Members of Union High School’s management team, Mrs. Yvette Cloete and Mrs. Nelia Read, are among hundreds of school leaders, academics, experts, policymakers and other key stakeholders from around the country, attending the SAOU Leaders’ Conference at the Mpekweni Beach Resort, taking place today and tomorrow, Friday and Saturday, 10 and 11 May.
This conference, hosted by the South African Teachers’ Union (SAOU), offers Union…’s representatives a unique opportunity to analyse current trends in education, issues and debates around quality inclusive leadership and to share experiences and ideas on how to move the educational agenda forward.
Seen here are Union’s representatives Mrs. Yvette Cloete and Mrs. Nelia Read, with the members of the management teams of two other local schools represented at the conference, Mrs. Santa Potgieter (Laer Volkskool), Mrs. Henriëtte Malan (Hoër Volkskool) and Rita de Villiers (Laer Volkskool).
A gala banquet, organised by Union High School as part of the school’s year-long centenary celebrations, was held on a grand scale in Graaff-Reinet this past Friday evening, 3 May.
And, what a truly memorable evening it turned out to be with just over 250 guests, young and old, past and current parents and staff, Old Unionites as well as honoured guests, treated to a very special night.
Upon arrival, the guests were met with welcome drinks and canapés on the school’s beautiful sportsgrounds and as the sun set, were enthralled by a variety of performances by the school’s marimba band, choir ensembles, musicians and soloists. It was then on to a lavish banquet inside the Marquee tent, magnificently decorated for the occasion.
Headmaster William Pringle delivered a welcoming address, using the opportunity to thank everyone involved in the centenary celebrations.
The evening’s Master of Ceremonies, Adrian Arnott – the son of the legendary headmaster Herby Arnott – then proceeded to introduce a number of speakers.
During the speeches that followed, the phrase “The past beats inside me like a second heart” as extracted from John Banville’s novel ’The Sea’ is the only apt way of describing the sense of nostalgia, pride and enthusiasm that radiated from all those present, creating a fantastically festive atmosphere within the Marquee.
After a few treasured words by guest speaker Derek Light, previous chairman of the UPS and UHS Governing Bodies and current chairman of the Union High Development Trust, the evening’s keynote speaker was introduced.
For this special occasion, Union High School called on the services of a very special guest to help celebrate its centenary banquet with style. Old Unionite, Doug Stern, proved a fitting keynote speaker, as the proud alum referred to Union’s illustrious history spanning the past 100 years, interspersed with quaint anecdotes about the visionaries and legendary characters that shaped the school into what it is today.
The evening’s Master of Ceremonies, Adrian Arnott – the son of the legendary headmaster Herby Arnott
Mr. Derek Light, previous chairman of the UPS and UHS Governing Bodies and current chairman of the Union High Development Trust, presented Mr. Douglas Stern, on behalf of Union High School, with a certificate in grateful recognition of his family’s loyalty to the school (which almost spans a full century).
Following Stern’s speech, guests were treated to a sumptuous three-course meal, served up by Dianne Murray and her capable team, after which the draw for the Old Unionite’s Association’s 100Club was conducted and a magnum bottle of ‘Chakalaka’ wine auctioned off by Duncan McClaggan.
The guests were clearly keen to support Union, as the R10 000 1st prize of the 100Club draw was graciously donated back to the organisation, with the wine also fetching the hefty sum of R5 000.
After all the formalities were finalised, the guests took to the dancefloor and proceeded to dance the night away.
“The evening was a huge success and a great coming together of people from over several decades who travelled from far and near,” Headmaster William Pringle stated. “Throughout the evening we witnessed great interaction between the various age groups from past pupils or people who have strong links with the school. It was a magical evening and the commitment by all who helped in organising the event, as well as all who supported the event, bears testament to why Union has achieved so much these past 100 years,” Pringle said afterwards.
Union High School extends a big thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of the evening, especially to the spectacular team, headed up by Karin Marais, who coordinated the marquee, décor and the evening’s programme to ensure an unforgettable and most enjoyable occasion.
Commemorative wine available
One of Union High School’s Centenary Projects has been the bottling of a limited Cabernet Sauvignon Vintage 2015, produced by Fairview Estates. The label of this elegant bottle of wine was designed by Old Unionite Mieke Marais and depicts the historic façade of the school along with the Centenary logo
This wine is available from the school at R600 a case or R100 a bottle. Buyer to arrange own courier.
Contact Mrs. Marais at 049 891 0262 or email secretary@unionschools.co.za to place your order.
Union High School’s Eco-Amazing Race is exactly one month away! Remember to secure your entry to stand a chance of winning one of the amazing prizes that will be up for grabs. All teams will walk away with a prize!
We invite families of 4 to enter this fun-filled event (no more than 2 adults on a team). The entry fee per team is R100. There are only 10 spots available, so first come, first serve.
For further information, or to request an entry form, please contact Mrs. Burger on 049 891 0262 or e-mail uhsmarketing@unionschools.co.za
When Burgersdorp High School’s hockey teams visited UHS on Saturday morning, 4 May, they found themselves on the back foot from the get-go, when their u/16A team went down 6 – 0 to Union’s u/16Bs.
Burgersdorp’s second team also conceded six unanswered goals as Union u/16As cruised to a 6 – 0 victory. A great achievement for the u/16As in taking on a senior team
Union’s first team girls then took to the turf. They struggled to keep possession for lengthy periods of the first half and failed to convert chances on offer.
Goals by Henze Jaftha, Rosslyn Sparks and Marche Green in the first half, however, saw Union lead by 3 – 0 at half time.
It was, however, a game of two halves with the Union girls seeming to find their flair in the second half. Union managed to score a further 6 goals with an improved performance. Goals by Rosslyn Sparks, Jenna McNaughton, Laetitia Theron (2), Micela Loock and Jade Shires sealed a 9 – 0 victory.
“There is much work needed to be done this week ahead of a tough fixture against Stirling High School this weekend,” says coach Alvin August.
“The tone will need to set from the word go in order to come home successful.”
Behind every invention or new innovation is a person who saw a problem or an opportunity and invented a solution or a new device.
One such bright mind is Zack Botha, a Grade 6 learner at Union High School. While sitting in Mathematics one day, inspiration hit him, and he proceeded to ‘upcycle’ two everyday stationery items, an empty Pritt glue stick and an old pencil sharpener. From these two items, Zack created a pencil sharpener with a catchment.
“While it can be bought, this is an easy and cheap way to create a pencil sharpener that you can use at your desk without having to walk to the wastebasket every time you need to sharpen a pencil,” says Zack.
Maybe one day Zack will develop a world-changing new invention, who knows?
All we can say is that at Union, we’re big fans of innovation in all its forms, and we just love it when our learners think out of the box to create something inspired!
On Monday afternoon, 6 May, Union High School’s chess players competed in an individual Swiss Open chess tournament in Middelburg.
This tournament served as the second round of trials to select a team to represent the Chris Hani Chess District at the South African Junior Chess Championship to be held in Johannesburg in early January 2020.
Union will soon hear who will be invited to participate in the closed tournament in August, where it will be determined which Union players will represent the district and the school at a national level.
On Wednesday, 15 May, 23 Union learners will participate in the second round of the South African Mathematics Olympiad (SAMO).
The South African Mathematics Olympiad (SAMO) is South Africa’s biggest Olympiad. Approximately 86 000 high school learners across the country participate annually.
There are two divisions: a junior division for Grades 8 and 9 and a senior division for Grades 10 to 12. Learners who score at least 50% in the first round which was this year written on 12 March qualify for the second round in May. The top (approximately) 100 junior and 100 senior learners from the second round qualify for the final round in July.
The senior learners who qualified for the second round are (top) James Rose-Innes, Elia Railton, Hannah Watermeyer, Megan Doyle, Sicelokuhle (SO) Sishuba (bottom) Sabrina Potgieter, Lungile Netnou, Laetitia Theron, Ezra Mangunda and Peter Watermeyer.
The juniors are (top) Matthew McNaughton, Hannah Bodenstein, AJ Victor, Matthew Basson, Chloe Koeberg, (middle) Caitrin Spence, Simone Prinsloo, Gemma Naudé, Tayla Kingwill, David Kinghorn, (bottom) Siphosethu Malotana, Trinity West and Cadee Arends.
On Election Day, Wednesday, 8 May, Union’s Herby Arnott House held a fun MasterChef competition to celebrate the mid-week public holiday.
All the boarders were divided into teams, after which they were all given the same set of ingredients with which to showcase their impressive food skills. The dishes were judged on creativity, appearance and taste.
There are definitely some chefs in the making at Herby Arnott, as the judges were very impressed with the level of creativity the boarders displayed during this fun and engaging cook-off.
Headmaster William Pringle delivered a welcoming address, using the opportunity to thank everyone involved in the centenary celebrations.
Commemorative wine available
Behind every invention or new innovation is a person who saw a problem or an opportunity and invented a solution or a new device.
