The battle of the bookworms
“Reading is a boundless childhood adventure” - Astrid Lindgren
The DHPS assembly hall came alive with colourful letters last Saturday, as bookworms and avid readers gathered for the annual Horst Kreft Reading Festival.The stage was set with a row of children's books, a cosy reading chair and a small table with a lonely chair. For the young participants, reading in solitude is an adventure in itself, but sharing their stories with an audience was an additional thrilling challenge.
Twelve learners from six different German schools across Namibia accepted this challenge as part of the Horst Kreft Reading Festival, which was supported by the AGDS (Association of German Schools, Arbeits- und Fördergemeinschaft der Deutschen Schulvereine).
In the first part of the festival, learners read a text of their own choice, spanning from classics like Pumuckl to adventures like Ronia, the Robber's Daughter and enchanting fairy tales from the Grimm brothers.
The second part was more demanding, as learners had to read from an unprepared text for three minutes. Group A, consisting of learners from grades 3 and 4, dealt with Kommissar Kugelblitz - Alarm in Windhuk, while Group B learners from grades 5 and 6 embarked on a literary journey through Portilla by Cornelia Funke.
The children tackled this task superbly, even though they were confronted with difficult words that put their pronunciation to the test.
Finally, the jury comprising Sylvia Schlettwein (University of Namibia), Corinna Burth (Goethe Institute) and Katja Haase (Hitradio Namibia) evaluated the readers’ intonation, fluency and articulation: Certainly not an easy task for the jurors.
In the end, Jan-Leon Ruppel (Group A) and Emily Berens (Group B) took the victory to the coast.
Winners Group A
1. Jan-Leon Ruppe Privatschule Swakopmund
2. Klara Kaiser Privatschule Otjiwarongo
3. Joshua Cowley Deutsche Höhere Privatschule Windhoek
Winners Group B
1. Emily Berens Privatschule Swakopmund
2. Tabea Ermann Deutsche Privatschule Omaruru
3. Michiel Boshoff Deutsche Privatschule Otavi