Bulletin

The power of words, intonation and body language was unleashed during Union High School, Graaff-Reinet’s annual 𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗢𝗥 𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗘𝗖𝗛 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡.

Eleven speakers were brave enough to enter and certainly impressed the audience and adjudicators alike with excellent speeches.

We extend our grateful thanks to Grade 12 learner Anna Pringle for ensuring the smooth running of the programme.

𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 to 𝗝𝗼𝘆 𝗠𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱, who claimed third place, the evening’s runner-up 𝗖𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, whose intelligent approach and good preparation served her well, and the overall winner 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲 𝗢𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗳𝘀𝗲𝗻, who performed with confidence and flair.

𝗢𝘂𝘁𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Union High School, Graaff-Reinet’s annual Junior Speech Competition was held on Monday evening, 8 May, in the Tony Burrell Union.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳’𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭’𝘴 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦 8𝘴, 9𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 10𝘴 𝘨𝘰 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵-𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘮𝘴.

Congratulations to all those who participated. They are: Amber Slater, Kazimla Mbalawa, Ben Lemke, Jamae-Mari Davids, Athayanda Mahlati, Bhukobenkosi Nomatye, Erin Gedult, Sinegugu Ntenteni, Cruz Pather and Someleze Ntshuca.

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.

𝙐𝙣𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙙 – it was pleasing to see so many enthusiastic learners presenting their speeches.

Congratulations to 𝗘𝗿𝗶𝗻 𝗚𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁 (Grade 10) and 𝗕𝗲𝗻 𝗟𝗲𝗺𝗸𝗲 (Grade 9) who – based on their performance – were selected to represent the school at this year’s Interschools’ speech competition later this year.

As a part of vocational guidance, the Grade 12s enjoyed a dedicated 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗞 this past week, during which they were engaged with potential career paths and opportunities.

Private Institutions including Eduvos, CTU, Varsity College and Uxi Sport all gave informative talks on study options after matric.

𝘖𝘯 𝘞𝘦𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘔𝘳 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘓𝘦𝘮𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘳 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘛𝘢𝘺𝘭𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘺 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦 12𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘢 𝘍𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮.

The Grade 12s gathered again in the evening where local business-people spoke from the heart about life after school.

Mr Kallie Venter gifted the grade with a fascinating talk on Memory Pegs; Dawid and Karlien de Wet enlightened the group about the highs and lows of entrepreneurship; Mr Gerrar Maya gave a frank and amusing talk on becoming a chartered accountant and it was lovely to have Mr Hannes Lombard back at Union as he informed the grade about his journey into the insurance world.

Everyone enjoyed a convivial meal afterwards and worked as a team assisting Mrs Bronwen Langmead with the meal which was graciously cooked by our boarding house staff.

𝙒𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧’𝙨 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙚 12𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙜𝙤 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨!

Visit our Facebook Page to view photographs of the event.

𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘴!

For more information visit our Admission Policy Page on our website.

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/

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.