A total of 15 public and private schools in Gauteng, one of them from Roodepoort, will go head to head in the finals of the 2013 inter-schools CAMI maths competition on Saturday 5 October.
Constantia Kloof Primary School (CKPS) is the only recognised Roodepoort school to have entered, including Maragon Private School from Ruimsig, Bryanston Parallel Medium School, Rivonia Primary School and St Davids Marist Inanda amongst others.
The competition is hosted by St David’s Marist Inanda and supported by the Soul Candi Foundation.
It’s said that approximately 1 500 public and private schools in South Africa currently use the CAMI Maths Learning System.
“The objective of the competition is to encourage pupils to improve their core mathematics skills,” says Sharon Cross, CEO of The Foundation for Excellent Learning, the official distributor for CAMI.
“Since January we have been conducting preliminary intra-school competitions around Gauteng with the objective of encouraging pupils to practise their core skills in preparation for the inter-school competition.
“Each participating school will enter a pupil from each grade with over 100 pupils participating and prizes will be awarded based on the individual’s Performance Index Scores which is a combination of speed and accuracy.
“It is crucial that pupils realise at an early age that maths is an extremely important subject,” says Sharon.
“Without a strong foundation pupils will find it difficult to achieve good marks for FET Mathematics for matric, which is a ‘gateway’ subject to most degrees and careers. Learning maths with CAMI makes maths fun and develops a positive attitude towards this very important subject.”
At the forefront of giving the ‘thumbs up’ to the CAMI Turning the Tables Inter-School Competition is the Soul Candi Foundation, the CSI arm of Soul Candi records, a reputable independent dance record label.
“The primary objective of the newly formed Soul Candi Foundation is to leverage the influence of celebrities to amplify messages connected to a good cause such as education,” says Nosisi Ngakane of the Soul Candi Foundation.
“In the field of education we believe that the power held in the voice of South African celebrities can move mountains and create positive and sustainable change. We are in the process of discovering our passion points and recognise E-learning as a future educational tool in our schools,” says Nosisi.
“By being involved in the CAMI Turning the Tables Inter-School Competition we are hoping to gain further understanding of how we can make a real impact in this crucial area of education and get a grasp of the pupils’ needs. Ultimately we would like to see the CAMI Maths Learning System placed in less privileged schools around South Africa in years to come.”
Through the Soul Candi Foundation, well known 94.7 DJ Euphonik will be present at the finals at St Davids Marist Inanda as well as ShakeXperience, a theatre group operating in education with a focus on maths and science in their deliveries. SABC1’s YoTV will be with the pupils documenting the morning’s activities.
The winners of the Foundation Phase (Grade 1 to 3) and the Intermediate Phase (Grade 4 to 7) each will win a CAMI Maths Learning System. All winners will be photographed with DJ Euphonik. A floating trophy will be awarded to the school with the most points.
CAMI is the leading developer of educational drill and practice software worldwide. CAMI products are used extensively in schools, homes and by private practitioners and are found in Australia, New Zealand, UK, USA, Asia, Finland, China and the UAE. The Foundation for Excellent Learning provides a full support service for home users.
“Our mission is to equip all pupils with excellent skills in mathematics, literacy, science and to build knowledge of how to learn, enabling all children to secure a future of their choice,” says Sharon.
