Shiloh Klipheuwel

Project Description

Background – Klippie Kids Pre-School opened its doors 2 March 2006 as a Nursery School with 47 children and 5 staff. The need for a pre-school was immediately seen as the school grew and the project expanded to other needs in the community. We are involved in health and welfare projects, skills development, youth development, a second hand shop and teacher training. The outstanding standard of the pre-school is the standard that is followed in the excellence of the curriculum.

Relationships – We believe in co-operation with volunteers. Volunteers run our needlework project, homework help project and other projects as the need arise. A good relationship with Durbanville clinic exists and they visit the community regularly with a mobile unit for basic services. The relationship between the police and the organization is very good. Members of the Department of Social Development visit the school regularly, and in 2009 the school was registered as a pre-school at WCED.

Goal – The unique program: JES Curriculum (Jubilee Excellent Schools) aim to prepare children not only for school but for life. Emphasise is put on how to deal with situations they will encounter. Attention is given to their needs on a wider spectrum than merely the intellectual. We focus on Afrikaans and Xhosa speaking children 3 to 6 years of age.
Intention – The JES curriculum that is offered differs from that of other nursery & pre-schools. The curriculum is based on three components: the Jubilee system (which is based on the Bible’s Creation story), Montessori-apparatus and philosophy and parts of the National curriculum.

Summary – With the holistic approach the project has brought a complete change in the community. Kids receive emotional and intellectual stimulation. The youth receive physical and spiritual stimulation.  Women are trained in new skills. The elderly are looked after with their own unique projects.

Parent’s testimonies about their children’s development at Klippie Kids

  • Bre-Jane’s (Grade R) mother, Joanne Farao mentioned that she saw a drawing on Facebook drawn by her child. She had tears in her eyes because she felt so proud of her daughter’s development at Klippie Kids.
  • Ande Mhlaba, a grade R learner’s mother mentioned that Ande enjoys it so much at school that she wants to go to school all day every day. She also mentioned that her child can already write both her names and that she is very proud of Ande.
  • Leechanté Mitchells a grade R learner’s mother (Lisby Mitchells) thanked the school for teaching her child to choose her own clothes and dress herself. She also mentioned that her child can now write both her names.
  • Abraham November mentioned that both his children who are 5 years old learnt to speak Xhosa at school. He is so proud of his children and thankful that they have acquired this valuable skill.
  • Lilitha Ncewula’s (Grade R) mother thanked the teachers at Klippie Kids. She mentioned that Lilitha is normally very quiet but that after starting to attend Klippie Kids she has started to tell them stories every evening about what she has learnt at school.

Some general comments made by parents:

  • We clean our house every evening before going to bed since our child is used to the neat and clean environment at Klippie Kids.
  • We pray before every meal as this is how it is done at school.
  • Our child noticed that our garden is not as neat and beautiful as the garden at school so we started to put effort into creating a neat and beautiful garden at our house.
  • One of the moms mentioned at the parent teacher meeting that because her child was taught to peel vegetables, she is able to attend the meeting because her children are preparing the vegetables so that she can just go home and cook dinner.
  • A mom mentioned that her child is happy, healthy, dry and fed when she gets home. Her daughter keeps singing gospel songs so her mom made a recording which she now uses as her ringtone.
  • One child does not want to go to bed in the evening before they clean the kitchen.
  • A mom thanked the school on Facebook for the positive change she noticed in her child after having attended Klippie Kids for only three weeks.
  • One child asked: “Mom why do you not wash your hands after going to the bathroom?”
  • One of the children confronted her mother when she started shouting at the child. The child stated that her mother does not need to shout at her but should rather just explain calmly what she wanted…