Author: L. Crankshaw

Bulletin

𝗔 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Union High School, Graaff-Reinet’s 2023 primary department production, saw the 2010 box office hit, Tangled, translated to the stage for the purposes of delighting local theatre lovers!

The narrative was, for the most part, identical. Snatched from her royal bed at birth, Rapunzel goes about her days locked in a forgotten tower under the ever-watchful eye of the evil Mother Gothel. Seizing her chance to escape with the bandit Flynn Rider, Rapunzel embarks on an adventure to see the lanterns that fill the sky on her birthday each year and discover her past in the process.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗮 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗺’𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘀 such as Imagine Dragons’ ‘On Top of the World’, Whitney Houston’s ‘When You Believe’ and Coldplay’s ‘Sky Full of Stars’ which were performed with such unmistakable Disney flair by the school’s junior learners that they felt instantly at home amidst fan-favourites such as ‘I’ve Got a Dream’ and ‘I See the Light.’

The catchy numbers, combined with stunning costumes and beautiful backdrops created an atmosphere that managed to fully immerse the audience in the story.

While Rachel Wenham and Connor Te Water Naude each gave 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙗𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙍𝙖𝙥𝙪𝙣𝙯𝙚𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙍𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙤𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙞𝙯𝙖𝙯𝙯, the comedic talents of Aidan Ferreira, who portrayed the detective Maximus, and the vocal talents of Chloe-Ann Fourie as Mother Gothel, made it impossible not to smile at the learners’ keen sense of belonging to the magical world so well-depicted on stage.

With a cast consisting of almost 180 Grade 5 to 7 learners, Union’s ‘Tangled’ was a high-jinx, humorous, entertaining, and superb show all round – full of fun and the feel-good factor.

𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 the show’s creators Mrs Avrille Putter and Mrs Sanette Brink, backdrop artists Mrs Janet Kingwill and Miss Lauren Stanley, the technical crew and the members of the cast who made it possible for us to “see the light” with a production that lives up to the near-impossible standards of the phrase 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤.

𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸: https://theunionschools.pixieset.com/tangledamusical/

Bulletin

The addition of three new ‘state of the art’ classrooms – to meet the needs of the increasing numbers of learners at Union High School, Graaff-Reinet – was celebrated at a special ceremony on Thursday evening, 4 May.

The event was attended by parents, members of staff, school governing body members and Eastern Cape Department of Education officials, with Union High School’s Governing Body chairman, Mr Kelvin Kayster, being asked to cut the ribbon.

Speaking at the event, Union High School Headmaster, Mr William Pringle commented on the impact and importance of these new classrooms, stating that the classrooms commanded a new sense of dedication and inspiration which will enhance learning at Union for years to come.

The three new classrooms (currently being utilised by the learners in the school’s primary department) also forms part of 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢 𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙬𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩, initiated in 2021, which aims to bring all classrooms up to an agreed standard in terms of physical facilities and audio-visual / information technology.

“𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯’𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘹𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦,” explained Union SGB member, Mr Grant Lemke.

“𝘐𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘥𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯’𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘭𝘺-𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴.”

While the project involved the construction of the classrooms from the ground up, the most exciting developments focused on improving the teaching and learning experience. In addition to fully interactive whiteboards, new data projectors, high quality sound equipment and air conditioning units being installed, teaching walls and learner desks were reimagined to provide flexible teaching options.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘈𝘵 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 ‘𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘵’ 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴,” concluded Mr Lemke.

Bulletin

Union High School, Graaff-Reinet recently had the distinct pleasure of hosting Mr Clive Marriott, Headmaster of Salisbury Cathedral School, during his recent visit to South Africa.

Union has long enjoyed a wonderful learner exchange programme with this 900-year-old school in Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK, with its incomparable setting beneath the famous spire of Salisbury Cathedral. (𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 1091 𝘣𝘺 𝘚𝘵 𝘖𝘴𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘥, 𝘯𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘸 𝘰𝘧 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘺, 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘵 𝘖𝘭𝘥 𝘚𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘮.)

𝗜𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘁𝘁’𝘀 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁, Union hosted an small function in the Tony Burrell Union to welcome him to the school and to celebrate the special connection that exists between the two schools.

For 30 years, the Salisbury learners have been coming to Graaff-Reinet as exchange students for a term, followed by Union’s exchange students spending a term in the UK. Quite a few of these Union learners then go on to do a Gap Year at Salisbury after completing their matric year.

The recent event hosted by the school was attended by some of the exchange students from 2013 to date, as well as their parents. After Mr Pringle welcomed all the guests, Mr Marriott addressed all those present, amusing the audience with a few tales of events that have happened over the years.

The 2023 exchange learners were also presented with their Exchange Student badges during this event, which they will wear for the duration of their years at Union.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙮 𝙀𝙭𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙐𝙣𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙨.

Grade 7 Union learners 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘁 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝗺𝘂𝗶𝗿 and 𝗭𝗼ë 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 are currently in the UK, where they are spending the term at Salisbury Cathedral School as this year’s exchange students.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: https://www.unionschools.co.za/…/salisbury-exchange/

Bulletin

𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 to Union learner 𝗔𝗿𝗻𝗼 𝗡𝗲𝗹𝗹 who was one of 50 talented young vocalists to be selected from hundreds of online entries, to participate in the second season of the “𝘐𝘯 𝘓𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦 𝘓𝘺𝘸𝘦” television series.

From these 50 contestants, Arno was selected as one of the 𝗧𝗢𝗣 𝟭𝟱, who had to then perform in front of a live audience on Wednesday, 19 April.

𝘐𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘱 15, 𝘈𝘳𝘯𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘝𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵.