Two young learners at St Teresa’s School have pioneered an initiative of collecting second-hand stationery before the end of the year. Both Kayla Nurcombe-Thorne and Jennifer Boucher who are in Grade 6 have mobilised their school to collect all sorts of stationery from pencils and pens to pencil cases and notepads.
“Every year we get brand-new stationery and we thought about other schools who don’t have the benefit of getting brand-new stationery or even amazing teachers, to start their exams with and they might not get their school work done,” said Kayla.
Jennifer added that they were trying to get as much stationery as possible and they were also doing a tin competition. “The tin competition is where girls are encouraged to bring tins where the stationery collected is put in and the class which collects the most tins gets a party thrown for them which gives a fun spin to giving.”
Head of strategy and copywriting at Parenthesis Communications, Shelli Nurcombe-Thorne said she would appreciate help and support from local businesses with donations of paper and other items. “The girls will be cleaning and organising the donated items into as many stationery packs as possible over the December holidays, ready to deliver to schools in the new year. All the donations, even the two pencils, old notebooks with 10 pages are acceptable and can mean a lot,” said Nurcombe-Thorne.
Jennifer said they would make a class box or a pencil case for teachers with essentials inside such as glue, scissors and notepads. She added they would also like to get as many zip-lock bags as possible to make them into stationery packs and cover them with duct-tape for preservation.
Kayla said, “We are considering making it a tradition and passing it onto the grades that follow in our footsteps. We have an outside box for people who want to come and put in their donation. This is an opportunity to be a silent hero as the initiative is not being done for glory.”
Details: St Teresa’s School 011 447 1446
Are there learners at your school doing something to give back to the community? email details of the project to naidines@caxton.co.za
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