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Thrilled to announce that Imagine Scholar has been shortlisted for the Reimagine Education Awards K12 prize for the second year in a row!

Last year, we were honored to receive the “Gold” award in the Arts & Humanities discipline, and two “Silver” awards for innovation in #K12 education and for progressive education programs in #Africa.

We look forward to reconnecting with the Reimagine Education team and education thought leaders around the world this year.

Recently, Imagine Scholar alum, Phila arrived at Case Western Reserve University in the US to begin his degree! We asked what his first impressions were, and here’s what he had to say:

“Arriving on campus a month ago, I couldn’t have been any more excited to start as a new student at Case Western Reserve University. It’s been a month now and the excitement hasn’t died down.

Over my time here, I’ve had the opportunity to join two exciting clubs: CWRURobotix and Developer Student Club. CWRURobotix is Case Western’s robotics club and is composed of students from all majors — including electrical and mechanical engineering, computer science, and more — who all come together to collaborate and build robots. As an incoming member, I’ve had the opportunity to partake in a robotics software bootcamp where I’m learning ROS (robot operating system) and will eventually learn to program robots. The Developer Student Club is a Google-sponsored club where students learn to use Google technologies (including mobile, web, machine learning, and more tools) to build solutions to problems in their communities. In the next few weeks I’ll be attending a series of events organized by the club to learn more about these technologies and eventually collaborate with other students to utilize them to build solutions. Additionally, as one of the participants in the human-centered design course, I’m having lots of fun learning about the process of putting people at the center of the design process.

All in all, I’m looking forward to learning more and making good use of all the opportunities that come my way. It’s only been a month and I feel like I’m learning so much: excited to see where the next four years take me!”

Alumna, Thenjiwe returned to Imagine Scholar to take a full-time staff role as Associate Program Director in January 2020. She represented Imagine Scholar at the recent HALIAccessNetwork Indaba – a meeting of education thought leaders and pioneers from across the African continent!

Here is what stood out to her most from her experience:

“One really important thing I learned listening to the different speakers talk about admissions (to schools and scholarships) was that they do not just consider the individual’s academics but they look at the human side of the person as well. How the person experiences the world outside of themselves – are they able to be a part of others’ lives?

The Indaba challenged me to think about what the application process might look like without academics. If we are working to create the next generation of world leaders, then maybe we should spend more time and effort building character and passions than academic understanding (which is also important but should not be our only focus).”

Thenjiwe is the future of Imagine Scholar.

Join us for a day of exercise to support Imagine Scholar! Run, walk, or cycle your favorite distance on October 24th and consider a donation that matches this distance! Share with your friends to get everyone moving in support of Imagine Scholar!

Register here: https://forms.gle/4zynJnPS5V9ACQMt9
Donate here: https://imaginescholar.givingfuel.com/donate

Cleopatra (Grade 9) recently completed the second round of the Junior South African Math Olympiad! Here’s what she had to say about the experience:

“Being part of the South African Math Olympiad has been a great opportunity. I didn’t think I would even make it to the second round so I was super excited to make it – it meant more challenging problems and I was very eager for that. The questions were intense and at times frustrating, but it was the best experience. I had never seen such creative maths questions before! It required me to think out of the box and use calculations that I have never even tried my whole life.
And that is why it was so fun!”

COVID-19 has changed the way we do the simplest tasks. While studying in Hong Honk, alumnus, Phila noticed that students were struggling to social distance while doing their laundry.

He put his coding skills to work to develop an app that allows students to schedule washer and drier time, helping to ensure that only a safe number of people are in the washroom at any given time! 👏

A different kind of #growth mindset 🍅. Ola (Grade 10) is tending Imagine Scholar’s garden! We’ve been providing students with fresh tomatoes, spinach, and lettuce to make sure everyone is getting enough brain food!

Check out Sibahle with his AVBOB Poetry award! His poem, which won first prize in the AVBOB Poetry Gala for the SiSwati language is now published in a book entitled “I Wish I’d Said…” (Vol.3) 😎

Daily #inspiration! Check out these 110+ books and art pieces that will challenge you to learn and grow.

Today, our Strategy & Engagement Manager, Cait Graaf spoke about the future of sustainability at the RITE Education #InspiredConference2020! In her talk, she covered how holistic education that prioritizes critical thinking is an important part of moving the sustainability agenda forward.

This is what standing up for what is right sounds like. Alumna, Nomthandazo, created this #spokenword piece in response to gender-based violence in South Africa ♀️

Virtual learning hasn’t slowed us down! Check out Ntu finishing up the online Biomedical and Tech Symposium with Heritage STEM Camps Foundation on Zoom 👨‍🔬

COVID hasn’t stopped Scholars from pursuing their goals! Sibahle just won first prize 🥇 at the AVBOB Poetry Gala for the SiSwati language. Fast forward to 1 hour and 6 minutes to watch his award be announced! Watch it by clicking here.

Friendly reminder to mask up and keep those hands squeaky clean! 🧼

Credit goes to Qhawe (Grade 10) for putting his art skills to use spreading awareness on how to keep COVID-19 in check.

It’s official! Siphila is a professional (aka he got paid 💸) author. Check out his short book “The Girl on the Bus” on FunDza Literacy Trust’s site now!

When Scholars put pen to paper, epic things happen. Check out this new poem from Sunny, entitled “Black and Proud”. Her poem was published by our friends at Right for Education Africa to over 6 million people 🖤

Innocenciah (Grade 11) has been awarded a scholarship with BP Global STEM Academies, an international educational program focusing on STEM and cultural exchange.

She received 1 of 110 scholarships out of over 9000 applicants this year(!) and will be attending virtual programming coupled with an opportunity to study abroad in 2021 in the USA, Egypt, Brazil or India.

We’re proud to announce that we’ve joined as an official partner to the Humane Education Coalition!

Humane education is a comprehensive methodology that equips learners with the tools to think critically and identify creative and impactful solutions to interconnected global challenges.

We join a diverse group of organizations pioneering pro-social learning environments and promoting global sustainability.

Learn more about the coalition: https://www.hecoalition.org/

Shout out to Evan and our friends at Obvious State for helping us design learning environments that spark joy and curiosity by donating these incredible art pieces to our program!

Congrats to Sandra & Siphiwe for their acceptance to Ryerson University’s DMZ BaseCamp Lite Program! 🎉

This online entrepreneurship workshop links high potential students with Canada’s leading tech entrepreneurs. Siphiwe will be continuing her research and development of her cyclonic telescope and Sandra will be focusing on business models that address Nkomazi’s largest issues.

Learn more about the program: https://bit.ly/38L40gS

Grade 12 Scholar, Mlondi has long since been one of our strongest poets. Thanks to our friends at Right for Education Africa for sharing Mlondi’s incredible poem “Where I’m From” 👏.

R:Ed is a diverse media platform dedicated to delivering authentically African content to its almost 7 million person readership. We couldn’t be more proud to see Mlondi’s poetry getting international exposure!