10.18c mpassthe keeping you on the MaP

Freaky Friday is a day that is worried about by the younger forms and looked forward to by the Form 5s. It is when the Form 5s celebrate their last day of school before their exams start. Freaky Friday begins with an assem-bly arranged by Form 5s and then, at break time, they are on the field. It offi-cially ends after first break is over.Leading up to Freaky Friday, Form 5s went around handing out Xs. This gave younger students chills, but it was all in good fun. They would also quickly pop into lessons to encourage the rest of the school, especially stu-dents in lower forms, to go on the field.This year, Freaky Friday was really en-tertaining. It started as soon as you set foot in the Walkway. As you walked

through, the whole Form 5 year group was there to lightly spray you with wa-ter guns. This was just the beginning of what they had planned for us.In assembly, there were numerous performances by the Form 5s, con-sisting of dancing, singing and acting. All the performances were very well thought-out and executed, as they captured the audience’s attention. My favourite part of assembly was the video where all the Form 5s ap-peared alongside their teachers. All in all, everything they did was amazing!After assembly, lessons continued for everyone except the Form 5s, who spent the time preparing for the field activities. When breaktime came, a few brave students volunteered to go

onto the field. Once they were there, they were chased by groups of Form 5s who sprayed them with powder paint and water. Some rolled in the grass so that every inch of them was covered. They made sure that when you got off the field, you were ex-tremely colourful.At the end of the day, I think that this is a spectacular way for the Form 5s to spend their last few hours in school before exams. I really hope that this tradition continues, as it is one of the many events at MaP which are real-ly entertaining for both the audience and the participants.

~ Amantle Peloewetse (2L)

FREAKY FRIDAY

Camp was wonderful. I have never tasted better food. I found the facilita-tors very funny and the activities they came up with were different from the norm, but still epic! We learned a lot about leadership and how to listen to instructions properly so that we do not mess up. Our bus broke down and we had to go to the mall in a bakkie; I have never had more fun in my life! Thank you for choosing Camp Achter-berg!

~ Ruthvik Nellore (2J)

CAMP ACHTERBERG

The best part of camp, for me, was spending time with my friends.

~ Tadiwanashe Murambiwa (2J)

One activity I really enjoyed was like the Amazing Race, where they give you a specific challenge to complete in order to get to the next one. In one of the last challenges, we had to jump into a very cold pool!

~ Anne Mu (2M)

At Camp, they taught us about lead-ership and what you need to be a good leader. The activities were very educational and the food was great!

~ Botsile Keetshabe (2M)

Camp Achterberg was a camp fo-cused on teaching us leadership skills and teamwork. The activities were very interesting and taught us many skills that I am sure will be useful in fu-ture. The journey was rough because our bus broke down a couple of times, but we coped with the help of our teachers. The whole experience is something I will never forget.

~ Monei Maruping (2L)

Camp Achterberg was a very inter-esting experience. We got to interact with different people and we learned about the different characteristics of a leader. Our visit to the Sterkfontein Caves was amazin. The facilitators were all helpful, the food was deli-cious and the teachers we travelled with were very much like our parents. Thank you!

~ Basetsana Moje (2L)

We learned about leadership and the values of a good leader. Although transport was a problem, the expe-rience taught me that even when things take a left turn, we should re-main calm and positive.

~ Iris Evans (2K)

I truthfully enjoyed the camp! The fa-cilitators were very enthusiastic and energetic, giving the activities a buzz of excitement. Personally, my favour-ite activity was the hike. The food was fantastic and my best day was when we had pies and potatoes for lunch; it was divine!

~ Thato Ncube (2J)

the compassmid-term, term three

October 2018

brought to you by the MaP Journalists team of:

Morongoa Mosetlhi (editor)Katlego Mothibatsela (1J)

Monei Maruping (2L)Amantle Peloewetse (2L))

Botsile Keetshabe (2M)

with special thanks to the MaP Photographers team of:

Amolemo Gakelebotse (1J)Ope Phirinyane (1J)

Ismail Chand (1J)Atsile Masisi (1L)

Janet Afamefuna (2J)Naya Hughes (2J)Wezi Mtonga (2J)Anusha Rao (2J)

Isaac Rugara (2J)Marcus Botha (2K)Apele Butale (2K)

Moatlhodi Galekhutle (2K)Eng Moonwa (2K)Katso Moseki (2K)

Shatho Ntabeni (2K)Kao Reetsang (2K)

Thobo Stone (2K)Minakshi Kelat (2M)

Moses Ocitti (2M)Tanusree Potulapati (2M)

Alexandre Matte (4J)

and to everyone who submitted additional content to this edition,

or helped with fact-checkingand the labelling of photographs

Got a story? Contact us!www.maruapula.orgTel: 391 2953 ext. 259

Email:morongoa.mosetlhi@maruapula.org

Twitter: @maruapulaschoolFacebook: Maru-a-Pula School

Hellos

This term, the MaP Community welcomed Ms Saji Nair as the Head of the Business Department. Ms Nair’s passion for teaching was instilled by a high school techer who taught her Chemistry in nine days! “He became my role model and showed me what a teacher is supposed to be,” explained Ms Nair.

She began teaching in India in 1993. She moved to Botswana in 2004, when the Ministry of Educa-tion invited her to teach at Molefi Senior Secondary School in Mochudi.

During her time on campus, Ms Nair has noticed that MaP students are different in that they know their capabilities and they challenge themselves to do better. She believes in making positive contributions to people’s lives and doing the best within her potential. She hopes her time here will inspire students to do everything with sincerity, learn something new every day and spread positivity. Her advice to students interested in pursuing the teaching profession is to “know that you can change a life and work on your observation skills”.

Former History teacher Ms Neo Mokgwathi has been promoted to Director of Development. Her decision to apply for the post was largely due to the work she did in development during her time as a student in America, She has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History and a passion for creating access to education. As a former MaP student, Ms Mokgwathi still loves the MaP Com-munity and the school’s ethos, which developed her interest in helping others. “I got my compas-sion and sense of activism at MaP,” noted Ms Mokgwathi.

During her time at MaP, she hopes to see MaP’s fundrasiing efforts grow and establish a strong alumni network in order to assist the school to achieve its objectives. In future, she would like to devel-

o p an African history curriuculum for Form 1s and publish a book on Botswana’s history. Her advice to students interested in development is to, “Find something you are passionate about and learn to articulate that passion.” She invites the MaP Community, past and present, to visit the Development Office, aove the new Staff Room, and share their ideas and stories.

Ms Saji Nair, Head of Business

Ms Neo Mokgwathi, Director of Development

Ms Cherith Tanke joined the MaP Community in October 2018 as the Development and Database Co-ordinator. Her passion for numbers and explaining what they mean to people led her to study for a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Statistics. She hopes to spend her time here learning as much as possible, growing with the school and building a strong, easy to use database for the Development

Office. In future, she hopes to be able to see each of the Seven Wonders of the World, starting with Victoria Falls!

Ms Cherith Tanke, Development and Database Co-ordinator

Celebrating Botswana’s 52nd Independence

On Friday October 28th, the MaP Community celebrated Botswana’s Independence with an African attire themed civ-vies day. Both staff and students came dressed to impress in various colours and prints, showcasing their interpretation of the theme. During first break, the best dressed nominees lined up at the Front Office in the hopes of winning a cash prize from Principal Taylor. Congratulations to Ruby Noble (L6K), Lefika Matlho (LM6), Surya Edakunni (3K) and Wame January (4L) who won P200 each.

From October 1st - 7th, MaP hosted the Botrivier Marimba Band, a vibrant ensemble of nine young, talented mu-sicians from Botrivier, Western Cape. The group was introduced to MaP in 2017, when Mr Laone Thekiso and Ms Celine Matthee visited their school to facilitate music workshops. This visit in-spired the group to do their first tour outside of South Africa. Despite their underprivileged background, they spent the better part of this year fund-raising for their trip. During their stay, they engaged with the MaP Commu-nity, attending lessons and SPE activ-ities with their peers, sharpened their musical skills in rehearsal with Mr Thek-iso and Mr Molosiwa, and played for audiences on and off campus. Thank you to the Music Department, the Enlightened Education Trust and the members of the Botrivier community for making this trip a success! Picture: The Botrivier Marimba Group

A Musical Collaboration of Note

On Thursday September 20th, Tsh-waragano School celebrated its 40th Anniversary. Founder members of our Tshwaragano Service, Amantle Madi (5L) and Tebuho Moyo (U6), accom-panied Ms Brown to the school to han-dover good wishes and gifts of pens and pencils for all of the Std. 7 stu-dents who are writing their PSLEs (Pri-mary School Leaving Examinations).

TSHWARAGANO SERVICE DONATION

Picture (from left): Amantle Madi (5L), Tshwaragano

School Principal, Ms Brown (MaP Dep-uty Principal) and Tebuho Moyo (U6)

Nearly 50 students, teachers and staff donated blood on the afternoon of September 20th. While this is a drop in the ocean of the National Blood Trans-fusion Service’s target of 45,000 units a year, this effort still has the potential to save up to 150 lives. It also ensures that the NTBS has a steady stream of future donors as we hope this will become a lifelong habit for our students.“What amazes me is how organised the students are in getting events like this off the ground. They looked after a steady stream of donors for nearly 6 hours. The other fantastic thing was the atmosphere at the donation point – the students ensured that everyone enjoyed themselves and the room was filled with laughter, admittedly some of it of the nervous kind!” said Mr Laverick.

MEDICAL CORPS BLOOD DRIVE

MaP’s Got TalentOn October 5th, in an effort to raise funds, MaP’s Interact Service held its first ever Talent Show. Hosted by Anna Jefferis (4K), the event was judged by Ms Sutherland, Ms Banchoff, Ms Moorad and Mr Gaogakwe. The show featured over ten performances which showcased the wide range of talents MaP students have, including singing, dancing and martial arts. Pako Baadjies (2J) opened the show with a beautiful rendition of the Pen-tatonix’s Hallelujah, followed by an in-tense martial arts showcase by Kagiso Mophuting (4K) and Mosako Mogara (4K). Rapper Dizzie Walker (Dineo Chi-manyi (4L)) and singer Sunniva Mathe (4K) showcased their musicality with their performances of original songs. Not to be outdone, Tshegofatso Bait-shepi (4J) performed a medley of songs, including Usher’s You Got it Bad and Adele’s Someone Like You, while Clarissa Gonzalez (3L) impressed the audience with her sultry voice. Kalidas Rayirath (3K), The Mahola Twins (Amol-emo Gakelebotse (1J) and Nazreen Maleka (3L) and the Form 3 Dance Group set the stage on fire with their sizzling dance routines, switching from pop to house, hip hop and reggae with ease. During a short interval, audience members were invited to cast their votes for their favourite performer, while the judges tallied their results. In the end, Kalidas Rayirath won the au-dience’s vote, while Dizzie Walker and Sunniva Mathe were crowned cham-pions, walking away with P500 each.Overall, the event was a genuine re-flection of the level of talent that MaP has to offer! Thank you to the Interact team for organising this wonderful ini-tiative.

ENGLISH OLYMPIANS

Congratulations to MaP's Form 5 and 6 students who received certificates in recognition of their participation in the 2018 De Beers English Olympiad. This is an annual South African competition which aims to enrich students through the study of English and encourage critical thinking and creative writing. It draws an estimated 8000 entries each year.

Hosted by Anna Jefferis (4K)

1st Place Winner Dizzie Walker (Dineo Chimanyi (4L))

1st Place Winner Sunniva Mathe (4K)

The Mahola Twins

Form 3 Dance Crew

On Wednesday 15th August 2018, the Form 3 and Form 4 students left for London accompanied by five mem-bers of staff: Mr and Mrs Ndlovu, Ms Philime, Madame Kitenge and Ms Sutherland. The journey there took an entire day. We stayed at Travelodge, Kings Cross Road for 10 days. During our visit to London, we had the oppor-tunity to go to many magnificent the-atres to watch gripping plays such as the Lion King and Matilda. We also en-joyed seeing the wonderful museums and art galleries. We appreciated the drama workshops in which we learnt a lot, including how to identify the differ-ent levels of characters. Sunniva Mathe (4L): “I personally felt that the workshop enhanced my dra-ma skills. The best part is that I have found myself using some of the skills we learnt in my MaP drama classes”One highlight of our trip was a tour given by “William Shakespeare”. He showed us the places he’s lived and where he got the inspiration to write plays. We also visited Buckingham Pal-ace, London Bridge, the Globe and Chinatown. Thank you to the chaperones and ev-eryone who assisted in making the trip a wonderful experience.

~ Natasha Ngwako & Keletso Mbayi (3M)

MaP Drama in London

On Monday September 24th, admis-sions officers from nine UK-based Uni-versities visited MaP for the UK Univer-sity Fair. The officers met with parents and students from MaP and other schools around Gaborone, including Rainbow High School, to learn about the implications of living and study-ing in the UK. During the session, the officers advised students and parents on their university admissions require-ments, choices of study, the cost of living and the application processes to ensure that they make informed choices after high school. The group represented the University of Exeter, University College London (UCL), University of Kent, Middlesex University, University of the West of En-gland (UWE), Cardiff Metropolitan Uni-versity, University of Law, the National College of Ireland and University of Central Lancashire, where numerous former MaP students are studying medicine. Special thanks to Ms Job-son for organising this enriching initia-tive.Ms Sally Jobson, MaP’s Director of Ca-reers and College Counselling: “The event was a great success! It was well attended and the representatives from the Universities were delighted with the turn-out.”

UK UNIVERSITY FAIR

Form 3 and 4 Drama students

On tour with “William Shakespeare” In a Drama Workshop

Students at the UK University Fair

On Friday October 19th, MaP’s Top Achievers and Debswana Scholars took a trip to St Joseph’s College to meet their Form 5 students. The pur-pose of the visit was to inspire them to strive for Top Achiever or Debswa-na Scholar status. The group was wel-comed by Mr Setume, St Joseph’s Deputy Principal, who urged his stu-dents to work hard in order to reach their goal of attending MaP.“The passport to a prestigious school like Maru-a-Pula, where you can rub shoulders with Botswana’s elite, is to pass well,” said Mr Setume. He was fol-lowed by MaP’s own Mr Sinoya, who reiterated the purpose of the visit and urged the students to take heed of the advice being given. Once formalities were out of the way, the Top Achievers and Debswana Scholars took turns sharing their personal stories and advice for success:Gideon Tladi: “Believe in yourself!”Refilwe Bua: “You’re going to fail at one point or another. Learn to embrace and learn from it.”Lesego Baputaki: “Don’t give up if things don’t work out. Find another way.”Susan Charlie: “Be confident in your abilities and passionate about achieving your goals.”Sidney Kuda: “Your problems don’t define you. Trust God to pull you through all your dark days.”Anthony Masuga: “If you want it, you have to invest your all into achieving it.”After the session, the St Joseph’s students were able to have one-on-one time with the Top Achievers and Debswana Scholars, where they learned about the scholarship programmes and being a MaP student. The session was a resounding success, with the St Joseph’s students feeling more confident in their abilities and ready to turn their dreams into reality. Thank you to Mr Sinoya for organising this event!

Inspiring Future Leaders

A Trial Run

Over the weekend beginning September 14th, four MaP students participated in Botswana’s first ever Moot Court Com-petitions, hosted by Orate Africa Championships. The competition aimed to expose high school students to life as a law-yer by simulating court proceedings. The students, Phenyo Lewanika, Lorraine Tshamekang, Bianca Heiland and Leungo Norman, spent their first day of the competition in workshops with practising lawyers. The workshop helped them under-stand numerous aspects of law as a profession in Botswana, including the legal language used in court, how to prepare for a case and what the High Court expects from lawyers. They also received specialised training from law students in their final year, in presenting their cases to the judge. This information proved useful when the students went to trial at the High Court on September 15th. In the first three rounds, the students gained the experience of being both appellants and respondents. At the end of each round, students were marked on various aspects of their presentations, including the strength of their arguments and the relevance of their facts. For the final round, the top four students, including Lorraine Tshamekang, were robed and paired randomly for the last case of the day. In the end, Lorraine and her teammate were awarded with the first place trophy and the chance to represent Botswana in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania in 2019.

Pictures from left: Lorraine Tshamekang receives her trophy from Judge Keboh Motjhibameleh; Lorraine Tshamekang (4M), Phenyo Lwanika (3L), Bianca Heiland (L6K) and Leungo Norman (4M)

Top Achievers and Debswana Scholars with students of St Joseph’s school

MaP SportsRe Ba Bona Ha Debswana / Ma-ru-a-Pula Basketball Tournament (22nd September)2018’s second annual Re Ba Bona Ha Basketball Tournament saw four MaP teams, U12 Boys and Girls and U16 boys and girls, compete against various schools. Our Girls’ teams both took first place, while the U12 Boys’ Team came in 4th place and the U16 Boys’ Team came in 3rd place.Well done to the teams and coaches for their commitment to developing basketball.

Girls’ Soccer4th OctoberOur Girls’ Football team beat Botlhale 1-0. 11th OctoberOur Girls’ Soccer Team won their match against Gaborone Internation-al School with a score of 6-0.Special Mention: Enora Matte (3J) and Leungo Norman (4M) scored four and two goals respectively.ISSSA Girls’ Football Tournament (27th October)Our Girls’ Football Team played against six schools to defend their Championship for the sixth year in a row. Well done to the team and Coaches!Special Mentions: MVPs Enora Matte (3J) and Sebaga Rabashwa (5K)

Cricket10th OctoberMaP played against Legae and GIS, winning both matches by 26 and 59 runs respectively.17th OctoberIn a 15-over match, MaP beat Legae by 97 runs.Special Mention: Madhav Gopikumar (3J) and Sharan Velambath (3M) who made 58 and 29 runs respectively.24th OctoberMaP scored 100 runs in an 8-over match against GIS and won by 45 runs!JMS Pro-10 U16 Cricket Invitational (20th October)Our U16 Cricket Team played against Christian Brothers College; the North-ern Select Team made up of students from Clifton College, Mophato, Fla-mingo and Kgaswe Schools; and Fal-con College, and won 2nd place. Congratulations to Abdul Muinudeen (4J), who was awarded Best Batsman of the tournament.ISSSA U19 Cricket Tournament (27th October)Our U19 Cricket Team defended their 2nd place title in matches against Legae Academy, Gaborone Interna-tional School and Al-Nur. Well done to the team and Coaches!

ISSSA Softball Tournament (20th Octo-ber)Our Girls’ and Boys’ Softball Teams played against various local schools including Rainbow, Legae and Al-Nur. Our Boys’ Team placed second while our Girls’ Team placed fourth. Volleyball vs ISSSA (13th October)Our Girls’ and Boys’ Volleyball teams played three matches against ISSA with results as follows:Boys - Lost 3-0Girls - Lost 3-0Mixed (Boys and Girls) - Won 3-0

ISSSA Developmental Tennis Dou-bles Tournament (6th September) This year’s ISSSA Doubles Tournament saw MaP play against Gaborone Interna-tional School, Legae Academy, Living-stone Kolobeng College and Phaka-lane Secondary School, winning four gold medals. Congratulations to Kago Chibua (4J), Agobakwe Maphosa (4J), Duduetsang Ntshole (4M) and Godiraone Gaogakwe (LM6).

Volleyball (from left): Melroy Kgotlana (UM6), Virunduruka Ndjavera (LM6), Oratile Mosuagae (U6) and Botlhale Segwabe (UM6)Softball: Ammarah Bobat (2L)

Soccer: Enora Matte (3J)

Cricket: Abdul Muinudeen (4J)