SA-US Public-Private Partnership for Mathematics Tutoring:
Sabinet and U.S. Mission’s Mae Jemison Science Reading Room
Team Up for Students
5 March 2010  

 Above: Ratiloane Obed Chiloane, mathematics teacher speaks to learners at the Mae Jemison US Science Reading Room in Mamelodi about the tutoring partnership.  

MAMELODI – In a public-private partnership between the United States Mission to South Africa’s Mae Jemison U.S. Science Reading Room and Sabinet Online, 30 primary school students from Mogale Primary School in Mamelodi will receive mathematics tuitions each week.  

The Mamelodi initiative is an extension of the SabiMaths program, a corporate social responsibility program of Sabinet. Classes are held at the Mae Jemison U.S. Science Reading Room in Mamelodi on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Participating students will also have access to the other materials available through the Mae Jemison U.S. Science Reading Room, including science books, videos, experiments and programs designed to increase students’ interest and ability in maths and sciences.  

Minister-Counselor for Public Affairs for the U.S. Mission Mary Deane Conners, who greeted the students, emphasized the U.S. commitment to enhancing the educational experience of South African students, particularly in the math and science fields. She also thanked the University of Pretoria, which hosts the Mae Jemison Reading Room. “This partnership is a model for how private organizations and public entities can work together to ensure South Africa’s young people are prepared for the 21st century,” said Conners.  

Tshwane Libraries’ Deputy Librarian Paulina Ndobe identified grade 6 students from Mogale Primary School as the ideal candidates for this program. She also selected an experienced maths teacher, Mr. Ratiloane Obed Chiloane, to lead the students. Mr.Chiloane introduced himself to the group on Thursday, saying, “I’ve learned over the years that math doesn’t have to be difficult. I can teach you math if you let me, and you can pass matric with distinction. I’m here to help you achieve your goal.” Rosalind Hattingh, managing director of Sabinet said, “It is a privilege for Sabinet to be in this partnership with the US Embassy and Tshwane Library and Information Services. Together we can make a difference in the lives of deserving children in the Mamelodi community. The objective of this program is to assist children to enhance their maths skills so that they have a solid foundation from which they can build. Through this program, this partnership is investing in the future of the children and ultimately the future of the community. We look forward to seeing the results of these students.”

When OCLC took over Amlib from InfoVision Australia in 2008, Sabinet added Amlib to their service offering. With already 11 Amlib users in Africa, the Financial Services Board (FSB) was Sabinet’s first client to purchase the Amlib Library System. We are glad to report that the project is progressing well. The software was successfully installed and the records from the FSB’s InMagic system were converted and imported with ease to Amlib. Training is continuing whilst they are now also in the process of loading the library material and borrowers on Amlib. Thanks to Joscelynn Sandis from FSB and Carina du Preez from Sabinet for all their hard work in making the project such a success.

Please contact your portfolio manager (or info@sabinet.co.za) for further information on our Library Systems offering.

Sabinet would like to congratulate Gosiame, who became a father to baby Lethabo.

All the best with your bundle of joy!

We would like to congratulate Connie Sibiya who was blessed with a baby girl, Abigail Elizabeth Siphilisiwe Restore.

Sabinet would like to send warm wishes to the new mother on being blessed with this miracle.

It is with deep regret that we announce the death of one of our Sabinet colleagues’ Fonda Manell, who passed away on the 16^th of January 2010.

Her passing has left us shaken and deeply saddened.

Fonda was known for her generous, caring, friendly and unassuming nature.  Her infectious smile will stay in our memories forever.

Our sympathy and condolences go out to her family and friends during this trying time.

Tanya Botha joined Sabinet late 2009 as an Indexer for the Carnagie African Journal Archive Project.  She previously worked at BHP Billiton for over 11 years in the Information Centre where her main task was information/research enquiries.  Towards the latter part of 2008, the Information Centre closed and Tanya then joined the Corporate Communications Department.  This position entailed the compilation of internal publications, managing corporate events, branding etc.

Tanya says she is enjoying her “free time” in the evenings and week-ends with not having to work.

Her thoughts about life : “ Live, love, laugh and give generously”.

The Sabinet Chairperson’s Fund has been supporting a number of projects such as ABET classes, Maths tuition, School children funding, Enterprise development (Shoma Computing and Nsobo Catering) in Tshwane over the past few years. The Sabinet Chairperson’s Fund recently invited libraries to send in proposals for  funding for projects in community libraries from regions other than Tshwane in 2009/2010.

The basic guidelines of this funding were:

• a single project should not exceed R25 000;
• a maximum of 3 projects will be awarded;
• the project must be community based;
• the project should make a measurable difference to the community;
• the project must be able to stand alone (i.e. the funding cannot be used for an existing or larger project);
• the closing date for project proposals was 30 September 2009.

The following information was requested in the project proposal (not existing 10 pages):

• who the co-ordinator of the project will be;
• a brief description of the library;
• information  on existing outreach projects initiated by the library including outcomes of  projects (statistics, news clips, pamphlets, photos, etc)
• a description of the involvement of the friends of the library or user committee in the library;
• information on the marketing strategies of the library;
• a  detailed motivation for funding of the proposed project including
  • a project overview;
  • a budget of how the funding will be spent;
  • benefits of the project to the community.

The Sabinet Chairperson’s Fund Committee evaluated the sixteen excellent proposals that were received and a decision was made as follows:

• Makana Libraries Audiobook Project –The aim of this project is to provide children of the Makana District (which involves six libraries, viz. Hill Street Library, Community Library, Fingo Library, Duna Library, Riebeeck East Library and Alicedale Library) with easy access to audio recordings of books and stories, along with their text equivalents. Proposal sent in by Rod Amner (Rhodes University). Coordinators are Patricia Vubela and Rod Amner.
• Thinking Skills for Ukhanyo Project – Thinking skills helps children to harness and improve the manner in which they speak.  In the process it improves their vocabulary, language development, listening, reasoning, social skills and most importantly, their reading skills.  Currently being offered and very popular at Masiphumelele Library (a ‘satellite to Fish Hoek Library), Lyn Steyn from Fish Hoek Library thought it would be a brilliant idea to introduce the programme to more learners and involve more teachers from Ukhanyo Primary School.  The coordinator of the project is Susan Alexander.
• Media Centre at Watersmeet Thusong Centre – To set up a community media centre at the Community Library and Media Centre : Watersmeet with the appropriate resources and reading material for the disadvantaged community of Watersmeet.  The media centre will be furnished and equipped with research material.  Proposal sent in by Sandy Maharaj of Emnambithi/Ladysmith Municipality.

The coordinators of the abovementioned projects are required to provide full reports, news clips, photos etc. in order for us to report back to the Sabinet shareholders .

Thank you for your submissions.  Congratulations and good luck to the winning libraries!

Looking for the best Internet package to suit your needs?

With all the options, especially if you are not educated in this field, it can be difficult to find the best, cheapest and fastest internet packages easily and quickly.

 South Africa’s biggest broadband comparison website was launched on Tuesday, making choosing the right internet package easy, simple and quick.

BroadbandChooza.co.za is an easy to use website to assist users in making comparisons between the options available. Luke Vincent, CEO and founder of BroadbandChooza.co.za says that it is a very easy website to use and it will provide a valuable service to current broadband users looking for better broadband deals as well as encouraging more people online by helping them navigate the complex broadband market.

The site offers instant live searching and sorting of over 1 000 products from more than 40 internet providers. Users can focus their search on ADSL, 3G or Wireless access or even compare packages across all three. Results can be filtered by price, speed and data cap.

A key feature of the site is it’s impartiality. BroadbandChooza.co.za aims to cover the whole market and a basic listing for internet providers is free.

• Source – News24.co.za
• Full story
•  BroadbandChooza.co.za