As South African Library Week comes to a close, the Western Cape Education Department announced the winners of the 2024 School Library Competition.

Kerry Mauchline, spokesperson for the department said the learners have demonstrated outstanding creativity and excellent writing skills, and have each won their school a prize money to spend on library resources.

The competition, which was run with the support of the department’s Education Library and Information Services (EDULIS) to celebrate International School Library Month, encouraged learners to either write a short story, or create a drawing or poster, depending on the grade they were in.

“Reading and writing are crucial skills that must be mastered if our learners are to succeed in their schooling and future career, and having access to library resources at schools can make a real difference in improving learning outcomes,” Education MEC David Maynier said.

The theme for the 2024 competition was “Adventures live in my library!”.

Learners were asked to tell a story about an adventure experienced in their library, and how winning school library resources would lead to more library adventures.

The department said they received 463 entries from across the province by the closing date at the end of the 4th term last year, and adjudicators selected 10 winners.

Foundation Phase (Grade 1-3) drawing/poster:

Nurah Abdol (Grade 3) – West End Primary School, Lentegeur; Daniel Monsoer (Grade 3) – Zwaanswyk Academy, Retreat; Liyabona Xorile (Grade 3) – Siyazingisa Primary School, Gugulethu; Ben Bosman (Grade 2) – Paarl Boys Primary School, Paarl.

Intermediate Phase (Grades 4-7) short story:

Qaathran Van Schalkwyk (Grade 4) – Imperial Primary School, Mitchell’s Plain; Dane Van der Merwe (Grade 4) – Olifantsvallei Primary School, Citrusdal; Tawananyasha Mujuru (Grade 7) – Delft South Primary School, Delft South; Unathi Kanjere (Grade 5) – Groote Schuur Primary School, Rondebosch.

High school (Grades 8-12) short story:

Carla Oosthuizen (Grade 8) – De Rust Futura Academy, Grabouw; Liyabona Mbokodi (Grade 9) – Centre of Science and Technology (COSAT), Khayelitsha. (Grades listed is the learner’s grade in 2024.)

tracy-lynn.ruiters@inl.co.za

Weekend Argus

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Learners win big for their schools in library competition