What a week! Studying, playing music and making art!

It is from an overcast Darling, that I write this Monday morning. It has been such an incredibly busy (and sunny!)week with a number of exciting events.

Last week, we ran our first Study Week, in partnership with Darling Fokus. Volunteers gave their time to sit with children and help them with any scholastic problems that we might have. As with anything that runs for the first time, there were a great deal of surprises in store for us. First, we had anticipated that the study week would be more popular with high school learners. This was not the case, however, as it was the primary school learners that attended in numbers. Overall, it was an excellent exercise, both because children were helped and because of the lessons we learnt in running a study week.

Something that was very clear throughout the week was the need for extra input into the education of Darling's children. We are currently looking at ways to expand our educational projects. We already run a number of literacy-based projects, but there is such a great need in Darling for this kind of support, that we are looking at other possible projects and programmes that can be run. Keep an eye out in future for new developments!

I attended the West Coast Community Foundation (WCCF) Indaba for 2008. The WCCF have generously put money towards our percussion band. The percussion band has only been running for a few months, but they are growing in leaps and bounds. The classes are run by Judy Woods (a very experienced music teacher with endless patience!) and are enjoyed immensely by the children. We will be holding a Music and Art Evening on 26 November to celebrate the progress made by the music and art students. It promises to be a very special evening.

Speaking of special evenings, our much-anticipated annual talent show will take place on 14 November. We are currently in the planning phase and auditions will take place soon. Although it is still early in the process, this year's talent show promises to be an extra special one!

That is all for now from us at The Darling Trust. Take care and enjoy summer!