Whiteboard Technology

๐—ช๐—ต๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฏ๐—ผ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ป๐—ผ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ด๐˜† ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฐ๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—บ
Interactive whiteboards (IWBs) were introduced at Union several years ago to replace the traditional chalkboard in classrooms and from the beginning, were destined to make a great impact on teaching at the school.
The projector-based IWBs, which were set to not only enhance the way our teachers teach but also enhance the way our learners learn, let teachers display anything on a computer to the entire classroom, ushering in a new world of educational possibility.
Teachers were empowered with an exciting new tool. Learner engagement increased. And classroom collaboration was set to skyrocket.
Today, interactive whiteboards are firmly established as a teaching tool at Union.
Given the many benefits IWBs bring to the classroom, Union recently acquired its first IWB with a large-format touchscreen display.
This particular interactive whiteboard delivers the benefits of original projector-based IWB systems, plus added functionality.
The uses for these IWBs are virtually endless. Among their many features and benefits, they offer the following:
โ–ถ Teacher-directed viewing of any website, app, video or document to support learning objectives
โ–ถ The dramatic emphasis of key learning points with on-screen highlighting and annotation
โ–ถ Save and print capability, for instant handouts, supplementary notes and absent students
โ–ถ Facilitation of group projects and individual presentations
โ–ถ The ability to collaborate on text documents, spreadsheets, design projects, etc.
โ–ถ Video conferencing connectivity for virtual field trips, international sister classrooms and more
โ–ถ Text/data entry via floating on-screen keyboard
โ–ถ On-screen editing and recording of changes or additions
โ–ถ Support for effective special needs education
โ–ถ Learner feedback and assessment with optional audience response accessories
Additionally, you can add and work on images within the classroom. It allows you to add lines, shapes, and more for a variety of subjects such as Mathematics and Physical Science. It also allows you to go back and work on previous work that, in the past, would have long been erased on a chalkboard.
Never before have there been so many tech tools at our teachersโ€™ disposal for educating in entirely new, exciting, and promising ways! We look forward to introducing these new IWBs to our other classrooms in the near future!

Philosophy Club

๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜๐—ต๐˜† ๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜„ ๐—ฃ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ต๐˜† ๐—–๐—น๐˜‚๐—ฏ
A new club was created at Union High School this year – and itโ€™s definitely making people think.
The ๐—ฃ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ต๐˜† ๐—–๐—น๐˜‚๐—ฏ will see participants getting together every two weeks to discuss numerous thought-provoking topics, that vary from the metaphysical to the pragmatic, including, but not limited to, morals, perception, love, emotions and different views of reality.
The club was created by Grade 12 learners, Max Wright and James Rose-Innes, who were inspired by a recent donation of a โ€˜THINK Tableโ€™ to the school by Old Unionite, Mr Adrian Arnott.
The Philosophy Club’s founders, Grade 12 learners James Rose-Innes and Max Wright.
Mr Arnott gifted the school with this extraordinary thought-provoking table in order to promote a culture of โ€˜deeper thinkingโ€™ at the school.
The idea behind it certainly took root and led to these two matric learners, who found the idea of developing often unvoiced ideas discovered in other classes too appealing to be ignored, establishing a forum for the free expression of thought and speech, where learners can have fun while having the space to explore ideas.
At its inaugural meeting on Tuesday afternoon, 9 March, it already boasted 14 members who delved right into the first topic up for discussion – a classic thought experiment known as the trolley dilemma, developed by philosopher Philippa Foot in 1967.
The trolley dilemma is a thought experiment about a fictional scenario in which an onlooker has the choice to save 5 people in danger of being hit by a trolley, by diverting the trolley to kill just 1 person. The term is often used more loosely with regard to any choice that seemingly has a trade-off between what is good and what sacrifices are “acceptable,” if at all.
The philosophical discussion that ensued generated a wealth of rich and meaningful conversation among the learners present and allowed the learners to think through the consequences of an action and consider whether its moral value is determined solely by its outcome.
Any learners that are interested in expanding their perspectives, joining in conversations that challenge opinions and sharing their insights are encouraged to attend the Clubโ€™s next meeting on Tuesday evening, 23 March, at 17:00 in the Union High School Hall.
Some of the Philosophy Club’s members around Union’s ‘THINK Table’ at the inaugural meeting on Tuesday, 9 March.

A Return To Cricket

โ€œ๐˜‹๐˜ฐ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ ๐˜ง๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ด? ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜บ.โ€ – Mike Singletary
More than a year after Covid-19 brought schools cricket to a halt, Unionโ€™s cricketers were excited to be able to take to the field again in two matches this past weekend – the first, against the Graaff-Reinet Cricket Club on Friday evening, 5 March, the second against the Brain Bands Invitation Team on Saturday morning, 6 March.
๐—ง๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ ๐˜ƒ๐˜€ ๐—š๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฎ๐—ณ๐—ณ-๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—–๐—–
Friday eveningโ€™s encounter against the Graaff-Reinet CC saw Unionโ€™s 1st XI take to the field at the Botanics Sports Grounds for a T20 match.
Graaff-Reinet CC won the toss and elected to bat first.
The Union boys took to the field with a positive energy, but was put under pressure right from the very first ball by the Clubโ€™s batsmen, who managed to conclude their innings with a total of 158 for 6. Unionโ€™s best bowler was Hlaki Skepe (3 for 27 in 4 overs).
Early damage to Unionโ€™s batting line-up caused by excellent swing bowling from the Clubโ€™s bowlers, saw the team in early trouble at 3 for 2. Chasing a total of 158 then became an insurmountable challenge, as wickets continued to fall. Unionโ€™s batsmen were bowled out for 72 runs. Dylan Kriel top-scored for Union with 14 runs, followed by Rogan Odendaal (12) and Josh Calitz (12).
๐Ÿฐ๐Ÿฌ ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐˜ƒ๐˜€ ๐—•๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—•๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐˜€
On Saturday, 6 March, Union played against the Brian Bands Invitation Team at Union High Schoolโ€™s Minnaar Field.
The Union team was determined to improve on their performance from the previous evening and, with Unionโ€™s pitches starved of cricket, Union chose to bat first when they won the toss to take full advantage of a really good track.
Patience at the crease saw Unionโ€™s top order create a good platform, setting themselves up for a competitive total. Union managed to score 172 for 5 in their allotted 40 overs. Batsmen Jarrod Naude (38), Josh Calitz (31), James Pringle (20), MJ Newton (19) and James Pienaar (16) were the main contributors.
The Union team then took to the field with new-found confidence, striking early in the first over with a brilliantly executed delivery by Lihle Mxhunyelwa to disturb the woodwork, leaving the visitors at 0 for 1.
Shortly thereafter, Lihle struck again twice, and the Brian Bands team found themselves 3 wickets down with only 10 runs on the board.
Union continued to apply steady pressure through excellent bowling and fielding, holding onto 5 catches to dismiss the opposing team for 86.
Unionโ€™s best bowlers were Laythan Carelse (4 for 24), Lihle Mxhunyelwa (3 for 15) and James Pienaar (2 for 18).
The Union team must be commended on a brilliant team effort.

Academic Awards

We would like to take this opportunity to honour learners in each respective grade who had attained high academic successes during the course of last year.
We would like to congratulate these learners – not simply on their high achievement in academics, as important as that is – but on their deep and genuine engagement in learning and an eagerness to stretch and challenge themselves to get the most out of their education at Union.
โ€ข These awards are calculated on learnersโ€™ November 2020 results.
โ€ข These Grade 6 to 8 learners identified here, will be awarded academic bars, the Grade 9 and 10 learners academic ties and the Grade 11 and 12 learners Half and Full Colours.

Grade 6
Kirsten Collett
Nasreen Foster
Tara Piercy
Aimee Short
Amber Slater

Grade 7
Josh Arends
Amber Bezuidenhout
Samantha Charles
Taegen Hamid
Ciara Kivedo
Jade Palmer
Katelyn Trollip

Grade 8
Muhammad Ahmed
Sasha Cochrane
Zara Deysel-Douman
Tara Ferreira
Erin Gedult
Kenza Neill
Megan Nortje

Grade 9
Caytah-Leigh Koeberg
Naโ€™eem Mahomed
Sade May
Joy Merifield
Joshua Neill
Charlize Vorster

Grade 10
Cadee Arends
Lana Bouwer
Siyamthanda Desha
Jenna-Lee Jansen
Tayla Kingwill
Siphosethu Malontana
Gemma Naude
Brigette Oelofsen
Anna Pringle
Simone Prinsloo
Caitrin Spence
David Venter
Andrue Victor
Trinity West

Grade 11 Half Colours
Amber Binney
Alexandra Imrie
Chloe Shires

Grade 11 Full Colours
Matthew Basson
Kendall Krige
Matthew McNaughton
Grace Merifield
Kathryn Odendaal

Grade 12 Half Colours
Catelyn Anthony
Kyle-Luke du Preez
Petra Japhta
Litha Mngoma
James Pringle

Grade 12 Full Colours
Mekisha Manzana
Amzolele Relu
James Rose-Innes
Melissa Swart
Hanna Watermeyer

Representative Council Of Learners 2021

Union High School recently elected class representatives as well as a new Representative Council of Learners (RCL).
Elections for the new RCL were done last month and all learners from Grade 8 to 12 participated.
The class representatives and members of the RCL are, at all times, expected to carry themselves with excellence and epitomise what a Union learner should be: kind, caring and sensitive to the needs of others; hard-working and motivated to bring about positive change in their environment; honest, trustworthy and dependable; but, most of all, proud of their school and the opportunity to serve others. This is what the RCL of Union High School strives constantly towards.
Congratulations to:
๐—š๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐Ÿด:
โ€ข Erin Gedult (Class representative)
โ€ข Aaminah Steele (Class representative)
โ€ข Megan Nortje (Class representative)
โ€ข Kananelo Kometsi (Class representative)
โ€ข Zenande Mazana (Class representative)
โ€ข Lisakhanya Menos (Class representative)
๐—š๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐Ÿต:
โ€ข Sade May (Class representative and RCL member)
โ€ข Joshua Basson (Class representative and RCL member)
โ€ข Na’eem Mahomed (Class representative and RCL member)
โ€ข Caytah-Leigh Koeberg (Class representative and RCL member)
๐—š๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฌ:
โ€ข Laythan Carelse (Class representative and RCL member)
โ€ข Jude Langmead (Class representative and RCL member)
โ€ข Lulibo Pietersen (Class representative and RCL member)
โ€ข Caitrin Spence (Class representative and RCL member)
โ€ข Simone Prinsloo (Class representative)
โ€ข Jenna-Lee Jansen (Class representative)
๐—š๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿญ:
โ€ข Bubele Thibini (Class representative and RCL member)
โ€ข Alutho Cekiso (Class representative and RCL member)
โ€ข Asa Matross (Class representative and RCL member)
โ€ข Lisakhanya Mvandaba (Class representative and RCL member)
๐—š๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฎ:
โ€ข Siphesihle Goliath (Class representative and RCL member)
โ€ข Chloe Bosch (Class representative and RCL member)
โ€ข Liso Binqela (Class representative and RCL member)
โ€ข Hannah Watermeyer (Class representative and RCL member)

Governing Body Elections 2021

Union High School will be holding its School Governing Body elections on Friday, 19 March 2021.

We urge all parents/guardians to use this opportunity to exercise their right to elect a governing body member of choice or to make themselves available for election to serve on this important body.

Matriculant Receives Best Achiever Award

Union High School is proud to announce that Katherine Imrie has been awarded the Rupert Achievement Award for being the highest achieving 2020 matric candidate in Graaff-Reinet.
The Rupert Achievement Award consists of a cash prize that will be paid towards her studies.
Katherine has just arrived at the University of Cape Town where she has been accepted to study towards a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree.
Congratulations Katherine! Best of luck in your studies!

New Junior Co-ed Boarding Establishment

One thing is certain: change is essential. Change means growth, progress and moving forward.
In what has been one of the most significant developments at Union High School in recent times, the school officially reopened its two boarding houses as co-ed establishments on Monday, 1 March 2021 – Herby Arnott House as a junior co-educational boarding house for Grade 5 to 7 learners and Arthur Kingwill House as a senior co-educational boarding house for Grade 8 to 12 learners.
Herby Arnott House has served the school as its girlsโ€™ hostel since 1959 when it was built. Arthur Kingwill House, in turn, has served as the schoolโ€™s boysโ€™ hostel since its construction in 1953. As of this week, these two boarding establishments now offer Union High Schoolโ€™s boarders a modern, vibrant and age-appropriate co-ed experience.
Combined, the Union Preparatory School and Union High School now offer three co-educational boarding houses:
โ€ข Max Kroon House for the Grade 1 to 4 learners;
โ€ข Herby Arnott House for the Grade 5 to 7 learners and;
โ€ข Arthur Kingwill House for the Grade 8 to 12 learners.
At Union, we pride ourselves on providing our boarders with a safe and supportive environment and believe that the restructuring of our boarding establishments as co-educational houses will have many benefits for our learners, not least the further development of the family atmosphere for which Union is rightly proud, but it will also serve to provide a mutually supportive environment for both boys and girls to live and work together and learn from each other.
All three houses have separate boysโ€™ and girlsโ€™ wings with spacious common rooms, game rooms and extensive grounds and sports facilities that provide the necessary break-out spaces for busy and active children.
An experienced and dedicated team of boarding staff creates a warm and caring atmosphere across all three boarding houses, offering round the clock support to ensure the learners feel at home.
Each house has been structured in such a way that if offers its boarders a comfortable home-away-from-home where they can feel a sense of belonging, make friends and enjoy their school years fully immersed in Union’s vibrant campus life. This enables learners to flourish at a time in their life when they are making great leaps in their academic, physical and emotional development.
Seen here is our very first group of Grade 5 to 7 boarders to reside in Union’s new junior co-educational boarding establishment at Herby Arnott House.

Youth For Christ

After a year-long hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the weekly meetings of the Junior SCA resumed again last week.
Union’s Junior and Senior Student Christian Association (SCA) is a society that stands for Jesus Christ. It is a safe place for girls and boys who are walking in faith to come and grow and have fun with other Christians.
The Junior SCA meetings, which at present are open to all Grade 5, 6 and 7 boarders, are held every Wednesday evening, under the guidance of Ms Jenny Street.
These intimate meetings take the form of a Bible lesson and activities around a specific theme, supported by Scripture references and prayer.

Learners Add Colour to Middle Street

On Wednesday and Thursday afternoon, 3 and 4 March, a few of Union’s learners enjoyed the once-in-a-lifetime experience of working alongside renowned artist, Michรจlle Nigrini, while creating a massive work of art in Middle Street.
Their eye-catching mural was created to celebrate the unique immersion of colour, collaboration and creative interaction of two simultaneous art exhibitions in Graaff-Reinet, which opened to the public on Friday, 5 March.
The first exhibition, ‘In Conversation with Colour Symphony’, is being housed at the Jan Rupert Art Centre in Middle Street and is a group exhibition comprised of over 40 artworks.
The second exhibition, ‘Outside In’, is a solo exhibition by Nigrini, and is being housed in Church Street, at the Imibala Gallery.
Both exhibitions are centred around Nigrini’s extraordinary installation, ‘Colour Symphony’, which was moved from the Rupert Museum in Stellenbosch to the Jan Rupert Art Centre in Graaff-Reinet for this event.
Union High School extends its thanks to the Jan Rupert Art Centre and to artist Michรจlle Nigrini for involving the learners in this project and invite the public to view their finished mural in Middle Street.