Outstanding young speakers at annual speech competition
Congratulations to the evening’s winner, Caitrin Spence, and runner-up, Grace Merrifield.
Union High School’s annual Junior Speech Competition was held on Tuesday evening, 7 May.
This year’s event saw eleven of the school’s junior Grade 8s and 9s go up against one another in an evening filled with thought-provoking speeches.
With speeches ranging from humorous to emotional, intellectual and serious, all who attended were captivated by the speakers and very impressed by the high quality of speeches and the obvious preparation that had gone into the evening.
Even though this event was a first for many of the learners involved, the experience was enjoyed by all.
Union would like to thank all the participants involved – it was pleasing to see so many enthusiastic learners presenting their speeches.
In celebration of Union High School’s momentous Centenary year, the school has designed and created a special commemorative clothing range.
All the items can be viewed and bought at the UHS Clothing Shop.
If you have any queries or would like to place an order, please feel free to contact Mrs. Hestie Clegg on 082 825 1380, send an e-mail to clothing@unionschools.co.za or contact her via the school’s switchboard on 049 891 0262.
On Thursday evening, 9 May, a unique theatrical evening was held in the Union High School hall.
The biennial inter-house One Act Plays, hosted by the school’s Performing Arts Club, as usual, saw the school’s two houses – Arnott and Daly – pitted against one another.
The performances of the houses, however, weren’t judged as a whole this year, but instead by the individual performances of the actors, who scored points for their respective houses based on how well they played their part.
The themes of this year’s featured plays hit very close to home, with many of the learners and audience members commenting on how relatable they were in this day and age.
‘Bill, please’ – with lead actors James Rose-Innes and Asa Matross – followed a series of blind dinner dates that just couldn’t seem to get any worse. Despite the fact that they did, in fact, get worse, happiness still awaited the characters at the end of the long, dark tunnel.
The humour incorporated in this play produced a lot of belly laughs with the actors delivering an amazing performance.
The second play, ‘The Internet/Sidetracked’, demonstrated what a big a distraction the Internet can be when checking a few facts for a school project gets sidetracked by boxing cats, Facebook lurkers and pig-throwing games that, in the end, put schoolwork on the back burner.
Though the evening was full of laughs, in the end, a winning house and the best performances had to be decided upon.
James Rose-Innes, Tumi Teys, Buchule Siloti, Petra Jaftha and Melissa Swart
Buchule Siloti was recognised as the evening’s Best Supporting Actor with Petra Jaftha and Tumi Teys sharing the award for Best Supporting Actress. James Rose-Innes and Melissa Swart were, respectively, awarded the Best Actor and Best Actress award.
The winning play was ‘The Internet/Sidetracked’ and the winning house this year, was Daly.
Thanks are extended to the judges, without whom this evening would not have been the success it turned out to be, Mrs. Paula Kingwill, Ms. Sherilee du Plessis, Ms. Vona van Rensburg and Mr. Erwin Itterhagen-Straus.
Thanks are also extended to the school’s senior choir who, accompanied by various individual performances, delighted the audience.
Lastly, a special word of thanks must be extended to Mrs. Sanette Brink for her constant support with the arrangements as well as to Mrs. Avrille Putter who offered to direct one of the houses, supported the process throughout and put in a lot of hard work to help the Performing Arts Club pull everything together.
On Friday 10 May, 25 learners and two educators were privileged to go on an educational outing to the Herding Academy at St Olive’s Farm. We were warmly welcomed by Sarah who gave the group a video presentation of the Herding Academy. Following that, Gavin, the farm manager, and the 12 Academy students accompanied the eco warriors into the veld where they were divided into two groups and shown the practical applications and outcomes of herding, soil erosion management and maximization skills of nature’s gift, rain.
The herding method of land restoration and management has been based on natural migration patterns in nature. The students observe nature and conduct experiments to come up with best operating practices. The intense grazing and ground trampling of a herd of animals that have been enclosed in a camp for a few days fertilizers and loosens the soil. The concentrated nutrient-rich animal dung is worked into the soft soil as the herd tramples the grazing ground. The herd is then moved to another area where the process is repeated. Each student stays with his/her herd for an entire week, living in a bush caravan and moving with the herd.
The Academy students also taught the group about maximizing rain water usage and mulching. Since taking care of the soil is of primary importance, the group learnt about soil erosion management. They observed areas of land where the outcomes of experiments clearly show the benefits of managed herding.
The Academy’s integrity stems from the fact that their work emulates natural patterns and uses lessons from nature to restore the land and maximize their uses of natural resources. Their mission is a three-fold one: economic, environmental and caring for society. It boils down to taking care of the land, the biodiversity and the people, thus creating a sustainable recipe for success, health and prosperity. The Eco Club thoroughly enjoyed their visit to St Olives and is looking forward to future visits at the Herding Academy. Grateful thanks to Johan Bouwer, Sarah, Gavin and the Academy Students for this opportunity.
Union High School has recently appointed Mr. Ashwell Adams as the new coach of the school’s second rugby team.
Mr. Adams, who moved back to Graaff-Reinet earlier this year, is a born and bred Graaff-Reinetter, having matriculated at Spandau Secondary School, before moving to Port Elizabeth. Apart from being extremely passionate and knowledgeable about rugby, Mr. Adams also boasts an IRB Level 1 Coaching qualification and has built up valuable experience these past 16 years coaching the rugby teams of Bertram High School in Port Elizabeth.
“I am confident that I will be able to contribute hugely to Union’s rugby from this experience,” Adams said.
Mr. Adams is looking forward to playing a part in the development of rugby at Union High School and to using all his knowledge to take the school’s rugby forward and grow it from strength to strength.
“Our boys can be confident that the standard of coaching they are being exposed to is right up there with the top rugby schools in the province,” said the newly appointed coach.
As can be seen with the second team’s stellar performance this past Saturday against Stirling High School, Mr. Adams has wasted no time in getting the boys fit to compete.
If you have ever lost a phone or a tablet, you know the chances of having it returned to you are slim to none. Those who stumble upon lost phones usually operate on the “finders keepers” premise. They find, they keep. While most of us would never outright steal a phone, the test of honesty really comes down to what you’d do if you found a lost phone or tablet
Union was recently very impressed with the honesty and integrity shown by Grade 9 learner, Mihan Campbell. Mihan happened upon a phone that had been lost by its owner during a sports day at Union. Mihan immediately took steps to ensure that the expensive smartphone was returned to its owner by turning it in to the school’s headmaster.
Well done, Mihan!
At Union, we firmly believe that good deeds should be recognized, it’s not every day the world shows you honesty and integrity, and actions such as these deserve to be recognised by the community.
The boarders at Union’s Arthur Kingwill House held their annual braai on Workers’ Day, 1 May,
This time around, they were joined by Max Kroon House’s little ones who were entertained by Head Prefect, Peter Watermeyer, and Head of House, Khanya Butshingi, who played ball games with the boys.
It wasn’t long, however, before Mr. Christopher Felix and the rest of the boys started with their “famous” AKH touchies rugby
A huge bonfire and marshmallow braai ended off the evening for the Max Kroon boys before they went to bed.
It truly was a chilled, fun way to spend a mid-week holiday.
Members of Union High School’s management team, Mrs. Yvette Cloete and Mrs. Nelia Read, are among hundreds of school leaders, academics, experts, policymakers and other key stakeholders from around the country, attending the SAOU Leaders’ Conference at the Mpekweni Beach Resort, taking place today and tomorrow, Friday and Saturday, 10 and 11 May.
This conference, hosted by the South African Teachers’ Union (SAOU), offers Union…’s representatives a unique opportunity to analyse current trends in education, issues and debates around quality inclusive leadership and to share experiences and ideas on how to move the educational agenda forward.
Seen here are Union’s representatives Mrs. Yvette Cloete and Mrs. Nelia Read, with the members of the management teams of two other local schools represented at the conference, Mrs. Santa Potgieter (Laer Volkskool), Mrs. Henriëtte Malan (Hoër Volkskool) and Rita de Villiers (Laer Volkskool).
A gala banquet, organised by Union High School as part of the school’s year-long centenary celebrations, was held on a grand scale in Graaff-Reinet this past Friday evening, 3 May.
And, what a truly memorable evening it turned out to be with just over 250 guests, young and old, past and current parents and staff, Old Unionites as well as honoured guests, treated to a very special night.
Upon arrival, the guests were met with welcome drinks and canapés on the school’s beautiful sportsgrounds and as the sun set, were enthralled by a variety of performances by the school’s marimba band, choir ensembles, musicians and soloists. It was then on to a lavish banquet inside the Marquee tent, magnificently decorated for the occasion.
Headmaster William Pringle delivered a welcoming address, using the opportunity to thank everyone involved in the centenary celebrations.
The evening’s Master of Ceremonies, Adrian Arnott – the son of the legendary headmaster Herby Arnott – then proceeded to introduce a number of speakers.
During the speeches that followed, the phrase “The past beats inside me like a second heart” as extracted from John Banville’s novel ’The Sea’ is the only apt way of describing the sense of nostalgia, pride and enthusiasm that radiated from all those present, creating a fantastically festive atmosphere within the Marquee.
After a few treasured words by guest speaker Derek Light, previous chairman of the UPS and UHS Governing Bodies and current chairman of the Union High Development Trust, the evening’s keynote speaker was introduced.
For this special occasion, Union High School called on the services of a very special guest to help celebrate its centenary banquet with style. Old Unionite, Doug Stern, proved a fitting keynote speaker, as the proud alum referred to Union’s illustrious history spanning the past 100 years, interspersed with quaint anecdotes about the visionaries and legendary characters that shaped the school into what it is today.
The evening’s Master of Ceremonies, Adrian Arnott – the son of the legendary headmaster Herby Arnott
Mr. Derek Light, previous chairman of the UPS and UHS Governing Bodies and current chairman of the Union High Development Trust, presented Mr. Douglas Stern, on behalf of Union High School, with a certificate in grateful recognition of his family’s loyalty to the school (which almost spans a full century).
Following Stern’s speech, guests were treated to a sumptuous three-course meal, served up by Dianne Murray and her capable team, after which the draw for the Old Unionite’s Association’s 100Club was conducted and a magnum bottle of ‘Chakalaka’ wine auctioned off by Duncan McClaggan.
The guests were clearly keen to support Union, as the R10 000 1st prize of the 100Club draw was graciously donated back to the organisation, with the wine also fetching the hefty sum of R5 000.
After all the formalities were finalised, the guests took to the dancefloor and proceeded to dance the night away.
“The evening was a huge success and a great coming together of people from over several decades who travelled from far and near,” Headmaster William Pringle stated. “Throughout the evening we witnessed great interaction between the various age groups from past pupils or people who have strong links with the school. It was a magical evening and the commitment by all who helped in organising the event, as well as all who supported the event, bears testament to why Union has achieved so much these past 100 years,” Pringle said afterwards.
Union High School extends a big thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of the evening, especially to the spectacular team, headed up by Karin Marais, who coordinated the marquee, décor and the evening’s programme to ensure an unforgettable and most enjoyable occasion.
Commemorative wine available
One of Union High School’s Centenary Projects has been the bottling of a limited Cabernet Sauvignon Vintage 2015, produced by Fairview Estates. The label of this elegant bottle of wine was designed by Old Unionite Mieke Marais and depicts the historic façade of the school along with the Centenary logo
This wine is available from the school at R600 a case or R100 a bottle. Buyer to arrange own courier.
Contact Mrs. Marais at 049 891 0262 or email secretary@unionschools.co.za to place your order.
In celebration of Union High School’s momentous Centenary year, the school has designed and created a special commemorative clothing range.
Headmaster William Pringle delivered a welcoming address, using the opportunity to thank everyone involved in the centenary celebrations.
Commemorative wine available