NEWSLETTER | November 2024

The year is coming to an end, and it is time for us to celebrate and reflect - as we conclude our programmes - on all the lessons, the accomplishments, the impact of our work in the Overstrand, what we will keep, what we will change, and how we will grow; always evolving and striving to do better and to do more.

"Wherever you go, go with all your heart." - Confucius

Our drama group participants have had an exciting year with teacher Raine Waring. Besides the weekly workshops, both the drama and music groups went on an outing together to Zwelihle in Hermanus to watch the Overstrand Schools Choir Celebration at the FynBos Festival. On 26 October, the drama children joined Raine for a tree-planting day arranged by BEZA, where they planted 25 indigenous trees with the BEZA team [Born as the Earth Zen Academy - https://bornastheearth.com/].

After planting, they had a picnic at Stanford Hills Estate, performed songs, and went on a horse ride offered by African Horse Company. The day ended with all the happy students receiving their end-of-year Certificates of Accomplishment.

The Die Kop children learning to play and read music using the recorder with musician Manuel Jardine and the penny whistle with Jack Lerole Jnr. also had a magical musical journey this year. They performed on the recorder at the annual Cape Town Jazzathon at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in front of a very large audience, as well as with the Zwelihle Young Brothers at our annual Children’s Art Exhibition.

The Die Kop children also enjoyed the outing to Zwelihle for the Overstrand Schools Choir event and practised every week with their mentor, Vuyokasi Siza, to grow their musical skills. Maestro Jack Lerole Jnr. presented the children with their Certificates of Accomplishment when he was in Stanford to mentor them in person during the October school holidays. These children can be very proud of how they have grown as a group and as young musicians.

In August, we told you we had entered community children's artwork in the Western Cape Department of Education's annual art competition. We were thrilled to hear that we had five finalists, and later, the news that two of the art group children won bronze and silver medals for their beautiful art.

Regina accompanied the children and their family members to Caledon to receive their medals at the awards ceremony in the Caledon Museum.

Our Creative Skills Factory art workshops are held weekly by artist Antje Shone in Masakhane at the Grootbos Foundation's Hub [https://grootbosfoundation.org/].

Thank you, Antje, thank you, Grootbos Foundation, and congratulations to the competition winners. Very well done to all the children who create beautiful art in the workshops.

The October school holidays were busy and fun for the Stanford community children. Mandiseli Maseti from UNIMA SA travelled from Cape Town to Stanford to facilitate a puppetry workshop with the Grade R class at Funimfundo Pre-Primary School and a full day of puppetry at the Stanford Festival of Community Arts, reaching many children with his kindness and inspiring teaching [https://www.unimasouthafrica.org/].

Local artist Alison Martin and her team helped the children of Stanford create a colourful, beautiful mural on the netball court wall next to the Stanford Community Hall.

The video of the children painting the mural during the October school holidays is worth watching, accompanied by the beautiful song sung by New Deep Soul Voices.

In collaboration with TILE (The Institute for Leadership and Education), Creative Skills Factory's team of five community facilitators - who are trained to run the activities offered to the children every day after school at the Learning Tree - are incorporating Sophrology exercises each day for 10 weeks to document the impact on the children and themselves. We call it Mind-Body activities, and the children love it.

The exercises are done with the children at the start of each workshop session for approximately 10 minutes and include breathing, body scanning (awareness) using bean bags, tension release, muscle relaxation, and affirmations.

As the next school holidays are just around the corner, we are planning to make these EXTRA special for the children we work with. We will have a puppet show and many other wonderful activities for them, and we want to give every child a Lucky Packet to take home as an end-of-year treat.

To make this a fun-filled festive season and school holiday, please will you help us?

Please donate any amount to assist us in making this a magical time for these children who have very little.

You can donate via our website by clicking the link below to our Payfast account or directly into our bank account:

Nedbank Limited
Account name: Creative Skills Factory NPC
Type: Current account
Account number: 115 897 0595
Branch code: 198765

Please donate to our December School Holidays fund.