Dear Parents

Think left and think right,
And think low and think high,
Oh, the thinks you can think
If only you try!
                                ~ Dr Zeuss ~

A fitting quote as we approach the exams at Wynberg! So often pupils try to cram all the work into their heads the night before. This results in a regurgitation of rote-learnt facts without the students reading the questions and thinking before answering. The current approach to examining a subject is to find out how much a pupil can think, analyse and understand, and we hope that our girls will use the above approach when they answer those questions!

We continue to encourage our girls to think and to experience life on many different levels and to gain the maximum benefit from being schooled at an institution such as Wynberg. They will soon be encouraged to think about the leadership portfolios for next year and we encourage them to engage in debate with the RCL, school leaders and staff as we examine the benefits of the new system and the ways in which we should adapt it for the year 2005. We also request that parents engage with us in shaping the future of Wynberg to ensure that it continues to send skilled and thinking individuals into their future.

Warm regards

Shirley Harding

No pressure, girls ! We hope you collectively put your best feet forward and show Ms Suckling that Wynberg continues to produce outstanding dancers. 

Despite the fact that we did not make the first three places, our team acquitted themselves well and had a great deal of fun in the process.

Miki Lawrence

HONOUR BEFORE HONOURS 

In order to recognise the work and service to the school that is done during the year, four trophies were made, one for each of the four pillars: Academic, Sport, Culture and Service. The school looked to the classics for inspiration, and eventually selected Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and Learning for the Academic pillar; Demeter, Goddess of Agriculture and Fertility for Service; Orpheus, legendary singer and musician for Culture, and the Discobolus, representative of perfection of the human body in Athletics, for the pillar of Sport. 

Eric Tollner, a Cape Town Goldsmith was commissioned to design and make the trophies based on these four figures. Each of these silver figurines are fixed into specially selected pieces of rock from Chapman's peak and then attached to a base made of a beautiful dark Imbuia wood, which contrasts with the brightness of the silver figure and the plaque. On 3 May, history was made as these trophies were awarded for the first time. 

Nominations for these awards are invited from the entire school - staff and pupils. These nominations and formal motivations are then given to the heads of each of the four pillars. After assessing the nomination and motivation of all candidates, the heads of the four pillars bring their proposed candidates to a formal meeting with the other heads of the pillars, the two deputy principals and the principal of the school. 

In April 2004, the first recipients of these prestigious awards were:

Stacey Lewis : Culture Pillar 
Yumna Moosa : Academic Pillar
Tamlin Wightman : Service Pillar 
Nicole de Vries : Sport Pillar

The story is basically a lesson in gambling vs. “the right way to live” – this “right way” comes in the form of the Salvation Army's persistant efforts to make a positive impression on New York’s notorious gamblers of the 1930’s. Set in New York, the story follows two couples: Nathan Detroit and Miss Adelaide (Etienne Davis and Kerryn Lancaster), and Skye Masterson and Sarah Brown (Rodney Hannsen and Refiloe Sesele). 

Nathan – engaged to his fiancé Adelaide for 14 years – makes a bet with master-gambler Skye, that he would not be able to get a girl of his (Nathan’s) choosing to go with Skye on a trip to Havana. Of course Skye takes up the challenge and a girl is chosen. This girl is Sarah Brown – a Sergeant of the Salvation Army, trying to convince New York’s men that gambling is wrong. What seems like an extremely difficult bet to win marks just the start of complications, broken hearts, a lesson in love, a prayer meeting at the Save-A-Soul Mission with gamblers and Salvation Army alike … and a happy ending. 

Told through song and dance, the story is entertaining to the very end. Other important characters were Nathan’s friends, played with comic excellence by Edward O’Reilly, James Dickie Clark, Jan de Waal and Andrew Mandy; Big Jule,played by Richard Mandy; Arvide, played by Tilldan Bungani; and the General of the Salvation Army, played by Tara Notcutt. 
All in all, the girls and boys involved from the Wynberg High Schools – whether it was on stage, behind the scenes, or in the band – can be very proud of themselves for such a professional and slick production!

Tara Notcutt

HARKERVILLE TRAIL

Situated 10km before Plettenberg Bay is the Harkerville Forestry Station. Set in the scenic Knysna forest, this marks the start of the 2 day Harkerville Trail - the mini Otter Trail. Over the first four days of the April holidays, ten girls and two staff members travelled up the East coast to hike this trail. 

The first night in the forest house was comfortable and after eating supper whilst watching a spectacular electrical storm, we all had a good night’s sleep. 

Next morning, the weather had cleared, and we set off through dense indigenous forest towards the second hut on the coast. At one of the rest stops, there was much excitement after one of the girls noticed a beautiful long boomslang coiled around the branch of a tree near her. Unfortunately, we missed a turn in the forest and walked many extra kilometres before retracing our steps and finding the correct path again. On reaching the coast, the views were breathtaking, although by this stage, all of us were exhausted and desperate to get the heavy packs off our backs. The trail led down to the pebble beaches and rocky shoreline where our mission was clear : complete the boulder hopping, walk along rocky cliffs and ledges clutching chains, ascend what seemed to be an awfully high hill - and all before dark !

We experienced some hair-raising moments, clutching chains and hugging cliff-faces with the waves crashing below us. In fact, we even carried a dog along the cliff face (a Staffie, Sparkie, which joined us in the forest). Eventually, by nightfall, we reached the overnight hut on top of the coastal cliffs but most of us were too tired to cook supper before collapsing in our bunks. Next morning, the path took us down the cliffs again to the sea-shore where we witnessed fantastic landscapes and rock formations. More chains and ladders had to be negotiated but everyone made it back to the the hut. Hot showers were enjoyed by all and then it was off to Plett to buy a few luxuries. The next day, we drove back to Cape Town having experienced a trail that was physically very demanding but provided varied and spectacular scenery. Well done to all the girls for this achievement. They can all feel proud of their efforts!

Mr P Bodenstein and Gillian Lupton-Smith

In the last newsletter, we told you about an exciting new Internet Resource called WEBLINKS which is now up and running at WGHS. Weblinks is an Online database consisting of 6 497 educational web sites that pertain to all the SA Curriculum 2005 learning areas. 

What the people at Weblinks did was to go to the major search engines such as Google, Yahoo etc. and do searches on all major learning area in the SA Curriculum. Any relevant websites are then sourced, described and fed into the database to which schools subscribe. Every month 100 new web sites are added to the database. 

If schools cannot find information about a specific topic, Weblinks tries to find web sites on that topic on behalf of the school, and then sends the relevant results to the school within 48 hours. Every school gets a username and password and with that username and password the teachers and learners can access the database from any computer in the world, in other words from school, home, or anywhere else. 

Once you have logged in, using the login name and password The Weblinks Home page will then open. On the left of the screen provision has been made for various types of searches – a word search, a subject search etcIn addition, every site on the database has been given an identifying number- typing it in will take you there directly. Teachers will be able to direct students straight to those sites which they have used for worksheets.

Teachers and parents will be happy in the knowledge that all of the sites on the database are safe and valid, as far as content is concerned. Students will be happy to be able to do a search and be faced only with specific sites instead of the usual lengthy list, often in the thousands, which they would then have to wade through. 

All in all this is a win-win situation for everyone. 

Nikki Gerhardi

MOMS WHO CARE 

We feel privileged at W.G.H.S, to have a small group of moms who diligently support the staff and learners in prayer. They meet each Thursday afternoon at 2pm, and pray about the prayer requests which have been handed in. Any learner may hand a request to Mrs Theunissen. The request may be anonymous…God knows the details! 

Any Mom, Gran, guardian or interested party who would like to join this ministry, should speak to Mrs Theunissen, the secretary.

Mrs Alison Smith

When Market Day finally arrived, the girls proved it was no challenge for them in understanding what we wanted. From African-print aprons to handy first aid kits, the products created by our Grade 8’s had the school buzzing with enthusiasm. There was much jingling of coins as we all rushed to purchase our gifts for the approaching Mothers’ Day. The food on sale, of course, was excellent, and, to quote Ms Lawrence, is "always the best part of Market Days”. This year the stalls included the mouth-watering smells of cinnamon pancakes, waffles, hot chips and popcorn. 

Overall, the day was a success for the budding entrepreneurs and for the customers. Congrats to the Grade 8’s on their fabulous creations. 

Tamlin Wightman

INJURY TIME 

Condolences to Jenna Cunliffe who is being forced to spend the first part of the hockey season on the bench after severely damaging knee ligaments. Does anyone have a spare vuvuzela ? Jenna needs something to do on the sideline !!! Carolyn Jones can join her, although she seems to be on the mend. Not so Audrey Pollack who still has 5 weeks to go ! Latest news is that Nicole de Vries and Deidre Knight have joined the happy hopalongs ! 


DID YOU KNOW THAT . . .

Deidre Knight took part in the All-Africa Triathlon Championships at the end of March. For those who don’t know, the triathlon consists of three disciplines: in this age group a 400m swim, a 10km cycle ride and a 2.5km run. Deidre came 5th overall. Then, in April, she took part in the Western Province Duathlon series: the first of three such events, all consisting of a 5km run, a 10km cycle ride and 2.5km run (no swim). Deidre did outstandingly well to take 1st place ! Well done, girl! We wish you well for the next two events.

Another Deidre in the news is DEIDRE ERISPE who was selected for the Western Province U16A Tennis team which took part in the Junior Interprovincial Tournament in Bloemfontein. On the ball, Deidre !

Congratulations are also due to KATE GILJAM, resident sharp-shooter, who came 11th at the National Shooting Champs in Kimberley earlier this month. Shot, Kate !

U18 A: Nicole De Vries; Illse Davids
U18 B: Kelly Croxford; Shana Press; Somila Zondeki; Carolyn Jones
U16 A: Micaela Paterson
U16 B: Ingrid Coulter; Nicole Mullins
U14 A: Candice Manuel
U14 B: Lindsay Madell

FIRST AID 

Although the first term was rather quiet on the First Aid front, the girls at W.G.H.S. have been busy. 

• In March, fourteen learners completed the Level One First Aid course with flying colours.
• In May, six girls successfully completed the forty hour Level Three course. In addition, Nicola Wasserfall, our First Aid captain, needs to be congratulated for passing the Level Five Basic Ambulance course! Well done, Nicola!

During winter, the first aiders support the hockey and netball matches played at home. 

It can be an “icy” experience sitting next to the astroturf for four hours in the cold Saturday morning air …waiting for an injury!

We are grateful to all girls who are prepared to offer this service.

Mrs Alison Smith

NETBALL NEWS

Our Netball results have been outstanding thus far. Wynberg is proud to have such an enthusiastic and talented netball squad for 2004. 33 games have been played thus far by the 8 teams that have been entered into the leagues: we have won 23 and lost only 10. 

HUGE congratulations to Danielle Kroezen for making it to the last selection squad for the Western Province U19 Netball team. Well done to all those girls who participated in the many rounds of trials as well - keep up the good work and excellent team spirit! As Queen Victoria once said : “We are not interested in the possibility of defeat”. 

Deidre Hair

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