Tembisa learners shine in spelling bee competition

Tembisa, Midrand Spelling Bee competition named the competition’s champion at Sam Hlalele community hall on August 24.

Co-founder of the competition Busisiwe Ndlovu said this year’s competition was the second edition and she was happy with the turnout of the audience and the participation of learners.

“It shows that they like it and see the usefulness of the event.

“This event will grow big, I am sure. We want to have our winners represent the municipality in provincial and national spelling bees,” said Ndlovu.

She advised parents to get involved in the development of spelling bees in schools.

“They must try to understand how this is going to benefit their children and the community at large,” said Ndlovu.

To learners who are sceptical of the competition, Ndlovu said they must research more and ask questions to learn more about the spelling bee.

“You can’t shut down an idea because you feel it is not going to work.

“Try to be part of it. We have every Tembisa school participating in this, so they must ask their teachers,” Ndlovu said.

She also encouraged young leaders to pursue their dreams in building the community.

Yolanda Genda was named the champion of the 2018 Tembisa, Midrand Spelling Bee.

The Masisebenze Comprehensive School learner said preparation for the competition was not difficult because she was entering it for the second time. Masisebenze Comprehensive School received R10 000 in prize money thanks to Genda’s efforts.

She said on the competition day of this year’s event she was nearly thrown off by the first word given to her.

“I was not sure I could spell it and I was ready to give up, but I guess God is with me.

“It was very scary because there were a lot of people in the audience and I was not sure if I was going to be able to spell the difficult words the other learners spelled. The win is really too much for me but I am happy,” said Genda.

Her coach/teacher, Nothando Shozi, said last year Genda was eliminated in the first round and this year she had to beg her to take part again.

Shozi said Genda is a very quiet learner, which made it a challenge to understand how she felt about the coaching process.

“Parents, please be supportive of your children because every child has a talent. Make sure you nurture your children’s talents,” said Shozi.

Senior manager corporate affairs at OR Tambo International Airport Leigh Gunkel-Keuler said they decided to sponsor the event and the preparation for the spelling bee.

“Also to ensure that all of the things that organisers came to discuss with us a year ago, in terms of the objectives of the Tembisa Spelling Bee, were actually achieved.

“I am extremely satisfied with the level of readiness of the learners, their inspiration and passion to want to participate,” said Gunkel-Keuler.

Asked about the company’s future relationship with the Tembisa, Midrand Spelling Bee, she said OR Tambo International Airport has a socio-economic development framework. They assess the quality of submitted proposals and look at how the proposals fit in with this framework.

“From a framework perspective the areas of focus are around youth and education.

“Through this event this year we were able to ensure that we could identify and recognise how this event fits in with the broader socio-economic development programme for OR Tambo International Airport,” Gunkel-Keuler explained.

She said any future relationship with the event will be determined by its merits when it is assessed against other similar programmes that offer a similar type of opportunity for OR Tambo International Airport to engage with communities.

She said if the organisers of the Tembisa, Midrand Spelling Bee want to put forward a proposal for consideration for next year, OR Tambo International Airport encourages them to do so.