Hope is slowly returning to Kroneberg Primary School in Bethelsdorp after the tragic loss of one of their pupils, Michelle Ambraal.
Several pupils have stepped up, restoring faith in the community through their remarkable achievements.
Ethan George, 11, and Joshua Brown, 13, have been chosen to represent the province at the Words Open Worlds (WOW) national spelling competition in Stellenbosch in October.
Meanwhile, nine-year-old Ryalin Visagie claimed gold in the provincial mental maths competition, and 11-year-old Selwyn Disten secured a spot on the Eastern Province rugby team.
Michelle, 12, was murdered in July, with her body found in the bushes in Bethelsdorp.
Her untimely death and brutality of the murder sent shock waves through the community.
But Kroneberg principal Lloyd Cunningham said this week that while teachers and pupils continued to mourn the young girl, they felt the dark cloud that had been hanging over the school ever since, was slowly starting to lift.
“We are all still dumbstruck by the brutal death of Michelle, however the performances of Ethan and Joshua in the WOW competition, as well as Ryalin who won the provincial mental maths competition, has really lifted our spirits.
“Special mention must also be made of Selwyn, who made the EP rugby team.
“I am very proud of all of them and want to commend the teachers for their sterling work behind the scenes.
“This [Monday] morning at assembly two of the pupils read out Psalm 23 and we concentrated on verse 4 which says ‘though we go through the valley of death, we will fear no evil because God is with us’.”
Teacher Elize Groenewald said the children had put in the hard work and had prepared well for both competitions.
On the WOW competition, she said each pupil had to learn about 1,000 words which were quite difficult.
“We would get to school at 7am to start practising and also give up our breaks to prepare.
“We started with the circuit competition, then the district competition, and then the provincial leg where Ethan came second and Joshua third.
“They are now off to the national competition.”
In addition, Joshua was granted a scholarship to further his schooling at Cillie High School.
“It is really an exciting time for us and we are over the moon.
“Joshua is an excellent learner and every year he has come in the top three in his grade.
“We are very grateful for this opportunity for the pupils because their ability to read improves through this experience — as well as their critical thinking.”
Ethan said he enjoyed the competition and did not find it difficult.
Though he is only in grade 5, he said he had to present words at grade 8 level.
“I wasn’t nervous at all. This is my second time to go through to the nationals.
“Last year, was my first time in the Western Cape and it was very exciting. But the competition was very tough there and I fell out last year.
“However, I’m very confident this time around that I will be bringing something back to Gqeberha.”
Joshua said he sometimes could not believe all the good things that were happening for him.
“I want to grab this opportunity with both hands. It will be my first time in the Western Cape and I am very excited.”
Eastern Cape WOW organiser Alicetine Fredericks, who is also a teacher at the school, said they were proud of their pupils.
The Herald
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