Hostels

We Appreciate You!

As the year draws to a close, we are reminded of the incredible team of people which is responsible for the smooth running of our 3 boarding houses: Max Kroon House (grades 1-4), Herby Arnott House (grade 5-12 girls) and Arthur Kingwill House (grade 5-12 boys).

There are people in this photo who leave home at 5am to prepare breakfast for our boarders, and those who stay on duty to attend to their needs way into the night. These are the people who neaten the beds, who poli…sh the floors, who water the gardens, who stitch on a button when needed. This is the team which makes our boarding houses the clean, pristine places that they are. At the end of a good year we are grateful for all the meetings that go on behind the scenes – each litre of milk and loaf of bread that is ordered, each sandwich that is made, each meal that is planned and flower that is planted. We are grateful for each little hug, for homework that is monitored, for cooked breakfasts and healthy snacks for our matrics. We are thankful for the boilers that are stoked to provide warm water, for laundry that is done, for smiles and care. We are grateful for meticulous management of parents’ fees.
Our boarders are provided with a real home from home at these establishments. We are grateful for the special touches that are added, for fun events, for green fields, beautiful views and fresh air. Our boarders are blessed with pastoral care, with structure, and with a place that promotes healthy development of the body, mind and spirit.
As our boarders head off for holidays at home, we pay tribute to this incredible team!

Bulletin, Student Life

Grade 5 Excursion

The Gr 5s enjoyed a reward excursion (no DT this year) to the Gariep Dam district. They went on a fascinating dam wall tour & were excited to see and learn how the dam operates. Thereafter, a delicious lunch was served by Mrs Pienaar at the Forever Resort Campsite.

Great fun was had setting up camp and the children so enjoyed playing in the play park all afternoon. Mr Steenkamp and a few boys took care of the braaiing and then supper under the stars was enjoyed. The night was long, noisy and full of fun.

After breakfast the following day the group visited the Pienaar’s farm. On the farm Jack Pienaar, Hayden’s dad, demonstrated how a windmill works using the wind and kinetic energy. Then at the Orange River the learners were shown the solar panels which generate the energy needed to pump water from the river onto the lucern fields.

A sheep dog demonstration wowed us all and we all had the opportunity of touching a lamb. Hot and tired we arrived at the Wimpy in Colesberg and enjoyed our lunch. On the return journey the buses were quiet as most children slept off the effects of an all-night stay awake. The trip was educational & fun with time for learning, playing and just chilling.

We received a couple of compliments on our sweet and well-behaved learners. We all loved this trip!

Bulletin

We Remember Them

Our school paused on Friday, 9 November to remember the members of the armed forces who have died on duty since World War I. Remembrance Day is usually observed on 11 November to recall the official end of World War I on that date in 1918, as the major hostilities of World War I were formally ended “at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month” of… 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.

Rev Dr Mark Marais led the devotions, while the Headmaster, Mr Pringle, spoke about the significance of the day, and its relevance to the youth of today, that now, thankfully, a great many South Africans, have no personal experience of war, no way of knowing the anguish of enforced separation, or the greater grief of separations made permanent. And for that reason amongst others, it is time to renew our pledge.

Mr Pringle told the story of Old Unionite Lt. Victor De Kock RN, MBE, DSC, and MID, South Africa’s most decorated sailor. He was born in Clarendon in 1919, matriculated at Union High in Graaff-Reinet and died at the age of 23 years having earned the highest of military honours. He was the South African Navy’s most decorated war hero, the only officer to receive three awards for gallantry. He was one of four members of the Union High School 1937 1st Cricket Team who were killed in action during the Second World War.

It is fortunate that in schools and in workplaces, in cities and in the country-side, South Africans stop, just for a moment, to consider what was lost to us. And to recognise what was granted to us by the exercise of such moral courage.

Mr Charles Maasdorp, Head boy of the school in 1951, played the Last Post and the Reveille while Mr Sparrius lowered and raised the national flag. Wreaths were laid by the Head Prefects, Jenna McNaughton and Peter Watermeyer, and by Mr John Crankshaw on behalf of the Old Unionite Association. By this act of remembrance, we cherish and nurture this possession, their gift. We prove an understanding both of its value and its cost. We build a bridge across time. By recognising both what has been lost to us and what has been gained, by renewing our pledge to remember, we declare, of all our fallen: “They are not missing. They are here”.

In honour of Remembrance Day, James Rose-Innes wrote the following poem:

100 Years ago

100 years ago, the war was done
Finished with it’s aweful run
Creating heroes who were brave
But only to be celebrated at their grave.

There was great joy to the end of the war
But also great sadness which bore
Into the hearts of men
Who experienced it there and then.

Our condolences are poured into a red poppy
Representing the blood that was shed
Warriors on boats, fields and in the air as well
We had to bid farewell.

I should hopefully never know the effect of the war
Because of those courageous men
Who bravely fought so
100 years ago.

Bulletin, Cultural

New Marimbas for UHS

It is with great excitement that we received a brand new set of marimbas! More learners will now be able to play in the marimba band and it will be used to add flavor to our choir performances, in the annual productions and as entertainment at various functions. Auditions for the new band will start shortly.

Biathlon, Sport Results

Biathlon

The 4th EP league event was hosted by Volkskool this weekend (10 November) in true Karoo style.  With music playing, temperatures soaring and the smell of kudo burgers and lamb sosaties wafting over the track and pool, it was a splendid event in all respects and was definitely enjoyed by spectators and competitors alike.  Special mention must be made of the organisers and the awesome Union and Volkskool mums who got stuck in behind the scenes to contribute the ultimate success of the day.

Due to this event being hosted in our back yard, Union was fortunate to be able to field a larger than usual team, despite it being held in the middle of final exams. Well done especially to all the first-timers who overcame their nerves and participated with great enjoyment and produced some wonderful results.  Congratulations must go to Mrs Hanli Rose-Innes (running) and her husband, Rowan (swimming) who took part in the fun relay event and held the Union name high!  Well done to the relay team of Kendall Krige, Drew Dobinson and Bowen Langmead who came 2nd in the Senior relay event with an extremely competitive performance.

It is always particularly impressive to watch our regular athletes focusing to keep pushing themselves to better their times at every outing and this event was no different, with almost every single one of our athletes improving their personal bests in one or both of the disciplines. It was also wonderful to welcome seven newcomers to this exciting sport and we hope that these athletes have been bitten by the biathlon bug, and will continue to compete and represent Union on a regular basis.

 

 

DATE: NAME: RUN TIME SCORE SWIM TIME SCORE TOTAL
10 Nov Tyra Binney 4:52:47 693 1:33:50 929 1622
Caytah Koeberg 4:35:86 776 1:47:72 787 1563
Brent Hesselink 6:36:81 656 1:52:87 675 1331
Ruzhe Hendricks 6:33:40 673 2:17:63 428 1101
James Rose-Innes 7:20:09 440 1:51:81 686 1125
Kendall Krige 4:10:77 866 1:19:24 1042 1908
Drew Dobinson 3:49:14 974 1:31:06 923 1898
Brigette Oelofsen 4:13:04 855 1:28:06 953 1808
Bowen Langmead 6:08:64 702 1:21:60 978 1680
James Potgieter 6:50:15 494 1:23:72 957 1451
Megan Doyle 4:16:24 844 1:17:72 1067 1911
Jenna McNaughton 3:55:67 947 1:35:74 887 1833

 

Bulletin

UHS Golf Day Postponed

Dear Parents, Old Unionites, and Friends of the Union

We hereby advise that the Annual Union High Golf Day, scheduled for Saturday, 10 November has been postponed until our Centenary Year in 2019, at a time when more of our visiting Old Unionites will be able to be part of this great event.

We apologise to those golfers who have already booked to play on Saturday, and also thank our sponsors for their commitment – we will definitely approach them again in the new year.

We look forward to the Centenary Golf Day and further information will be sent out early in 2019.

Sport Results, Tennis

Junior Tennis

Our top four girls and boys represented Union in the annual Jocelyn Marais Invitational Tennis Tournament organised by MatchPoint Tennis on Friday and Saturday.

Although we played against very strong teams, our players rose to the challenge and played very good tennis. It was a great experience and the players certainly benefitted from exposure to tennis of such a high standard.

Well done to all the players on an excellent tournament. Our girls ended in fifth place and the boys seventh.

Sport Results, Swimming

C Age Group Gala

Union went to the C Age Group Gala in Port Elizabeth on Saturday. Our six swimmers bravely took on the cold water. There were 190 swimmers in total.

Zara Deysel-Douman came 8th in Backstroke and 9th in Freestyle. Anna-May Hayes came 6th in Backstroke, 8th in Breaststroke and 10th in Freestyle. Angus McLaggen came 3rd in Backstroke, 4th in Breaststroke and 3rd in Freestyle.

Well done to all the swimmers.

Cricket, Sport Results

Junior Cricket vs Westering

This weekend our u13 cricket boys played their last two matches of the season against Westering Primary from Port Elizabeth.

Friday (T20)

After winning the toss we selected to bat first against a strong bowling attack. Our batsmen did well under pressure, but struggled to get runs on the board ending our innings on 63/7. Unfortunately our bowlers could not restrict Westering and they chased down out score with 8 wickets in hand.

Saturday (50 overs)

On Saturday we were asked to bowl first and even though this was one of our best bowling and fielding displays all year, Westering managed to score 327 in their 50 overs. Our batsmen did their best in unfavourable conditions, but could only reach 67 all out, losing with 260 runs.