Year: 2023

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Today, we 𝗪𝗘𝗟𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗘 our Union High School, Graaff-Reinet learners back to our campus for the 2023 academic year.

For just over a century, we have taught girls and boys with 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 and 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲. We look forward to another year of growth!

𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘴!

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2023 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗕𝗨𝗥𝗬 𝗘𝗫𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗘 students, Fraser Davis and Robert Wallace, have arrived in South Africa!

The pair was picked up from the airport on Saturday, 14 January, after which they spent a sunny couple of days in Plettenberg Bay with Grade 7 learner Brett Kenmuir and his family.

While in Plett, the boys were treated with a visit to the Elephant Sanctuary and Monkeyland, which they enjoyed very much.

On Tuesday, 17 January, they were settled into Union’s Herby Arnott House by the Kenmuir and Mills families, who will be taking care of them this term.

𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮 𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘵 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯!

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We were very fortunate to be able to start our year off by celebrating some of our staff’s 𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗚-𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦.

While we continue to reiterate that the

𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙙𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 and 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 by all staff is noticed, greatly appreciated and worthy of recognition, in this particular event we honoured two members of staff who have been with Union for 10 and 15 years respectively.

𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺.

Please join us in congratulating Mrs 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲 𝗞𝗲𝘆𝘀𝗲𝗿 (10 years) and Mrs 𝗬𝘃𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝗲𝘁𝗲 (15 years).

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It is with the heaviest of hearts that we announce the unexpected passing of 𝗠𝗥 𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗖𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗘 on Saturday, 31 December 2022.

𝘔𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘈𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘳, 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺, 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯.

While writing this tribute, it was very difficult to find words that accurately reflect what Mr Maree meant to Union. Since his appointment as an educator at Union in 1970, his relentless energy and deep dedication to the school, has certainly made a lasting impact.

It would be very interesting to calculate how many lives had been touched by Mr Maree’s kindness, how many kilometres he had covered as he walked the corridors of the school and just how many people he had served during his 41-year tenure at Union…

Well, one could speculate, but it is safe to say that there is no one who surpasses his tally and this would certainly make him smile.

In 1980, after having served 10 years at the school, he was promoted to Head of Department, where he assumed responsibility for the Primary Department ensuring that thousands of learners were carefully sifted and moulded in his Mathematics class.

During his time at Union, Mr Maree also taught Senior Maths, Accounting and other commercial subjects.

In addition to teaching, Mr Maree had a great influence on the general development of the school. His contributions included a host of activities – both cultural and sporting.

He coached cricket, rugby and swimming. He was also responsible for the running of the Tony Burrell Union for 25 years, served as the secretary of the Old Unionite Association for 15 years and, for 20 years, he produced and edited the Focus magazine which reflected life at the school.

Of course, Scouts deserves a special paragraph. After taking over the reins from Mr Chookie Geard as scoutmaster in 1967, Mr Maree made it his mission in the 55 years that followed, to create an opportunity for every Scout joining the Troop, to obtain South Africa’s highest Scouting Award, the Springbok Badge. The Troop now has a proud record of 74 such Springbok Awards.

After retiring from the teaching profession in 2011, Mr Maree continued to be a regular presence at Union, and could be seen supporting the teams from the side-lines on a regular basis.

In 2014, during Interschools, his service to the school was commemorated with the official unveiling of the ‘Bruce Maree Gates’ – it couldn’t be more fitting that these gates now serve to welcome all those entering the Union campus.

𝙎𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙮 𝙥𝙪𝙩, 𝙈𝙧 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙗𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙐𝙣𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙩𝙝, 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚, 𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜.

Our thoughts at this time are with his family and friends.

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As our teachers return to school tomorrow, we take great pride in welcoming three new educators to the Union High School, Graaff-Reinet team.

Old Unionite, Mr 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗴𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘃𝗮𝗻 𝗭𝘆𝗹, returns to his alma mater this year as Union’s new Grade 8 and 9 Afrikaans educator.

Prior to accepting this position at Union, Mr van Zyl was employed at Kingswood College in Makhanda, where he served as the Junior School’s Head of Afrikaans.

In addition to being passionate about teaching, Mr van Zyl possesses a love of sport that has seen him acquire a diverse skillset as a coach.

In addition to being a certified triathlon coach, Mr van Zyl also has a wealth of experience in the coaching of rugby, hockey, athletics, trail running, middle distance running, cycling and swimming.

𝘞𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘔𝘳 𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘡𝘺𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯.

It would not be wise to ask new teacher Mrs 𝗔𝗻𝗻é𝗹𝗹𝗲 𝗘𝗸𝗸𝗲𝗿𝗱 what she did before coming to Union High School.

Rather, it might save one time to ask what she 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 do.

Mrs Ekkerd has taught Accounting to Grade 8 to 12 learners for the past 22 years (17 of which has been for Grade 12), she has also taught Grade 8 and 9 EMS. In addition to this, she served as a member of her previous school’s senior management team, disciplinary committee and examination committee (among other), while also making time to serve as grade head and subject head.

Her talents, however, isn’t confined to the classroom, as, during her years in education, Mrs Ekkerd has also proven to be a deft hand on the sports field, coaching 1st team netball and athletics.

Now Mrs Ekkerd (who moved to Graaff-Reinet in 2022 when her husband, Rev. Johann Ekkerd, was called to serve as the new reverend of the Dutch Reformed Church), has moved on to the next step in her life: teaching Grade 9 EMS, Grade 10 LO and Grade 10 to 12 Accounting at Union.

𝘞𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰, 𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩, 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘴𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴’ 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭-𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭.

There are some teachers who engrain a mark so deeply in the psyche of both their charges and the institution that they are a part of, that the loss of them creates a void that is difficult to fill. Mr 𝗘𝗹𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗷𝗶𝗲𝘀 is one of these remarkable educators and humans.

After having left Union at the end of 2019 to pursue full-time ministry (and being sorely missed since by all those at the school), we are ecstatic to report that Mr Jantjies’ journey had led him back to Union.

Come Wednesday, 18 January, Mr Jantjies will be back in front of the classroom, teaching Mathematics to Union’s Grade 8 to 12 learners.

To say that we are glad to have him back, would be an understatement.

Mr Jantjies first walked through the doors of Union as an educator in July 2014… Union’s Maths department would never be the same again!

His classes were engaging, fun and challenging and even when the topic wavered a little to conspiracy theories and the like – always thought provoking and entertaining.

Mr Jantjies initiated the annual ‘Nieu-Bethesda Maths Camps’ where Grade 11 Maths Formal learners were exposed to different aspects of the fascinating subject, and came away enlightened and excited, having dealt with fractals, maths in nature, structural engineering, coding and the like.

Mr Jantjies can be described as an enthusiast of note. The passion he has for his subject shone through him and into those he taught. This passion was also evident in the work he did with the Media Team, and the bi-monthly video production of the “Union News” which fast became a popular and powerful marketing tool for the school, as well as top quality, professional entertainment which everyone looked forward to.

Many Union learners became quite professional news reporters under his guidance – and the fun which they had in the process simply shone through them.

As a Grade 10 class teacher, Mr Jantjies also became a part of Union’s annual “Odyssey”. The first to say that he had never hiked or been exposed to the wilderness before, he took to it like a duck to water, and soon became hooked on what this experience offered.

He was an invaluable mentor to the Grade 10s on this difficult journey, and valued the deeper insight it gave him regarding those in his care. His delightful sense of humour, easy manner, open-hearted smile and sincerity made him a well-loved and respected educator and mentor to many.

𝘔𝘳 𝘑𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘫𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦’𝘴 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯!