SAILI News

It has been three months since we have generated a newsletter from our office and that is entirely due to how VERY BUSY we've been in the scholarship office!

Between October and February each year we are looking for Cape Town's best and brightest young people and testing them for our scholarship. Each year we approach primary schools who have sent us high performing students in the past and invite them to testing. We also look for new primary schools that show they are striving for excellence through success in various local competitions.

This year we particularly want to notice the performance of Sid. G. Rule, Thomas Wildschutt, Fairview and Claremont Primary schools who each had multiple successes in our final selection of 25 candidates. To see the list visit - http://tinyurl.com/SAILI

Here are some thoughts from our newly chosen candidates, taken from their scholarship exam papers:
"Right now, my family and I are going through a rough time. We are struggling with financial problems. My dad is not able to pay my school fees now and he won't be able to pay when I go to high school."

"Confidence is my best characteristic. I used to be always shy of people and cover my face and look down. Then I had to do a speech at church and before the speech my mother told me not to be scared because nobody will kill me if I talk. I went and did my speech and everyone loved it. From that day I was confident and not shy anymore."

"One day, when I am big, I want to be a surgeon. I want to do something no one ever did before. I want to reconstruct a spine. It will be difficult but wiht hard work and dedication, it is possible. That is my dream for the future."

Scholarship selection week is always a very hard one and this year was no exception. Without fail, there are always more eligible candidates than there are pots of money to support them from. It is very hard to turn away these bright and dedicated young people, knowing that we are closing a door that would have given them access to a good high school education. We continue to work hard to raise support for our talented youth.

Regards,

Boasting about our 2014 Results

Sixteen nervous SAILI students collected their results from school, early in January. As expected, they all PASSED and 87% with a Bachelor Pass giving access to tertiary institutes. We are particularly proud of Keanu Collier, with 6 As, studying Medicine at UCT. Lutifyah Kharwa, also with 6 As, studying Medicine at Stellenbosh. And Brent Matthews, also 6 As, studying Commerce - Accounting at UCT. In total the 2014 matrics brought in 33 As and we are very proud of them.

However, it isn't just our matrics that have made us proud. We want to celebrate the following students who held best aggregate and overall highest Maths and Science scores at both mid year and end of year:
Yusraa Thebus, Gr 8, South Peninsula, Maths 93% and Science 86%.
Luqmaan Mathee, (pictured) Gr 9, South Peninsula, Maths 92% and Science 92%
Cayley Tarr, Gr 10, Westerford, Maths 86%, Science 87%

2015 Important Dates

1st April - Gr 8 camp
18th April - UCT Open Day
9th May - CPUT and UWC Open Days

***Answer Series pick up date to be announced!

The Perils of Praise

By Carol Dweck.

The wrong kind of praise creates self-defeating behavior. The right kind motivates students to learn.

For a few decades, it’s been noted that a large percentage of all gifted students (those who score in the top 10 percent on tests) severely underestimate their own abilities. Those afflicted with this lack of confidence in their abilities, adopt lower standards for success and expect less of themselves. They underrate the importance of effort, and they overrate how much help they need from a parent or teacher.

When parents praise their children’s intelligence, they believe they are providing the solution to this problem. According to a survey conducted by Columbia University, 85 percent of American parents think it’s important to tell their kids that they’re smart. Everyone does it, habitually. The constant praise is meant to be an angel on the shoulder, ensuring that children do not sell their talents short.

But a growing body of research—and a new study from the trenches of the New York public-school system—strongly suggests it might be the other way around. Giving kids the label of “smart” does not prevent them from underperforming. It might actually be causing it.

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