What a week!

A week with its share of sadness, but also elation, excitement, and hard work!

My family had two deaths this week. A beloved old aunt passed away on Sunday after a long illness, and on Tuesday morning a dear old friend succumbed after a short battle with cancer. This resulted in two out-of-town funerals, neither of which I could attend! :(

There was little time to be morbid though - my son and daughter-in-law (The Intrepid Travellers! See "Sean's Travel Blog" on my fave links.) arrived back in South Africa on Wednesday for a sojourn in their Land of Origin. We are hoping they have a good month and a half before they have to head back to the US, their jobs, and life as the rest of us mere mortals know it, with their adventures over the past 8 months only a savoured memory!

But on to Academy news, which is why I have this blog anyway, right?

First an update on Lebone Land.
Got a call on Thursday to say that someone has volunteered a new ceiling for the shed where we have classes! Pretty exciting! BIG THANK YOU whoever you are! Also the matric girls of Eunice High school have a Leadership Project every year, and thanks to some wonderful girls who are in Tuesday Youth Theater, they have expressed interest in helping at Lebone (Thanks Elri! We'll talk!).

MIMOSA MALL EXPO

Another big 'thank you' this week goes out to Mimosa Mall. I took part in an expo Thursday and Friday to promote cultural activites for young people. I found this method of marketing MOST fullfulling and exciting! My stall generated a lot of interest in the academy program, and it felt good to be able to engage face to face with people. I shall be very interested to see how this relates to actual student sign-ups in the coming weeks. I chatted with some of the organisers of the event, and it seems we might do this again next year...this time during the week before schools open.

I have to THANK both Roxy, and my daughter Hayley, for giving up their afternoons to stand in for me on Thursday and Friday while I went off to teach classes! LOVE YOU BOTH! (And yes, Hayley, Roxy IS all that and a bag of potato chips!! LOL!)

STUDIOS GROWING!!!
Have had wonderful response and enrolments at Brebner School. I have to make a second class somehow! So far all attempts at a second time slot have failed, but hang in there Brebner parents, I'm working on it!

So many new students arrived on Friday at my Combined studio that I think we may be able to split this term into a proper Lower and Upper Primary. Parents, I'll be contacting you this week to work a plan!

SOME MORE PHOTOS OF CLASS THIS WEEK!