Towards the end of 2012, the Principal of Surrey Primary School, Imtiaz Adams, decided to set time aside in the school week for every learner in the school to watch the movie “Knights of the South Bronx”.  This was done to help ignite an interest in chess amongst the learners.

The movie is based on the real life story of a teacher who taught learners from troubled backgrounds to play chess, using it as a metaphor to teach them to rise above their difficult circumstances.According to Imtiaz, many of the learners at the school could relate to the movie as they come from areas such as Manenberg, Heideveld and Gugulethu.

The movie was successful in promoting an interest in chess amongst the learners and many of them were eager to learn to play the sport. The school was able to secure enough chess sets for the initial demand. The popularity of the sport at the school has, however, increased substantially and the limited number of chess sets is no longer enough to meet the demand.  The focus of the intiative is on developing the talent of the younger learners at the school, to ensure the sustainability of it.

When Marius November, principal of Alpha Primary School in Morning Star, Durbanville, and Jessie Daniels from Consol embarked on their journey as Partners for Possibility, their main aim was to incorporate the PfP philosophy into the school’s vision and mission statement. They believed that if the parents of the learners were more involved in the school, it would become the centre of the Morning Star community.

The staff of Sophakama Primary School recently attended a Teambuilding workshop at the Rogz Factory in Montague Gardens.  The co-owner of Rogz, Irené Raubenheimer is the Partner for Possibility (PfP) to the school Principal, Sabelo Makubalo. The workshop was facilitated by Louise Hendey, who is also a PfP.

For the first time in its existence, The Hill High School recently hosted a workshop that every member of staff attended.
The workshop was the product of a conversation between the Principal, Sean Marques, and his Partner for Possibility (PfP), Reinoud Willemsen.  The workshop was aimed at promoting unity amongst the diverse team of 69 staff members.

Stephanie Dawson-Cosser, the Learning Process Facilitator (LPF) of the Leadership Circle (LC) that the PfPs are part of, facilitated the workshop. It was based on the Learning the Art of Community Building workshops that all participants in the PfP Programme attend. Staff members were encouraged to interact with people outside of the group that they usually socialise with. As the workshop began, it became evident that most staff members did not even know each other’s first names!

The staff members uncovered each other's gifts and talents and every person in attendance contributed to a new vision for the school. “It was a very interesting space,” says Stephanie.

The Principal of Qhayiya Secondary School, Nkosilungile Lolwana, has been part of the Partners for Possibility (PfP) Programme since March 2013. He has been the Principal of the school since 2011. Since Nkosilungile joined the school team, the school’s Matric Pass rate has been on the increase. In 2011, the school went from having a 32% pass rate in 2010 to having a 66% pass rate in 2011. The school had a 76.1% Matric Pass rate in 2013. Twenty seven of the Matriculants at the school achieved a Bachelor’s pass in the 2013 Matric examination.

Lou-Anne Lubbe, PfP to Principal Nkosilungile Lolwana, says that “The Art of Possibility for this school is to exceed an 85% Matric pass rate.”

PfP caught up with Nkosilungile to discuss how the school went about achieving this impressive improvement in results:

Melanie Burke recently facilitated a Common Purpose Meridian workshop at Kannemeyer Primary School.  Kannemeyer Primary School is part of the Partners for Possibility (PfP) Leadership Development Programme. According to Dr Louise van Rhyn, who was one of the speakers at the workshop, this was a very special occasion because the Common Purpose Meridian course contributed to the concept of PfP.

Melanie is the Senior Programme Director at Common Purpose South Africa. Common Purpose is a Leadership Development Organisation offering courses in several countries worldwide.

The Principal of Steenberg High School, Andre Kraak, has been part of Partners for Possibility (PfP) since March 2012. Last year (2013) their Matric class achieved a 94.1% pass rate and there was a 100% increase in the number of learners achieving a Bachelor’s pass at the school.

Partners for Possibility had a quick chat with Andre about the school’s amazing results:

PfP: How did the school achieve this remarkable improvement in results?
AK: The results were achieved by means of:
•    Concerted effort on the part of the teachers to prepare the 205 Matriculants to the best of their ability
•    Extra classes during the week including Friday afternoons and weekends
•    A Motivation Camp
•    Exercising strict discipline

PfP: Was there any assistance from your PfP with regards to increasing the pass rate?
AK: My PfP, Rob Broster, introduced me to Brenda Reed from Polyoak Packaging who enlisted the services of former learners from local high schools. She also secured the services of a former teacher, Ms Hodge, who raised the work ethic of our Accounting pupils.

PfP: Has being a part of PfP assisted you/the school in achieving these results?
AK: PfP undoubtedly contributed to this achievement. I always left our Leadership Circle meetings, under the guidance of the Learning Process Facilitator, Veronica Wantenaar, feeling inspired to do more at my school. I believe this had a positive effect on the staff... we were re-energised, especially when Polyoak Packaging donated funds to upgrade the Accounting classroom and to make our staff room user friendly!

Steenberg High School has also been recognised as one of the top ten schools to have improved the quality of their Matric passes in the Western Cape in 2013. The school was rewarded for Academic Excellence, receiving R15 000 from the WCED for the purchase of teaching and learning support material.

The Principal would further like to acknowledge Rob Broster (his PfP), Veronica Wantenaar (his Learning Process Facilitator), Polyoak, the Imam Abdullah Haron Education Trust (IAHET) and SHAWCO for their support and contribution to the school’s success.

Partners for Possibility wishes to congratulate the Principal and school on this remarkable achievement!

An Overview of the School, its Community, Current Challenges and Future Hopes compiled by Partner for Possibility Louise Hendey.

A learner at Masiyile Secondary School,which is in Khayelitsha in the Western Cape, has the prestigious achievement of being on the Western Cape Merit List for 2013.
The school is part of the Partners for Possibility (PfP) Programme and the Principal of the school, Sisa Sodlaka, has been a PfP since July 2012. He is partnered with Gillian Arendse, of iThemba Labs.

Bongani Elvis Gqweta passed his National Senior Certificate examination with five distinctions; he also made the top 5 in the province for Physical Science, passing the subject with an impressive 97%.

PfP spoke to Eugenia Mtyatya, a teacher at Masiyile, about Bongani’s impressive achievement; she was his Life Orientation teacher.