Spring Into 2009: Celebrating Success
GAP Graduates— the Results are in!: 18 of the 19 GAP College students were successful in passing their national high school exams and receiving a graduation certificate. The GAP College for grades 10-12 was built on the Queenstown campus of the Get Ahead Project School in the Eastern Cape of South Africa in 2007 with Leacock funding. It is now a self-sustaining high school and provides continuity to the learners at the GAP School.
Canadian educators Karrie Weinstock, Judy MacLellan and David Mindorff were especially delighted to hear the news because these three experienced educators had travelled on a Leacock-funded mission to assist the school with its two-week intensive remedial review during the summer of 2008. This is a significant milestone for the school, not only because of the pass rate, but because the students’ results rank it as the highest rated independent school and 4th overall in the district. It is important to note here that the schools ranked first, second and third have a 100+ year tradition of education in South Africa vs. GAP school which was founded post-apartheid, less than 12 years ago. This is a boon to the school, as these results will boost its enrolment, and establish the reputation for this relatively new independent South African high school.
This is an incredible accomplishment and we thank Leacock members Dan Walshe and Linda McCain for their 2008 dedicated donation to this pilot program.
Beyond Bricks and Mortar- Educational Challenges and Opportunities in South Africa: A new initiative is being piloted this year in order to address an under-resourced aspect of education in South Africa. Large class sizes and a teacher shortage mean that remedial programs are a luxury at GAP. But not for long, because we are sending Canadian teachers to volunteer in South Africa. Starting this past January, Leacock is renting a comfortable 3-bedroom townhouse to provide accommodation to certified Canadians teachers willing to act as remedial specialists for a minimum of six months at the GAP School. Leacock is actively recruiting teachers and our two volunteers have already arrived and successfully immersed themselves in the life of the school. We thank Kathryn (Katie) Wloka, a recent graduate of teacher’s college at York University and Ryan Boggs, with experience teaching in Canada’s first nations, for being the first ones to take the plunge.
If you know of a retired and/or credentialed teacher with an itch for adventure and six months to spare, please contact Judy MacLellan at 416-489-9309 or jmaclellan@leacockfoundation.org. You can also support this important Canadian outreach program by donating your airmiles to Leacock to fund teacher travel.
Bridging the GAP: 12 children attending the GAP School have been identified as needing school tuition in 2009 (approx. $1,000) per year, per student). Our existing program has already matched 30 learners to dedicated sponsors. The rest will be relying on our bridging fund until we can locate dedicated sponsors. This bridging fund was established by Leacock Board Member Wendy Dobson and further enhanced by donations from Jamie MacRae’s Ride in the 2008 Tour D’Afrique (read more on this in the next section).
We thank sponsorship committee members Pat Martin, Jamie MacRae and Helen Valleau for their valuable volunteer support and oversight of this program. To contribute to the bridging fund, or to directly sponsor a child, please contact Melanie Lovering at 416-489-9309 or write to leacock@sympatico.ca to learn more about the program.
Tour de “Get Ahead”! Have you ever wondered what it would be like to bike from one end of a continent to the other? Ask teacher Jamie MacRae, who took a five month sabbatical from his position in the Art Department at Crescent School to fundraise for the GAP School.
Jamie’s ride in the Tour D’Afrique started a year ago in January, 2008, in Cairo and ended 120 days later in Cape Town, South Africa on May 10, where he was met by a small contingent of GAP staff and students. The tour covered 12,000 kilometres and took its riders through a total of ten African countries including Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. Jamie’s effort raised nearly $50,000 for the Bridging Fund, which provides interim funding for children until dedicated sponsors can be identified. What a star! Thanks Jamie!
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