School is back!

It’s been an exciting 2 weeks since the school opened. Tension always running high with many kids so excited for school and no room for error in this school term

The first week of the school we took some of the kids out for greening an they were so excited to see the green peppers, chillies and potatoes in the garden because some of them have never worked in the garden before an some kids were really excited to be outside with the coaches such as Logan and Gogo playing games outside with them games such as soccer, basketball and cricket.

Dealing with kids there age is never easy but fortunately for us we’ve got the nack, after every 15 minutes the kids would rotate to the different games. the greening was really a success as we saw some green peppers an chillies grow . we even explained  to them what are some of the different vegetables are  because some  of them didn’t know  what a green pepper is  and they were very exited to finally know what they were eating at home because some of them say their parents don’t tell them the name of the vegetables they eat

Logan an shameeg gave the grade 4 kids a reading test and some of the results we a bit shocking because some of the kids did not even know basic words such as to, his, her and many more words and what was even more shocking was that we gave the grade 5 kids the exact same test and to our surprise the grade 4 kids were better off in terms of reading an pronouncing the words it absolutely broke my heart to see that

I think this last to weeks was extremely fun an exciting for this children at woodlands primary school. We’ve learnt so much from the kids already am I think we can only grow from here god bless.

By Logan and Gogo
GCU coaches

Lareus sports for good foundation hit Heideveld soil!

Friday was a day many people could dream of, a day full of energy and excitement, personally I felt extremely privileged to be there as a GCU coach. 

Just being there was amazing, seeing the likes of Hug Porta, Morne Du Plessis and Daley Thompson was an unforgettable experience that myself and the children will never forget. You read about these people in the news but never imagine them visiting you and that's exactly what they did!
I felt nervous as I had no idea what to expect but most of all I felt really proud of the GCU members because we've accomplished so much and have gained so much experience just from Fridays events. I could not wait to show our boys off to the Laureus Foundation and show them what GCU is really all about! I enjoyed teaching the kids life skills and playing the soccer drills in front of Hugo and Morne. I felt emotional when I saw some of my boys playing with Hugo. I really felt proud of them, knowing the boys and where they come from. It's never easy seeing your boys go through life's challenges but Friday seeing them care free filled with laughter it made my day.

Friday was a special day for everyone who was involved. The Laureus foundation touched GCU hearts and in return we touched theirs. GCU would like to thank the Laureus Foundation for coming to see GCU and for their support in our program, we will never forget it!


By Logan
GCU soccer coach

GCU sports classes at Woodlands in full swing!

It was a very good week for the children; they enjoyed themselves hugely in PT so much so they didn’t want to go back to class! I have really enjoyed working with grade R this week. We have been concentrating on cricket so to start off we played a small game to practice throwing and catching. It was great to see the kids getting so involved and so keen to learn and do well. What makes this program work is the coach’s enthusiasm, everyone really gets stuck in and we also enjoy ourselves which rubs off on the kids. It’s amazing how quickly our time goes in the morning and sometimes it’s a little hectic to fit everyone in but everyday feels like we have achieved something and that in itself is so rewarding and why I love what I am doing every day.

By Gogo

GCU coach and life skills mentor

Mrs Madel and GCU take on Woodlands literacy!

This week the tutoring program made GCU proud as we did the assessments with the grade 5 students for the reading program. As a result of these assessments Woodlands School was so impressed with how the results helped level the children that Mrs Madel is now taking on the whole school and assessing everyone. It is clear that they need to do these to assist in the classes and create appripriate tasks for the children and after feedback from Mr Madel, the teachers are more than willing to make things work it shows the partnership between GCU and woodlands is growing and becoming stronger each day. The two working together to achieve results will only benefit the children in the future.
GCU will be assisting Woodlands in compiling these results which will hopefully lead to improving the literacy levels of these children and a brighter future for them. I would like to thank all the coaches who helped with the assessments.

By Shaffiek White
Head of Tutoring