Two weeks ago on the 11 May our RAGA students set off on a quest to scout potential students for RAGA 2016 Academy. First stop on their journey was Masipumalele High School. Our students were given the reigns to lead the introductory sessions, where they gathered all the grade 8 and 9 students of Masi together to tell them everything they need to know about RAGA.
Two of our students led the session setting up a presentation with slides about what life at the academy is like. Luke Delcarme put together a fun and informative video, which the Masi students thoroughly enjoyed watching. The video gave them a trailer of what their journey through the academy would entail, and how it would prepare them for the future. The talk really helped the RAGA students grow their public speaking abilities, build their self-confidence as well as allowing them the chance to call RAGA their own. RAGA does not see students as a number in the system but rather as an integral part of building their futures as well as the academy, our students communicated this point extremely well during their presentations. After the session the RAGA leaders handed out information flyers and application forms to the Masi students, as well giving them the chance to ask questions.
As most of our RAGA students knew from past experience, often the high school students can become a bit shy. So instead our RAGA students opted for a fun skit, where two of our students sat in the audience asking questions that the others might be too afraid to ask. This Q&A set up gave our students the chance to communicate with their peers, as well as giving Masi students a bit more background about RAGA. With laughter and smiles the day turned out to be an interactive and engaging day for both RAGA and Masi.
On Saturday 23 May, during the first phase of the application process the Masi students were transported through to RAGA Clovelly Club with the help of the Navy bus. This building session gave our students the opportunity to get to know the Masi kids a bit better. Split into teams, the Masi groups were given team leaders that sat down to chat with them about the holistic approach RAGA takes with education, life-skills and sport. The Masi kids were also given a bit more information about the day to day activities at the academy. Our students felt the day turned out to be fun event, where they encouraged the Masi students to play golf, giving them a couple of pointers on how to chip and putt. The groups also did other team building exercises, where they were taught to co-operate as a team, similar to what they would have to do once they are part of the academy. Our RAGA students felt that the process of recruiting students was really working, as they could tell by the fantastic feedback and reactions they received from the Masi students.
Our RAGA students had a lovely phase 2 meeting with the Masi students again on Saturday 30 May where they got to know those who may have been a bit quiet and shy during the first Saturday meetup.