July News

The children waiting for the show to start!

This month Graceland was blessed an opportunity to go see Disney On Ice at Cape Town International Convention Centre and it was all sponsored by Travelstart South Africa.

This was an amazing outing. The staff, the children and some of the children’s parents who chaperoned couldn't talk about it enough. For most of the parents and children who went, it was the first time they were in Cape Town. One of our teacher's responsed: "It was fantastic because it was so real and professional.  All the characters remind us of our childhood days and for the children it was something new. They knew some Disney characters but some was really new to them. The lights, the ice, everything amazed us all."

The parents were overwhelmed with appreciatiton of what Travel Start did for their children. It was something that they feel they could never afford to send their children to. Being able to experience something like this with our children is a privilege. The children were so amazed by everything they saw. They wanted to touch and go and see everything. It was like watching a little bug follow the light!

We are so grateful to Travelstart for this once in a lifetime opportunity. Our children will forever remember their adventures to Cape Town and if the forget, I'm sure the parents will remind them.

We hope that this outing will be one of many more like them that will show our children that anything is possible and you can go anywhere you want to. Our desire for them is that they dream big and this outing has shown them that there is a bigger world out there. Thank you Travelstart for partnering with us in helping our children dream BIG!

June News

In April 2013, Graceland was evaluated by an international team of students from IMA International, lead by Mick Howes from the UK. IMA International is an international development organisation specialising in capacity building worldwide. The team consisted of business men and women from Rwanda, Tanzania, Sudan, South Sudan, England, Congo, South Africa, and they conducted themselves in a very professional manner.  

The team based their evaluation on data about Graceland found online (newsletter, blog, facebook page), data collected by the school (weekly, monthly, yearly), financials, reports written regularly by Graceland, face to face interviews with local farmers, past and present parents, students and staff. 

They presented their findings to the Thembalitsha Director of Education and Graceland Staff on the 25th of April 2013. Their findings concluded that Graceland is a well run school, the parents are very happy and grateful that Graceland exists and that past parents saw significant changes in their children’s behaviour at home and development at school. 

Graceland pre-school exists to make an impact in the greater society by ensuring that the Devon Valley children are cared for and well prepared for primary school. We hope to instil a love for education and a hope for the future within every child. We may be teaching little ones but they won’t be little forever. 

It would have been a major expense for Graceland to have evaluators come in and assess our progress, so we are truly thankful to IMA International for choosing Graceland Pre-school as their project. This opportunity has given us a chance to look at the wider impact Graceland is making and it is encouraging to see that the hard work of every staff member at Graceland, and the support we receive from donors, is not in vain. 

Someone once said, “The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement”. At Graceland we strive for excellence so we are constantly improving to ensure that our children receive the best education. Thank you IMA Intentional for making good recommendations that will help add value to the excellent service provided by Graceland.

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.