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Introducing Mystery Class #5 Mafikeng, South Africa 25.8267 S, 25.6100 E Learn about our flag   Greetings, we are the Grade 5 class from the Primary School of the International School of South Africa. Welcome to Mafikeng, South Africa Congratulations on finding our secret location here in the city of Mafikeng, South Africa. Our teacher is Mrs. Louise Swart, and we are excited that you have discovered our mystery location.   We are located west of Johannesburg; specifically we are in North-West province near the border with Botswana. We have gathered some fun and interesting facts and photos for you below, so that you can get more acquainted with us. We hope that you will enjoy learning more about our school, city, country. Who knows, maybe you will even visit our city one day!.   Map of South Africa   Our School Our school is the International School of South Africa (ISSA), which is an independent private school situated on a superbly landscaped estate of 54 hectares on the outskirts of Mafikeng. The School is a co-educational secondary, primary and pre-primary institution that offers places for 800 students between the ages of 3 and 18. We follow the Cambridge system at ISSA. Our school Our class is in the primary school, which goes up to grade six. There are two classes per grade, with two teachers per grade. Each teacher instructs the students in the core subjects, e.g. Languages, Maths and the Sciences. Our school is a member of the Independent Schools Association of South Africa (ISASA) as well as the European Council of International Schools (ECIS). The classes in the primary school are small, allowing for individual attention. The curriculum is varied and caters for the child from South Africa as well as from overseas educational systems. There is an easy and respectful relationship between the teacher and taught, between seniors and juniors, and between parents, staff and management. The Primary School is academically vigorous, thoughtful and intelligent, but it is also relaxed and good-humoured with opportunities for trips and fun. In addition to our academic classes at the School, there is an active sports and cultural programme with excellent facilities - sports fields; computer laboratories; music, art and drama rooms. Every pupil is expected to participate in at least one sport and one cultural activity and there is a pleasing passion for music, art and drama. The School offers an important balance between academic, physical, cultural and spiritual development. Basketball Soccer An exciting new sport is being played by ISSA students called International Korfball - many of our students have excelled at the sport and have been awarded Provincial and National colours. Have you ever seen a Korfball game? Watch this video to get a look (it doesn't show our school, but you'll get to see some Korfball!). Click on image to play YouTube video Korfball game (this is not our school playing) Our City Our school is located in the city of Mafikeng, which is the capital city of the North-West Province of South Africa. In 2001, Mafikeng had a population of 49,300. In 2007, Mafikeng was reported to have a population of 250,000, of which the CBD constitutes between 69,000 and 75,000. Mafikeng is located along the northern edge of South Africa, very close to border with Botswana. It is about 1,400 km (870 mi) northeast of Cape Town, and 260 km (160 mi) west of Johannesburg. Click on map to enlarge Do you see Mafikeng? Map of South Africa Our city is built on the open veld at an elevation of 1,500 m (4,921 ft), by the banks of the Upper Molopo River. The Madibi goldfields are some 15 km (9.3 mi) south of the town. The town was first spelled by British settlers as "Mafeking", and by the end of Apartheid the name had changed to "Mafikeng". In February 2010, another spelling of our city was approved, changing it to to "Mahikeng". The original name of the city, Mahikeng, literally means "the place among rocks". The name refers to the volcanic rocks that provided temporary shelter to Stone Age humans in their hunt on animals drinking water in the Molopo River. This name was given to the area in 1852 by early BaRolong chiefs who had settled along the river. Mafikeng later attracted the attention of the world during the Anglo Boer War/ South African War of 1899 to 1902 as the small British garrison under the command of Colonel Baden Powell held out for 217 days against Boer forces who had surrounded the town. Today Mafikeng is a vibrant provincial and commercial capital and a major tourism attraction for the aspects of the history, culture and wildlife of this unique region of South Africa. It is located in North-West province, which is one of the smaller ones of our country and it is completely landlocked. Most of North-West province is savannah, with the exception of the south which is mostly grassland. We enjoy a lovely climate with lovely sunny summer days and rain. Very hot here, e.g. 34 degrees C in summer. We have winter temperatures seldom below ±12 degrees C during the day.   Our Country As you learned in one of the clues from MC #3 (our country's SANAE IV Antarctica Research Base), government regimes in South Africa prior to 1994 followed a policy of "apartheid." The colours of the country's flag under that old regine were orange, white and blue. In 1994, a new goverment came to power, and apartheid was abolished at last. Along with it came monumental social progress. Our country is very diverse and multi-cultural. We have eleven official languages, and use English as our first language. Due to this diversity, you will find a lot of different cultures and religions/beliefs among the population.   Favorite Foods We love to "braai", which is our term for barbequing or grilling outdoors. Our favourite local recipes are bobotie and magopelo. Bobotie is pronounced ba-boor-tea, and some have called it the "national dish of South Africa". It is a tasty mixture of curried meat and fruit with a creamy golden topping. Here is one recipe for Bobotie from the Afri Chef African Recipes Cookbook, for a traditional plain version of Bobotie. It makes a pleasingly spiced slightly sweet dish, with a very light curry flavor. There is also a fruity version of Bobotie too. From the Afri Chef African Recipes Cookbook Click on recipe card to print Sports Stadium Because of our lovely weather, our population is fanatical about sports. Our favourite sport activities include soccer, cricket and rugby (in the latter we won the World Cup twice already). Mmabatho Stadium Many of our sporting events are played here at Mmabatho Stadium, a multi-purpose stadium here in Mafikeng. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 59,000 people and was designed and built in 1981 by a Russian construction firm. University of North-West In Mafikeng, we have one of the four campuses of The North-West Univeristy. The other campuses are located in Potchefstroom, Vanderbijlpark, and Mankwe. Here is a photo of the campus at Potchefstroom location. Credit: ToonT Potchefstroom campus   Thanks and Goodbye! We really enjoyed being a secret Mystery Class, and we hope you enjoyed learning about our country, our province, our city and our school. Who knows, maybe someday you will visit our part of the world. If you have any questions or want to reach us, please send a message to our teacher Mrs. Louise Swart at our school email