Shashe celebrates 50-year anniversary
Ryder Gabathuse | Friday June 14, 2019 13:32
Lekgetho, who herself is a head of department at the school, heads an organising committee that targets amongst others taking advantage of the impending commemoration to change the ailing fortunes of the school. The anniversary is billed for September 13 this year.
They want to take the school to the community to make the villagers aware of the school’s contribution to the education and general economy of the country and in their village in particular.
Shashe River Secondary School first opened its doors to students in 1969 and at that time the school emphasised on education with production, the brainchild of the departed hero Patrick Van Rensburg. It had a brigade section where students were taught theory with much emphasis on practical work.
“We are looking at various alumni of the school and we are helping to bring them together and committing them to what they can do for their school to better it,” Lekgetho told Mmegi this week.
The school administration is currently concerned at the dwindling results of the school. History shows that the school, located along the A1 highway in Tonota, performed well in the past, but for the past five years it had been a seesaw kind of performance.
Previously, SRSS ranked amongst the top 10 best performing secondary schools. Recently, the picture has shifted to poor performance and the school has been lowly placed between positions 20 and 24 out of a total of 28 senior secondary schools nationally.
Through the impending commemoration, Lekgetho is adamant that the school wants to do everything within its powers to go back to its glory days. They will do everything in collaboration with stakeholders including teachers and the students.
“We take it that the alumni are part of the stakeholders,” Lekgetho observed and added that in the era of information, communication and technology, they are still lagging behind in terms of technology to assist the students do the requisite research. At the end of the 50th commemoration, Lekgetho says the school will need the ICT-related gadgets like laptops, tablets, computers overhead projects and Internet connectivity amongst others to drive their dream of changing the school’s waning fortunes.
In addition to the commemoration at the SRSS, there will be a prize giving ceremony awarding students and staff, “the intention being to widen our pool of recognition to show that we have students who are doing their very best as well as staff”.
This week, the commemoration committee met the Tonota community at the kgotla to ensure that the villagers were part of the anniversary of their school.
Lately, the committee has been using social media to build the base for former students to come together and be part of the celebrations.
“It can add value to our cause if the SRSS alumni could participate in the preparations of the 50th anniversary. The alumni participation could motivate the current crop of students to take a leaf from the former students who are involved in various economic activity.”
Some of the former SRSS students include attorney Themba Joina of the Marx Engels Lenin and Stalin (MELS) fame, politician Vain Mamela of Botswana Congress Party (BCP), Dr Comma Serema, MacDonald Peloetletse, Brigadier Joseph Seelo, and director general of the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) Brigadier Joseph Mathambo amongst others.
Journalists Mmoloki Mothibi, Galebolae Ngakane and Spencer Mogapi amongst others add to the long list of SRSS alumni.
Shashe River Secondary School has produced myriads of prominent persons who continue to add value to the upliftment of the country across professions.