WOW celebrates turning 21 this year and we couldn’t do it without our schools. After 21 years of empowering learners at underprivileged schools through language, literature and the arts we are proud to have reached the point where we can hand over the management of project actions to WOW educators who will carry them forward in their own schools. The WOW Open Day took place in April at Stellenbosch University (SU) with our Make a Plan initiative. But Mr Ricky Dennis Prince, a gr. 12-educator at Bastiaanse Secondary in Beaufort West, came up with a plan of his own. With assistance from WOW, Mr Prince was able to invite 60 learners in gr. 10, 11 and 12 for an open day of their own at an institution that he considers “the ultimate university”.
Trained mentors who study at SU shared with learners the opportunities available to them at SU and what they need to study at the institution. Mentors also shared advice and information on how to survive and balance student life, where to turn for support, and spoke constructively and honestly about, among other things, well-being and coping as a university student. As with learners at the WOW open day, WOW will support these prospective Maties throughout their application process to ensure they achieve their academic and career goals.
For this school in the “Capital of the Karoo”, ownership and excellence are nothing new. Last year Mr Prince received the Woordfees Award for the WOW school of the year for Bastiaanse Secondary. He emphasizes the role of educators in a learner’s future.
“You have to be able to assist children at an early stage so that they can work out what it is they really want to be one day. We are very grateful to WOW for their support with events like this. There is no better job than being a teacher. The teacher is the ultimate! You build people for their future,” he told young learners who attended the Open Day.
