Academic, Bulletin

Matric Results – 2019

The results are in!

There was a wonderful atmosphere on our beautiful Union High School campus earlier today (Wednesday, 8 January) as the Class of 2019 gathered in reunion and celebration.

The 70-strong Class of 2019 was Union’s biggest Grade 12 class since 2015!

Of these 70 learners who wrote the recent NSC examination, 64 passed. (This is also the highest numbers of matriculants for Union since 2015.)

Our top performers for 2019 each achieved 3 distinctions in their respective subjects:

They are: (in alphabetical order)
• Megan Doyle (Accounting, Life Sciences and Life Orientation)
• Sanja Du Plessis (Accounting, Afrikaans FAL and Life Orientation)
• Micela Loock (Afrikaans FAL, Mathematical Literacy and Life Orientation)
• Jenna McNaughton (Afrikaans FAL, Life Orientation and Music)
• Peter Watermeyer (Accounting, Afrikaans FAL and Life Orientation)

The following learners each achieved 2 distinctions:
• Ethan Gedult (Afrikaans FAL and Life Orientation)
• Christine Harris (Mathematical Literacy and Life Orientation)
• Zintle Maki (Afrikaans FAL and Life Orientation)
• Rashieda Mali (Life Orientation and Tourism)
• Liano Naidoo (Afrikaans FAL and Life Orientation)
• Chevonne Prinsloo (Life Orientation and Tourism)
• Lunga Zantsi (Life Orientation and Tourism)

In total, our Class of 2019 produced 48 A-symbols collectively, with 66% of the learners qualifying for entry to study towards a bachelor’s degree.

Union High School would like to express its sincere gratitude to all the members of staff who played such an integral part in the education of the Class of 2019 over the past 12 years.

They have, as always, provided a superb platform for the learners to achieve to the very best of their abilities. A special word of thanks is also extended to the families of every single one of our learners for their steadfast support throughout the learners’ years of study.

Although we are disappointed that our pass rate for the NSC examination has dropped from 96% in 2018 to 91,4% in 2019, we remain, as always, very proud of our learners and wish them all of the very best as they embark upon an exciting future.

Academic, Bulletin

Holey Mole-y!

Union High School’s Grade 10 and 11 science classes celebrated Mole Day today (Wednesday, 23 October), with a series of fun and interesting activities focused on the mole.

And by ‘mole’, we don’t mean the furry little critters that burrow underground, but rather a useful unit of measurement in chemistry that all Grade 10 to 12s (should!) know well.

Mole, abbreviated mol, designates an extremely large number, 66.02 x 10^23, of units (be it atoms, molecules or other specified articles), and is central to many chemical calculations.

As such, the 23rd day of the 10th month between 6:02am and 6:02pm is used to celebrate all things molar, with the aim of helping the learners understand the importance of the chemical ‘mole’.

This year, the theme for Mole Day was ‘DespicaMOLE Me!’ and the learners had a lot of fun celebrating this molmentous occasion with various mole-related activities.

Academic, Bulletin

Grade 11 Accounting Excursion

Not everyone is cut out to be an accountant.  You need to enjoy both technology and numbers as well as working with people and being a leader. You need to be able to sweat the details, yet understand the big business picture.

Aside from a penchant for numbers, do you have the personality it takes to be an accountant?

This was a question a group of Grade 11 aspiring accountants were asking themselves during a recent educational excursion to Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage, aimed at providing the learners with a better understanding of how accounting is used in a business environment.

The group left Graaff-Reinet early Wednesday morning, 18 September, for their 3-day trip.

Although the learners had to get up long before the sun decided to make its appearance, the fun got off to a quick start with a lot of singing, laughing and what must have been close to a million ‘selfies’ being taken on the bus, while the kids munched on their packed breakfasts.

Upon their arrival in Port Elizabeth, the group stopped at Pioneer Foods where they were taken on a very informative tour of the SASKO factory. After the tour, they were given free goody bags and treated to some snacks.

The learners then enjoyed lunch at the Greenacres Shopping Centre’s food court, which was followed by a seminar at KPMG – an international accounting firm.

Here, the learners were lectured about the challenges and benefits of the real accounting world.

The guesthouse they stayed in for the duration of the excursion, the Treetops Guesthouse, was very accommodating and all enjoyed their stay tremendously. Union extends its thanks to the establishment for their efforts in ensuring the learners’ comfort.

Day 1 was concluded with an eventful evening at the Boardwalk.

Day 2 turned out to be just as, if not more, educational and fun as Day 1.

The learners visited the Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) plant in Uitenhage and attended a seminar at NMU hosted by Dr Heloise Sathorar, the Head of Program, B Ed FET/PGCE at NMU.

It most-definitely had the learners thinking about their future and the all-important decisions they need to make. Here, the learners also received gift packs and a packed lunch which they thoroughly enjoyed.

The group then spent their last night in Port Elizabeth at the Baywest Mall where they enjoyed a lovely sit-down dinner. The learners bonded over their shared love of accounting and got to know each other better as they enjoyed some delicious pizzas.

The excursion was concluded with a day at the beach on Friday, 20 September.  Although the weather wasn’t ideal, the learners made the most of the opportunity.

A special word of thanks is extended on behalf of the learners by Meghan Basson, “We all would like to thank Mr Christopher Felix and his lovely wife for allowing us to have this experience – we hope to go on a similar, if not more exciting, trip next year”.

This trip succeeded in providing the learners with a better, more complete understanding of what the job of an accountant actually entails and the problems they might face when working in one of those jobs.

Union extends its thanks to everyone who made it possible for the learners to go on this excursion and especially to the learners for their impeccable behaviour throughout!

Academic, Bulletin

Gr 11 Maths Camp

Maths camp adds to learners’ confidence

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.

Academic, Bulletin

A Marvellous Market Day

Union High School’s Grade 7 learners put in a lot of extra effort to make their market day, which took place this morning, Monday, 19 August, a huge success.

The market forms part of the Economic Management Sciences Curriculum, where the Grade 7s learn about Entrepreneurship and the opportunities it provides. Market Day involved creating an ‘open market’ atmosphere, where the entire school had an opportunity to purchase goods on sale from our budding Grade 7 Entrepreneurs.  This project involves everything from advertising and marketing, to budgeting and calculating their profit or loss.

Items on sale included: food and drinks, crafts, toys and novelty items, along with some fun activities such as slingshot shooting, a balloon popping station and a bunny petting zoo.

Academic, Bulletin

A World of Opportunity Awaits

On Wednesday morning, 17 July, Ebben Hufkie, Priscilla Booysen and Leilani Brinkhuis, representatives of the Johann & Gaynor Rupert Foundation, paid a visit to Union High School.

The purpose of their visit was to address the school’s Grade 12 learners regarding the world of educational opportunities that await them after high school. To start, they gave a brief presentation in respect of university acceptance and fee structures. They also discussed possible career options to consider and encouraged learners to work hard towards achieving their most ambitious goals and dreams. They then broached the subject of the Johann and Gaynor Rupert Foundation Bursary Programme and explained to learners who would qualify for this programme.

They made it clear that the submission of bursary application forms must be accompanied by an acknowledgment from a tertiary institution that an application has been submitted and is being processed.

Union’s Grade 12s are urged to apply for this bursary before 30 September 2019.

The school extends its thanks to the Foundation for its investment in the education of our youth.

Academic, Bulletin

Exchange Student Update

Exchange students enjoying life in the UK

UHS Grade 7 learners Matthew Davenport and Caytah-Leigh Koeberg, who are currently spending some time in the UK as part of the 2019 Salisbury Exchange Programme, are having a lot of fun abroad.

This past weekend, the two lucky learners were spoiled by their host family with a trip to Twickenham Stadium in London to enjoy the HSBC World Rugby Sevens tournament.  They have also become quite involved in the Salisbury Cathedral School’s extracurricular activities with Caytah-Leigh especially enjoying the school’s music programme, participating in singing and piano, while Matt did really well at the school’s recent athletics day.

Academic, Bulletin, Eco-Schools

Grade 7 Technology

Union High School’s Grade 7 Technology learners were recently tasked with designing and building a model of a cell phone tower using their knowledge of structures.

The learners were allowed to choose whether or not they would be building a standard cell phone tower or one that would blend in with the environment in order to limit visual pollution.

Seen here are some of their brilliant designs:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Academic, Bulletin

Learners Excel in MinQuiz

On Thursday morning, 16 May, four of Union’s Grade 12 learners represented the school at the provincial round of the annual MinQuiz competition held at NMU in Port Elizabeth.

MinQuiz, organised by the Council for Mineral Technology (Mintek), is regarded as South Africa’s premier national Maths and Science competition for Grade 12 learners.  During this competition, the Union team members, Peter Watermeyer, Ethan Gedult, Megan Doyle and Sanja du Plessis, were pitted against the top Grade 12 learners of schools from all over the Eastern Cape.

To start, the learners first had to write a preliminary multiple-choice question test individually.  The learners performed very well in this round and based on the aggregate score of their written tests, Union was announced as one of the top five schools in the Gold category that would be competing during the second round of the competition, a live, on-stage oral quiz.  That afternoon, the Union learners then competed as a team against the four other teams on the auditorium’s stage in front of an audience and a panel of judges.  After a nervous start, the team gained momentum and finished third overall, winning R550 for the school.

The school congratulates these learners on their stellar effort!

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!