A brand new tradition is being shaped at this very moment at the HTS N Diederichs Technical High School (THS) as Grade 12’s kick off the year with a building project in the Building Construction classroom.
The project is based on the school’s motto, ‘Building toward the future’. Each student has to build his own brick-sized mould by cutting the wood into its exact sizes, fastening them together and coating them with an oil-based substance. Then comes the mixing of cement to pour into the moulds. Before the cement dries, each student leaves their hand imprint and initials on the surface. At the end of the year, when their final marks are announced, each student will place his brick on a wall outside the class. The student with the highest marks for the class places his or her brick first.
The 2018 matrics laid down the very first layer of the wall, and this year’s learners will build on that.
Educator Manie van den Berg emphasised the need that the school has for something that will “provide recognition and motivation for higher achievement. We want the students to be able to come back one day for their reunion and show their loved ones their names on these bricks”.
The wall and the small monument next to it is meant to represent construction in practice and provides the students with a reminder of what they are working toward. The hope is that the students will look at the wall every day when they go to class and feel inspired to work even harder at their subjects with the intention of taking that top spot at the end of the year.
In 2018, THS achieved a ninth place in the construction subject field in the province, which was a great improvement from past years. The school plans to climbing even higher up on the ranking this year.
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