TRIVIA NIGHT 2011

Trivia Night is coming up on March 4. This is an annual fundraiser for the eSibonisweni Primary Orphan Program, or ePOP, and it has become a rip-roaring event. Hosted by the seventh and eighth graders, participants include sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students and families; alumni; and faculty members. The questions are devised by trivia master (and Saint Mark’s media specialist) Chad Forrester and may involve singing and dancing. So, if you fall into any of those categories, get your team costumes together and come prepared for loony audience participation at any moment.

You don't have to pre-register. Cost is $20, payable at the door, and the event goes from 6 to 9 p.m.

This is our sixth annual Trivia Night, and we know it will be as successful as events past. Supporting ePOP is also a great way to celebrate again our South African delegation. This program was dreamed up by teachers at eSibonisweni as a way to address the pressing needs of some of their students. Let’s support the teachers in their efforts to improve the lives of their learners.

The winning team from 2010. That trohpy is ridiculously huge.

Girls' Scholarship Web Site

Go here now: www.girlscholars.org.

This school year, we have gained so much traction in our partnership with eSibonisweni Primary School, and we are striking again while the iron is hot.

One of the most important initiatives to come out of our visits to the school is the Girls’ Scholarship Programs, started by Saint Mark’s parent Lynn West, who also serves as the U.S. director, and managed by three experienced mentor teachers at eSibonisweni: Simangele Ntshangase, local program head; Khanyi Mkhize, treasurer; and Nomusa Khanyile, secretary. Lynn and Fernanda Pernambuco have created a new Web site with loads of information about the GSP, as well as the reasons why it is so crucial to focus on increasing educational opportunities for girls in particular. Fernanda and her husband, Zach, worked on our behalf for three months at eSibonisweni in 2010, in advance of our last delegation visit.

Two classes of female scholars have now gone on to Dumangeze, the high school nearest to eSibonisweni. The local area is commonly known as eSicabazini, so the program has been renamed eSicabazini Girls' Scholarship Programs now that we are supporting girls at the high school level.
One of the learners who visited us here at Saint Mark’s in January is a scholarship recipient. Slindile has just begun high school at Dumangeze, and we will be following her progress and that of the other scholars. Kudos to the mentor teachers as well. They go above and beyond in their work with the girls and show impressive commitment to the GSP.

The Web site is an exciting development in the life of the program, so visit, share it, spread the word!