May News

The Changing Seasons at Graceland:

Summer at Graceland was hot and filled with children who see nothing wrong with running around in the sun. With this knowledge we decided to take full advantage of the weather and we had a water day at school. This gave us an opportunity to make use of all our water equipment that had been donated to Graceland by various people. It was amazing to see how the children responded to the water. Some children couldn’t wait to get into the water and it was difficult to get them out of the water, while other children would cry at the touch of a drop.

Well, now summer is gone and autumn is here! One of the privileges of staying in Stellenbosch is being able to experience every season to its fullest. The vineyards changed from green to yellow, red, orange and brown. As the children are learning about autumn as a theme, the teachers feel like they are experiencing it for the first time. Graceland is blessed to be situated in one of God most natural displays of beauty!

Check out the great work Graceland it doing in Devon Valley by clicking on the link: http://youtu.be/FLBtsNyTIS0

Meet Sannie

Photo courtesy Krissy Clark

This is Sannie.  She is a very active and loving 5-year-old who attends our preschool.  I love how Graceland offers education to children like her that would otherwise be left alone at home or on the street.

Sannie’s great grandfather cares for her because her mother left her after her father was murdered.  If it weren’t for Graceland, she would spend most of her days on the streets with other children of the vineyard workers.

The teachers at Graceland represent the type of mother figure Sannie needs at this time in her life.  And although they cannot replace her mother, they can dote on her, give her some of the affection that she so desperately craves, and teach her that she is valued and valuable, in addition to many life skills that will be necessary in the years to come.

Many of the children at Graceland are affected by fetal alcohol syndrome because of parents that are slave to alcoholism.  Although it is an illegal practice here in the Cape Winelands, many of the workers’ wages are still paid in wine.  As you can imagine, this just feeds the cycle of alcoholism, unemployment, and lack of education.  Graceland offers many of these children a safe place to learn, be fed, get a head start on an education, and adopt good habits, positive self-image, and important life skills.

I was able to spend a few hours at Graceland the other day and Sannie made my day!  She was so affectionate, sweet, and joyful and I thoroughly enjoyed those few hours.  Although I don’t fully understand what her home situation is, I do know that she is cared for, fed, and loved by the teachers at her school.  And I know that she will remember her time at Graceland with fondness, and as a result of her time here, she will have a better chance at success in her life.

April News

Strike-a-Pose!

On 15 March 2013, Thembalitsha Education held its annual High Tea at the Devon Valley Hotel to raise awareness for the important work done by Graceland Preschool. The theme was fashion so everyone came dressed to impress, each woman displaying unique style, creativity and elegance.

We were blessed with light rain which forced the event inside one of the hotel’s conference rooms. This did not take away from the fun we had and in fact created a very cozy and intimate atmosphere that complemented the soothing music performed by Jenny Ah Chong, classically trained musician who had us captivated by the sound of her angelic voice.

The food was beautifully presented, almost too good-looking to eat. We are so grateful to the Devon Valley Hotel for their generosity as all the proceeds from the event went to Graceland. Graceland and the Devon Valley Hotel have a remarkable relationship. Some of the hotel staff actually send their children to Graceland Preschool so the hotel, in turn, are very supportive.

Our children will have breakfast for two months thanks to everyone who brought milk and oats to the Tea as a donation to Graceland Preschool. We also received clothes from designer Jaques Nhau for the children who modeled side by side with supermodels, Charné King and three of her fellow Miss SA finalists.

Everyone left inspired by what Graceland Preschool is doing in the community. If we work alone, we work in vain but if we work together we can make a difference as a community by ensuring that children are being taken care of and developed when they are in the most vulnerable stage of their lives.

A big ‘THANK YOU’ to all who supported the event!

March News

Getting to know Graceland’s new Principal

Graceland’s new principal, Simoné Van Der Berg, is an alumni of the School of Hope; another project of the Thembalitsha Foundation. She was one of their first matriculants and was valedictorian of her class. Simoné’s journey to success started when she enrolled at the School of Hope. She was 18 years old at the time, very insecure and didn’t even say a word to anyone unless asked a question. In her young life she had experienced her parents’ divorce, dropping out of school, failing a grade, moving schools 7 times and she grow up with her Grandmother who then passed away the year she enrolled at the School of Hope.

Up until the time she got to School of Hope she didn’t think she’d finish her schooling as everyone in her family only reached Grade 10, it was as if that was as high up the schooling ladder her family could go. She was told by family to give up and get a job but she knew that God had a bigger and better plan for her life. At the School of Hope she experienced something her had never experienced before, a love for school and hope and dreams for the future.

In 2008, Simone finished high school at the age of 21. She completed a sport internship with Ambassadors in Sport for a year but in the process she discovered that she loves teaching children. In 2010, she worked at a Daycare Centre as an assistant teacher to 1-2 year olds. Then in the beginning of 2011 Simone had an opportunity to go to New York with a Mentorship Program that is run for the learners of the School of Hope. After 3 month she returned from New York and started pursuing her studies in education. She then enrolled at the College of Cape Town to study Early Childhood Development.
In June 2012, she finished her year at College of Cape Town which qualified her to work as a pre-school teacher and manager. When the opportunity to work as acting principal opened up at Graceland, Simone grabbed it with both hands as she was very familiar with Graceland and its staff. Since January 2013 Simone has been the Principal of Graceland Preschool.

Simone will continue her studies part-time as she aspires to one day be a primary school principal. Her love for children has motivated her to inspire teachers to be the best they can be. Through inspiring teachers the lives of the children

they are teaching will be impacted in a positive way. So, a big welcome to Simone! She has shown herself to be a good leader and manager of Graceland during her time as acting principal. Let us stand with her in her pursuit to ensure that Graceland continues to be an outstanding school.

February News

Connecting with Stellenbosch University

On the end of the First Years MATIES launch, about 60 students did community service within the Devon Valley area and Graceland was fortunate enough to be a part of the community service project. 20 students came to assist Graceland with any maintenance that needed to be done. We had students attending to our vegetable garden, assisting with the daily routine, doing touch-up with paint to the school building, they started putting up our chicken-wired fence that had been donated by Mr and Mrs Ruest (local farm owners) and they painted our jungle gym with paint that had been donated by Stellenbosch University. The Graceland family is filled with gratitude and astonished at the attitude and diligence with which the students carried out their tasks.

One of the students who participated in the community service is wheel chaired bound. Her life story and ability to serve despite her physical disabilities inspired and enlightened a new way of thinking within the school. This allowed the learners and staff to realise that all things are possible and that there is always a good reason to serve others. We wish every student who came to serve at Graceland all the best and success for their academic years to come. May God bless you.

January News

Ending 2012 with love…
Thank you, Operation Shoebox, for ensuring that all the little ones Graceland received a gift for Christmas. We used this opportunity to share with our children as well as their parents what Christmas is really about and also about the heart from which the gift is given. As the children received their gifts, you could see each child’s eyes lighting up. Thank you for this heart-warming experience.

…And a new start for our little ones!
2013 is here! The first week of school was very exciting; a lot of new faces have been added to our school. We started with an Orientation Day to introduce the parents to Graceland’s staff, values, passion, policies and learning programme. All the new parents (25 children) attended the Orientation Day and were pleased with what Graceland is doing. Their hearts are very hopeful for their children. Our desire is to work with the parent to ensure that the hope they feel for their children’s lives will not fade but grow stronger through continuously making them aware of the value of education.

The challenge now is to get the children into routine and used to the way things are done at Graceland. For example, some of our new children use foul language and are used to people laughing at them when they do so! We want to teach them the appropriate way of speaking to one another.

We are taking full advantage of Summer with a water week. This has helped the children get used to their new school and their new teachers. Imagine twenty  2 - 3 year olds separated from their mothers for the first time! The first three days of school was a very tearful experience but it’s also amazing how quickly the children adapted when the teachers showed them extra care and won their trust.
Thank you for your support of Graceland’s precious children.

December News

 Our Market day was a great success. It was supported by the whole farming community For example, family, friends, farm owners, community workers, local businesses and people living in the community. We raised R3000 while spending only R100. We are so grateful for the support from the Farm owners and local businesses.  Your generosity is making a difference.

The support from the community continued at our Graduation and Concert. We had about 180 people present. This was an exciting time for Graceland but also a sad time as we are now saying goodbye to our 4-5 year old class. They are leaving Graceland to go to Grade R.  We wish them all the best and pray that God would guide and protect them on their new journey. We would like to thank Devon Valley Hotel for providing us with eats for the evening, Devon Valley Primary for providing us with sound, chair and tables and also Mr. & Mrs. Ruest for putting up the curtain railing.  We really appreciate you.

At our last session for the year of the 14 – week course that we are currently busy with, presented by Bonita Daniels from Bronne Sentrum; Graceland was declared the pre-school that implemented the programme the best amongst its peers. We are excited to be a part of the learning programme and can already see the positive difference it has made in the children’s learning. Well done Graceland teacher’s for your hard work.

It’s Christmas time again and our children have been blessed to a part of the Operation Shoebox project. It’s been amazing how people want to give to Graceland, to the point where Graceland is blessing another school that doesn’t have any gifts. A BIG, thank you, to Tracy English for working with Tokai His people to make sure that our children have gifts for Christmas.

2012 has been a year of transition for Graceland.   A teacher, Angeline De Jager, left because she feels that her season of working with children is over. The principal of Graceland Elizabeth Solomons stepped down from her position as principal after 7 years of being principal, she feels happier as a teacher and Graceland is happy to announce that she is still with us as Head - Teacher. We have a new principal at Graceland, Simoné Van Der Berg.  After being at Graceland for 6 months, she has settled in nicely and is very happy to be a part of the Graceland team.

After our Graduation and concert the Head of the Farmers Association Administration team can’t stop talking about the work Graceland is doing in the community.  This is opening doors for Graceland and creating new opportunities for relationships and partnerships.  It has been amazing to see how Graceland fits into the Greater community of Devon Valley.  We are very excited about 2013 and can’t wait for the new challenges, adventures and friendships it will bring.

As we say goodbye to 2012 we thank every person who supported Graceland, whether, in funds, kind or time.  Every little gesture of kindness towards Graceland is appreciated.  Thank you for a great year!  Till next year, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!