{"id":296172,"date":"2026-01-21T09:56:51","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T07:56:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/?p=296172"},"modified":"2026-06-18T16:59:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T14:59:55","slug":"first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school","status":"publish","type":"school_article","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/school\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\/","title":{"rendered":"First-day smiles at Somerset West Primary School"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n
Somerset West Primary School welcomed enthusiastic new Grade 1 learners as they eagerly embarked on their “big school” journey last Wednesday (14 January). The first day brought smiles and excitement for families celebrating this milestone together. Proud new Summie Steele Gordon (6) shares the spotlight with great-grandmother Joan Thomas (80), proving the best first-day photos include generations of love.
Photos: Jamey Gordon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"
Beaming with pride, Gershwin and Mariske Isaacs paused to treasure a special moment with their daughter Aleiia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
There were smiles all around as Duncan and Jo-dene Rulse celebrate the unforgettable start of their son Dant\u00e9’s primary school journey.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Grade 1 learners started their “big school” journey at Somerset West Primary with excitement and family pride.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":296175,"template":"","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"Somerset West Primary School Grade 1","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"New Grade 1 learners started their \"big school\" journey at Somerset West Primary with excitement and family pride.","_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":"63","_yoast_wpseo_content_score":"90","_yoast_wpseo_inclusive_language_score":"90","_yoast_wpseo_is_cornerstone":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":"","newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_crsspst_to_novanewscoza":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozabloemnewsexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozacityvision":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaeikestadnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozahermanustimes":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakomani-karoo":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakougaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozamthathaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozanoordkaapbulletin":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapaarlpost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeoplespost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaswartlandgazette":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozatygerburger":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaudexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavistanews":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavrystaatkroon":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweskusnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweslander":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaworcesterstandard":false,"_EventAllDay":"","_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":"","_EventShowMapLink":"","_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":"","_EventVenueID":"","_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":"","_VenueShowMapLink":"","_application":"","_batch_id":"","_company_name":"","_company_tagline":"","_company_twitter":"","_company_video":"","_company_website":"","_custom_id":"","_EventDuration":"","_EventOrigin":"","_EventTimezoneAbbr":"","_featured":"","_filled":"","_job_expires":"","_job_location":"","_media_credit":"","_media_credit_url":"","_menu_item_menu_item_parent":"","_menu_item_object":"","_menu_item_object_id":"","_menu_item_target":"","_menu_item_type":"","_menu_item_url":"","_menu_item_xfn":"","_navis_media_can_distribute":"","_navis_media_credit_org":"","_OrganizerOrigin":"","_provider":"","_pum_built_in":"","_pum_default_theme":"","_pum_form_conversion_count":"","_remote_id":"","_remote_name":"","_remote_position":"","_report_frequency":"","_report_reference_dates":"","_send_attempts":"","_site_id":"","_sitemap_exclude":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_sitemap_priority":"","_source_url":"","_subscription_period":"","_subscription_period_interval":"","_subscription_price":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":"","_template_type":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_tribe_aggregator_allow_multiple_organizers":"","_tribe_aggregator_content_type":"","_tribe_aggregator_file":"","_tribe_aggregator_finalized":"","_tribe_aggregator_hash":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_id":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_interactive":"","_tribe_aggregator_origin":"","_tribe_aggregator_post_status":"","_tribe_aggregator_preview":"","_tribe_aggregator_source_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_type":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_hide_attendees_list":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":"","_tribe_ticket_version":"","_type":"","_VenueOrigin":"","_wp_attachment_context":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","_wp_font_face_file":"","_wp_old_date":"","_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":"2","_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text_input":"","_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_block-catalog":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"69","_yoast_wpseo_primary_job_listing_type":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_nova_retailer":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_publication":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_tribe_events_cat":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-duration":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-rating":"","_menu_item_classes":[],"_tribe_modified_fields":[],"_wp_attachment_backup_sizes":[],"_wp_suggested_privacy_policy_content":[],"_yoast_post_redirect_info":[],"_yoast_wpseo_video_meta":[],"activation_date":"","archive_insertion_is_repeating":"","archive_insertion_posts_count":"","article_feature_media":"1","article_feature_type":"normal","article_main_image_caption":"Somerset West Primary School welcomed enthusiastic new Grade 1 learners as they eagerly embarked on their \"big school\" journey last Wednesday (14 January). The first day brought smiles and excitement for families celebrating this milestone together. Proud new Summie Steele Gordon (6) shares the spotlight with great-grandmother Joan Thomas (80), proving the best first-day photos include generations of love. Photos: Jamey Gordon","article_media_icon":"1","article_template":"news","author_byline":"","background_color":"","block_editor":"1","byline":"","cmplz_hide_cookiebanner":"","competition_end_date":"","contact_advertise_email":"","contact_advertise_phone":"","contact_editorial_email":"","contact_general_email":"","contact_general_phone":"","contact_office_hours":"","contact_physical_address":"","enabled":"","featured_image_custom_caption":"","featured_video_url":"","fields":"","font_body":"","font_header":"","frequency":"","headline":"headline dummy text","hide_border":"","icon":"","is_wp_suggestion":"","issuu_download_url":"","issuu_embed_url":"","language_version_url":"","large_border":"","name":"","nm_contact_name":"","nm_contact_number":"","nm_date_lost":"","no_overlay_background":"","node-url":"","obituary_born_date":"","obituary_died_date":"","obituary_memoriam_text":"","origin":"","overlay_color":"","overlay_opacity":"","overlay_size":"","placement":"","plural_label":"","post_author":"","post_id":"","post_language":"","secret-key":"","sponsored_utm_campaign":"","sponsored_utm_content":"","sponsored_utm_medium":"","sponsored_utm_source":"","sponsored_utm_term":"","start_date":"","utm_suppression":"","video_embed_url":"","wp_pattern_sync_status":"","data_version":[],"enclosure":[],"pongrass_image":["SCH_JGsummies_P1","SCH_JGsummies_P2","SCH_JGsummies_P3","SCH_JGsummies_P4","SCH_JGsummies_P5"],"footnotes":""},"school":[],"school_topic":[],"school_activity":[],"school_province":[],"class_list":["post-296172","school_article","type-school_article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nFirst-day smiles at Somerset West Primary School | DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"New Grade 1 learners started their "big school" journey at Somerset West Primary with excitement and family pride.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"First-day smiles at Somerset West Primary School\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"New Grade 1 learners started their "big school" journey at Somerset West Primary with excitement and family pride.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/school\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/districtmail\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-21T07:56:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-18T14:59:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_2708_98844-e1768981299326.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"District Mail and Helderberg Gazette\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@district_mail\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@district_mail\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"District Mail and Helderberg Gazette\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"District Mail and Helderberg Gazette\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a2d643edb30d8c9b5b3d47ab5d6f934e\"},\"headline\":\"First-day smiles at Somerset West Primary School\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-21T07:56:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-18T14:59:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":104,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/IMG_2708_98844-e1768981299326.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Featured\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Galleries\",\"Schools\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\\\/\",\"name\":\"First-day smiles at Somerset West Primary School | DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/IMG_2708_98844-e1768981299326.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-21T07:56:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-18T14:59:55+00:00\",\"description\":\"New Grade 1 learners started their \\\"big school\\\" journey at Somerset West Primary with excitement and family pride.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/IMG_2708_98844-e1768981299326.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/IMG_2708_98844-e1768981299326.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":1200,\"caption\":\"David Josephs shared the momentous occasion with his son Eesa.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Galleries\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/galleries\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"First-day smiles at Somerset West Primary School\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/\",\"name\":\"District Mail & Helderberg Gazette\",\"description\":\"To Inform, Engage and Empower Local Communities\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"District Mail & Helderberg Gazette\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/district-mail-site-icon.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/district-mail-site-icon.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"District Mail & Helderberg Gazette\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/districtmail\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/district_mail\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/distrikspos\\\/\"],\"description\":\"DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette has been the heartbeat of the Helderberg for nine decades. DistrictMail was established as a newspaper in 1928, with the goal of keeping the communities it serves informed. Helderberg Gazette was founded in 1998, as a free title distributed to the same communities.\",\"email\":\"districtmail@novusmedia.com\",\"telephone\":\"+27218530211\",\"legalName\":\"Novus Media (Pty) Ltd\",\"foundingDate\":\"2025-01-01\",\"vatID\":\"4100318916\",\"taxID\":\"2000\\\/018234\\\/07\",\"numberOfEmployees\":{\"@type\":\"QuantitativeValue\",\"minValue\":\"51\",\"maxValue\":\"200\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a2d643edb30d8c9b5b3d47ab5d6f934e\",\"name\":\"District Mail and Helderberg Gazette\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/40b8a06b228a6e4c9fc59fa596cafeff73f94d283340e109c8224bcfefe7872f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/40b8a06b228a6e4c9fc59fa596cafeff73f94d283340e109c8224bcfefe7872f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/40b8a06b228a6e4c9fc59fa596cafeff73f94d283340e109c8224bcfefe7872f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"District Mail and Helderberg Gazette\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/author\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"First-day smiles at Somerset West Primary School | DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette","description":"New Grade 1 learners started their \"big school\" journey at Somerset West Primary with excitement and family pride.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"First-day smiles at Somerset West Primary School","og_description":"New Grade 1 learners started their \"big school\" journey at Somerset West Primary with excitement and family pride.","og_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/school\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\/","og_site_name":"DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/districtmail\/","article_published_time":"2026-01-21T07:56:51+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-06-18T14:59:55+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":1200,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_2708_98844-e1768981299326.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"District Mail and Helderberg Gazette","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@district_mail","twitter_site":"@district_mail","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"District Mail and Helderberg Gazette","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\/"},"author":{"name":"District Mail and Helderberg Gazette","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#\/schema\/person\/a2d643edb30d8c9b5b3d47ab5d6f934e"},"headline":"First-day smiles at Somerset West Primary School","datePublished":"2026-01-21T07:56:51+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-18T14:59:55+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\/"},"wordCount":104,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_2708_98844-e1768981299326.jpg","keywords":["Featured"],"articleSection":["Galleries","Schools"],"inLanguage":"en-ZA"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\/","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\/","name":"First-day smiles at Somerset West Primary School | DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_2708_98844-e1768981299326.jpg","datePublished":"2026-01-21T07:56:51+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-18T14:59:55+00:00","description":"New Grade 1 learners started their \"big school\" journey at Somerset West Primary with excitement and family pride.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-ZA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_2708_98844-e1768981299326.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_2708_98844-e1768981299326.jpg","width":800,"height":1200,"caption":"David Josephs shared the momentous occasion with his son Eesa."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/first-day-smiles-at-somerset-west-primary-school\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Galleries","item":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/galleries\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"First-day smiles at Somerset West Primary School"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#website","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/","name":"District Mail & Helderberg Gazette","description":"To Inform, Engage and Empower Local Communities","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-ZA"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#organization","name":"District Mail & Helderberg Gazette","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/district-mail-site-icon.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/district-mail-site-icon.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"District Mail & Helderberg Gazette"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/districtmail\/","https:\/\/x.com\/district_mail","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/distrikspos\/"],"description":"DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette has been the heartbeat of the Helderberg for nine decades. DistrictMail was established as a newspaper in 1928, with the goal of keeping the communities it serves informed. Helderberg Gazette was founded in 1998, as a free title distributed to the same communities.","email":"districtmail@novusmedia.com","telephone":"+27218530211","legalName":"Novus Media (Pty) Ltd","foundingDate":"2025-01-01","vatID":"4100318916","taxID":"2000\/018234\/07","numberOfEmployees":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","minValue":"51","maxValue":"200"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#\/schema\/person\/a2d643edb30d8c9b5b3d47ab5d6f934e","name":"District Mail and Helderberg Gazette","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/40b8a06b228a6e4c9fc59fa596cafeff73f94d283340e109c8224bcfefe7872f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/40b8a06b228a6e4c9fc59fa596cafeff73f94d283340e109c8224bcfefe7872f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/40b8a06b228a6e4c9fc59fa596cafeff73f94d283340e109c8224bcfefe7872f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"District Mail and Helderberg Gazette"},"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/author\/districtmailhelderberg\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/school_article\/296172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/school_article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/school_article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/school_article\/296172\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"school","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/school?post=296172"},{"taxonomy":"school_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/school_topic?post=296172"},{"taxonomy":"school_activity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/school_activity?post=296172"},{"taxonomy":"school_province","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/school_province?post=296172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}