06 Feb 2022

 A long spell of no merits for Junior Certificate final examination in the North Eastern region motivated Tsholofelo Molefhabangwe (15) of Tonota to aim for merit.
A former student at Donga Junior Secondary School (JSS) has since attained all As and a B.

She committed her energy to passing all subjects in order to fulfil her dreams of becoming a cardiologist.
She says although her studies were nearly affected by the advent of COVID-19, study groups, extra lessons, use of podcast, mentors, parents and home study helped her pass with ‘flying colours’.
“I express gratitude to all teachers who went an extra mile and came over the weekend to assist us with our learning material,” she said.

Encouraging her peers, Tsholofelo said while it was not easy, they should never give up irrespective of the challeges they encountered during their studies.
She urged pupils to follow their study timetable and respect elders as they were the ones to build them.
She, however discouraged pupils against  pressurising themselves unnecessarily.

Another Tonota born Bame Tabona (16) who also attained merit with straight A’s at Setlalekgosi JSS said she aspired to be an entrepreneur, as such her line of study was focused on commerce and accounting.

She said during her time of study, she was Minister of Academic Affairs, where she motivated other pupils, who inturn copied her behaviour and attitude towards studies.
Bame noted that teachers and parents supported her during the course of her studies, adding that  friends also helped with good guidance.
Her study technique involves to prepare ahead of time, to have enough notes, join study groups, learn from others with different abilities, which helped her become the best student winning multiple awards in the process.

Setlalekgosi acting deputy school head, Ms Wabo Mothibi said Bame was an upright student who was always focused and led others in discussions.
She said learners needed to know reasons why they were in school and have the right attitude towards their studies in order to achieve their dreams.

She noted that to achieve good performance, the school had some generic standards for all pupils to be given assignments every 2 weeks, while for Mathematics it was a daily activity.
Bame’s mother, Ms Ompatile Tabona said her daughter was a disciplined hard working child who had a solid foundation from primary school.

She said while her child was from an English medium school, teachers played an important role in assisting her to adjust.
As educators, Bame’s parents availed Internet and stationary during COVID-19 lockdowns to ensure uninterrupted studying. ENDS