13/01/2023
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐂 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐁𝐎 𝐌𝐎𝐅𝐔𝐓𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐀 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐄 [𝐈𝐑𝐂] 𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 𝐀𝐂𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑
12 January 2023
The Thabo Mofutsanyana Interim Regional Committee [IRC] welcomes the beginning of the 2023 academic year as inland schools opened their doors to learners on Wednesday, 11 January and coastal schools shall start on Wednesday, 18 January 2023.
The year begins with the COVID-19 pandemic still prevalent in our midst. For the past two years, learners have lost considerable learning time due to lockdowns and rotational schooling put in place to ensure social distancing in order to keep the pandemic at bay.
As schools open, we would like to see learners returning to classes all at once. We welcome all learners to the start of the first quarter! Whether they are beginning or continuing their 2023 academic year journey, we are glad they have chosen to be part of this vibrant academic community. With the start of the new term, we also join them in this exciting journey, as ANC Thabo Mofutsanyana Region.
For us as the ANC in the region we understand that the school is a unique and special place, with an extraordinary range of creative talent, bold thinking, and connectivity to the issues of our time. At its heart, is the learners, and we look forward to finding ways to meet as many of them as possible and to hearing their stories, as we move through this academic year.
The start of a new academic year is always full of promise, aspirations, and vitality. To be sure, we would have loved for us all to be feeling that energy on all our school premises this week, but we are making the very best of the circumstances we have been handed right now, taking a smart and safe approach to this quarter, and prioritizing community health.
We would like to thank our School Governing Bodies (SGBs), Principals, School Management Teams (SMTs), educators and all learners for the maturity, flexibility, and patience they are all demonstrating.
The 2023 academic year will be the second year after two years of dealing with the Covid 19 pandemic. Although we have seen a significant drop in the spread of the pandemic, we should not be lulled into thinking it is over. We are aware of the Omicron variant XBB.1.5 which is making the rounds. We urge our members to continue to be vigilant and the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to put in place the necessary measures to mitigate against the spread of the virus.
This challenging time through which we all are living recalls for us as the region the powerful words of one contemporary writer Stephen King, from his Novel 11/22/63 who was made popular by a recent television series:
*"We did not ask for this room, or this music; we were invited in. Therefore, because the dark surrounds us, let us turn our faces toward the light. Let us endure hardship to be grateful for plenty. We have been given pain to be astounded by joy. We have been given life to deny death. We did not ask for this room, or this music. But because we are here, let us dance"*.
Wherever you may be geographically and physically, we urge you to bring your full and authentic self into this learning experience and actively seek to make connections, forge bonds, and collaborate. We know it can be challenging to relate to each other at a time when we are all physically distant. But community is what we intentionally practice by gathering together, and it is entirely possible and powerful in any context - physical or virtual.
As a profound believers in the power of education quite literally to transform lives, we are so very excited for our learners today. Across every part of region, from your School Governing Bodies (SGBs), Principals, School Management Teams (SMTs), educators and all learners, to your staff, to every member of my leadership team—we are here to support the quality of your educational experience and your ultimate success. Here’s to an extraordinary year of exploration together like no other we’ve ever had. *Onward and Upward*!
*ISSUED BY THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS OFFICE OF THE REGIONAL COORDINATOR FOR AND ON BEHALF OF THE INTERIM REGIONAL COMMITTEE (IRC)*
Cde. Malekula Melato
Regional Coordinator
*082 972 3371*
*For More Information*
King Mokoena
Regional Spokesperson
*071 847 2193*
