Luxolo Prizegiving

Only the weather failed to perform at the Luxolo Intermediate School’s prizegiving last week. It was the hottest day so far this year, with a temperature of 38°, and added to this was a gusting wind of 65 km/h!

As the school has no hall, the prizegiving was held in an enclosed area of the grounds, between two blocks of the school, with the children sheltered from the sun in a huge open-sided marquee. The dust was swirling everywhere, and there were many times when the wind blew particularly strongly that the children thought that the marquee was going to blow over, and there was much shrieking and running away. However it held firm, and due to the frequent watering of the ground the dust problem was kept under control.

The main events and speakers of the morning were interspersed with delightful entertainment items performed by pupils from the school. The very talented choir were on top form, and the two dance groups gave spirited performances. Fifteen girls from grades six to nine form the Cultural Dance group, and move with fluidity and grace. The twenty boys in the  gumboot dance group showed coordination and massive amounts of energy!

Speakers for the day were Mrs S Nqipha, chairperson of the SGB, who gave many words of encouragement to the children. Siphosethu Rabe, a girl from grade nine, gave an eloquent speech of farewell from the grade nine learners.

The main speaker was the principal, Mr Jan Mathiale, who spoke at length to the parents about the importance of reading. He encouraged the parents to buy books for their children rather than cellphones, stressing that reading is the gateway to education. He also urged them to encourage their children to read with understanding, and to learn from what they read.

Throughout the speeches Mr Lumkile May provided a fluent interpretation from isiXhosa into Afrikaans, which was appreciated by many of the parents.

Learners from each class in turn came forward to receive their diplomas, which had been designed with originality by teacher Christo Frazenburg. Special awards were also given to the winners of the recently held Miss Luxolo and Mr Personality competiton, as well as to those who had achieved on the sports field. Sportsman of the Year was shared between Thabiso Sota and Phindile Mnyanda, who is only 13 years old, but plays at U15 level. Sportsgirl of the year was **************  The top pupil in Grade Nine was awarded to Anita Sijadu, who received a trophy donated by ABSA

The top G9 learners

Fltr back Delanou Baadtjies, Floyd Jacobs, Thabiso Sota, Pheliswa Tinus, Mrs Jeanette Tinus

Front fltr Anita Sijadu, Siphosethu Rabe, Nosipho Nontyilana, Sivenathi Nkohla, Mornalize Pietersen

 

2. Miss Luxolo and Mr Personality winners

Back Nadia Job (1^st runner up) Miss Luxolo Esmerelda Plaatjies, 2^nd runner up Chantel Cedras

Front 1^st runner up Mr Personality Siphosethu Tinus 2^nd runner up Altonio Minnie

Teachers Ms Nonnies and Mrs Mafilika

 

3.       Sports stars *********** Thabiso Sota and Phindile Mnyanda with teacher Christo Frazenburg

 

 

 

4.       The cultural dancers

 

 

5.       Top grade 9 learner Anita Sijadu with principal Jan Mathiale

 

6.       The choir with some of the cultural dancers

 

 

7.       The energetic gumboot dancers