Union is delighted to welcome our 2019 Salisbury Exchange Student Max Blank, who is settling in well on the Davenport’s farm in the Pearston district. Max and Matthew have spent the last few days exploring the farm before starting the new term at Arthur Kingwill house on Tuesday. Union extends a very warm welcome to Max!
As the matric class of 2018 led out of their final English exam today, they left behind their shoes to be used by those less fortunate. They also left behind them a mountain of memories and special times at Union High, and strode confidently into a new phase in their lives. We wish you well, Class of 2018.
There has been a hive of activity around the Centenary Walkway these past 3 weeks and the area is beginning to look exquisite! Yesterday a group of matrics on study break offered to lay a rock symbolising their time at Union. As Amanda Brink chose a beautiful small rock she commented how poignant it is to her that even a small thing can make large impact towards the creation of something beautiful when you are a part of a team. We can be grateful to so many for this amazing team effort!
‘Bring a rock to Union’ – When dreams become reality thanks to teamwork!
The long walkway between the Bruce Maree Gates and the Union was an area of the school campus that needed a new look! The strip road alongside the Puttick field was a little tatty, and the exotic cypresses that grew there were messy and didn’t allow for any grass to grow. When Headmaster, Mr Pringle mentioned this at a Governing Body meeting, the team immediately sprung to action, determined to make a change! Kevin Watermeyer dreamed of a beautiful area that could somehow symbolise each and every learner at school – past or present, and at the same time bring the beauty of our Karoo onto the campus. The ‘Bring a Rock to Union’ project was subsequently conceptualised under the management of hands-on parent Joan McNaughton.
Phase 1 included appealing to the Union family to “Bring a rock to Union”, and soon a healthy pile of rocks started to materialise at the ‘Rock Drop Zone’. The idea was for each learner to bring a rock that would symbolise their time at Union.
Realising that the area to be paved was far larger than anticipated, the Watermeyer family offered a donation of flat rocks from their farm ‘Zuurplaats’. But we were now stuck with the problem of how to transport about 30 tonnes of rock from about 50kms away to Union!
Local businessman and parent Campbell Scott was approached and very generously loaned the school his 10 tonne truck to transport the rocks – and this took more than 1 trip! Without him, the project would have been incredibly difficult, if not impossible. So now there were rocks on a farm and trucks – and rocks don’t just hop onto trucks!
Mr Donald Kingwill and Mr Sparrius gathered up a team of our strongest Arthur Kingwill House boys and they headed off one Saturday to ‘Grootklip’ with Mr Pringle. While Lisa Watermeyer provided the lads with lunch and refreshments, they spent the day collecting and loading many tonnes of rock. Mr Pringle later said that he had never seen a group of boys work so hard.
Another amazing thing happened as one of the lads lifted a rock, spotting a snake which they thought was a puffadder. Kevin documented the snake and sent a photo off to a group of conservationists called ‘Bionerds’, who identified the snake as a rare Plain Mountain Adder. It was later confirmed to be the 12th ever recording of this elusive snake!
Joan McNaughton now had rocks, and fabulous donations of cement from the McNaughton, Broeksma, Rogers, Beaumont, Sullivan, Brotherton, Bouwer and Hesselink families as well as a cash donation from Johann Botha, and time was ticking. Having worked with rock paving in the past, and with an artistic eye, David Langmead, chairman of our SGB, got the ball rolling and alongside builders Manus, Anthony and James with the help of Mr Kingwill and Joan, started digging out and laying the Karoo rocks. While they were at work, Union learners ambled past, adding commentary and appreciation as to how the area was transforming in the space of a week. Matric learner, Mtha Mzimba spoke of how much it meant to him that he had helped collect the rocks and how he now felt that a little piece of himself was embedded into the Union Grounds. Moral support, cups of tea and coffee and appreciation from those who witnessed the project coming into fruition were much appreciated. Mr Kingwill also took the opportunity to cut down the exotic cypresses along the walkway to give the indigenous stinkwood trees planted there more space and light to grow.
The project will still take a while to complete, but it has been an incredible testament to what vision, teamwork and generosity can do for a school! So in the next few weeks, if you have a spare few hours, put on your work clothes and join the team who are busy ‘Laying rocks for Union’, and leave a little legacy for our beautiful school. Any further donations of cement and flat rocks will be much appreciated as the area is a little larger than anticipated!
The Gr 5s enjoyed a reward excursion (no DT this year) to the Gariep Dam district. They went on a fascinating dam wall tour & were excited to see and learn how the dam operates. Thereafter, a delicious lunch was served by Mrs Pienaar at the Forever Resort Campsite.
Great fun was had setting up camp and the children so enjoyed playing in the play park all afternoon. Mr Steenkamp and a few boys took care of the braaiing and then supper under the stars was enjoyed. The night was long, noisy and full of fun.
After breakfast the following day the group visited the Pienaar’s farm. On the farm Jack Pienaar, Hayden’s dad, demonstrated how a windmill works using the wind and kinetic energy. Then at the Orange River the learners were shown the solar panels which generate the energy needed to pump water from the river onto the lucern fields.
A sheep dog demonstration wowed us all and we all had the opportunity of touching a lamb. Hot and tired we arrived at the Wimpy in Colesberg and enjoyed our lunch. On the return journey the buses were quiet as most children slept off the effects of an all-night stay awake. The trip was educational & fun with time for learning, playing and just chilling.
We received a couple of compliments on our sweet and well-behaved learners. We all loved this trip!
Congratulations to Zara, Tsireletso and Megan. Read more about their hobbies on our FB page.
Colourful fun was had by all today as the Grade 10 fundraising committee organised a Colour Splash in the heat at the end of the day!
Congratulations to the 2019 Head Prefects who were announced at Prize-giving on Friday evening, 19 October 2018.
Kanya Butshingi (Deputy Headboy), Peter Watermeyer (Headboy), Jenna McNaughton (Headgirl) and Zintle Maki (Deputy Headgirl)
On Monday and Tuesday (15 & 16 October) the grade 8 and 9 English learners enjoyed a trip to the Reinet House and the Taxidermy. As a reward for their hard work, learners were treated to a picnic before returning to school. Ingrid Kingwill (youth pastor at the Assembly of God Church in Graaff-Reinet) encouraged learners with a short motivational message about ‘being the person you needed at some point in your life, to someone else in need’ as well as the value of gratitude. A huge thank you to, Sinethemba and Baphiwe, the friendly guides at the Reinet House, who contributed to the enjoyment of these trips.
Tiekieaand is an age old tradition at Union and is eagerly looked forward to by
the juniors each year! It is a major fundraiser for the grade 10 class and this year they outdid themselves! The hall was full of fun games and activities, including a new item this year…a rap battle, which proved extremely popular! The juniors bobbed for apples, had their faces painted, were led dizzy through a maze, played tombola and had blowgun competitions amongst other fun things organised by the grade 10s. The main attraction seemed to be that the teachers and seniors made themselves available before the sponge throwing firing squad and much hilarity ensued! Outside, moms sold sweet treats to willing buyers with the popcorn machine being in high demand! Afterwards the grade 10s worked together, cleaning up as they closed the door on a fun filled festive evening!