Spar Superstars Berea Mail 2024

THE SPAR Star for Eden College is Grade Seven learner Nondumiso Simelane who placed first in her age group at the KwaZulu-Natal Athletics Trials for shotput on February 24 at Kings Park Stadium.

Nondumiso says she’s always enjoyed athletics and has been training in the long jump, shotput, short-distance running and long-distance running categories since she was in Grade One. “In shotput, you have this heavy ball – it’s like 3kg – and you have to throw it as far as you can. At the athletics trials, I also did really well in long jump, but I only placed for shotput. I really enjoy competing because I love how I can test my abilities and see where I’ve improved and where I need to train harder.”

The 13-year-old says that she enjoys athletics because it’s a healthy outlet. “Even though it’s a lot of physical effort and even though it takes a lot of training, I actually find it very relaxing; it’s a way for me to release stress, and practising for my sports has taught me discipline. It’s taught me to manage my time because I have to be at practice on time, and I have to be an competitions on time, and best of all, I have met a lot of my friends through sport.”

Nondumiso says she also competes in artistic gymnastics. “I’ve been doing gymnastics since I was four, and I can do some really cool tricks. I can do an ariel – it’s like a cartwheel with no hands – I can do a back-tuck; I can do a back hand-spring; I can do the splits; I can do a switch leap and so many other amazing tricks. That’s what I love about gymnastics – it teaches us to push our bodies to do these incredible moves, and it takes time, but if you keep at it and test how far your body can go and, of course, with technique, we’re capable of such amazing things.”

The Grade Seven learner says her biggest supporters are her family – her mom, her dad and her brothers.

She hopes to one day make the national teams for both sports and travel the world. “I hope to one day be on the South African Gymnastics Team and be able to travel the world, or I want to be a track star, or hopefully, one day, I can professionally compete in both sports. But with both of them, I want to go really far and be the best I can be.”

DURBAN Girls’ Secondary School’s Ayabonga Thabede, in Grade 12, dreams of a career in STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). She says the inspiration comes from seeing her cousin dominate the medical field. Ayabonga is this month’s SPAR Star, nominated by her school for her excellent achievements in academics. Ayabonga is one of the top five best-performing learners in her grade and was one of the top three best-performing learners in her school in 2023.

She participated in the RoboGirl competition by the Durban University of Technology, which she says fuelled her love for science and technology even more. “When I took part in the RoboGirl competition, I was so excited because I love innovative technology, and it was an eye opener for me to see all the things that technology makes possible. That is why I am certain I want to be in the medical field – it will allow me to utilise technology,” said Ayabonga.

Ayabonga says she is very keen on becoming a cardiologist or pharmacist after matric, which is why she is studying hard so she can be a Dux scholar at Durban Girls’ Secondary School and easily get into an institution of higher education. While she spends all her time making sure that she realises her dreams, Ayabonga is also an exemplary learner to her peers at school as she is a peer educator and has been a mathematics and physical science tutor for two years now.

THE SPAR Star for Durban Girls’ College is Grade 12 learner Emily Macquet who was named as captain of the school’s very successful First-Team Hockey in December of 2023.

Emily says she’s been playing hockey since she was six years old. “I have always been competitive and have loved spending time in a team environment. I really enjoy creating relationships with people through hockey and learning about the game.”

“I felt so honoured and privileged to be named the captain of the team. It was quite a shock when I was told because I wasn’t really expecting to be getting the position,” said Emily.

Her amazing hockey skills grant her some exciting opportunities and make her an excellent leader for the team, with Durban Girls’ College keeping up an impressive winning streak.

“Last year, I got a call to play for the South African Ladies’ Indoor Hockey Team for a tournament in Malaysia, and then after that tournament, I played for the South African U17 Team for a different tournament in Malaysia. I also played in a series in July for the South African U18 side.”

“This year, my team won the Indoor Maris Stella Tournament, and I was awarded Player of the Tournament and Top Goal Scorer. We then went on to win the St Mary’s Waverley Tournament where I was awarded runner-up player of the tournament. DGC has only ever won this recent tournament twice, and we are one of two other schools who are now sitting on three wins each,” said Emily.

She says her main focus is hockey because it’s the sport she loves. “I don’t have time for any other sports as hockey is very time-consuming. I play hockey almost every day, and sometimes, I have training twice a day. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends on rest days.”

“My family and coaches are definitely the people who believe in me the most. My parents have never pushed me and are always the ones there for me. My mom hardly ever misses a match of mine, and she is always supporting me no matter what team I am playing for,” said Emily.

The matric learner says she aspires to play for the South African Ladies’ Outdoor Hockey Team. “It has always been a dream of mine. I am also hoping to study after school and continue my hockey career in university.”

JENNA-Mae Lally, a 16-year-old Grade 11 learner at Durban Girls’ High School, is a star in the water as she has recently participated in the SA Regional Level 3 championships held in Bloemfontein. Lally, who is this month’s SPAR Star, won gold, silver and bronze medals in the backstroke and freestyle categories.

Lally has also just participated at the Dolphin Mile Swim Series where she came in third place. Since the year started, she has participated in seven swimming events across four provinces, namely, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, the Free State and Gauteng. She has won five medals in those seven events: two bronze, two silver and one gold.

Lally, who started swimming as a child, made the Umlazi District Swimming Team in 2020, and in 2021, she competed at the Capital K Open Water Swim where she placed fourth, the same year she received her Durban Girls’ High School Junior Colours.

She says she hopes to study Interior Design and continue making strides in her swimming career and achieving more accomplishments. Lally says her inspiration is Tajtana Schoenmaker, a South African professional swimmer who specialises in breaststroke, and hopes to one day make it to the Olympic Games.

THE SPAR Star for Glenwood High School is the school’s target shooting captain, Grade 11 learner Keaton Germishuizen. Keaton received his South African Colours for Target Shooting at the SANSSU National Top 80 Trials for the SA Team, over the weekend of April 5 to April 7, at Zanandi Holiday Resort in Hartebeespoort. The young target-shooting talent has also been selected as one of the 20 top shooters in the country and will be part of the tour team that will compete at the British Junior International (BJI) tournament in England this July.

Keaton says he’s honoured to have been chosen as one of the top 20 going to the competition. “I received my SA Colours at the Top 80 Trials, and before that, I competed in provincial trials to qualify, and from that, they took the overall top 80 performers.

At the Top 80 Trails, we had the opportunity to shoot in an effort to get our SA Colours, and we had the opportunity to shoot to be picked for the SA team we will represent our country in, in the UK in a few months. My initial intention was just to qualify to go overseas, but I was really chuffed with myself when I managed to shoot the score necessary to qualify to get my SA Colours.”

The 17-year-old says he’s been competing in the sport since 2021. “Of the top 80 at the competition, 20 of us qualified. It means a lot to me to have gotten my SA Colours; it’s a culmination of hard work over a long time. I’ve only really been shooting competitively since my Grade Eight year, so I’ve been shooting for three years now. I took to the sport because I grew up shooting and hunting; it was something I really enjoyed doing with my family, and when I got to Glenwood High School, I was excited to be able to do it as a sport.”

Keaton needs to raise more than R60 000 for his big trip and is appealing to the community to help him make his dreams come true. “The biggest issue right now is cost. I need to raise money for my trip to the UK, and it’s something that would mean so much to me, to be able to take this opportunity with both hands and run with it.”

The Grade 11 learner says he hopes to continue shooting throughout his high school career. “The thing I love most about shooting is that it’s a score-based sport. I can see exactly how much I have improved from competition to competition. For someone like me, I enjoy putting things into numbers and statistics that are quantifiable so I can understand them – that, personally, I really enjoy.”

To donate to Keaton’s upcoming trip, visit his BackABuddy page at: https://www.backabuddy.co.za/campaign/get-keaton-to-bji-uk.

THE SPAR Star for Port Natal School is Grade Nine learner Lungelo Hlongwa who came first in his grade last year and also came first in the first term of this year.

Lungelo says he hopes to come out on top again at the end of this year. “The first in the grade title is placed upon the student who has performed exceptionally well throughout the year. I came first last year because of my consistency throughout the year, and after coming out first in the grade in term one, my hope is that I’m able to come first in the grade again.”

Lungelo says that consistency is key. “Something that I’m really grateful for is my good memory, but I am also very focused on my studies throughout the year. I think it takes constant work, and to have that ultimate goal at the end of the year to work towards keeps me focused.”

The Grade Nine learner is set to choose his subjects for Grade Ten. “I am hoping to take physics, accounting and core maths – those are the ones I am sure of. I already enjoy maths – it’s my favourite subject – and I heard that physics and accounting includes elements of math, so I look forward to taking them.”

“I would say my biggest supporter is my dad. He’s always pushing me to do my best, and my next biggest supporter is myself. I want to be the best I can be. There are only a few ways to be great; I’m not that much into sports so academics is my thing, and I think it’s my chance to be great,” said Lungelo.

The 14-year-old says he hopes to be a Chartered Accountant when he finishes school.

LUTHO Ngaleka, a 17-year-old Grade 12 learner at St Henry’s Marist College Lutho has excelled in music, specifically singing as well as academics. He is the head of his school’s choir at his school, he is a soloist musician and he is also the choir’s musical conductor. He was named Head of Culture for the academic year of 2024 and received his Full Music Colours. He also received Full Academic Colours for his excellent academic achievements. He is a full-colour-blazer prefect at his school. He is also a member of the KZN Youth Choir.

Lutho says his first favourite singer as a child was Luciano Pavarotti, an Italian opera singer and film director. He got introduced to his music by his uncle at just two years old, not knowing that it would inspire him to one day become a singer. Lutho, who is this month’s SPAR Star for his achievements in music as a soloist and his contribution in changing the face of St Henry’s Marist Choir, says music has always been a pivotal part of his life for as long as he can remember. “I have always loved music, and it has always been a big part of my life.

“I am grateful to my family for recognising this early and affording me the chance to attend Drakensberg Boys’ Choir School, which made me fall in love with music even more but also allowed me to learn about music in depth,” said Lutho.

Today, the child who was head over heels in-love with opera music at the age of two is a choir conductor for the St Henry’s Marist College Choir, saying that coming from a musical school made him notice all the gaps at his new school. “When I first joined the St Henry’s choir, I quickly realised that a lot was missing, but it had so much potential to be one of the best, which is why I decided to join and dedicate my time in making it what it is now,” added Lutho.

Lutho says he does not see himself doing music professionally after matric. “As much as music is my first love, I just don’t see myself pursuing it beyond my high school years, but if I do go to Stellenbosch University, I would definitely join their school choir as it’s one of the best in the country. I want to study medicine or laboratory science,” said Lutho.