Quarter 3 Newsletter 2022

2 We now look forward to our Awards Events and Valedictory for the matrics. Parents are invited to attend in person to watch the Honours and Leadership Awards online. It is a special time of the year when we can acknowledge everyone for their achievements. Thank you to staff, learners and parents for the vibrancy, enthusiasm and dedication over the Winter Quarter. We wish everyone a revitalising break. SECONDARY FACULTY GRADES 7 - 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . From the Principal’s Office Sylvia Steyn “In this game, everyone needs a break to refuel, recharge, and jump back in full throttle.” - Helen Edwards After a very busy quarter, we enjoyed winding down on the last day of the Winter Quarter with the matrics celebrating the end of their school career, the learners dressing up in Proudly South African gear to celebrate Heritage Day and to wish the Springboks well for the upcoming match, as well as having the final assembly outside in Curie Quad with the Marimba bands entertaining us. Even when one is feeling tired, you cannot help feeling the urge to dance when the Marimbas start playing! After two years of restrictions on school activities, we jumped in boots and all to host the National Individual Debating & Public Speaking Championships, put on our “StageStruck” production with music, dance and drama. We revived the Gary Kirsten T20 cricket tournament, went all out with the Matric Farewell, went camping with the Grade 11s in preparation for their Leadership role next year and held a successful Unicorn Awards evening to acknowledge the Grade 10s for their creativity in their movie project. We voted for our Learner Leadership team for 2023 and staged a successful Open Day to introduce others to our campus. The matric completed their Preliminary Examinations. On the service front, we had a successful August Awareness month and ended the quarter collecting a large amount to donate to the Sunflower Fund in support of blood diseases. At the beginning of the quarter we hosted a beautiful memorial service in honour of Mrs Smïd. She loved the arts, so we filled the spaces between tributes with poetry, music and dance. She will forever live in our hearts. We thank the Class of 2022 who donated a bench in her honour which stands outside the Innovation Centre. The Saturday after the memorial service, a large group of learners and staff joined in the Blouberg parkrun in her honour. Sadly, we said goodbye to Ms Venter who emigrated to the United Kingdom this quarter, but we also joyfully welcomed two baby girls and two boys born to staff members over the past three months. Congratulations to Mrs Esterhuizen and Mrs Matisimela, Mr Viljoen and Ms Kistan. Our learners continue to make us proud. Here are just a few individual achievements of the last three months: Bianca Altini and Mtha Nhuku From the 16th – 22nd July 2022, two of our senior Physical Science learners, Mtha Nhuku and Bianca Altini participated as members of Team South Africa, in the 35th IYPT in Timisoara, Romania. The team comprised of 5 participants from South Africa. The IYPT is also known as the “Junior Physics Olympics” and requires each participant to research 2 of the 17 open-ended physics problems published by the IYPT annually and present their findings in the context of “Physics Fights”. Both Bianca and Mtha presented their reports in an effective manner despite doing so against extremely strong and experienced opposition. They also opposed and reviewed other teams’ reports as well and learnt the skills of doing so very quickly. It was the first time that Team South Africa participated in the main tournament and we are most proud of our two representatives in this tournament. OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT Matric Breakfast Maya Mthwana Bianca Altini Memorial bench for Sue Smïd Memorial run for Sue Smïd