Union’s Grade10s are getting stronger and fitter by the week.
Today they walked Mountain Drive with heavy-laden backpacks to get used to the weight on their shoulders in preparation for this year’s Odyssey adventure.
At this time, two weeks from now, they will be setting up camp for their second night in the canyon.
This past Saturday, 31 August, Union High School hosted the first ever simultaneous chess exhibition to be played in the Karoo.
The competition saw chess aficionado, Mr. Ian Kirstein, playing against 40 chess-loving individuals – at the same time! Kirstein had to walk from player to player, making his moves after only having had a short chance to assess the board. His competitors, however, had plenty of time to consider their position and strategy while he was playing the other 39 players.
The day’s longest match lasted 3½ hours, while the majority of the matches lasted 2½ hours. Kirstein didn’t falter under the pressure and managed to win 36 out of the 40 matches. He conceded two matches to chess coaches JP Kruger (Union High School) and Morne Naudé (Karel Theron Primêre Skool).
The only learner who managed to beat Kirstein, was Rowan Swemma from Asherville Secondary School – he walked away with a handsome prize of R500. The last match of the day ended in a draw, with Siphosethu Fortuin playing ’till the bitter end.
This was an inspiring morning of pure chess brilliance and Union would like to thank the following sponsors for their generous contributions that made this event possible: the Prescient Foundation, Blue Magnolia Nursery, Drostdy Toyota, Mrs. Kruger, Dr. Larson, Mrs. Jill Rose-Innes and Karoo Living.
Union hopes to, in future, host more events of this nature to promote chess in the district.
This past weekend, a maths retreat in Nieu-Bethesda proved a winning formula for Union High School’s Grade 11s.
During this annual excursion, the learners do more than just the regular run-of-the-mill high school mathematics. Here, they take a look at the world of mathematics beyond what is covered in the syllabus.
During this year’s camp, the Grade 11s built their confidence in the Fibonacci Sequence, The Golden Ratio and two and three-dimensional fractiles. The learners also had some time to apply their knowledge of Grade 11 mathematics by solving problems and cracking codes which were designed by maths teacher, Mr. Elrich Jantjies.
On Saturday, 31 August, they took a walk to find fractiles in the real world – this activity was however cut short by rain. Most of the learners then made use of this time to study for their upcoming tests. Later that evening, they watched a movie called “Hidden Figures” which they all found very inspirational.
Every year, this maths camp is a tremendous success and thoroughly enjoyed by all involved. It would, however, not be possible without the generosity and kindness of Ian and Katrin Alleman and their staff, who always host and accommodate the group at their backpacker accommodation establishment in Nieu-Bethesda.
Only three Union biathletes made the journey to Port Elizabeth to compete in the 1st league event of the 2019/2020 season. Despite the very cold and blustery conditions, newcomers to the sport, Mecoli Vorster and Luc Railton competed for the first time and acquitted themselves well, while Brigette Oelofsen was sadly unable to complete the run due to a recurring knee injury. All three competitors did surprisingly well in the swim portion of the event, despite the long layoff over the winter season. They are looking forward to improving both their swim and run times in the next league event which is to be held this coming weekend.
On Friday, 30 August, the members of Union’s Eco-Club met up once again for a most-enjoyable afternoon.
The learners were tasked with putting their knowledge about directions and orientation into practice by studying a map of Graaff-Reinet.
While the activity in itself was a ton of fun, it also served to increase the learners’ knowledge about the beautiful little town
At Union, we continuously strive to nurture a love of reading among our learners by providing them with access to current and relevant collections of fiction and non-fiction books at the school library.
Although Union has wholeheartedly embraced the digital revolution, the school’s traditional library services remain strongly integrated into the learning fabric of the school.
It therefore goes without saying that we were extremely excited when we were recently gifted two complete sets of the Langbourne novels by author Alan Landau.
The Langbourne novels, a series of five books, consist of: #1 Langbourne, #2 Langbourne’s Rebellion, #3 Langbourne’s Empire, #4 Langbourne’s Evolution and #5 Langbourne’s Loyalty.
All five books reached Amazon’s Top 10 Best Seller List shortly after being released.
Based on a true story, the learners at Union will undoubtedly enjoy following David and Morris Langbourne on their epic African adventure.
#1 Langbourne:
Fleeing persecution in Poland, a young Jewish family settled in England where two brothers (aged only 15 and 16) begin work in a cigarette factory. Enduring poverty and scant support from their father after their mother dies, the brothers, Morris and David, decide to take matters into their own hands and set sail for Africa. Without friend or family at their destination, they start a tobacco business and learn to adapt to the way of life, the cultures and wildlife of a very new and strange world.
#2 Langbourne’s Rebellion:
After selling their tobacco business, Morris and David set off to open a business as general traders north of the Limpopo River, at a settlement called Bulawayo, in a new country called Rhodesia. With unbelievable courage, these two boys risk their lives to walk northwards into the African bush for three months. What they don’t know is that tensions are rising between the Matabele nation and the European settlers.
#3 Langbourne’s Empire:
After losing almost everything in the Matabele rebellion, the brothers begin to rebuild their devastated business. With Morris’ sharp brain, and David’s limitless energy, they begin in earnest, taking massive risks. But no one could have seen plague, drought, disease and war on the horizon.
#4 Langbourne’s Evolution:
As their business matures, so do the boys. Morris decides the time is right for them to expand the business into Europe and he leaves his younger siblings to grow the African operation while he returns to his homeland in Ireland. But, Africa works in her mysterious ways; good plans are always put to the test, and this is no exception for the Langbourne brothers.
#5 Langbourne’s Loyalty:
Early 1900, and the Anglo Boer War is almost over, or so everyone thinks. It is also a time for joy, marriages and family, but also sorrow and sadness. The early years of 1900 bring opportunities for prosperity, and in true Langbourne style, they take risks and knuckle down to capitalise on them. But to do this, loyalty is paramount, and it comes in all sorts of ways, and from some very unexpected quarters.
Ask any rugby fan the most exhilarating way to play and watch the game, they’re likely to answer: Sevens rugby.
As the curtain starts to close on the official schools rugby programme for the season, a unique blend of 20 schools brought their u/17 rugby talent together at Framesby High School in Port Elizabeth on Friday and Saturday, 23 and 24 August, for the school’s second annual Langerry u/17 Sevens Rugby Tournament.
Among those were twelve Union players, coached by Mr. Hanno Sparrius and Mr. Christopher Felix, who set off early Friday morning to participate in this tournament.
Over the course of the tournament, Union came up against some tough opposition, but the boys gave it their all and managed two out of six victories, most notably coming from behind to beat John Walton 21 – 19 in an entertaining fixture.
In other results, Union won against Otto du Plessis 21 – 10, lost against Framesby 50 – 0, won against John Walton 21 – 19, lost against Pearson 43 – 7 and lost against Volkskool 35 – 24 (in the Bowl quarter final).
This was an enjoyable tournament, with many positives taken and lessons learnt about this wonderful game.
Union commends the team on their great sportsmanship and being fine ambassadors for the school.
On Thursday evening, 15 August, the gentlemen of Union’s Arthur Kingwill House enjoyed their annual house dinner and awards evening in the Tony Burrell Union.
The Union was transformed beautifully for this auspicious occasion, with candlelight and great camaraderie creating a wonderful ambience.
The event was an opportunity for the hostel’s staff and learners to reflect back on the year, to celebrate and recognise the immense growth each boarder experienced in this time, as well as to say farewell to the matric group.
This year, they were joined by the little Max Kroonies, who have temporarily made Arthur Kingwill House their home while renovations are underway at their boarding establishment.
It was heart-warming to see the respect the little ones have for the older learners and a short video made by the Max Kroon boarders, in which they go into detail about how much they love living at AK House, was enjoyed by all.
It was also great to see the ‘gents’ – from Grade 1 right through to Grade 12 – dressed in their formal attire. The learners represented themselves very well and enjoyed a truly memorable evening.
To start the evening, Mr. Donald Kingwill, Superintendent of Arthur Kingwill House, welcomed the guests and thanked all those who had contributed to the success and happiness of the past year, particularly the 2019 Grade 12s and prefect body. They have led the boarding house with quiet dignity and a passion for the school which doesn’t go unnoticed.
The evening’s highlight, as always, was the awards ceremony. The following awards were presented:
• Arm Wrestling Champion: Damon Fouché
• AKH Braai Master: Vincent Clarke
• For the person who made the kick when it mattered: Owen Paxton
• Grade 1 – 4 Sportsman of the Year: Owen Paxton
• Senior Sportsman of the Year: S’bongakonke Koyingana and Bowen Langmead
• Junior General Knowledge Champion: Bradley Davenport and Daniel Short
• Senior General Knowledge Champion: Lunga Zantsi and Matthew Hesselink
• Grade 1 – 4 Academic Achiever: Jake Hobson
• Top Academic (Grade 5 – 7): Matthew Paxton
• Top Academic (Grade 8 – 9: Jude Langmead
• Top Academic (Grade 10 – 12): Bowen Langmead
• Service Awards: Khanya Butshingi, Luke McNaughton, Iviwe Ndamane, Zusakhe Ngwana and Peter Watermeyer.
• The boarder who contributed most to hostel life by being punctual, neat, courteous and well-behaved: Khanya Butshingi and Peter Watermeyer.
• Fidelitas Awards: Khanya Butshingi and Peter Watermeyer.
The prefect body for 2020 – those who will lead this boarding house and take care of the younger boys over the next year – was also announced.
Well done to Jaden Botherton (Head Prefect), supported by Bowen Langmead (Deputy Head Boy), Sicelokuhle (SO) Sishuba, Buchele Siloti and Matthew Hesselink.
We wish them everything of the best as they assume their duties.
The boys then enjoyed the famous “Union steaks” and ice-cream with chocolate sauce after which they were led by Konke Koyingana in song – a part of the evening which always highlights the spirit of the boarding house and provides outsiders with a small glimpse of the ‘behind-the-scenes’ hostel life.
In South African creative circles, winning a Loerie Award is an incredible honour.
The Annual Loerie Awards ceremony is the biggest gathering of creative heavy-hitters in Africa and the Middle East, bringing a variety of industries together to compete for the highest accolade recognising creativity and innovation across these regions.
With over 2 500 entries submitted in a variety of categories, including television, radio and print, graphic design, architecture, direct marketing and digital media, it is truly an impressive achievement to walk away with an award on the night. Of the 296 Loeries awarded at the 41st Loerie Awards held at the Durban ICC this past weekend, one of them was presented to a very recent alum of Union High School.
Rebecca Langmead, Union’s Head Girl of 2018, was awarded a bronze Loerie in the Student Category for a ‘Peter and the Wolf’ book cover she designed. Rebecca is a first-year student at the Stellenbosch Academy of Design and Photography where she is studying towards a degree in Visual Communications, majoring in Illustration and Graphic Design.
Union High School would like to congratulate Rebecca on this wonderful and impressive achievement, especially considering the strong competition she was up against. An accolade of this nature being awarded to a past Head Girl of the school has created huge excitement. We’re extremely proud of Rebecca for demonstrating her creative dexterity and delighted that her work has been recognised.
Rebecca hopes to follow a career as graphic designer – we foresee a long, industrious and awarded career!
With this year’s Odyssey just around the corner, Union’s Grade 10s meet each Monday to get used to walking on rough terrain with their packs.
This enthusiastic bunch of girls enjoyed their hike yesterday afternoon on Mountain Drive. They also noted the amount of litter along the route and decided to take black bags with them next week to collect what unscrupulous people have left behind.