Starling Primary School encourages learners to “be more” | Western Cape Education Department
Starling Primary School encourages learners to “be more”

Starling Primary School encourages learners to “be more”

12 September 2019

At the start of 2019, Ms Farieda Muller, a Grade 6 teacher at Starling Primary School in Athlone, founded the #ICANBEMORE club for learners. The club is a direct result of the Western Cape Education Department’s Transform to Perform strategy and values implementation at Starling Primary School.

Ms Muller saw a huge need for positive role models with good values, who learners could emulate and look up to. The school therefore recently invited two guest speakers as part of a campaign to connect learners with positive role models.

Their first guest was Shanelle September, a pharmacist and women's rights activist, who volunteered her time to speak to the Grade 6 and 7 female learners.

Her message of female empowerment and dreaming beyond your current circumstances resonated very deeply with the learners.

Their second guest, Sylvester Magqabaza, the owner and founder of Kasi Kings, is a renowned MC as well as a motivational speaker and is viewed as a strong male role model that young men can strongly relate to.

The learners responded enthusiastically to his message that "who we are is not where we are, and where we are is greater than who we are".

The principal, Raj Rajkumar, has always encouraged his educators to be leaders and develop themselves, while at the same time readily offering mentorship and guidance to his colleagues, so that they feel empowered to always do their best.

Starling Primary School encourages learners to “be more”2

This attitude has obviously rubbed off on his educators who are similarly trying to encourage the same message of mentorship and guidance through these positive role models.