WYNBERG GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL

NEWSLETTER

Also available on our website : www.wynghs.co.za

FEBRUARY 2013

This year the Coin Challenge will run throughout the year, with an extra push in term 4. Each house has a box (made by Mr Stokell) in which they will deposit their coins. The boxes are very visible and have been placed outside the Sports Office. Each term there will be a prize for the house which has accumulated the most coins while at the end of the year, the overall winner will be the house which has collected the most money. Keep those coins rolling in!

SMALL CHANGE, BIG DIFFERENCE COIN CHALLENGE

Heads of House Aqeelah Idas, Carley Katzef, Eden Lyons, Carryn Peregrino, Sarah Mesham, Catherine Paulse, Kelly Phiri and Claudia Harrison deposit the first coins for their house.

Dear Parents

February each year is the time we open our school to prospective learners and their parents. I have long been a believer that teenagers should talk to teenagers and we, therefore, use many of the Wynberg girls, from Grades 9 to 12, as the tour guides. Often, I walk around the school while the tours are in progress and listen to a snippet of conversation here and there. The girls take their job seriously and we are grateful to them that they attract and encourage like-minded students to apply to attend Wynberg Girls' High School the following year.

This year I was, again, struck by the enormous pride which the girls have in their school and the articulate way in which they convey this pride to the visitors. They are not nervous that, besides the learners in the groups, they are speaking to a large group of parents, some of whom ask some difficult questions. Parents stop to complement the staff on these learners, and some even take the time to write to us, thanking us for the information evening and, in particular, thanking their tour guide.

Thank you to all of our girls who are such wonderful adverts for our school.

February this year has also been a time of great sorrow in the South African community, prompting the Department of Education and Lead SA to request schools to hold special assemblies on 1 March to encourage our youth to be part of the movement to stand up against gender-violence and rape. As both assemblies that week had already dealt with these topics, we did not take teaching time for another assembly but the pledge was read to learners in the assembly on Monday 4th.

“It starts with me” was the topic of this assembly, and learners were encouraged to stand up against any and all injustice, not just those of a sexual nature. It starts with me to observe, report a situation, to offer support and to ensure that I am never, even by association, part of a group that seeks to belittle another human being - not at school or in the wider community. If every person made a commitment to treat all others with tolerance and respect, we would live in a community worthy of the beauty of our country.

We, at Wynberg, will do our best to uphold the pledge:

To uphold the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa To abide by the laws of the country To respect the rights of others irrespective of age, race,

sex or sexual orientation Not to rape or commit any form of sexual harassment,

abuse or violence To report any form of wrongdoing to authorities To honour the responsibilities that come with these rights

and to be a good citizen.

Warm regardsShirley HardingPRINCIPAL

I pledge:

A Matric Information Evening for parents and students was held recently. The Matrics assumed that the evening would take the form of an exam advice session, with guidelines with which to approach the upcoming year. We were pleasantly surprised, however, to meet Mr Eburne, who focussed on the kind of people we want to be after matric. Mr Eburne, who has years of experience in the education sector and corporate South Africa, is a life coach whose personal statement is “I grow people”. It wasclear from his presenta-tion that he does exact-ly that. His underlying message was that it is our responsibility to brand ourselves before others do, and he emphasised the importance of marketing ourselves based on our internal and external strengths. Ann Weller of Eduflex then spoke to us about a revision programme being made available to us which will give us access to online quizzes and tests, and with which we can track our academic progress. The evening was thoroughly worthwhile and enjoyed by all, and we are very grateful to Ms Shapiro and Mrs Harding who organised it for us! Wynberg's hard-working Afrikaans Department were inspired

and refreshed when they attended a performance of Die Laaste Karretjiegraf by Riana Steyn and Athol Fugard at the Fugard Theatre. The incredibly honest and harrowing story of a family of travelling farm-workers in the Karoo left the audience reeling with emotion. The language is poetic and the storytelling phenomenal. It would be a pity for anyone to miss out on this incredible piece of theatre. Though in Afrikaans, the plot is easily accessible and the subtitles easy to follow for second language speakers.

AFRIKAANS NEWS

GRADE 12 EVENING

The purpose of the Grade 10 information evening was to inform girls and parents about the academic challenges that lie ahead in the next three years, and also to encourage parents and girls to support and encourage one another during this phase of their lives. Christin Sands, Tegan Welz and Thaakiyah Wentzel-Ryklief opened the evening's proceedings with an informative and witty presentation on their experiences transitioning from grade 9 to grade 10. Covering topics from how to handle the workload, balancing ones extramural, social and school lives, and tips and suggestions for academic success - they did an excellent job. Mrs McEwen followed with information on the promotion and performance criteria for the FET phase as well as the introduction of the new CAPS syllabus. Mrs Harding concluded the evening with what is expected from Grade 10s, now that they are 'all grown-up' and amongst the seniors of the school. She touched on the many opportunities offered at Wynberg and encouraged girls to look ahead to becoming the future leaders of WGHS. A booklet with all relevant subject information was distributed and parents who would like an electronic copy of this document can access it on our school's website.

GRADE 10 EVENING

WALT WHITMAN/ WGHS STUDENT EXCHANGE

MUSIC COLOURS

WYNBERG WELCOMES

STUDENT INTERNWGHS has initiated a Student Learnership programme whereby selected tertiary students intending to become teachers and currently studying are offered a place on the teaching body for a limited period of time. This win-win situation allows the student to gain teaching experience while providing the school with an extra pair of hands, metaphorically speaking. Wynberg is

delighted to welcome ex-Wynberg girl, Kelly Croxford, as their first student intern. Kelly has been involved with coaching WGHS hockey teams for the last number of years and it is a pleasure to welcome her into the classroom as well.

We extend a belated but warm Wynberg welcome to Amye Elfin who hails from the USA. Amye was hosted by Anjali Kooverjee and her family during her stay as part of the Wynberg Girls’/ Walt Whitman exchange programme. We hope that her stay has been memorable and exciting.

Music Colours were awarded recently. Congratulations tothese girls, who received Full Colours:

Congratulations, too, to Anna Jacobs, Lauren McDonald,Elsa Nel, Christin Sands & Erin Wilsnagh who wereawarded Half Colours.

Carla Stokes, Genevieve Moss, Rachel Suttle, Tatum Fortune & Stacey Walker

Anjali & Amye

Happy Birthday,

dear Anna,

Happy Birthday

to You!

Anna Wilson, AustralianGAP student, celebrated her 18th Birthday last week, in true Wynberg fashion - surrounded by balloons!

Staff hand over the petfood collected on Valentine’s Day to the Animal Rescue Organisation which works in informal settlements, educating pet owners on proper care for their animals and spaying animals for free.

VALENTINE’S DAY

Capstone was also in Valentine’s mode and iced and decorated Valentine biscuits and delivered them to the people at Murambi House so that they, too, could have a loving celebration!

As a special Valentine’s Day celebration in the hostel, the Grade 11s hosted a Valentine’s Day breakfast to support their fundraising for the Hostel tuck shop. The diningroom looked absolutely beautiful, with pink, red and gold decorations strung from wall to wall and decorating the tables. The hostel’s focus for this year’s Valentine’s Day was sisterhood and family. Breakfast included fruit smoothies, sausage & egg and heart-shaped toast. In the lucky draw, girls won notebooks, chocolates and lots of little goodies. Lastly, each table performed a love song: songs by Beyonce, Rihanna and Justin Bieber featured and there was even “Walking on Sunshine” and Barney’s “I love you, you love me”.

Sarah Mesham in Valentine mood!

Traditionally, Valentine’s Day is a project which the School Council takes on for the school as they prepare a Valentine’s Day assembly, part of which includes the distribution of roses sent to the girls from their friends. This year, the hostel began their celebrations with a Valentine’s breakfast, and the staff of Wynberg wore pink and red and brought cat or dog food for the Animal Rescue Organisation. The Valentine’s Day assembly was especially good this year, with several hilarious film clips adding to the fun. The school website and facebook page have links to the film clips.

Tiyaarah Cloete, Zahra Dollie, Aqeelah Idas and Taahirah Abrahams do Valentine’s Day in style!

After Ms Faris, our hostel mother, performed a little number for us it was off to school on a seriously high note.

GRADE 11 CAMP

GRADE 9 CAMP

It was with feelings of anticipation that the Grade 11s embarked upon their last school camp. As always, day 1 started with a much enjoyed drumming workshop which set the tone for the three days to come. Each day consisted of a variety of leadership orientated speeches and activities and, although the emphasis was largely on leadership, almost all tasks required teamwork, and so the valuable skills acquired from this experience pertain not only to being a successful leader, but also to making both grade 11 and grade 12 productive years. The general consensus seems to be that the very relaxing “stress management” talk, highly competitive music quiz and camp house plays were the most enjoyed. This camp will definitely be remembered by all as one of the most unifying and memorable grade experiences.Natashia Young

CAPSTONE CAMP

JIMMY NEVIS PLAYS WYNBERG!

Andréa Alexander entered and won a competition to see Jimmy Nevis' Live Show at the Baxter Theatre on Saturday 2 February 2013. The competition required fans to be creative and send in poems, pictures, and videos explaining why they are Jimmy's biggest fan and why they deserved the 2 VIP Backstage

The 3 day Back to Basics Grade 9 camp in Grabouw, emphasises working together and strengthening bonds within the grade. The camp site is situated in the middle of a forest and we spent the 3 days living in army tents - much more fun than conventional dorms. Once we had all been sorted into our teams, we created a name, team flag and a war cry. The team names were very original (not!):We don’t know, Alpha Beats, Looking good and Assassins. The teams weren’t allowed to leave their flags unattended and if they did, the entire team had a military minute consisting of sit- ups, push-ups, planks and burpees. The yellow team became quite used to the military minute as they were always late or without their flag! Our days were filled with many activities - the most popular was the military course which required a lot of communication and team work. The girls weren’t too happy about it at first as there was a lot of mud and dirt, but once everybody starting supporting each other, it turned out to be a great deal of fun.

passes to his show. Andrea's was the most creative entry. To make her prize even more special, Jimmy came to Wynberg to present her tickets in person.

DADS’ & DAUGHTERS’ CHALLENGE

At a wonderful event on 20 February, Dads and Daughters challenged other families in a series of “Minute to Win It”

games. The evening was well supported. It was clear from the outset that competition was very fierce. Through a process of elimination, it was finally down to three families: the Gaynors, the Crosses and the Southerns.

The Tea Party challenge, where contestants flipped two teabags attached to a ball cap onto the cap’s bill using only momentum from the movement of their head, saw the end of Ashlyn and Ross Southern, which left finalists Kelly and Shane Cross and Tamsyn and Kevin Gaynor. In the final, they had to build a three-tier tower with fifteen reams of paper, something the Gaynors, overall winners, managed first!

Winners and her Dad!

Tamsyn Gaynor

The popular Capstone camp has just taken place at Rocklands. The camp theme this year was based on Star Wars with the slogan: Saved, Transformed & Ready 4 Wars and and over 90 boys and girls from the two schools attended. A whole programme of events, talks, workshops, worship and chat times were planned to ensure a meaningful, fun weekend, the aim of which was to bring God into our lives.

The WGH & WBH Capstone Committees at Rocklands

WATERPOLO

We congratulate our U14A Waterpolo players who participated in their first tournament. They played hard, and it was evident that they were learning and improving as they played. Our team was publicly commended at the tournament for their team spirit and we congratulate them on flying the Wynberg banner high.

PITCAIRN TOURNAMENT

SWIMATHON

In the start of the waterpolo night series, Wynberg lost their first match, to Herschel. Then, in the league fixtures, all the Wynberg teams lost to their much stronger Herschel opponents. Wynberg players are to be commended on their valiant efforts and determination.

A ferocious waterpolo match was played in the swimming pool on Friday 15th between the 1st team and the staff and parents. A beautiful penalty goal scored by Australian gap student, Anna Wilson, put the staff well and truly in the lead. Then the students came back and won 11-10. A big thank you to Ms Faller, Mr Bodenstein, Ms De Mink and Anna Wilson for their willingness to participate in such a wonderful event.

Waterpolo match results

Wynberg 1sts vs the Staff

Mr Bodenstein, Ms de Mink, Ms Faller and Ms Hudson-Windsor preparing for their 50 length swimathon which they did with the 1st polo team. The money gained from their sponsors went towards the 1st team’s St Peters’ tour.

Back: Demi Steenkamp, Erin Slater, Christine Abrahamse, Natalie Zeelie (C), Chelsea Lassen, Chelsea Knipe, Alan Footman (Coach), Andra Hoole, Sam de Mink (Manager)

Front: Lauren Wiemers, Erin Lamoral, Kirsten Roodman, Lara Pollecutt

On Thursday 21 February, the Wynberg waterpolo players embarked on a waterpolo tour hosted by St Peter’s College in Johannesburg. South Africa’s Olympic gold medalists, rowers Matthew Bittain and Sizwe Ndlovu were guest speakers and made a lasting impression on our girls, who truly made every stroke count whilst battling it out in the pool. The tournament lasted 3 days, and our courageous Wynberg lionesses played 9 matches against schools from around the country. Although we finished 20th overall, we had one of the youngest sides at the tournament, with 8/11 players aged only 14. The heart shown by the team was noticed by many as they held their own against girls 4 years older, physically stronger, and with many

ST PETERS’ WATERPOLO TOUR

more years of waterpolo experience behind them. It was made very clear that over the next 3 years, WGHS is going to be a waterpolo force to be reckoned with. As always, Alan Footman is a phenomenal asset to the Wynberg family. His commitment to helping the girls lift their game and willingness to share with them his many years of experience, are only a few factors that make him such a fantastic coach. It is no wonder that he is so respected and admired by our players and within the greater waterpolo community. Another key ingredient was our new Head of Sport, Mrs Janice Hudson-Windsor. Together with the parents, a highly successful Swimathon was organised to raise funds. Special thanks also go to Mr Peter Bodenstein and to the dedicated 1st team parents, for their unwavering support throughout the season. It is with excitement that we look forward to the next waterpolo season, and hold true to the pact that was made in Johannesburg: “St Peters’ is going to be ours!”

Back: Caryn Stevens, Amy Foster, Sonja Stock, Jenalee Gentz, Melissa Makinson, Maryam Adams, Brittany Gutuza, Stephanie Scott, Ms Sinead Powers (coach)Front: Mr Peter Schutte (manager), Isobel Evans, Ashlyn Southern, Paige Seale,

Chantal Miller, Denver Johnston

The Swimming Team showed great team spirit, co-operation and dedication during this gala which took place on 21 February at Bishops. Acting captain, Astin le Roux, showed good leadership and enthusiasm. The atmosphere was uplifting seeing everyone supporting each other whilst they were swimming their races. Special congratulations to Maryam Adams who placed 3rd in the U14 freestyle race. Her enthusiasm and encouragement of others won the ‘swimmer of the day’ award. Overall, the U14s

BISHOPS’ GALA

Maryam Adams Zoe Koff Astin Le Roux

TENNIS

The 1sts led with an early short corner flick by Stephanie Lopes-Stuart but Pinelands equalised and then another quick goal put them in the lead. A Wynberg short corner was awarded thanks to a great set-up by Chelsea Lassen. Wynberg took full advantage and a second goal was scored by Zahra Dollie. With the score at 2-2, the 1st’s were determined to get their first win of the season, having drawn all their other games. A great partnership between Stephanie and Cara Geere produced a 3rd goal for Wynberg. The defence worked hard to keep the game controlled and to hold on for the win.The 2nd team won 4-0: goals were scored by Berzilee Pipes, Tasneem Rawoot and 2 by Nicole Alexander. This was a well deserved win. Their team is working well together and they keep improving every week. The 3rds took an early lead when Amaarah Hendricks set up Zoe Philips who scored a cracker of a goal. Pinelands then equalised and then another goal gave them the lead, 2-1. Lauren Jonathan displayed good goalie skills in the box. A perfectly place flick by Liz Ervens was unfortunately disallowed so the final score was 1-2.The 4ths dominated their game taking an early lead thanks to an Amina William’s hat-trick. Pinelands scored a goal but the Wynberg 4ths ran out 4-1 winners and must be congratulated on an extremely good result. The 5ths displayed some great Wynberg hockey by beating Pinelands an amazing 10-0! Well done!The 6ths had a tough game and matched Pinelands strength for strength, drawing 2-2 at the end. Well done to all the teams for displaying amazing hockey and showing great Wynberg spirit, all the coaches are extremely proud.

INDOOR HOCKEY

Results against Pinelands

Results against Fairmont: 1st’s drew 3-3; 2nd and 5th teams won, and the 3rd and 4th

teams narrowly lost their games.Results against Westerford:

1st’s drew 1-1, the 2nd’s won 1-0 in a very evenly-contested match, 3rd’s drew 0-0 and 5th’s lost 2-4.

Resultst against Fish Hoek:The 6th team lost their match 0-4.

were ranked 5th, the U16s and U19s 6th. This gave Wynberg a ranking of 6th overall. Wynberg is fortunate to have so many talented people passionate about their sport.

In their 3rd league matches, the 1st tennis team beat Springfield 5-1, St Cyprians 5-1, and Bergvliet 6-0. They are unbeaten in the league so far and are to be congratulated! The 2nd team continued the winning streak by beating Rustenburg 6-0.

The Junior tennis team had their first match of the season against Westerford. Wynberg quickly rose to the occasion to win both doubles and all their singles matches. Well done to them and thank you to the parents who came to support their daughters. We hope that this will be the beginning of a winning season for this team. Good luck, girls.

SYNCHRONISED SKATING

Congratulations to Kirsten Phillips, who has selected into Team Rainbow to

Other Results:

1sts drew 1-1 with St Cyprians, 2nds lost 1-2 to Reddam, and the 3rds lost 1-2 to the St Cyprians 2nd team.

ATHLETICS On 19 February, the WGHS Athletics team competed in the A League Interschools’ competition at the Velodrome in Bellville. Wynberg’s spirits were high as the girls took on South Peninsula, Grassy Park, Fish Hoek, Mondale,

Crystal House, Heathfield and Steenberg. Despite the rain, Wynberg’s athletes performed with strength and determination, and the team finished in 5th place,an improvement on previous years’ results. The following girls have been invited to participate at the Champs of Champs taking place this weekend: Jessica Stephens - long jump, high jump, 200m; Lauren Jonathan - 800m,1500m,3000m; Yeukai Chamba - Shotput; Anna Jacobs - Triple Jump, 400m, 800m;Anita Myeki - 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles; & Claire Wilkonson - High Jump. We are very proud of them and wish them good luck.

compete at the SA National Figure Skating Championships and to represent South Africa at the first official Junior World Synchronized Skating Championships in Helsinki, Finland, in March.Well done, Kirsten!