Gr 7 Boys Excursion

Union High School, Graaff-Reinet’s Grade 7 boys recently had an unforgettable experience that marked ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜ ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ฟ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—น ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ.

One afternoon after school, ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฏ๐—ผ๐˜†๐˜€ ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ฎ ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ธ๐—ฒ where they were able to marvel at the natural wonders around them.

But the adventure didn’t end there! After their hike, the boys headed back to school to enjoy some boerewors rolls and to cool down in the school swimming pool.

This adventure allowed the Grade 7 boys to come together, appreciate the beauty of nature and celebrate the bonds they have formed during their primary school years.

๐˜ž๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ฉ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฃ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฌ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ช๐˜ณ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ธ ๐˜ซ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ ๐˜ด๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ. ๐˜”๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ถ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ซ๐˜ฐ๐˜บ, ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ธ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฃ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ!

Lest We Forget

Our 2024 Head Girl, Caytah-Leigh Koeberg and Deputy Head Boy, Joshua Neill attended the service with Hoรซr Volkskool Graaff-Reinet’s Head Prefects, Jani van der Merwe and Xander Keyser.

In honour of ๐—ฅ๐—˜๐— ๐—˜๐— ๐—•๐—ฅ๐—”๐—ก๐—–๐—˜ ๐——๐—”๐—ฌ, or Poppy Day as it is sometimes known, which is observed on 11 November each year, a Remembrance Day Service was held at the St James’ Anglican Church in Graaff-Reinet on Sunday, 12 November.

[ ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง 11 ๐˜•๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ž๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ž๐˜ข๐˜ณ. ๐˜๐˜ฏ 1918, ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ, ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜จ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด ๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ž๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ž๐˜ข๐˜ณ (1914-1918), ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜จ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฃ๐˜ข๐˜ญ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ-๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ. ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ‘๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ด’ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ข ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ญ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง 8 634 300 ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด. ]

This is ๐™–๐™ฃ ๐™ž๐™ข๐™ฅ๐™ค๐™ง๐™ฉ๐™–๐™ฃ๐™ฉ ๐™–๐™ฃ๐™™ ๐™ข๐™š๐™–๐™ฃ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ๐™›๐™ช๐™ก ๐™ค๐™˜๐™˜๐™–๐™จ๐™ž๐™ค๐™ฃ, especially for the family and relatives of the fallen, and also for Union High School, Graaff-Reinet, as we pay our respects to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

๐—ช๐—ฒ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—ข๐—น๐—ฑ ๐—จ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ผ ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ฑ ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ฟ ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—™๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ช๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—น๐—ฑ ๐—ช๐—ฎ๐—ฟ:

โ€ข Lt Charles M. de V. Booysen SAAF (1943)
โ€ข Lt Victor P. de Kock MBE DSC MID (1943)
โ€ข 2nd Lt Fanie Nieuwoudt SAAF (1943)
โ€ข Trooper Gerrit T. Ferreira (1944)
โ€ข Lt Ronald Briggs DFC SAAF (1944)
โ€ข Trooper John G. Erlank (1944)
โ€ข Lt Allan McCabe SAAF (1944)
โ€ข Lt Piet Welman SAAF (1944)
โ€ข Capt. A.C. Ramsay RE (1945)
โ€ข Flt. Sgt Billy Wright SAAF (1945)
โ€ข Lt Noel Wright SAAF (1945)
โ€ข L Cpl Mark A. Plateel SAMS (1981)

๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜จ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ง๐˜ต ๐˜จ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ,
๐˜ˆ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ, ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜บ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ด ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฏ,
๐˜ˆ๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ,
๐˜ž๐˜Œ ๐˜ž๐˜๐˜“๐˜“ ๐˜™๐˜Œ๐˜”๐˜Œ๐˜”๐˜‰๐˜Œ๐˜™ ๐˜›๐˜๐˜Œ๐˜”.

Primary Department Musicians

๐—–๐—ข๐—ก๐—š๐—ฅ๐—”๐—ง๐—จ๐—Ÿ๐—”๐—ง๐—œ๐—ข๐—ก๐—ฆ to our primary department musicians on their outstanding music exam results!

๐™‡๐™š๐™ฉ’๐™จ ๐™œ๐™ž๐™ซ๐™š ๐™– ๐™ง๐™š๐™จ๐™ค๐™ช๐™ฃ๐™™๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ ๐™–๐™ฅ๐™ฅ๐™ก๐™–๐™ช๐™จ๐™š ๐™ฉ๐™ค:

โ€ข Helen van den Heever who passed her RSL Gr 1 Contemporary Piano with Merit and achieving an impressive score of 84%. (๐˜๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜œ๐˜’.)

โ€ข Kira Hector, who wowed the examiners with her exceptional skills in RSL Gr 1 Contemporary Piano, passing with Distinction and securing a score of 90%.

โ€ข Curen Willemse, whose dedication and talent shined the in RSL Gr 1 Contemporary Piano, passing with Distinction and a score of 92%.

โ€ข Alison Jacobs, who dazzled in the RSL Gr 1 Classical Piano, passing with Distinction and attaining a score of 95%. Bravo!

โ€ข Antonia Adams, who showcased her musical prowess in RSL Gr 2 Classical Piano, passing with Merit and achieving an impressive score of 88%.

โ€ข Gerda Clarke, who conquered the challenges of RSL Gr 3 Classical Piano with great skill, passing with Merit and achieving a commendable score of 76%.

๐˜ž๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฃ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฉ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜บ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ!

Cricketers Rewarded For Outstanding Achievements

This past Friday’s assembly at Union High School, Graaff-Reinet saw some of our cricketers being ๐™ง๐™š๐™˜๐™ค๐™œ๐™ฃ๐™ž๐™ฏ๐™š๐™™ ๐™–๐™ฃ๐™™ ๐™ง๐™š๐™ฌ๐™–๐™ง๐™™๐™š๐™™ ๐™›๐™ค๐™ง ๐™ค๐™ช๐™ฉ๐™จ๐™ฉ๐™–๐™ฃ๐™™๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ ๐™–๐™˜๐™๐™ž๐™š๐™ซ๐™š๐™ข๐™š๐™ฃ๐™ฉ๐™จ during their recent encounters on the cricket field.

๐—–๐—ข๐—ก๐—š๐—ฅ๐—”๐—ง๐—จ๐—Ÿ๐—”๐—ง๐—œ๐—ข๐—ก๐—ฆ to these young Unionites on their exceptional performances on the cricket field. ๐˜ž๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ช๐˜ณ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฌ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฌ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ช๐˜ณ ๐˜ง๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ถ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฆ๐˜น๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ฑ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ต.

Grade 10 Odyssey

This yearโ€™s annual ๐—š๐—ฅ๐—”๐——๐—˜ ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฌ ๐—ข๐——๐—ฌ๐—ฆ๐—ฆ๐—˜๐—ฌ was impacted by weather warnings from the outset as the event was brought forward by a day due to impending inclement weather.

๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜Ž๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ 10๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฌ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ช๐˜ณ ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด, ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ป๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ช๐˜ฑ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ด๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜บ, ๐˜ฅ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜•๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ถ-๐˜‰๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ฅ๐˜ข ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜จ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ช๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด.

The first dayโ€™s 20km hike was challenging. The Gats River was flowing well and many suffered with blisters due to walking in wet shoes after crossing the river. ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟโ€™๐˜€ ๐—š๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฌ๐˜€ ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น. They worked together as a team from the get-go and encouraged one another when the going got tough. It was heartening to see stronger hikers assisting their friends with packs when their feet were literally covered in painful blisters. That evening they set up camp at Riverdene farm on a beautiful beach and as they sang and ate around the fire, life was good!

The hike to Schoonberg pools the next day was much shorter, which gave ample time to set up camp and enjoy the pristine pools. The route was changed slightly this year, so the group stayed at the pools for two nights, which gave everyone more time to get to know one another. ๐™ˆ๐™š๐™จ๐™จ๐™–๐™œ๐™š๐™จ ๐™˜๐™–๐™ข๐™š ๐™ž๐™ฃ ๐™›๐™ง๐™ค๐™ข ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š ๐™ค๐™ช๐™ฉ๐™จ๐™ž๐™™๐™š ๐™ฌ๐™ค๐™ง๐™ก๐™™ ๐™ฉ๐™๐™–๐™ฉ ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š ๐™ฌ๐™š๐™–๐™ฉ๐™๐™š๐™ง ๐™ฌ๐™–๐™จ ๐™˜๐™ก๐™ค๐™จ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ ๐™ž๐™ฃ, ๐™จ๐™ค ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š ๐™ค๐™ง๐™œ๐™–๐™ฃ๐™ž๐™ฏ๐™š๐™ง๐™จ ๐™ฆ๐™ช๐™ž๐™˜๐™ ๐™ก๐™ฎ ๐™ฅ๐™ช๐™ฉ ๐™˜๐™ค๐™ฃ๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ๐™š๐™ฃ๐™˜๐™ฎ ๐™ฅ๐™ก๐™–๐™ฃ๐™จ ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™ฉ๐™ค ๐™ฅ๐™ก๐™–๐™˜๐™š. The following day began with an exercise in Solitude where everyone was woken before dawn and placed in isolation in the landscape. Here they read special letters and wrote to their future selves. That evening everyone was taught to cook a chicken on the open fire and to bake a loaf of camp bread by Mr and Mrs Langmead. A few drops of rain warned of what was to come, and everyone was given a safety talk regarding what to do if the river came down.

At midnight, the rain began! For those who have not been in the canyon, it is difficult to comprehend what an impact the weather can make and the dangers that it brings. One support vehicle was packed up at 2am to ensure that it got across the river with the possibility of flooding. The decision was made to evacuate early the following morning.

๐˜ผ๐™ฃ๐™™ ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š๐™ฃ ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š ๐™›๐™ช๐™ฃ ๐™—๐™š๐™œ๐™–๐™ฃ. This day required much grit, determination, endurance from the Grade 10s and support team. Wet tents were packed up and the journey back to Riverdene under inclement conditions began. Everyone was drenched. The tracks took on the consistency of peanut butter which stuck to the bottom of boots and rendered the roads a slippery mess. The backup vehicles used winches to get across the rivers which were now soaking sand and mud, another vehicle slid off the road and nearly rolled into the river. While some adults stayed to attempt to get the vehicle unstuck, others had to continue with the grade 10s as we feared the rivers coming down and being stuck on the wrong side. There is no reception in the canyon, so as we arrived at the farmhouse, messages were dispatched for rescue. Taking shelter in a garage, the freezing, wet group cheerfully got their stoves going and began to eat two minute noodles to keep warm from the inside! Spirits were never dampened!

In the meanwhile, unbeknown to the group, the buses had had an epic time trying to get to them! The district roads had also become treacherous. Eventually, as they spotted them driving down the mountain, they also saw the backup vehicles arriving from the canyon, which four adults had miraculously managed to retrieve by practically digging a new road!

The sense of relief was, however, short lived. Everyone piled into the buses and off they drove, only to be rendered helpless as they slid off the clay road 8kms from the tar. It was at this point that everyone had to really dig deep.

๐˜›๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ, ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜บ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ, ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฃ๐˜บ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ- ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ- ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜Ž๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ 10๐˜ด ๐˜ฑ๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฒ๐˜ถ๐˜ข๐˜จ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ง๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ. ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜–๐˜ฅ๐˜บ๐˜ด๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ!

While the Grade 10s expressed extreme disappointment at not being able to complete the last day of Odyssey at the waterfall, they can take with them the fact that this was the most challenging Odyssey to date and that their perseverance, determination and grit, got them out the other side stronger and more united than ever.

๐—ข๐—ฑ๐˜†๐˜€๐˜€๐—ฒ๐˜† ๐˜„๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฑ ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜๐˜† ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜€๐—ผ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜†. Grateful thanks go to landowners Dale and Kelly Jackson, Peter Plumstead and Julian Murray. This yearโ€™s support team was incredible through trying conditions and the school is grateful to Sean Jacobs, Jason Marais, Dolan Cochrane, Ross Hulleman, Jacques Ferreira, Jennifer Rubidge, Zakkiya Mahomed, Tess Neill and Dave Neill. Thank you to the bus drivers and secretaries who do so much to keep Odyssey going. We are grateful to Kevin and Lisa Watermeyer for their trailer and assistance. And lastly, eternal gratitude goes to Mr David Langmead for his indomitable hard-work, vision and love for the school, that makes this incredible journey what it is.

Odyssey photos are available to download at the following link: https://theunionschools.pixieset.com/odyssey2023/

Senior Interschools Athletics

On Wednesday afternoon, 25 October, Union High School, Graaff-Reinet’s Grade 8 to 12 athletes participated in the annual Senior Interschools Athletics event held at Hoรซr Volkskool.

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—จ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ณ๐˜‚๐—น๐—น ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜† ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฎ ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—น ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ต๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—บ ๐—ณ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—บ ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ต๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฒ๐˜€.

In a tightly contested afternoon, the final scores saw Union accumulate 742 points to Volkskoolโ€™s 731 points. ๐˜Š๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜œ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ช๐˜ฑ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต!

We would like to recognise Camran Swartz as Unionโ€™s ๐—”๐—ง๐—›๐—Ÿ๐—˜๐—ง๐—˜ ๐—ข๐—™ ๐—ง๐—›๐—˜ ๐——๐—”๐—ฌ. Camran managed to secure first places in the 100m, 200m and 400m races. Additionally, he also claimed third place in the Long Jump event. Well done, Camran!

Weโ€™d also like to acknowledge the performances of Qhama Solomon, Luvelo Makaula and Xavier Barlow, who achieved numerous podium positions and contributed significantly to Union’s success.

On the girls’ side, Charlize Vorster deserves special recognition for her outstanding contribution of points, which played a crucial role in Union’s victory. We also applaud Tara Ferreira, Joy Merifield and Ambesiwi Tokwe for making their mark and showcasing their talent.

๐™Š๐™ฃ๐™˜๐™š ๐™–๐™œ๐™–๐™ž๐™ฃ, ๐™˜๐™ค๐™ฃ๐™œ๐™ง๐™–๐™ฉ๐™ช๐™ก๐™–๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™ค๐™ฃ๐™จ ๐™ฉ๐™ค ๐™–๐™ก๐™ก ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š ๐™–๐™ฉ๐™๐™ก๐™š๐™ฉ๐™š๐™จ ๐™›๐™ค๐™ง ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š๐™ž๐™ง ๐™š๐™ญ๐™˜๐™š๐™ฅ๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™ค๐™ฃ๐™–๐™ก ๐™š๐™›๐™›๐™ค๐™ง๐™ฉ๐™จ ๐™–๐™ฃ๐™™ ๐™–๐™˜๐™๐™ž๐™š๐™ซ๐™š๐™ข๐™š๐™ฃ๐™ฉ๐™จ. You have represented Union with pride and we couldn’t be happier!

Jocelyn Marais Tennis Tournament

This past weekend saw Union High School, Graaff-Reinet’s Top 4 junior girls and boys tennis players participating in the annual ๐—๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—น๐˜†๐—ป ๐— ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ง๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ง๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ in Graaff-Reinet.

The girls’ team competed against formidable opponents from Stellenbosch, Worcester and Cradock in the group stage, emerging victorious in all their encounters to finish at the top of their group.

๐™ˆ๐™ค๐™ซ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™ฉ๐™ค ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š ๐™›๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™–๐™ก, ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š ๐™œ๐™ž๐™ง๐™ก๐™จ ๐™›๐™–๐™˜๐™š๐™™ ๐™– ๐™ฉ๐™ค๐™ช๐™œ๐™ ๐™˜๐™๐™–๐™ก๐™ก๐™š๐™ฃ๐™œ๐™š ๐™–๐™œ๐™–๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™จ๐™ฉ ๐˜พ๐™ค๐™ก๐™ก๐™š๐™œ๐™ž๐™–๐™ฉ๐™š. Despite their valiant efforts, they narrowly missed out on a win, settling for a well-deserved second place in the tournament.

The junior boys’ team faced opponents from Stirling, Stellenbosch C and Cradock in the group stages. They managed to secure a commendable second place in their group.

In the battle for third and fourth place, the boys engaged in an encounter against Stellenbosch B. Although they fought gallantly, they narrowly missed out on claiming the third spot, ultimately securing a respectable fourth place in the competition.

๐˜ˆ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ต ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜”๐˜ช๐˜ข ๐˜‰๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข, ๐˜ˆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ข ๐˜’๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ, ๐˜Š๐˜ข๐˜บ๐˜ญ๐˜ข ๐˜•๐˜ฆ๐˜ธ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ, ๐˜•๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ ๐˜”๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜บ, ๐˜–๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜—๐˜ข๐˜น๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ, ๐˜Œ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜™๐˜ข๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฉ, ๐˜‘๐˜ฐ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฏ-๐˜๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ณ๐˜บ ๐˜’๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜‰๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ต ๐˜’๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฎ๐˜ถ๐˜ช๐˜ณ – ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฌ๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ง๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ต ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ด๐˜ฑ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ด๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฑ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜บ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ฆ๐˜น๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ท๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ถ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜œ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜š๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ!

Matrics’ Final Stretch

With the end of their academic journey at Union in sight as the Class of 2023 sits for their National Senior Certificate exams, we would like to wish our Grade 12s everything of the best for the next couple of weeks.

๐˜”๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ด, ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ง๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด. ๐˜”๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ญ ๐˜ฆ๐˜น๐˜ข๐˜ฎ๐˜ด ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ง๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฌ, ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ. ๐˜Ž๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ญ๐˜ถ๐˜ค๐˜ฌ, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ด๐˜ถ๐˜ค๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ!

Salisbury Exchange 2024

We are thrilled to extend our heartfelt congratulations to ๐—–๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜รฉ ๐—•๐—ฒ๐˜‡๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜ and ๐—”๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—™๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ on being selected as Union’s 2024 Salisbury Exchange students!

This incredible opportunity will take Chantรฉ and Aidan on an unforgettable journey to England, where they will immerse themselves in a new culture and educational experience.

๐˜ž๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ง๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ฉ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜จ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ฎ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ!

We would also like to congratulate ๐—”๐—ป๐—ป๐—ฎ ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด๐—น๐—ฒ, ๐—š๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—บ๐—ฎ ๐—ก๐—ฎ๐˜‚๐—ฑรฉ and ๐—•๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—›๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ธ,

our matric learners who will be embarking on a similar adventure as Gap Students next year.