Dear Parents

We have come to the end of a term that has been filled with both sadness and joy. We mourn with the Schwartz family the tragic loss of their daughter Candice, but even in this sadness, we were made more aware of the Wynberg family and the compassion and support that our young girls shared during this time.

"We need more boxes over here."

"Sticky tape…."

"Where's the sticky tape."

Between Monday 6 and Tuesday, 14 March, Wynberg Girls' High embarked on a joint venture with the other three Wynberg Schools. Our aim was to fill a storage container of clothing for the people in Mozambique, who have recently been faced with a natural disaster.

The Representative Council of Learners, who co-ordinated this endeavour, together with tons of eager volunteers, managed to fill approximately 80 boxes.

Special thanks go out to all those who supported the cause with great spirit and enthusiasm.

The Wynberg High and Junior schools filled a grand total of 390 boxes.

holidays. We appeal to you as parents to encourage your daughters to settle down and work at full pace from day one, as we will be fully utilising these teaching days. We remind you that all pupils are required to attend school on Tuesday 25 and Wednesday, 26 April, and that excursions and worksheets completed on these days will form part of their continuous evaluation mark for the year. An English examination will be written on Thursday, 20 April and the mid-year exams start on Monday, 29 May.

We wish you a pleasant few days with your daughters at home and look forward to their safe return next term.

Regards

This year twenty-one of our pupils entered and wrote the English Olympiad. Women in Poetry was the focus this year and, from the viewpoint of our girls, a particularly interesting theme to explore. Studying poems from the perspectives of women and men, the candidates explored perceptions of women, gender roles, gender stereotypes and language and gender.

An informal function was held to welcome our new A levels candidates and their parents at the Alf Morris Centre on 24 February. On this occasion, students and their parents were given a chance to meet their lecturers and to talk about the courses they were studying in a relaxed and informal setting.

‘n Afrikaanse poësie-prosawedstryd is die begin van die jaar deur die Departement Afrikaans en Nederlands en Drama van die Universiteit van Stellenbosch georganiseer. Afrikaanse uitgewers het as beoordelaars opgetree.

Riëtte het met haar gedig Maandag-Geskiedenis les 4 derde prys verower. Volgens die hooforganiseerder van die Woordfeeskomitee is dit ‘n buitengewone prestasie aangesien die mededinging van ‘n baie hoë gehalte was. Ons is trots op haar prestasie aangesien studente sowel as leerlinge ingeskryf het.

Hierdie fees bied die ideale geleentheid vir opkomende jong skrywers om aandag op hul eie werk te vestig.

We are delighted to announce that the following Grade Twelve students were awarded Full Academic Colours this year. In order to achieve this they needed to have attained an aggregate of more than 80% for both their June and Final examinations last year.

For those who achieve aggregates of greater than 70% Academic Half Colours is awarded and we commend these Grade Twelve students, who did this last year.

New Awards

Re Awards

The following Grade Eleven pupils were awarded Full Academic Colours for the work produced when they were in Grade Ten in 1999, and we commend them on their fine achievement. Again, in order to do so, they needed to have achieved an aggregate of higher than 80%

Tamzin Bassett
Lindsay Cameron-Dow
Beth Durham
Yusrah Francis
Kate Gerhardt
Nicole Henderson
Saskia Kemp
Angelique Lottering
Thandi Maquebela
Tasneem Parker
Lisa Price
Melissa Richards
Tamsin Timmins
Shelly van Dyk
Emily Veitch

Kim joined Wynberg in 1998 and has run a very efficient and organised Physical Education and Sport Department for the short time that she has been at Wynberg. She has been very successful in increasing the numbers of pupils who participate in exercise programmes offered at the school and during her time here, re-introduced Cricket and Aerobics, and organised a second Swimming team.

She has played a large part in the motivation and success of our numerous sports teams. Our swimming team has not lost a gala in all the years that Kim has been here. The Netball team won the Interschool league last year. She has also coached successful Water Polo and Tennis Teams.

She has worked very hard at establishing routine and participation in Physical Education lessons and has run her department with enthusiasm. She has been a committed and enthusiastic member of staff, always having the interests of the girls at heart. She will be sorely missed by all who were coached by her.

We wish her the very best of luck and happiness for the future.

Gavin Roman joined us at the beginning of the year to teach Maths and Science. In the short time he was with us, he became involved in all aspects of school activities and was full of enthusiasm and new ideas. We are sorry to lose him, but hope that he will be very happy in his new job.

He is joining the staff of Home Choice in Claremont where he will be analysing data for credit ratings. This is a highly skilled job and one in which Gavin is sure to succeed.

We are sad to say goodbye to Mrs Heather Illingworth who joined the staff of Wynberg in January 1998 to teach junior English and Lifeskills.

The English Department will miss Mrs Illingworth, as will her pupils, who have grown to love her for her warmth, sympathy and understanding. Although she has been with us for only two years and a term, it feels as though we have known her always.

Mrs Illingworth is immigrating to the UK with her husband and their two sons and we wish them health, happiness and success in their new environment.

Mrs Illingworth is leaving the English Department in a blaze of glory – not only has she done the terrifying "Cobra" ride at Ratanga Junction, but she recently participated in the Argus/Pick n’ Pay Cycle Tour and completed the challenging route well within the prescribed time – and without a sign of stiffness at school on Monday morning!

Barbara and JB Swart have been the Superintendents of Waterloo House since January 1998. Sadly, we must say farewell to them at the end of this term.

During the time they have spent as superintendents they have made some popular changes. Boarders are now allowed to return after a weekend on a Monday morning, fun excursions have been planned for termly boarders during weekends, house spirit has been encouraged with fun events and a formal Prefect Induction dinner has become part of the end of year functions. They have also marketed the hostel as a Bed & Breakfast during holidays and long weekends, thus raising much-needed finance for the maintenance programme and the special extras. 

We thank them for the way in which they have been "parents" to the eighty girls in their care. They have always been willing to go the extra mile and share themselves and their family with the hostel girls and staff. Our best wishes accompany Barbara, JB and their boys in this next phase of life. You will be missed.

Once again Wynberg is reaching out to those in need and revealing its active support for environmentally friendly behaviour.

This time, it is offering its support to a school in a community (in the Cape Metropole), which has been identified in the Homestead Report and the Human Science Research Council Report published in 1998 as being in need of support. Schools in advantaged communities, by collecting Duens bread bags from the middle of March to the middle of June for recycling, will be supporting their fellow students in disadvantaged communities. Wynberg stands the chance of winning upgrades to the value of R250 000 for one of these schools simply by collecting the most Duens bread bags.

On Monday 28 February Wynberg opened its doors to prospective students. Hundreds visited the school between three and five. As the parents were trailed by the news-gatherers of the school, they overheard wonderful comments. We were delighted to hear that after visiting Wynberg some said that their search was over, that they had found the school for them. Another was heard to have said that "she didn't just like it, she loved it!" (We felt that it was okay to be rated with South African Cricket!) And the last comment, which perhaps was most endearing, was a Grade Seven pupil's exclaiming that she had arrived home!

MOTHERS WHO CARE

Mothers Who Care consists of a small group of Christian mothers who believe in the power of prayer. Their primary objective is to provide prayer support for the learners and educators at Wynberg. They believe in God’s ability and willingness to help and bless. They can be called upon in confidence at any time for emotional, spiritual or practical support.

The group led by Mrs Karen Pike meets at school on a Thursday from 1:30pm to 2:30pm. At present, prayer requests are placed in a box in the staff room. The prayer items, which may be written anonymously, are treated in the strictest confidence. Urgent requests are conveyed to the members of the prayer group by telephone.

Wynberg was deeply saddened at the loss of one of her Grade Nine pupils earlier this month. Grappling to come to terms with its meaning, her class and friends planned a moving service at the school to pay tribute to a person they loved dearly. Her friends talked of her warmth, her generosity of spirit. They talked of her mischievous sense of humour and all mentioned her winning smile, the long ponytail down the length of her back and the sparkling eyes behind the glasses. Ms Anderson, Mrs Harding and Mrs Else spoke of her and reflected on the richness she brought into all of our lives.

WOMEN'S WORLD DAY OF PRAYER

"Talitha, kumi!" or "Young Woman, Stand Up!"

This was the theme of the Women’s World Day of Prayer on Friday 3 March.

When visiting Capstone, you would probably get quite a fright, as we are not as quiet as you might have thought. For many years now, Capstone has been a lively group of people who are not ashamed of what they believe.

This term started off slowly. We had a few meetings which were relatively down to earth and then, (here comes the point where things became exciting) we had the Grade Eight braai. What could be more exciting than 80 girls and boys in Grade Eight, throwing each other into the school pool, telling corny jokes and eating the most delicious meat (braaied by the committee of course)? Everyone made at least one new friend that day.

Our regular Friday meetings became much more exciting from that moment on. We started to embarrass ourselves thoroughly by playing games before the meetings. Our focus in those meetings has been passion and we had various speakers come in to speak about their passions and how to become more passionate for God. We also had to talk about passion for the wrong things. And just because we are the group of people we are, we had to eat chocolates and sweets through most of these meetings.

On the 5 February, we then had our next braai for all Capstone members. This was held at Helen's house and once again, we threw people into the pool, told corny jokes, met new friends and we ate the best meat. (Once again, braaied by the committee!) We also watched The Castle, an Australian comedy filled with those corny jokes you can only laugh at after 1 am in the morning.

We are now going off to our annual camp and because we are such a wild bunch of people, we have chosen the theme, Born to be Wild. We are all hoping to have a great time doing stuff like throwing people into the pool, telling corny jokes and meeting new friends.

And what's the lesson to this article? (Because at Capstone, we believe you can learn something through everything you do!) You don't need to have a braai to throw people into the pool, tell corny jokes and make friends. Come to Capstone and this could happen at anytime!

The youth leadership group of twenty-five have successfully completed the first four sessions of the programme. The evenings are full of fun, challenges and opportunities and the participants are most enthusiastic.

The committee running the first four sessions was headed by the President, Michaela Nevin, secretary, Klee Barris, and the Sergeant at Arms was Lauren Seaman. They all fulfilled their duties very ably.

Interesting workshops were held on the art of evaluation, listening skills and the importance of body language when giving a prepared or impromptu speech.

The participants have noticeably improved their communication skills and with increased confidence, their leadership skills. We look forward to completing the sessions next term and especially the final graduation meeting.
                                                                                                          O

GAVEL CLUB

O

 PARENTS' ASSOCIATION APPEAL

The PA is collecting old printing cartridges. Please don't throw them away. Send them to your PA who will send them on to Toptronics , who will recycle them in return for free computers and as well as limited supplies of free ink and toner cartridges

On the 13 and 14 of March five of our pupils attended the Western Cape Schools Festival for Grade Elevens. This is an annual project of the Grahamstown Foundation and is a two-day festival of the arts and culture in South Africa. This year 830 pupils from all around the Western Cape attended. From our school were Tarryn Lawrence, Portia Kambi, Robyn Swart, Girisha Naidoo and Nikki Ramages. The festival was held at the Nico MalanTheatre Centre and consisted of various drama workshops and performances of a variety of South African theatre.

The thirteen drama workshops were varied and there was definitely something for everyone. You could go on a "Techno Trot" and learn about what goes on behind the scenes at the Nico, learn the skill of debating in 'Mass - Debate your mind', learn all about using puppets in 'Puppet Moves', discover music in 'Music Mania - from Rock to Reggae', delve into gender studies in the 20th century in 'Woman are from Venus ... Men are from Mars' and even develop your improvisation skills in 'Theatresports', to name but a few of the workshops which were available.

We were also able to watch a variety of South African theatre. This included Isiquiti, a play about Apartheid, set on Robben Island and Sitting Man, a one-man show that explores the various stereotypes that exist in South Africa There were performances by Jazz Art dance and the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra. Stellenbosch University students entertained us with 'Masque Rave', which was comprised of a selection of poems presented in a modern way. On the second day there was a choice of performances to attend. 'Meet Joe Barber', 'Othello', 'UCT Gladiators and Theatresports were the options. The choice was also given between 'Buckingham Palace; District Six', or' A Circus Myth'.

This year the music department was fortunate to acquire the services of a talented, young teacher, Ms Virginia Syndercombe. She teaches and plays the piano, flute and recorder, accompanies the two choirs and is in charge of a recorder ensemble as well as the athletics of the school. The latter achievement must surely rank as a first in the history of WGHS.

The results of the Royal School's examinations were celebrated in a flurry of certificates being handed out during assembly. Twelve pass and six merit certificates were awarded in the theory and practical components. Penny Hsu received an exceptional distinction in her piano examination

Boudine Groenewald
O

 The annual first term music concert took place Thursday, 16 March and once again it was sobering to reflect on the depth of talent of the Wynberg girls.

In the first term, the emphasis is on technique, therefore the quality of the performances was most impressive. A great variety of solo items, various ensembles (including a string quartet and a recorder and guitar group) and performances by the orchestra and two choirs were among the items on the programme. The versatility of our girls was revealed as they moved from one instrument to another and then sang in the choir with consummate ease.

The performances of the choir and chamber choir were outstanding, and the audience showed their appreciation with enthusiastic applause. It is clear that programmes such as these. Well done to the Music Department Staff, the music pupils and thank you to all the supporters and parents for a most enjoyable evening.

BAINS KLOOF 12-13 February

On a hot Saturday morning, a group of pupils and staff set off for the Mountain Club property at Bains Kloof. It was to be a laid back weekend, but not without excitement. Our first hike was brief. We were lucky enough to see a stunningly colourful puffadder, which must have recently shed its skin. Not so fortunately, it lay right across our path, but did move off languidly. The pace got our temperatures rising, but we were soon cooling ourselves in gorgeous, fresh mountain pools. The highest of these became the site for the founding of an exclusive group, who will henceforth be known as the Tadpole Society. The isolation in the mountains, the pools with their many fish, and the little waterfalls were all part of this weekend. The rocks in the pools were very slippery and this of course, resulted in countless hours of sliding, falling, splashing and much, much laughter all round.

Saturday evening was peaceful and although the clouds threatened and we never saw the stars, we did not have rain. Sleep was eventually achieved following close encounters with millipedes, an ominous looking rock and shadow.

On Sunday morning, after a refreshing dip in the nearby pools, we headed back to the bus and ice creams in Wellington.

Many wonderful memories were made on this short but relaxing hike.

Tammy Baudains
(Founder of the Tadpole Society.)

I was wrong....

It was in actual fact ... a cave!!

But the astonishment wore off quickly enough as the more experienced hikers sat back and giggled at the newcomers trying to cook on a gas stove, bringing vast containers of food, boxes of milk and a variety of non-essential luxuries. Not to mention Toni's two-ton pot that she ended up hiding and fetching when we returned on the Sunday, as it was seriously heavy. After supper we all found our respective sleeping places, and as the sun set and the stars came out someone said, "Aren't there leopards in these mountains?" Suffice to say that we didn't get much sleep after that - as well as the fact that sleeping on an incline which was extremely uncomfortable as I found myself at the bottom of a ditch every five minutes.

But the next morning at 6:30am we were up and ready to go. We stopped twice, for breakfast and tea, at lovely cool pools where fish nibbled our toes.

We arrived at our next stop at about lunchtime. This time it was a verandah of a locked house, not a cave. After dumping our heavy packs we started a hot trek to Die Hel. But it was as far from hell as is possible. It was paradise. A huge, cool pool with waterfall, surrounded by large ferns and bat caves. It is the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen in one place. It was like touching the entire world. Then heaven ended and we understood "die hel" part – it was leaving.

That night as we settled down for bed - a few of us sleeping on the ground rather than the verandah - out of the wilderness came bull, cow and a calf. Eventually the bull left, but only after many fearful minutes involving myself, the bull, my red sleeping shorts and Belinda wanting to pat the calf... in the end we all slept on the safe height of the verandah.

The last day was horribly hot but fortunately we were cooled by visits to two more pools. Keeping up a great pace, we stopped only to pick up Toni's hidden pot.

Every Wednesday, during big break, while everyone else is enjoying their lunch, eighteen dedicated senior girls meet in the computer room along with their committed and enthusiastic co-ordinator, Ms Orpen. Here the construction, planning, and designing of our schools’ impressive website takes place with Ibtehaaj Diedericks (Chairperson) and Faaiqa Gamieldien (Secretary) at the helm.

These hardworking girls give up not only their breaks, but also the better part of their afternoons. This they do to keep the website up-to-date, by reporting on current events in and around the school. We work hard to make sure that visitors to our website always feel welcome and have something new to learn about the school and her active learners.

Not only does the site contain helpful information about the school but is in the process of transforming itself into an educational resource for all learners as well. We have started establishing links to sections of the Matric Revision timetable, which was put out by The Argus earlier this year. At the moment, the only links are for English, but a number of our dedicated committee members are searching the web for excellent teaching sites in other subjects.

Further developments in the pipeline include the publishing of the best of our academic project work on our own website. We intend submitting the best of these projects to MWeb's World-Class school reference site. Further than this, a number of enthusiastic designers intend entering the Sunday Times Web Design competition.

We are fortunate indeed that Dr Chris Higgo, designer of the Sunesi website, has agreed to come to the school next term to address the web committee and those entering the Sunday Times competition. He will not only critique our website, but give us some design tips and point us to some of the freeware available on the Internet for Web Design.

We salute our the achievements of our Students in the following areas

 SHOW JUMPING

Sam O'Connor
1^st Junior Open Equitation
2^nd JA Championships

Roxanne Lautenbach
2^nd Junior Open Equitation

Whitney O'Connor
1^st JC Championship
2^nd Junior Intermediate Equitation

Lee Dunbar
1^st Children's Open Equitation

SWIMMING - ALL AFRICA CHALLENGE CHAMPIONSHIP

Nicole de Vries was selected to participate in the all Africa Challenge Championship in Newcastle from 9-13 March.

WESTERN PROVINCE AQUATICS.

We congratulate the following girls who have been selected to participate in the South African National Aquatics Championships to be held in Durban from 31 March - 4 April. They will participate in the synchronized swimming section of aquatics.

Kim McGregor (Grade Twelve )
Figures, Solo, Duet and Team Routine

GAIL GETS GOLD

The South African Masters Swimming Championships were held at Newlands Pool last week from 16-18 March. Masters swimmers from South Africa, the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries took part.

Nikki Searle, a Grade Eleven pupil has been selected to represent Western Province at the South African Freshwater Artificial Lure Angling Championships. This tournament will be held at Albert Falls Dam in Kwazulu Natal from 5-15 April.

This is the fourth year in a row that Nikki has been selected to represent Western Province at this sport. This year she achieved first position in the Western Province Junior League Competitions. She will also captain the junior side. Her angling achievements are most impressive.

As the water polo season draws to a close, the girls can look back on a season filled with excitement, some closely contested matches and a shared enthusiasm for a fantastic sport. Wynberg has again confirmed its position as one of the top three girls' schools playing Water polo in the Western Cape.

Congratulations to the U15 side who made it to the finals of the Morelli Cup and then played wonderfully positive water polo against Herschel, Westerford and Fairbairn to win the final game against Fairbairn. In doing so, our U15 team made history for Wynberg and walked away proudly with the prestigious cup. We salute Leanne Janse van Rensburg, her coach and her team.

Well done also to the first team who, under the excellent leadership of Captain Natalie Burls, made it to the semi-finals of the Waller Cup, eventually losing 2-6 to Herschel and ending third in the competition.

The results for this term are as follows

DIVING

The swimmers have enjoyed an extremely successful season, and have finished the season winning every gala they participated in. The B team also worked very hard and on occasions managed to beat the A team in certain events. On 1 March WGHS participated in the Peninsula Girls' Schools Games Union gala held at Newlands. WGHS won 11 events and 3 trophies. The results were

Wynberg competed at the USSASA High School Championships held at the Newlands Pool on the 4^th March.

In the U19 section

Jade Peters came 1^st in the Figures and 1^st in the Solo sections out of nineteen competitors.

Janine Scout came 4^th in the Figures and 1^st in the Solo Sections out of eighteen competitors

Wynberg Girls' Indoor hockey is on a roll! We played at Herschel on Friday afternoon, and won the Indoor Interschools for the 3rd year running!

We beat Rustenberg 2-0, Herschel 2-1, and St Cyprians 2-0 and drew to Springfield 0-0.

Interhouse indoor hockey was played on Thursday afternoon 16 March at the South African Defence Force sports hall. Apsley won, winning all their games, followed by Copenhagen, Wellesley and Waterloo.

Road Running got off to a wonderful start this summer. The group consisted of fifteen very enthusiastic girls who became increasingly fit as the season progressed. Bouwer Road at the start of the season presented quite a challenge to our runners but by the end they were cruising up Bouwer, Wynberg Hill and Klaasens Road, and asking if that was the warm up!

On Friday afternoons, the beach runs were well supported. The run was usually followed by the building of sandfigures, admiring the local scenery and swimming. We look forward to hitting the road again next summer!

On Sunday 12 March, nine pupils and two members of staff took part in the Argus Pick n' Pay Cycle Tour 2000. For the first time, Wynberg entered an official cycling team. This team was to compete against schools from all over the country. Robyn Penberthy, Sharon Marle, Leanne Marle and Kate Goosen are our team-members.

Mrs Illingworth and Ms McCarthy (G) also took to the roads, showing great perseverance (in the opinion of the students!) and sportsmanship set a wonderful example for others to follow in the years to come. Unfortunately Ms McCarthy broke her arm (in great style) not during the race, but at the finish! The cycling team wishes her a quick recovery.

The past season was very exciting and enjoyable with all the teams playing their matches with great determination and sportsmanship. Our practices were also very enjoyable with some of the teams practising early in the morning, before school. Although players themselves and the quality of their playing were rather dubious (because of the time of day), Wynberg can be very proud of the commitment revealed by her tennis teams!

All our teams have performed extremely competitively and have obtained excellent results.

We recently hosted Interschools and all our players did very well, with the senior teams finishing second. Congratulations to our 4^th couple, who won every match they played that day. Clearly, they won their section! The Grade Eights Interschools also went very well. They displayed fine sportsmanship and enthusiasm and came in fourth. Congratulations to the 4^th couple who have also won their section with the most games so far!

The first term was busy and exciting with the new Grade Eights and new girls joining the hostel, and the rest of the hostel settling into their new jobs and getting used to their added responsibilities. The new girls all seem to have settled in very well and the hostel has been a happy place this term. We also welcomed our new boarder mistress Sarah Munn. We hope she will have a happy stay at Waterloo House.

The Grade Elevens have started with their fundraising for the Christmas Party and the year promises to be full of exciting events. The prefects went on a camp to Monkey Valley and had fun braaing, abseiling and visiting the Imax. It was a real treat to see them all bond so well.

The Matrics went out for their termly dinner, and there was much fun and laughter. The Matrics have been very supportive and a real comfort to us this term and we wish them well for the rest of this important year. I am sure they will achieve what they have set out to do.

The termly boarders were kept busy with the usual weekend events. (Wynberg Boys' High School food fair, Cavendish, Greenmarket Square to name a few events.) They also spent lots of time at the swimming pool with the sweltering heat that we experienced.

The matrons, Mr Jackson, boarder mistresses, kitchen staff and study teachers all went that extra mile to make this term a successful and happy one. We thank them all for their support and commitment over the past two years and wish them well in the future.

We would like to thank the parents for all their support and kindness over the past two years. Without the support of the parents, our time in Waterloo House would not have been as fulfilling. The gratitude shown by the parents was very heart warming, and we do hope that it is known that it was a pleasure to care for your daughters.

Our family has loved every minute of our time at Waterloo House, and each and every person involved with the house will always have a special place in our hearts.

We wish each and every one of you success, love and happiness and hope that you will always be a part of our lives.

The re-union of the class of 1950 at Wynberg Girls' High, Aliwal Road, Wynberg will be held on Founders' Day 15 September 2000.

We will be met at the Reception area at 9h45 and will be given tea before we attend assembly from 11h00-12h00.

The assembly will centre on the Matric class of 1950. General tea will follow. Either before of after assembly we will be free to walk around the school premises and watch the sports events organised on the day.

At 13h00 we will be meeting for lunch at the

Mowbray Golf Club
Raapenberg Road
Mowbray

If anyone who was in the Matric class in 1950 and would like to attend the re-union on 15 September, please send a crossed cheque for R65.00 made payable to JM Smuts.

Send this to

before 31 July

NB Please state you maiden name, present surname, title, address and phone number. We really look forward to hearing from you and seeing you on the day.The R65.00 will cover all expenses including lunch, postage but does not include transport. Free lifts will be offered on the day.