The Polytechnic School Cabinda
The Polytechnic School Cabinda is situated in Lândana and has been offering the the Polytechnic program since its introduction in 2011. Prior to this, the school taught a range of vocational courses. The Polytechnic School Cabinda teaches 7th, 8th and 9th grade subjects in combination with vocational training. The three courses on offer are Water Assistant, Modern Cook and Pre-school Assistant. A total of 124 students have graduated to date from The Polytechnic School Cabinda Out of them, 45 are female.
Activities and Results
The Polytechnic School Cabinda started the 2018 academic year on 1 February, with a graduation ceremony for 9th Grade from 2017, and a welcome party for the new students. The current 9th Grade students have completed the period practicing your Profession, where they spent a month gaining work experience. 8th Grade students have learned more about their chosen course in the period Digging Deep into Your Profession, which runs parallel with the overall objective of helping run the school. 7th Graders were plunged into the deep end of what was for them a quite new way of learning and they ended up Swimming like Fish in the Water, as their first period at The Polytechnic School is called. One of the highlights for the new students was a “Survival Trip” where they spent three days exploring and investigating. A major event this term was participating at the inauguration of Algoa’s new factory in Cabinda. The school’s choir was invited to sing the national anthem on this occasion. International Day of the Child was also an important highlight, prepared by the students following the Pre-school Assistant course, and with input from the other courses in terms of practicalities and snacks for the invited children.
Impact
The students learn to take responsibility, to use their initiative and to work as a team. In the preparation of the open day to celebrate International Day of the Child, the Pre-school Assistant class took the lead from start to finish. They worked with children from the community, training them to sing songs for the event. This involved fetching the children every day for a week, looking after them, and making sure they got home again safely. All the students collaborated on the day itself, with one in particular demonstrating leadership and organizational skills, coordinating the actions of up to 200 children at a time.