St James – 25 August 2014

This time I was accompanied by Kim, Bonny, Roxanne and Lauren – 2nd year pre-service teachers from NMMU. We stayed on a farm outside Cathcart and travelled through to Cofimvaba arriving just after 08:00. As per usual we waited from further instructions from Mr Mgijima from the Cofimvaba Education Department. The first SMS indicated that we were to proceed to St James in the town itself which meant that we could arrive just after 08:15.

On arrival we joined in the morning assembly for the school which was a very orderly affair run by the Principal, a Sister from this Catholic run school. On meeting the Principal I got the impression that discipline in the school was very strict and that the learners reciprocated with respect to all teachers and visitors. The learners had to remove their shoes to enter certain venues, including the computer room and library.

After explaining the purpose of the visit we agreed that the demonstration would take place in the open air below a raised bank in the school courtyard as there was no venue to host a large group of over 200 learners in Grade 10. This was to prove to be the right decision as it clearly demonstrated the importance of alternative energy to the learners. It included a clear demonstration of solar and wind energy as precursors to the Hydrogen fuel cell demonstrations which built on the concepts that were developed in the minds of the learners.

The concept of storing and transferring energy was being refined with each demonstration where the learners were actively engaged at close quarters. This included affording some learners to hold the apparatus during the demonstrations adding a different dimension to the process.

A further combined Grade 11 and 12 session added a further 200 learners to the second session which highlighted the deputy head boy as being an exceptionally talented individual who will go far in life. The downside of large groups is that it is not possible tag the talented individuals as they disperse to complete the questionnaires. There was also no guarantee that all the questionnaires would be returned.