Well done, sara

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The Entrepreneurship Challenge is run by the Alan Gray Foundation. It is open to all Grade 8 to 12 learners in South Africa. More than 5000 learners compete. Three Riebeek learners are doing particularly well in the competition: Teneal Rudman and Sara Gopal are among the Top 30 and Jessica Craill is among the Top 100. These positions vary daily as learners compete on the internet. One of the challenges was a competition in itself - the Business Pitch Challenge. The top 5 learners of this challenge were invited to Cape Town to present their pitch in person. Sarah Gopal came third with her "Ice Cream Dream" pitch. Sara, in Grade 9, won R7000.

Woolworths My School: Teacher Who Inspired Me:

Learners Name & Surname          Liqhawe Nogampula
School Name                     Riebeek College Girls’ High School
Grade                    8
Eastern Cape
 
From the 2016 movie, Cinderella, the words “Have courage and be kind”  hang on a banner as you enter Miss Hattingh’s welcoming classroom and those are just some of the wise words she shared with us in Grade 6 that have stuck with me to this day. She has played a huge part in moulding me into the person that I am today. 
 
Going into a new grade is an intimidating process, but Miss Hattingh, or Miss H as we call her, made it a wonderful transition from Grade 5 to Grade 6. As I stepped into her classroom for the first time, I was greeted by owls and inspirational quotes as well as cards on each desk which read, “Where there is kindness, there is goodness and where there is goodness, there is magic.” That definitely set the tone for the year. 
 
She put in the most effort into making sure that we were happy and ready to learn in her classroom and set such a healthy learning environment that we didn’t dread being in class every day, which is a big thing seeing as we were pre-teens. She taught us to always “have courage and be kind” by having a trophy, by that name, which was given to a learner who had displayed those qualities during the week. Another Friday tradition was the “Friend of the Week” letter where we would draw someone’s name from a hat and we had to write a letter to that person and give it to them at the end of the next week. She made it a point to teach us to always be kind to people and to always be a friend to anyone who needed one. If you ever needed advice on something, Miss H was the person to go to. She still is. 
 
Miss H taught me a lot as an individual and helped me to come out of my shell and develop the skills that I didn’t realise I would need to survive my Grade 7 year. She taught me how to be brave in decisions that I’ve made and to be bold enough to stand up for myself, which were skills that I needed in Grade 7 since I was the Head Girl that year, 2017.
 
There was always a balance of learning our school work and having fun in class. I always looked forward to our class conversations at the end of the day, where we were given the platform to share stories without being judged. Miss H made her classroom such a happy and safe place for learners. She shared jokes with us and made us comfortable enough to talk to her whenever we needed help. 
 
Never did I think that I would cry at the end of my Grade 6 year, but I did. I was sad that such a wonderful year had come to an end and that I wouldn’t have her as my teacher anymore. She had made all 36 of us personalised messages, but she ended all of them the same with these words: “Leave a little bit of sparkle wherever you go,” and she has definitely left a sparkle in my heart. 
 
 
Learners Name & Surname                          Zenande Matikinca
School Name                     Riebeek College Girls’ High School
Grade                    12
Eastern Cape
Miss Potgieter is not only a teacher at Riebeek College Girls' High School, but also a bumble bee mother, sister and friend of the Grade 12s . Miss Potgieter is an ever so positive teacher who looks like she's got everything under control and her energy then rubs off on us, and me. But, she won't hesitate to put you in order when you're being disruptive or are in the wrong.  She is an English teacher who teaches you the difference between a proposition and preposition and teaches you how to pronounce onomatopoeia.  She is also a teacher who teaches you why you should take life seriously - I say this from being exposed to the words she says at the beginning of every term in class: “It's great to see that you've decided to further your education" and she says this because some children actually quit school midway. With her being my English teacher, it makes the decision of coming to school way easier. Miss Pot, as we call her, is a teacher and hockey coach who is truly dedicated to her work.  She makes sure you know where to allocate your similes and metaphors in your poems and she gives sessions about "life" in class – I will be forever grateful for those.  The impact Miss Pot has on my life is beyond measure. She is a teacher who challenges me to reach the best of my abilities.
 

Nelson Mandela children's fund competition

Omhle Bissett Grade 12

My role/responsibility in keeping Madiba dream of making South Africa better for all children
“Our children are our greatest treasure. They are the future. Those who abuse them tear at the fabric of our society and weaken our nation.” Nelson Mandela was very fond of children and that is evident as it looks like Tatomkhulu Madiba always enjoyed it when children would visit him and a children’s hospital in Johannesburg was built in his honour. uTatomkhulu Madiba said, “The youth are the leaders of tomorrow.” As a part of that youth, it is my responsibility to play a role for making South Africa better for all children. But what is a better South Africa?
uTatomkhulu had lived his life by the values of fairness, justice, dignity, forgiveness, courage, compassion and freedom. This is evident as uTatomkhulu Madiba had fought to make South Africa a better country for future generations. He had fought for the rights of all people regardless of race, gender, class nor religion.
A better South Africa is a South Africa that is fair and where justice takes its course. It is a South Africa where the people have more understanding of others, more understanding of another’s history, heritage, culture and language. It is where the total use of the Constitution is practised daily and everyone’s rights are respected. Everyone plays their part by exercising their responsibilities towards others and not just demanding their rights. A South Africa where everyone treats another with respect that she or he deserves. A South Africa where there are less inequalities between gender, race, faith and sexuality but, most important a South Africa that is safe for everyone, especially children and South Africa should be an anti-bullying zone.
South Africa’s youth population makes up a majority of the country being more than 20 million. South Africa, thus, has a huge responsibility in providing a safe environment for children. uTatomkhulu Madiba had said that the true character of a society is revealed in how it treats it children. And so it was his dream to see a South Africa safe and better for all children. Bullying, poverty and unemployment are still major factors that affects the South African youth. Many South African still get bullied in schools because of their situations at home and for just being themselves.
My responsibility in making a better South Africa is to be fair to others, kind to others and truthful. I should also understand the point of view of someone else and respect their opinions and also their human, civil and constitutional right by exercising my responsibility towards others. I should also try to create a safe environment for everyone living in it and especially children that would anti-bullying. I should try to contribute to a clean environment respecting Mother Nature and what beauty it supplies us with every day. I also need to play my part in providing an environment that allows growth, where children are not scared to raise their voices. I should treat all treat my peers with respect and allow them to be themselves and not be part of a vicious cycle that hurts children but break it.
My school has done 100 acts of kindness to commemorate the Centenary year of Nelson Mandela’s birth. Our principal Mrs Stear said, “Let’s put our hands up and also say ‘send me’ to make very day a Mandela Day, of service above us, of us rather than me, of love not hate, of caring not entitlement, of doing good to make the world a better place.” Nelson Mandela had said, “It is in your hands to create a better world for all who live in it.” Riebeek College had been playing its role in making the world a better place by donating and helping out at the Rape Crisis Centre in Uitenhage, Uitenhage Old Age Home, Bayworld Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage Child Welfare and Oosterland Children’s Home Despatch as part of its 100 acts of Kindness. I am proud to say that I have been a part of this wonderful initiative that my school has done to better the lives of people around especially children as uTatomkhulu beautifully said, “History will judge us by the difference we make in the everyday lives of children.”
 

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