Bulletin, Cricket

Pitch Prep

Maintaining the pristine finish of Union High School’s high-end cricket grounds, or any school’s for that matter, isn’t an easy task, especially with pitches in use for long periods of the spring and summer months.
Although COVID-19 has stumped our 2020/21 cricket season, it has led to our cricket pitches experiencing less traffic, therefore giving our ground staff an opportunity to delve into the art and graft of cricket groundsmanship to produce a quality playing surface for when play eventually resumes.
As it goes without saying that preparing a cricket pitch must be one of the most drawn-out, effort-intensive activities in the field of sports, Union High School extends its immense gratitude to our estate manager Mr Donald Kingwill and our talented team of groundsmen for their consistent efforts in ensuring that Union’s cricket grounds are pitch-perfect.
These past few months have seen a tremendous amount of work done to the pitches on the Puttick and Minnaar fields, which included a layer of bulli added to the pitches just this week.
Our grateful thanks are also extended to our Old Unionites and the Old Unionite Association for their constant support of the school in this endeavour, in particular to Messrs Dave Stern, John Crankshaw and William Copeman for their valued contributions.
We look forward to watching some top-class competitive games on these pitches when our boys are able to take the field again!
Bulletin, Student Life

Head Prefects 2021 Announced

Union High School is delighted to announce our head prefects for 2020/21.
They are Kyle-Luke du Preez (Head Boy), Hannah Watermeyer (Head Girl), James Pienaar (Deputy Head Boy) and Amzolele Relu (Deputy Head Girl).
We wish them all the best for their year of leadership and servitude and know that they will do their school proud!
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank our 2019/20 prefects, who have done a wonderful job as ambassadors of the school this year, and in particular, have continued to raise spirits during a most unusual time in our school’s history. They are Somila Batala, Jaden Brotherton, Matthew Hesselink, Katherine Imrie, William Kayster, Sara Kingwill, Lauren Rose-Innes, Mack Rubidge, Jade Shires, Buchule Siloti, Benito Vers, Deger Williams, Laetitia Theron (Deputy Head Girl), Bowen Langmead (Head Boy), Sakhe Booi (Head Girl), Brett Amsterdam (Deputy Head Boy).
Bulletin, Student Life

A – 10 Dinner 2020

When the bell rang on their first day of school back in 2009, they could never have imagined what would take place over the next 12 years.
As the Winnie The Pooh quote goes, “We didn’t realise we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun”.
In a year where our matric learners experienced disenfranchised grief, a loss of so much that they should have experienced, Union Preparatory School was privileged to uphold the tradition of hosting the annual A to 10 Dinner, albeit a bit differently, this year.
What would traditionally have been a formal sit-down dinner for the learners who have been at Union since Grade 1, some even as long as their pre-primary years, was this year turned into a special ‘drive-through’ on Monday evening, 9 November, to ensure that all safety concerns regarding Covid-19 were adhered to.
This didn’t mean that it was any less special. Dressed to the nines, the Grade 12 learners received a warm welcome at the gates to the school, were a special personalised number plate featuring the matric learner’s name was affixed to every car.
The learners and their parents could then stop to take

UPS principal Ms Belinda Botha with Mr Johnny Swartz.

photos at any of the many photo corners lining the school’s drive, after which they received an envelope filled with messages and drawings made especially for them by Union Prep School’s little learners.

They then received a beautifully-prepared three-course meal to enjoy at home with their parents.
“This event is a very special occasion for those learners and their parents alike who have been on the entirety of their Union journey together. Union Preparatory, as a school, is thankful that we were still able to find a way to celebrate this special milestone,” said the school’s principal, Ms Belinda Botha.
“We applaud our matrics for pushing through their loss and for applying themselves to their studies this year. It is hard to believe that in a few short weeks, they will be leaving Union. We wish them well as they head into their matric final examinations.”
Bulletin, Tennis

Well Done Grace!

This past Saturday, 31 October, Union High School Grade 5 learner Grace Kemp competed in a TSA tournament in Port Elizabeth.
She did well to get to the semi-finals of the u/12 division, losing narrowly to Border’s top-ranked player.  Grace ended up coming third, beating a player from the Western Province in the 3rd/4th play-off match.
Bulletin, Tennis

Young Tennis Player To Watch

Congratulations to Grade 7 learner Tara Ferreira who participated in the TSA Junior Nationals championship in Bloemfontein at the end of October.
Tara, who competed in the Girls u/12 Singles division, started the tournament off well, winning her first encounter. Her second match saw her meeting the top-ranked player in the division. She lost this match 1-6, 2-6.
The rest of the back draw matches were called off due to rain.
Overall, it was a good experience for this young tennis player and, most assuredly, not her last at this level.
Bulletin

Good Luck Matrics 2020

We wish our Grade 12s the very best as they start their final exams with English HL Paper 1 today, Thursday, 5 November, at 14:00.

In a year where you have had to ‘step up to the plate’ so many times, we know your next step will be a strong and determined one.

Create your own ending!

Academic, Bulletin

Developing Young, Bright, Mathematical Minds

Union High School was recently presented with a 𝟮𝟬𝘁𝗵 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 by the South African Mathematics Foundation. This award acknowledges the school’s annual participation in the SA Mathematics Olympiad for the past 20 years.
Union congratulates all our current and past math educators for ensuring that our young math enthusiasts participate in this event!
Union High School is proud of our long-standing association with this national Olympiad and look forward to participating again in future.
The South African Mathematics Olympiad (SAMO) is South Africa’s biggest Olympiad. Approximately 100 000 high school learners from Grade 8 to Grade 12 participate annually. Through participation in this event, Union hopes to generate enthusiasm and curiosity for the subject in our learners. Mathematics competitions are becoming more and more important as it emphasizes that the school subject called “Mathematics” isn’t just about mechanical calculations or numeracy, but about thinking and the discovery, and validation, of problem-solving methods.
Bulletin

Budget 2021

Dear parents/guardians,
Please take note that the Union Schools 2021 Budget is available for viewing (by appointment only) at Union High School from 3 to 16 November 2020.
Please contact the school at 049 891 0262 to make an appointment.
🡆 The Annual General Meeting at which this budget will be presented to parents will be held on Monday evening,16 November, in the Union High School Hall:
• Union Preparatory School @ 17:30
• Boarding Houses @ 18:00
• Union High School @ 18:30
All parents/guardians are requested to diarise this very important date and to make an effort to attend if at all possible.