Fourth term means saying farewell to our grade nine Masakhane students who have journeyed with us since grade six. For the past four years, they have attended after-school Maths and English classes and holiday bootcamps. Our Masakhane teachers have watched them grow from shy young learners to confident leaders. We wish them all the best as they head off to high school and hope to see many of them in our high school Ekukhuleni program. At the farewell each student had the chance to give a speech. Shared below is a compilation of their farewells, we have tried to remain true to the learners' own voices.
Molweni, Good afternoon, I greet you all.
I am standing in front of you today to greet our parents, fellow teachers and learners. All of these days before this day came, I had so many delightful thoughts about this day. Let me start by saying that I’m very proud of addressing you today as a grade nine learner for the last time. I started Masakhane in grade six and now I am in grade nine. Here at Masakhane, I didn’t only learn Maths and English, I have learnt how to respect others, set goals, become a leader and how to stand in front of many people.
Coming to our parents who honoured our invitation. Without you, our parents, we cannot make this day successful, and your presence means a lot to us. Thank you to all parents here for allowing us to join Axium and for not being angry with us when we came late from school because of attending.
To our teachers: You are the leaders of today’s young minds and tomorrows bright future. Thank you for all the wisdom you shared, for setting great examples and showing me how I can be confident in my abilities.
You have played a deep role in my life. You worked so hard to prepare me for next year. Now I can speak English, calculate maths, do speeches and drama. While I didn’t always pay attention as close as I should have, you have taught me so much more than simply curriculum. You have taught me lessons I will never forget.
School is not my favorite place to be, but since my parents made me attend class I can’t think of better teachers to be stuck with than you. We all refer to you as the cool teachers - you are the only teachers that seem to remember what it’s like to be a kid. We thank you for letting us have a little fun.
Thank you for sharing your love of education. You made my classroom experience both educational and fun. You always pushed me to limits and often I didn’t understand that is because you saw something special in me and you knew what my potential really was.
I may not always have shown it, but I am grateful to have such awesome teachers like you. You activated a hunger for knowledge and wisdom inspiring me to plan my future and become a better individual.
As students, many teachers and educators will pass through our lives without remembrance. But you have taught me life lessons I will carry in my heart with me forever.You will always be my teachers even if I am no longer a Masakhane learner.
To my fellow students: We have come far together, we should make our parents and beloved teachers proud and hold fast to our dreams. At Masakhane we grow our future. We are the pilots of tomorrow, we are the doctors of tomorrow, let’s take this day as the beginning of tomorrow.
I will never give up because my eyes are open, even if the world seems to be dark all over, I will never ever give up, I will stand still and represent you. My future is brighter, my thinking is sharper and I know many doors will open for me in the future.