Facing Pearson is always a demanding fixture, and while the results may not reflect the effort, our teams showed immense heart and resilience.
U16A lost 6-0
U14A lost 3-0
1st Team lost 5-0 Pearson capitalized on their set plays, scoring three goals from short corners, a penalty flick, and a well-worked field goal.
Despite the losses, I was incredibly proud of how the girls handled themselves. They showed grit, fought until the final whistle, and continued to play within our structures.
We feel truly privileged to have been able to attend the spectacular ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ด ๐๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐ถ๐ฟ performance in Graaff-Reinet tonight.
๐๐ช๐ต๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ถ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ, ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ-๐ค๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ด ๐ค๐ถ๐ญ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ, ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ข ๐ซ๐ฐ๐บ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ด.
It was also an extraordinary honour for our little Union Preparatory School choir to share the stage and perform a song alongside such talented young artists – ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ข๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ง๐ถ๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ด ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐บ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ!
A ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ง๐๐๐๐ง ๐ง๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ to the choir for including Graaff-Reinet in their tour and to everyone who purchased tickets through the Union Schools for their support
Get ready for an unforgettable experience at the Wild Karoo Auction, a unique fundraising event hosted by Union Preparatory School, Graaff-Reinet.
๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ช๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ต๐ด ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข ๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต ๐ค๐ข๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ.
Visit the Wild Karoo Auction website at https://auctions.swiftvee.com/…/the-wild-karoo-auction… to explore the exciting items available for bidding. With new lots being uploaded at regular intervals, there’s always something fresh to discover. ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ผ๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฎ๐น๐ฎ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐, ๐๐ผ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ!
A highlight of the evening will be the exclusive live bidding on select lots during the gala. ๐๐ตโ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ต๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ญ๐บ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ค๐ช๐ข๐ญ.
๐ง๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฎ๐น๐ฎ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ the Union Schools’ front offices and at Tyremart Graaff-Reinet on College Road. Get yours today!
As we gear up for the upcoming winter sports season, we are excited to a share that our first aiders participated in an exceptionally successful two-day ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ง ๐๐๐ course held at Union High School, Graaff-Reinet this past weekend.
๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ญ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ด ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ง๐ฆ๐ต๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ-๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ด๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ต๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ.
The first day of the course was dedicated to theoretical training, where our first aiders absorbed vital knowledge on various medical protocols and emergency response strategies. ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป-๐บ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ป ๐ต๐ถ๐ด๐ต-๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐.
On day two, the focus shifted to the practical side of managing sports injuries. Participants engaged in hands-on training, learning how to assess and treat common injuries that athletes may encounter, from sprains and fractures to more severe conditions.
As we prepare for the challenges of the winter sports season, it is important to remember the words, “๐๐ง ๐ด๐ฆ๐ณ๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ, ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ฑ ๐ช๐ด ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ.” Our first aiders exemplify true leadership by stepping up to serve our athletes and community. Their dedication to learning and readiness to assist others is a testament to the values we uphold in our sports programmes.
๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒโ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฎ ๐๐ฎ๐ณ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐๐ณ๐๐น ๐๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ!
This past weekend, our 1st XV rugby team traveled to East London to participate in the annual Hoรซrskool Ooskus Gimnasium Sports Fest.
In a thrilling final match of the day on Saturday, the boys faced off against the host team, Ooskus.
The first half presented some challenges for Union, as mistakes led to lost ball possession, allowing Ooskus to score the first points with a converted try. The host team further extended their lead by converting a penalty due to a lack of discipline on the field. ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐จ๐ป๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ, managing to stay in the game and trailing by only 10 points as they headed into halftime.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฎ๐น๐ณ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ด๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐จ๐ป๐ถ๐ผ๐ป, as they quickly began to apply pressure on the Ooskus defense. Their efforts paid off when Elvandre Meyer crossed the try line, with Makukhanye de Beer successfully converting the try, narrowing the score to 7-10.
However, Ooskus responded with another try, extending their lead to 15-7. Union fought back valiantly with a try by Jayden Odendaal, once again converted by de Beer, bringing the score to 14-15. Despite their relentless efforts, the boys were unable to reclaim the lead, and ๐ข๐ผ๐๐ธ๐๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฟ๐ ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ฐ๐ต, ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ-๐ญ๐ฐ.
Our u/16A team also showcased their skills at the festival, facing Westering High School and securing a solid victory with a score of 19-3.
๐๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ข๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ท๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ท๐ข๐ญ๐ถ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ฎ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ฆ๐ง๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ด๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ฑ.
Friday 7 March – Union U/13A vs Zastron
Union dominated the match, showcasing a powerful performance to secure a 29-0 victory against Zastron.
Saturday 8 March – Union U/13A vs Gonubie
In a tough encounter, Union faced a strong Gonubie side and despite a valiant effort, they went down 7-17.
This week, Union High School, Graaff-Reinet proudly welcomed back a cherished member of the Class of 2020, ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐บ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐บ, who has returned to contribute to our academic community as a staff member.
๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ต๐ตโ๐ด ๐ซ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ข๐ณ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ, ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ค๐ช๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ง๐ข๐ค๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ค ๐ค๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ด ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฐ๐ท๐ช๐ฅ-19. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ถ๐ค๐ค๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ข๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข๐ฅ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ต ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐น๐ข๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ง๐ถ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด.
Brett, a recent graduate with a Bachelor of Education in Senior and FET phase from the Nelson Mandela University, expressed his excitement about returning to his alma mater.
โ๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ข๐ญ๐ธ๐ข๐บ๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ข ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ฏ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏโ๐ด ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ข๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ช๐ค ๐ฆ๐น๐ค๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต,โ he said. โ๐๐ตโ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ฆ.โ
During his time at Union, Brett demonstrated leadership and dedication, serving as the 1st team cricket captain and Deputy Head Boy.
๐๐ถ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ป๐น๐ ๐ฏ๐ ๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ต๐๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐บ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐.
โHaving been a learner at Union, I have a strong understanding of its values and culture,โ Brett shared. โI am eager to foster an engaging and supportive learning environment for our learners.โ
Brettโs love for cricket is evident, as he has played varsity cricket for the past four years, alongside representing his province in his first year. His dedication to sports extends beyond personal achievement; he is committed to assisting and adding value on the sports field in any capacity. โ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ด ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐บ ๐ข ๐ค๐ณ๐ถ๐ค๐ช๐ข๐ญ ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ, ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ค๐ช๐ฑ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ, ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ข๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฎ.โ
As Brett embarks on this new chapter at Union, we are confident that his fresh perspective and enthusiasm will greatly enrich our school. We look forward to witnessing the positive impact he will have on our learners, inspiring them to overcome challenges and strive for excellence, just as he did.
On a beautiful Wednesday morning, 5 March, Union High School proudly hosted the much-anticipated ๐๐ก๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ง๐ฅ๐๐๐ง๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐, bringing together the Karoo, Albany and Amathola districts for an exciting day of competition.
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ง๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ข๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ญ๐บ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ, ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ค๐ข๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ธ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ถ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข ๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ท๐ช๐ค๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ฎ, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ด๐ถ๐ค๐ค๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ง๐ถ๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ต๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐บ.
Congratulations to all swimmers who participated, especially those from Union who secured impressive placings:
โ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐: 1st in 50m Backstroke, 3rd in both 50m Breaststroke and 50m Butterfly
โ ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐บ๐ฎ ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐: 1st in 50m Freestyle, 2nd in 50m Butterfly
โ ๐ง๐ฎ๐๐น๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฏ๐: 1st in both 50m Freestyle and 50m Backstroke
โ ๐๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐พ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ-๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ฎ: 3rd in 50m Backstroke
We’d also like to extend a shoutout to ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ป and ๐๐ถ๐๐ฎ ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป, who played vital roles in the winning relay teams, contributing to the team’s overall success.
As we eagerly await the arrival of the boys’ new kit for the season, we want to take a moment to express our ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ง๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ง๐จ๐๐ to Mr Gustaf Ittershagen-Strauss of Build it Graaff-Reinet for generously sponsoring our 1st rugby team’s warm-up tops.
๐๐ช๐ด ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐บ๐ด ๐ข ๐ท๐ช๐ต๐ข๐ญ ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐บ๐ด’ ๐ซ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐บ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฃ๐ญ๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ.
What a privilege it was for the Union Schoolsโ cricket boys to share an unforgettable afternoon with a legend of the sport, ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป!
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ ๐ข ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ค๐ณ๐ช๐ค๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆโ๐ด ๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ด, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ช๐ต ๐ข๐ญ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ง๐ถ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ค๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ฐ๐ด๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ง๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ด๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ช๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ฑ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต.
The afternoon began with an air of excitement as the boys eagerly awaited their special guest. Gary Kirsten, known for his remarkable international career as a player and later as a successful coach, arrived with a warm smile that instantly put all the boys at ease.
The younger boys, particularly the u/7s, were a delightful highlight of the session. Their hilariously innocent questions brought laughter and joy to the room. ๐๐ข๐ณ๐บ’๐ด ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ต๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ข๐ญ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ค๐ณ๐ช๐ค๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ต.
As the afternoon progressed, the tone shifted slightly as the senior players took their turn. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐พ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ณ๐น๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ, ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐, ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ.
Each question was met with generous insights from Gary, who shared personal anecdotes and valuable advice accrued through years of experience on the world stage.
Throughout the session, Gary’s passion for cricket was evident. It was inspiring to witness how he effortlessly connected with the boys, fostering an environment where learning and laughter thrived. ๐๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฐ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ: ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ท๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐บ๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ธ๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ต๐ป๐ถ๐พ๐๐ฒ.
Earlier this evening, Union High School, Graaff-Reinet‘s Tony Burrell Union transformed into a hub of inspiration and learning as we gathered to hear from the legendary ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป.
The former South African cricket coach and batsman captivated us with his insightful session on “Parenting in Sport,” ๐ถ๐น๐น๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ท๐๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป’๐ ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐, ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ณ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ๐น๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฝ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐, ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ท๐ผ๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐.
Kirsten, with his warm demeanor and engaging storytelling, transported us into his world – one shaped not only by the highs and lows of his cricket career but also by the lessons he learned as a coach and mentor.
๐๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ช๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฆ; ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ถ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ด ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ด ๐ซ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ.
Kirstenโs central message resonated deeply: โWeโve forgotten that a school is a place where you go to learn. ๐๐โ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป, ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ.โ This profound statement encourages us to shift our perspective from pushing for immediate results to fostering environments where our kids can thrive, learn and build confidence at their own pace.
He eloquently articulated that sport participation is about more than just winning; itโs a vehicle for building self-esteem and resilience in our children. โ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ต ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ช๐ค๐ช๐ฑ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ, ๐ช๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ดโ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ช๐ฃ๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ซ๐ฐ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ช๐ฐ๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ,” he emphasized. This mantra reaffirmed the idea that joy in sport should always come first, echoing in the hearts of all the parents present.
Throughout the evening, Kirsten called on us to embrace our roles as pillars of support for our child athletes. He encouraged us to educate ourselves about the sports our children engage in and to remain patient as they traverse their unique paths of growth and progress.
As we reflect on the evening, we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who attended, especially Gary Kirsten for his insightful presentation.
A special ๐ง๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ goes to the Old Unionite Association and Mr William Copeman for their efforts in hosting this memorable even