Bulletin

Historic Moment

Historic moment as time capsule is buried

To mark the Union Schools’ 100th year, a time capsule was recently buried on campus, leaving a gift for future generations to unearth.

The capsule, which is to be opened in 50 years, is laden with memorabilia of the school’s 100th birthday celebrations – among other items – and it is hoped that it will provide future generations with the opportunity to see what life was like at the school today.

The time capsule was placed in the ground by the school’s principal, Mr William Pringle and the Headgirl and Headboy, Sakhe Booi and Bowen Langmead.

The space that was chosen lies beneath the Centenary Arch and is marked by a special plaque for all to see.

While many of the school’s birthday celebrations during last year were about looking back at the impressive history of the school, the burial of this time capsule served as a time for reflection on the future direction of the school and its journey towards success.

Sport Results, Swimming

Swimmers Go The Extra Mile

Several Union youngsters took on the 96th River Mile at the Sundays River Cannonville Slipway this past Sunday morning, 23 February, joining hundreds of other swimmers who competed in this year’s edition of Africa’s oldest open-water swimming event.

• Seven Unionites were among the 200 participants in the Men’s River Mile.

Mack Rubidge, who finished in a time of 21 minutes, was Union’s first swimmer to cross the finish line. He was followed by Luc Railton, who finished the race in 22 minutes.

Hugo Botha – who’s only 13-years-old – then crossed the finish line in a time of 23 minutes, ending 16th overall out of the 53 competitors in his respective age group.

Schea Johnson came in next, followed by James Potgieter, Matthew Davenport and Max Price.

Well done to Luc, Hugo, Matthew and Max for an excellent show during their very first River Mile!

• In the Ladies’ River Mile, Union had nine swimmers entered among the 169 participants – two of whom, Tyra Binney and Melissa Swart, were competing in the event for the very first time.

Hannah Bodenstein, who finished in a time of 24 minutes, was the first Unionite to cross the finish line.

Amber Binney came in hot on her heels, also finishing in the 24th minute.

Both Hannah and Amber finished in the race’s Top 40, coming 14th and 15th respectively out of the 56 competitors in the 15 to 29-year-old category.

Kendall Krige was next to finish, followed by Jade Shires, Tyra Binney, Melissa Swart, Brigette Oelofsen, Elia Railton and Kelly-Paige Scott.

The school was very proud to have a large group of swimmers representing Union at this year’s event, even more so of the many ‘newbies’ who entered the event this year.

Of course, a River Mile outing wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the Nanaga Farm Stall, where the learners and accompanying members of staff enjoyed the tasty home-made pies and roosterkoek on offer, before hitting the long road home.

 

Bulletin

Stoep Tasting Accommodation

Due to the overwhelming demand for accommodation for the 2020 Stoep Tasting Wine Weekend, Union High School has made Arthur Kingwill House, one of the school’s boarding establishments, available for the weekend.

Single rooms, sharing rooms and dormitories (for group bookings) are available.

Anyone planning on visiting Graaff-Reinet for Stoep Tasting 2020 over the weekend of 29 to 31 May, are urged to contact Mrs Lyn Rose-Innes via WhatsApp at 082 572 2194 or by e-mail at roseinnes@intekom.co.za as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Bulletin, Cultural

Project ‘Love Sandwiches’ Gains Momentum

It was with much anticipation that Union High School’s Grade 9 learners arrived at school on Wednesday morning, 19 February.

It was their turn to participate in the Interact Club’s ‘Love Sandwiches’ project, so they arrived at school bright and early with all their necessary sandwich-making supplies in hand and – most importantly – a can-do attitude!

The learners, who were challenged to make as many sandwiches as possible in an hour’s time for Graaff-Reinet’s impoverished residents, managed to set a new record of 743 sandwiches!

Since its inception at the start of the term, the Interact Club watched with amazement as their project gained momentum with more and more sandwiches being delivered by the school’s respective grades each week.

“We are so proud of all our learners, teachers and parents for supporting this project so wholeheartedly,” said the Interact Club’s Teacher-in-Charge, Mrs Abigail Gedult.

The 743 sandwiches were delivered that same afternoon to the Camdeboo Hospice, the Umasizakhe and Horseshoe Clinics as well as the Khanyisa Day Care Centre.

“It was truly overwhelming for our Interact members to see the joy on every recipient’s face when they delivered the sandwiches,” concluded Mrs Gedult.

• Click on the following link to find out more about this project: http://bit.ly/LoveSandwiches

Academic, Bulletin

Gr 9 Learners Attend Performing Arts Workshop

Learners discover the wonder of improv

Last week, during their Creative Arts lesson, Union High School’s Grade 9s participated in a Performing Arts workshop, facilitated by Mrs Paula Kingwill.

This workshop was aimed at teaching the learners about improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv.

During their session with Mrs Kingwill, the learners were taught about connecting the art of improv with the adventure of everyday living, personal growth and creativity (with frequent bursts of laughter, of course).

They were also taught about different dramatic techniques, taking on a new character and lifting each other up as a group.

An inspirational and uplifting time was had by all and Union looks forward to the improvisations they will create as a part of their upcoming assessment.

Bulletin

UHS Cultivates Love of Reading

At Union, we’re obsessed with cultivating a love of reading in our learners!

It is, therefore, always wonderful to see a learner on campus with their nose deep in a book!

Seen here is Lebone Raula enjoying Maggie Stiefvater’s ‘The Raven King’, one of the many high-quality books available to learners at the school’s library.

Sport Results

Snr Cricket Results vs Muir

 UHS vs Muir ends in draw

On Saturday, 22 February, Union High School’s 1st XI faced Uitenhage’s Muir College in a declaration match.

Muir won the toss and elected to bat first, putting together a reasonable opening start.

Some hard work and determination, as well as a great display of spin bowling from Brett Amsterdam and Jarrod Naude, backed up by some excellent fielding and catching, saw Union’s bowlers increase the pressure on Muir’s batsmen which resulted in wickets starting to fall at regular intervals.

Although Union’s bowlers remained disciplined in their lines and lengths, making it very hard for the Muir batsmen to score, the Muir team managed to put 222 on the board in their 65 overs.

Union’s best bowlers were Jaden Brotherton (2 for 29 in 9 overs), Brett Amsterdam (2 for 62 in 23 overs) and Jarrod Naude (3 for 78 in 21 overs).

Union then went in to bat, with only 55 overs to their disposal in which to reach the set target.

The Union batsmen showed good application from the start and an excellent performance by James Pienaar, backed up by some outstanding stroke play from Bowen Langmead, saw Union batting themselves in reach of the target.

Although Union’s batsmen demonstrated outstanding maturity throughout their innings with the bat, they, unfortunately, fell just short of their goal, scoring a total of 209 for 8 in 54 overs at the end of play.

Union’s best batsmen were James Pienaar (70), Bowen Langmead (66) and Brett Amsterdam (25).

The match ended in a draw.

Sport Results, Swimming

Interschools Gala

The annual Interschools swimming gala between the Union Schools and Laer and Hoër Volkskool was held on Wednesday afternoon, 19 February.

A THRILLING performance by the swim stars of these two schools treated spectators to an exhilarating show of athleticism.

Union is indebted to Hoër Volkskool who, once again, made their fantastic facilities available for the event.

As always, Union and Volkskool had a strong team of staff and volunteers operating poolside and the school extends its thanks to all those who acted as time keepers and to those charged with officiating duties.

The gala ran exceptionally smooth, with close to 80 individual events and relays being held.

The strong competition between the two schools’ swimmers ensured that a lot of records tumbled, with many new personal bests also being recorded.

Union’s junior swimmers pipped Laer Volkskool with 407 points to 372, while Hoër Volkskool finished with 410 points in total, which saw them edge out Union High School’s 321 points.

The overall points tallied up to:
Volkskool: 782
Union: 728

The Junior Victor Ludorum award is shared by Union’s Matthew Paxton and Volkskool’s Aiden Thiart, while Volkskool’s Carlien Oosthuizen was recognised as the Junior Victrix Ludorum.

Volkskool siblings Llewellyn and Marlien Crewe-Brown claimed the senior Victor and Victrix Ludorum honours.

Congratulations Volkskool!

Union’s swimming squad trained very hard for this event and have made the school so very proud with their performances and marvellous team spirit.

As swimming grows in stature at Union, we look forward to many more of these meets in the coming years.

View photographs on our FaceBook Page.

Bulletin

Gappies Enjoying UK

Old Unionites Jenna McNaughton and Christine Harris – Class of 2019 – are enjoying a wonderful Gap year at Salisbury Cathedral School in England this year.

While abroad, they are soaking up all the new experiences and having a blast taking in the beautiful sights.

Academic, Bulletin

Self-reflection

The Grade 9s in Mrs Bronwen Langmead’s Creative Arts class, studied the art of Portraiture during a recent lesson.

This activity helps learners better understand the difference between drawing from life and drawing from a photograph.

Through the process of putting forth time and effort, they came to see they can create realistic portraits successfully. It was a “wow” moment for all the learners involved!

[The learners impressive creations can be seen displayed in the UHS main quad, if you’re nearby do pop round to have a look!]