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RHENISH NEWS For parents & daughters 23/05/2014 Rhenish Girls’ High School aims to provide its learners with an education of the highest quality and is committed to providing an environment that is conducive to effective teaching and learning. All learners, regardless of their intellectual abilities, social backgrounds and academic aspirations, are encouraged to develop their full potential, to strive for excellence in all they do, and to become responsible, caring and productive citizens.

Important Announcements 1. The girls are please to refrain from entering the demarcated building zone AT ALL TIMES and to be extra cautious with their personal belongings, cell phones and locker contents during this period.

2. Rhenish praying parents: We would like to extend an invitation to Rhenish parents to come and pray for our daughters and our school on a weekly basis, for half an hour.The usual time slot is Friday morning 7.30-8.00. Currently there are only 2 praying moms, and we would so welcome a couple more to pray with us. Ideally we would like to have a minimum of 2 parents praying each week, as sometimes neither of us can make it, which leaves no prayer covering for the school.If you are interested, please contact Bridget 083 333 3064.

3. Girls should exercise caution when walking around Stellenbosch – safety in numbers and keep valuables concealed.

Matric Dance Fever A girl’s Matric Dance is an event she starts planning in Grade 8. It would not be a stretch to say that the matrics of 2014 have been actively (sometimes frenetically) planning their matric dance outfits / make-up / partners / pre-parties / photos since the start of the year. All this while doing homework and assignments and studying for mid-years which are only weeks away!

The fever surrounding the dance reached critical levels on Thursday 22 May with the receipt of their invitations to the dance. Ushered into the hall by register teachers to be greeted by tables groaning with cupcakes and trees bedecked with invitations, the matrics suddenly realised how very REAL all of this was. If only it weren’t for that pesky little thing called exams!

They have been issued with their individual ‘passport to pleasure’ and the question on all their lips now is, how will this tie in to the theme on the evening? What is the theme? The lips of Ms Fourie and her dance committee are sealed. Know only that every effort will go into ensuring a magical evening for each matriculant and her partner on 27 June.

Alex Butterfield

Educational Psychologist “Getting Ready for Exams” For guidance in study methods, specialised study skills, time management and study timetables, goal setting and motivation, please contact Ms Butterfield to set up an appointment.

Practice No: 0487228

Address: Rhenish Girls’ High School

Medical Aid Rates Career Assessment

Career Guidance

Scholastic Assessment

Psychotherapy

Practice hours: Week Days 2:30pm – 6:00pm

Tel.: 074 669 3174

Saturdays by arrangement

email: alex.edpsych@gmail.com

“Curiouser and Curiouser” Did you know that an octopus is so intelligent that it needs puzzles in its tank to keep it busy?

Questions like this and other random ‘factoids’ had the Grade 11s enthralled during their visit to the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town on 15 May 2014.

Many of us have visited the Aquarium with our parents as youngsters or with school groups in primary school, but when the visit is tied into the work that we are studying in Life Sciences, suddenly it is WAY more interesting, it is more relevant and we are able to use our knowledge to unlock some of the mysteries of the seas, and in particular, of our coastline.

Great tourists in our own city, Rhenishers arrived by the busload having braved the morning traffic rush, excited, eager and brimful of enthusiasm. After an interesting lesson presented by the Aquarium Staff, we went off to explore the wonders of the Aquarium with an educational worksheet to guide us.

Our journey began in the Indian Ocean Gallery where warm water inhabitants with their bright colours played among corals and giant moray eels watched as we passed by. We were quite excited to find Nemo and Dory swimming amongst other beautifully coloured fish.

We then travelled to the Atlantic Ocean where starfish, anemones, jellyfish, seahorses and giant spider crabs swim, float and crawl along their exhibits with ease and grace.

“Life under the sea is better than anything they got up there...” –The Little Mermaid, Sebastian I guess Sebastian was right, because this ‘under water’ experience was very memorable and extremely exciting. Huge thanks to Mrs Bellstedt and Mrs Kruger who gave us this opportunity to explore “life under the sea” and we would also like to thank the mums who accompanied us.

Jessi Africa, 11D

Photos of last term’s very successful “Dad and Daughter Dance” can be viewed at www.fokus.co.za. Orders can be placed electronically through this website.

Leadership Conference Representatives of Rhenish’s Learner Council attended the annual La Rochelle Leadership Conference on Friday 9 May 2014.

Yuanfei (Head Girl), Kirsten (Deputy Head Girl), Suzaan and Ash (Grade 11 representatives) set off with Mrs Liebenberg prepared to be ignited and inspired by the presentations they were to experience and the interaction with young leaders from other schools.

They were not disappointed. The conference is professionally run by La Rochelle and sponsored by the University of the Free State. Keynote speakers and discussions were relevant and interesting and had great application for Fei-fei and Kirsten – for the remainder of their term as leaders of our school and for life beyond Rhenish – and for Suzaan and Ash who have both been part of the learner leadership from Grade 8.

Mrs Lombard, Fei-fei, Kirsten and Mrs Liebenberg

We listened to passionate speakers who had a great deal to share with us about being leaders and about our responsibility as the youth, not only in our country but as citizens of the world. A very notable speaker opened our eyes to the reality of social media and she showed us how it impacts on every aspect of our lives.

With the University of the Free State as the sponsor, the event was also quite career driven and we were encouraged to question our place in the world, our responsibilities and the nature of leadership.

Yuanfei XukanOver the past few months, a name has cropped up in this section on more than one occasion.

She is clearly a young athlete on the way to achieving great things. Kaitlyn Sparks has delivered yet another amazing performance in pole vault. Last weekend, she flew to Potchefstroom to participate in the SA Open Championship. Kaitlyn won the gold with another great height of 3.80m. We are incredibly proud of her and we are confident that she is an athlete we will be hearing a lot more about, both locally and internationally.

Matric 2013 Certificates The Matric Certificates of candidates who successfully completed the examination are now available at the school from Dr Bennie.

This does not include candidates who applied for remarks.

To collect, candidates must come in person with their ID book. If they cannot collect the certificate themselves, they can give permission to someone to collect it on their behalf. In this case, the appointed person must provide a letter from the candidate giving them permission to collect the certificate and the appointed person must present his/her own ID book.

Music Department Delivers the Goods The talented young ladies who are privileged to study under the guidance of our vibrant music department, continue to delight audiences wherever they go.

On Thursday 22 May 2014, a group of these musicians and singers performed at the musical evening at the La Clemence Retirement Village.

Lusi Sesanti, Tess de Waal and Celeste Opperman wowed the audience with the crystal clarity of their voices, the range of their talent and the passion they bring to their performances. Many a moist eye was discreetly wiped as guests were transported back in time by the songs and by the youthful performers.

Emily Smith (saxophone), Sharon Mathole (recorder) and Alessia Lederer (violin) further entertained the guests with their beautifully executed pieces. Talent and practice and the guidance of incredibly gifted teachers have resulted in very accomplished performers.

But the music was only a part of the joy that our girls gave guests at La Clemence. Their spontaneity and child-like enthusiasm for what they do earned them high praise from the chairperson of the Cultural Committee at La Clemence who said, “this ‘child-like enthusiasm’ is too often missing nowadays in high school learners so eager to engage in the adult world.”

Thank you to each of these performers for being such wonderful ambassadors for Rhenish and for making the time to share your gift within our community. Thanks too to the Music Department who nurture these girls, always delivering polished young performers with confidence and a real ‘joie de vivre’.

Interact – Making It Count Towards the end of last year, the Interact Society was initiated at Rhenish. The Interact society forms part of the youth division of the International Rotary Club. Our main aim is identifying needs in the community and helping where we can.

We started with a committee of seven learners. We have since grown and now have a society of over twenty learners.

We have helped out at many community outreaches, namely One-on-One (an event held in the Good Hope centre where one abled bodied person befriends a disabled person for the day), the Rotary Medallion Cycle Race (where we helped with the registration of the cyclists) and a safe house in Kuilsriver (where we painted the jungle jim outside and the rooms of the house).

This year we have brought it a little closer to home as there is a great need in the community of Stellenbosch.

We have identified the safe house in Kayamandi as one of these great needs.

The safe house in Kayamandi is a safe house for abused women and children and a rape crisis centre. After visiting the safe house at the beginning of the year we realised that there is so much we can do to help these women in their time of need.

On Wednesday we had a cake sale where we raised funds to buy compost and vegetables which the safe house can plant in their vegetable garden. We also collected clothes and food for the safe house.

We delivered these items yesterday (Thursday). The ladies at the safehouse were so grateful for the items of clothing and food. The learners who have visited have all enjoyed going to the safehouse and interacting with the children and adults staying there.

From the Maths Department – Communication to Parents of Raw Marks Mathematics is a crucial subject in the Progression Process. As we are unable to send tests and assignments home with the learners after assessment (these need to be kept in the learner’s portfolio) the Mathematics Department has designed a Mark Reflection Sheet that will be sent home after each assessment.

The Mark Reflection Sheet will reflect the raw marks the learner has received for each test and SBA task and needs to be signed by parents as confirmation of knowledge of the mark received by the learner for the test or SBA task.

The Mark Reflection Sheet will then be filed in the learner’s portfolio.

As educators we are aware that parents would like to be made aware of their daughter’s progress so that, if necessary, timeous interventions can be put in place. The Mark Reflection Sheet will ensure that parents are always aware of the latest results.

We would appreciate your co-operation with this – please sign that you have seen the test/SBA task at the appropriate place and return to your daughter’s mathematics teacher. Concerns/queries can also be addressed (in writing or in an email) once you have returned the Mark Reflection Sheet.

Rhenishers Out in the World Dance Amy Lamprecht (Grade 11) has been chosen for the Cape Town Dance Team (modern and hip hop) that will represent South Africa at the World Dance Movement competition which will be held in Italy during the June holidays.

The team will compete against 15 other countries.

They will also have the opportunity for a short cultural tour to Rome, Florence and Sorrento.

During the last week of their tour, they will stay in Castellena Grotto and do various workshops that will be presented by international choreographers.

The competition will take place at the end of the final week. The dancers had to audition for a spot in the team and Amy was one of twenty-two selected. Amy and her team have been hard at work since January, practising every Saturday for the competition.

Cross Country Congratulations to Suzaan Hobson who came third in in the 1st Boland Cross Country trials – Girls U17 4km - in a time of 16:38.

Sports Results Friday 16th May Squash 1st team vs Parel Vallei : Rhenish won 125 – 111 2nd team vs La Rochelle: Rhenish lost 0 - 14 Saturday 17 May Hockey vs Herschel (H) 1st Lost 3-1 2nd Lost 6-1 U16A Won 6-0 U16B Won 3-1 U16C Won 1-0 U14A Lost 2-1

U14B Won 4-0 U14C Won 3-0 U16A Report The annual derby against Herschel is always very competitive. On yet another beautiful Stellenbosch autumn morning, the match started with Rhenish immediately being placed under pressure. As the initial nervousness subsided, we created some opportunities but did, unfortunately, not convert. The Herschel team exerted continuous pressure and we had to rely on strong defence for the half-time score to be 0-0. After the break, we again had to defend many short-corners with Moya having her busiest game of the season. We eventually managed to break through and take the lead. With Herschel having to attack more, we were able to take advantage again with a break-away goal to increase our lead to 2-0. Moya’s goalkeeping, an excellent performance by Jess and a spirited team effort were the highlights of our performance. Well done!

Thank you again to Coach Andrew and our supporters.

Monique Bartsch, Captain U16B Report The U16Bs played against Herschel Girls’ High and won 3 – 1. Our goal scorers were Ashleigh Wyatt and Oriole Viljoen.

This was one of our best games this season. Communication on the field was much better and will continue to work at this.

Herschel has a strong team and they made us work hard for our goals. We look forward to our match against Parel Vallei.

Ashleigh Wyatt, Captain Netball vs Herschel (H) 1st Drew 14-14 2nd Won 17-7 3rd Won 8-7 U16A Lost 18-5 U16B Lost 17-4 U16C Lost 16-3 U15A No opposition U15B No opposition U15C No opposition U14AWon 13-6 U14B Won 11-5 U14C Won 15-1 U14D No opposition U14 A Report We played Herschel on 17 May and won 13-6. In the first half we were sluggish on court but after half-time, we had clearly “woken” up and we played an energised game that saw us taking the lead and scoring regularly. I am really proud of my team mates.

Nicole Smithdorf, Captain U14B Netball I am really proud of our team as this was our fourth win in a row.