August News

This month the teachers at Graceland celebrated Women's day with some of the mothers of Graceland at Middelvlei farm in Stellenbosch. A special speaker from Paarl, Hawaqua Youth Prison addressed the women of Devon Valley on women and drug abuse and how to handle it and find help.  The teachers were able to engage with parents and learn something new.

Two staff members are currently taking part in an exciting Leadership and Management programme with Bronne Sentrum. It's only for the month of August but the knowledge gained will definitely add to the success of our school. Thanks to Bronne Sentrum we are able to uplift the staff and create an excellence within our management.

We also had a special visitor from the Stellenbosch Police Department who assisted us with teaching the children about PEOPLE WHO HELP US. It was amazing to see the children's response to the police as they are taught to fear the police by parents and family members. We had the opportunity to teach the children that the police are our friends on whom we can call in time of need. A big thanks to Stellenbosch Police for their excellent service.

July News

This month a little boy, Ethan, from Jamestown invited Graceland to celebrate his first birthday with him. The children delighted him with songs and joined him in celebrating his birthday and he surprised them all with gifts.  The children loved it and it was such a blessing for them on his birthday.

Twenty children of Graceland were also invited to Azalea-Hof old age home to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s birthday on the 18th July.  They shared a meal of soup and rolls with the elderly and surprised them with song to finish off the day.  It was amazing to see the reaction of what a child’s singing could do to the elderly of Azalea-Hof old age home.   While they were at Azalea-Hof old age home the rest of the school was blessed with hotdogs by Distell.

It has been a good start to a new term and new challenges as Graceland has recently started a new curriculum.  We have a new teacher on board who is also standing in as acting principal, to assist Elizabeth during this time, as she is taking a break from her principal duties. Simone Van Der Berg has been a great addition to our Graceland family.

We thank God for his continuous hand of blessing on Graceland.  We would also like to thank everyone for keeping Graceland in their prayers as well as contributing to the success of our Pre-School.  May God bless each one of you.

June News

The teachers were recently trained extensively in PACE which incorporates Brain Gym and the Nelds approach and is a widely used curriculum. We are going to have a visit from the lecturer who is coming to see how we are applying what we have learned in the classroom. Let’s hope we can impress!

Also this month we want to say a huge thank you to Distell who sponsored rain boots for all of Graceland's learners for the winter as well as providing us with some yummy warm winter soup.  The children are very excited about the boots and have been wearing them proudly!

Finally, we recently heard that one of our previous learners Kay Jansen is going to take part in a spelling competition.  She is reading so well and she is only in grade 2. We are really proud because she started her pre-school here with us. Good luck Kay!

May News

A team from the USA, lead by Krissy from Thembalitsha, visited the school for three days (23-25 April). Lindsay, Brian and Heather were a tremendous support to the Graceland staff. Their programme consisted of spending the morning with the children singing songs, doing fun crafts and playing games. Something very special was when Brian (USA) shared his message with the children in English and Renette (Every Nation's team leader at Graceland) translated his message into Afrikaans so that the children would understand. Afternoons were spent assisting Leon in varnishing the veranda’s wooden beams. Although their time with us was short, their impact was significant. Their love for Jesus and care for the children and staff of Graceland displayed how much Jesus cares for his children, all across the nations.

 The team of students from Every Nation Church in Stellenbosch, who visit Graceland on a weekly basis, have spent the past few Wednesdays reinforcing the theme of colours with the children. They taught the children that the rainbow is in the sky to show that God's promises are true... in other words, that Jesus loves us all. Using different colours of fruit they also taught the children about the 9 fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). The children listened well and could name the different colours, as they had been taught by their teachers.

One of our lovely teachers, Angeline, is leaving and her farewell at the Devon Valley Hotel was a time to celebrate the good times that had passed at Graceland and remind each other of God's good plans for us as individuals, but for the community of Devon Valley as a whole. We thank Angeline for her commitment to Graceland over the past four years and wish her all the best for the opportunities which await her.

 Elizabeth and Jeanine visited a pre-school in Franschoek to get some tips and extend Graceland's network with other pre-schools. Anne Pederson is a dynamic teacher and principle, thus we were both able to learn from Anne's experience and tips. Allowing room for change always leads to growth. Graceland has grown tremendously over the past decade under Elizabeth and Thembalitsha's leadership and will continue to grow from strength to strength so that the children of Devon Valley may reap the benefits.

Thank you to everyone who was a part of Graceland's successes during the month of May. We have updated our ‘Needs List’ if you are interested in making a valuable contribution to the running of the school and the education of the precious Graceland children. Contact info@thembalitsha.oeg.za to get hold of a copy.

April News

Beshrin in his Graceland days

The fruits of our labour are truly starting to show! Last year some of the first little ones we taught graduated matric! Amongst them was Beshrin Van Niekerk. Beshrin is the eldest of four children and grew up in Devon Valley. He has fond memories of us and can remember singing ‘Father Abraham had many sons’! He told us that as he was studying it was often a battle with so many siblings and he often had to wait to do homework until late at night when everyone was asleep. But his hard work and dedication has paid off and he is now studying at Cape Town University after receiving a bursary to study IT. We are confident that a bright future is ahead of him and are thankful that we are able to offer a fantastic head start in education to children like Bershrin, whom otherwise may not have been able to attend preschool. If all the children we care for grasp hold of the opportunities in front of them, like Beshrin has done, then there is so much potential for their generation to shake the bonds of poverty and we will be reassured that we are on the right path of ‘restoring hope by developing people to a point of self-reliance’ as our mission statement declares! Exciting times!

Beshrin, a successful student!

March News

The Graceland girls doing their thing

This month we were very excited to host our Fancy Hat Tea with the Queen (of Graceland). Over 100 ladies attended this wonderful event on the terrace of the Devon Valley Hotel, Stellenbosch. The sun smiled down on us and everyone who attended wore a beautiful, and sometimes unique, hat. Ambient music was provided by the girls from Wholehearted and we listened to addresses from Laura Collura, the Director of Education for Thembalitsha, Amanda Nortje, the funding manager and Elizabeth Solomons, the ‘Queen’ of Graceland. Mrs Berger, who owns Seaton Farm, the land that Graceland sits on, gave a moving speech about the history of Graceland and how she became involved with the project. We were fortunate enough to enjoy some tantalizing treats provided by the Devon Valley Hotel: yummy cakes and scones and delicate sandwiches. The hotel also presented us with a cheque for R11895 which are the profits from their Giving Room initiative! It is safe to say that the event was a huge success. Thank you so much to all those involved who made the day so special and particularly to the Devon Valley Hotel for providing the tasty tea party and the stunning venue for free. It’s people like you who make the difference.

To see more photos from the day visit our Facebook Page.

The preschoolers impressing

The winner of the most unusal hat.

February News

Well, we are surviving the summer heat thanks to our new covered outdoor area (and Rick and Eve Beeton). It really does make a difference to have somewhere to be outside in the shade. We have also got two volunteers who are doing community service from Gimnasium Gior. They are helping to paint the building so we are going to look very clean and fresh by the time they are done.

This month we have also been blessed by a lovely lady called Yvonne who has started volunteering with us every Monday to help us with focused sessions for the children’s gross motor skills. She is doing a fab job, thanks Yvonne!  We have also been invited on a course to learn more about teaching gross motor skills by the Clamber Club in Somerset West. It’s always great to have the opportunity to learn more. I look forward to telling you all about it in next month’s news.

Finally, please support our Fancy Hat Tea which is happening in a couple of weeks. See the invite below for further details.