Aqua Vista Primary spell ’victory’ after close battle

Two pupils from an East London primary school came out tops in the country’s first Financial Literacy (FinLit) Spelling Bee.

The competition was hosted by the Eastern Cape department of education and the Banking Association of South Africa.

Selected from various schools in the East London district, 30 keen spellers filled the Education Leadership Institute hall in Stirling and wowed the audience with their proficiency in spelling out financially related words.

The FinLit spelling bee lasted for eight intense rounds, and in the final round pupils were not only required to spell the words, but also provide a definition.

Aqua Vista Primary School pupils Lona Dunga and Vuyolwethu Madlebe won first and second place respectively, while third place was clinched by Lisakhanya Mzingayi from Cambridge Primary.

Aqua Vista Grade 7 economics and management science (EMS) teacher Nomvuko Jilaji said she was extremely proud of the pupils.

Jilaji said the department had sent a list around with hundreds of words for pupils to practise. Many pupils were familiar with most of the words as they had been used as part of the EMS curriculum.

Jilaji added that she had also often held spelling bee quizzes in her classroom as a way to prepare the pupils for the competition.

“I have been coaching and working closely with them and they are both really good pupils. Both have been performing exceptionally well in EMS.

“Lona’s English is very good and she achieves good marks. This came in very handy for the competition.”

Aqua Vista principal Ambeline Ross said the school was very proud of the pupils.

“We are on the outskirts of East London and for us to be able to participate in the competition and win the overall competition is really just prestigious for us. They have represented us well,” said Ross.

Eastern Cape department of education provincial planner Zoliswa Angelina Matshingana, who was the guest speaker at the competition, encouraged teachers to be actively involved when educating pupils and go the extra mile.

Matshingana encouraged teachers to make sure pupils read as much as possible.

“We as the department and the teachers must make sure that pupils perform well at school.

“We need to encourage pupils to read and work together in being actively involved in educating pupils,” she said.

Financial education manager at the Banking Association of South Africa Mvelenhle Yaka said they were pleased to be a partner in the competition and hoped to roll the event out to other districts.