Storm’s latest award is the first place gold medal at the 2020 Buca International Fair, in the category of Mathematics and Computers. The fair was held in Turkey’s Buca district. It aims to encourage high school students to do scientific and Technological Research; and contribute to the positive development of young people.

For those who do not know, in 2019 as a grade 11 student, Storm created an algorithm (computer programme) that can identify pneumonia through x-rays. Storm basically created a unique computer program for an x-ray machine which makes it possible for the machine to see if someone has pneumonia. The faster pneumonia is picked up, the faster doctors can treat it which could lead to a lot of lives being saved. More importantly, unlike other algorithms, it does not need an internet connection to work. This means that Storm’s algorithm works faster and once again, saves more lives.

This invention is especially important at a time when the world is still struggling with Covid-19. If a Covid-19 patient gets pneumonia, his or her chances of dying accelerate. When you see a Covid patient on ventilators struggling to breath, that is because of the pneumonia. Of course, the faster the pneumonia is picked up, the faster the patient can be put on ventilators and treated.

Medical professionals and academics that have spoken to Storm about his invention says that despite having only been in grade 11 at the time, he has the mind of a university graduate. When you suggest to him that he is a genius for having come up with this invention, he politely disagrees and says that it has everything to do with hard work. It took him three months of sleepless nights to learn about medicine, and x-ray machines. Programming was his hobby and as an already gifted programmer; it took him a day to type out the algorithm. In fact, he is so good at programming that he has certificates and licences in C# Unity Development, Unity Android Game Development, 2D/3D Unity Game Development, C++ Unreal Engine Game Development, MathWorks MatLab, MathWorks MatLab Machine Learning and MathWorks MatLab Deep Learning.

In addition to this latest award, he also won the HATCH Hendrik van der Bijl Special Award at Eskom’s Expo International Science Fair for Young Scientists, a Special Award from the Department of Science and Technology, the Siemens Ingenuity for Life Award and he represented South Africa at Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair. He has also received hundreds of thousands in prize money and is using that money to copyright his idea and turn it into a business.

Given his long list of achievements at such an early age, one would assume that he does not have time for hobbies but this is not so. If there is one thing he loves doing, its playing basketball. In fact, there was a point in his life where, if he could, he would spend most of his time on the basketball court instead of studying. Contrary to what many believes, there is no such thing as the perfect kid and Storm never claimed to be one. He reluctantly admits that from grade 8 to 10, he was a bit of a rebellious kid.

The reason he is reluctant to talk about this part of his story is simply because he is not proud of it. A rebellious kid, he was in and out detention, his parents having to see the teachers and the teachers themselves not being fond of him. However, he looked in the mirror one day and asked himself if, 30 years from now, he would be proud of what he sees. The answer to that question was, ‘No’. He sat down with his parents and promised them and himself that he would never go to detention again. He was and will never be prepared to give up on basketball so he made a deal with his parents that he would find a balance between the two. This is how he lives his life and will continue to live his life.

To the question of whether a kid can turn his or her life around and become remarkable, the answer is a resounding, “YES!” In that same year that he decided to change, Storm started developing an award winning medical computer programme, became one of his teacher’s favourite students, became the deputy prefect of his school, made his parents proud and most importantly, when he looked in the mirror, he did so with pride. He became such a disciplined young man, that during the 2020 Covid epidemic, instead of enjoying his time at home, he got up early every weekday, put on some clothes, sat down at his desk and went through his schoolwork as if it was an ordinary school day. Now, do not misunderstand. He is still a bit of a rebel. You do not create a ground-breaking computer application by just sticking to the rules.

At this point, it should be mentioned that Storm had to go up against some of the brightest young minds in the world. These bright young minds include those from the best performing nation in Mathematics and Computer Science, China. This last point emphasises what Storm teaches us as a nation. He confirms that we are capable of not only competing with the best but also beating the best. Yes, winning is not everything but it does feel nice though, holding up that gold and seeing it glitter in the sun.

The post How Storm Won Gold at the Buca International Fair for Maths and Computer Science appeared first on Coloured South Africa .

On 22 February of this year, the little champ won the category for 9 year olds at the US international Kids tournament, despite once again being the smallest kid in his age category.

The tournament was held at the Zebula Golf Estate in Limpopo and is called the BIG 5.

It is named after South Africa’s ‘Big Five’ game animals, namely the lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo.

The tournament was held over 2 days with 18 holes a day and an extra day for an official practice round.

On day 1 of the tournament, Traigh was laying 2nd place with a score of 3 under par, just 3 points off the UK leader, AJ Van Emmenis.

On day 2, the final day of the tournament, Traigh went in to make 4 birdies in a row and end 9 holes with 5 under par.

The top 3 boys all dropped shots and ended 4 shots behind Traigh.

The back 9 was cancelled due to Thunderstorms.

Coming in a joint second was Austria’s Sebastian Aigner and South Africa’s Lubanzi Tselane with the United Kingdom’s AJ van Emmenis taking third place.

Winning this international tournament has given Traigh priority status for the next year and entry into all big international tournaments

However, the tournament was held before the Coronavirus became a worldwide pandemic so Traigh will have to wait a while before he can compete internationally.

For the time being, his mom, Tiara, will be concentrating on trying to get sponsorships to fund his future travels, so if you are interested in becoming a sponsor, you can contact her at 0731666173 or email her [email protected] .

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The grade 1 striker recently made an impression with recruiters from Real Madrid, and has been invited to attend an 8 day training session at their Academy in Spain from 10 to 18 April.

Described as hardworking and disciplined, Mason has been on the radar of several local clubs, having already attended trails at clubs such as Supersport United.

His father, Sharad, says that his son had been kicking a ball since he could take his first steps and they regularly attend football games together.

Mason’s entire family are football fanatics, with his father and uncles all actively involved in the local football scene.

His grandfather, Charley Pietersen is the former CEO of Bloemfontein Celtic and was the Deputy Venue manager at the 2010 World Cup.

For little Mason, this could be a life changing opportunity.

It could lead to him being groomed for professional football and also given a scholarship to study at the best schools and universities.

For now however, Mason just wants to play football, have fun and make his family and community proud.

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Jaden grew up in what could be described as a fairly stable home with both his mom and dad pushing him to do his best. It did bother him that his dad was abusive towards his mom, but he was just a kid and was not sure what to do. However, he remembers the day he decided that he would not follow in the footsteps of his father. This was the day that police burst into his home, grabbed and handcuffed his father. The confused 10 year old asked his mom what was happening, and she just told him not to worry. He found out later that day that his father was arrested for selling drugs.

He says watching his father get dragged away in handcuffs completely destroyed his view of what a ‘perfect household’ looked like. His mom, having had enough of the abuse and wanting to get her son away from this toxic environment, eventually filed for divorce, which became official two years later. He says that growing up in this “situation could’ve easily caused yet another statistic”, but he told himself “that to change my situation I had to be different”. This difference would only come about if he “excelled academically” so that he could earn an income.

For the next few years, he was raised in a single parent household. He attended Heathfield Primary and then, due to his hard work, received a scholarship to attend South Peninsula High School. Things did not always run smoothly for him. He started off high school being very good at Mathematics, getting 88% in his first term. However things took a turn for the worst when he ended the year with a maths pass mark of 40%. At that stage, he was ready to accept that he might not be as good at maths as he thought. He was wrong though, and it took a really good teacher to show him how wrong he was.

In grade 9, he got a new maths teacher, whom he describes as a role model and the reason for his excellent math scores. Mr Ederies, as he calls him, changed the way he saw maths and reignited his love for the subject. Mr Ederies would go on to become his maths teacher for the rest of his time at high school and the primary reason for why he chose his career path.

Initially, Jaden wanted to become a medical doctor until he was asked to help someone with maths homework. As he was “explaining this quadratic equation” he realised that this was what he wanted to do. He loved the idea of empowering kids in his community through maths. He did not however want to study for a degree in education and felt that studying for a pure maths degree was the only way to be an effective mathematics teacher. He wanted to be a quality maths teacher like Mr Ederies.

Jaden went on to become a top achiever in high school, culminating in 8 distinctions for matric. He achieved 80% in English, 85% in Afrikaans, 82% in Life Orientation, 88% in Dramatic Arts, 95% in Tourism, 84% in Life Sciences, 84% in Physical Sciences and 93% in Mathematics. The Western Cape government also recognised him as one of the province’s 40 top performing learners at a recent awards ceremony. He is now getting ready to attend his first year at UCT, studying for a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics.

When asked what advice he would give to kids that are still in school, his answer is, ‘ask questions’. He says that a lot of students fail because they did not ask the questions from the beginning, and only started asking questions when it is too late to help. His motto is, “Irritate the teachers with questions because you need to pass, not them”. He says that being a top achiever does not mean you have to be stereotypical shy person who is quiet and attentive 100% of the time. He jokes that his teachers would definitely not describe as the quiet kid but he emphasises that he was never disrespectful. He feels that learning can be fun but having fun does not mean that you have to disrespectful towards your teachers and peers.

Jaden has a complicated past. Although he still loves his father, he decided that he would not repeat his mistakes. He would instead go on to become a high academic achiever, secure a future making an honest living, and give back to the community. Kids often have complicated pasts, especially if you are from the Cape Flats, but due to people like Jaden, things can only get better and a little less complicated.

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Leonardo’s story starts in Robertson, where he is a happy kid with a loving mom and dad. He idolised his father, Thomas. Thomas grew up poor and worked his way out poverty, eventually teaching his son about the value of hard work and persevering in face of great odds. This is an important part of the story because it is what shaped what was to become one of the most inspirational young men in the country.

After completing his teaching degree, Thomas was offered a position as a principal, becoming even more of a giant in the eyes of the young Leonardo. Then tragedy struck. When Leonardo is 7 years old, his father dies of a heart attack. Not only is this a devastating loss, but it turns the life of the young Leonardo upside down. Thomas is no longer able to provide and Leonardo soon understands what it is like to go to bed hungry.

His mom tries her best to put food on the table but good work opportunities are scarce.  She moved her family to Ashton in search of better work opportunities, but things did not work out as planned. They continued to struggle and Leonardo becomes even more acquainted with going to bed hungry. He is however his father’s son, so he instead of giving up, he decided that he would make sure that he never goes to bed hungry again.

Like his father taught him, he put in the hard work, deciding to persevere. As a learner at Ashton Secondary, he is the first person through the school gates, the last to leave, always making sure that he completes his homework. Instead of playing after school like the other kids, the naturally inquisitive Leonardo sits at the library until it closes; absorbing every bit of information he can get his hands on. He is especially interested in Maths and Science, having already decided that he would become a medical doctor. He wants to help people so that that they never have to lose a parent like he did. His hard work pays off.

His report card always shows either a mark above 80% or 90% and he is always the top performing learner in his grade. He earns the respect of both his peers and teachers; eventually rising to the rank of Head Boy in matric. The big payoff comes the day he receives his matric results, earning straight A’s which amounts to 7 distinctions. These include 88% for Afrikaans, 90% for English, 89% for Life Orientation, 93% for Life Sciences, 92% for accounting, 91% for physics and 89% for mathematics. There is a cherry on the top. He has been accepted to study medicine at the University of Cape Town.

The ‘straight A’ Leonardo would be described by most as a disciplined young man, a bit quiet but always working hard to make sure that he excels. One thing they did not know is the struggles he had to endure. It is not something he enjoys talking about and he hardly asks for help, choosing to bare his burden on his own. He does however admit that it gets very lonely and at times, he feels despondent and isolated from the rest of his peers. He also says that it is hard to say no when he gets invited to social events but he knows that if he is to escape his poverty, he has to make the necessary sacrifices. He does however have a strong network of people that loves and supports him when he feels like giving up.

He says is mom supports him on a daily basis and does her best to put food on the table, despite several years of struggling to find a decent job. He is also grateful for the ladies at the library for always making him feel positive, as well his very supportive teacher, John Benjamin. John only found out recently about his young learner’s struggles, and along with his wife, Serone, rallied the other teachers to make sure that Leonardo has food on the table and some spending money in his pocket. His Afrikaans teacher, Liezel Stadler, is also a rock in his life, and he always reaches out to her when he feels that he is at breaking point. And then there is his father whose life lessons endure and whose spirit resides strongly within his son.

Leonardo Abrahams is a kid that cannot fully comprehend that he is in fact, a legend. One can argue that he is made up of some sort of unbreakable metal that nobody has heard of before. The truth however, is that he is a kid like any other, who, like his father, made a choice to persevere, regardless of his circumstances. He is the kind of kid that makes those facing the same difficulties realise that they too can succeed. The legacy of the future Dr. Abrahams will be ingrained in the hearts and minds of every single kid that read his story, became inspired and succeeded. And so begins the legend…

Note: This story was compiled from an article written by Marteli Brewis for Kuier Magazine, Other

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The town’s high school, De Kruine Secondary, managed to score a formidable 96% matric pass rate, a significant improvement over its 74% pass rate in 2018.

Not only that, but it has a 100% pass rate in accountancy and has continued to improve on the mathematics front.

The school says that its results are as a result of community support and the commitment of both the teachers and learners.

It also has programmes in place to ensure that the learners, who generally come from struggling homes, are able to perform to the best of their abilities.

Some of the programmes include both winter and spring schools as well as weekend camps where the learners socialise and help each other.

It also implemented interventionist programmes to directly deal with improving its mathematics and science marks.

In addition, the school participates in athletics and rugby, and its learners are socially conscious, having recently participated in protests against the violence perpetrated against women.

The school does however have its problems and would like to encourage more parents to attend school meetings and functions.

The learners also had to deal with multiple protests from community members who demanded better service delivery.

Despite their problems, the learners of De Kruine have made their community proud and a proud community can only continue to gain in strength.

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Generally considered to be the best young violinist in the country, the teen protégé was one of 6 finalists and won in several categories.

He won the prize for the best concerto performance for his rendition of the Sibelius violin concerto, the best strings prize and the prize for the best performance of a work by a South African composer.

The competition itself is the most prestigious in the country and is intended to identify the best young classical musicians from ages 14 to 19.

The finalists are chosen after 4 intense rounds of competition and each finalist performs their concerto with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra.

Jordan walked away with the overall prize of R30000, a final round prize of R2500, a Concerto prize of R4000, a strings prize of R5000 and a South African work prize of R2500.

This may be his first time entering the competition but it is part of a long list of achievements.

He fell in love with the violin at the age of 3, started playing it at the age of 7 and his teacher, Anne-Marié Swanepoel, says that it did not take her long to realise that there was something special about Jordan.

With the support and encouragement of his musically talented family as well as that of Anne-Marie, by the time he was 11, he was already a well-known classical soloist, performing with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, the Cape Town Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, the Hugo Lambrechts Orchestra and the Beau Soleil Senior Strings.

In 2015, at the age of12, he won the SAMRO Hubert van der Spuy National Competition for Primary School learners, not only taking the overall prize, but also prizes for the Best Performance of a Baroque composition, the Best Performance of a Romantic Composition, the Best Performance of a South African Composition, as well the Strings Category Prize.

In 2016, he won the junior section of the Hugo Lambrechts 30th Birthday Competition and he was the first violinist in the Miagi Youth Orchestra’s 2018 tour of Europe as well attending master classes by the world’s best violinists.

As a cherry on top of his already enormous cake, he was appointed the concert master of the Cape Town Philharmonic Youth Orchestra as well as the Beau Soleil Senior String Ensemble.

Jordan says that as part of his routine, he practises two to four hours a day, which includes Saturdays.

Although the constant sound of the violin can at times be a bit too much for the family, they are very supportive of him, especially given the fact that they are all musically gifted.

His mother and aunt are singers; and his grandfather and uncle play the piano and drums.

For now however, the grade 10 learner will be waiting for his exam results and preparing for his next round of concerts, both of which of course, he will excel in.

The post Violinist, Jordan Brooks, Wins Prestigious National Youth Music Competition appeared first on Coloured South Africa .

He impressed the judges with his rendition of Chopin’s ‘Ballade no. 3 in A minor’ and Rachmaninoff’s ‘Preludes op. 23, numbers 6 and 7’.

He was chosen as the overall winner after winning in several categories, which include the Joseph Stanford prize for best performance of a romantic work, the Stephen Allen prize for a baroque piece, and the Tanya Tosen prize for the best performance of a classical work.

He was also chosen as the winner of the ’15 years and younger’ category.

The competition is held annually and competitors are selected from a large pool of applicants from across the country.

This year, Qden had to compete against a record 49 young pianists and as the overall winner, walked away with R35000 in prize money.

The young pianist has had a busy few years, racking up the medals and impressing audiences with his amazing renditions of the most beloved classical works.

Earlier this year, he performed as a soloist with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra in the Cape Town City Hall, and participated in the Wolfram Schmitt-Leonardy Masterclasses in Cape Town.

He was one of six international young prodigies who had daily masterclasses and who performed in three concerts, including one at the Woordfees in Stellenbosch.

Last year, he won third prize at the 2018 Hennie Joubert Piano Competition, first prize in the junior category of the Johann Vos Music Competition and second prize in the National Youth Music Competition.

He also performed in the 2018 Suidoosterfees where he was awarded a trophy for best classical performance.

In March 2018 he was invited to Saarlouis, Germany, where he performed in three concerts including a concerto performance with the German Police Orchestra.

He came to national prominence in 2016 where, as a young 12 year old protégé, he won the prestigious Samro Hubert van der Spuy National Music Competition .

The post Qden is the Overall Winner at the Atterbury National Piano Competition appeared first on Coloured South Africa .

It is these big ideas that won him a gold medal and the top prize in the junior Chemistry and Biochemistry category at the ‘Eskom Expo for Young Scientists International Science Fair’.

The Expo, which was held at the Birchwood Hotel and Conference Centre in Gauteng, is a science fair where students have a chance to show others their projects about their own scientific investigations.

The best young scientists are selected from around the country and the world to compete against each other for top prizes in various categories.

The winners of each category get to take home cash prizes, bursaries, laptops and international science tours.

As with all great scientific discoveries, Patrovsky’s big idea started with something small: Moving house.

Earlier this year, his family was busy moving to another house, when they experienced problems with glue residue marks on the furniture.

After attending an Expo workshop in Moorreesburg, Patrovsky decided to solve this problem by experimenting with different solutions.

His teacher saw what he was doing, so she supplied him with the material to complete his experiments.

Patrovsky says that he experimented “on a variety of wood surfaces and different thicknesses to ensure results that are more reliable.”

“In each of my experiments and repetitions, there was a focus on the following: the reaction of each product with the double-sided tape, the reaction of the products with the glue and the reaction of the products with the different wood surfaces,” he added.

His efforts led to him winning a gold medal at the West Coast regional science expo and taking part in the Eskom Expo upgrade session.

He did not stop experimenting however and his pursuit for scientific excellence finally paid off.

He found that a mixture of furniture polish and white vinegar effectively removed fresh and old double-sided tape marks, without any glue residue or damage to the wood surfaces.

Eskom’s Expo Executive Director, Parthy Chetty said that “it is always amazing how innovative our young learners can be, if given the right kind of stimulation and motivation”.

She adds, “This young learner chose to pursue his passion for the sciences by conducting basic experiments at home and practising good scientific methods, to eventually develop an award winning project.

“He is an inspiration to all learners”

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Having claimed the title in 2017 and 2018, this is her 3 ^rd consecutive win, despite suffering a serious lower back injury that nearly brought her gymnastics career to an end.

She won first place gold medals in the Rope, Ball, Clubs, Ribbon and Goth.

Of course, since both of her parents are from the Cape Flats in Cape Town, this is also a win for South Africa and testament to the country’s potential to dominate on the international sporting stage.

In July, Laylah also made history when she became one of two gymnasts that represented New Zealand at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships’ very first Junior Division competition.

After 7 years of being New Zealand’s top young gymnast, this will be the 15 year old’s last competition as a Junior and from next year, she will be competing in the Senior Division.

Her grandfather, Ruthewaan Waggie, says that as “one of the very few gymnasts of colour” competing in what is considered to be an “elite sport of the privileged”, Laylah has “always been viewed as an inspiration for other gymnasts of colour”.

He says that she also serves as an inspiration to New Zealand’s Maori people because they view her as “representing their own”.

Given her diverse background as a New Zealand born person of colour whose heritage stretches back to the Cape Flats, she hopes to inspire people into challenging the various stereotypes that hinders the growth of people of colour and immigrants.

Going forward, Laylah’s gymnastics schedule is filled.

She will soon be leaving for Japan where she will be competing in the Aeon World Asian Rythmic gymnastics championship on the 21st of October.

Note: If you want to know more about Laylah, click on the following link: The Cape Flats’ Laylah Waggie is New Zealand’s Top Junior Rhythmic Gymnast: Stories of the Diaspora

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