Author: L. Crankshaw

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And just like that, the cricket season at Union High School is underway – and what an exciting start it promises to be!

From Monday, 1 September to Wednesday, 3 September, Union will have the privilege of once again welcoming 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗞𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻, legendary South African cricketer and internationally renowned coach, along with 𝗝𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗻 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗿𝘆, to guide and inspire our cricket programme.

The visit will begin on Monday evening with a very special event in the Tony Burrell Union, hosted by the Old Unionite Association.

Building on the success of the “𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁” evening held earlier this year, 𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴.

On Tuesday morning, Gary and Jordan will spend time with Union’s cricket coaches in a 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 session, focusing on season planning and, importantly, ensuring continuity and development across all age groups. Later that afternoon, they will dedicate time to the 1st XI, while also casting a watchful eye over the other practices happening across Union’s fields.

As the sun sets, attention will shift to the younger players, with a dedicated 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 session. Here, planning and discussions for the season will take place, before the focus turns to a session with the senior players and coaches – ensuring that every level of Union cricket is covered.

The visit will conclude on Wednesday morning, with a final session dedicated to wrapping up the season’s planning with the coaches, leaving Union’s cricket fraternity well-prepared and inspired for the months ahead.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦, 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘒𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦 – 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯!

Bulletin

In the blink of an eye, we’ve shifted gears from the excitement of sport to the celebration of culture, as our much-anticipated Camdeboo Eisteddfod officially kicked off today.

𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟭 𝗼𝗳 𝟯 set the tone beautifully, with energetic and heartfelt dance performances.

𝘌𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘯𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥.

What a wonderful start to this festival of talent – and 𝘄𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 of music, drama and expression still to come.

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When an event of this scale takes place, words often fall short in trying to capture the depth of our gratitude.

From 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗼 𝗣𝗲𝘁 𝗡𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, who immediately saw the value in the occasion and came onboard as main sponsor, to 𝗢𝗩𝗞, who tirelessly drove trailer after trailer to provide the perimetre fencing around our rugby field and 𝗛𝗼ë𝗿 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝗸𝘀𝗸𝗼𝗼𝗹, who so generously allowed us the use of their spectator stands – we are humbled.

A heartfelt thank you also goes to 𝗜𝗦𝗨 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗹 for supplying skips and rubbish bins, to 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝘆 for sponsoring the special treats enjoyed by our junior teams, to our 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 and 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 who manned the gates with a smile, to the 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 and 𝗢𝗹𝗱 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 who provided a steady stream of encouragement throughout and to our 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗮𝘄 𝗲𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 for ensuring everything ran smoothly and safely.

Behind the scenes, our 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗳𝗳 once again showed their pride and dedication in preparing our grounds so beautifully, while our 𝗰𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 stood by our learners every step of the way. To the 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝘀 who quietly baked, arranged flowers and hosted, the 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗳𝗳 who managed the endless administration and the 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 of both Union High School, Graaff-Reinet and Union Preparatory School, Graaff-Reinet who gave their constant encouragement – we are deeply thankful.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴: 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 and we are working hard to ensure everyone receives the recognition they deserve.

𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘄, 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹 – 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲.

As always, we remain, #ProudlyUnion, #ProudlyGraaffReinet.

Bulletin

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁.

Please take a moment to read the below article, “𝘈 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘰𝘯𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢”, written by Deloris Koan, as published in the The DailyDispatch on Tuesday, 19 Augusts 2025.