Position South African girls for Success in iSTEAM

I AM SCIENCE PROJECT

As an all girls iSTEAM school it was a great opportunity to have the project of our school. As Molo Mhlaba plans on teaching girls about science so that in the future they can choose science as their careers and bridge the gap of lack of black women in science careers.

The project was an eye opener for the teacher as it demonstrated different ways teachers could make science fun and interesting for the students. The projects shows that teaching science doesn’t have to be taught like all the other subjects as learners learn more in science through practical work and experiments.

All of the girls at the school come from public primary schools in Khayelitsha and science is no different from other subjects at the schools’ they are coming from. Some have never seen any science experiments, the only girls who were ever exposed to science were the ones that were part of Thope foundation which is an after school programme. Spending the three days with Victoria was one of their best experiences. This opened eyes for them and made them think further, some of them already see themselves as young scientists. The talent show was one of the highlights as they had to show what they learnt to other children with the same age as them. It was a great platform for them to see how confident they are in front of large crowds.

The team plans continuing sharing their knowledge with other schools as we plan to go to a few schools around Khayelitsha to do science shows. So that other students at the schools can also gain from the project is well. Since most schools cannot afford to buy the materials needed for some of the experiments, this will make more female students interested in science and perhaps in future they will pursue careers in science.

Thope Foundation Update: July 2018 Recently wrapping up Term 2, we cannot believe that we are already half way through our inaugural year of school at Molo Mhlaba! We have grown exponentially, now with 30 girls enrolled, and we are so excited to continue developing and learning with them. Over the second term, the girls focused their learning on the solar system, storytelling, gardening, and Africa Day. They have had visits from Mala Bryan of Malaville Dolls (think African girl toy representation!), a book launch of Steven Hawking’s George’s Secret Key to the Universe in isiXhosa, and their first field trip to Grand West to see the Power Puff Girls Live. It has been such a joy seeing the girls light up at school as they learn new skills and begin teaching each other what they have learned in their school days. Our teachers have also continued to improve their teaching, attending Montessori workshops and participating in monthly teacher in-service trainings. This constant drive to be the best as teachers allows Molo Mhlaba to continue to provide our girls with quality teachers who create a positive, safe and supportive learning environment for them to thrive. We also received great community support, having local authors, reporters, and performers stop by to pay us a visit. We have also been featured on SABC News on Youth Day, the Afternoon Express Show and have an upcoming appearance on Motswako, so keep a look out for us on your television! On the Thope Foundation front, which provides STEM exposure to girls between grades 5 and 7 in an after school programme format, the programme has already added 310 additional hours of schooling to the girls classroom learning this year. This programme gives the girls additional exposure to English, maths and science, which has led to noticeable improvement in their overall school marks. Over their school holiday the Thope Foundation girls participated in a coding programme hosted by AIMS, where the girls put their computer and coding skills to the test building robots and circuits, while talking about all things science, technology, engineering and mathematics. We are so proud of how far we have come since January with Molo Mhlaba and continue to work hard to provide our girls in the Thope Foundation after school programme with the skills to be the next generation of female scientists and techies. Thank you for your generous support of girls STEM education in Khayelitsha and we look forward to updating you with more progress soon!