Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
20 December 2019 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Supplied
OSM Heidedal Outreach
The OSM ROC Outreach Community concert is an annual highlight on the community calendar in Heidedal.

The annual Odeion School of Music (OSM) Heidedal Outreach programme’s underlying philosophy is that of equal learning experiences for the community as well as the OSM. The community concert is an annual event in Bloemfontein in partnership with the Reach Our Community Foundation (ROC).

The Heidedal Marimba Project – founded by the OSM Music Education department in 2015 – works in collaboration with the ROC Foundation to serve the children of Heidedal. Through the programme and music,, learners from Heide Primary School in Heidedal participate in an event of beauty and harmony and the OSM students get the opportunity of arranging, teaching and performing music with the learners, as well as compiling a musical performance programme. .

“We are grateful for the privilege to be inspired by the children from Heidedal while we in return incorporate change in their lives,” said Gerda Pretorius, OSM lecturer and co-organiser of the Outreach programme. Pretorius is co-organiser with Patrick Kaars, director of the ROC.

Service learning important for UFS students


It is the third year that the popular concert has taken place in Heidedal and forms part of the BMus, BA (Music) and Diploma in Music qualification which integrates Music education modules with Service Learning. The partnership between OSM and ROC lies in the philosophy of shared benefits. 
“The main objective is to provide a service to the community by offering basic skills, which include aural training, as well as teaching both music and movement,” says Pretorius.

The OSM believes not only in the intrinsic musical experience of music-making but is also advocating music-making as an ethical action for social justice.
The community footprint of the OSM is entrenched in the Bloemfontein community with Music Education partnerships at the Brandwag Primary School, the Lettie Fouché School (for mentally impaired learners) as well as the Sentraal Primary School.

The concert took place on Saturday 19 October 2019 at the Heide Primary School. 

The OSM students who took part in the outreach were Sibongile Mafata, Lauren Aldag, Nadia Smith, Lesley-Ann Mhalo, Brendaly Buckley, Mary Moalosi, Enslin Smith, Chrismari Grobbelaar, and Phillip Verster.

News Archive

A magnificent Winter Graduation Ceremony
2013-06-27

 

28 June 2013
Photo: Johan Roux

   Winter Graduation video (YouTube)

The way to immortalise a person, is to live by his example. PhD and master's graduates were imbued by the following message from Dr Khotso Mokhele, Chancellor of the University of the Free State (UFS), during the UFS Winter Graduation Ceremony: to follow Nelson Mandela's majestic example is to guarantee that his life was not in vain.

Dr Mokhele honoured the graduates for their achievements "that clearly did not come easy", referring to the sacrifices on their part and the role of their support structures.

He also praised members of the UFS' leadership team who contributed academically to the excellent standards. Prof Teuns Verschoor, former Vice-Rector: Institutional Affairs, and Prof Driekie Hay, Vice-Rector: Academic, were especially mentioned for their role as respectively co-promoter and promoter of two PhD graduates.

A total of 63 doctorates and 414 master's degrees were awarded to graduates from South Africa, Nigeria, Lesotho, Uganda and Zimbabwe on Thursday 27 June 2013.

On the previous day, the School of Open Learning kicked off the graduation event by conferring 320 qualifications.

The graduates, most of them full-time educators, received qualifications ranging from certificates to diplomas.

"I hope that you will plough back what you have learned and that this qualification will make you a better educator, an inspired one, one that will relentlessly put your efforts into increasing a better future for our children," Prof Hay said, highlighting challenges in South Africa's education system.

"Become enthused, obsessed and passionate to change the education system. Be the change agent in your schools to contribute in giving the quality education our children so desperately need," she said.

An exceptional moment at this year's graduation ceremony was when the two daughters of an academic, Prof Dave Lubbe of the Centre for Accounting, obtained their master's degrees. "It is indeed a highlight in my career that my daughters received their master's degrees cum laude at the same graduation ceremony, under my supervision!"

Prof Lubbe's two daughters, Nandi Lubbe and Leandi Steenkamp, both received their MCom with distinctions in Accounting. They completed their degrees under the supervision of Prof Lubbe and Nandi also won the Dean's medal as the best M student in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences.

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept