During my recent trip to Ireland I came across the following story in St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin. I shared it with the Wynberg girls in our first assembly this term, asking them to take note of the moral of the story - that someone has to be brave enough to take the initiative, to take the chance and to decide to live in a better way, regardless of what others think or say. 

“In 1492, two great Irish families, the Butlers of Ormond and the Fitzgeralds of Kildare were engaged in a bitter and bloody feud. Seeking sanctuary, the Butler group fled into the Chapter House with the Fitzgeralds in hot pursuit. The leader of the Fitzgeralds realised that the fighting was out of control. Through the door he pleaded with the leader of the Butlers to accept a truce. Suspecting treachery, he refused to let Fitzgerald inside. Fitzgerald hacked a hole through the door and thrust his arm through as pledge of good faith.

The daring gesture was enough. The door opened and the warring factions received one another in peace. Some believe that this is the origin of the expression “to chance your arm”, meaning to take the initiative. The door has become known as the “Door of Reconciliation.”

Mrs S Harding
Principal

NEW STAFF

Welcome to Ms Rene Pearce, who is joining the Natural Science Department.

We hope your stay at Wynberg is a happy one.

ORPHEUS AWARD
The cultural trophy, Orpheus with his Lyre, is awarded to someone who has worked with unfailing enthusiasm and commitment within this pillar. She contributes to the cultural life of the school in various ways including writing, public speaking and making beautiful music. It is with great pleasure that this trophy is awarded to Raelene Adams.

DISCOBOLOS AWARD 
The recipient of the Discobolos Award has been a member of the synchronised swimming team since Grade 8 and is this year the captain of the team. Recently she represented WP at Nationals and came first in the Junior Figure competition and second in the Seniors. She has also been selected as part of the SA Team to train for the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Congratulations, Lindsey Nevin, you are an inspiration to others.

DEMETER AWARD
The service trophy is awarded to a learner who over the years has spent many, many hours in service to the community and others. She approaches all projects with enthusiasm and always puts others before herself. In all that she does she is self-motivated and once she undertakes a task she will ensure that it is a job well done. It is with great pleasure that the trophy for service is awarded to Farrah Hayes.

ATHENA AWARD
The Athena trophy has been awarded to a young lady who has shown initiative and creative flair by entering an international poetry competition. She was nominated as Poet of the Year 2005 and was invited to attend a three day Poetry Convention and Symposium in Orlando where she would be able to read her own poem to the largest gathering of poets in history. We honour and congratulate Yolandi Botha !

There are few places in the world that can beat Cape Town on a warm, windless evening and 23 March, the day of Wynberg's Food and Arts Festival, was just such a glorious evening. This year, we were delighted to welcome past pupils, former staff members, brothers and sisters from the Wynberg Campus, as well as the parents and Wynberg girls currently attending the school. 

The entertainment this year included synchronized swimming, music by the marimba bands and orchestra, and singing by the choir and Xhosa Society singers; dance items performed by the ballet girls and Xhosa Society; and various other cultural items such as debating and public speaking. There were exhibits from the Science and Natural Science departments in the Labs, and there were Art exhibits in the Art room and around the school. 
Items from new societies at the school included a courtroom drama in which the rights of individuals and groups were vigorously contested from the Human Rights Society, and poetry readings from Between the Lines. There was Human Chess in the gym, and extracts from the Grade 11 Gatsby evening. 

And what would the Arts and Culture Festival be without food? This year, the mouth-watering tastes of Italy, Greece, South Africa and Ireland (amongst others) were provided in one huge food plaza - aka Wellington quad - where people could sup under the stars on anything from lasagne and pizzas, to good old South African boerewors rolls and slap chips! 

Once everyone had seen the sights and heard the sounds, they headed up to the hall for the last item – a secret that the teachers would not disclose for any bribe!

The curtains parted, revealing none other than our very own Ms Opperman, surrounded by a group of school dads who performed a sophisticated and sexy rendition of “Hey, Big Spender”! But this was not the end…following this, unexpectedly, the Wynberg Girls’ staff appeared on stage, beautifully clad in their own flapper outfits. This was followed by a repeat of the Grade 11’s version of the Charleston! 

Thank you to all the dedicated performers at the Food and Arts Festival, and to everyone who supported it. It truly was a glitzy, glam and wonderful evening to remember.

Picture it : a perfect Cape autumn day, no wind, glassy sea, plenty of penguins and a busful of boys - just the sort of scenario the girls at the hostel would wish for ! 

First stop was Boulders Beach to visit the penguins, then Scratch Patch to find some beautiful gemstones, a fish and chip lunch in Kalk Bay, and back to Waterloo House. What isn’t included in this description is how glorious the weather was, and how nice it was to climb all over the rocks at Boulders, and how cute the penguins were, and what fun it was to find special gems, and the beauty of the harbour, and, of course, the boys!

Was it a successful outing? On the bus to Boulders, the mood was quiet. On the bus home, the mood was buzzing! Enough said. 

EASTER EGGS FOR AFRICA

Last term, Apsley held an Easter egg challenge where the school managed to collect thousands of marshmallow eggs. Then, on 12 April, a group of us surprised the learners of Constantia Primary School, with our gift of boxes and boxes of Easter eggs. They were extremely grateful and it was wonderful to see how such a small gesture could make such a difference. The Principal of Constantia Primary sent thanks to everyone who had contributed to his pupils’ happiness in this way. May next year’s drive be as successful !

Kelly Adams

“SEE HOW THEY RUN”

On the 21 and 22 March, the curtains parted for the Wynberg Boys' High production of “See How They Run” by Philip King. Apart from the fact that the Wynberg schools have an outstanding reputation for their dramatic presentations, the play itself was a drawcard and it was not unexpected that the performances were quickly booked up. Combining quirky British wit with a colourful cast of hysterical characters, the play transported the audience back to the year 1945…an era of ageing actresses and scarlet lipstick, when only daring women wore trousers! The play’s success lay in its charm - created by a beautifully detailed stage set of a typical 1940’s house – and in the humour, which resulted from the confusing situations that occurred as the various characters in the play practised to deceive one another. 

Three Wynberg girls - Nikki McGlead, Romy Shortall and Catherine Cameron-Dow - gave convincing performances. As said by a member of the audience: “The actors and actresses performed so maturely that it could have been a professional theatre production!” 

Emma Bryce 

On Sunday 17 April, the Service Committee and and several enthusiastic volunteers were met by 23 energetic and excited children from Tenterden Place of Safety. After a brief introduction, they were split into three groups. Under the watchful eye of their group leader, they enjoyed the three stations that had been set up: Twister, the Chocolate Game (popular at spirit builders) and an obstacle course in the gym.

The prospect of explaining these games in Afrikaans seemed a daunting task, but the girls rose to the challenge magnificently, albeit with the help of the children. Tea time involved hot chocolate and a frenzied treasure hunt, where everyone was rewarded with sweets, chips and Easter eggs.

The ever-popular “Trash Fashion Show” followed and the groups proudly showed off their stylish creations. The day was concluded with a much enjoyed self-defence lesson, led by judo coach Denton Smith. Huge thank you’s go to Denton, Ms Edwards for supervising, Michelle Fourie and Carolyn Jones for organising the event, the service committee and volunteers.

The 1st team hockey girls will be working at the Little Creek Spur in Tokai on Tuesday 26th April from 6-9pm Please support them - bring the whole family.

SPOTLIGHT on HOCKEY

Hooray ! It’s finally happened ! The floodlights are up at the astro and hockey players are beaming ! WGHS beat an Old Girls team in the inaugural match but the real winners were the lights! Early morning and evening practices are now on the cards, plus the addition of the lights has made our astro a much sought- after commodity in the local hockey community. 

Many thanks must go to the following people who helped to make it all possilbe : Richard Murphy, Kobus Kruger, Ken Woodley, Gary Reabow, Brian Richardson, Gavin Cox, Philip Sackville Scott, Mike Pienaar, ARB Electrical, John Schuurmans, and Chris Mulholland. 

Many thanks too, to Mrs Harding, Mr Richardson and the Governing Bodies of both schools for their vision and support.

Chanelle - with all of her medals!

CHANELLE : WYNBERG’S GOLDEN GIRL

Chanelle van Wyk took part in the SA Age group Swimming Champs help in Pietermaritzburg in March and achieved the following out-standing results : 

• Gold in the 50, 100 and 200 butterfly, the 100 and 200 backstroke, and the 100 freestyle; 
• Silver in the 50 freestyle and 2 relays; 
• and Bronze in the 50 backstroke, the 200 individual medley and 1 relay. 

Although there were over 1000 swimmers competing, Chanelle came 3rd overall in the women's point section. She also swam personal best times in all her events. 

Chanelle then went on to compete in the SA Open Champs in East London in April. This event is held once a year and is the top swimming event in the SA swimming calendar. The competition was tough, but she nevertheless achieved the following results: 

• Gold in the 50 backstroke; 
• Silver in the 200 butterfly and in 2 relays; 
• and Bronze in the 50 and 100 butterfly. 

At the end of the championships, Chanelle received the award for the most improved swimmer of the championships and is now off to Belgium to compete there. A huge Wynberg cheer for this talented swimmer!

ROTARY WYNBERG’S MILLION RAND PROJECT

We would like to ask all Wynberg families and friends to collect Pick 'n Pay till slips until the end of June. The Rotary club of Wynberg have pledged to raise a million rand in slips. If they succeed, Pick 'n Pay will give a sizeable donation to their project which is the upgrading of the extra-mural facilities at one of the under-resourced schools in our area.

A box will be placed in the front office and all slips should be placed in there. Wynberg Girls’ is a school with wonderful extra-mural facilities - please help us in this project to help our less fortunate neighbours.

On Tuesday 29 March, WGHS departed from Cape Town Station on the Shosholoza mail train to Potchefstroom. After a 24 hour train ride involving music and fantastic scenery, we arrived at Potchefstroom Station. After a mad rush to get our numerous bags off the train, we were off to the Potchefstroom Girls’ hostel, East House, our home for the next few days.

The Annual Girls’ Schools Festival officially began after the inspiring opening ceremony: a performance by the Potchefstroom drum majorettes and a fantastic fireworks display. Both really got us into the Festival Spirit. The party in the hostel quad provided schools with the opportunity to meet and mingle before the real work began. Throughout the tournament, Wynberg’s debating, hockey, netball, tennis and squash teams acquitted themselves admirably, showing schools from all over SA the Wynberg Way!!!

The tournament brought with it a greater respect for the different sports and cultural activities; also new friendships, late night games of 30 Seconds with Rustenburg, the memorable April Fools Day drug test prank, as well as a variety and fashion show by the hockey team judged by “Selfe Catering” and “Oppie Plaas”. All these add up to the unforgettable experience that was Girls’ Schools Festival 2005.

Anja Hendricks

RESULTS :
DEBATING
Anja Hendricks, Sheree Lang, Christine Friest, Raelene Adams, Nandi Gandi, Cally Galloway 

Although the emphasis this year was as a festival and not a competition, Wynberg managed to get to the final exhibition debate on the topic of assassination being used as a political tool. The speakers argued well, but in the end came second.

HOCKEY
Illse Davids, Kelly Croxford, Carolyn Jones, Nicole Mullins, Ingrid Coulter, Michelle Greeff, Liandi Badenhorst, Michaela Patterson, Megan Fisher, Candice Manuel, Emma Muller, Tarin Hanekom, Kirsty Anderson, Robyn Anderson, Stacey Gedult
Collegiate 1 - 1, Danville 5 - 1, Pietermaritzburg 2 - 2,
Westville 5 - 0, Potchefstroom 2 - 2, Queensburgh 6 - 1

TENNIS
Alison Lowe, Saarah Samodien, Deidre Erispe, Nicole Erispe
Durban 6 – 3, Clarendon 2 – 7, Parktown 7 – 2, Potchefstroom 9 – 0, Pretoria 1 – 8, Collegiate 0 - 9

SQUASH
Tracy Genricks, Michelle Fourie, Megan Horsley, Stephanie Salvage
Parktown 4 –0, Eunice 1 – 3, Queenstown 0 – 4,
Collegiate 3 – 1, Durban 4 - 0

NETBALL
Kelly Adams, Patience Yawa, Jeanne van Rensburg, Illana Groepies, Micala Cresswell, Alicia Back, Angela Lewis, Carren Aranes, Kebone Moloko
Parktown 25 – 17, Clarendon 18 – 20, Collegiate 24 – 18,
Queensburgh 35 – 9, Queenstown 26 – 30, 
Danville 9 – 15, Eunice 17 - 13.