Annual Report 2010

OUR MISSION STATEMENT

To provide an excellent Christian education that is affordable to the previously disadvantaged community.

VULEKA – THE BACKGROUND

Vuleka was started in 1989 by Mrs Susan Germond and Mrs Joy Fisher. It opened its doors at St Martin’s-in-the-Veld, Rosebank and St John the Evangelist, Parkmore with 59 children and 4 teachers. The project, as it was then known, was started because of the crisis in black education in South Africa at the time. Black South African children were offered an inferior education compared with that given to white children. The leadership of St Martin’s and St John's felt that it was a waste of space to use their Sunday School classrooms only on a Sunday, and so offered classroom space to the new school.

Over the years Vuleka has grown from strength to strength and has evolved and grown according to the needs of the community and the country. We have changed from being a bridging school whose main focus was to assist second language speakers with their English so that they could be placed in English-medium schools after spending a year or two in the Vuleka system. Until 2004 Vuleka went up to Grade 4, after which pupils had to be placed in other primary schools. Part of our vision for 2004 to 2007 was to grow the school up to Grade 7. Although we still assist with second language children and help them to bridge the language gap, our main focus has shifted. Vuleka is now committed to providing pupils with a high standard of education which will prepare them to be successfully placed in a high school of their choice, and lay the foundation for future achievements.

Today Vuleka consists of three primary schools: in Rosebank, in North Riding and in Weltevreden Park. The Rosebank school serves children of domestic workers who live in the area, as well as inner city, Soweto and Alexandra children. North Riding serves local children, and children from Honeydew and Diepsloot squatter camps, Soweto and Cosmo City. Weltevreden Park serves local children as well as children from the North Riding area who are taken across via a shuttle service. Vuleka does not discriminate against any child, and we do not screen any pupils. In 2002 we opened our special needs and supported learning classes at Randburg Methodist Church. This school caters for and educates children between the ages of 7 and 14 years who are not able to cope in the main academic stream.

Vuleka took over the Early Learning Centre at St Paul’s Parkhurst in 2004, and then opened Early Learning Centres at St John’s Benmore in 2005, St Francis Parkview in 2006, and Grade 000/ 00 and Grade 0 classes at St Michael’s Weltevreden Park in 2007. The aim of the Early Learning Centres is to provide excellent and affordable preschool education for the children of domestic workers and people who work in the area.  These parents are encouraged to enter their children in the local government schools for Grade 1, although we are usually inundated with requests for places in our Vuleka Grade 1 classes and are able to take in a few every year.

WHAT VULEKA OFFERS

• Vuleka offers an education that is affordable and easily accessible, in a safe and secure environment.

• Vuleka offers two specialised education classes for those pupils who have remedial or other educational difficulties.

• Vuleka offers small classes, qualified teachers and an excellent curriculum that is outcomes-based and focuses on independent thinking and problem solving skills.

• Vuleka offers a science and maths programme that encourages our pupils to develop a passion for, and understanding of these subjects so that one day they can be the driving force behind the economy, and combat poverty. South Africa has a shortage of maths and science graduates.

• Vuleka has a holistic curriculum which develops the pupil academically, socially, physically and spiritually.

• Vuleka provides stability and a loving environment for our growing numbers of orphans and vulnerable children.

• Vuleka offers our pupils counselling and skills in our Life Orientation programme that assists pupils in dealing with the daily challenges which they face.

• We assist our Grade 7 pupils in finding high schools that will suit their needs.

• Vuleka identifies and helps pupils who need educational assessments and therapy.

• Our pupils write the National Conquesta exams, Independent Examination Board and ISASA benchmark exams in order to ensure that our standard compares with the top independent schools, and we aim to provide our pupils with the same curriculum that these schools offer, at a much reduced price.

• We offer a Teacher Empowerment Programme over a two year period. This programme gives employment and training to teachers who obtained their degrees or diplomas at previously disadvantaged training colleges or universities.

• We have a Student Teacher Programme by means of which we pay for young people to train as teachers, and we offer them employment as classroom assistants while they are studying.

VISION

1. To develop in our pupils Christian values that will encourage them to live a life of service in which
     they will contribute to a quality of life that all South Africans can enjoy.
2. To provide our pupils with a school that is safe, challenging and exciting. An environment where
     their self confidence can be developed and they are challenged to strive for academic excellence.
3. To produce well rounded scholars who can take their place with confidence and dignity in any
     high school of their choice.

VULEKA'S GOALS 2008 - 2011

1. To develop our curriculum so that we are totally in line with other top independent schools.
2. To improve our technology so that all our pupils and staff have access to computers and the
     Internet, and to provide them with the skills to use these tools efficiently.
3. To improve our resources and facilities in order to maintain a standard of excellence.
4. To continue our role of redressing the imbalances of the past by empowering our pupils and staff.

THE HEAD'S ANNUAL REPORT 

“He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.”
Psalm 1:3

Looking back on 2010, the FIFA World Cup comes to mind. As a nation South Africa came together to host this prestigious event. It was wonderful to see the excitement and expectation of our pupils and staff rising. At Vuleka every Friday was Soccer Friday, and we all wore Bafana Bafana T-shirts in support of our team. Pupils in every grade learned about all the competing countries, their flags, languages, geography, history and culture. This experience really broadened our pupils’ world knowledge and instilled in each of us a great pride in our beautiful land.

The American pastor and author Joel Osteen preaches that God did not create us merely to survive, but in fact He wants us to thrive. Many South Africans unfortunately felt this way - if only we could survive the World Cup. This, however, was not the case: we as a country not only survived it but we certainly thrived as well. I feel the same about the Vuleka Schools. We are not one of those schools which are here merely to survive. Our vision is to thrive and to be a school of excellence.

In 2010 we completed the building of our third primary school at St Michael and All Angels, Weltevreden Park. All of this was possible because of the generosity of our donors and the fact that they had the same vision as Vuleka and were prepared to invest in the education of our young pupils. I would like to thank Janet Saner, who has bought into the vision with such determination and dedication. The building and equipping of this school is due to her hard work and her faith that it could be done. My sincerest thank you also goes to Revd Dr Tim Long and the Parish of St Michael’s for allowing Vuleka to put up a school on their land and for sharing their beautiful gardens with us. Many of our pupils live in small houses or shacks and it is such a wonder and a privilege for them to be able to run around and enjoy the lawns at St Michael’s. The school has opened in 2011 with children from Grade 0 to Grade 5, and will build up to Grade 6 and 7 over the next two years. By the end of 2010 all the classes were already full except for our Grade 4 class, but I am sure it will fill up during the year. This just goes to show the desperate need for good schools in South Africa.

Due to the expansion of our Weltevreden Park school, we did some important management restructuring. I was appointed Managing Director of the Vuleka schools. Mrs Janet Saner was already Director of Finance and Fundraising, with Mrs Jenny Dry as Bursar. Mrs Helen De Kock was appointed Headmistress of Vuleka St Mark’s, North Riding. Mrs Sharon Walker and Mr Peter Mmirwa became Deputy Heads of Vuleka St Michael’s and our Randburg Special Needs school respectively. Miss Joyce Peters is now Head of Department at St Martin’s Rosebank. These appointments have made the running and management of the Vuleka schools so much more efficient.

Vuleka has continued to grow and evolve with the needs of our pupils. We have continued to strive for excellence in all that we do, from teacher training to adapting and tweaking our curriculum so that we can offer our pupils and parents a first class education. We pride ourselves on the fact that we are prepared to change and learn from our mistakes. This has really paid off because our standard of teaching and learning is improving every year, as can be seen in our IEB Grade 6 Core Skills Test and Conquesta results.

None of our success would be possible without the Lord who leads us and blesses us in all that we do. He has certainly planted Vuleka by the stream so that we can bear fruit in season and prosper.

It has been an honour and a privilege for me once again to lead this amazing school, with its dedicated and professional staff, and the beautiful and talented pupils that they teach. It is with pride and pleasure that I report on the 2010 Vuleka School year.

PUPIL NEWS

ACADEMIC NEWS

At Vuleka we like to benchmark against other schools, so every year we have chosen to write the Conquesta exams from Grade 1 to Grade 5. Our Grade 6 classes write the IEB Core Skills Test, and the Grade 7s write the ISASA benchmark exams. All our pupils did us proud, particularly our Grade 5 group, who came 9th out of 1350 schools in the Natural Science examination. Our Grade 6 classes also scored above the IEB average in the Core Skills Test. I would like to thank the IEB for their informative feedback, which has enabled us to know exactly where our strengths and weaknesses lie. This in turn has meant that we have been able to work on our weak areas and change our curriculum and teaching methods in order to improve our learning and our results. We were also delighted with our Grade 7 marks in the ISASA benchmark exams.

SCHOLARSHIPS
I would like to thank the following schools for awarding scholarships to our pupils:

The Ridge School, Mr Paul Channon; Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, Mrs Anne van Zyl; Mr Roger Cameron, St John’s College; St Peter’s Prep, Mr Nigel Sloane; Jeppe Girls, Ms Goncalves; and Jeppe Boys, Mr Anton Dempsey. I would also like to thank Mr Dale Jackson and the Theo Jackson Scholarship Fund, for the Jeppe Boys scholarship, and the Student Sponsorship Programme for the Jeppe Girls and St John’s College scholarships.

The following pupils were awarded scholarships:

Sulvan Nyirongo                            The Ridge School
Zandi Moima                                 Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls
Sibusiso Punadi                           St John’s College
Sindisa Mramba                           St Peter’s Prep
Thando Mthimkulu                        Jeppe Girls
Happy Junior Skosana               Jeppe Boys

GRADE 7 AND VOCATIONAL CLASS GRADUATES
All our Vuleka pupils were successfully placed in high schools, with the majority going to Sekolo sa Borokgo, and our Senior Vocational Class pupils going to Sparrow School. Vuleka pupils have gone to the following schools in 2011:

Sekolo sa Borokgo              13 pupils                                             Holy Family College                       1 pupil
Sparrow School                    10 pupils                                             Northcliff High School                     1 pupil
Dominican Convent                3 pupils                                             Forest High School                         1 pupil
Fourways High School           1 pupil                                               Newgate High School                     1 pupil
Blue Hills College                    1 pupil                                              Jeppe Boys High School                1 pupil
Mondeor High School             1 pupil                                              Highlands North Boys High             1 pupil
John Orr Technical School     1 pupil                                              Michael Mount Waldorf School       1 pupil
Cornwall College                     1 pupil                                              Gresswold School                            1 pupil
Jeppe Girls High School        1 pupil                                              Cosmo City High School                  1 pupil
St John’s College                    1 pupil

In addition, one pupil went to a school in Cape Town, one returned to Zimbabwe and another left for Zambia.

PUPIL AND STAFF NUMBERS
Vuleka pupil numbers continue to increase annually. Once again we had long waiting lists for many of our classes.

In 2010 we employed six new teachers, one teaching assistant and one office assistant. It is my privilege to welcome the following staff members to Vuleka School:

Teachers: Tracey Sparks, Lushendrie Govender, Barbara Standing, Victoria Mwape, Sheryl Fisher, Sheila Syster.
Assistant teacher: Sindi Sibisi
Office assistant: Mandy Makalima

OUR STAFF 2010
Management and Administration:
Melanie Sharland                                        Managing Director
Janet Saner                                                 Director: Finance and Fundraising
Helen De Kock                                            Headmistress, North Riding
Marlene Neaves                                          Deputy Head, Jellicoe
Sharon Walker                                             Deputy Head, Weltevreden Park
Peter Mmirwa                                              Deputy Head, Randburg Methodist
Sally Yatt                                                       Deputy Head, Early Learning Centres
Jenny Dry                                                     Bursar
Jane Trathen                                               Head’s PA and School Administrator
Tilly Aphane                                                Social Worker
David Mazibuko                                         Admissions officer
Jeanette Malindi                                         Debtor’s Clerk
Zama Nkosi                                                Receptionist North Riding
Mandy Makalima                                        Finance and Admin assistant
Jabu Khumalo                                             Handyman

Vuleka St Martin's:
Buhle Dumani                                              Grade 0
Charmaine Goyns                                       Grade 1
JoycePeters                                                Grade 2
Helen Divaris                                               Grade 3
Jutas Baloyi                                                 Student Teacher Programme
Andy Ncube                                                 Teacher assistant
Ashleigh da Silva                                        Teacher assistant
Esther Memudzivhadi                                 Cleaner

At 19 Jellicoe:
Janine Every/ Barbara Standing              Grade 4
Gladys Munyorovi                                       Grade 5
Marlene Neaves                                         Grade 6
James Mpofu                                              Grade 7
Dee Jones                                                   Remedial teacher and librarian
Gugu Msezane                                            Teacher Empowerment Programme
Linzelle Uys                                                 Student Teacher Programme
Merriam Ngcobo                                        Teacher assistant

Vuleka Randburg Methodist:
Emily Kapuya                                             Junior Supported Learning Class
Peter Mmirwa                                            Senior Vocational Class
Sanah Mokopi                                           Teacher assistant

Vuleka St Mark's:
Lauren Belcher                                          Grade 0
Sheryl Turner / Tracey Sparks                 Grade 1
Alexis Murdoch                                         Grade 2
Maano Matumba                                      Grade 3
Jean Clarke / Lushendrie Govender      Grade 4
Freddy Makgato                                       Grade 5
Glynis Hulley / Victoria Mwape                Grade 6
Phyllis Honiball                                          Grade 7
Kendall Batty                                             Student Teacher Programme
Lucky Sibiya                                              Student Teacher Programme
Ruth Matong                                              Teacher assistant
Nelly Moima                                              Teacher assistant
Pearl Tongo                                              Teacher assistant

Vuleka St Michael’s:
Jeanette Mofokeng                                  Grade 0
Sharon Walker                                         Grade 1
Angelina Nyoni                                         Grade 2
Sheryl Fisher                                            Grade 4 (Term 3)
Nomsa Sibisi                                           Teacher assistant
Sindi Sibisi                                               Teacher assistant

The Early Learning Centres:
St Francis:                                                                             St John’s:
Matlakala Mokgatlhane    Grade 000/00                             Judith Mfikwe Grade 000
Wendy Henwood               Grade 0                                       Dudu Buthelezi Grade 00/0
Thabisile Buthelezi            Teacher assistant                       Ellen Dube Teacher assistant

St Paul’s:
Ruth Mdlani                         Grade 000
Sheila Syster                      Grade 00
Sally Yatt                             Grade 0
Martha Mogashoa              Teacher assistant

STAFF NEWS
Sadly we bade farewell to the following staff members during 2010: Mrs Janine Every, Mrs Fiona de Sousa, Mrs Lauren van Steenderen, Ms Veronica Mbatha, Mrs Sheryl Turner, Mrs Glynis Hulley, Mrs Sheryl Fisher, Mrs Helen Divaris and Mrs Ellen Dube. Lauren and Niel van Steenderen became the proud parents of Chloe Jasmine and Fiona and Richard de Sousa welcomed their second son. The Vuleka staff and pupils wish these staff members all of God's richest blessings and we thank all of them for the contribution that they made to Vuleka School.

I would like to make special mention of Mrs Helen Divaris. Helen worked for Vuleka for 6 years, and was head teacher at Vuleka St Martin’s, and also senior Grade 3 teacher. Helen always went above and beyond the call of duty for Vuleka and will be greatly missed.

TEACHER EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMME
In 2010 we had one teacher trainee, Gugu Msezane, on our staff, doing her second year of practical classroom skills and management under the mentorship of Marlene Neaves.

STUDENT TEACHER PROGRAMME
This programme was introduced in 2008. In 2010 we had four student teachers studying and working in the classrooms. We pay for young people to study teaching through Unisa, and employ them as teacher assistants during their four year training. Every year we increase their classroom duties and responsibilities. Our students have all done very well at Unisa and we are proud to say that they are in the process of becoming top class teachers.

VULEKA WOULD LIKE TO THANK:

OUR PARISHES
Vuleka School would not be able to exist if it were not for the generosity of the parishes who host us on their premises. We value our partnership with these churches, and we like to think that together we can build God's kingdom for our youth. The churches are also instrumental in bridging the gap between the previously disadvantaged and the privileged, as well as between black and white people in South Africa. Many of our volunteer workers are from these parishes, and without their generosity with their time and expertise Vuleka would be a poorer place.

I would like to thank the following parishes, their Councils and priests for hosting Vuleka School:
St Martin's-in-the-Veld, Rosebank and Luke Pato
St Mark's, North Riding and Trevor Slade
St Michael’s, Weltevreden Park and Tim Long
Randburg Methodist Church and Elisha Moloi
St John's, Benmore and Peter Witbooi
St Francis, Parkview and Tim Gray
St Paul's, Parkhurst and Michelle Pilet

OUR VOLUNTEERS
The Vuleka School pupils and staff would like to acknowledge the generosity of the following volunteers or "Vuleka angels" for their kindness and thank them for their much needed assistance at our various venues during the year.

St Martin's: Loraine Phillips, Janet Fleming, Sue Odekerken, Fiona Furniss, Nic Divaris, Sarah Fish, Chibby Slyper, Moyra Wainwright, Pam Fraser, Felicity Gerber, Grace, Liz Coulson

Jellicoe: Jared Ruttenberg, Heather Bellew, Sue Moffatt, Cynthia Segage, Geraldine Parkinson, Revd Earl Neil

Randburg Methodist: Deji Ayodele-Iyun

St Mark's: Jill Lindsay-Smith, Edith Garcia, Val Robey

St Michael’s: Peggy Saayman, Merle Erasmus

St Francis: Peggy Kernick

St John’s: Christopher Brill

St Paul's: Lynda Barter

VULEKA COUNCIL MEMBERS
The following members were elected and served on the Vuleka Council during 2010:
Mrs Karin Backwell (Chairman), Very Revd Gerard Sharp (Vice Chairman), Mrs Melanie Sharland, Mrs Peggy Kernick, Mrs Sue Pearson, Ms Yoli Masindi, Mrs Lynn Fletcher, Mrs Cherry Owens, Mrs Yvonne Droste, Mrs Hilda Thema, Revd Lankiri Thaba, Mr Johan Valcke,, Ms Lindiwe Khosa, Mr Douglas Kela, Miss Puseletso Posholi, Mr Freedom Phakathi, Mr Nicholas Tau, Ms Angie Sibiya. In addition Mr James Mpofu and Mrs Dudu Buthelezi were elected as teacher representatives. Co-opted members were Mr Miles Crisp (Treasurer), Mrs Janet Saner and Mrs Jenny Dry (finance office) and Mr Sam Naledi and Mr Jerry Morake (taxi driver representatives).

I would like to thank these Council members who willingly give of their time and talents to meet with me to help with the governance of the school. I would also like to thank them for their encouragement and support over the year.

SPECIAL THANKS
Vuleka has been blessed in abundance in 2010. We have had so many generous donors who have believed in our work and have opened their hearts and their purses to us. Their generosity and belief in us has given us confidence that we are on the right track. Without their support it would be very difficult to have a school of excellence because their money enables us to obtain all the equipment, books and buildings that are needed to run a successful school. We offer them our sincerest gratitude.

Finally, my heartfelt thanks go to the following:

The Vuleka Council and Executive Committee for their commitment and dedication to Vuleka School.

My particular thanks to our Chair, Mrs Karin Backwell, for her sound advice and continuous support. We are truly blessed to have someone of her calibre leading our Council.

Our Deputy Chair, Revd Gerard Sharp, and our Treasurer, Mr Miles Crisp, for their wisdom and expertise.

Mrs Janet Saner for her hard work and for going beyond the call of duty in her position as Director of Finance and Fundraising.

Mrs Helen De Kock for being an outstanding Headmistress and amazing support to me. I also want to thank her for all the mentorship that she has done with our new teachers and trainee teachers.

Mrs Jenny Dry and Mrs Jeanette Malindi for keeping our finances in such accurate order.

The Deputy Heads: Mrs Marlene Neaves, Mrs Sharon Walker, Mr Peter Mmirwa and Mrs Sally Yatt, for their support and hard work.

The team leaders: Mrs Helen Divaris, Mrs Phyllis Honiball, Mrs Wendy Henwood and Mrs Dudu Buthelezi, and all the wonderful teachers for their passion and commitment.

Our social worker, Mrs Tilly Aphane, for her support and caring attitude towards our pupils.

Last but not least, our admin team: Miss Jane Trathen, Mr David Mazibuko, Miss Zama Nkosi and Miss Mandy Makalima, for their hard work behind the scenes to keep things running smoothly.

Mrs Melanie Sharland
Managing Director
March 2011
 

ACHIEVING OUR GOALS

Vuleka Primary Schools

Vuleka St Mark's, North Riding
Corner Witkoppen and Hyperion Roads, North Riding

St Mark’s has been blessed with another year of good academic and sporting achievements. The dedication and hard work of the staff and pupils at this venue has been an inspiration to me.

Computers and library
I am continually amazed at the natural talent young children have for mastering computers. It is fascinating to watch the adeptness of the little Grade 0 children, barely able to reach the keyboard, operating the mouse like professionals after only a few lessons with their teacher Miss Belcher. Most of our children have not had the opportunity, before attending Vuleka, of acquiring these skills. By the end of Grade 7 our children are able to do PowerPoint presentations and spreadsheets under the watchful eye of Mr Makgato.

Our Smartboard continues to play a very important part in the presentation of lessons, and this technological tool benefits “out of the box” thinking for teachers and pupils alike.

We have worked extremely hard at St Mark’s to improve the reading and comprehension ability of all our pupils. Weekly Reading Laboratory sessions and visits to the library have contributed to this. All our children from Grade 1 to Grade 7 visit the library weekly, where each child is taught book appreciation and the manner in which to select the correct book for the individual’s reading ability.

Eco-friendly school
Our vegetable garden has yielded good crops this year and we were able to supply beans, spinach, onions, tomatoes and carrots to eight of our families on a regular basis.

We have been blessed to receive two garden makeovers from Lizette Jonker and SA Garden magazine. The main quadrangle was made into a bird and butterfly woodland garden, providing additional shade for our children to sit under during their lunch breaks. Our Foundation Phase pupils will continue to use this garden in their educational themes. They will be able to have a hands-on experience in appreciating the beauties of nature by learning about these plants, insects and birds. Children clamour for their turn to fill the bird feeders and bird baths.

The second area revamped was our courtyard which was transformed into a beautiful seating refuge for our seniors.

Sport
We are incredibly privileged to have had our sponsorship from the Wahoo Aquatic Centre extended to our Grade 3, 4 and 5 classes. Our Grade 5 boys, in particular, have done extremely well this year. Yanga Hlongo, Ali Zondi, Mark Sison, Lindo Dlamini and Thabiso Bogatsu were invited to participate in the Wahoo club night swimming gala, in the 50 m backstroke and freestyle. The best times were recorded by Yanga, who did 1:10:62 for backstroke, and Ali who did 0:55:32 for freestyle. The experience for these boys was immeasurable and we are extremely proud of their success.

We also had our best gala ever, with all our pupils from Grade 0 to Grade 5 at the Wahoo Aquatic Centre. This was a resounding success. My heart swelled with pride to see children who, a year before, were too afraid to enter the pool, now able to swim the entire length of an Olympic-sized pool. Our gratitude to Nicki Riley and Pumi Makhadane and their team of coaches for the wonderful work they are doing.

Our Grade 6 and 7 pupils continued to progress in leaps and bounds at volleyball. Thank you to Colin Pocock for this wonderful sponsorship and experience afforded to us.

Heritage Day
As a school, each year we teach our children about a different culture to inculcate the values of tolerance and respect for others. This year we chose to celebrate Spain, as they were the winners of the soccer World Cup. Children and teachers all joined in the fun, and we had a wonderful day eating paella, learning Spanish phrases, listening to Spanish music and watching Spanish dancing.

Twinning with St Stithians
We had an exciting programme in 2010, extending our visits to St Stithians to one per term. Our children look forward to these visits, and I am always heartened to see the ease with which the children interact. I know that it is programmes like these that allow us to build a nation able to see past prejudice, and able simply to enjoy one another’s friendship. A special thank you to Celeste Gilardi and Kathy van Krombrugge for assisting with this programme.

At the end of each year, when I say farewell to our Grade 7 class and scholarship pupils, I experience ambivalent feelings of sadness and joy. Children who came into Vuleka unable to speak, read or spell in English are able to be placed in good high schools of their choice, with some winning scholarships into top independent schools. This is the culmination of team work from each and every teacher at St Mark’s, and I thank them for their dedication and hard work. I wish our 2010 scholarship pupils, Zandi Moima, Sibusiso Punadi, Sindisa Mramba and Thando Mthimkulu, God’s richest blessings as they start out at their new schools, knowing they will carry the Vuleka name high.

Finally, I would like to thank our Managing Director, Mrs Melanie Sharland, for her mentoring and support in my first year as Headmistress, and for allowing me the privilege of leading St Mark’s.

Mrs Helen De Kock
Headmistress, Vuleka St Mark’s North Riding
 

Vuleka St Martin’s, Rosebank

43 Cradock Avenue, Dunkeld

2010 had arrived at last! THE SOCCER WORLD CUP would be staged in South Africa in July. The excitement and anticipation filtered strongly into our school. The children certainly learnt a lot about soccer, but also about other countries. A wonderful spirit of camaraderie prevailed throughout the build-up and also following the World Cup. South Africa hung out its flag with pride.

We had good academic results in our assessments, and our Conquesta exam results were of a good standard.

Cultural activities
Our Jellicoe / St Martin’s bi-annual concert was woven around the theme of the World Cup. We called it “Showcasing South Africa”. The children of St Martin’s all participated in painting the backdrop, and all pupils drew beautiful portraits of the diverse peoples making up our population. The themes that were acted out by each Grade all depicted some aspect of South African life.

Art was offered to the Grade 0, 2 and 3 classes by some of our volunteer “angels”. This was always greatly appreciated by the teachers.

Computers and technology
Our computer room received something new this year in the form of a printer. This was a great asset for the teachers who often needed to do some of their work at school. The computer room was used throughout the school week with all classes taking turns to have their lessons. The teachers, too, had “top-up” lessons from Knowledge Network every second week.

Lego was used to teach technology and construction skills, thus making good use of our wonderful Lego equipment throughout the year.

Heritage Day
We celebrated Heritage Day again this year. The country, besides our own, that was celebrated this year was Spain, as they were the winners of the World Cup. We invited the daughter of our ballet teacher, Pat Jones, to perform Spanish dancing for our pupils to watch. The children loved the beautiful costume she wore, and the stamping steps and castanet playing. The student teacher from Jellicoe, Linzelle Uys, showed each grade a documentary she had put together on Spain, using the interactive white board at Jellicoe Avenue. We also put together a booklet on Spain, so that our pupils could locate the country on a world map and also learn the most salient facts about the country (besides the fact that they can play good soccer!).

Sport
Ball skills and swimming were taught to each class, and our pupils benefited greatly from the lessons. Our swimming lessons took place at Zoo Lake swimming pool this year, a lovely venue.

Sports Day was held at our usual venue, Rosebank Primary School. It was a very colourful affair, with lots of cheering and with many good and competent runners emerging from the pack. An added excitement for the Grade 3 class was that they took Flat Stanley to Sports Day, and then sent pictures to the school in England which had initiated this contact.

We also had our annual Big Walk around the suburb of Dunkeld. There were lots of determined walkers, and lots of excited dogs cheered us on as we traversed the many streets around our school.

Eco-friendly school
We were very conscious of our environment and really got into the recycling of paper. The paper bin outside our school each Wednesday was filled up with all our recycled classroom paper.

Visits and outings
The SPCA visited us with a dog (and a speaker!) this year and gave each grade, in turn, an interesting talk about the care of pets. The Deaf Society invited the Grade 3 class to a play entitled “Who Ate The Cheese” at a venue nearby. This play, which comprised a string sextet and six actors, was devised in Scotland and was on tour from that country. It was put together especially for hard-of-hearing children and particularly for those with cochlear implants. Each child was given a book of the story to take home.

We enjoyed a very happy Civvies Day at the end of the year when we said farewell to each other before closing for the December holidays. Each class performed an impromptu item for all the others, which was an enjoyable way to end the year.

Mrs Helen Divaris
Team Leader, St Martin’s

Vuleka Jellicoe, Rosebank
19 Jellicoe Avenue, Rosebank

2010 has been a busy and fulfilling year of growth and learning for the staff and pupils at Jellicoe.

Computers, technology and library
Our staff had Knowledge Network workshops every term to improve our teaching skills in the computer room. Our children were assessed at the end of the year, and each pupil who had achieved 70% or more received a certificate. The lessons were very successful, and the computers were used on a daily basis as pupils did research for projects. All grades did well in the end of year exams. Some of our children’s work was placed on the Knowledge Network website.

The Smart Board is used on a regular basis to demonstrate the content of lessons by using the Internet to illustrate different learning areas.

Our pupils are creating incredible structures out of Lego under the guidance of Ms Gugu Msezane.

The Reading Laboratory was implemented by Mrs Dee Jones. This has proved to be an excellent teaching tool to enhance the vocabulary and comprehension ability of our pupils. Mrs Jones also promoted our library, which is a hive of activity and learning.

Vuleka hosted the annual Phendulani Book Quiz at St Martin’s in 2010. There was a total of twelve teams from schools in Soweto, Tembisa, Orange Farm and Yeoville. Vuleka Jellicoe entered two teams and we came second and fourth. Our venue created a wonderful ambience for competitive spirit. Thank you to Mrs Dee Jones and the Grade 6 and 7 classes for organising this exciting event.

Sport and cultural activities
Ms Linzelle Uys was trained to teach mini tennis to our children. The music concerts arranged by St Martin’s were enjoyed by pupils and staff alike. A music scholarship was awarded to Owam Booyse, and he has started violin lessons. Some pupils started dancing classes as an extra-mural activity. Our chess club had a most successful year playing at St Mary’s school.

Outings and camps
The Grade 4 and 6 camps to Kloofwaters were a great success. Our children loved the outdoors experience and learned so much from the wonderful staff and the games and tasks which they supervised. This is an amazing opportunity for Vuleka pupils - thank you to the Kloofwaters Board for giving us a special rate so that this is affordable for our parents.

The Grade 6 class paid a visit to Museum Africa in Newtown to see a special art exhibition. This inspired both pupils and staff. The Grade 6 and 7 classes went to Trinityhouse School, which was a wonderful tool for interaction with high school pupils. Trinityhouse proved to be excellent hosts. During Child Protection Week the Rosebank Police came to visit and gave us a Teddy Bear Policeman, which is now in our foyer. The Grade 7 class went to a skating rink in North Riding for their farewell party, which was a great success.

The Grade 6 and 7 girls had two talks on hygiene and health this year, given by Kotex and Always. All pupils in Grade 6 and 7 had a successful and informative Life Skills workshop on sex education and guidance from TeenWorx. A team from Milo came every term to give a demonstration and talk to our children about health and fitness. They handed out free drinks of Milo which were greatly enjoyed!

Academic matters
Our Grade 4 and 5 classes wrote the Conquesta benchmarking exams, and the Grade 5s came 9th out of 1350 schools in the Natural Science exam. Thank you to Ms Munyorovi for her inspiration and love of Natural Science. She visited other schools and got ideas which she used to design a science programme for Vuleka. The Grade 6 pupils wrote the IEB exams, with some excellent results, and our Grade 7s wrote the ISASA benchmark exams, also with some very good results.

Heritage Day
We had a very successful day celebrating Spain as well as our own individual heritage, with dancing displays, talks by each class, and a white board demonstration by Ms Linzelle Uys to illustrate Spanish dancing.

Special visit
Some ex-Vuleka pupils who are now at Sparrow School came to visit us at Jellicoe. Our children loved the interaction with old friends who are now at high school.

Mrs Marlene Neaves
Deputy Head, Vuleka Jellicoe
 

Vuleka St Michael’s, Weltevreden Park
1123 Cornelius Street, Weltevreden Park

School started on Wednesday 13th January with 60 very excited pupils. Mrs Lauren van Steenderen left early in 2010 to have a baby, and Ms Jeanette Mofokeng moved from St Paul’s to teach the Grade 0 class. I stayed with the Grade 1s and Ms Angie Nyoni moved up to teach the Grade Two class.

Through the year at St Michael’s
The continuous building brought its own set of complications, and at times teaching became very difficult. The dust and the noise were often almost unbearable and the Grade 0s were moved from one makeshift classroom to another. In spite of all the upheaval their teacher managed to keep them on track, and they seemed to enjoy all the attention.

February brought its usual Valentine’s excitement and our pupils looked lovely in their red, pink and white outfits.

In March the Grade 1 and 2 classes participated in the school’s annual concert. We joined with St Mark’s because our venue was still under construction. St Michael’s opened the concert with “The Children of Israel” and St Mark’s followed with their version of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”. A great time was had by all and the show was a huge success.

We had our Big Walk in May. This is a fundraising event and our children participated enthusiastically. We walked down to the local park, had a picnic and then returned to the school. The children loved playing on the jungle gyms.

The Soccer World Cup came and went amidst lots of fun and fanfare. Our pupils loved wearing their supporters’ gear on Fridays and played their own “world cup” fixtures in the playground.

The annual Sports Days were held in July. The St Michael’s children tried their best against some much bigger opponents and showed that they will be a force to be reckoned with in the years to come!

In August our pupils were spoiled by a wonderful donation from MTN. They very kindly donated the fleecy blankets, scarves and beanies that were left over from the World Cup. The donation was organised by members of the St Michael’s congregation and was handed over to the children by the youth ministers Shona and Claudia. The pupils were beside themselves with excitement and looked very smart in their new MTN gear.

The rest of the year seemed to disappear in a flurry of activity: Spring Day, Grade Two market day, interim reports, Conquesta exams. Then, one day, there it was - completed: our brand new school. The waiting was almost over. As the architect and builders worked through the snag list, some of the staff and children prepared to move. Teacher Jeanette would finally have her own classroom, and the Grade 2 class would vacate their prefab classroom and move into the new building on the ground floor. A newly created Grade 4 class which had been resident in the staffroom at St Mark’s would move into one of the upstairs classrooms, and the staff could finally make tea in their own staffroom.

Mrs Sheryl Fisher arrived with her Grade 4 class early in October, which took the number of children to 85. A new phase of St Michael’s had begun.

The official opening of the school took place on Tuesday 9th November. A large number of special guests attended the ceremony which was held in St Michael’s church. The blessing of the building was performed by the Right Reverend Brian Germond, Bishop of Johannesburg, and the cutting of the ceremonial ribbon was done by none other than Mrs Susan Germond and Mrs Joy Chilvers, joint founders of Vuleka.

Our children sang and behaved beautifully, but were very pleased to escape to the playground to enjoy lovely cakes. A scrumptious tea was served to guests in the church hall and parents and visitors were then able to walk around the building. Most visitors agreed that the newest Vuleka was beautiful!

After the excitement of the opening there was hardly any time to relax before our first Prize Giving was upon us. The children were very pleased to be in their own venue for this. Our first Prize Giving was attended by Mrs Karin Backwell, Chairman of the Vuleka Council and Mrs Janet Saner, Director of Finance and Fundraising, and was blessed by the Revd Alice Mugglestone of St Michael’s. Once again our pupils were on their best behaviour and impressed all with their beautiful singing.

On the 29th November pupils from Charterhouse School performed their Christmas Carol concert for the residents of St Michael’s village and the Vuleka children were also invited to attend the performance. Charterhouse put on a magnificent show which was enjoyed by both young and old. The senior Charterhouse pupils set up the most delicious tea for the villagers in the church hall. Each Vuleka pupil received a party pack from a Charterhouse “friend” and the schools spent time getting to know each other. Towards the end of the morning the Grade 5 pupils from Charterhouse presented two go-carts to the pupils of Vuleka St Michael’s. These go-carts had been made by the class during their technology lessons. This was a wonderful gesture and we are very blessed. We are hoping that this will become an annual event and that Vuleka can reciprocate in some way. THANK YOU CHARTERHOUSE!

Mrs Sharon Walker
Deputy Head, Vuleka St Michael’s

Vuleka Randburg (Vocational Classes)
Corner Braam Fischer Drive and Grove Road, Randburg

Our Junior Supported Learning and Senior Vocational Classes in Randburg had a successful year which was mostly education-centred. This was made possible by the provision of relevant learning materials, and interaction between administration, teachers and parents. Although most of our pupils are educationally challenged, working with them and seeing some of them improve was amazing and satisfying.

As we are a Christian school, Vuleka Randburg pupils attend a church service every Tuesday, led by Randburg Methodist Church ministers. We have also introduced music lessons. We hope to form a choir which will be invited to sing at numerous functions. I would like to thank Mr Deji Ayodele-Iyun for the wonderful work he is doing.

Every child at Vuleka Randburg has a laptop to use during computer lessons. The Senior class also use the Internet to do various projects. Our pupils also attend computer lessons at the Randburg Techno-Centre, where they learn advanced computer skills, such as video production, music production, graphic design and animation. Three of our pupils, Kutlwano Mtshali, Emmanuel Sitelo and Mbali Mkhize, were chosen to attend the Computer Clubhouse Teen Summit in Boston, USA because of the outstanding leadership qualities they had shown at the Techno-Centre. They not only represented Vuleka but also the Techno-Centre, which teaches children from various schools in the Randburg area. We hope some of our pupils will be chosen to attend the next Teen Summit in 2012.

The pupils in the Senior Class attend cooking lessons every Thursday. Once a term they attend the Angela Day cooking classes. Every Friday our senior pupils have swimming lessons at Blairgowrie swimming pool because we believe swimming is an essential life skill. The Senior Class have also started chess lessons under my leadership, and we hope to include the Junior Class in 2011.

Randburg Methodist Church treated the two classes to an enjoyable Christmas party, and our pupils had an opportunity to hand out Christmas cards they had made to all the ministers who conducted church services for the school during the year.

We were able to place all our pupils successfully at Sparrow Technical High School, to learn skills such as hairdressing, mechanical engineering, welding and carpentry. Four children from the Junior Class were able to go back to mainstream classes.

Mr Peter Mmirwa
Deputy Head, Vuleka Randburg

The Early Learning Centres

St Francis, 44 Tyrone Avenue, Parkview

St John’s, corner Pam and Benmore Roads, Parkmore

St Paul’s, 58 12th Street, Parkhurst

2010 was a challenging and eventful year in the Early Learning Centres and Grade 0 classes.

It was decided that we would start the year with venue picnics so that the parents, children and staff could get to know each other. Each venue arranged their own picnic at their school / church or at a local park. This was great fun! The teachers, staff and children played games and a good time was had by all. Our parents valued the picnics as they were able to meet and socialise with other parents.

In the first term, the Grade 000s and 00s went on an outing to the Montecasino Bird Park. This was a lovely experience for our children. The bird show was amazing and was enjoyed by all. The Grade 0s all went to the Zoo and loved seeing the animals up close.

We have continued to use Letterland as a way of teaching phonics in the Early Learning Centres and Grade 0 classes. The children enjoy learning about the Letterland characters through stories, actions and songs. We are very thankful to Helen Williamson who has given us valuable training, and filled our heads with many new ideas so that we can present activities in a fun-filled, exciting way. Helen has been very generous in giving us valuable resource material as well as exciting equipment to keep our lessons stimulating.

The ELC and Grade 0 teachers and assistants attended a Persona Doll training workshop during the April school holidays. This was sponsored by the Jim Joel Trust. The training was held at St Martin’s on the 6th and 7th of April and was led by Sue Rosie. This was extremely interesting, and it taught us how to use dolls to teach Life Skills in the classroom. They have helped us to teach anti-bias and inclusion in the classroom setting. The dolls are also used for HIV and AIDS education. We have found them to be a very good tool and our children respond readily in the non-threatening environment. At the end of the course we were surprised and thrilled by the donation of a number of Persona Dolls: each venue received dolls which have become friends in our classrooms.

The second term was a busy one. We were preparing for the World Cup! We were very enthusiastic and trained hard. Every Friday pupils and teachers dressed up in Bafana Bafana soccer gear and we practised our soccer skills. Our school photographs had a special flavour this year, as we all held soccer balls and had the South African flag as our backdrop.

The Grade 0s had an outing to a farm which was very enjoyable, and the Grade 00s and 000s went on a trip to the Zoo. Both trips proved to be very educational as well as fun.

We also kept fit this term by having a BIG Walk. This was held on Friday 28th May, and we all looked good in our soccer kit as we took to the streets in an effort to raise funds for our school.

All our good training was not wasted as we started the third term off with a bang when we held our annual Early Learning Centres Sports Day at Rosebank Primary School. We are always thankful to Rosebank Primary for the use of their facilities. The mood was festive, and once again the Spirit Trophy was won by St John’s!

The last part of term three was also very busy. During the year we, the teachers, had been trying to allow our pupils the freedom to create their own beautiful artwork. The children’s talents certainly came to the fore and many beautiful, creative drawings and paintings were on display at our cocktail party.

We also practised very hard for our concert. This was a great effort, and the hall was packed with a keen audience. We all sang “Feliz Navidad” to celebrate the birth of Jesus as well as Spain’s win in the World Cup. As we have received so much, we wanted to give too: we managed to raise money for a pre-school in Diepsloot.

Our Christmas party was held at Delta Park in 2010 and we had a lovely time. We learnt about the water cycle, played water games, took a walk through the museum, watched a puppet show and danced with Manzi. We had our picnic lunch under the tall trees and played on the colourful slides and climbing frames. We had a special time - thank you to the Water Wise Conservation Team at Delta Park! It was a lovely end to our school year.

The Early Learning Centres and Grade 0s are very dependent upon the co-operation and support of the local parishes and church communities. We would like to express our thanks for this ongoing support.

Mrs Sally Yatt
Deputy Head, Vuleka Early Learning Centres

PUPILS’ WORK

The beginning of a safe journey
Wow, my first day at Vuleka was exciting, I did not know anybody or how everything worked around here. I made friends on my first day. It was Wendy, Sharon and Karabo. They would play hide and seek and I would just sit and watch them because I did not understand what they were playing.

I made friends but I did not know any English so my teacher Mrs De Kock would teach me some English. I would ask the assistant in Xhosa if I wanted to go to the bathroom, I did not go to Mrs De Kock as I knew I would have to ask in English. English was one particular language that I was not familiar with, so I decided to learn English. At the end of my first year I had learnt how to write and speak English.

My junior year was over but it was awesome. My senior year had begun, in Grade 4 we had different teachers and I thought that we were very naughty children. We went on camp and it was my first time ever going to camp. It was so exciting that I lay awake in bed at night.

Vuleka School is my home. Grade 6 and 7 were the hardest part of my life but thanks to Mrs Hulley and Mrs Honiball it turned out to be quite easy.

I have been at Vuleka since I was nine and look at me now: I’m pushing 14 and I am strong and confident, all because of the teachers at Vuleka. It won’t be easy for me to say good-bye to my childhood school and all my school mates. Vuleka is my home and everything that they taught me will be in my heart for ever. Thank you.
 

Onesimo Majija Grade 7 St Mark’s

Noisy Day
The TICK TOCK of a clock in the morning
The DRIP DROP of water from a tap
The BANG of a door
The CHIRPING of birds in the tree
The VROOM of a car starting its engine
The TING TING of a bell
The WHOOSH of a tree
The SHOUTING of teachers.

Sadie Ndhlovu Grade 5 Jellicoe

Volcano
Volcano, volcano what did you do now?
You splashed lava all over cities and towns.
You vomited all over the sea and Iceland
Now the whole world is full of your lava.
Now the whole world is full of your saliva.
When will you stop to throw up?

Faith Sekwenyane Grade 6 Jellicoe

GIFTS IN KIND
Mr Lito Nunes and his team at Deloitte & Touche for the annual audit
Mr Charles Robey: TV and video
Fleetville Junior School, UK: grey trousers and skirts
Fred Spencer and family: clothes, toys and equipment
Jack Walters: cricket kit
Spencer Family: clothes and toys
Gentron: Colour printer and 3-in-one printer/fax/scanner
Whiting family: book collection for Vuleka libraries
O'Brien family: furniture for St Mark's
GenerationNext: Microsoft and Adobe software
Lynne Rivett-Carnac and Michele Armitage: books
SAME Water: science equipment
Multichoice: office furniture
Deloitte & Touche and the Bokamoso Trust: laptops for the Senior Vocational class
St John's College: computer screens and a laptop, 65 desks, loan of sander, 2 overhead projectors
Lizette Jonker and SA Garden: the butterfly garden and shade garden at St Mark's
Terry Du Plessis at Incredible Connection and Devcon: five new computers
Janet van der Poel: dolls house for Grade 0 MV
Ash Pagden and the Riverclub Golf Club: gifts for Valentine's day prizes
Myles and Pru Ruck: books and stationery
Erica Hutchinson & Parkmore Nursery School: doll's corner furniture and carpets
The Jim Joel Fund: Persona dolls and training for all Early Learning staff members
Stephen Anderson: reference books St Martin's
Alistair Dry, Cameron Dry and Jean-André Deenik, Rick and Luke Sharland: help running many functions
Connie Coetzee and Greg Yatt: help with Sports Day
Les Lambert and Rosebank Primary: hosting the Vuleka Sports Days
Karen Mahon and JPMorgan: Gr 7 outing to Origins Centre
Saxonwold Primary: photocopier for St Francis
Crawford College: a microwave and kettle for St John's, as well as Christmas parcels
Sue Howard: lounge suite and slide for St Michael's
FPM Administrators: 5 computers
Refilwe and Bob Skinstadt: 50 pairs of school shoes and 77 pairs of socks
Chris and Dave Stewart: a trailer
Melrose Place and NOS Sport TV from Holland: 24m² wooden hut for our offices
David Whyte: a talk to raise funds for Vuleka
Etana and Carel Nolte: hosting our David Whyte fundraising evening at Villa Arcadia
Alistair Dry and Caitlin O'Connor for helping at the David Whyte function
Carel Nolte: donating half the catering costs of the David Whyte function
Colin Robinson and Ultra Liquors: supplying wine at cost for the David Whyte function
Leslie Cotter: three days of staff training for Vuleka's senior primary staff
Russell Anderson's family: air-conditioner for Randburg Methodist, equipping the kitchenette and donating furniture for St Michael's
Elbé Roberts, Peta-Anne Holdcroft, Barbara Ann Horsfield, Irene Tsoniff , Ivo Ivanov and musicians from the JPO who performed concerts for the music scholarship fund
Anne Jones and the Tuesday Night Alpha group for helping with fundraising
Dr Tony Saner and Dr Samantha Fee: medical consultations
Di Fulton and her bakers at St Martin's: cake sales
Ken Owen for maintenance at St Martin's and Jellicoe
Donna Howes and pupils at St Anthony's in Vancouver: fundraising to buy DVD's
Sue de Kok: a printer for St Michael's
Dee da Silva: crisps for St Martin's tuckshop and magazines for staff
The Ridge School, Paul Channon and Bev Schultz: dictionaries for Grade 7 pupils
Wirksworth School, UK: a lovely parcel of goodies including a parachute, Duplo, books and a puppet
Clayton Moitsiwa, St Martin’s verger: organising behind the scenes at St Martin’s
Discovery Fun Factory: inviting St John’s ELC to a Christmas party and a puppet show
The Angela Day Kitchen: for cooking lessons for our Senior Vocational Class, Randburg Methodist