Gaining a lot from winter school

POLOKWANE – The winter school holiday is usually the second longest holiday of the school year, during which learners can enjoy resting at home. This is however, not the case for gr. 11 and gr. 12 learners from Taxila Secondary School and other high schools in and around Polokwane who are attending winter school during the school holidays.

The winter school is held by Taxila Secondary School, but there are also teachers from other schools who volunteer at the winter classes.

Although they wake up with a bit of difficulty due to the cold winter mornings, the learners said the winter school was worth it.

Review asked some of the gr. 12 learners from Taxila what they enjoyed most about winter school, what they thought were the benefits of winter school and what they personally hoped to gain from winter school.

Dineo Ramaremela said the best part about winter school was not having to wear a school uniform and also getting to see different faces.

“There are a lot of learners from other schools who are also attending our winter school, so it is nice to meet new friends. I also love winter school because we focus on work that we didn’t quite understand in class. At the end of this winter school I hope to have better studying methods and with the work that we are doing during winter school, I hope to get good marks at the end of our examinations,” Dineo said.

Jackson Ntshole agreed with Dineo that the best part of winter school was meeting new people.

“We get to interact with learners from other schools and we get one-on-one time with the teachers. During winter school we also focus more thoroughly on subjects, because we have more time to ask questions than what we have in class,” Jackson said.

He added that at the end of this winter school he hoped to have increased his knowledge in physical science.

Lesego Sebotsane said she enjoyed winter school because there was more time to ask questions about work she did not fully understand.

“During normal school hours our time is limited due to periods, but winter school there aren’t such restraints. I also like the fact that there are learners from other schools who are participating in the winter school, because they have different challenges, which the teachers must help them with and we can also learn from that and they have different studying methods that we can learn and they can learn from us,” Lesego said.

According to Lesego, winter school is beneficial because they learn different ways on how to treat questions, which will be asked in the examinations.

“I hope to get a good understanding of all my subjects during winter school so I can get at least four distinctions at the end of the year to get a bursary to further my studies,” Lesego said.

Thabang Aphane said he enjoyed winter school because there was less pressure than normal school.

“You get to do some introspection and work at your own pace. We also get to meet new people with different visions and missions and learn new study methods and share ideas on how to deal with difficult questions or solving problems in maths and physical science. I hope at the end of this winter school I am well prepared for the upcoming examinations,” Thabang said.

Solomon Maponya said at the end of this winter school he wanted to walk away with new friends, a good understanding of his work and better skills on how approach questions during the examinations and problem solving in maths and physical science.

Tshepo Phefadu said he hoped to gain as much information during the winter school as a starting point for his preparation for the upcoming examinations.