Cape Town - In celebration of International School Library Month, the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) will again hold a school library competition in which learners can help their school win R25 000 to spend on school library resources.
This year it will take the form of a poetry competition, themed: “My Covid Journey”.
The competition seeks to develop learners’ creative writing skills and to emphasise the importance of libraries in schools.
The WCED also hopes to have a positive impact on learners’ wellbeing, by giving them a chance to express their feelings and experiences of the pandemic, thus helping them to heal from the emotional trauma it has caused.
Education MEC Debbie Schafer chose this theme in acknowledgement of the profound impact that the pandemic has had on learners.
“I was therefore extremely excited to visit Laerskool Laurus in Oudtshoorn earlier this year to celebrate the start of National Book Week.
“Upon my visits, I found that some of the school’s learners read poems they had written themselves, including one on Covid-19 by a Grade 3 learner,” she said.
Each school can collate as many poems from the learners at their school as they like, to form a single entry for submission. Six schools will be awarded a prize of R25 000 each to spend on library resources.
“I have been particularly struck by the resilience of our learners, despite the changing learning environment, and despite the personal tragedies that so many have experienced as a result of the pandemic. I hope that all of our schools will participate in this exercise, regardless of whether they win a prize or not, because it is immensely valuable to touch base with their learners about how they are coping at the moment,” she added.
Three secondary schools will receive R25 000 each for winning entries in English, Afrikaans and Xhosa, and three primary schools will receive R25 000 each for winning entries in English, Afrikaans and Xhosa.
The closing date for the competition is November 30.
Weekend Argus