๐๐ค ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ช๐จ ๐ฅ๐ง๐ค๐ช๐, ๐พ๐ก๐๐จ๐จ ๐ค๐ 2023!
The annual AGM of the ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐-๐ฅ๐๐๐ก๐๐ง ๐ฆ๐๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ง๐ฅ๐ข๐ข๐ฃ was held on 23 November, marking a bittersweet occasion.
The previous AGM had been a special tribute to Bruce Maree, who had dedicated numerous years to leading the troop with wisdom and grace.
๐๐ฏ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ถ๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐บ, ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ญ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐๐ณ๐ถ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐บ, ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข ๐ท๐ฐ๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ. ๐๐ช๐ด ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐จ๐ถ๐ช๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐บ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ๐ท๐ข๐ญ๐ถ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ช๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ.
During the AGM, awards were presented to deserving scouts, emphasizing their achievements throughout 2023.
Troop scouter Johan Vorster and Kyle Liebenberg had the honour of handing out the awards. ๐๐๐ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ ๐๐ค๐ก๐ก๐ค๐ฌ๐จ:
Aidan Ferreira’s unwavering commitment and dedication earned him the ๐๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ, a testament to his reliability and enthusiasm
Quinn Naudรฉ was acknowledged with the ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ๐ณ๐๐น ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ, highlighting his selflessness and willingness to assist others.
The ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ was jointly received by Jordan Maritz and Adriaan van Jaarsveld, recognizing their remarkable progress and development within the troop.
The ๐๐๐ณ๐ณ๐ฎ๐น๐ผ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐น, under the leadership of Josh Neill, emerged as the Best Overall Patrol, exemplifying cohesion, teamwork and excellence in all endeavors.
The ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ was bestowed upon the Eagle Patrol, led by Daniel Marais, who embodied an infectious and uplifting spirit within the troop.
Scouts offers Union High School, Graaff-Reinet’s young men a remarkable platform to learn valuable skills, cultivate respect and simply enjoy the adventure of boyhood.
๐ช๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ญ๐ฎ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ท๐ผ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด.
As the school year comes to a close,ย Union High School, Graaff-Reinetย bids a fond farewell to Mrs Belinda Grewar, who will be retiring.
๐๐ฉ ๐๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐๐จ๐ช๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐ง๐๐จ๐จ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ง๐จ ๐๐ง๐๐ฌ๐๐ง, ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐ค๐ก๐ก๐๐๐๐ช๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐จ๐ช๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ ๐ค๐ซ๐๐ง ๐ฉ๐ฌ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ฎ-๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ง๐จ.
Before joining our school’s staff in 1995, Mrs Grewar embarked on an impressive journey in education. After graduating from Stellenbosch and UCT, she taught at various institutions, including Knysna High School, Capricorn High, Pinedene Primary and Vaal High School in Gauteng.
Later, at Jansenville High School, she held the position of Head of the Languages Department and established a resources center for schools in the area. This period was filled with personal growth for Mrs Grewar, despite facing challenging circumstances.
๐๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ซ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐๐ณ๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ณ๐บ ๐๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต, ๐๐ณ๐ด ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ข๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ณ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ฏ๐จ๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐๐ ๐๐ณ ๐๐ณ๐ถ๐ค๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ถ๐ต๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด ๐๐ข๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐๐ฅ๐ถ๐ค๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ. ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ค๐ข๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ค๐ข๐ด๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ณ๐ด ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ข๐ณ’๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ง๐ญ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฅ.
Her learners were lucky recipients of her innovative and engaging lessons. Many past learners fondly recall how Mrs Grewar nurtured their critical thinking and enhanced their creative writing skills, lessons that have served them well in their current careers.
๐๐๐ ๐ข๐๐๐ค๐ง๐๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ง๐จ ๐๐ง๐๐ฌ๐๐ง’๐จ ๐ค๐ช๐ฉ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐๐ฃ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ค๐ค๐ก, where she made a significant impact as the Subject Head of English. Not only did her learners benefit greatly from her expertise, but many new staff members were fortunate to receive her mentorship and guidance as they embarked on their own teaching careers.
As a National Senior Certificate examination marker for eleven years and Deputy Chief Marker of English for the past three years, Mrs Grewar’s immense knowledge, experience, and expertise proved invaluable to both learners and staff at our school.
๐๐ณ๐ด ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ข๐ณ’๐ด ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ด๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฆ๐น๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ข๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฎ. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐น๐ค๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ด ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ง๐ช๐ค๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ช๐ด ๐ค๐ฐ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐บ๐ด, ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ฐ๐ค๐ช๐ฆ๐ต๐บ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ, ๐ข๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ๐ด๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ด๐ฃ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ต๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ, ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ญ๐บ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ง๐ญ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ด๐ต๐ถ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐๐ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ ๐บ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ด.
While we will deeply miss Mrs Grewar’s numerous tangible contributions, her delightful dry sense of humor and infectious spirit of fun will leave a significant void within our school community.
She will always be remembered for her cheerful personality. However, it is her deep Christian faith, which has been a source of inspiration and comfort for so many throughout the years, that will leave the greatest void.
๐ช๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐ผ๐ป ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ ๐ฝ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ช๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐.
May they find abundant joy, peace and well-deserved rest. May God bless them abundantly for their unwavering dedication and countless contributions.
It is with heavy hearts that the Union community mourns the loss of our beloved friend, ๐๐ป๐ป๐ฒ (๐๐ผ๐ฏ๐ฏ๐) ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ด๐น๐ฒ๐.
Her passing leaves a void that will never be filled, and her impact on those who had the privilege of knowing her is something that will be cherished forever.
๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ธ๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด, ๐๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ณ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐น๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ณ๐บ ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ค๐ข๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ณ๐บ ๐๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ข๐ต Union High School, Graaff-Reinet. ๐๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ท๐ช๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ด๐ต๐ถ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ช๐ค ๐ง๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด.
Additionally, she will always be remembered as “Mrs Junior Hockey,” teaching and inspiring young girls in the art of the game. Dobby’s legacy extends even further through her establishment of the “Anne Beagley Junior Rugby & Hockey Festival” 25 years ago, an event that continues to bring joy and camaraderie to this day.
Dobby’s talents knew no bounds. She nurtured Union’s senior swimmers, guiding them towards excellence, while also fostering a love for the performing arts. Year after year, aspiring young thespians took the stage in productions directed and often written by her, showcasing their talents under her mentorship.
๐๐ค ๐ฌ๐ค๐ง๐๐จ ๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐ช๐ก๐ก๐ฎ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐ง๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐จ๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฟ๐ค๐๐๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐๐จ. She will be remembered for her wisdom, her unwavering support and guidance to younger colleagues, and her infectious sense of humour and fun. The memories shared with her will forever hold a special place in the hearts of all who were fortunate enough to know her.
๐๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ช๐ค๐ฌ, ๐๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ฆ, ๐๐ช๐ฎ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ง๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฅ๐ช๐ง๐ง๐ช๐ค๐ถ๐ญ๐ต ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ. ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ, ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐๐ฐ๐ฃ.
Starting from the beginning of 2024, Union’s boarding establishments will be offering ๐๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ฅ๐ in the afternoons. This will provide a convenient solution for families seeking reliable and supervised care for their children after school.
Union High School, Graaff-Reinet’s Grade 7 boys recently had an unforgettable experience that marked ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐น ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ.
One afternoon after school, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ where they were able to marvel at the natural wonders around them.
But the adventure didn’t end there! After their hike, the boys headed back to school to enjoy some boerewors rolls and to cool down in the school swimming pool.
This adventure allowed the Grade 7 boys to come together, appreciate the beauty of nature and celebrate the bonds they have formed during their primary school years.
๐๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ข๐ณ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ซ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐ด๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ. ๐๐ข๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ซ๐ฐ๐บ, ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฅ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ!
In honour of ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ก๐๐ ๐๐๐ฌ, or Poppy Day as it is sometimes known, which is observed on 11 November each year, a Remembrance Day Service was held at the St James’ Anglican Church in Graaff-Reinet on Sunday, 12 November.
[ ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง 11 ๐๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ช๐ด ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ณ. ๐๐ฏ 1918, ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฉ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ง๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ด๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ณ (1914-1918), ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ข๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐จ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ-๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ต๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ‘๐ธ๐ข๐ณ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ด’ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข ๐ต๐ฐ๐ต๐ข๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ง 8 634 300 ๐ด๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด. ]
This is ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ข๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ช๐ก ๐ค๐๐๐๐จ๐๐ค๐ฃ, especially for the family and relatives of the fallen, and also for Union High School, Graaff-Reinet, as we pay our respects to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
๐ช๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ข๐น๐ฑ ๐จ๐ป๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ผ ๐น๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฟ:
โข Lt Charles M. de V. Booysen SAAF (1943)
โข Lt Victor P. de Kock MBE DSC MID (1943)
โข 2nd Lt Fanie Nieuwoudt SAAF (1943)
โข Trooper Gerrit T. Ferreira (1944)
โข Lt Ronald Briggs DFC SAAF (1944)
โข Trooper John G. Erlank (1944)
โข Lt Allan McCabe SAAF (1944)
โข Lt Piet Welman SAAF (1944)
โข Capt. A.C. Ramsay RE (1945)
โข Flt. Sgt Billy Wright SAAF (1945)
โข Lt Noel Wright SAAF (1945)
โข L Cpl Mark A. Plateel SAMS (1981)
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐จ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ด ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ง๐ต ๐จ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฅ,
๐๐จ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ, ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ด ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฏ,
๐๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ,
๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐.
๐๐ข๐ก๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐จ๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก๐ฆ to our primary department musicians on their outstanding music exam results!
๐๐๐ฉ’๐จ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ ๐ง๐๐จ๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐ช๐จ๐ ๐ฉ๐ค:
โข Helen van den Heever who passed her RSL Gr 1 Contemporary Piano with Merit and achieving an impressive score of 84%. (๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐.)
โข Kira Hector, who wowed the examiners with her exceptional skills in RSL Gr 1 Contemporary Piano, passing with Distinction and securing a score of 90%.
โข Curen Willemse, whose dedication and talent shined the in RSL Gr 1 Contemporary Piano, passing with Distinction and a score of 92%.
โข Alison Jacobs, who dazzled in the RSL Gr 1 Classical Piano, passing with Distinction and attaining a score of 95%. Bravo!
โข Antonia Adams, who showcased her musical prowess in RSL Gr 2 Classical Piano, passing with Merit and achieving an impressive score of 88%.
โข Gerda Clarke, who conquered the challenges of RSL Gr 3 Classical Piano with great skill, passing with Merit and achieving a commendable score of 76%.
This yearโs annual ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ข๐๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐ฌ was impacted by weather warnings from the outset as the event was brought forward by a day due to impending inclement weather.
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ 10๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ณ๐จ๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ป๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ๐ด ๐ง๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ค๐ช๐ฑ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฉ๐ถ๐ณ๐ด๐ฅ๐ข๐บ, ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ช๐ฆ๐ถ-๐๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฅ๐ข ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด.
The first dayโs 20km hike was challenging. The Gats River was flowing well and many suffered with blisters due to walking in wet shoes after crossing the river. ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟโ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ต๐ฒ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฎ๐น. They worked together as a team from the get-go and encouraged one another when the going got tough. It was heartening to see stronger hikers assisting their friends with packs when their feet were literally covered in painful blisters. That evening they set up camp at Riverdene farm on a beautiful beach and as they sang and ate around the fire, life was good!
The hike to Schoonberg pools the next day was much shorter, which gave ample time to set up camp and enjoy the pristine pools. The route was changed slightly this year, so the group stayed at the pools for two nights, which gave everyone more time to get to know one another. ๐๐๐จ๐จ๐๐๐๐จ ๐๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ข ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ค๐ช๐ฉ๐จ๐๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ง๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐๐ก๐ค๐จ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ, ๐จ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ค๐ง๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐จ ๐ฆ๐ช๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐ฃ๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐๐. The following day began with an exercise in Solitude where everyone was woken before dawn and placed in isolation in the landscape. Here they read special letters and wrote to their future selves. That evening everyone was taught to cook a chicken on the open fire and to bake a loaf of camp bread by Mr and Mrs Langmead. A few drops of rain warned of what was to come, and everyone was given a safety talk regarding what to do if the river came down.
At midnight, the rain began! For those who have not been in the canyon, it is difficult to comprehend what an impact the weather can make and the dangers that it brings. One support vehicle was packed up at 2am to ensure that it got across the river with the possibility of flooding. The decision was made to evacuate early the following morning.
๐ผ๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ช๐ฃ ๐๐๐๐๐ฃ. This day required much grit, determination, endurance from the Grade 10s and support team. Wet tents were packed up and the journey back to Riverdene under inclement conditions began. Everyone was drenched. The tracks took on the consistency of peanut butter which stuck to the bottom of boots and rendered the roads a slippery mess. The backup vehicles used winches to get across the rivers which were now soaking sand and mud, another vehicle slid off the road and nearly rolled into the river. While some adults stayed to attempt to get the vehicle unstuck, others had to continue with the grade 10s as we feared the rivers coming down and being stuck on the wrong side. There is no reception in the canyon, so as we arrived at the farmhouse, messages were dispatched for rescue. Taking shelter in a garage, the freezing, wet group cheerfully got their stoves going and began to eat two minute noodles to keep warm from the inside! Spirits were never dampened!
In the meanwhile, unbeknown to the group, the buses had had an epic time trying to get to them! The district roads had also become treacherous. Eventually, as they spotted them driving down the mountain, they also saw the backup vehicles arriving from the canyon, which four adults had miraculously managed to retrieve by practically digging a new road!
The sense of relief was, however, short lived. Everyone piled into the buses and off they drove, only to be rendered helpless as they slid off the clay road 8kms from the tar. It was at this point that everyone had to really dig deep.
๐๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ฅ๐ช๐ณ๐ต๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฅ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ๐ด ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ด๐ข๐ท๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ- ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ- ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ 10๐ด ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ข๐จ๐ฎ๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ถ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ. ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ฅ๐บ๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ!
While the Grade 10s expressed extreme disappointment at not being able to complete the last day of Odyssey at the waterfall, they can take with them the fact that this was the most challenging Odyssey to date and that their perseverance, determination and grit, got them out the other side stronger and more united than ever.
๐ข๐ฑ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ผ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐. Grateful thanks go to landowners Dale and Kelly Jackson, Peter Plumstead and Julian Murray. This yearโs support team was incredible through trying conditions and the school is grateful to Sean Jacobs, Jason Marais, Dolan Cochrane, Ross Hulleman, Jacques Ferreira, Jennifer Rubidge, Zakkiya Mahomed, Tess Neill and Dave Neill. Thank you to the bus drivers and secretaries who do so much to keep Odyssey going. We are grateful to Kevin and Lisa Watermeyer for their trailer and assistance. And lastly, eternal gratitude goes to Mr David Langmead for his indomitable hard-work, vision and love for the school, that makes this incredible journey what it is.
Odyssey photos are available to download at the following link: https://theunionschools.pixieset.com/odyssey2023/