Bulletin

Treasured Past, Golden Future

A gala banquet, organised by Union High School as part of the school’s year-long centenary celebrations, was held on a grand scale in Graaff-Reinet this past Friday evening, 3 May.

And, what a truly memorable evening it turned out to be with just over 250 guests, young and old, past and current parents and staff, Old Unionites as well as honoured guests, treated to a very special night.

Upon arrival, the guests were met with welcome drinks and canapés on the school’s beautiful sportsgrounds and as the sun set, were enthralled by a variety of performances by the school’s marimba band, choir ensembles, musicians and soloists.  It was then on to a lavish banquet inside the Marquee tent, magnificently decorated for the occasion.

Headmaster William Pringle delivered a welcoming address, using the opportunity to thank everyone involved in the centenary celebrations.

The evening’s Master of Ceremonies, Adrian Arnott – the son of the legendary headmaster Herby Arnott – then proceeded to introduce a number of speakers.

During the speeches that followed, the phrase “The past beats inside me like a second heart” as extracted from John Banville’s novel ’The Sea’ is the only apt way of describing the sense of nostalgia, pride and enthusiasm that radiated from all those present, creating a fantastically festive atmosphere within the Marquee.

After a few treasured words by guest speaker Derek Light, previous chairman of the UPS and UHS Governing Bodies and current chairman of the Union High Development Trust, the evening’s keynote speaker was introduced.

For this special occasion, Union High School called on the services of a very special guest to help celebrate its centenary banquet with style.  Old Unionite, Doug Stern, proved a fitting keynote speaker, as the proud alum referred to Union’s illustrious history spanning the past 100 years, interspersed with quaint anecdotes about the visionaries and legendary characters that shaped the school into what it is today.

Following Stern’s speech, guests were treated to a sumptuous three-course meal, served up by Dianne Murray and her capable team, after which the draw for the Old Unionite’s Association’s 100Club was conducted and a magnum bottle of ‘Chakalaka’ wine auctioned off by Duncan McClaggan.

The guests were clearly keen to support Union, as the R10 000 1st prize of the 100Club draw was graciously donated back to the organisation, with the wine also fetching the hefty sum of R5 000.

After all the formalities were finalised, the guests took to the dancefloor and proceeded to dance the night away.

“The evening was a huge success and a great coming together of people from over several decades who travelled from far and near,” Headmaster William Pringle stated.  “Throughout the evening we witnessed great interaction between the various age groups from past pupils or people who have strong links with the school. It was a magical evening and the commitment by all who helped in organising the event, as well as all who supported the event, bears testament to why Union has achieved so much these past 100 years,” Pringle said afterwards.

Union High School extends a big thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of the evening, especially to the spectacular team, headed up by Karin Marais, who coordinated the marquee, décor and the evening’s programme to ensure an unforgettable and most enjoyable occasion.

 

Commemorative wine available

One of Union High School’s Centenary Projects has been the bottling of a limited Cabernet Sauvignon Vintage 2015, produced by Fairview Estates.  The label of this elegant bottle of wine was designed by Old Unionite Mieke Marais and depicts the historic façade of the school along with the Centenary logo

This wine is available from the school at R600 a case or R100 a bottle. Buyer to arrange own courier.

Contact Mrs. Marais at 049 891 0262 or email secretary@unionschools.co.za to place your order.

 

Bulletin, Eco-Schools

Amazing Race

Union High School’s Eco-Amazing Race is exactly one month away! Remember to secure your entry to stand a chance of winning one of the amazing prizes that will be up for grabs. All teams will walk away with a prize!

We invite families of 4 to enter this fun-filled event (no more than 2 adults on a team).  The entry fee per team is R100. There are only 10 spots available, so first come, first serve.

For further information, or to request an entry form, please contact Mrs. Burger on 049 891 0262 or e-mail uhsmarketing@unionschools.co.za

Sport Results

Snr Hockey vs Burgersdorp

Hockey teams victorious

When Burgersdorp High School’s hockey teams visited UHS on Saturday morning, 4 May, they found themselves on the back foot from the get-go, when their u/16A team went down 6 – 0 to Union’s u/16Bs.

Burgersdorp’s second team also conceded six unanswered goals as Union u/16As cruised to a 6 – 0 victory. A great achievement for the u/16As in taking on a senior team

Union’s first team girls then took to the turf.  They struggled to keep possession for lengthy periods of the first half and failed to convert chances on offer.

Goals by Henze Jaftha, Rosslyn Sparks and Marche Green in the first half, however, saw Union lead by 3 – 0 at half time.

It was, however, a game of two halves with the Union girls seeming to find their flair in the second half.  Union managed to score a further 6 goals with an improved performance.  Goals by Rosslyn Sparks, Jenna McNaughton, Laetitia Theron (2), Micela Loock and Jade Shires sealed a 9 – 0 victory.

“There is much work needed to be done this week ahead of a tough fixture against Stirling High School this weekend,” says coach Alvin August.

“The tone will need to set from the word go in order to come home successful.”

Bulletin, Student Life

Innovative Learner

Behind every invention or new innovation is a person who saw a problem or an opportunity and invented a solution or a new device.

One such bright mind is Zack Botha, a Grade 6 learner at Union High School.  While sitting in Mathematics one day, inspiration hit him, and he proceeded to ‘upcycle’ two everyday stationery items, an empty Pritt glue stick and an old pencil sharpener.  From these two items, Zack created a pencil sharpener with a catchment.

“While it can be bought, this is an easy and cheap way to create a pencil sharpener that you can use at your desk without having to walk to the wastebasket every time you need to sharpen a pencil,” says Zack.

Maybe one day Zack will develop a world-changing new invention, who knows?

All we can say is that at Union, we’re big fans of innovation in all its forms, and we just love it when our learners think out of the box to create something inspired!

Cultural, Sport Results

Chess

Chess players test their skills in Middelburg

On Monday afternoon, 6 May, Union High School’s chess players competed in an individual Swiss Open chess tournament in Middelburg.

This tournament served as the second round of trials to select a team to represent the Chris Hani Chess District at the South African Junior Chess Championship to be held in Johannesburg in early January 2020.

Union will soon hear who will be invited to participate in the closed tournament in August, where it will be determined which Union players will represent the district and the school at a national level.

Academic, Bulletin

Maths Olympiad

Union’s maths whizzes participate in Olympiad

On Wednesday, 15 May, 23 Union learners will participate in the second round of the South African Mathematics Olympiad (SAMO).

The South African Mathematics Olympiad (SAMO) is South Africa’s biggest Olympiad.  Approximately 86 000 high school learners across the country participate annually.

There are two divisions: a junior division for Grades 8 and 9 and a senior division for Grades 10 to 12. Learners who score at least 50% in the first round which was this year written on 12 March qualify for the second round in May.  The top (approximately) 100 junior and 100 senior learners from the second round qualify for the final round in July.

The senior learners who qualified for the second round are (top) James Rose-Innes, Elia Railton, Hannah Watermeyer, Megan Doyle, Sicelokuhle (SO) Sishuba (bottom) Sabrina Potgieter, Lungile Netnou, Laetitia Theron, Ezra Mangunda and Peter Watermeyer.

The juniors are (top) Matthew McNaughton, Hannah Bodenstein, AJ Victor, Matthew Basson, Chloe Koeberg, (middle) Caitrin Spence, Simone Prinsloo, Gemma Naudé, Tayla Kingwill, David Kinghorn, (bottom) Siphosethu Malotana, Trinity West and Cadee Arends.

Union wishes these learners the best of luck!

Bulletin, Hostels

HAH MasterChef

Boarders cook up a storm

On Election Day, Wednesday, 8 May, Union’s Herby Arnott House held a fun MasterChef competition to celebrate the mid-week public holiday.

All the boarders were divided into teams, after which they were all given the same set of ingredients with which to showcase their impressive food skills.  The dishes were judged on creativity, appearance and taste.

There are definitely some chefs in the making at Herby Arnott, as the judges were very impressed with the level of creativity the boarders displayed during this fun and engaging cook-off.

Hockey, Sport Results

Jnr Hockey vs Westering

On Saturday, 4 May, Union High School’s junior hockey teams competed against Westering Primary School.

The 2nd Juniors took to the field first, a little bit later than expected as their opposition was late in arriving from Port Elizabeth.  After the wait, the girls were excited to finally get on the field, but then had a rather shaky start to the game.  They soon settled, however, and quickly started piecing together some fine runs of play.

The teams were very evenly matched throughout the game with possession changing constantly and neither team getting a chance to dominate.  The match was looking to end in a goalless draw, when Westering managed to slot home a lovely goal in the dying minutes of the game, giving them a 1 – 0 win.

The 1st Juniors’ match that followed, started off with an aggressive attack by Union which had Westering on the back foot for the first few minutes of the game.  Westering, however, slowly regained their equilibrium and the match became a ding-dong battle for possession, with both teams showing some fine teamwork and also some lovely individual displays of skill.

Westering was first to score, which galvanized the Union team into action and they soon equalized through a joint effort between Aaminah Steele (who capitalized on a loose ball in the circle) and Leshay Fourie (who finished it off).

Throughout the rest of the game, Westering pieced together many attacks and managed to score three brilliant goals, while Union responded with another joint effort between Xarah Hoffman (who drove the ball into the circle) and Chloe Erasmus (who added the finishing touch).

Union had more than a few opportunities that they didn’t utilise and the team will need to concentrate hard on the basics in the weeks to come.  Mention must definitely be made of Sadé May, who worked like a Trojan throughout the match and made many game-changing tackles and passes.

Sethu Vena – in the goal-box – was also instrumental in making sure the score-line was restricted. Without her composure while under attack, the outcome would most certainly have been very different.

A word of thanks is also extended to Kyle-Luke du Preez who has been offering valuable assistance with the coaching and umpiring of these two teams.

Rugby, Sport Results

Snr Rugby vs Burgersdorp

A fantastic day of rugby

Union High School hosted Burgerdorp High School’s rugby teams this past Saturday, 4 May.  The fixture resulted in a day filled with good rugby played by both schools

Union’s u/14As lost 10 – 33, the u/15As (in the accompanying photos) won 24 – 19, the u/16As lost 22-24 and the second team won 19 – 7.  The third team, who played against Murraysburg High School, won 15 – 12.

After all these matches were finalised, spectators were treated to an epic clash between the two schools’ 1st XVs.  The match lived up to all expectations and had everyone on the edge of their seats for a thrilling 70 minutes.

Burgersdorp was first to cross the line with a well-played move from a set piece.  Union bounced back and continued to build pressure, holding onto possession and putting together some wonderful phases until they could take advantage of a well-set lineout. This saw Brett Amsterdam cross the line which he then also converted to put the scores level.

Union continued to maintain possession and control territory which led to a well-worked team try scored by Khwezi Simon.  Union was, unfortunately, unable to take advantage of this lead and allowed Burgersdorp to score on the brink of half time with the scores standing at 12 – 12 at the break.

In the second half, Burgersdorp was again first to strike with a try against the run of play.  Union managed to stay composed and once again put together phase after phase of attack, unfortunately, a lack of accuracy in the set pieces kept Union from crossing the line.  Despite the inaccuracy, the continued pressure allowed for some individual brilliance from Lihle Mxhunyelwa, who touched down under the poles for Brett Amsterdam to convert to level up the scores.  This seemed to give Union a boost in confidence and the team once again managed to maintain possession and dominate territory.

Unfortunately, Union was unable to capitalize on the advantages they gave themselves and allowed Burgersdorp to take advantage of their inaccuracy at set pieces which put the Union team under pressure.

In the end, Union was unable to keep Burgersdorp from crossing the line to clinch the match in the last minute and lost the match 19 – 26.

Bulletin, Student Life

Manners Matter!

At Union, we strive to encourage proper etiquette, good manners and courteous behaviour among our learners to nurture a culture where learners respect their peers and authority figures such as teachers and coaches.

Today we received these photos from Christo Pietersen accompanied by the comment, “Impressed with the well-behaved boys”.

As the most effective approach to instilling good manners in a child is by being an example of proper etiquette yourself, we’d like to thank the exceptional parents of the Union schools as well as the members of staff and, in fact, the Union community as a whole for setting the example and for showing our learners the value of proper etiquette.

Most importantly we’d like to thank the learners for being such splendid ambassadors for our school!

Cultivating good manners takes time, but the rewards of respectful, well-behaved learners are truly endless.