Meet our little ones in 2015!

First things first: Meet our little ones! They just seem to get more gorgeous every year. We have 57 children registered this year, and we are very excited about what 2015 has in store for Graceland. 

 

The first week of school was filled with buckets and buckets of tears. However, by the second week of school, it was like the tears never happened. The reason for the quick adjustment to the school is still to be determined. Are the children becoming more adaptable or are the teachers just getting better at this? I think only three days of crying is our new record.

 

 

Congratulations to Elizabeth Solomons (4-5 year olds teacher) and Rosaline Fortuin (2-3 year olds teacher)! On 5 December 2014, Elizabeth graduated from her Level 5 Course and Rosaline graduated from her Level 4 Course, both in Early Childhood Development. We were told by the facilitator that the teachers from Graceland are her best students. Well done on your hard work! Graceland is proud to have you. As we equip ourselves, we are able to better understand the development of our children and to help our children at their level.

L-R: Rosaline Fortuin and Elizabeth Solomons

This year we are hoping to add an additional classroom to Graceland Pre-school. At the moment we have 3 classes, divided into the different age groups. A 2-3 year olds classroom, a 3-4 year olds classroom and a 4-5 year olds classroom. In order to achieve our goal this year we will need a new storage space. We are already getting a teacher ready to take the younger age group of 1-2 year olds, thanks to the Ulrike Merkel Trust. 

William Arthur Ward said,“Do more than belong: participate. Do more than care: help. Do more than believe: practice. Do more than be fair: be kind. Do more than forgive: forget. Do more than dream: work.” 

May this new year challenge you to make a difference in the world around you!

December News

Finishing strong 

One of the most exciting events happened on the 12^th of November 2014. It was the opening of the new library at Graceland. The first idea of a library at Graceland started with Zoë Lee, however, due to the need of another classroom, we decided to move the library to the loft where our storage was. Thanks to Imperial Managed Logistics this dream was turned into a reality. Imperial Managed Logistics funded the staircase and the renovations to make it safe and beautiful.

Right now the Graceland library is only available for the children who attend Graceland Pre-school but in future we would like to make it available to the Devonvallei Primary School as well.  For now we are working on a system that will allow children to be able take books home and return them after a certain period. However, we will only be able to extend the availability of the library once a proper system is in place to ensure the success of what we are trying to achieve.

We were very honoured to have the Mayor of Stellenbosch, Conrad Sedigo, the Graceland Library opening. He was very touched and honoured to be part of such a great occasion. During the mayor’s speech he became very emotional and recalled the first time he got to experience a library at the age of 14 years old, due to Apartheid in South Africa and libraries only being available to white people. He reminded each one of us of the significance such a library and the value it will add to the community.

As we say goodbye to what seems to be another fruitful year at Graceland, we stand amazed at generous hearts we have encountered this year and we say thank you to every person who have given of their time, in kind, in words and in funds. We are truly grateful and we recognise that without your partnership the great work we do would not be possible. 

The Gracelanders wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Goodbye 2014... And helllo 2015! We are ready for the new adventures, challenges and opportunities 2015 has in store, hope you are ready too;)                                                                                                   

October News!

Market  Day 2013!

Meet Rosaline Fortuin (33), a teacher at Graceland Pre-primary. She started working for our preschool in 2006 as a volunteer, helping out by preparing lunch for our little ones. When another teacher was needed at Graceland we didn’t have to look very far. Her good attitude, hard work, faithfulness to Graceland and her love for children made her a good candidate. Rosaline has since completed a Level 4 course in Early Childhood Development (ECD) to qualify her as a preschool practitioner. She loves her work now more than ever. She enjoyed Market Day and wrote the following:

Our Market Day on the 3^rd of October 2013 was held at Graceland. What a successful and fun-filled day it was. The event started at 3 o’clock but we had parents queuing to buy coupons from Samantha (our administrator) long before. Excitement was in the air as the bustling began.

 

This year we sold second- hand clothes, jewellery and vegetables, played dominoes, sang karaoke, took scooter rides, played a fishing game and a bowling game and entertained the children on a jumping castle. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the karaoke. Elizabeth and two volunteers (Fatimah and Nicole) sold chips, sweets, cool drinks, delicious curry and cupcakes. Our principal Simone was able to go around and make sure everything was going well, which it was because everything was well organised.

Elizabeth made her special homemade ginger beer and it was sold out within minutes. My job on the day was selling jewellery and I was assisted by volunteers made up of parents and friends.  The lamb stew and chicken curry, made by Mrs. Ruest (farm owner) and Mrs. Swart (Devon Valley Farm Owners Administration) was fantastic.

If there had to be a highlight for the day, the children would probably choose the scooter ride. They enjoyed every moment of it and were willing to stand in a long queue to wait their turn. It was very a busy day and everyone who volunteered was amazing.  

Graceland raised R6280, 100% profit!  With this said, we would like to thank every farm owner who donated to us, especially Mrs Ruest and Gillian Swart. We would also like to thank Scoot Café for generously giving of their time and the use of a scooter at no cost and Nedbank for donating cupcakes and hosting the fishing game. Finally, thank you to the parents, staff and all the volunteers who supported and assisted us on the day.  

 

Each and every one who gave in kind or of their time or came to enjoy a day with their children or friends made the event a success. Our Market Day created an opportunity for unity within the Devon Valley community. We found ourselves all working towards one goal. A goal that is focused on ensuring that Graceland Pre-primary School continues to bring hope to the vulnerable child of the Devon Valley through education.

 

The World Race comes to Graceland

Graceland's exposure is growing exponentially. This week we hosted 7 girls from The World Race as potential ambassadors and partners with the Thembalitsha Foundation. Excited to see what this connection will bring.

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.

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!

October News

This month we want to make sure we say a couple of public ‘thank you’s! Firstly to Distell for the basic computer training that they offered two of our teachers at Graceland during the September school holidays.  This empowers the teachers and increases the quality of the children’s pre-school foundations.

Secondly, at our High Tea in March, Rosmarie Ruest heard about Graceland Pre-school for the first time.  Since the event she and her husband have donated doormats, three washbasins with plumbing, new toilet seats, shelves in each classroom, hooks for the children’s bags, hand towels, three first-aid kits and puzzles.  They have not only donated things but they have also given of their time.  Mr. Ruest worked with our Caretaker to put up the hooks, shelves, fix the toilet seats and do the plumbing for washbasins. So thank you Mr. and Mrs. Ruest from Kyburg Farm! We appreciate the effort you have put in to make Graceland a safe and beautiful school to be at for our children. May God bless you.

We are proud to announce that Graceland Pre-school is registered with Association of Christian schools International, ACSI.  Two of our teachers went along to ACSI annual conference.  They had the opportunity to attend workshops on how to create an environment where the children learn good values and morals, which is very important to us here at Graceland.

On 12th October 2012 Graceland’s learners went on an outing to Bosch Ten Huis in Stellenbosch. This was the second year that Graceland was invited to a Christmas Party hosted by students. The children enjoyed themselves very much.  They participated in different variety games of which the Jumping castle was one of their favorites. They received a boerewors-roll which they enjoyed thoroughly. Finally, the children received an early Christmas package and they were excited to see Santa Clause in his red suit. We would like to say thank you to all the students who were involved and to Anri Mouton and Sanmari Marits who organized the whole programme. Sanmari volunteered at Graceland in 2011 and is still involved at with us even though she has a busy life as a student. Thank you very much for everything that all of you have done for us. We appreciate it very much.
We have our Market Day coming up on the 31st of October. Please do come and support us if you can.

We thank God for every person who has taken up time, effort and funds to bless our children at Graceland.

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.