Learners of Beaumont Primary School in Somerset West and Overberg and Swartberg primary schools in Caledon have been invited by Sam Wong from Canberra Primary School in Singapore to participate in the Global Connected Learning project.
Forty-three Grade 7 learners and six teachers from the three schools will be part of the academic collaboration, together with two schools from Singapore and two schools from China from Friday 12 to Saturday 20 July.
Beaumont and Overberg primary schools participated in international musicals in 2013, 2015 and 2017, making this their fourth international collaboration in Singapore.
Academic preparation began last year when the learners researched Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Emirates Airlines. The organisers in Singapore sent videos about how Singapore is preparing for the future, which were viewed by the South African learners.
Once the learners are in Singapore, this information will be used for group discussions on what a city of the future could potentially look like. The learners from the three South African schools will compile presentations and videos, present photos, dramatisations, singing, dancing and poems on two aspects of their country or immediate surroundings which are proudly South African.
The chosen topics need to align with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) sustainable development goals. The participating schools chose the following topics: the very first human-to-human heart transplant by Dr Christiaan Barnard and other medical achievements; the management of organic waste in the Western Cape; use of wind turbines to generate clean electricity; wheat farming in the Overberg region; Table Mountain as a tourist attraction; and responsible water management.
As part of their learning journey, the learners will visit tourist attractions such as Gardens by the Bay, Singapore Flyer, Singapore Zoo, Universal Studios Theme Park, Trick Eye Museum and Adventure Cove Park.
They will experience “challenge based education” first hand and one of the major focus points of the tour will be the practical application of Steam (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Maths). The learners are looking forward to the practical role they will play in their city’s future with great anticipation.
