Bertrams Junior School is inviting the community to support them in the buildup of events towards their big centennial celebration in July.
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The school is situated in Bertrams at 93 Ascot Road and was constructed in 1917. It opened its doors to learners on July 18, 1918.
The school shares its birthday with the late former president Nelson Mandela.
“As we turn 100 years this year, we want to make this year special,” said principal Khanyi Twala.
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“We are a disadvantaged school that has a number of needs and we want to take this year to raise funds towards achieving our goals in improving the school.”
Twala said over the years, the school has reached some milestones and as a principal, she is proud to see how far they have come with little resources.
The school’s aim is to build two new classrooms in 2019 for the Grade Seven learners.
“We managed to build five classrooms with the help of the FIDI community which allowed us to accommodate Grade Five and Six learners.
“We hope the community and companies in the area can help us raise funds to build the two more classrooms,” said Twala.
The goal is to raise R1-million through various events throughout the year to help fund this goal.
A sports day will be held on June 16 at Athlone Boys High School.
Six schools – Bertrams Junior, Eastgate Primary, Troyeville Primary, Bedfordview Primary, Laerskool Kensington and IH Harris Primary – will take part.
A family fun day will be held on July 28.
“We are going to use these events to raise funds by having stalls and raffles on the day. That way the children have fun and the community can support us,” said Twala.
The school’s wish list includes two classrooms for incoming Grade Seven learners in 2019, a computer centre, science laboratory, library, a school hall, school bus, four containers of 25 litres of midnight blue paint, carport shades for the parking area, carpets for learners to sit on during reading sessions in class and an overhead projector.
“We hope to achieve another 100 years of excellence in education and serving the community and we ask the community to be part of making that possible,” said Twala.
The school will sell branded T-shirts, cups and caps as part of the fund-raising.
Those interested in helping the school can call Twala on 011 614 2424 or Peter Mbimala on 074 852 7245.
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