If there’s one thing Samuel Ntsiko Public Primary School teachers weren’t counting on at a family maths day last weekend, it was a surprise visit from a former pupil who is now a high flier in the world of finance.
If there’s one thing Samuel Ntsiko Public Primary School teachers weren’t counting on at a family maths day last weekend, it was a surprise visit from a former pupil who is now a high flier in the world of finance.
Siyabulela Nomoyi attended the school in Edward Street, Grahamstown, from Grade 1 to Grade 6. He’s now a quantitative analyst for Taquanta Asset Managers, living and working in Cape Town and was thrilled to be back in his old school hall, where pupils from the school’s maths club were joined by the adults in their lives for Samuel Ntsiko’s annual Family Maths Day.
“I’m here for my nephews, Linathi Nomoyi and Sesona Tyelbooi,” he explained.
“Their parents couldn’t be here so I’m standing in.” He travels to Grahamstown three or four times a year to visit his parents. “It’s just crazy being here,” he said smiling. It’s still the same – still lots of the same teachers.
“Just that we had no maths club in our day. This is an amazing opportunity for the kids. I love seeing this stuff happening in our community.”
After finishing high school at Archie Mbolekwa and Nathaniel Nyaluza, Nomoyi did a BSc at Rhodes, majoring in maths and statistics, followed by Honours, and finally, at UCT, a Masters in the Mathematics of Finance.
How did he get the numbers bug? “Well the first step was studying flat-out,” he said amid the happy buzz of parents and children counting scores after the fun day.
“I knew the only way out of the situation I was in was to study – no question about it.” He was deeply inspired by his mother Ntombizodwa, who is employed as a domestic worker, and his father Sebenzile, who works as a gardener.
Their work ethic and firm parental hand, he said, had a big part in shaping him. “I’d get home from school and the first thing my mom would do is check I was doing my homework.
Then it was housework, helping with supper. “By the time that was done, I had no time to waste doing the stuff that gets kids into trouble these days,” he said. “I was also lucky to have the teachers I had.
They loved what they were doing – and they saw that I liked maths from an early age. “They were not just chalkboard teachers – there was questioning. By the time I left Samuel Ntsiko I was already in love with the subject.”
The company he works for has impressive credentials, with the likes of former BHP Billiton chairman Vincent Maphai at its head. How does it feel coming home to Grahamstown from a very different lifestyle in Cape Town?
“There’s a lot more that could be done to develop Grahamstown – the roads, infrastructure.”
He’s sad that some Grahamstown schools, from being a springboard for township children, have declined to where they struggle to produce university passes. “I think more Rhodes students must come and work in township schools to inspire the kids,” he said.
He’d love for his parents to stop working so hard. “I’m trying to retire them, but they won’t have it,” he said.
The Maths Club
The Samuel Ntsiko maths club is among four currently up and running in Grahamstown, at four schools, for pupils in grades 3 to 5. Run by researcher Debbie Stott as a project of the Rhodes University based South African Numeracy Chair, the clubs aim to enrich maths learning for children in hands-on ways that are not curriculum based.
Children participate in the clubs voluntarily, out of school hours. Samuel Ntsiko principal, Nombulelo Koliti, believes the clubs have a huge impact on the performance of the children who participate. But most of all, they stimulate excitement about the subject, she says. While the maths club has been running at the school for a while, this was the first family maths day they had held.
And she was thrilled at the enthusiasm from parents, teachers and the children themselves. “To see that excitement! It’s wonderful – just wonderful,” she said.
* Additional source: https://www.ru.ac.za/sanc/mathsclubs/
CAPTIONS
(Teachers with Siyabuyela sitting at kids desk) Who was Siyabulela’s maths teacher, Grocott’s asked. ‘Me!’ said five people – and indeed they all were. Front: Lulama Mvula and former pupil Siyabulela Nomoyi; Middle row left to right: Maths co-ordinator Lulama Dyira, Maths Grade 6 teacher Mlandeni, Sheila Booi (Maths Grade 4), Boniwe Ntanga (Maths Grade 5), Khayakazi Helesi (Grade 1), Nomathemba Mpati (Grade 1); Back row: Sheila Mgolodela (Grade 1), Kholeka Kuse (Grade R).
(Siyabulela with two kids) High finances wiz Siyabulela Nomoyi is a former pupil at Samuel Ntsiko Public Primary School in Grahamstown, On Friday he returned to the school to support his two nephews, Linathi Nomoyi (10. on Siya’s left) and Seson Tyelbooi (10 on Siya’s right) during the school’s annual family maths day.
