Dear Parents

The Grade Eights are already proving to be asset to our school, and we hope that they have found the transition to high school a fairly smooth one and that they, and you the parents, are already feeling part of the Wynberg family. We hope that the parents of Matrics have noticed an increased attention to their daughter's studying patterns, as the matric work is well under way.

"Cool"; "I met some kiff people"; "…the cricket was only fun hey…" These were some of the enthusiastic remarks elicited from the Grade Eights of 2000 in response to their orientation week.

Undeterred by sweltering heat, they romped through the Mini Olympics and cooled off in the pool afterwards. Action cricket and Netball proved a riotous affair with the Red Bulls and the Sexy Sixes trouncing the rest.

Photographs, orienteering, mind twisters – all were enthusiastically tackled by the school’s newest members. A family "Bring and Braai" was held ten days later on a balmy Thursday evening, during which parents were briefed on matters of school policy and administration. It proved a huge success. Volleyball, pool games and swing ball kept younger siblings entertained while the Grade 8 teachers socialised with new parents. Welcome Grade 8! Viva Grade 8!

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flowers, or join the Parents’ Association. We have an amazing team of educators and counsellors, who are committed to helping your daughter reach her full potential – please contact the school if we can be of assistance.

Wishing you a great year with us at Wynberg, and hoping to see you at the many events this term.

At last the November exam results are all but in. The delay was caused by several packets of scripts being mislaid in Britain’s Christmas / Millennium postage blitz. See, the South African postage service is not so bad after all !! Mishaps such as this are probably all in a day’s work for the Cambridge A Level crew, but they do nothing for my potential ulcer !!!

Maths, one of the most difficult A level subjects, had mixed results. Several students did well in Mechanics 1. The best by far was Gemma Patten, who did the unthinkable and achieved 100% for this paper. She also achieved a B for Mechanics 2, and a good C for Statistics 1. All of this, while she was achieving an A aggregate for Matric, which included, of course, an A for Maths. Well done, Gemma!!

Mr Gary Coombe was justifiably proud of his Accounting results. Kelly Pairman achieved an A , Taryn Hopwood a B, and Conrad Visser and Richard Geyer each achieved a C. Kelly’s and Taryn’s results are even more outstanding when one considers that they were both in Grade Eleven at the time.

Lisa Wormsley once again showed what an outstanding student she is. In English Literature, she was awarded two A’s, one of which was an amazing 94 % for 18th and 19th Century Writing. She also achieved an A for Statistics 1 and a B for Mechanics 1.

We are also delighted with Stefanie Palvie’s Chemistry results – she was awarded A’s for Environmental Chemistry and Chains and Rings – the optional modules.

The teachers are most of them A level veterans, ready to leap once more into this exciting world! Students are two weeks away from their first external international examinations, and beginning to realise that much hard work is needed. Hopefully their names will be among those recorded at the beginning of next year as having excelled.

To promote the effective use of the Xhosa Language, the Grade Eleven Xhosa class is compiling a book in the language. They meet once a week to work on it and are assisted by Ms Mpambo. They hope to produce it by the end of next term.

On Tuesday 8 February, the French Matric class saw a film in the Israeli-European film Festival at the Labia cinema. The film, "La Vérité si je mens" is set in the Sephardic community of Paris and gives a rather different view of French grammar and French life. The evening was most entertaining and my thanks go to the parents who accompanied/transported the girls. Merci beaucoup!

On Tuesday, 8 February, fifteen class captains from Grades Eight, Nine and Ten participated in a workshop at our Hockey Clubhouse, from 14:00 – 16:00.

The purpose of the workshop, run by Ms Cynthia de Wet and Ms Jane Malan, was to help class captains to understand their role as class leaders and to promote their effectiveness.

About a week after the workshop, each participating class captain received a folder containing the material from the afternoon’s course, and a certificate confirming that she has served as a class captain and that she participated in the workshop.

The follow-up date for this workshop is Tuesday, 20 June, when the class captains will meet with their class teachers and the workshop facilitators, to assess what they have accomplished as class leaders.

Once again, we extend our sincere thanks to Mrs Jenny Inglesby and Mrs Shirley Cartmel. Mrs Inglesby, our administrator, always ensures, most efficiently, that the equipment needed for the workshops is provided and in place before we start. Mrs Cartmel, our tuckshop supervisor, provides the refreshments that are so greatly appreciated by the girls. This time, the chocolate chip cookies were voted the best ever !

One the 7 February the first group of Junior Prefects was announced and these girls start a four-week training course run by the current Prefects. The Junior Prefects find out more about the responsibilities of being a prefect and prepare themselves for the interview and application to be a prefect that follows later on in the year. We wish these girls well in their time of office

7 February – 3 March

by Miki Lawrence

On Wednesday 9 February, voting for the new Representative Council of Learners (R.C.L.) took place at various venues around the school.

After a strictly controlled democratic process, whereby all pupils from each grade were given the chance of nominating their peers to represent their interests at R.C.L. meetings and on the governing body, voting by secret ballot followed during an assembly period. Later, learners were invited to observe the counting of the ballot papers in the school hall.

It gives us great pleasure to announce the Representative Council of Learners for the year 2000:

Grade Eight

Grade Nine

Grade Ten

Grade Eleven

Grade Twelve

The Web Committee has been working hard this year to redesign the website. Apart from a reassigning of portfolios to the members of the committee, we have elected Sian Bester as chairperson, and Samantha Fordred has offered her services as secretary. We welcome onto the committee Tarryn Lawrence, Lauren Reid and Frankie Lombard.

Possibly one of the most important things that has been done this year is the establishing of a Wynberg Website membership list. Through this we are able to let this part of the Wynberg Cyber community know when there is some new or exciting on our website. We have embedded our first video clips, and have established links to other print media. We have redesigned the site, so that the latest items of interest appear on our home page, and so that the establishing of a Wynberg Cyber Community is seen to be a priority of ours. The latest news about the school can always be found there.

We are in the process of establishing www.wynghs.co.za as a site of excellence in education. Using the revision programme published in The Argus, and endorsed by our MEC, Helen Zille, we aim to publish teaching material, results of that teaching, and will establish links to other educational sites which we believe offer the Wynberg (or any other) students outstanding teaching.

The Internet Society continues to flourish as a society, although we are delighted to report that more and more of the Wynberg students are using the computer room for educational and academic use. While it was used in the past almost exclusively for personal and social reasons, there are a number of students who are improving their skills in the areas of processing, publishing and researching.

It would be remiss of the teachers in charge of the Internet Society not to give credit to our very able and reliable Computer Assistants. Co-ordinated by Amina Ismail, the team of assistants includes:

They give of their time and skills every afternoon of the week, and are available to offer assistance to newcomers to the Internet Society in areas ranging from research, to processing to scanning and laminating.

This year promises to be an exciting and busy time for the Drama Department. The new Grade Eights have shown a great interest and plenty of talent.

2000 is the year in which WBHS hosts the major production. Many of our girls are involved and we look forward to their musical revue. We also have girls participating in the SACS and Bishops productions. Well done and good luck to them all.

The Grade Elevens are directing this year's house plays for the second term. They are busy finding suitable scripts, and auditions for Grades Eight to Eleven will be held in the next couple of weeks.

Grade Tens and Elevens are making movies. Their project involves using the whole class in an eight-minute home-movie. Their subjects are varied and very interesting. It is great to see so many girls working together and coming up with such creative ideas. We look forward to some award-winning material.

The extra-drama girls are getting warmed up and work-shopping ideas for the Cape Town Eisteddfod at the Nassau Centre in May.

In the second week of the first term, we held the annual Prize Giving Ceremony for the 1999 Grade Eights to Elevens. The Junior Prize Giving (for the 1999 Grade Eight and Nine students) was held first, and the prizewinners, their friends and families were welcomed by Mrs McEwen. Our guest speaker was Ms Bronwen Howell , an ex-pupil who recently returned from a year in Denmark as a Rotary Exchange student.. She was also our Dux pupil in the Senior Certificate Examinations two years ago.

The Senior Prize Giving Ceremony, for the 1999 Grade Ten and Eleven students was held next. On this occasion, prizewinners, parents, friends and relatives were addressed by guest speaker Mr John Penberthy, Chairman of the Governing Body. One of the innovations this year was the awarding of a certificate to the student in each grade, who had improved her aggregate the most. Another was the awarding of book prizes for the third, second and Dux positions.

Western Province Swimmers

A Team U16 - Bevin Reynolds;

B Team U16 - Kelly Bevan;  U14 - Candice van Zyl;

C Team U19 - Lauren Spira; Lorraine Macdonald;  U14 - Sharon Marle, Margot Hoale, Cleo Lawrence, Tessa Fredericks, Tawny Reynolds, K Servaas

Alexis Solomon will represent the Western Province at the SA National Development Aquatic Championship from 22-27 February in Germiston. 

Janine Scout will attend the SA National Development Aquatic Championship from 22-27 February in Germiston as an official.

Nicole de Vries has been selected to represent Western Province at the SA national Development Aquatic Championship from 22-27 February.

More than three hundred swimmers swam qualifying times but only the best 120 swimmers were selected and she was one of them.

WP Representatives in Synchronised Swimming

U19 Jade Peters; Janine Scout

U16 Michaela Nevin

Open B Section

Leanne Johanssan; Catherine Knight; Sylvannde Robillard

Wynberg Girls' High School hosts an A and B swimming team, and remains unbeaten in the Thursday galas. The A team won the co-ed gala held at Newlands on 9 February and we salute their efforts.

The swimming squad spent a profitable weekend in Stellenbosch training on the 11^th - 13^th February.

We look forward to your support at the PGSGU Interschool swimming gala to be held on Wednesday, 1 March. It is a compulsory gala for Grade Eight pupils, but we would value the support of all those interested. We will also be swimming two home galas on 9 and 16 March.

Kim Else

The results of the matches played by our Waterpolo team are as follows:

The First Team played against Fairbairn and won 8-3 and also defeated Camps Bay soundly.

The Second Team played against Fairbairn and won 7-2; and when we played against Camps Bay, we won 6-4.

Royal Cape Yacht Club was all-abuzz on the 8 January 2000 as spectators, family, press and competitors all rushed around doing last minute preparations.

After our last farewells we untied our yacht for the last time for twenty-one days and left the jetty and yacht club behind us.

Just to make the good-byes even worse, my friends on "The Better Connection" played the song 'Time to say good-bye' constantly.

The start was as I had predicted: there was hardly any wind, and as the start gun sounded, all the yachts bobbed over the line to herald a not-very-exciting-start!

Luckily after about three hours, we managed to get a good twenty-four knots of breeze and hoisted our spinnaker. By the next morning land was nowhere in sight.

We were out on the ocean for twenty-one days, so I am going to just tell you about a few of the unforgettable experiences.

The first two days were quite enjoyable, despite the fact that the boat was at an uncomfortable angle and that we were broaching all the time (broaching is when the boat falls on its side, but can be corrected by steering into wind.)

After one day of no wind, we hit the high-pressure system and with that strong winds and big waves. (Also flying fish and dolphins)

For another three days we had to battle 30-35 knots of wind and swell that ranged for 8 - 10 metres.

On one of the days, we hit a 40-knot squall and broached quite heavily. During that broach, our skipper slipped and fractured his leg. This put him out of action and bunk-bound for five days.

The Island was an amazing sight - probably because it was our first sighting of land in sixteen days. At the Island Robert managed to catch a huge Yellow Fin Tuna, which was greatly appreciated by the crew, as by this stage we were all sick to death of irradiated food.

We took five days to get from the Island to Rio de Janeiro, and during these five days we encountered some bad storms and absolutely no wind. We had two days of sailing through thunder, lightning, rain and constant squalls of 40 knots (quite scary at times)

One day before Rio, we hit a patch of no wind and were making absolutely no progress towards our final destination. (It was dreadful to be able to see Rio, but have no way of getting there fast)

In the end, the wind did find us (or we found the wind) and we finished on the 29 January at 5:00pm Rio time.

Representing South Africa in the qualifiers for the Olympics

Ms Michelle Edwards has just returned from Bulgaria, where she represented South Africa in the qualification Badminton tournament for the Olympic games.

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DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Sporting events and fixtures

Autumn Fair

AUTUMN FAIR

on 23 March

WE KNOW HOW TO DO IT!!

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