NEWS RELEASE                                                                                            28 June 2001

 WINNERS ANNOUNCED IN WATER WEEK SCHOOLS COMPETITION

The winning schools in a Water Week competition organized by the City of Cape Town have been announced at a special Gala Function held at the Oliver Thambo Centre in Khayelitsha.

Judges praised the exceptional standard of the entries in the five categories - posters, storyboard, essay, drama and song.

The schools competition was held as part of an educational campaign to raise awareness of the importance of saving water at a time when the levels of dams supplying the city are still low despite the introduction of low-level water restrictions last November.

About a thousand enthusiastic learners and educators representing 21 schools packed into the centre for the gala prizegiving.

First prize in the poster category (grades 0-3) went to Clare Conradie and Kayla-Tess Haupt form Westcott Primary for a poster depicting the preciousness of water.  Second was Keegan Welken of Van Riebeckstrand Laerskool and third Danie van der Westhuizen of Van Riebeckstrand Laerskool.

First prize in the poster category (grades 4-7) went to Janet Martin for a poster depicting the last bottle of water in a museum. Second was Nadia Theat of Van Riebeckstrand Laerskool and third Chantel Esterhuizen of Van Riebeckstrand Laerskool.

First prize in the poster category (grades 8-12) went to Lauren Smith, Janelle Issacs, Danielle Waldeck, Jaqueline Boonzaaire and Lynn Hanevil of Holy Cross Convent High for a poster depicting a world without water. Second was Stacey Le Son and Simone Potter of Wynberg Girls and third Nicole Simons, Caryn Ziervogel and Nikita Vaeberg of Wynberg Girl.

In the category for storyboard, the winning entry was from Deroza van der Roff, Janine Roman, Angeline Holmes and Salega Seaborne of Zeekovlei High with Brackenfell primary grade 4's and Galeemah Arnold of Atlantis SS coming second and third respectively. The best essay came from Adrienne Marais and Lauren Coleman of Wynberg Girls with Toni Waywell, Kelly Young and Michelle Young also of Wynberg Girls second and Valdene Daries and Craig September of Zwaanswyk High third. The winning drama production was presented by Fish Hoek Primary with Sakumlandela Primary second and Atlantis Senior Secondary third.

Song was also a close-fought contest with Brackenfell High edging out Zerilda Park second, while Zola High took third place.

Councillor Chris Hattingh, Chairperson of the City of Cape Town’s Trading Services Portfolio Committee, praised the exceptional standard of the entries and

pointed out that the message behind the competition was deadly serious. He said every Capetonian had a duty to save water if a crisis was to be averted. 

The Council’s Interim Manager for Services, Mike Marsden, said the schools had come up with some brilliant ideas for water saving in the competition. 

“I was amazed at the strong and positive response from the schools,” he said. “We will be using these entries to get the message across to the broader community.” 

He said the exceptional commitment of the schools boded well for the successful extension of the campaign which is being co-ordinated by the city’s Water Week Committee.    

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