Bulletin

Jnr Boys’ Bathroom Revamp

Colin Warner Plumbing is at it again!

This time it’s the junior boys’ bathroom at Union High School that’s being revamped.

We’re talking toilets, sinks and urinals – it’s all getting redone to give the learners a bathroom with a clean, modern look they can take pride in.The school is very excited about this project as the renovation, upkeep and general cleanliness of the school’s bathrooms always feature high on Union’s priority list.

It all comes down to setting the tone for learning by making sure all aspects of the school, physical and instructional, combine to create a good environment.

Academic, Bulletin, Eco-Schools

Grade 7 Technology

Union High School’s Grade 7 Technology learners were recently tasked with designing and building a model of a cell phone tower using their knowledge of structures.

The learners were allowed to choose whether or not they would be building a standard cell phone tower or one that would blend in with the environment in order to limit visual pollution.

Seen here are some of their brilliant designs:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rugby, Sport Results

Snr Rugby Results vs Westering

UHS claims victory at annual derby day

This past Saturday, 25 May, Union High School travelled to Port Elizabeth to face Westering High School in the two schools’ much-anticipated annual derby day.

A very early start to the day and a 3-hour bus trip tested the Union players’ character from the get-go.  The rugby games started at 09:15 on dewy fields which made handling very tough for both schools.

The willingness to succeed and teamwork proved to be the difference in the junior ranks. UHS won two out of the three junior matches, which encouraged the senior teams to give it their all.

The second team once again proved way too strong for their opponents and dominated all facets of the game. This was a true reflection of the depth Union has in the senior rugby ranks and the benefit of the first and second team practicing well together.

Union’s 1st XV stated their intentions from the first whistle, as Zusakhe Ngwane leaped into the air to reclaim possession from a Jaden Brotherton kick-off. This moment set the tone for the rest of the match as Union put Westering under pressure for the duration of the game.

Westering defended admirably, but after 15 minutes of continuous defense, Junior Duba broke the line untouched to score under the poles. Brett Amsterdam added the conversion.

A few minutes later, a lack of discipline led to a Westering penalty. The score now read 7 – 3 in favour of UHS.  Union continued to apply pressure but failed to convert the hard work into points. Westering pounced on a defensive error and scored an unconverted try. The score now stood at 8 – 7 in Westering’s favour after 18 minutes of play.  Union, however, regained composure and controlled the pace at which the game was played.

Holding onto possession and continuity, led to Junior Duba crossing over for his second try. Brett Amsterdam converted to put Union 14 – 8 ahead. Five minutes later, Khwezi Simon dotted over for a well-worked team try. The conversion was missed and the score now stood at 19 – 8 in favour of Union’s ‘Mighty Whites’.  A lack in depth on attack and playing away from the ball, saw Westering intercept a pass and score a converted try for the score to read 19 – 15 in Union’s favour.

Under a bit of scoreboard pressure, Zusakhe Ngwane showed his experience by quick tapping a penalty to put Ashton Dawids in space to cross over in the corner. Brett Amsterdam used the wind well to slot a difficult touchline conversion. Union went into half time 26 – 15 up.

The second half started off very similar to the beginning of the match, as Union continued to apply pressure to Westering’s defense. They continued to defend with all their might, but individual brilliance from Junior Duba saw him cross the whitewash for his hat-trick. Brett Amsterdam converted to increase Union’s lead to 33 – 15.

Westering replied with a good chip and gather try. They converted to make the score stand at 33 – 22.  Wonderful skills and interplay by Union’s backline then led to a try by Brett Amsterdam. He converted to take Union’s tally to 40 points.  With five minutes to go on the clock, Union broke through the heart of Westering’s defense and saw the UHS backline casually shift the ball from fly-half to wing untouched with no defenders in sight. Junior Duba crossed the line to score his fourth try of the game.

Union won the match 45 – 22.

The try scorers for Union, were Junior Duba (4), Khwezi Simon, Ashton Dawids and Brett Amsterdam.

Brett Amsterdam successfully converted 5 from 7.

The other matches during the course of the morning, saw Union’s u/14As lose, the u/15As win 19 – 15, the u/16As win 25 – 20 and the second team win 48 – 3.

Thanks are extended to all the parents and old scholars for their loyal support of Union’s sports teams.

Rugby, Sport Results

Jnr Rugby Results vs Cradock

In what proved to be a very challenging fixture for Union, the school’s u/13A rugby team came out on top in their encounter against Cradock Primary School (CPS) in Graaff-Reinet on Saturday, 25 May, with the final score standing at 21 – 15 in Union’s favour.

The other matches against CPS, saw the u/7As lose 0 – 30, the u/9Bs win 28 – 7, the u/9As lose 7 – 33, the u/11Bs lose 0 – 50 and the u/13Bs lose 0 – 12.

Thanks are extended to all the supporters who showed up to support the Union teams.

Bulletin

Another Golden Key Recipient

It’s always great to get news on our past learners.

If you have any stories to share, please send an e-mail to uhsmarketing@unionschools.co.za – we’d love to share the news with the Union High School community.

Here’s an update on Anje Oelofsen who matriculated from UHS at the end of 2017:  Anje was awarded yet another accolade for her academic excellence in the Nelson Mandela University (NMU) School of Accounting’s BCom (Accounting Sciences) Programme by being invited to join the Golden Key International Honours Society.

Well done Anje, you make Union High School very proud!

 

Hockey, Sport Results

Jnr Hockey Results vs Cradock

JUNIOR HOCKEY VS CRADOCK (home) – 25 MAY 2019

3rd Jnr won 3 – 0

2nd Jnr drew 0 – 0

1st Jnr lost 0 – 2

Our Junior hockey teams hosted Cradock Primary this weekend in hot, dry conditions. Despite a great start to the morning, with a fine win by the 3rd team girls, the 2nd and 1st team girls were unable to maintain the momentum and neither managed to put a score on the board.

The girls came up against tough opposition from a physical Cradock side and although they tried hard to penetrate the defenses, they were denied success.

The second team girls played well, and displayed some lovely passing skills, but were unfortunately a little too “polite” on the day and would certainly have benefited from being a touch more aggressive in getting to the ball first. Mention must be made of Emma Short, who through exceptional work epitomised this skill on the day, and as a result, directly initiated the majority of our circle entries. The teams were very evenly matched and this made for an entertaining outing for the spectators.

The first team girls appeared to be a little lethargic in their match against the spirited Cradock team and consequently spent a lot of the game on defense which left us rattled and produced some scrappy play. While the teams did appear fairly evenly matched in skill, our girls were just a touch slower off the mark and this put us under great pressure for much of the match. We did manage more than a few circle entries, but were unable to convert, while Cradock were able to push two soft goals home after some sloppy defense on our behalf.

This was not the best result to give us confidence for our upcoming encounter against Collegiate next weekend, but it has given us scope to reflect on what we are doing wrong so that we can work on improving our game plan and our mindset for future fixtures.

Rugby, Sport Results

Rugby EPCD Academy Side

Union players named for EPCD Academy side

Three Union High School rugby players, (photo left to right) Bladen Jacobs, Cleathon Koeberg and Sbongakonke Koyingana, have been selected to represent the Eastern Province Country Districts (EPCD) u/18 side that will be competing at the upcoming Academy Week.

In addition to this, UHS educator Mr. Christopher Felix will be serving as the assistant coach of the EPCD team.  The Academy Week will be hosted by Grey College in Bloemfontein from 1 to 6 July.

Prior to this, the Union players will meet up with the rest of the team on 22 June in Grahamstown to play a warm-up match at Rhodes University.

This will be followed by a training camp in Aliwal North (from 24 to 29 June) from where they will then depart to participate in Bloemfontein.

Bulletin, Eco-Schools

Trash to Teaching Treasure

In an effort to promote an earth-friendly attitude, Union’s teachers are turning trash to teaching treasure in very interesting ways.

The learners in the Grade 8 Arts and Culture class, for instance, were recently tasked with creating outrageous hats from waste material, such as newspapers, bits of cardboard, foil and the like.

After the 1½ hour time limit, it was very interesting to note the learners’ individual interpretations of the theme.  Seen here are some of the learners showing off their one of kind, handmade hats.

 

Bulletin, Hostels

HAH Bathroom Revamp Completed

In February, Union High School commenced with the renovation of the upstairs bathrooms as well as the guest bathroom at the school’s senior girls hostel, the Herby Arnott House.

The bathrooms, which were then gutted and completely redone by Colin Warner Plumbing, has recently been completed and the girls, as well as guests visiting the hostel, are now able to enjoy the new modern face-lifted facilities.

 

 

 

Bulletin

Old Unionite Lands a Golden Key Award

Graaff-Reinet local Gerrit Brink, the son of Sanette and André Brink, was recently invited to become a member of the Stellenbosch University’s Chapter of the esteemed Golden Key International Honour Society.

Gerrit, now a second-year student at SU, matriculated at Union High School in 2017, third in his class, boasting an A-aggregate and six distinctions.  By also excelling in his studies towards a BEng degree in Mechatronic Engineering at Stellenbosch University, Gerrit has now earned himself a lifetime seat at the Golden Key Society table.

The award is in recognition of Gerrit’s academic excellence and leadership while studying towards his degree.

Golden Key membership is the highest university accolade awarded only to students in the top 15% per field of study in any undergraduate and post-graduate degree programme, and it’s strictly by invitation only, so yes, a lifetime membership is no trivial feat.

Gerrit will be presented with his award in October of this year.

• More about Gerrit’s field of study:

Mechatronic engineering is a new focus area in engineering that promises to become even more important in the future, both in South Africa as well as internationally. With automation as the current key to productivity, the need for mechatronics (which makes it possible to generate simpler, more economical, reliable and versatile systems) increases by the day.

Mechatronic engineering is a synergistic combination of precision mechanical engineering, electronics and computer systems. A typical mechatronic system is characterised by close integration of the mechanical components, electronic sensors, mechanical and electrical actuators and computer controllers.

Mechatronic engineering is an interdisciplinary engineering field that specialises in the control of advanced hybrid systems.  These systems are found in numerous industry sectors where mechanical and electronic engineering are interfaced with computer systems, such as aerospace, automotive, chemical processing, computers, communications, electronics, healthcare, manufacturing and mining.