New Albook 2014 Production

8/13/2019 New Albook 2014 Production

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My Personalized Childrens

biography Albook

A compilation of short

stories written by children

in South Africa

African Literature


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This Albookwas written

By

#Childs Name

To narrate her personallife story

And published

By

Bala Books Creations

In the year #Current

Her journey has not ended,

but only just begun!


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My first day at school

Bonang Liholo was very excited about

starting her primary schooling, and the first

week was her favourite ever!

Bonangs mom, Mojabeng, told her that she

was now a big girl and would no longer go tocrche, but that she would now be going to

school at Vuleka Primary School. Bonangs

mom was very excited to see how fast her

little girl had grown. She couldnt wait to tell

everyone that Bonang was starting schoolsoon, she told her relatives and all her

neighbours too.

When Bonang received her new school

uniform from her mom, she could not contain

her excitement to wear it. Her mom had

bought her a grey skirt, two blue shirts, a

pair of white socks, a grey school jersey and

two pairs of black school shoes. Now Bonang

was completely ready to start big school.


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When the big day finally came, Bonangs

mom, Jabi, and her granny, Mamorena,accompanied her to her new school. They

were all nervous and excited at the same

time!

Bonang looked very pretty in her new school

uniform and her new hairstyle to go with it.

They all caught a metro bus in the morning

which took them to Bonangs new school.

When they arrived at the new school, Vuleka

Primary, Bonangs mom pulled out a camera

from her bag and took some photos of her,

and some where she was with her new

schoolmates. Bonang was shown to her new

grade 1 classroom, and when she walked in, a

huge smile came over her face. Wow!

Bonang exclaimed when she saw all the other

kids in her new class. She knew that she was

going to make lots of friends and have lots

of fun with them.


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My family picnic at the Zoo Lake

Family outings are a wonderful time to bond

with my loved onesBonang told her mom, on

their way to Zoo Lake. Vuleka School, at St.

Martins, had arranged a family outing for all

the children, and they asked them to bring

their families and friends along, so that all

the teachers and the parents could meet and

get to know each other better.

Bonang brought her mom, her aunt, mamane

Malewatle, and her other granny, ausi Jessy,along. Her other two grannies from Parkwood

and their children also joined them at the

picnic later that day and they had a

wonderful time together.

Bonang played with her mom and her aunt on

the swings and then they played soccer with

everyone. Her day was full of fun memories

and lots of presents that she got from her

mom.


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My 7thBirthday Party

Bonang Liholo turned 7 years old on the 24th

of January 2013, and she celebrated her

birthday at school with all of her friends.

Bonangs mom had ordered the birthday cake

a week early and made the party packs theprevious day for everyone in Bonangs class.

Bonang slept very early the night before her

birthday, and could not wait for the morning

to come.

When she woke up in the morning, her mom

and her granny came into her bedroom and

sang Happy Birthday to her. They gave her

lots of hugs and kisses and told her that it

was her birthday!

Bonang was very excited and she couldnt

wait to get to school. She took a bath and

wore her beautiful casual clothes because it

was her birthday and left for school.


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When she arrived at her school, Bonang

noticed that her name was written on the bigboard in her class, with a nice birthday

message next to it. She smiled and said

thank you to her teacher and her classmates.

Bonang could not wait for 11 oclock; this is

when everyone stops whatever they are

doing to celebrate a birthday. Bonangs

granny arrived at the school with a big cake

in her one hand and a bag full of party packs

in the other, a few minutes before 11 oclock.

All the kids were excited to see her,

especially Bonang, and they all rushed to help

her with the parcels.

They gave the cake to their class teacher to

cut for everyone, and she invited two of

Bonangs friends from grade 2, Naledi and

Otsile, to join them. Everyone sang to Bonang

and this was her best birthday ever!


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Sports day at Vuleka

On the 21stof July 2013, all the Vuleka

schools had a sports day event at Rosebank

Primary School. The event took place at

Rosebank Primary because they have a big,

beautiful sports field that can fit everyone.

The night before sports day, Bonangs and

her mom prepared snacks, sandwiches,

sweets and cold drinks for the sports day.

This resulted in them sleeping awfully late.

The next morning, Bonang, her mom and her

granny, woke up very early to go to the

sports day. Bonang wore her school uniform

with a yellow t-shirt; her mom wore a yellow

t-shirt too. Yellow was the colour of Bonangs

team, and her mom wanted to support her all

the way!


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When it was time for the athletics to start,

Bonang got very excited because she wasrunning up against the other teams, and she

knew that her mom and granny were there to

cheer her on.

Bonang ran very fast and came third! Her

mom and granny were shouting her name in

excitement, and at the end of the race, they

ran up to her and hugged and kissed her.

Congratulations! they said to her.

After the race had ended, all the parentswere invited to race among themselves. All

the parents joined in, including Bonangs

mom, and when they heard the whistle, they

all ran to the finish line. Bonang didnt know

that her mom could run that fast, she nowknew why she could also run so fast. Bonangs

mom came in place, just like Bonang did. They

were both very happy for each other and

took lots of pictures together!


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First Day at Vuleka

The 16thof January 2013 marked an

incredible event in the lives of Bontle

Phungo, her mom, Liz, her sister, Lumka and

her granny, Masechaba. This was the day

that Bontle began her first day of schooling,

at Vuleka Primary School in Rosebank.

It all began on a Wednesday morning, when

Bontle had to wake up very early, to get

ready for her first day at Vuleka. Her

granny, Masechaba, who was so used to

taking Bontle to school, was feeling a littlesad because Bontle now had to be woken up

at 4:30 am, everyday, for a better education.

At first, Bontle was scared of taking a taxi

to school, but the taxi driver made her feel

welcomed. And although she was feeling a

little tired in the taxi, she just couldnt

sleep.


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The taxi arrived at Bontles school just in

time for assembly, but Bontle was worriedthat her mom, Liz and her sister, Lumka,

would not make it to her first day at school.

But as she looked around, she saw that both

her mom and sister were among the other

parents and were making their way to the

chapel. Father Luke, the school priest, wasintroduced to them by the schools principal;

this was the first time that Bontle saw a

properpriest at a school. There was a

short prayer and then the parents had to

leave. But Bontle was still feeling a little sad,

but she knew that she had to stay behindand learn.

When Bontles mom and sister left, she knew

that shed have to make some friends. She

met three nice girls that had been together

since grade 2, Nonkululeko, Khanya and

Sinovuyo and became their friend on that

first day, which was a good sign of fitting in.

She sat next to Nonkululeko in class and she

made her feel very welcome at Vuleka.


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Vuleka Sports Day

On Saturday, the 27thof July 2013, Vuleka

School had a sports day event for the whole

school and Bontle was one of the learners

that were running that day. She had to wake

up very early that morning and be at

Rosebank Primary School by 8am for theVuleka Sports day.

Bontle and her family, mom, her sister,

Lumka, her cousin, Sihle and her granny,

Masechaba, left home in a hurry, to meet up

with her dad, Jay, who was also coming tothe first school event. They all arrived

safely at the venue and Bontle was excited

to be running for her school and also a little

sad because her dad, Jay, had to rush off to

work.

Bontle was very proud of her mom, Liz, for

being a parent representative on the field.

Her friends quickly recognised her mom,


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from the Derby day and were pointing her

out to Bontle.The sports day was a great success,

everyone had fun singing the school songs

and Bontle was very happy that she was

running for her school.

When she was running, her family shouted

out her name in excitement! And even thoughBontlesschool did not win a trophy, they

still had the best spirit and she was happy to

be a part of the SMV team. At the end of

the day, on their way back home, Bontle and

her family stopped for ice cream at

McDonalds, to celebrate her outstandingperformance.


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Holiday visit to Klerksdorp

During the school winter break, in August,

Bontle visited her aunt, Nzwaki, who lives in

the North Western Province, in a town called

Klerksdorp. Klerksdorp is a very small town,

where her aunt lives with her family, her

husdband Jeff and their three children,Bontles cousins, Lungiswa, Katlego and

Bothlali.

During her visit, Bontle and her family had to

go to the Department of Home Affairs, to

apply for Katlegos new identity document.They walked to town, which was quite nearby

and when they walked inside the Department

of Home Affairs, Katli had to wait in line, to

have his pictures taken and in another line,

to submit his application form. He was really

excited to be one of the first few people to

apply for the new Card I.D. but after a few

minutes in the queue, they were sadly turned

away and told that the card machine had not

yet arrived.


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I wonder when will I get my own identitydocument and if the application will still be

the same then, Bontle thought to herself.

Her aunt, Nzwaki, took them for a delicious

lunch at Spur, where Bothlali and Bontle

played on a few games. Bontle had lots of funvisiting her aunt and cousins, but she still

missed her family at home very much.


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My 9thBirthday

Bontle Phungo turned 9 years old on Monday,

the 14th of October 2013, but she did not

celebrate her birthday on this particular

day. Instead, her mom, Liz, told her that she

would celebrate her birthday a day early, on

Sunday, the 13thof October. This made a lotof sense to Bontle since the 14thwas a

weekday and school night.

Bontles mom asked her to pick her favourite

restaurant, where they would have a family

dinner, to celebrate her birthday; Bontlepicked a restaurant atThe Glen shopping

centre.

On Saturday, Bontles mom, and her sister,

Lumka, went to town and bought everything

that they would need to make birthday party

packs for Bontle and all her friends at

school.


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Bontles mom took the party packs to herschool and gave them to her teacher on

Monday morning. The party packs were made

from beautiful boxes, coloured in different

bright colours and filled with delicious and

sweet treats. Later that afternoon, Bontles

mom had another surprise for her; she toldBontle that she would take her to a concert,

to see her favourite music group, The Soil,

for the first time, on Friday.

I cant waitto see The Soil singing on

stage! Bontle told her mom in excitement.


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My trip to the Johannesburg zoo

The year 2013 has marked a series of

incredible events in the life of Giki

Mokotedi. This is the year that Giki went to

visit the zoo, amongst other things.

On Friday, September 2013, Giki visited the

Johannesburg zoo and with her, were her

grandmother, Emily, and her friends, Lesedi,

Lesego and Senzo.

Visiting the zoo was a very exciting time for

Giki and her friends, and of course, for hergrandmother too. When they arrived at the

zoo, they saw many different animals, such

as; baboons, lions, giraffes and elephants.

Lesedi was especially excited to see the

elephants. After the tour of the zoo andseeing all the animals, Gikis grandmother

bought delicious hot dogs, snacks and juice

at the mini tuckshop and they all sat on the

bench and had a great meal.


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My 5thyear birthday party

Giki Mokotedis 5thyear birthday party was a

very special occasion, which she celebrated

with her closest friends and family.

Giki had a short but intimate guest list and

on it were her friends, Dintle and Thabang,and her cousins, Kamo and Kamotswe. The

birthday party was held in Naledi, on Sunday,

and Grandma Emily, aunty Portia, and Gikis

mom, Regina, were helping with all the

preparations.

Gikis mom baked the cake; and it was a big

birthday cake indeed. Grandma Emily and

aunty Portia collected all of the presents

that Gikis friends had brought for her; Giki

truly looked and felt like a princess at her

birthday.


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Later that day, Gikis uncle came over with a

camera and took lots of birthday pictures ofher with her friends. But what really made

this day special was that her uncle had

brought the best present for her, something

that she had always wished for. Giki got a

big, brand new doll that came with a walkingring! This was a present fit for a princess.


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Sleepover with my friends

One day, Giki invited her friends over to her

house in Soweto for a sleepover, and then on

Wednesday, June 2013, they all came over

for the sleep over, at Gikis home.

Gikis mother, Regina and her grandmother,Emily, were there to welcome Gikis friends

and cater to their needs.

Giki was not expecting such a wonderful

turnout; she thought that only one or two

people would show up. The sleepover went

very well; Gikis mother read them a story

just before bed, The three little monkeys

jumping on the bed.

The three little monkeys were jumping onthe bed, and the doctor said, no more

monkeys jumping on the bed, read her

mother.


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Another story that Gikis mother read to

them was Cinderella. Giki enjoyed thisfairytale story more than any of the other

stories that were read to them.

Her favourite part in the story was when

Cinderella got married to the prince in her

beautiful, bright dress.

When Gikis mother got to the end of the

story, Giki and her friends had fallen asleep

and that was the end.


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My friends birthday party

Gikis friend, Isabella, was having a birthday

celebration in Parkview and Giki was there to

help her celebrate her special birthday.

The guest list included Grandma Cathrine,

Isabellas mother, Susan, and Giki, amongstothers. The birthday party took place on one

Saturday of November 2013 and Giki was

impressed at how wonderful everything

looked; from the awesome decorations, to

the delicious food prepared and thewonderful speeches that were made.

Everyone sang Happy Birthday to You, for

the birthday princess and showered her with

the wonderful presents that they had

brought, and Giki and her friends got party

packs filled with sweet and delicious goodies.

This is the best birthday Ive been to so

far! Giki said, while playing with her friends.


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My first visit to Thembisa

Giki Mokotedi is one special girl who is loved

very much by her family. On one Saturday, in

March of 2013, Giki went to Thembisa, to

visit her family, for the first time.

Her aunt, Boitumelo, her uncle, Lefume andher cousins, Kamo and Kamotswe, all live in

Thembisa, and having Giki over, for the

holidays, was an exciting time for them.

They all went to the park and had lots of fun

together. They ate lots of sweets and ice-

cream and played on the jungle gym.

After all the fun and play, they all went back

home, to aunt Boitumelos house, where there

was lots of food and desert arranged on thetable. They all sat down and enjoyed the

delicious food. Gikis favourite was the

desert; she just could not stop asking for

more.


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My visit to the cinema

Herman Sejoe once lived in Rustenburg, in a

rural village called Makoshong; a place far

away from the city in which he now lives.This

is a place where there are no cinemas, but

only TVsand radios. When Herman visited

his mother and his brother, in Johannesburg,

he watched movies on the same TV and

sometimes on a laptop, but there wasnt much

of a difference from what he had seen in

Rustenburg. Until his brother told him about

the Big screen called a cinema.

Herman was confused, A place with a huge

TV that we have to pay to watch? he

exclaimed. His brother took him to The

Zone Mall, in Rosebank and bought movietickets, popcorn, drinks and chocolate, and

then told Herman that he could choose a

movie of his choice.


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Herman chose an animated movie called

Megamind, and they went inside thecinema, with all their treats, and Herman saw

the Big screen, for the first time in his

life. The seats were so comfortable and the

screen was big and loud.

They watched the movie, until the end, while

eating popcorn and sipping on cold drinks.

Herman had the best time of his life,

especially because his brother was right

there with him.

After the movie ended, they rushed back

home, because Herman could not wait

another minute, to tell his mother and his

friends, all about his visit to the cinema.


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My first time owning a laptop

Hermans brother works for a big computer

company and loves working with computers

and owns his own laptop. When Herman was

visiting his brother, he borrowed him his

laptop to play with. He played lots of games

on the laptop, but also learned how to type

too. Herman enjoyed using his brothers

laptop so much that his brother promised to

get him his own.

One day, Hermans brother came home with abrand new laptop, and told Herman that he

was giving him his old laptop to use. Herman

was very excited because he had always

wanted to own his own laptop.

His brother connected their laptops to the

internet; this allowed Herman to do all his

school work research and play all the games

he liked. I love my brother so much, he is

the best brother in the world, he said.


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Hermans big brother lives in Pretoria and

Herman loves to visit him every chance hegets. He owns his own car and visits the

family, in Johannesburg, every weekend. But

one weekend, he came to visit the family, and

didnt bring his car. He told his family that

he rode in the Gautrain!

He told Herman that the reason he came on

the Gautrain, was because he wanted him to

come back to Pretoria on the Gautrain with

him. This will be the best experience for

you, he told Herman.

Herman was excited about getting on the

Gautrain. He and his brother went to the

train station at Rosebank, where his brother

bought him a gold card to use for travellingaboard the Gautrain. Then they made their

way underground, to the tunnel, to wait for

the train.


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The train arrived in exactly 5 minutes and it

was travelling from Johannesburg toPretoria. Herman had never seen such a fast

and beautiful train before. This was an eight

cart train. Herman and his brother hopped in

and the train zoomed to Pretoria. The train

made several stops before reaching Pretoria,and people got on and off along the way. It

travelled underground and on land, and

Herman saw the beautiful scenery. Pretoria

was the seventh station, but Herman didnt

notice because the train was travelling toofast.

Hermans brother showed him where the

trains were fixed and where the Gautrain

buses parked. The train was faster than any

car that Herman had ever seen, and when

they arrived in Pretoria, Hermans brother

took him by the hand and they checked out

and exited the station. And thats how their

trip was made.


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Changing schools

Hermans mother and his brothers lived in

Johannesburg, while was living with his

grandmother in the North West Province. He

always visited his family in Johannesburg

during school holidays, and they would also

visit him in Rustenburg once a month. But

seeing them only once a month was not

enough and this made Herman sad.

Herman went to school at Makoshong

primary and had a friend called Oarabile.They played together every day, after

school. One day Hermans mother asked him

if he wanted to come and live with them in

Johannesburg. Herman was excited that hes

mother was considering this. He said Yes ofcourse and went to ask his grandmother for

her blessings. She said it was okay for him to

go but he had to visit her on every school

holiday. Herman could not wait to play with


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his brothers, visit the zoo,park and the mall

for ice-cream, and more importantly, beingwith his mother every single day.

Herman was so happy about moving to

Johannesburg, he told all of his friends

about his moving to the big city and how he

would miss them all.

His life at Vuleka Primary School started

after his move to the city. He took a taxi

every morning to his new school in Randburg.

He swam and played soccer at school andtravelled to new and different places.

Herman loves his school very much; he reads

a lot now and does all his homework on time.

His mother helps him with his schoolwork,

and so do his brothers.

Moving to Johannesburg was definitely the

best move that he has ever made.


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My dog Lucky

Lucky was a very special dog that was given

to Herman, when he was 5 years old, as a

present, from his grandmother. He was

brown and beautiful and loved playing with

Herman every day. Herman wanted him to

sleep in the house but his grandmother

refused. But Herman snuck him at night

after everyone had gone to sleep. One day

his grandmother heard Lucky bark in the

house and ordered him to sleep in his own

house. Herman was saddened by this because

lucky only barked at strangers and not at

family and friends. Lucky died when Herman

was 10 years old, and now he misses him very

much. He knew that he would not be able to

play catch with him ever again. He was one

special dog and a best friend to me, said

Herman.


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My 1st day at my new school

The 16th of January 2013 marked an

incredible beginning in the lives of

Keamogetswe Amo Masekoameng and hes

parents Aaron and Malebo. This is the day

when Keamogetswe first started hes grade

2 schooling at Vuleka Primary School. Hes

parents, Aaron and Malebo, were very proud;

theirs was the excitement of seeing their

little boy grow up right before their eyes.

Amo's parents took him to school that

morning; it was a Wednesday. When they

arrived at school that morning, Amo's

parents took him to the principals office;

Mr. Peter Mmwira, and left him there all by

himself. Amo felt very scared because he

did not know anyone at the new school. He

wondered how the other kids would treat

him; "Are they going to like me and be kind

to me?" he thought to himself.


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Keamogetswe was told to wait at the play

area until the principal; Mr. Peter Mmwirashowed him his new class. Mr. Peter Mmwira

took him to hes new classroom to meet hes

new teacher; Ms. Taylor.

Ms. Taylor gave all the children in her class

name tags and asked them to stand up and

introduce themselves to the class.

Keamogetswe introduced himself to hes new

classmates and made new friends with Sipho,

Olaotswe, Rudy, Lesego, Omphile D, Omphile

S and Amile.

When Amo returned from school, he told his

mom and dad, "The best thing about today

was making new friends and not feeling

scared at the end of the day. I felt free andI love my new school!"


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Today, Amo plays for the Vuleka school

soccer team, and on the 22nd

of June 2013,at the school derby day in Weltevreden Park;

his mom, dad and baby cousin, Alwande came

to watch him play. Amo played for the grade

2-3 soccer teams and scored 1 goal for his

team. Amos goal led to their school teamwinning; his dad, Aaron was very happy

because he loves soccer just as much.


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My swimming lessons

Keamogetswe has always been fond of

swimming, but what he did not know was that

hes mom Malebo, and aunt Refilwe, had some

good news that they were keeping from him

all this time. Keamogetswe's mom eventually

told him the good news; she and aunt

Refilwe, had arranged for him and hes cousin

brother Alwande, to start their swimming

lessons on Saturdays at Wilgespruit from

the 02nd March 2013. "This is the best news

ever!" Amo shouted when he heard the news.

Amo and Alwande went for their assessment

on the 22nd February at Aquanauts

Swimming School; the swimming teachers

confirmed that they were accepted for

Saturday morning classes.


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Now, every Saturday morning, around

07:30am, Aaron and Malebo or aunt Refilweand uncle Vusi, take them to their swimming

lessons; it all depends on who they spend the

weekend with. Their family takes turn with

them every week; one week Alwande comes

to Cosmo City ant the next Amo goes toDobsonville. Amo likes this arrangement a

lot!

After each lesson, the swimming instructors

give them a sweet and a sticker for a job

well done! "I am happy that my mom and aunt

decided to take us for swimming lessons

because my cousin and I love swimming," said

Amo. "The best part of the lesson was the

day granny Didi decided to take us for

swimming lessons; she was so proud of us

when she saw just how much we have

improved." said Alwande.


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April Holiday Club

Maria (grandmother), Moalusi (grandfather),

Malebo (mom), Aaron (dad), Place (Lanseria)

& (Dobsonville)

Keamogetswes April School Holiday was

nothing short of fun! Although his parentssent him to visit his grandparents -Moalusi

and Maria- in Dobsonville because they had

to work every day and there was no one to

look after him during the day at their home

in Cosmo city, Keamogetswe knew that hewould have his fun no matter what. On

Saturday the 13th of April 2013, after his

swimming lesson, Keamogetswes

grandmother told him that she had arranged

for him to attend a holiday club at Refilwecommunity in Lanseria; he had no idea what

he would be doing at the holiday club.


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His grandmother explained to him that the

holiday club was a place where qualifiedteachers helped learners with their holiday

homework.

Keamogetswe was excited about the holiday

club, from the 15thof April 2013, he started

travelling with his grandparents to the club;

they have a private clinic in Lanseria near

the holiday club. When they arrived in

Lanseria, Keamogetswe was introduced to a

lady by the name of Lelanie; Lelanie

introduced him to the other teachers and

children at the club. Keamogetswe made new

friends at the holiday club with a boy named

Refilwe and other kids. His new teachers,

Jazz and Stephanie, were very friendly and

caring.


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Keamogetswe enjoyed the three weeks that

he spent with his friends and teachers andeverything he learned at the club. He learned

about the BIBLE, art and received help with

all his homework.

The only unfortunate incident was on the last

day, when someone broke into hes moms car

at a parking mall and stole some of

Keamogetswes clothes and his moms phone.

Hes mom had picked up his clothes from his

grandparents place and was on her way to

fetch him. When Amos teachers heard what

happened they felt very sad and donated

some clothes to him.


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My July Holiday Club

During the normal school holidays; from the

1stto the 5thof July, Keamogetswes school,

Vuleka, did not close but gave all the children

a week off school to rest. But Amos school

had organized their own holiday club during

the school break at Randburg Methodist

church. He asked his parents if he could

attend the holiday club and they said yes;

they knew that he would benefit something

from it.

The organizers of the holiday club made

transport arrangements for all the kids to be

picked up from their homes; this was a great

arrangement for Amo. At the club, he met

his team leaders, Mr. Peckleys and Mr. Josh,and learned a lot about the bible and art.


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On Thursday the 04th July all parents were

invited to the gala dinner where Amo and hisgroup demonstrated what they had learned

that week; their theme was Fire and

Water. Amo and his parents enjoyed

themselves at the dinner; his mom took some

pictures so she could put them in this book.


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The Big Sport Day

Luvuyo Stuurman is one of Vuleka Schools

best goalkeepers and soccer player. He and

his friends; Amo, Olatswe, and Omphile know

how to capture the crowd with their skills on

the football pitch.

At one of Vulekas sport days, this was held

at Luvuyos school, he and hisfriends, Amo,

Olatswe, and Omphile, were on the same

team and had planned to score as many goals

as possible.

Luvuyo was the goalkeeper, and his job was

to keep the other teams soccer balls from

getting inside the net. Luvuyo did a great job

of this; he managed to keep all the balls out

while his friend Omphile scored the goal

which led to their team wining. This was a

fun day for Luvuyo and his team.


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Trip to the zoo

On Friday the 10thof May, Luvuyo Stuurman

and his school mates went on a school trip to

the zoo. Luvuyo was excited and he was

looking forward to seeing all the wild animals.

This is a day that he has been waiting for!

The school taxi was waiting and ready to

take everyone to the zoo; amongst them

were teachers Joyce and Sannah. Theirs was

to make sure that everyone was safe at all

times and that no child misbehaves.

At the zoo, Luvuyo and his friends Quinton

and Lunga saw numerous kinds of wild animals

such as lions, baboons, snakes and elephants.

After seeing all the animals at the zoo,

Luvuyo and his classmates went to the park

where they all played and ate their food and

enjoyed the rest of their outing.


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School Holidays

Luvuyo Stuurman recognizes the August

school holidays as a special event in the

chapters of his incredible life; this was when

he got the opportunity to visit his

grandparents in Edenburg; something that

was very dear and special to him.

On Thursday the 8thof August 2013, Luvuyo

and his mother took a train from

Johannesburg to Bloemfontein. Upon their

arrival at Bloemfontein, they got on to a taxithat took them to Edenburg.

Luvuyos family in Edenburg was very happy

to see him and how much he had grown up. He

enjoyed spending the holidays with his

grandparents very much, and could not have

asked for a better way to spend his school

holidays.


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During the week however, when his

grandparents went to work, Luvuyo had noother choice but to stay at home with his

uncles who took very good care of him.

Every day, when his cousin Kananelo returned

home from school, they would go outside to

play. Luvuyo loved spending time with

everyone and hopes to visit Edenburg again

very soon.


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My 10thYear Birthday

There has been a report on the local news

that Luvuyo Stuurman is turning 7 years old

this year, and he has decided to have a

special birthday Party at his home. Every

local news reporter is talking about Luvuyos

birthday party; those that know him know

just how amazing his birthday parties are!

Luvuyo turned 10 years old on the 23rdof

August 2013. His grandmother backed a

beautiful, big chocolate cake for him thatday, and told him that he could invite his

friends over to help him celebrate his special

day. Luvuyo invited Aphiwe, Vuyokazi,

Mawethei and his cousin Kananelo to his

birthday party.

They all brought lots of presents for Luvuyo,

and sang happy birthday to you to him.

Luvuyo realized how special he is, because all

his friends love him so much.


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After eating as much cake as they could,

Luvuyo and his friends decided to go outsideand play. The whole neighborhood was kept

awake by the loud singing and laughter that

was coming from Luvuyos house. Luvuyo

turned to his grandmother and said; Thank

you very much, I had a great day with myfriends; I really enjoyed my birthday.


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My Journey

Mandy Kagiso Jacobs is a bright, beautiful,

little girl, whosvery special to her mom and

dad. Mandy has always been a very shy

person and her parents chose the names

Mandy Kagiso Jacobs for her, but she

prefers to be called Mandy, and thats

because her parents have explained the

special meaning of her name to her. Mandy

means MUCH LOVE and she has brought

nothing but love into the lives of her parents

and to the whole wide world.

Mandy is nine years old and lives with both

her parents in Roodepoort; she is the only

child and is very happy about it. She is a very

shy person and does not have a lot of friendsat home.


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She has one special friend and her name is

Queen, and she doesnt live far from Mandyshouse. Mandysonly other friend is her dog,

Snouts; she is a Boer bull; a large, mastiff

dog breed from South Africa thats bred for

the purpose of guarding the homestead. But

Snouts is a very playful dog, too playful infact, that she became rough when playing

with Mandy sometimes. Mandys mom and dad

agreed that it was best to send Snouts away.

Mandy knew that giving Snouts to another

good family was the best thing to do, this

way; she would not get hurt from playing

with her. Snouts used to mess things up all

the time; she dug up dad's garden; broke all

of moms brooms; and ate everything she

came across. Seeing Snouts get taken away

broke little Mandys heart because she still

loved her very much and would miss having

her around.


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Playing with my gadgets and my friends

Mandys parents are always teaching her

about being safe, and they always caution

her about playing in the streets or in other

people's homes. Mandy and her friend,

Queen, do not see each other very often, but

Queen always visits Mandys house to play

with her for a bit.

Mandy has a number of other fun things to

play with around the house, such as her play

station game, games downloaded on hertablet, and listening to music on her iPad.

Whenever she feels bored from playing with

all her gadgets, she watches movies on the

DVD or cartoons on the decoder in her

bedroom. Her parents don't seem to mind; aslong as she is home and safe. Although

Mandy has one friend at home, at school

however, she is very popular and has lots of

nice and kind friends to play with.


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Friends like Londeka, Tshiamo, Lerato and

Letlhogonolo. Mandy has always been verysmart; she started her early learning when

she was four years old and this year is her

sixth year at Vuleka School; its hardly a

surprise to see just how many friends Mandy

has made at her school.

When Mandy was asked how she felt about

being at Vuleka, this is what she had to say:

I love my friends because they are the

best; I also love my school teachers and my

head principal too; I love my school very

much because it is the best school ever. And

my parents always say it has to be the best

because it is a Christian school.

I love to mention how much I love my

parents because they are the best parent's

in the world. They are taking care of me and

seeing to it that I have everything I need

and I thank God for giving me parents who

always want to see me happy, she said.


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My bad hair day sad story

When Mandy Jacobs was only three years

old, she did something that would always

remain in the back of her mind; something

that she would rather forget, than be

reminded of.

One Saturday morning, Mandy mother told

her that she wanted to relax her hair; it had

developed growth and was very painful for

Mandy to comb. Her mother wanted to relax

her hair, herself, because she feared thatthe people at the salon might not be gentle

or even patient with Mandys hair.

Mandys mother always wantsto see Mandys

hair looking pretty and neat, because its

really long and beautiful. She wanted to

comb it with ease and help her to fasten it in

any style she liked.


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But Mandy hated having her hair relaxed or

combed; the combing, conditioning, and blowdrying gave her a headache. She would often

cry or pretend to be asleep or even tell her

mother that she has a headache, each time

she had to get her hair done. But in the end,

her mothers efforts finally paid off!

Mandy looked very pretty with her relaxed

hair and ponytails, but then she did

something that got her into serious troublewith her mother; after getting her hair done,

she went into her bedroom and got out a pair

of scissors, and she cut her one ponytail off!

She had no idea what she had done or just

how much trouble she was in.


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When she went back into the kitchen, where

her mother was cooking supper, with a batchof her hair in her hand and a pair of scissors

in the other, and showed her mother what

she had done, all hell broke loose!

What have you done? Mandys mother

yelled. She hit Mandy so hard, that she cried

and screamed and even wet her pants. Mandy

had never seen her mother so upset, but

then she knew that she had made a big

mistake, never to be repeated again.


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My birthday surprise

A day I wont forget

Mandy Jacobs turned 9 years old, on the

28thof May 2013, and she celebrated her

birthday at her school, with all of her

friends. Mandys parents did not bake abirthday cake for her this year, but bought

her party packs, filled with delicious goodies

for her and her classmates instead. Mandy

was very excited to see her party packs and

so were her classmates.

Mandys party began at school, immediately

after break. Her teacher, Mrs. Pakari,

gathered everyone around and asked them to

sing Happy Birthday to Mandy. Everyone

sang for her and this made her feel loved

and filled her eyes with tears. Mrs. Pakari

then gave everyone a party pack; it was filled

with sweets and other nice things, and all the

children really enjoyed them.


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Mandys friends; Londeka, Thato, Lerato and

Tshiamo, had a special surprise for her; theymade special birthday cards, just for her!

Mandy was very happy to receive her gifts

and it truly made her feel special. They are

beautiful and I love them so much! she

shouted.

Although Mandys parents did not give her a

present that day, they woke her up early

that morning and sang Happy Birthday to

her and gave her lots and lots of hugs and

kisses, and told her to enjoy her birthday

with all of her friends at school. They also

gave her an early birthday gift, a month

before her birthday, a brand new Tablet

which she continues to enjoy playing with,

every day.


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My Journey-by Ricardo Adoor

Ricardo Adoor was born in Johannesburg,

in a small location, in Devland Ext 27, near

Eldorado Park. He grew up in Rosebank, a

suburb in the north, with his grandmother

and went to a nearby school. This made iteasier and a lot quicker for Ricardo to get

to school.

Ricardosjourney began at Vuleka Primary

School, St Martins, in the year 2006.

This was where he started his schooling

at the age of five and ever since then, he

has been particularly interested in the

school and its standards.

Ricardosinterest developed when he

realized, that the school offered good-

quality education, sports, enjoyable

activities, fun, outings and trips, and


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most importantly, kind and loving

teachers with good skills.

The skills which Ricardo has acquired at

Vuleka have not only helped him as a

learner, but they have helped him to

discover himself as a person too. Thanksto Vuleka School, Ricardo has developed

an interest in different activities, like

baking, swimming, soccer, reading, singing,

running and chess, all of which he now

proudly refers to as his hobbies. Nodoubt that these have helped him to

achieve a lot of great things in his life.

Last year, Ricardo won a medal for being

a great and competitive chess player. Heis also in the school choir, and earlier this

year, he was chosen to join the Pendulani

Book Quiz, and nowhas to read a certain

number of books each year.


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Earlier in the year, at the school sports

day, the Under-12 boys, including Ricardo,won a relay race and were given bags, for

finishing first.

Ricardo has a very good friendship with

everyone in his classroom, thanks to hisunmatched skills. It was because of his

good swimming skills, that he was able to

save his friend, Tumelo, from drowning.

Ricardo is also very good at his academic

school work; he mostly enjoys

Mathematics, English, Science and Arts

and Culture.

He was once quoted as saying, I enjoy

Mathsbecause its challenging, andits

the main subject I need to study for my

career.


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I also like English because its an

international language, and Science,because it deals with the environment,

living organisms and space, as well as Arts

and Culture, because we act and dance,

he said. Ricardos agood dancer too, with

a little bit of experience in acting.

Vuleka School affords the learners an

opportunity to go on different outings;

they visit art museums, to see all the

different arts, the planetarium, to studyabout the different stars and how they

all connect and make different shapes in

the sky and the zoo, to learn about the

different wild animals.

Ricardo also loves visiting the zoo lake, to

have fun and feed the ducks.


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Sometimes, the school gives them an

opportunity to perform a service atdifferent companies, like the police

station and other businesses. This way

they can appreciate all the work thats

being done for their school and all the

things that are donated to them.

Earlier this year, Ricardo went on a school

camp with his school mates and had an

awesome experience, they had a safe

journey going there and coming back.

The bus ride was nice and everyone was

singing, eating, drinking, talking, giggling

shouting and dancing.

Ricardo has visited a lot of places before,

but the school camp was one of the places

he enjoyed the most.


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He went bum sliding and had a slippery,

wet and goofy experience. He also wentabseiling and it was scary at first, but he

soon got the hang of it, even though he

was the last person to go on. He felt

scared at first because he thought that

the rope was not tight enough and wanted

to make sure that it was secured.

There were also adorable dogs that

looked like the ones he had at home.

Ricardo and his friends also built raftsusing ropes, logs and barrels and theirs

went the farthest. They had lots of fun

at the camp and whenever it was time to

go to sleep, none of them wanted to sleep.

At one stage, they were caught talking

during sleeping time and as a punishment,

they had to stand outside for 10 minutes.


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But they all seemed to enjoy the

punishment.

Throughout Ricardos lifesjourney, his

teachers have been by his side, helping

him to realize and maximize his full

potential. To him, this has been an eyeopener which has led him to achieving

great things in life, like passing well,

being the top student in his class and

achieving awards in all his subjects. This

has also helped others to recognize himas someone who is well taught at some

things and works hard at others.

Like any other person, Ricardo sometimes

does things that he quickly regretsafterwards, like being mischievous.

Being the best student does not mean

that I am always perfect, he said.


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And there have been times when Ive

allowed my temper to control me andended up in trouble with my teachers, he

confessed.

Like the time when he got into trouble

because he wanted to change his seatingplace in class, and when his teacher asked

him to move back to his own seat, his

reply was, I needed to change the

environment I sit in. Unaware that he

was put in that seat for his own good.

Vuleka Schools main principle isCharity

begins at home. Ricardo was pleased to

learn that his school has the same

principle as they have at home.


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They are taught to always be SAFE,

RESPONSIBLE and RESPECTFUL atschool and this has helped Ricardo to

improve in the way he carries himself

inside and outside the school yard; a

principle which will certainly take him far

in life.

Ricardo is a proud member of Vuleka

School. His learnt a lot of things here

that have shaped him into a bigger and

greater person. He is honored to havesuch good people to support and guide

him; people like his teachers, parents,

granny, sponsors, friends and his role

models, Angus Gibson and William

Kentridge, whom he looks up to.

His journey has not ended, but only just

begun!


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My 7th year birthday

There has been a report on the local newsthat Rendani Tambani has turned 7 years old

this year on Wednesday the 6thof February

2013, and has decided to have a special

birthday party at his school. Every local news

reporter was talking about Rendani's

birthday party; those that Know Rendani,know that he throws the most amazing

birthday parties at his school!

Rendani's mom was reported as saying, "I

cannot believe that my son was once such a

tiny baby and now he is all grown up so fast."His mom packed a cake, Juice, cool drinks

and party packs for him and his class mates.

His teacher, Ms Motto, his classmates and all

his friends wished him a happy birthday at

school. Since it was his birthday, Rendani was

allowed to wear his home clothes at schoolthat day; so he wore his favourite red skinny

jean with sneakers and a T-shirt. Rendani

joked I am happy that I am growing up and

my little brothers wont catch me by age

anytime soon.


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Later that night, at home, Rendanis mom got

another cake and more drinks, and invitedthe family over to sing Rendani a happy

birthday song. Rendani was very excited to

see that everyone had come to his birthday.

Amongst the people that attended were;

Rendani's mom, Annah; his dad, Tshilidzi; and

younger brothers Phathu and Khuliso.Rendani blew out his candles and made a

wish; he wished that his parents would buy a

brand new Audi car.

Rendanis little brother Phathu, who is only 4

years old, wanted it to be his birthday too;Rendani knew that he was still too young to

understand that his birthday was also coming

up. For his birthday, his mom and dad bought

him a set of Mickey Wonder Why books;

Rendani exclaimed I love my books! I can

now learn how things happen; like how the

rainbow appears, and why the camel has

humps on its back and so much more!


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Easter Long weekend

Rendanis parents took a day off from work

on Thursday, 28thof March 2013, so that

they could bypass the traffic to Limpopo

province. It has been an age-old tradition in

Rendanis family to visit his great-

grandparents and grandparents in Venda; hisdads home, every Easter weekend. Travelling

to Venda is a long drive, with several stops

on the way, so Rendanis mom packed enough

food for the road trip.

Easter holidays mark a special event forRendanis family.His grandparents are always

excited to see just how grown up they are;

they even take turns lifting them up in the

air. On the day of Ester, they all visited the

Lutheran Church with Grandma Agnes and

Grandpa Alfred, and enjoyed a wonderful

lunching at home after church. Then

Rendanis dad took everyone to see great-

grandma Vho-Denga in Tshakuma.


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Everyone calls her gugu, which means

grandma or great grandma in Tshivenda. Shewas very happy to see everyone, and she

cooked a very delicious Venda dish called

tshidzimba for them. Tshidzimba is a Venda

dish with ingredients such as; corn, ground

nuts and kidney beans.

Although there is electricity at great-

grandmas home, she still preferred to cook

on open fire, like they did in the olden days.

Rendanis mom explained to him that the

reason why food cooked on an open fire was

more delicious than food cooked on anelectrical stove was because it still retained

a lot of its goodness. Cooking outside was a

great treat because the yard is very big and

has lots of fruit trees such as; mangoes,

bananas, litchis, pawpaws, naartjies, grape

fruits, and hazel nuts.


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On Sunday the 31stof March, everyone

gathered at Vho-Marias house for the familysociety, and cooked all sorts of food.

Rendanis great-grandma, Vho-Masindi, was

also there; she lives with Vho-Maria. Rendani

was excited to see all his cousins, although

he did not remember some of their names.

Gugu told him that he would eventually know

everybody as he grew older; his mom said she

did not know some of the people there

either. When they returned home on Monday

the 1stof April 2013, Rendani looked at his

parents and said, This was the best Easterweekend ever!


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Visiting my grandparents in Soshanguve

During the school holidays, between the 12th

of April and 6thof May 2013,Rendani and his

younger brothers, Phathu and Khuliso, get to

visit their grandparents, Emiry and

Shadreck, in Soshanguve; their moms

birthplace. Their grandparents always spoilthem and are not as strict as their parents.

They call their grandma Koko, meaning

grandma in Sepedi. Koko loves it when all of

her grandchildren- Rendani, Phathu, Khuliso,

Motheo, Tintswalo, Khumo, and Bokamoso-

are in her house. They play together, butsometimes they fight and this makes Aunty

Susan and Evelina very upset.

On Sunday mornings, all the grandchildren

attend the Apostolic Faith Mission church

with grandma and grandpa; grandpa Shadreck

is the pastor at his church. After church,

their grandparents always buy KFC for the

family, and their aunts, Susan and Evelina,

will cook a delicious lunch especially for

them.


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Family treat (Movies and dinner at spur)

Rendanis mom and dad took him and his

younger brothers Phathu and Khuliso to see a

movie and have dinner at Spur in Fourways on

the 11thof May 2013. His mom told them

that it would be a family treat, away from all

the hard work they do at school and work.Their dad bought the tickets, while their

mom bought them popcorn, sweets and cold

drinks.

At the movie house, they watched a movie

called Racked Ralph, its a 3D movie, sothey bought 3D spectacles to wear. The

objects in the movie appeared to be right in

front of them; the characters running

towards them and the objects thrown

appeared to be thrown at them.

This movie was about a robot, from a famous

electronic game, who wanted to become a

hero. In the game, the robot is the bad guy

who breaks things that others have built. He


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grew tired of being the bad guy, and entered

a different game. Here he tries to be thehero; at the cost of having the game being

scraped out. They all enjoyed watching the

movie, especially Rendani and Phathu, they

really enjoyed it.

After the movie, they booked a table atSpur, and Rendani and Phathu ordered the

kiddies meals while their mom ordered

prawns and spur ribs, and their dad ordered

a T-bone steak with chips. It was indeed a

nice family treat.


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Visiting my uncle during the school break

(from 28 June 2013 to 8July 2013)

Its winter school break and Rendanis mom

asked him who would you like to visit during

your school break? Rendani replied, Uncle

Khathu; he lives in Riverlea. Rendanis

younger brothers chose to visit theirgrandparents in Venda instead; they are still

in crche and will be staying longer. So

Rendanis mom packed his bag and asked the

transport driver to keep it until after school,

because his uncle would be fetching him that

afternoon.

Rendani had a wonderful time with his uncle,

Khathu, and aunt, Mulalo. His uncle took him

to McDonald with his friends, where Rendani

ordered a kiddies meal; he likes it because

he gets a free gift with the meal.


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The one time, when it was just Rendani and

his uncle, playing hide and seek, Rendaniwould hide, while his uncle counted from one

to ten and looked for him; this was so much

fun. Sometimes his uncle would also cook him

a special meal, such as; pap and wors, fried

chicken, cabbage, rice, soup and chicken.

Sometimes when he was bored, Rendani

would ask for paper and crayons to draw his

favourite cartoon Characters; Ben10, Wings

club, Tom and Jerry. Rendani is a very good

drawer, and his mom keeps most of his

drawings. Rendani loved to play outside too,he enjoys playing with his uncles dog; his

name is X.

When his uncle left for Venda, on the 5thof

July, Rendani stayed with his aunt and

watched lots of movies like Willy Wonka and

the chocolate factory, Tales of wild

adventure and many others. He had lots of

fun.


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Mr and Miss Vuleka Beauty Pageant

The 20thof July 2013 marked an incredible

day in the life of Rendani Tambani; this was

the day he took part in the Mr and Ms Vuleka

School junior beauty pageant. Weeks before

the day of the pageant, Rendanis mom

helped him to practice his moves; he alsopracticed at school.

His parents bought three different outfits

for the pageant; casual wear, winter wear

and a complete tuxedo. His dad took him for

a hair cut a day before the pageant.

On the day of the pageant, Rendanis mom

helped him to dress up and borrowed him her

gold necklace. Rendani felt very confident,

seeing his entire family there to support him

all the way helped him not to feel scared at

all. His mom and dad, Aunt Susan, Evelina and

Molalo, Uncle Khathu and his lady friend

Ndivhuho, and baby brothers Phathu and

Khuliso were all there.


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When the time came to contest, Rendani

demonstrated his moves and impressed thejudges with all his outfits.

Then the moment came to announce the

winners. Drums rolled and silence crept

around the room. Then a loud voice

announced, through the loudspeaker, MrVuleka Junior 2013 is, Rendani Tambani!

It was his name they called out; it was

Rendanis name! I cannot believe it, shouted

Rendani. He walked to the front to receive

his prices - a trophy, Mr Vuleka Junior 2013belt and a bag with goodies. Everyone stood

on their feet and clapped their hands for

him; it was a standing ovation. His mom and

aunty Susan took pictures of this incredible

moment. It was Rendanis moment, and

everybody was proud of him. This was the

happiest day of his life.


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Vuleka School2010 Aptitude Test

Sibusiso Jalis life at Vuleka Primary School

first began on Monday, the 26thof October

2010, when he and his mother visited the

school, to have him enrolled for the next

year. The 26thof October was also his

birthday; this is what made that day, a

memorable one in his life.

While Sibusisos motherfilled out the

application forms in the schoolsoffice, he

was waiting impatiently in the next room.When his mother was finished filling out all

the forms, she went into the next room

where Sibusiso was and saw that he was

waiting anxiously, to hear whether or not he

had been accepted. But sadly, his mothertold him that they would have to come back

again the next day, so that he would write an

aptitude test.


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Mr David Mazibuko, who works at the school,

was kind enough to make transportarrangements, to have Sibusiso picked up at

his home the next morning. Sibusisos mother

had to leave early for work that morning and

would not have been able to take him to

Vuleka for his test.

After all of the arrangements were made,

and since it was also his birthday, Sibusisos

mother took him to Spurs at Rosebank Mall,

for lunch. Sibusiso really enjoyed this part

of the day out very much.

The next morning, Sibusisos uncle, Oupa,

who also happens to be one of the schools

transport drivers, picked him up at 05:00 am,

along with the other children that go toVuleka, and drove them to school. His uncle

was very excited for him and encouraged him

by saying You are going to passthat test

today.


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Sibusiso met with Ms Gladys who assessed

him on his Mathsliteracy and other teacherswho assessed his English literacy. He was

panicking at first, but he felt much better

after he had finished all the tests. He was

immediately taken to visit the Grade 5 class

where he spent the rest of his day.

The next day, Sibusisos mother received a

call from the School and it was about the

outcome of Sibusisos aptitude test. The

school recommended that he should repeat

Grade 5 in order to be in line with Vulekas

high Standards. This is for his own benefit.

They told his mother. His mother felt sad

for him and halfheartedly agreed to the

recommendation, and Sibusiso was accepted

to attend at St Michaels in Weltevreden

Park. Sibusiso and his mother were very sad

and disappointed by the outcome, but they

knew that it was the best thing to do.


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My Grade 5 year at Vuleka St. Michaels

Sibusisos first year at Vuleka School was

one of the best years of his life, he learnt

more about his new school and met a new

friend, Lindo, from the transport. Sibusiso

and Lindo became best friends and sat next

to each other in class since then.

Mrs. Tim, Sibusisos grade 5 teacher, was a

wonderful lady and all the children loved her

very much. They did a lot of fun activities in

her class, but unfortunately, Mrs. Tim had toleave the school on short notice. Then they

had another teacher to replace her, but even

she left in the middle of the year and was

replaced by another new teacher. This time,

she stayed with them till the end. Mr. Kingwas his name, and everyone enjoyed having

him as their teacher.


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Changing teachers unfortunately affected

Sibusisosschool work; this was his firsttime at a Private School, he was struggling to

fit in, and to make matters worse, he was

still living with his granny, and she was unable

to help him with his homework or check his

school books.

Sibusisos mother was asked to come to the

school, to discuss Sibusisos progress, with

Principal. It seemed that Sibusisos marks

had dropped and he was not achieving the

schoolspassing standard.

The principal told his mother, Sibusiso

should repeat Grade 5 next year because Im

afraid that he wont cope in Grade 6.she

said that they had seen a major improvementin his work, since Mr. King took over as the

new class teacher, and that they were not

sure what miracle had happened.


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Mrs. Sharland told Sibusisos mother that

Vulekas grade 6 class was difficult andneeded someone who is very much

committed. Sibusisos mother wanted him to

go to grade 6 since there was improvement in

his school work and she also promised to

assist him in every way, even if it meantenrolling him into a Saturday school.

Mrs. Sharland advised Sibusisos mother,to

put him in after care, because the Saturday

schoolsstandard of education, might not

match that of Vuleka. His mother agreed and

asked the principal to transfer him to

Rosebank, where he could attend aftercare

and get all the assistance he needed with his

home works. Sibusiso also moved in with his

mother, so that she could also help him.

His mother helped him every day, and asked

his cousins to help him too, and thats how

Sibusiso passed his Grade 5 year.


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My Grade 6 year at Rosebank Jellicoe

Avenue

As life would have it, Sibusiso went through

his fair share of challenges, just as any

other ordinary boy growing up does. He

started his grade 6 year at a different

venue, Jellicoe Avenue, and didnt even have

transport to bring him to school because he

was now living in town, with his mother.

His mother had to take him to school and

fetch him each day, for the first 3 days,until he was able to use public transport all

by himself. He used the Metro Bus and taxis

to get to school and back.

His grade 6 teacher, Mrs. Neaves, who also

taught him English, is the schools deputy

Principal. She loves Sibusisos drawings very

much and she was also pleased that he was

doing well in English.


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Attending aftercare at Jellicoe has helped

improve Sibusisosschoolwork; teacherMirriam & Jutas assisted him with his

schoolwork, and he got to play some soccer

with his friends before going home.

He also made some cool new friends at

Jellicoe, like Sihle, Keoagile, Ntando,

Thabiso, Mzamo Ntokozo, Banele and his

best friend Edmore.

One day, Sibusiso and his classmates

received some shocking news that theirprevious class teacher, Mr King, at St

Michaels, had passed away. Sibusiso was

deeply heartbroken; Mr. King was a great

teacher who helped them learn a lot; this was

a very big loss to the entire school.


172/201

Grade 6 Kloof Waters trip

The Grade 6 pupil, from each Vuleka branch,

left on a school trip to Kloof Waters, in

North West, for five days, on the 18thof

June 2012. They were all placed into

different groups; Sibusiso was placed in the

Nurses Group.

All the groups were given a task and had to

compete with each other. They went hiking

and mountain climbing; they also had to build

a boat using barrels, wood and ropes. Thenthey had to put their boats in the river and

ride across. Sibusisos group was the first to

finish building their boat, but lost the task

because their boat broke down in the river.

This was the best adventurous trip Id ever

been to. I enjoyed going on this trip so much,

and I still miss the good food and hot

chocolate we had. He said.


173/201

Grade 7- My Last Year at Vuleka

This year is Sibusiso Jalis finalyear at

Vuleka School and according to him; he has

nothing to worry about. Sibusiso started off

on a nonchalant mood in the beginning of the

year, not doing his home works, and some of

his class work. He was given a letter, by the

school, to give to his parents. When Sibusiso

read the letter, he knew it would upset his

parents, so he hid the letter from parents

and hoped that they wouldnt find it. But

Sibusiso felt bad about hiding the letter, so

he showed it to his father and begged him

not to tell his mother. When his mother

heard about this, Sibusiso was in serious

trouble.


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Sibusisosclass teacher, Ms Gladys, teaches

him science, and they do a lot of scienceexperiments in a very fun fashion in class.

Sibusiso received a Visual Arts award from

his English teacher, Mrs. Neaves, this year,

for his amazing drawings.

Since grade 7 is the final year of primary

schooling, all the Grade 7 learners at Vuleka

must attend a farewell event and many other

events during the year, and Sibusiso loved

going to every single one of them.

Vuleka is a school that I highly recommend

and I also wish that my 3 year old little

brother can come to Vuleka one day, so that

he can also develop both mentally and

physically, just like me, said Sibusiso.

I will miss my School very much! he added.


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She quickly jumped out of bed and gave her

mom and her sister, big hugs and kisses,before getting ready for school.

She asked her mom if she would bring the

cake to her crche, for her teacher,

Francinah, and her best friend, Shaydene, to

see. Certainly,her mom agreed; she took

the cake to Tlangis crche that morning, aswell as party packs and juice for all the

children.

Tlangelani loves her mom very much because

she takes good care of her and always buys

the nicest things for her. All the other kidsin her classroom loved her "DORA themed

birthday cake with the words HAPPY

BIRTHDAY TLANGELANI 4 YEARS,"

written on it. Her teacher, Francinah, shared

some of the cake with the other teachers

because it was so big, and all her friends

sang HAPPY BIRTHDAYto her and thanked

her for a wonderful birthday. This made

Tlangelani feel very special and loved.


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After school, her big sister, Melanie,

fetched her from crche and took her forlunch at THE GLEN SHOPPING MALL.

Tlangelani ordered her favorite meal; a plate

of ribs, and while they were enjoying their

meal, a group of people came over to their

table with starlight fireworks in their hands

and singing "Happy Birthday." She realizedthat it was all for her; it was the staff that

worked at the restaurant and her sister put

them up to it! Tlangelani looked at her sister

and gave her a warm smile to show her

appreciation.

Tlangelani's mom had another surprise for

her, on Sunday; she bought another cake, for

her to take with to church. When they got to

church, they showed the cake to Pastor

Khosi, who seemed to enjoy the cream just

as much as Tlangelani. Some of Tlangelani's

friends were also there; among them were

Oratwa, and Tlangi from Mama Khubayi.


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Tlangelani's mom brought lots of presents

and party packs for all the children at thechurch; she is a very caring and special lady

who loves her daughter very much. Pastor

Khosi said a special prayer for Tlangelani,

the Fire of the Holy Ghost,during the

church service.

Tlangelani's mom bought a beautiful pink

bicycle for her and it was exactly what she

wanted for her birthday. Everything was

going well, apart from her dad, Chance, not

being there. This made her feel a bit sad and

she wished that he were there. But her dadlives in Giyani and it is very far from them.


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My Holiday at ZEBULA, BELABELA

(Limpopo)

Tlangelani Nkuna's first holiday experience

was at a place called Zebula in Limpopo. She

was only four years old, when she and her

mom, Karen, her dad, Chance, and her sister,

Melanie, went on a holiday to Limpopo inSeptember 2012.

Tlangelani and her family attended an early

morning church service, on the day that they

left for Limpopo. Her mom, Karen, packed

enough food for their trip and her sister,Melanie, drove them to Limpopo.

When they arrived, Tlangelani jumped out of

the car and ran to her dad who was standing

right outside a very big house. He was

waiting for them to arrive. They all went

inside the house; it had a flight of stairsthat went up to the second floor, into a room

with sofas and a small bed. There were also

countless toilets and a very large kitchen.

Outside, there was a swimming pool, relaxing

chairs and a Braaistand for their meat.


188/201

Tlangelani immediately felt hungry and her

little stomach began making very loud noises.When her mom and dad heard these loud

noises coming from her stomach, they

immediately took her and Melanie to a

restaurant and bought food. They sat down,

at a nice looking table that had a candle in

the center, and ate their food. Tlangelaniand Melanie ordered wors, chicken, beef and

chips; apparently they were very hungry.

When they got back to the big house, they

were all tired and went straight to bed.Tlangelani slept with Melanie in the room

upstairs, but Melanie did not like this room

one bit because it had no bed. All it had was

a couch.

In the middle of the night, while Melanie was

fast asleep on the couch, Tlangelani woke upand tiptoed down the stairs and snuck in to

bed with her parents; their room had a bed

and a tub as big as a swimming pool.


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Her parents were surprised to find her

sleeping in their bed when they woke up inthe morning. They laughed, because they did

not even hear her come in.

At breakfast, Tlangis mom served her family

some of the food that she had brought from

home. They all went on a game drive

afterwards, and saw elephants, birds, rhino,leopards and warthogs. They played with the

elephants; one of the elephants picked up

their moms shoe and gave it back to her, and

Tlangelani was very impressed.

Another elephant splashed water all overthem after the rangers made him drink lots

of water from a bucket; it was really fun.

The next day, Tlangelani's mom went to play

with the lion cubs, but Tlangelani and her

sister were too scared to get inside the cage

with her. They went to look at the big,python snakes inside the glass instead.

After seeing all the frightening animals, they

all went back to the big house for a swim and

to relax on the chairs.


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Melanie noticed that there was a door which

she hadnt noticed earlier. She showed it toher mom, who then asked the owner of the

big house for the keys to the door. When

they opened the door, they saw a very nice

bedroom with a bed and a tub. I will sleep in

here! shouted Melanie. Tlangelanisdad

made a Braai for everyone that evening,Melanie cooked pap and made a lovely salad

and Tlangelani ate, ate and ate!

Tlangelani said that the whole experience

left her feeling excited and she plans to visit

Zebula again soon. Her dad's Braai was

unforgettable and her encounter with the

elephants was an awesome experience for

her. Her mom bought her a small, elephant

teddy bear, as a souvenir of this amazing

holiday.


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My Second Holiday "Kruger National Park"

One day in April 2013, Tlangelani Nkuna went

to visiting her grandmother, Kokwani

Macaroni, in Giyani. While she was visiting

Giyani, Tlangelani and her mom slept over at

her dad's house. When they woke up in the

morning, Tlangelanis dad said "We are goingon a road trip, to the Kruger National Park

today Tlangi." Tlangelani was very excited to

hear the good news.

Her mom packed everything they needed for

the trip and they all hopped into the car anddrove off. Tlangelani's dad drives super fast;

she thought that they would get there in 10

minutes. Along the way, they made a stop at

a shop and bought meat, chips, sweets, juice

and water for the long trip. Tlangelani

realized that Kruger National Park was

nowhere nearby.

When they finally arrived at Kruger National

Park, Tlangelani's mom told her that she

would spot some animals.


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They drove very slowly in the hopes of

spotting the animals, "There are no animalshere!" Tlangelani complained. Then, suddenly,

right before her eyes, Tlangelani saw a herd

of Impalas! "Wow they look so cute," she

shouted. Then she spotted another herd, but

this time it was elephants that she saw.

"We are sleeping here tonight," her dad said,

before rushing off to the shops to buy wood

for the fire. Tlangelani and her mom stayed

at the house and packed all their clothes,

and prepared the food. When her dad

returned with the wood, he went outside tomake a fire for the braai. Tlangi helped her

mom to prepare the salad for dinner and

then went outside to help her dad with the

braai. They prepared wors, chicken, beef and

lamb, and when the food was ready; they all

sat at the table and enjoyed the

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New Albook 2014 Production