspection is very important knowingwhat you like as person, your values, interest andskills
2.The world of work– Understanding and researching about the different companies that one is interested to work for, by visiting their web site more frequently and aligning yourself to the different opportunities that they are offering .
3. Training and learning opportunities –Knowing the various qualifications level such as (Certificates, Diploma & Degree) and the different entry requirements per Universities & Colleges
She further notified the learners about the various qualification that FET Colleges offers currently known as TVET College which are NCV( National Certificates Vocational) and to access these one would need to pass atleast Grade 9 to enrol into level 2.The requirements for Universities and Universities of Technology are slightly different, with these one would need to pass their grade 12 with a Bachelor or Diploma pass should they wish to enrol at these, they offer various programmes and also various qualifications which include Diploma, Degree, Honours, Masters & Doctorate qualifications.
Upon conclusion, they informed the learners and reminded them that Khetha gives the public access to a social media platform, email and telephone advisory service where they can get career information and they can send an sms, ‘please call me’ or even an email to Khetha helpline and a professional career advisor will assistant them with the relevant information.
Ikamvanites where overwhelmed with the fruitful career information workshop and everyone was given a chance to ask questions, Segopotso and Harriet were more than welcome to answer each and every question.
Ikamvanite are now ready to make the right choices!!! Thanks a lot to the Department of Higher Education and Training.
On the afternoon of the 18th of August, 26 Ikamvanites in grades 9 and 10, made their way to Protea Heights Academy in Brackenfell, to the much anticipated HIP2B2 Innovation Challenge Information Event.
The 26 young innovators arrived at the venue and there was quite a tangible presence of excitement in the atmosphere as they got to mingle with other participants from several other schools before the event commenced. Right when the meet and greet was getting more and more fun, they had to enter the venue and the information event begun.
The young innovators were taken through the history of the innovation challenge, some of the bright ideas that past participants came up with, what it means to take part in the innovation challenge and mostly, how fun it is to be part of something like the innovation challenge. Next, they had to complete 3 challenges in a space of 1 hour and 30 minutes. In the first challenge they had to make a working water distribution system with 3 paper cups, straws, a sponge, an envelope and of course some water. This was quite a tricky and messy challenge for all the participants but there was a brilliant execution of ideas in the room and it just shows that these young minds are not afraid of a challenge.
For the second challenge they had to design a reflector jacket for teenagers that walk during the night, using black bags, tape and several other material. Just as the science was impressive, creativity also took over with some jackets looking like they came straight out of a fashion week runway. Innovation took up its definition in this challenge.
For the third and final challenge, the participants were given a piece of paper with a whole lot of shapes and they had to identify and count all the triangles that appeared on the paper. As we live in a fast paced era, this challenge required a sharp eye coupled with quick thinking and some participants were remarkably faster than others.
With so much energy and focus in the room, the event came to a halt and the young innovators were given entry packs to assist them with the process of entering and everyone seemed to be in high spirits for the challenge. The future is in good hands, these young innovators are truly the beacon of hope for this generation. We look forward to what they will come up with for the challenge to solve real problems that their communities face using maths and science. I believe that Steve Jobs was speaking to this bunch when he said, “Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
THE BEST OF LUCK TO THESE YOUNG INNOVATORS!
On the 29th of June 2015 Ikamvayouth held their winter school programs across all branches nationwide and Ikamvayouth KZN was honoured to have the co-founder snd director of Ikamvayouth Joy Olivier in their presence. The learners work hard from the beginning of the year to make sure they attend sessions regularly in order to be legible to attend winter school. Previously the two KZN branches held a combined winter school but this year things have changed. The Umlazi branch and the Chesterville branch had their winter school separately, although they were in the same building, they were separated by sections. The Durban University of Technology, Steve Biko campus was generous enough to allow us to use their space for the whole two weeks of winter school.
The first day of winter school had everyone in mixed emotions, not knowing what to expect and wondering if everything will go well due to the changes that had been made. Although most were not so happy about the separation, by midday everyone had gotten used to the new arrangement which led to the success of day 1 of winter school. The rest of the week was also a success despite the transport issues due to a bus strike. It became difficult to transport learners to and from the venue, but because our branches were well equipped to hold winter school, each branch remained at their respective venues for the duration of bus strike which also proved to work in their favor because the time that would’ve been spent traveling was used constructively.
On day 4 of winter school workshop sessions commenced, speakers and visitors from different organizations and walks of life were invited to share their knowledge and expertise with the learners. To name a few, the learners were spoilt with a life skills workshop by World changers academy, team building by Mr Nkosikhona Mpungose from Youth Inter-Active, bursary workshop with Nedbank, An entrepreneurial skills workshop for the matrics with Sbo, KC from lovelife (self development workshop), a photography workshop by King Nzumbi photography as well as a Financial Literacy Training workshop Capitec bank.
Week 2 of winter school was much more exciting because the bus strike was over and that meant we could go back to DUT. The learners found it exciting and refreshing attending winter school in a different environment which was also good for their productivity. By Day 6 sessions were running smoothly, tutor and learner attendance was excellent and a lot of learning was happening. Lunch time was always exciting because everyone got a chance to enjoy the delicious meals prepared by our caterer Shino Mashinini from Shino’s Kitchen, while mingling and making and getting to know the other learners better
Whilst half of the day was dedicated to tutoring, the other half consisted of workshops and excursions. On day 8 the KZN winter school was visited by Varsity college for a career guidance workshop, a tertiary applications workshop for the matrics with Philile Dlamini, and a business start up with SD Media. The following day started off with excursions all around. Our tutors got a chance to go on a trip alone without the learners to NPC the cement company, they got to learn about the in’s and out’s of what goes into making cement. The learners and staff members visited the sugar terminal near the Durban Harbor, while others went to ABI and explored how beverages are made and end up in stores.
Finally the most anticipated yet saddest day of winter school came, day 10. Although it was the last day, it was also the day everyone got to let down their hair, participate in sports and other activities under health and life skills. The learners separated into four teams which were going to compete against each other during the sports day. The event was sponsored by ABI who generously supplied us with a variety of drinks and delicious food made by their caterers as well an awesome entertainment truck and DJ. Ikamvayouth KZN also partnered with Thembalabantu Clinic who provided us with free HIV testing and counseling as well as an educational talk about HIV/Aids awareness
The different teams competed in their sporting activities very well but there could only be one overall winner. Team Danger, otherwise known as the red team took first place. The day could not end without a but of entertainment from Sambrosa Salsa who taught everyone how to dance the Salsa, as well as a few songs from one of the Umlazi branch Tutors Brandon Leo
We thank All Ikamvayouth Sponsors, learners, staff, dedicated tutors and workshop hosts/partners for making the 2015 winter school a success
Someone once said, nothing great was ever achieved from a comfort zone and this proved to be true when over 300 learners woke up early on cold winter mornings to attend IkamvaYouth’s 2015 Winter School.
The morning of 29th June was filled with excitement and anticipation when 320 learners and tutors from Makhaza and Nyanga branch journeyed to the University of the Western for their two week Winter School. An entourage of 6 buses arrived at 08:30 and the Winter School kicked off with an opening and welcoming, which was done by Busiswa Dayimani and Nokukhanya Mchunu, Makhaza and Nyanga Branch Coordinators.
The lecture hall was filled to capacity by energetic bright sparks who were ready to take on their academics and to channel all the energies in the room, the learners broke into song to officially start the day. The excitement generated, inspired some talented learners to perform some acts and Aaron Mzayiya, a grade 11 learner, performed a poem for the crowd, while another group of grade 10 learners sang their hearts out for the audience. The highlight of the morning, was being joined by Neptal Khoza from Capitec (Marketing and Corporate Affairs) as our guest speaker. He delivered a talk about the importance of having a vision for your life and the significance of having people that share the same vision in your life. These are a few words from the speech given by Neptal, “Having a vision alone is not enough, what you need to do is work on a plan, a framework, of what it is that you need to do in order to achieve that. That will include the time that you need to put into studying, the time you need to attend programmes such as IkamvaYouth, the time that you need to get as much information from various sources that will help you become what you want to be.”
The first week was filled with intensive tutoring, the days began with an assembly at 08:30, where the timetable for the day was shared and tutoring commenced from 9am to 4pm. On each day tutors were given flexibility in terms of changing the timetable to accommodate the demand from the learners. In every room you spot serious faces, confused faces, determined faces and ones so engaged in the learning process.
During the lunch hour every day the tutors and staff assembled for a feedback session, which allowed the identification of problem areas that needed attention for the smooth rolling out of the programme for the remaining days. In this way the impact made was greater as focus was shifted to the subjects that learners required maximum support in.
The second week kicked off amazingly, with most matric learners joining in the fun at UWC. The timetable changed slightly as workshops were included in the afternoon schedule. Many of the learners were filled with excitement and were in awe by some of the interesting facts shared about social media, leopards and financial skills amongst many. We would like to thank Capitec for hosting a financial skills workshop with our grade 11 learners. The Cape leopard Trust, Mxit Reach, R-Labs, Robotics, Sunstep and many other individuals who shared their insight in their various areas of expertise with our eager learners.
Last but not least a huge thank you to our tutors who were incredible in the management of learners and tutoring sessions, their dedication to the mission and goal is recommendable.
(Tutors)
We admire the time, the effort, the dedication and passion that was shown by the learners, volunteers, guests, workshop facilitators, caterers and everyone who was involved to ensure that Winter School was a success.
What an exciting event to experience!
Week two of Ebony Park 2015 winter school started with a motivation from staff, thanking Ikamvanites for the commitment which they displayed during the first week of winter school. The second week was full of excitement and joy from both learners and tutors who managed to overcome the intense first week of winter school.
The branch partnered with organisations such as LoveLife, Capitec (Financial Literacy Training), Fujifilm and The University of Johannesburg’s Centre for Education Rights and Transformation. These organisations took over the afternoon sessions from 2pm until 4:30pm.
Love Life covered controversial issues on topics like HIV and AIDS and other tips on teenage conduct which most learners are currently facing these days. This resulted in a debate between Ikamvanites; both learners and tutors had their opinion on HIV and AIDS matters and the fact that government wants to have condoms at schools. Through these discussions, advices were given and others agreed to disagree. It was amazing to see how Ikamvanites were participating and giving valuable inputs towards these topics. Capitec gave training on financial literacy on how best to save and use your finances, this gave learners real life application of subjects like Accounting and Economics. Mr David Balwanz, a Researcher from Centre for Education Rights and Transformation at the University of Johannesburg, did a workshop on “knowing yourself”. The workshop was an eye-opener for the learners and benefited some of the tutors as it helps them know their personality. It also helps Ikamvanites to realise that each and every person has a personality and the personalities are different from one individual to another.
For the first time during winter school, Ikamvanites were visited by representatives from Fujifilm Mr Elsie Basson and Professor Raphael de Kadt to do a workshop called “photography is fun”. Ikamvanites learned that photography is a combination of Science and Technology and it also expresses pictures better than art. “For one to be a better photographer you need to travel a lot, be patient and be creative” said Mr Rafael. Ikamvanites learnt that photography is a way of seeing the world in a better view. It was an eye-opener for Ikamvanites to see photography as a career path to pursue. Ikamvanites expressed their gratitude to Fujifilm for donating memory cards to all who participated in the workshop. They also appreciated the great experience they had with Mr Basson and Mr De Kadt during the workshop and they will forever cherish the moments they had with them.
As the week was nearing to an end, Ikamvanites were preparing for a talent show and a soccer match between the tutors and learners. What kick started the day was a soccer match between the tutors and learners. The match took place at the local soccer field by the ikamva branch. Members of the community came in numbers to witness the glorious battle between the tutors and the learners. As the self-proclaimed soccer analyst Lesedi Ramushu predicted, the Tutors were victorious with the score of 2-0. The plan to maintain a friendly relationship between tutors and learners was achieved as everyone had fun till the end of the game, with a learner Sydney Phalandwa as man of the match. The reason behind the soccer match was to refresh the minds of both the tutors and learners after two weeks of intense tutoring.
Singers, Dancers, Actors and many more showcased their work as they left the audience breathless at the 2015 Ikamva talent show. A poem by Njabulo Mutle had everyone in tears as she reminded everyone about brotherly and sisterly love. Then the flood came when the dancers moved every one up-and-down to the rhythm of “Break-dancing” and “Pansula dance”. To close the Talent show there was a spectacular performance by a group of dancers who left the audience in a celebrating mood.
“This Year’s winter school left everyone wishing they can go back in time not change anything just to have the feeling of unity, teamwork and excellence all over again” said Welsh Dube (Head of Tutoring).
A closing speech was given by staff members to show their gratefulness to tutors and learners for a job well done.
Thanks to everyone who supported Ebony Park 2015 winter school!!
Lloyd Lungu