Bulletin

JUNIOR WINTER SPORTS AWARDS
TENNIS
ACHIEVEMENT BAR FOR TENNIS:
Leah Marais
Anna PringleRUGBY
MERIT CERTIFICATE FOR RUGBY:
Lonwabo Hanabe
Chuma SobantuACHIEVEMENT BAR FOR RUGBY:
Laythan CarelseHOCKEY
MERIT CERTIFICATE FOR HOCKEY:
Sonwabise Mroro
Leah Marais
Tayla Kingwill

ACHIEVEMENT BAR FOR HOCKEY:
Brigette Oelofsen

SENIOR WINTER SPORTS AWARDS
TEAM AWARDS FOR RUGBY:
Ben Kroon
Damon Fouche
Cleathon Koeberg
Luke McNaughton
Matteo Mahona
Zusakhe Ngwane
Ikhona Koeberg (Re-award)
Daliwonga Mathiale (Re-award)
Olwethu Ngcai (Re-award)
Mthawelanga Mzimba (Re-award)

HALF-COLOURS FOR RUGBY:
Gary Shell
Breyton Damons
Sibongiseni Baatjies

COLOURS FOR RUGBY:
Michael Krige
Jason Beaumont
Terrence Siyaya
Iviwe Ndamane
Ronan Retief
Cowan Swartz
Luthando Skapu
Matt Harpur
Thando Haarmans
Matthew Broeksma (Re-award)

TEAM AWARDS FOR HOCKEY:
Chelsea Theron
Christine Harris
Jade Shires
Marche Green
Simbongele Booysen
Sanja du Plessis (Re-award)

HALF-COLOURS FOR HOCKEY
Kiah Hoffman
Kelly Rose-Innes

COLOURS FOR HOCKEY:
Henze Jaftha (Re-award)
Simamkele Desemela (Re-award)
Yente Retief (Re-award)
Rebecca Langmead (Re-award)
Candice Russell (Re-award)
Micela Loock (Re-award)
Jenna Mcnaughton (Re-award)

EXCELSIOR AWARD FOR HOCKEY:
Chloe Shires

 

The top 8 senior tennis players ended the season on a high note with exceptionally good results at the Marco Wasserman Tennis tournament this past weekend.

In an extremely close finish, the top 4 boys and girls played a total of 384 games (64 against each of 6 schools) and finished 2 games behind Volkskool and 3 games ahead of Framesby to come second in the A section.

In the B tournament, our second team really did us proud beating some tough opposition in closely contested matches. Against Pearson they won by 33 games to 31, and against Volkskool, 38-26, bringing the trophy home to Union. Special mention must be made of Kyle-Luke du Preez and Matthew Hesselink who were unbeaten in their boys’doubles encounters.

Individual players who were awarded the following prizes, also made us very proud :

Sporstsmanship award – Peter Watermeyer
Most talented players in the B section – Kyle-Luke du Preez and Chloe Shires
Player of the tournament – Micela Loock

Thank you from Mrs Galloway and Mrs Vorster to this exceptional group of Union tennis players who constantly make us proud both on and off the tennis courts.

On Friday 24 August Union High’s Eco Club visited the Camdeboo Nasorgsentrum, which is excellently managed, with passion, by Marinda Colyn. They were warmly welcomed and thoroughly enjoyed playing with the little ones while Mrs Nell and Ms Street showed the teachers how to make eco bricks. Union presented the Centre with three eco brick seats that were made by the Union High learners and the materials to make one more. The teachers were very excited to learn this skill and they immediately set to work. The Eco Warriors had a wonderful time playing with the young ones and exploring their vegetable and herb garden. The Union learners gave the little ones of Camdeboo Nasorgenetrum a tasty treat, but more importantly they gave of their time and love. It was such a happy visit that the decision to visit again next term was unanimous. One cannot measure the value of giving one’s time and love but it was clearly visible in all the smiles and happy attachments formed. Thank you to the whole school for willingly taking part in the Eco Schools eco-brick project and thanks also to Mrs Nell for joining the outing.

 

On Thursday evening 10 senior speakers participated in the Annual Speech Competition. They delivered interesting speeches and the audience certainly enjoyed an entertaining evening.

Results: (photograph left to right)
Bavuyise Hermans (2nd Place);
Rebecca Langmead (1st Place);
Taylyn Miller (3rd Place)

Thank you to the committee, Matthew Light, Kelly Rose-Innes and Peter Watermeyer for their part in the arrangements for the evening. Thank you also to Mrs Brink for serving the guests.

The Primary Department held its annual Speech Competition on Wednesday morning, 22 August. Fifteen brave hearts took part and held their audience in captive attention, entertaining them with many humorous and interesting facts. Of the seven Gr 7 learners who took part, Brigette Oelofsen, who spoke on “The Weirdest Sounding Words” was Runner-up and Caitrin Spence took First Place, amusing the audience with “The Funniest Sayings I’ve Heard”.

There were four Gr 6s who took part courageously. Max Price with “Oddest Sports” won Runner-up, and First Place went to Tyra Binney who also spoke about some Oddest Sports.

It was the first time that the Gr 5s have taken part in our annual Speech Competition and each one of them were great, brave speakers. Megan Nortje with her speech, “English is a Funny Language”, was the Runner-up and Anna-May Hayes, who spoke so passionately about “Funny Animal Behaviour”, won First Place.

 

(left to right) Max Price, Tyra Binney, Caitrin Spence, Brigette Oelofsen, Anna-May Hayes and Megan Nortje

We are happy to report that a number of the speakers’ parents joined us in celebrating and showcasing their children’s talents. We thank them whole-heartedly for their input and educational partnership. Thanks also to the Primary Department Team who helped to make this event a happy and successful one.

We are most grateful to Rebecca Langmead, Kelly Rose-Innes and Matthew Light for adjudicating the speech competition so professionally. It was special for the speakers to be evaluated by the learner leaders of our school. We thank them for their encouraging words and wish them everything of the best.

On Tuesday 14 August, 53 Grade 5s and 3 adults set off for the day to Ganora Farm in the Nieu Bethesda district.

It was a pleasant, sunny day and the drive out there was leisurely and relaxed. On arrival in Nieu Bethesda, the group stopped to enjoy a snack, before making their way to the farm. The learners enjoyed playing with the ice that had formed on the grass the previous night and were then split into two groups: girls and boys. They were introduced to their hosts; JP, Hester and Henry.

Mrs Nell, Trevor and the boys set off on foot with Henry, their guide, to the caves to learn about the San (Bushmen) and Khoi rock art and culture. They learned who did the paintings, how they were done and what they mean. They also learned about the different roles in the family clan, and particularly how the Bushmen hunted animals and which ones were sacred to them. The rock art on this farm is estimated to be about 400 years old and every year rain takes its toll on these original art works. The talk was also made interesting by the inclusion of a few Myths that these first people believed.
Meanwhile Ms Street and the girls were in the Fossil Museum, learning about Fossils mostly uncovered on Ganora Farm. They learned that no dinosaur fossils can be found in the Karoo, but that the Karoo fossils founds are of small and medium reptiles and mammals (herbivores, carnivores and omnivores alike). The fish fossils found in the Karoo were from fresh water lakes and they even examined some plant fossils. The learners were fascinated when allowed to examine these fossils close up. It is certain that rocks will never just be rocks to these children again, instead, rocks will be examined for fossils. The two groups then exchanged activities.

Thereafter, the group enjoyed tasty refreshments prepared by the farm staff and the learners had an opportunity to relax on the lawn, some playing games. Back in Nieu Bethesda again, the group toured the main part of the village on foot, visiting the Church, Owl House and the local sculptors. They learned about the mysterious Helen Martins and even watched an artist at work. The grade 5s enjoyed a busy, interesting and exciting day at Ganora.

The 2018 annual Interschools clash between the Union Schools and Laer and Hoër Volkskool will once again be remembered as one where sport and good sportsmanship emerged the winner. From the start on Monday, on the rugby and hockey fields, as well as in the cultural activities spectators were entertained by the exceptional skill and ability of both schools, and the spirit in which the schools played the game.

Most of the junior sport was played on Friday in very wet and cold conditions. The 1st and 2nd Junior hockey teams played excellent hockey and delighted the crowd with their fine performances, with the 2nd team winning their match 2 – 0 and the 1st Juniors losing 0 – 2.

With beautiful sunny weather on Saturday, the crowds were once again blessed with a full day of tough matches. The 1st Team Hockey match was a match to remember with both teams playing aggressive and exciting hockey on the Union Astroturf. Union won this match 4 – 0. At the Botanics Sports Grounds, Union managed to win five of the 7 matches. Once again one of the most entertaining matches of the day, the 2nd Team match, which was dominated by Union and they managed to finish their unbeaten season winning that match 18 – 7.

All was set for the final match of the day.

Interschools is truly alive and well and we look forward to many more encounters in the future. It’s a week where the entire Graaff-Reinet community benefits. Graaff-Reinet is indeed privileged to have two wonderful schools that compete in this manner.

We would like to thank our main sponsor FNB, as well as Brian Bands Sports, Supa-Quick and Caltex College Motors. We also say thank you to all the parents and Old Unionites for all their hard work. It is much appreciated.

1st XV

The First XV made themselves, our school, and every single Union supporter immensely proud on Saturday. The performance at Interschools was the culmination of a season throughout which they worked extremely hard at every aspect of their game, chasing perfection and striving to improve each time they got together as a group. The definition of potential is “having or showing the capacity to develop into something in the future”. This year’s First Team frustrated themselves and spectators because all knew they had potential, but it constantly felt as though they were capable of so much more than what they were delivering. Turns out, they were saving it all for when it mattered most.

The first half of Saturday’s Interschools match was a flawless display of rugby. We dominated the set-pieces, won the collisions, attacked space with purpose and conviction, and showed composure when needing to absorb opposition pressure. Matt Harpur kicked a penalty, shortly followed by a try when Cowan Swartz stood up his opposing wing and raced down the touchline before passing inside to Daliwonga Mathiale, who ran in untouched from 30 metres out. It wasn’t long before Luthando Skapu once again showed his class, cutting the line with ease and beating the last defender to score a magnificent solo try. One could say it mirrored his try in 2017. Matt Harpur converted both tries and kicked a second penalty to give us a 20-3 lead at half-time.

Volkskool scored early in the second half to narrow the gap to 20-10, but the Union boys were determined not to defend their lead and bounced back with a try a few phases later. Daliwonga Mathiale capitalised on a brilliant lineout steal by our forwards and ghosted through three defenders to score his second. Matt Harpur added the extra two, taking the score to 27-10. Unfortunately, our captain Matthew Broeksma suffered a serious head injury at this point and had to be replaced with just less than half the game remaining. We seemed slightly thrown by the incident, but another well taken penalty by Matt Harpur put us 20 points ahead. Volkskool made a late charge and scored a converted try to bring them within two scores. It stayed this way until the end and we won the match 30-17.

Every player in a White Jersey did his job, was effective, worked hard and put the team ahead of themselves.

The First Team wants to thank every learner, member of staff and spectator who supported them, not only on Saturday but throughout the whole of last week. They also want to congratulate the Second Team on an incredible unbeaten season and the First Hockey girls on their phenomenal victory.
This Interschools was certainly an example of “One Team…One Union!”

1st Hockey Team
The Union High School ended off a successful season with a bang. They walked onto the surrounded turf with a sense of excitement. After an intense warm-up, the girls got off to a slow start. Despite many opportunities and dominance of possession of the ball, they failed to get the ball into the back of the net.
After a short but sweet half-time talk, the ball started rolling. The Union gitls scored 3 beautiful, well-executed field goals, and another of a penalty corner. The final score was a well-deserved 4 – 0.
The team would like to thank everybody for their enthusiastic support, not only on Saturday, but during the whole season.

It was an honour to represent Union High School.

Junior Rugby
Union’s U13A rugby boys faced off against Volkskool in a highly anticipated rugby match. Volkskool put Union under pressure from the kick-off and found themselves defending for most of the first half. The Union boys gained momentum in the second half and kept Volkskool under pressure. Unfortunately it was too little too late and they went down 7-38. The boys played with passion and never gave up; they truly displayed the Union spirit.

Junior Hockey
The junior hockey girls took to the astro in bitterly cold and wet conditions on Friday afternoon and met with mixed results.

The 2nd team got off to a slow start and were put under pressure from the start by a determined Volkskool team. Once they recovered their wits though, the girls slowly began to claw back possession and by the end of the 1st half they were firmly in control of the game despite the lack of score.
In the 2nd half, the girls found an extra gear and stepped up the pace and determination, and were rewarded with 2 well deserved goals from Lana Bouwer and Charlize Vorster for their efforts. Well done to this very young team for a great victory under challenging conditions.

The 1st team did not fare as well and unfortunately went down 2 -0 in this tough encounter. Hockey is a game of opportunity as much as it is a game of skill. Union fell short in that they did not capitalise on the opportunities presented. They stood back and waited for passes, while Volkskool swooped in and intercepted these 50 / 50 balls, that could just as easily have been theirs had they had fought for them. The Union girls also had numerous shots on goal, but again lacked the determination to finish off; whereas the opponents were able to slot in 2 soft goals and put themselves in the lead.

Although the girls played well and displayed some lovely skill on the day, in the end, the more committed team won. This was a tough lesson to learn in an even tougher forum and the hope is to grow from these mistakes in the future.

Junior girls’ tennis
The junior girls’ did exceptionally well this year to win their interschools encounter against Volkskool. The 1st team won 6 matches to 3. Special mention has to be made of Anna Pringle and Leah Marais who played as the Union 2nd couple and won all 3 their matches. They showed much fight and determination having been 0-6 down in a pro-set, to come out 8-6 victorious.

The 2nd team did our school proud with both the first couple, consisting of Musa Zweni and Caitrin Spence, as well as the 2nd couple, consisting of Charlize Vorster and Emma Short, winning all 3 their matches on the day. They won their encounter 8 matches to 1.

Due to the wet conditions on Friday, the Senior tennis matches had been postponed and will be played on Thursday, 16 June.

Interschools Cultural Report

The Cultural Events for this year’s Interschools started on Monday in the Hoër Volkskool hall, as our Chess players, from Gr 1 – 12 faced their opponents. Our learners conducted themselves in a very good manner and played their hearts out. Thank you to the High School Team who stayed to the very end to support Liano Naido. The results were as follows.
1st Juniors – draw 6 – 6
2nd Juniors – draw 6 – 6
Seniors – lost 6  -8

On the Wednesday evening, our Union High learners turned up en-masse to support the Interschools Speech and Quiz competition.

Our learners showed incredible unity as they performed a heart-warming flash mob. Thank you to our Gr 8 – 12 learners for their commitment to come to practices every Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Many people from the audience commented on how blessed they were by the performance.

The participants in the speech competition had an hour to prepare an unseen speech. All our speakers presented intelligent, positive, well constructed, mature and excellent executed speeches on the topic of ‘Should your parents have access to your cell phones.’ We are proud of James Rose-Innes who won the Junior contest, and Rebecca Langmead who won the Senior Challenge. Bavu Harmse also produced an excellent speech.

The quiz was hard-fought with Matthew Light captaining his team of Peter Watermeyer, Zintle Maki and Amanda Brink with dignified (sometimes humorous) maturity! Unfortunately Volkskool were better prepared on the evening and won the quiz convincingly.

For our five, Gr 12 Marimba band members, Friday before Interschools Assembly was their last performance. Thank you to Faith, Zeta, Tracey-Lee, Britney and Sonique for all the hours of fun-filled practicing. Your performances were always entertaining and beautiful to listen to.

Our learners’ cultural participation truly laid a foundation of unity – and we can proudly declare – ONE TEAM ONE UNION!

 

The Union High School community is, once again, excited at the prospect of being a part of the energy of the annual Interschools clash. We are very proud of the traditions that have developed around this occasion since its inception in 1919 and we are extremely pleased to share the day with so many people who travel from all over South Africa and, for that matter, from abroad, in order to be a part of the excitement and drama that inevitably accompanies the clashes.

As always, the sporting tussles will be hard-fought and tense. All the players will be keen to end off the season on a high note. They cherish this opportunity to display their talents and to prove their mettle in front of the many spectators that attend the matches. As we wish all the participants well, we look forward to a wonderful weekend of sport and of sportsmanship of the highest order.

Union High School welcomes all visitors to Interschools 2018. It is wonderful to see so many past pupils from the schools returning to meet up with classmates and other friends. We trust that your reunions will be enjoyed by all and that you will be able to look upon this weekend back at your respective Alma Maters with much pleasure and with many fond memories. Our school thanks you for joining us, and we assure you that the efforts that you have made in order to be with us over this weekend do not go unnoticed or unappreciated. Much of what makes this weekend special is a result of the friendly, festive and enthusiastic atmosphere that your presence lends to Interschools.

Our sincere thanks are extended to our sponsors, First National Bank, whose contribution to this event helps us to ensure that it remains an occasion of note for all.

Mr William Pringle
HEADMASTER 

The build up to Interschools can never be explained, only experienced. It is a time in the life of learners when all else seems to come to a standstill and focus shifts to the rivalry that has created unforgettable memories over many years.

Players, coaches, parents, siblings and interested spectators all add to the drama and excitement over the week of fierce competition over a variety of sporting and cultural events. It is an occasion unique to our special town and schools. Interschools 2018 will without doubt be no different and it is evident that all involved are eager to get underway and see if their preparation throughout the year has stood them in good stead for the final challenge.

I want to take this opportunity to thank those individuals who have been hard at work behind the scenes to ensure the smooth running of the Interschools program. It is often taken for granted but many are extremely grateful for your efforts. To all supporters, I trust that you will enjoy the occasion and hope that it will send you on an emotional rollercoaster that stirs up memories and inspires you to dream of your own moments of heroism.
I want to thank Laer Volkskool for hosting this year’s event and I am certain it will be another one for the scrapbook.

Best of luck to all participating learners and those who will be supporting their peers. May the matches by tightly contested and played in good spirit. Long may the bond between our schools remain one which is cherished by all who are associated with both institutions.

Mr Carl Bezuidenhout
HEAD OF SPORT

1st RUGBY TEAM

Left to right: Mateo Mahona, Luthando Skapu, Gary Shell, Zusake Ngwane, Luke McNaughton, Matt Harpur, Ronan Retief, Ben Kroon, Daliwonga Mathiale, Terrance Siyaya, Matthew Broeksma (Captain), Mr Carl Bezuidenhout (Coach), Michael Krige (Vice-Captain), Iviwe Ndamane, Cleathon Koeberg, Mthawelanga Mzimba, Jason Beaumont, Breyton Damons, Cowan Swartz, Damon Fouche, Ikhona Koeberg, Thando Hermans, Sibongiseni Baatjies, Olwethu Ngcai

2018 RUGBY SEASON THUS FAR This season has been about maturity and constant improvement. We were in the fortunate position of retaining the bulk of the 2017 First XV which allowed us to reinforce the positives from last season and introduce new structures and playing styles. The team has adopted an expansive and positive approach to what we do, allowing for mistakes but striving for perfection.The forward pack is a unified unit and rely on a combined effort to win set pieces and provide the backs with front-foot ball. They have dominated against far larger opponents and have pleasantly surprised supporters with how effective they have been in the tight. Their greatest asset is the skill level of each forward, often seamlessly linking with the backs to create overlaps or manipulate defences. With five of the seven regular backline players from 2017 still available this year, there has been an almost telepathic understanding between the backs. A pleasing aspect and sign of good game awareness has been that the backline has scored regularly from set-piece moves. This shows that decision makers are choosing the correct options and the strike runners are executing their roles. Defensively, although small in stature, they have been colossal and held out teams that were faster and bigger.As things stand, we have won 9 from 14 matches (Pearson and Volkskool fixtures remaining). The highlight was undoubtedly beating Graeme College in Grahamstown at the end of the second term. This group of young men have worked extremely hard this season and have made every effort to reach their full potential as a team. They deserve every success that has come their way and have added value to the coveted White Jersey.With the season drawing to an end, the team is desperate to make a lasting positive impression on those who have supported them throughout the season and promise to leave it all out on the field come 16:00 on 11 August 2018…

1st HOCKEY TEAM

Left to right: Christine Harris, Chloe Shires, Kiah Hoffman, Candice Russell, Jade Shires, Jenna McNaughton (Vice-Captain), Rebecca Langmead (Captain), Mr Alvin August (Coach), Micela Loock (Vice-Captain), Yente Retief, Kelly Rose-Innes, Chelsea Theron, Marche Green, Henze Jaftha, Simamkele Desemela (Goalkeeper)

2018 HOCKEY SEASON THUS FAR The Union High School 1st hockey team has had an incredible season so far. The team has played tough competition, not only playing the top two schools in the country (Oranje Meisieskool and Collegiate), but also others in the top ten, including the proud victory over Pearson High School.The team currently consists of five matrics with a wealth of experience. The girls average on 59 caps per player. Five of the players have over 100 caps for the 1st team, and an additional have over 50 caps. The team had 4 inter-provincial representatives this year – Micela Loock, Candice Russell and Yente Retief (Eastern Province U18B) and Chloe Shires (Eastern Province U14C).The season has been one of much change, but more growth. Having played top schools in the country, the statistics are highly impressive considering the size of our school.

1st TENNIS TEAM

Back (left to right): Rebecca Langmead, Micela Loock, Kelly Rose-Innes (Captain), Mr L Gallaway (Girls’ Coach), Mrs L Vorster (Boys’ Coach), Matt Harpur (Captain), Noa Cilliers, Ebben Johnston Front (left to right): Sarah Kingwill, Christine Harris, Jenna McNaughton, Kyle-Luke du Preez, Bowen Langmead, Matthew Hesselink

1st Rugby				1st Hockey
Matthew Broeksma				Rebecca Langmead
“Today we do what they don’t. Tomorrow we do what they cannot.”				“Hustle. Hit. Never quit!”
1st Tennis Girls		1st Tennis Boys		Golf
Kelly Rose-Innes		Matt Harpur		Matt Harpur
“When you don’t give up, you cannot fail.”		“There’s no way around hard work. Embrace it.” – Roger Federer		“Nothing worth having comes easy.” – Rory McIlroy
Speech		Quiz		Chess
Bavuyisa Hermans		Matthew Light		Ben Kroon
“A good speech should be like a woman’s skirt – long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest.” – Winston Chucrhill		“Say not always what you know, but always know what you say.”		“In life, as in chess, forethought wins.” – Charles Buxton

 

Congratulations to Kelly Rose-Innes who played her 50th cap for the 1st hockey team in the match against Framesby today. She received a small gift from Mr Carl Bezuidenhout, Union High’s Head of Sport, and the Team Manager, Mrs Sharon Shell.

 

UHS VS FRAMESBY (HOME)
HOCKEY
1st team won 4 – 0
Goals by Micela Loock (2), Henze Jaftha and Jade Shires put the home team ahead with a comfortable 4-0 lead going into to the half time break.
The Union girls could not break through the Framesby defence in the 2nd half, but were awarded many penalty corners, which they failed to convert. A good win once again for the girls sees them going into Interschools with a huge amount of confidence.2nd team won 2 – 0
U/16A won 4 – 0
U/16B won 5 – 0
3rd team drew 0 – 0UHS VS HERBERT HURD (AWAY)
RUGBY
U/13A:  12 – 15
This weekend our boys travelled to Port-Elizabeth to take on Herbert Hurd. With conditions cold and wet the match was dominated by close play and huge collisions. Both teams scored twice in the first half to leave the match hanging in the balance. Our boys played with passion and fought hard but unfortunately a last minute penalty was converted and we went down 12-15
U/13B:  5 – 26
U/11A:  5 – 7
U/11B:   14 – 21HOCKEY
Junior 1st Team:  1 – 6
This weekend saw major losses for our Junior hockey teams against Herbert Hurd. Due to illness we were unable to field full teams and had 7 players missing from the two teams. This meant severely depleted teams with many of the players who were there, playing more than one game and even some of these players were not well.

Excuses aside, it was not a pretty day of hockey for us and the 2nd team lost 6-0, while the 1st team lost 6-1. Our lone goal of the day coming from the stick of Chloe Erasmus.
Junior 2nd Team:  0 – 6

UHS VS PEARSON (HOME)

SPECIAL MOMENT
Matric 1st XV rugby boys who played their last rugby match on home soil with their Old Unionite parents.
From left to right: Dad Joe Kroon with Ben, dad Kent Krige with Michael, mom, Diane and dad, Paul Broeksma with Matthew and dad, Jean Retief with son, Ronan.

RUGBY
The First Team went down 20 – 28 in a bruising encounter against Pearson on Saturday. The number of stoppages due to players from both teams needing recovery time was an indication of how physical and demanding the match was. The game hung in the balance for the full 70 minutes and could have gone either way with both sides creating scoring opportunities throughout. In the end, it was a moment of brilliance from the Pearson backline that made the difference. Our side fought valiantly from start to finish and can be immensely proud of their performance. We had several players carrying niggles into the game and they should be commended for their courage and commitment. We scored three tries through Terrence Siyaya (2) and Luthando Skapu. Matt Harpur converted once and slotted a penalty. It was a tremendous team effort, despite the loss, and there are plenty of positives to draw from over the next two weeks as we prepare for our final challenge.
2nd Team:  17 – 10
U/16A:  19-29
3rd Team:  28 – 19
U/15A:  5-39
U/15B:  0 – 59
U/14A:  17 – 34

HOCKEY
1st Team:  3 – 1
Union 1st team girls broke the historical Pearson losing streak, as they went head to head on which was a well anticipated nail-biting match. A highly confident team started the game with good intensity and real quality hockey. Henze Jaftha opened the score line with a well worked team effort to put the visiting side on the back foot. The Union girls went into half time leading 1-0, but knowing the job was not yet done, a geared up Union team kept the pace up early in the second half. This secured the lead with another goal from Henze. After numerous attacks and plenty of short corners, the pressure built up to a penalty flick which was punished away by Micela Loock for a solid 3-0 lead. A momentary lapse in concentration lead to a goal being conceded to conclude the game at 3-1. Overall the game was an excellent display of teamwork, solid defence and a passion and drive to win. Well done girls!

2nd Team:  1 – 6
U/16A:  0 – 4
3rd Team:  0 – 6
U/16B:  0 – 2

UHS PRIMARY VS CLARENDON (AWAY)

RUGBY
U13A:  0 – 52
On Saturday our U13A rugby team travelled to Port-Elizabeth to take on Clarendon Park Primary. This was without a doubt one of our most physical encounters off the year. Our boys stood tall on defence and made their opposition work hard to retain possession. Unfortunately no team can defend for 50 minutes and Clarendon capitalised out wide. Even though the result might suggest otherwise, the Union boys came together as a team and improved immensely on the previous week’s performance.
Scores:

U13B:  14 – 29
U11A:  21 – 10
U11B:  10 – 19

HOCKEY
1st Junior Team:  0 – 2
This weekend’s performance against Clarendon was the exact opposite of Union’s last encounter against Gill. While the girls stepped up the pace and pushed to the end against Gill in the 2nd half last week; against Clarendon they seemed to give up. Despite an evenly matched 1st half, Clarendon did manage to slot in one goal close to the end of the half and the Union girls appeared to lose focus. In the second half errors started creeping into play and Union began playing more as individuals rather than as a team. Although no one played badly, the lack of team-work resulted directly in Clarendon sneaking in another loose goal and Union suddenly found ourselves 2 – 0 down in a match that should have been more evenly contested. There was a marked difference in the Union players’ demeanour after this goal and were lucky not to succumb further. Perhaps this will serve as a wake-up call and they will learn that the best form of attack or defence, is to put up a UNITED front. Working together is the best way to achieve.
2nd Junior Team:  0 – 1
3rd Junior Team:  2 – 6
4th Junior Team:  0 – 5

UHS VS GILL COLLEGE, SOMERSET EAST (AWAY)
RUGBY
1st XV lost 29 – 34
The first team let themselves down on Saturday, losing 29-34 to Gill College in Somerset East. Considering that we led 29-10 with a quarter of the game left, it was hugely disappointing that we did not come away with a victory.
Credit must go to Gill for the way in which they threw caution to the wind and forced us to panic and lose composure. We were far off the pace in the second half and made too many errors to build any kind of continuity or find any rhythm.
We did manage to score five tries which is a positive. Breyton Damons, Michael Krige, Matthew Broeksma, Ronan Retief and Terrence Siyaya all crossed the try-line.
With two matches left, lessons must be learnt from what happened and we will use every opportunity together this week to right the wrongs.

2nd Team won 17 – 7
U/16A won 14 – 8
U/15A won 48 – 5
U/14A won 12 – 5

HOCKEY
1st Team won 4 – 0
Our 1st team hockey girls met up with Gill College on Saturday, in what was a physical battle.  The Union girls displayed a good brand of grass hockey, converting 3 excellent field goals in the 1st half.
Going into the 2nd half Union had high expectations of trebling the score line, but stop-start play due to Gill girls getting injured they lost momentum and could only manage 1 goal before the game was blown short. Even though the game was called short by 7 minutes due to Gill not able to field a full 11, a great team effort secured the desired result at the end of the day.  Goals were scored by Henze Jafta, Rebecca Langmead, Jenna McNaughton and Micela Loock

U/16A won 4 – 0

U/11 Girls:
1. Lisakhanye Menos 14:45:67 (A)
2. Zara Deysel 14:59:05 (D)
3. Silindo Khali 16:50:58 (A)

U/11 Boys:
1. Kyle Liebenberg 13:12:65 (A)
1. Matthew Paxton 13:12:65 (A)
2. Zepharia Kallies 14:16:29 (D)

U/13 Girls:
1. Caytah-Leigh Koeberg 21:51:03 (A)
2. Brigette Oelofson 23:33:03 (A)
3. Sonwabise Mroro 24:35:17 (A)

U/13 Boys:
1. Alutha Wesi 19:46:27 (D)
2. Dylan Kivedo 19:50:10 (D)
3. Laythan Carelse 20:44:17 (D)

U/15 Girls:
1. Drew Dobinson 20:48:05 (A)
2. Ekaterina Duvenage 21:28:16 (A)
3. Mihle May 23:21:33 (A)

U/15 Boys:
1. Siya Badiwe 22:26:10 (D)
2. Josh Calitz 22:37:09 (A)
3. Thando Matotie 22:38:32 (A)

Open Girls:
1. Sanja du Plessis 18:51:95 (A)
2. Rebecca Langmead 21:52:39 (A)
3. Micela Loock 21:53:00 (D)

Open Boys:
1. Matthew Carelse 33:57:20 (A)
2. Cameron Muir 34:17:00 (A)
3. Noah Ackerman 37:09:93 (A)

Overall Points:
Daly – 197
Arnott – 290

SENIOR SPORT:  UHS VS WESTERING
RUGBY
The First Team were bitterly disappointed to go down 20 – 27 against Westering on Saturday. After leading 15 – 5 at half time, we seemed to panic when faced with a strong head-wind and repeatedly surrendered possession at critical times. We played into Westering’s hands and they did well to capitalise on their opportunities.

Our tries were scored by Olwethu Ngcai, Ben Kroon and Sibongiseni Baatjies.

Man of the match was Jason Beaumont, who tried his utmost best to give us forward momentum at set pieces and in the loose. As a tighthead, his work rate matched any loose forward on the field and he certainly left it all out there on the field.

We now have two weeks to right the wrongs and work towards filling in the missing puzzle pieces before our next encounter against Graeme College.
1st XV:  20 – 27
2nd Team:  45 – 5
U/16A:  43 – 0
U/15A:  17 – 15
U/14A:  24 – 19

U/15B vs Spanday:  7 – 29

HOCKEY
1st Team:  7 – 1
2nd Team:  4 – 0
U/16A:  2 – 2
3rd Team:  0 – 1
U/16B:  0 – 4

JUNIOR SPORT
RUGBY – vs Adelaide Primary
On Saturday our u13A rugby team played against Adelaide Primary in extremely windy conditions. Union scored first and kept their opponents under pressure throughout the match. The boys played to their strengths and controlled the game. This was truly an inspiring performance against strong opposition – Winning the match 19 – 7

The U/11A team won their match 5 – 0.

HOCKEY – St George’s Festival
The junior hockey girls finished off a very busy hockey week with a wonderful all-round performance at this festival. In an event that hosted over 600 girls, our girls most certainly did not disappoint. They played attractive hockey throughout and kept pushing till the end despite having played 7 games in the space of 2 days. The 1sts experimented with a slightly different game plan and responded well to the challenge with some good combinations, while the 2nds excited supporters by keeping up the pressure against strong competition.
The results were as follows:

2nd Team
Lost 1- 0 vs Merrifield 1st team
Won 2 – 0 vs Hermitage House
Won 4 – 0 vs Kingswood
Won 1 – 0 vs St Georges

1st Team
Lost 1 – 0 vs Clarendon
Won 1 – 0 vs Westering
Drew 0 – 0 vs Collegiate B
Won 2 – 1 vs Summerwood

Congratulations to all the girls on their wonderful efforts over the weekend and thank you to Mrs Pringle who gave up her Saturday to help coach the 2nds at the Festival.

 Final Round of Karoo Schools Hockey on Friday, 1 June.

Our 1st and 2nd Junior Hockey teams performed well on the last day of this round robin tournament and finished on a high.

The second team beat Graaff-Reinet Primer 3 – 0, and also beat Volkskool u/13 B 4 – 0. They are playing nicely together as a team and are beginning to see the benefits of these extra practice games.

The first team beat Gill College 1-0, drew 0 – 0 with the Middleburg Homeschoolers, and drew 1-1 with Volkskool. They played mature, pleasing hockey that was lovely to watch.

UHS VS CRADOCK (AWAY)
Due to a flu epidemic at Cradock High School, 1st team and under 16 A rugby matches were cancelled.
U/14A:  17 – 33
U/15B:  49 – 19
U/15A:  24 – 12
2nd Team:  20 – 10

UHS VS MARLOW
3rd Team vs Marlow 4th team:  0 – 36

HOCKEY
U/16A vs CHS 3rd Team:  12 – 0
2nd Team:  3 – 0
1st Team:  1 – 0
On Saturday the 1st Hockey Team played Cradock in a tricky encounter on a grass surface. The team deserves much praise as they approached the game with complete professionalism, and thoroughly enjoyed the encounter. The girls dominated the game, but could not finish their opportunities,
winning 1 – 0. Special mention must be made of Jenna McNaughton who played extremely well.

UHS VS CRADOCK PRIMARY (AWAY)
Hockey
14:00 3rd Junior Team
14:40 2nd Junior Team
15:20 1st Junior Team

Rugby
Time     Rovers A     Rovers B
14:00     U/11A         U/13B
15:00     U/13A         U/11B

Some of our actors, musicians and dancers took part in ‘Stars of the Karoo’  – a local talent show that showcased the incredible, diverse talent in our town! These dedicated learners found extra time to practise outstanding performances which the entire town enjoyed at the John Rupert Theatre. It was heart warming to see our learners working in unity with learners from other schools in Graaff- Reinet, dancing together or accompanying each other in music and song. Congratulations to all these learners who really did Union proud! Special thanks must also go to our parents – Anziske Keyster, Wilmari Spence, Chinelle Marais and Laura Knott-Craig who organised this fantastic show.

Last Friday our 1st and 2nd Junior hockey teams took part in the 2nd round of the Karoo Hockey tournament, but were slightly less successful than in the previous round.

The 2nd team played well and racked up a 1-0 win against Graaff-Reinet Primêr and a 0-0 draw against Laer Volkskool u13 B in their first outing in this tournament.

The 1st team did not fare as well in this round. They lost 1-0 against the Homeschoolers, and drew 0-0 against Laer Volkskool u13 A. While play in general was good, inaccurate passes put our girls under unnecessary pressure and made our games harder than they should have been.

We are looking forward to the opportunity to improve our results in the next round.

The matric Farewell of 2018 was a glittery evening to say the least! Right from the small and big (really big) vehicles, to the final, barefoot dance, the matrics were smiling from ear to ear.

After walking down a fairy-lit carpet we entered into an equisite forest! Our eyes feasted on stumps, candles and pine cones as we mingled and took a few precious pictures. We were then escorted downstairs to the picturesque dining area. We ate, laughed, danced and made memories that we will never forget.

Thank you to the Grade 11 class, Matric Farewell Committee and everyone else who was involved in making the evening so special!
(By Rebecca Langmead)

UHS VS NICO BRUMMER
U11A:  15 – 12
U13A:  26 – 10

The grade 6 class had to create mandalas this term in visual arts. They decided to assemble nature mandalas.

They discussed and applied the following design principles: symmetry, contrast, repetition and harmony!
Beautiful work by our Grade 6s!

A Top level club meeting, attended by twelve of our top academic learners and five Eco-Representatives from the primary school accompanied by Ms Street and Mrs Rose-Innes, was held on 16 May 2018. This meeting was addressed by Mr Jurg Wagener who was accompanied by his wife, Rita. He is the owner of Sterland Stargazing in Sutherland, and is running a training session on stargazing over three days in Graaff-Reinet.

Mr Wagener explained that stars consist of gases exploding, that blue stars are young stars and red stars (owing to temperature) are fading away. Each star has its own beauty and characteristics. He also illustrated the difference between the Southern, Diamond and False Cross and how to recognise them in the constellation. He further shared how and where to identify SCORPIO, ORION and planets such as JUPITER, SATURN and VENUS . The presentation was interesting and enough to unlock the curiosity of our learners.

13 UHS learners travelled to Despatch to represent Union High at the bi-annual Despatch Kunstefees. Together they prepared 29 items ranging from poetry, monologues, dramatised prose, dialogues and dramatised poetry. Our learners did exceptionally well and we are very proud of them. They were awarded two B’s, two B+’s, nine A’s, and 11 A+s. We are very excited about the five A++ (above 90%) certificates awarded to three of our extremely talented girls!

Here are the results
1. Amahle Finca: A
2. Keoarana Letube: A, A
3. Musa Zweni: A, A
4. Sasha Cochrane: A, A+
5. Aziza Mduduma: A+, A+
6. Sisipho de Vos: B, B+, A
7. Aaminah Steele: B, A, A+
8. Lolitha Saki: B+, B+, A+
9. Erin Gedult: A, A+, A+
10. Cadee Arends: A+, A+, A+
11. Brigette Oelofsen: A+, A++, A++
12. Caitrin Spence: A+, A++, A++
13. Rachel Houseman: A+, A+, A+, A++

Union High School’s production ‘Go the Distance’, written and directed by Avrille Putter and boasting a large cast of nearly 100 learners and crew, was a feast for the eye, ear and soul last week. The story, based on a young boxer, Zekiah Molope, brilliantly performed by Ikhona Koeberg, whisked the audience through the colourful streets, sheebeens and gyms of Sophiatown in the late 1950’s. ‘Go the Distance’ could have stood its own at any drama festival and those who were privy to the few hours of sheer energy, joyful song and dance, and clever witticism were in for a treat that way surpassed any regular high school production.

The show was cleverly narrated by Peter Watermeyer who held the story together with excellent acting and clear enunciation. In his likeable role as Frank, Peter clearly told the story of Zekiah – a struggling young boxer – who became a hero as he ‘went the distance’ against Duke Jackson – the reigning middleweight champion, also convincingly played by Damon Fouche. Frank tells the story of Zekiah to a group of school children, led by Sima Desemela, who was aptly cast as Busi. This talented young woman add-libbed her way through the show, adding many an hilarious punch line, and drew the entire audience and cast along with her skill. Her naughly co-horts provided much hilarity as they formed their own sub-plot to the main story-line. What was clearly evident is just how much these young thespians enjoyed themselves – and even the supporting cast was engaged in their puns and witticisms as they came up with something completely new each evening!

Ikhona Koeberg moulded and shaped the character of Zekiah as the story developed. His execution of this sometimes vulnerable, sometimes comedic protagonist was remarkable, and the passion with which he fought and danced and loved and sang his way through the story made for many a ‘goosebump’ moment!

“Go the Distance” was a celebration of colour, dance and song! Janet Kingwill’s beautiful set design was the perfect backdrop to carefully crafted 1950’s costumes, many sewn by Colleen Ekermans who devoted hours of work and love behind the scenes. Remarkably choreographed scenes included the miners’ dance which celebrated the beautiful voices of the senior boys, as they performed an earth shattering gumboot dance led by the powerful voice of Jason Beaumont. The bus stop scene, led in rousing song by Zintle Maki, involved professional lighting effects that symbolized the dawn, with nostalgic photographs that transported the viewer into Sophiatown of old. The Wedding party was a riotous celebration of song and exuberance and absolute joy as the entire cast danced their way through ‘Mama Themba’s wedding.’ Zekiah’s final fight scene, professionally commentated by Cameron Muir and Amanda Brink as Bob and Janey, was a display of clever showmanship and lighting effects as he ‘went the distance’, surviving 15 rounds of ‘freeze frame’ choreography that was perfectly and timeously executed by the entire cast.

The calibre singing and acting was outstanding this year, with Bavuyise Hermans, Tracy-Lee Abels and Kay Koeberg taking on difficult solos with aplomb. Ashwon Dawids had the audience in stitches as the local gang leader, Shakes – throwing in a bit of ‘Graaffrikaans’ for good measure too! Gym owner, Sam was convincingly performed by Olwethu Ngcai, while Taylyn Miller played the giggly, permanently positive Nancy. Rebecca Langmead took on the role of Gloria – the cynical, bossy shebeen queen who ruled the ‘Crazy Moon’ with an iron fist!

In her speech of gratitude to Avrille Putter after the final curtain call, Rebecca Langmead described her as ‘ineffable’ – meaning ‘too great or extreme to be described in words’. She said that the cast had arrived as amateurs and left as accomplished actors. That they had arrived as a cast, and left as a family.

‘Go the Distance’ is an example of a group of truly unified youngsters having a great deal of fun along with a copious amount of talent! Union High School can be congratulated on a sublime production that fills one with admiration and hope for the youth of our colourful nation!

 

View the photographs on our Facebook page Photographs courtesey of Wendy Venter

Union High wishes to congratulate Kwande Mhlabeni for his selection to represent the Eastern Cape Under 15 Tennis Team at the National Primary Schools Inter-Provincial Tournament to be held in Pretoria from the 27th of April to the 1st of May.

Kwande is an extremely dedicated and hard-working tennis player, and is currently ranked No. 6 in the Eastern Province. We wish him well at National Week, where he will be competing against the top tennis players in South Africa. Well done, Kwande, you make Union proud!

Here seen with Mr Carl Bezuidenhout (Head of Sport), Mr Floris Steenkamp (Junior Sports Administrator and Mrs Yvette Cloete (Head of Junior Department)

Fourteen of Union’s chess players played in an open Swiss chess tournament in Middelburg on Monday. This tournament also served as the second round of trials to select a team to represent the Chris Hani Chess District at the Chess SA championships in Johannesburg in December this year.

In the U/18 section Liano Naidoo won all five his matches and is ranked as the Nr 1 u/18 player in our district. James Rose-Innes is ranked as the Nr 2 player in the U/16 section. Rachael Houseman is ranked 3rd in the U/14 section with Amahle Finca in 4th position on the log.This is a phenomenal achievement. We congratulate our chess players and look forward to the closed tournament in August where it will be determined who of our players will represent the district and our school at National level. 

UHS VS VICTORIA PARK (AWAY – PORT-ELIZABETH)
Rugby
1st XV:  40 – 22
In our away fixture against Victoria Park High School on Saturday, the First Rugby Team won their encounter 40 – 22. We showed good ability to keep possession and the linking play between backs and forwards was again an effective part of our arsenal. Our try scorers were Matthew Broeksma, Terrance Siyaya, Olwethu Ngcai, Gary Shell and Breyton Damons (2). Matt Harpur converted five of the six tries. Man of the match was undoubtedly openside flank Michael Krige. He carried the ball with tremendous power and his work rate on defence was unrivalled. He is often an unsung hero but, in this game, he certainly made his presence felt. Both wings, Breyton and Olwethu, also made many positive contributions. Their pace and finishing skills left the opposition grasping at thin air. All fifteen players fulfilled their role effectively to allow the team to implement what was planned and pull off a satisfying victory.2nd Team:  57 – 5
U/16: 21 – 23
U/15:  7 – 29
U/14:  21 – 24

Hockey
1st Team: 7 – 0
On Saturday Union High’s 1st hockey team played against Victoria Park at the Nelson Mandela University Astro. The girls played against a well-coached side, but once again produced another near flawless performance. The Union girls are really playing an exciting brand of hockey, which makes it easy on the eye to watch, and they won the match 7-0. Yente Retief must once again be commended for putting on a master performance with class and grace.Goal were scored by Rebecca Langmead (3), Micela Loock (2), Candice Russel (1) and Henze Jaftha (1)2nd Team:  5 – 0
U/16A:  7 – 0
U/16B vs VP U/14A:  0 – 2JUNIOR HOCKEY VS VOLKSKOOL
1st Junior Team
Taking into consideration that this term is a little light on fixtures for Union, Junior Sports Administrator, Mr Steenkamp, took the unprecedented initiative to organise some friendly practice matches for the junior teams against Volkskool. It was a wonderful afternoon with all of the players enjoying the stress-free competition against our traditional rivals and great sportsmanship was shown throughout. The games were played in good spirit and it was a fantastic opportunity for all teams to try out some new combinations.

Despite having dominated play for most of the game, the 1st junior team drew 1 – 1 through a goal by Sonwabiso Mroro. They spent much of the match on attack, but were unfortunate not to be able to convert some of the opportunities they had into goals. It was, however, very exciting to see the girls starting to successfully implement some of the set pieces learned in practice. Keep up the good work girls!

2nd Junior Team
The 2nd Juniors racked up a deserving win of 3-0 against their opponents. While a lot of the play was still a little unstructured, it was wonderful to see that the girls are starting to understand their positional play a little better and by the end of the game they were stringing together some impressive moves as a unit. Special mention must go to Charlize Vorster who has shown a remarkable improvement from last year and carried the ball beautifully on attack throughout the game. Well done to the girls on an excellent result! Goal scorers were Charlize Vorster, Aamninah Steele and Lisakhanye Menos.

Union High’s four Salisbury Exchange students left for the United Kingdom on Friday and received a lovely welcome from their hosts at Heathrow Airport on Saturday morning. experience Gemma, Anna, Brent and Jude!

SENIOR RUGBY VS MUIR COLLEGE (AWAY – UITENHAGE)
1st XV:  36 – 15
We travelled to Uitenhage on Saturday to face our oldest rivals Muir College. In what is always a challenging encounter, we emerged as 21-point victors. The first half was a ding-dong battle and the lead changed several times throughout. On the stroke of half-time, we scored what will undoubtedly be a contender for try of the season. The move started with a counter-attack from deep inside our territory and saw us keeping the ball alive through brilliant support and clever interplay between backs and forwards. This meant we went into the break 26-15 ahead. We utilised a favourable wind in the second half and scored a further ten unanswered points to win the match 36-15.Our tries were scored by Cowan Swartz, Breyton Damons, Jason Beaumont and Matt Harpur (2). Matt also kicked four conversions and a penalty, ending on a total of 21 points in the match.
Backline player of the match was awarded to Cowan Swartz who was exceptional on counter-attack and created opportunities each time he joined the line from fullback.  Forward of the match went to the hard-working Iviwe Ndamane. He was outstanding on defence and played a crucial, yet unnoticed, role on attack.To beat Muir on their field is always a pleasing result and credit should go to the team for fighting through the difficult stages where things didn’t go to plan. We showed maturity and a desire to win which are huge positives. The team want to express their thanks to the rest of the rugby sides for the phenomenal support. If the cheering was a battle, we would have won that too.Other results:
2nd Team:  26 – 26
3rd Team:  41 – 10
U/16A:  56 – 17
U/15A:  6 – 50
U/15B:  25 – 19
U/14A:  10 – 22
U/13 A:  7 – 52
U/11A:  10 – 21SENIOR HOCKEY VS VICTORIA GILRS (AWAY – GRAHAMSTOWN)
In the words of Mr Geowynne Gamiet, Head of Union High Hockey: ‘Normally when making a match report we would just talk about the 1st team’s game. However, this time I would like to extend my congratulations to all the hockey coaches, managers and players for what was probably the best weekend for Union hockey I’ve experienced in the 6 years that I’ve been at Union High. Not only their performance on the field, but also the impeccable behaviour and the camaraderie that the Union girls displayed right from the 1st game of the day until the very end. Well done, Union Hockey. May this continue for the rest of the season.’

During the 1st team match against Victoria Girls’ High School the Union girls once again showed their class from the very start and scored 2 goals in the first 5 minutes They continued to dominate, played attractive hockey and cruised to an 8-2 win. Goals were scored by Jenna McNaughton (3), Henze Jaftha (3), Candice Russell (1) and Rebecca Langmead (1).
1st Team:  8 – 2
2nd Team:  8 – 0
U/16 A:  4 – 1
U/16 B:  2 – 0
3rd Team:  2 – 0

JUNIOR RUGBY
Clarendon Rugby Festival
Last Thursday, an eager group of U/11 Union rugby players travelled to Port Elizabeth to take part in the annual Clarendon Rugby Festival. Over the course of two days the boys played in three matches.
The under 11s got off to a slow start in the first match vs Westering, losing 24-0. On Friday they started to gain some momentum as they narrowly lost 15 – 10 to a very strong Herbert Hurd side.

In their very exciting final match, which was seen by festival directors as the match of the festival, they beat Summerwood 12-7.

During the Easter holidays, Leah Marais was selected to play in an invitation side at the Elsie Coetzer Hockey Tournament (ECHS) which took place from the 5th to the 9th of April in Bloemfontein. 95 hockey teams from all over South Africa participated.

It was a gruelling tournament, which consisted of coaching – as early as 7 o’clock in the morning, and one to two matches being played every day, at times only finishing at 10 o’clock in the evening.

During this festival, a panel of two professional Dutch selectors were scouting for players to partake in an invitation team to tour Germany and the Netherlands in September 2018.

Union High is very proud to announce that Leah Marais was selected for this touring team and we congratulate her on this wonderful achievement.

For the 31st consecutive year, Union High had the privilege to host their Annual Senior Rugby and Hockey Festival, and once again it was a tremendous success, with teams from across the country taking part in the festival. We would like to quote the main sponsor of the festival, Caltex’s Mr Clive Berlyn from his speech to the visiting coaches: ’As a company, we adopted from the start a firm approach that our involvement in projects and/or events will be guided by whether it provides the right platform to nurture and create the leadership potential that resides within our young people. We strongly believe that sport and education provides us with just such platforms. You are the leaders of tomorrow and what you learn on the playing fields will prepare you for the world that awaits when you leave school.”

With 600 learners and 95 coaches attending, we had hostels bursting at the seams, but the hard-working staff of Arthur Kingwill House and Herby Arnott House made it work and as always Union was complimented for its great hospitality. We wish to take this opportunity to thank our hostel staff for all those extra hours and their contribution to the success of the festival. The same goes to Mr Kingwill and his team of ground-staff for ensuring that our facilities were always in impeccable condition.

Thank you to our rugby and hockey moms and dads for feeding the coaches, sponsors, staff, medics, media team and referees at the Union. As always, the food was of the highest quality (and quantity). Thank you also to Mr Crankshaw and his team of Old Unionites for their contribution.

A festival of this magnitude cannot be hosted without its sponsors. To our main sponsors for festival – Caltex, College Motors, Hyundai, Pick ‘n Pay, SupaQuick and Spur – we appreciate the ongoing support from your businesses. We are looking forward to many more years of working together.

Congratulations to the coaches on their teams’ performances over festival. You and the teams made us proud on and off the field!

Festival Rugby Report
In their first fixture on Thursday, Union played against Hoërskool Charlie Hofmeyer. In what was more mud wrestling than rugby, the Union boys managed to grind out a two-point victory. The game hung in the balance for the full 70 minutes with neither team giving an inch. The heavy rain resulted in it being a hard fought battle of attrition, where field position and minimising errors were the order of the day. Union scored two tries through Luthando Skapu and Iviwe Ndamane, both players showing exceptional skill to cross the whitewash. Matt Harpur converted both tries, which proved to be the difference at the final whistle. It was a satisfying 14 – 12 win for Union against a side that had convincingly beaten them the year before.

In the final match of the festival on Saturday, the Union boys took on Hoërskool Grens from East London. Fortunately, the weather was conducive to running rugby and Union was able to play a more expansive pattern which was pleasing to the spectators. Union were again forced to work extremely hard against quality opposition. Both teams scored an unconverted try in the first half and kicked a penalty goal to make it 8-8 at the half-time break. The Union team started the second half brilliantly, spreading the ball from point to point, forcing their opponents to make numerous tackles and cover loads of ground on defence. Union executed the plan to perfection and eventually ran in a further two tries as the Grens defenders seemed to tire somewhat. The boys were solid on defence and capitalised on their opportunities on attack to win the game 25 – 8. Union’s tries were scored by Cowan Swartz, Ikhona Koeberg and Luke McNaughton. Matt Harpur converted two tries and two penalties.

Day 1 Rugby Results
Winterberg Agricultural High School vs Hoërskool Andrew Rabie:  17 – 10
Paarl Gimnasium Daisies vs Linkside High School:  83 – 3
Grey High Unicorns vs Hoërskool Grens 2de Span:  42 – 5
Hoër Volkskool vs Westering High School:  14 – 19
Gill College vs Camps Bay High School:  48 – 0
Stirling High School vs Ithembilihle High Schoo:  34 – 10
Hoërskool Stellenbosch vs Hoërskool Grens:  12 – 12
Cambridge High School vs Pearson High School:  5 – 18
Union High School vs Hoërskool Charlie Hofmeyr:  14 – 12

No rugby on Day 2

Day 3 Rugby Results
Paarl Gimnasium Daisies vs Hoërskool Grens 2de Span:  63 – 0
Grey High Unicorns vs Camps Bay High School:  38 – 15
Hoërskool Charlie Hofmeyr vs Ithembelihle High School:  48 – 14
Cambridge High School vs Hoërskool Stellenbosch:  36 – 26
Pearson High School vs Stirling High School:  27 – 15
Winterberg Agricultural High School vs Westering High School:  13 – 41
Gill College vs Hoërskool Andrew Rabie:  24 – 19
Hoër Volkskool vs Linkside High School:  48 – 7
Union High School vs Hoërskool Grens:  25 – 8

Festival Hockey Report
Union’s 1st hockey team came into the festival with a lot of pressure hanging over the heads due to the below par performances so far this season. Their first match took place against Framesby, with the girls being extremely nervous. They couldn’t convert the opportunities that they had went down 1 – 0, but thanks to a spectacular goal by Micela Loock, the score was even at 1 all going into the break The Union girls finished the match on 4 – 1, with Jenna McNaughton scoring a hat-trick and Micela Loock scoring one goal.

Union played their second match against Paarl Gimnasium in heavy raining conditions, which made the Astro Turf slow. The Union girls dominated the game from the beginning to the end, but could only score one goal (by Rebecca Langmead), which enabled them to win 1 – 0.

The 3rd and much awaited game against the toughest opponents at the festival, Kingsridge High School, took place on day 2 of the festival. The Union girls were well prepared for the match and excelled in the 1st half with a well-rounded team goal from Micela Loock, and Rebecca Langmead scoring the second goal. Kingsridge piled on the pressure during the second half, but the Union girls held on for a 2-0 victory.

During Union’s 4th match, against Settlers High School, the Union players’ class in play and movement off the ball dominated the opposition. Settlers did not have any ball possession, but their defence made it difficult for Union to score. However, the Union girls broke through and managed to score two goals thanks to Jenna McNaughton and Rebecca Langmead. With Settlers not having much possession of the ball and Union being in the opposition territory most of the game, Union withdrew the goalkeeper to add more attackers to their field. Unfortunately they then conceded a goal, but soon rectified the decision by scoring another goal by Rebecca Langmead to win the game 3 – 1.

The 5th and final game saw Union get their X-Factor back to completely overwhelm Cambridge High with the game controlled by the classy centre back, Yente Retief, to win the game 6 – 0. Goals were scored by Micela Loock (2),Henze Jaftha (2), Jenna McNaughton and Rebecca Langmead.

Hockey statistics for the festival:
Played 5 won 5
Goals for: 15
Goals against: 2
Goal Scorers:  Jenna McNaughton (5), Rebecca Langmead (5), Micela Loock (4) and Henze Jaftha (2)

Day 1 Hockey results
Stirling High School vs Hoër Volkskool:  2 – 0
Paarl Gimnasium Invitational vs Kingsridge High School:  1 – 0
Westering High School vs Victoria Girls High:  3 – 0
Union High School vs Hoërskool Framesby:  4 – 1
Gill College 1 vs Linkside High School:  1 – 0
Cambridge High School vs Settlers High School:  0 – 3
Hoërskool Nico Malan vs Hoërskool Grens:  4 – 0
Gill College vs Kingsridge High School:  0 – 6
Victoria Girls High School vs Hoërskool Framesby:  1 – 2
Cambridge High School vs Hoërskool Nico Malan:  2 – 4
Union High School Invitational vs Linkside High School:  1 – 0
Stirling High School vs Settlers High School:  1 – 1
Union High School vs Paarl Gimnasium Inv:  1 – 0
Hoërskool Grens vs Westering High School:  0 – 5

Day 2 Hockey results
Cambridge High School vs Hoërskool Framesby:  2 – 0
Union High School Inv vs Nico Malan:  0 – 5
Stirling High School vs Gill College:  5 – 2
Kingsridge High School vs Settlers High School:  3 – 0
Paarl Gimnasium Inv vs Hoër Volkskool:  0 – 0
Victoria Girls High vs Hoërskool Grens:  3 – 1
Westering High School vs Gill College:  5 – 1
Cambridge High School vs Linkside High School:  3 – 0
Victoria Girls High School vs Hoërskool Nico Malan:  1 – 0
Paarl Gimnasium Inv vs Stirling High School:  0 – 1
Hoër Volkskool vs Linkside High School:  3 – 0
Hoërskool Grens vs Hoërskool Framesby:  0 – 1
Union High School vs Kingsridge High School:  2 – 0
Settlers High School vs Westering High School:  0 – 0

Day 3 Hockey results
Union High School vs Settlers High School:  3 – 1
Linkside High School vs Hoërskool Nico Malan:  0 – 5
Hoër Volkskool vs Hoërskool Grens:  5 – 1
Stirling High School vs Hoërskool Framesby:  1 – 0
Paarl Gimnasium Invitational vs Westering High School:  3 – 0
Victoria Girls High School vs Union High School Invitational:  2 – 1
Union High School vs Cambridge High School:  6 – 0
Hoër Volkskool vs Kingsridge High School:  1 – 4
Union High School Invitational vs Gill College:  0 – 0

 

On the 31st of March, two of our athletes travelled to Pretoria to represent Eastern Province in the South African Biathlon Championships. We are very proud of Candice Russel and Cameron Muir who both performed well at the event and surpassed the 2000 point benchmark. Candice placed 15th out of a field of 25 and scored an impressive 2114 points, while Cameron managed 12th spot in a field of 24, scoring 2065 points. These results are especially commendable when you consider that these placements reflect their positions in the entire country. Well done to you both!
Results
Cameron Muir
Run time : 6:34:69
Run points : 982
Swim time : 1:12:72
Swim points : 1083
Total points : 2065
Position : 12/24 Candice Russell
Run time : 3:32:41
Run points : 1063
Swim time : 1:20:92
Swim points : 1051
Total points : 2114
Position : 15/25

UHS celebrates their Eco statue twice a year by having Eco-Wise Days. On Tuesday 27 March, we ended the first term enjoying various eco activities. Each class or grade decides on an eco-activity. For an hour and a half, from 11:00 to 12:30 the school is a bustle with joyful and worthwhile projects.

This term the projects on campus included: Learning about the problem of plastic in our oceans, learning more about our indigenous trees , picking up litter, the cleaning up of graffiti, making a recycled ball and playing duster hockey and there was a presentation on Inner Purity for the Grade 11. There were several off-campus activities too: Angel Park in the centre of town was cleaned up by a group of learners, another group of learners visited Huis van der Graaff and as they walked, they picked up litter in the streets and they gave gifts of Easter eggs to the residents, a different group of learners picked up litter at and around our Union Preparatory School and the grade 10s spent valuable time playing fun games with the young children from our Pre-School.
The grounds team also joined in with the spirit of the day as they offloaded the two new Jo-Jo water tanks which they will install on campus. These are sealed units and are fitted with filters, enabling clear rain water to be captured for drinking purposes. Thank you to all Eco Reps and staff for making this Eco-Wise Day worthwhile.