Latest news with #EarlyChildhoodDevelopment
CBC
4 days ago
- General
- CBC
Site selected for new school in Reserve Mines
The provincial government has chosen a site for a new school in Reserve Mines to replace the Tompkins Memorial Elementary School. A news release from the province says the new school will accommodate 240 students. It will be built behind the existing school. The site was chosen by the departments of Public Works and Early Childhood Development and included evaluations of land options and community feedback, the release says. Public Works Minister Fred Tilley said in the release that the design process will begin this summer. The release says parents, community members and school staff will be involved in the design. No date has been given for completion of the project.
IOL News
5 days ago
- General
- IOL News
Gauteng Education Department announces critical 2026 admission process for Grade 1 and Grade 8
Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane has announced online admission dates for the 2026 academic year. Image: Timothy Bernard / Independent Newspapers The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has officially announced its admission process for the 2026 academic year, with reports that the process will run until 29 August Online applications for Grade 1 and Grade 8 will open on July 24. On Thursday, Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane said while the focus of this year's admission process is on early primary education, he clarified that Grade R is not included at this stage. 'We are not starting with Grade R for now because we have not really, fully implemented BELA (Basic Education Laws Amendment), and not all schools have Grade R classes. Some schools collaborate with nearby Early Childhood Development centres,' Chiloane explained. He said this decision underscores the department's commitment to ensuring that foundational education is available and universally accessible before expanding the admission process to include younger learners. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Over the years, the province's online admissions system has faced many challenges, with parents decrying delays, technical glitches, limited school options, and difficulties for parents with poor internet access or limited digital literacy, as some of the most experienced challenges. On the issue of Grade R, the MEC indicated that parents of Grade R pupils must still apply for Grade 1, even if the child is continuing at the same school, and warned that no late applications will be accepted. 'We prioritise those who apply on time. Late applications, when we deal with them later on in the year, we would have forfeited a single right to identify a certain school that you would have wanted for your child. Even if that school is in your home feeder schools, you will still not get in if it's full, if you have not applied in time,' he added. As a precaution, Chiloane urged parents to apply to a minimum of three and a maximum of five schools to improve their chances of placement, adding that applying for one school does not improve the child's chances of acceptance. He further warned parents not to fall for scams that demand payment for assistance with the application process. 'There's no one who will guarantee you a space if you give them money. Those people you must bring them to me because we don't charge, it's free, it's a right.'
IOL News
08-05-2025
- Health
- IOL News
Preschoolers are still without water to wash their hands
Too many South African children are unable to wash their hands as only 53% of Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres have piped water, electricity, and flushing toilets, while 8% have none at all. This is because, despite a record R210 million government pledge to upgrade these centres over the next two years, basic infrastructure remains severely lacking. Deb Zelezniak, CEO of the Santa Shoebox Project, warns that South Africa risks undermining the lifesaving power of handwashing unless urgent steps are taken to ensure access to clean, safe water in early learning spaces. 'Children constantly touch surfaces and objects, picking up germs as they go,' she explains. 'Without proper hand hygiene, those germs can lead to dangerous illnesses like diarrhoea and respiratory infections - two of the leading causes of death among South Africa's under-fives. Handwashing with soap can cut diarrhoea rates by up to 40% and respiratory infections by up to 25%.' Beyond health concerns, Zelezniak highlights the deeper developmental consequences: 'Research shows that poor water and sanitation infrastructure hinders a child's cognitive, language, and motor development, with long-term effects on their educational attainment.' While efforts to register and upgrade ECD centres are underway, many facilities remain stuck in a vicious cycle. 'Centres that can't afford the water and sanitation improvements needed for registration are locked out of the very funding that could help them upgrade,' she says. 'Instead, they rely on rainwater tanks, boreholes, or public taps- none of which guarantee consistency or safety.' Non-profits like the Santa Shoebox Project are working to renovate centres and promote better hygiene practices, but Zelezniak stresses that systemic change is essential. 'This is not just a public health issue, it's a matter of dignity, education, and the country's long-term development. Supporting ECD owners to meet registration standards must be a national priority.' 'No child should fall sick or die simply because there was no water to wash their hands,' concludes Zelezniak. Nasreen Badrodien I Santa Shoebox Project
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Overcoming adversity: How this CNM student became the schools graduation speaker
May 4—While family members and friends of Central New Mexico Community College graduates filed into Tingley Coliseum on Saturday, in a small building just west of the auditorium, Marijke Ypma nervously mulled over the pages of the speech she was set to deliver just an hour later. Ypma was a clear choice to be the student speaker at a graduation event that coincided with CNM's 60th anniversary. She holds a 3.93 GPA, is a member of the honorary society Phi Theta Kappa, has made the dean's list for two semesters, and has bold aspirations for the future. But the path to speak at the largest community college in the state's graduation was full of adversity: childhood trauma from her parent's distressing divorce, a speech impediment, an autism diagnosis at age 11 and both her mother and her grandmother being diagnosed with cancer in recent years. Despite being accepted to multiple four-year universities, including the two largest in New Mexico — the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University — Ypma elected to attend CNM and ease into the post-secondary experience. "I wasn't sure I'd be able to handle a change or maybe properly communicate with my peers and professors. I would doubt myself, and thoughts would cross my mind: 'What if I'm alone again,' she said, speaking to the over 900 graduates and the thousands of attendees. "However, even through all of these challenges, CNM opened its doors to me." She would later walk the stage and receive her graduation certificates in American Sign Language and Early Childhood Development and is on track to receive her associate's degree next May. During her speech, Ypma said her journey at CNM began when she was 4 years old, recalling laying in her mother's lap while she studied. "I totally started bawling there because it was so true," Francine Cala, Ypma's mother, told the Journal following the ceremony. While Cala did not want to discuss the divorce from Ypma's father, she acknowledged its impact on her daughter. She also suspected from an early age that Ypma might be on the autism spectrum, noting that she often played by herself and struggled to make friends. "It's just amazing how much she has progressed. I'm just amazed, and then to see her on the stage, oh my God, I'm even getting teary-eyed now because that wasn't her. She's just blossomed into this beautiful person," Francine Cala said. She credited her mother, Ypma's grandmother, Maureen Cala, with teaching her to become more independent and comfortable in social settings by taking her on trips to the grocery store and giving her lists of items to pick up. "She never could have done that without the help from my mom, (she) really provided a lot of help for her because I was in school, and then I was working," Francine Cala said. Francine Cala herself received two associate degrees from CNM, which propelled her to work in her current role as a medical assistant at the UNM Cancer Center. But during Ypma's sophomore year of high school, Francine Cala was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer that eventually progressed to stage four. "It was a constant battle of having a fear of waiting," Ypma told the Journal. "I remember having to shave her head as I was managing my high school classes and everything, and then having to deal with just that emotional weight of, 'Will I have a mother tomorrow?'" Her mother's battle with cancer lasted until Ypma was at CNM, when she eventually reached remission, but then Maureen Cala was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. The chemo treatment kept her from being able to attend CNM's graduation, though she did watch a livestream. When she returned home from the graduation ceremony, Francine Cala said Ypma's grandmother told her she was amazed at the speech and how her granddaughter presented herself. After she receives her associate's degree, Ypma plans to continue her studies over 700 miles away in College Station, Texas, at one of the largest public universities in the country: Texas A&M. She hopes to get her Ph.D. in urban education to improve the country's education so that "factors such as poverty, race and living situations do not prevent success and access to quality education." But she acknowledged it would be hard to leave behind her family and new-found friends. "I'm sad about it because I've had so many great teachers, especially in the education (department), and I made friends for the first time that are meaningful and long-lasting, and it hurts having to go," Ypma said. "But I know that if I'm successful in the Ph.D., I'm able to bring change to New Mexico that would benefit us for generations."
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Overcoming adversity: How this CNM student became the schools graduation speaker
May 4—While family members and friends of Central New Mexico Community College graduates filed into Tingley Coliseum on Saturday, in a small building just west of the auditorium, Marijke Ypma nervously mulled over the pages of the speech she was set to deliver just an hour later. Ypma was a clear choice to be the student speaker at a graduation event that coincided with CNM's 60th anniversary. She holds a 3.93 GPA, is a member of the honorary society Phi Theta Kappa, has made the dean's list for two semesters, and has bold aspirations for the future. But the path to speak at the largest community college in the state's graduation was full of adversity: childhood trauma from her parent's distressing divorce, a speech impediment, an autism diagnosis at age 11 and both her mother and her grandmother being diagnosed with cancer in recent years. Despite being accepted to multiple four-year universities, including the two largest in New Mexico — the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University — Ypma elected to attend CNM and ease into the post-secondary experience. "I wasn't sure I'd be able to handle a change or maybe properly communicate with my peers and professors. I would doubt myself, and thoughts would cross my mind: 'What if I'm alone again,' she said, speaking to the over 900 graduates and the thousands of attendees. "However, even through all of these challenges, CNM opened its doors to me." She would later walk the stage and receive her graduation certificates in American Sign Language and Early Childhood Development and is on track to receive her associate's degree next May. During her speech, Ypma said her journey at CNM began when she was 4 years old, recalling laying in her mother's lap while she studied. "I totally started bawling there because it was so true," Francine Cala, Ypma's mother, told the Journal following the ceremony. While Cala did not want to discuss the divorce from Ypma's father, she acknowledged its impact on her daughter. She also suspected from an early age that Ypma might be on the autism spectrum, noting that she often played by herself and struggled to make friends. "It's just amazing how much she has progressed. I'm just amazed, and then to see her on the stage, oh my God, I'm even getting teary-eyed now because that wasn't her. She's just blossomed into this beautiful person," Francine Cala said. She credited her mother, Ypma's grandmother, Maureen Cala, with teaching her to become more independent and comfortable in social settings by taking her on trips to the grocery store and giving her lists of items to pick up. "She never could have done that without the help from my mom, (she) really provided a lot of help for her because I was in school, and then I was working," Francine Cala said. Francine Cala herself received two associate degrees from CNM, which propelled her to work in her current role as a medical assistant at the UNM Cancer Center. But during Ypma's sophomore year of high school, Francine Cala was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer that eventually progressed to stage four. "It was a constant battle of having a fear of waiting," Ypma told the Journal. "I remember having to shave her head as I was managing my high school classes and everything, and then having to deal with just that emotional weight of, 'Will I have a mother tomorrow?'" Her mother's battle with cancer lasted until Ypma was at CNM, when she eventually reached remission, but then Maureen Cala was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. The chemo treatment kept her from being able to attend CNM's graduation, though she did watch a livestream. When she returned home from the graduation ceremony, Francine Cala said Ypma's grandmother told her she was amazed at the speech and how her granddaughter presented herself. After she receives her associate's degree, Ypma plans to continue her studies over 700 miles away in College Station, Texas, at one of the largest public universities in the country: Texas A&M. She hopes to get her Ph.D. in urban education to improve the country's education so that "factors such as poverty, race and living situations do not prevent success and access to quality education." But she acknowledged it would be hard to leave behind her family and new-found friends. "I'm sad about it because I've had so many great teachers, especially in the education (department), and I made friends for the first time that are meaningful and long-lasting, and it hurts having to go," Ypma said. "But I know that if I'm successful in the Ph.D., I'm able to bring change to New Mexico that would benefit us for generations."
