Featured Archives - Teneo Online School

Kiaan Maharaj: A Rising Star in International Junior Golf

Posted on 24 July 202425 July 2024 by Megan Taylor

Grade 4, Teneo student, Kiaan Maharaj has already made waves in the world of junior golf that many seasoned players would envy. Let’s take a look at his incredible achievements from the past season:

Tournament Success

In the past season alone, Kiaan has participated in a remarkable 25 tournament rounds across 4 different events, achieving outstanding results:

19 Podium Finishes
10 Wins
7 Second Place Finishes
2 Third Place Finishes

These achievements are nothing short of staggering for any golfer, especially one so young.

Championship Titles

Kiaan has consistently proven himself as a force to be reckoned with in his age group:- He is the UAE Champion for US Kids Golf UAE two years in a row, dominating over 6 rounds.
– He clinched the ‘Trump Junior Order of Merit Series’ for the second time, triumphing over 8 rounds.
– In the DASSA (Dubai Schools League), he swept all 3 tournaments for Primary School.

Beyond the Fairway

His dedication to golf is matched only by his commitment to academic excellence. Kiaan has been homeschooled to accommodate his rigorous training and tournament schedule, demonstrating an impressive balance between sports and studies.

Recognition and Future Prospects

Recently featured in Golf Digest Magazine and interviewed by WorldWide Golf Magazine Middle East, Kiaan’s achievements are gaining well-deserved recognition. His passion for golf and his proud South African heritage are evident in every swing he takes, whether on the greens of Dubai or beyond.

Looking Ahead

For Kiaan Maharaj, this is just the beginning of what promises to be an illustrious journey in golf. As he continues to hone his skills and nurture his love for the game, we eagerly anticipate more remarkable accomplishments from this young prodigy.Join us in celebrating Kiaan’s achievements and wishing him all the best in his future endeavors on and off the course. His journey is one to watch closely as he paves the way for the next generation of golfing stars.

Kicking to Victory: Teneo Student Makes SA National Kickboxing Team

Posted on 7 June 20247 June 2024 by Megan Taylor

We are very excited to report that our Grade 8 Teneo student Diphale Kgosietsile Phillips has successfully represented the North West province for Kick Boxing over the last few months culminating in his attendance at Nationals in late April.

Diphale participated in the Kickboxing North West Trials earlier this year in January and won first place for the kick light category, and second place for light contact category. He then qualified for semi finals and went to the North Gauteng trials where 7 provinces participated and achieved a gold medal for kick light and bronze for light contact. Then, he was selected to represent the North West province by participating in the National trials which took place on 25th-28th of April in Potchefstroom. At Nationals he competed in the semi and kick light categories, overall placing 4th with the judges recommending him for the South Africa Kick Boxing National Team. While this is an already phenomenal achievement, it is even more outstanding considering he only started in the sport less than six months ago.

His parents Kgomotso and Michael Phillips had this to say: “We as parents and his coaches at Red Dragon together with all North West Kick Boxing teams are very proud of his success considering that he has less than six months in the sport. We also thank his Red Dragon team mates for sharing their skills and experience during practice and Xavier for endless weekend practices and coaches for their endless support and guidance. We also thank Teneo for giving us the platform to share our experiences with our online parents and for allowing us time off for the competition.”

We’re so proud of you Diphale and we can’t wait to see you left-right-hook and roundhouse kick your way to victory again!

We’re always delighted to see our students take advantage of the extra time and flexibility they get with Teneo online school to really push themselves and excel at their hobbies and passions.

High School Ice Skater Shines at International Competition

Posted on 2 May 20243 June 2024 by Megan Taylor

We want to extend massive congratulations to our Grade 12 student and super-skater Madison DeMink on her huge successes over the past months.

Figure skating is a beautiful and demanding sport (and art!), requiring dedication, passion and teamwork. Madison has shown commitment and effort to get to the top level of this sport, and we are so proud to see it all pay off for her with some superb wins.

In December 2023, Madison travelled to the Czech Republic to represent South Africa in synchronised skating, coming in 7th place with Team South Africa! She has also represented Western Province at the South African National Figure Skating competition, in both Synchronised Skating and Advanced Novice Solo Ice Skating, winning first place in Synchronised Skating, and was crowned the Solo Ice Skating champion for her category!

We are delighted to watch Madison flourish in this sport that she is so passionate about, and we hope she inspires you to work towards your own dreams and passions, whatever they may be. We’ll leave you with a quote from Madison on her online school experience and how Teneo has helped her to manage her rigorous schooling and sporting schedule.

Sydney Lombard Wins Gold in KZN Athletics Championships

Posted on 9 March 20242 April 2024 by Megan Taylor

Once again congratulations are due to our Grade 11 student, Sydney Lombard! Sydney continues to excel in Athletics – this time at the KZN Athlietics Championships. held in Pietermaritzburg on the 1 – 3 March. Sydney won Gold in the U17 Javelin event, Silver in the U17 Discus, and Bronze in the U17 hammer event.

Sydney has been making headlines in athletics events for years now, and it’s just fantastic to see just how well all her training, dedication and hard work is paying off. Her commitment is a real testament to her, and we look forward to seeing where her skills and talent will take her next!

The Teneo family is always so thrilled to see our students achieve great things. As an online school, we understand the importance of fostering a strong community spirit among our students – and so much of that is down to students like Sydney. It is inspiring to witness so many of our students using the extra time and flexibility you have with online school to train hard and excel at your hobbies and pursuits, win competitions, and be recognised for your incredible talent and skill. We really couldn’t be more proud.

Shining a Spotlight on Women Making History

Posted on 4 March 20242 April 2024 by Megan Taylor

Did you know that Mozart had a sister, who was considered to have been as talented – if not more talented than him? That some people think it’s possible she was even the composer of some of his pieces? And did you know that Einstein didn’t actually come up with the theory of relativity on his own, but rather in full collaboration with his scientist wife, Mileva?

Throughout history, women have played roles in some of our greatest feats of culture, art, science, architecture and more, but have not made it into the history books. But that’s changing, and as more and more women become historians and begin to look at the untold stories of women, and to tell them, that’s changing.

To mark Women’s History Month, we asked our wonderful history teacher Hester Harmse what drew her to history, and why she thinks it’s important…

Hester, why do you think it is important to teach History at school?

History shows students models of good and responsible citizenship. It also teaches us to learn from our mistakes committed in the past . Through this we learn to examine ourselves and improve the world we live in. History equips us with the qualities we require to understand: compassion and tolerance. Through history, students students make sense of the past whilst coming into contact with other cultures and societies and in this way they gain knowledge and life skills,.

Where did your love of History come from?

My passion for History started at a very young age. My Grandfather participated in the Boer War from the beginning of the 1900s. As grandchildren, we often visited them. He always used to entertain us with his stories and events that happened during the Anglo Boer War. I used to sit at his feet and listen to these stories and voila! my journey of love for history started then. During my primary school years, I couldn’t get enough reading materials about what happened in the past. During my high school years, I had the most boring History teacher. It was during those years that I decided I want to became a history teacher, but never a boring one. I was always a very inquisitive person. Always wanted to know more about the past. I studied history and it opened new and exciting worlds to me. The need for knowledge was and still is the reason why I became an educator. I want to open new worlds and knowledge to my students, demonstrating the importance of knowing the past to make the present and the future a better place. I visited a lot of different historical sites, which made history real. Now I can share these stories and experiences with my students. Some of my students have even followed in my footsteps and we continue to share our knowledge with each other.

Teneo Students Represent South Africa in Ice Hockey

Posted on 7 February 20242 April 2024 by Megan Taylor

We are proud of our Teneo students, Matthew (Grade 11) and Franco (Grade 12), who recently represented South Africa at the 2024 IIHF Ice Hockey U20 World Championship in Sarajevo in January and will soon be playing in Cape Town for the National U18 Team in March.

The World Championship was a wonderful experience, with lessons in team support, time management and taking on a massive challenge, all while meeting schoolwork deadlines.

Well done, Matthew and Franco!!

Teneo gives talented kids like Matthew and Franco the time to pursue other talents and shine, through our flexible learning formats.

Celebrating 2023 Top Teneo IEB Student Jorja Annison

Posted on 6 February 20243 June 2024 by Megan Taylor

Jorja achieved 7 distinctions and 87.63% average and was placed in the top 5% of all IEB students nationally, and in the top 1% in 2 subjects. She also earned her spot as the top student on the IEB’s ‘Merit’ list. What an incredible achievement!

Jorja joined Teneo in 2021 and loved the flexibility. As an auditory learner and a student who enjoys studying at night, Jorja found the lesson recordings very helpful for revision, where she could watch teachers explain the important concepts to prepare for the final exams.

Online school helped to foster her independence and time management, with the support and expertise of Teneo teachers.

Teneo Student Crowned Miss Teenager South Africa

Posted on 26 January 202422 February 2024 by Megan Taylor

Congratulations to Teneo student, Iminathi Dondola, who was crowned Miss Teenager South Africa in December 2023.

It’s such a huge achievement in a prestigious event that showcases and celebrates the intelligence, the talent, the potential and power of young women all over South Africa.

Iminathi has done herself and us proud, and we can’t wait to see what she does next!

We’ll leave you with some of Iminathi’s wise words that we think might be useful to all of our students, whenever you’re facing a challenge whether it’s examinations, learning something new, or pursuing a goal like Iminathi did when she entered Miss Teenager SA:

“Take every little step, because small steps matter the most.”

Celebrating Danielle Vierbergen, SA’s Top SACAI Matric Achiever  of 2022

Posted on 1 February 20233 June 2024 by Jeandre

Introducing Danielle Vierbergen, the remarkable individual who has secured the coveted title of South Africa’s Top SACAI Matric Achiever for the year 2022. A resounding round of applause and heartfelt congratulations are in order for Danielle and her remarkable journey  of success!

Our recent conversation with Danielle unveils the secret behind her exceptional achievements during her Matric year. Through our dialogue, we delve into her recipe for success and gain insights into the dedication and strategy that paved the way for her triumph. Be sure to swipe through to discover the invaluable advice Danielle has to offer for aspiring students like you.

It’s with immense pride that we celebrate Danielle’s incredible accomplishment as the top achiever in the SACAI #MatricResults2022. A stellar average of 93.43% and an astounding 7 distinctions serve as a testament to her hard work and dedication.

This moment is dedicated to applauding Danielle Vierbergen and her exceptional accomplishments at Teneo. The future shines brightly for you, Danielle, and we are eagerly anticipating the great things it holds in store.

Danielle Vierbergen

Top National Achieving SACAI Matriculant in SA

Q: What is your recipe for success?

My recipe for success involves a positive mindset and efficient studying. Staying positive helped me to enjoy the journey and kept me motivated to try my best. And, as someone who is prone to procrastination, I found that dividing study material (and SBA tasks) into little bits each day helped lessen last-minute stress and delivered better results.

Q: How did you enjoy your time with Teneo? Any positive and memorable experiences?

I have to say that the two years I’ve spent at Teneo were full of ups and downs, but I really enjoyed my time here. For me, the combination of good times and challenges made my two years at Teneo worth it. I learned to manage my own time and enhanced my self-discipline. A memorable experience I like to look back on is the love-hate relationship I had with Physical Sciences over the past two years, and how, despite all the mental breakdowns and many times I wanted to give up, I ended up defeating the subject with a distinction. Persistence pays off.

Q: Do you have any particular teacher that was crucial to your success?

A teacher crucial to my success was definitely Mrs Jo-lene Stander, Tourism. Although I couldn’t be present in her classes due to having another class at the same time, I always enjoyed watching her class recordings. She always smiled, radiated enthusiasm and never failed to make me laugh. Her positive mindset left a lasting impression on me. And thanks to her encouragement, I’ve felt motivated to study harder and to stay positive until the end. Thank you, Ma’am!

Q: What are your plans for the future? Are you studying further? Or taking a gap year?

At the moment I am taking a gap year to explore my interests, work on my artistic hobbies, and take a break from academics. We all go through life at our own pace, so there’s no need to rush.

Q: Any tips for our 2023 Matrics?

To the Matrics of 2023, I would first like to say good luck with your final year. There are going to be fun times and there are going to be challenging times. So, it’s important to go into your last year with a positive mindset, even at times when everything seems hopeless. Tell yourself that you can do it, and believe that you can. Just try your best and embrace every opportunity and every challenge. And whenever you feel like you want to take a break, take a break — but don’t lose sight of your priorities.

Category: Featured