Good News

BULLETIN 10 April 

Good afternoon, here is your Good News:

# More artists have been included in the line-up for the Cape Town International Jazz Festival next month. The likes of South Africa’s platinum-selling queen of Afro-jazz, Judith Sephuma, American R&B group Moonchild, and the UK’s Tunde Baiyewu of  Lighthouse Family have been added. The ever-popular Mi Casa is also on this year’s billing. Organiser of the festival, espAfrika, says the line-up has delivered a masterful blend that showcases today’s global melting pot of cultures and storytelling.

# The University of Fort Hare says dancesport comes into full focus this weekend when the institution’s athletes are tested at the Amathole Championships. This year’s class is one of the biggest yet after some 40 dancers signed up in Alice and another 30 put their names forward in East London. Coach Thandisizwe Matyumza says the focus of the championships will be to identify the strengths and weaknesses of his charges ahead of their first official competition in Durban next weekend.

# A new study by Stellenbosch University reveals that the digital game-based learning platform, Minecraft Education, can help learners improve their skills in coding and robotics. The study focused on how the digital game can be integrated as a tool to support the teaching and learning of coding and robotics in a Grade seven class at an independent school in Cape Town. The author of the study, Michael Vorster, says Minecraft Education and its virtual robot, the Agent, provided an enjoyable learning environment.

# Reigning Miss South Africa Natasha Joubert has launched the second phase of her advocacy campaign, with ten more bursaries being made available. She has partnered with computer company ASUS and leading coding school HyperionDev, as part of the education arm of her Natasha Joubert Collective. Scholarships will be awarded to individuals who aspire to pursue a career in technology. Joubert says she is committed to doing as much as possible in the education and entrepreneurial spaces to make a difference in some people’s lives.

# And, two-time Oscar winner Renee Zellweger is back in Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, together with Hugh Grant as the rascal Daniel Cleaver. Emma Thompson is back as Bridget’s obstetrician, with 12 Years A Slave star Chiwetel Ejiofor and One Day actor Leo Woodall joining the cast. Mark Darcy, played by Colin Firth, will not be back this time. The fourth film sees Bridget as a 50-plus widow with two children after Mark’s death some years earlier. The film is set for US release on Valentine’s Day next year.

Stay tuned for more news………….