|
2011 Report
Greetings to the KMF staff. As you all know my name is Nelisa Qomiyana and I’m in grade 12, attending Camp Bay High. I have been with the KMF for four years.
Boarding House
This year the boarding is on its second year running. I have been part of it since it opened. We have made the boarding house a home away from home. We have our wonderful mothers always taking good care for us. They help us in every possible way. They are always up early in the morning. They always make sure our laundry is done. When we come back from school, our rooms are neat and tidy even if we didn’t leave them like that.
Sports
At the start of the term, the other boys and I (from the B.H.) decided to join school soccer. We told ourselves we weren’t going to be lethargic when it comes to sport like last year. We had already started jogging on weekends and after school, getting ready for the upcoming soccer season. Later on, we were chosen to go to Port Elizabeth to represent our school in a schools tournament. The fees for this trip were costly and we asked if the KMF to assist and they did just that, paying R2500.
Our trip to P.E. was amazing, except for the bus breaking down and delaying us. For accommodation we stayed in a Marine Protea four star hotel. It was beautiful. I shared a room with Xolile and we had a ball. The tournament itself was intense; there were schools from all around the country. We all had our good moments. I even came home with a goal. At the end of the tournament, we came home with a trophy, which was an achievement for us.
Academics
Academically I think I have performed satisfactorally. There wasn’t much pressure during regular school until examination time. Nonetheless I did have some problems with my maths and even attended extra math’s lessons.
My favorite subject(s) are biology (life science) and business. Biology simply catches my interest because it’s fascinating and it deals with things that are around us and on us, like skeletal system, digestive system and human anatomy etc. And as for business, the only reason I love business is because of my teacher Mr. Cunliffe and his jokes.
I also enjoyed a book I read in English called The Great Gatsby. It talks about the America dream and the American people. It critically talks about the American dream and how it is decaying. I think its as great book, a high standard book and I enjoyed reading it.
Last year we (biology class) we embarked on a journey to Stellenbosch to a museum of dead people as part of our excursion. It was an incredible experience. The museum had deceased people (real people not hand made models). Some of them were people who had died and no one had come and claimed the body and now they are being used in labs. We were now being showed the anatomy inside. We even took a brain out of a skull. For me, it was one of those memorable excursions I will never forget.
General
While at the boarding house we receive guests every now and then. One of them being a visit from a gentleman from England who was (in mine opinion) doing some market research. He was from an independent magazine in the UK, and they were going abroad, here to SA.
We recently attended Mr. Mason’s book launch in Town. It was a great experience for all of us who attended. For me personally, I had a pleasant time at the launch simply because it was a first time experience.
Our most recent get-together we had with Mr. Mason was last term during exams. He had organized a crew from Carte Blanche show to do a documentary on the KMF kids (kids at Camps Bay). It was also a nice experience and it shows us how much he cares for us having sacrificed time from his schedule.
Conclusion
I would like to thank the KMF staff that has been working closely with us, namely: Nelly Tom, who always sacrifices her time, our driver Akhona (“Ta Akho”) who always drives us places, our mothers (Calana and Thobeka), Fatima and Natasha. And a special thanks to Richard Mason and my donor. If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be where I am today.
WHO I AM:
My name is Nelisa Qomiyana. I am 15 years old. I live with my mother and my sister. I am in Grade 9 and attend Camps Bay High School.
I love watching TV and reading books (adventures, scary and exciting ones too). I love listening to music because it clears my mind when I’m stressed. I love sitting around with my friends, joking and fooling around. I don’t like being around people I don’t know because I feel left out. I would just sit there and listen to what they say, or I will read. The only time you’ll see me talking is when someone walks up to me and starts chatting.
I also like playing sport because it keeps you occupied, mentally and physically fit and healthy. I like playing with older children because they are more challenging than others of my age.
LATEST NEWS:
My name is Nelisa Qomiyana and I’m a proud Kay Mason Foundation scholar; this is my second year at Camps Bay High School.
My first day at school in 2009 went all right. When we went to school, we met the newest members of the KMF. Because they were new, we never talked in the bus, but after a few days we started having conversations and before we knew it, we were all friends.
The teachers were all the same except for a few, who had left; they were still friendly teachers.
The first day of my senior year was confusing, as things didn’t work the same. There were no sets, it was just a whole set grade 10 class. The process of the subject set was confusing to me. The following day was a bit similar to day one, but less confusing and less stressful. After three days, I got the hang of it! Even though I thought my first day of my senior was going to be fun and exciting, not the other way around, I still enjoyed it: I had friends and I knew people and teachers, so I never went home with a headache. During the term there was an interruption which resulted in a taxi driver’s strike. They started getting violent and approached any kind of transportation such as trains, government buses and even private buses. At the end of this, not only were we absent a number of days, we also missed out on Valentine ’s Day, and on a number of tests and assignments. When we came back we had to write the tests, prepared or not, which I think caused a hiccup on us academically.
On the inter-house athletics I volunteered to run a few race tracks (I never noticed how unfit I was) which were: 1, 5 km, 400m, 200m and the 100m. The 1, 5 km was hectic, I thought that my chest was about to blow up, especially when I was running against the wind. But I never gave up. To be honest I have never ran such a long distance, but I never gave up and managed to finish.
I appreciate what the KMF has done for me, if it was not for them I would not be where I am today. I think that scholars should show their appreciation by working hard.
|
