RGHS Newsletter - 3rd Aug 2011

Rustenburg Times Rustenburg High School for Girls, Camp Ground Road, Rondebosch 7700 Tel: (021) 686-4066 / (021) 686-3683 / (021) 685-4710 Fax: (021) 686-7114;

E-mail: info@rghs.org.za

03 August

Website: www.rghs.org.za

2011

Karl Jenkins: The Armed Man

Volume Three Issue One

A warm THANK-YOU to all parents, friends, old girls, current and past staff members for the kind messages of congratulation.

We have been inundated with so many wonderful e-mail messages, phone calls, smses and lovely cards and are unable to thank you all personally, but greatly appreciate your messages of support and interest.

Arbour Day English Alive Music Success

2

Nicola Cilliers Rights for Rhinos

3

Debating

4

General Notices Communication Bon Appetit

5

Music Dept

6—8

Habitat for Humanity

9– 10

Life Orientation

11

Sports News

12— 13

Library Review

14

Art Flash

15

Forthcoming events

16

Scenes from the Jenkins Mass

17

Rustenburg: a school of excellence where girls are leading courageously, exploring their unique potential confidently and serving the world compassionately.

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Rustenburg celebrates Arbor Day early “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago.

The next best time is now.”

(Chinese Proverb) On 21 July Rustenburg High School for Girls decided to take cognizance of this old Chinese proverb and planted two ACACIA XANTHOPHLEA (Fever Trees) on the meadows in front of the school campus.

Headgirl, Angeliki Carvounes, assisted by other school leaders, happily planted these two new trees, knowing that they will provide shade for many generations of Rustenburg girls to enjoy.

These trees were chosen as they are indigenous, water-wise and have distinctive, beautiful yellow/green bark. The Common name, Fever Tree, derives from the fact that they are endemic to the Northern parts of South Africa and were an indication of a malarial area. They are a medium to large tree which the birds love.

In South Africa, Arbor Day was inaugurated in 1983 to raise awareness for the value of trees in our society.

Success for the English Department The renowned English Alive publication includes some of the best writing from South Africa’s High Schools and Colleges. This year Rustenburg High School for Girls submitted original, challenging and witty writing for the editor’s consideration and two girls were selected to have their poems and essays included! Gladys Kisela’s quirky and truly South African poem Mrs van Tonder in her pink pantoffels will be seen in this year’s edition, as well as Hannah MacMillan’s powerful essay Has anyone ever told you?

Success for the Music Department The Hedy King Robinson prize rewards students who have performed exceptionally well in Theory of Music examinations.

International students who score a Distinction for their Grade 6 - 8 Theory of Music examinations are eligible to earn this award: one needs to score 90 marks out of 100 to get a distinction in Theory of Music.

The award was generously endowed by the late James T Robinson Jr of Phoenix City, Alabama, USA, and is named in memory of his late wife.

For the first time it has been awarded to two girls from RGHS, who each receive £45 for the highest marks in the ABRSM Grade 6 Theory exam in 2010.

Well done to Jenny Robertson, Laurie Scarborough and their teacher, Judith Dernier!

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RGHS history learner, Nicola Cilliers, wins National Award for SADC gender equity essay competition

Nicola Cilliers, a Grade 10 History learner at Rustenburg High School, won second prize in the 2010 SADC (Southern African Development Community) Secondary Schools Essay Competition.

The essay topic required candidates to research the extent to which SADC member states were making progress in achieving the 2015 goal of 50:50 representation and participation of women in political and decisionmaking positions at all levels.

They had to identify the main challenges that are slowing down progress on this policy and to make suggestions of measures that could be introduced to ensure that the policy is implemented by all member states.

Nicola’s essay was judged to be the top entry for the Western Cape and was awarded second prize in the national competition.

Her essay, which will still be considered for the regional leg of the competition, can be found on the schools’ web-site.

She will be flown up to receive her certificate and prize (US$300) from the Minister of Basic Education, Mrs A. Motshekga, at a ceremony in Pretoria on 22 September 2011.

http://www.rghs.org.za/news-article/ rghs-history-learner-nicola-cilliers-winsnational-award

The talk at Rustenburg was filmed by a representative of the conservation television proGirls and staff were addressed by two game rangers, Paul Jennings and Sbonisa Phakati, at gramme, “50/50”.

Watch out for the screening of this feature Rustenburg last Thursday. The men had reover the next few weeks on a Monday night at cently completed an epic 1700km walk from 7.30pm on SABC 2. More information can be Musina to Cape Town along the N1 route, to found at www.rightsforrhinos.co.za raise awareness and funds to help combat Miss M. Meyer (Teacher-in-charge of Umfolozi rhino poaching.

2011) The Rights for Rhinos campaign was initiated

by Paul Jennings, who has many years experience in rhino monitoring and anti-poaching. He is a resident at the Umfolozi Game Reserve in Natal, where a group of grade 11 Rustenburg girls experience the wilderness on a trail each year.

White and black rhinos are currently being killed at a rate of one every 21 hours. This is not only cruel but it is alarming, as these animals are near extinction, particularly the black rhino.

The girls going on the Umfolozi Wilderness Trail this year have pledged to make a donation to Rights for Rhinos.

RIGHTS FOR RHINOS TALK

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Debating Update 6: New Debating Society Committee 2011/2012 Towards the end of the second term, we bid farewell to the 2010/2011 Debating Society Committee (Head: Cara Mazetti-Claassen , Deputy: Ameerah Allie, Angeliki Carvounes, Tessa Collington-O’Malley, Chelsea Kelly; Gabi Slingers, Saaeda Bassardien and Haseena Solwa) and elected the 2011/2012 Committee.

There was a vote of thanks for the outgoing committee which had steered RGHS through its most successful period in the school’s debating history.

In 2010 the Senior team came second in the Rotary Debating Championships; they participated in the African School’s Debating Championships in August; they were winners of the National Girls Festival Debating Championships held in Stellenbosch and they won WP Championships for the first time in the school’s history.

2010 was also the first time that two RGHS debaters (Cara Mazetti-Claassen and Angeliki Carvounes) were chosen to represent Western Province.

In April 2011, they were runners up at the National Girls Schools Festival Debating Champi-

onships held in East London and they have reached the quarter-finals of the Rotary Debating competition.

All the new committee members attended a workshop in June to plan some of the term 3 activities and to set goals for their term of office.

On Tuesday 19 July, the following committee members were elected to serve on these portfolios: Head /Chairperson: Azraa Bux; Deputy Chairperson: Saeeda Bassardien; Secretaries: Nicola Cilliers (2011) and Sonia Mataramvura (2012); Public Relations: Robyn Fester Resources on the net: Razeena Palekar Training: Katherine Harris.

The new committee has three main tasks for term 3: hosting the rotary quarter-finals, organising the Grade 12 Farewell dinner and arranging training and friendly debates to build both the Senior and Junior teams for success in 2012. We know that under the leadership of Azraa Bux and Saeeda Bassardien, they will take up the challenges set by the previous committee.

Debating Update 7: Our Senior Debaters are in the semi-finals Our senior team (Angeliki Carvounes, Cara Mazetti-Claassen and Azraa Bux) edged out Bishops in a tightly contested quarter-final clash in the Thomson Hall on Monday 25 July.

RGHS’s proposal of the unprepared motion: “This house rejects the election of Julius Malema as ANCYL President”, revealed the excellent teamwork that was conducted by Saeeda Bassardien, Azraa Bux, Nicola Cilliers, Angeliki Carvounes and Cara Mazetti-Claassen in the one hour preparation session prior to the debate.

In addition, Angeliki, our first speaker and reply speaker, was adjudged best speaker of the debate. However, this was an excellent team effort with our second speaker, Azraa Bux, maintaining an excellent line of argument. Cara Claassen, our rebuttal speaker, clinched the argument by exposing the many flaws in the Bishops’ team argument. They have set a very high standard and are now set for an exciting semi-final clash against Westerford at Westerford on Wednesday 03 August. Supporters should arrive at 20h00 so that can be seated before the start of the Debate.

RGHS to defend 2010 SACEE Forum Discussion title 2010 saw RGHS victorious in the SACEE forum discussion competition. RGHS had last won the SACEE Shield in 1974. This year, Chloe Kruger (Chairperson) will lead Nicky Cathcart, Nabeela Shaboodien, Jennifer Hughes and Kimberley Dale in our defence of this title. This will also be the third time that Jennifer Hughes will be representing her school in this competition.

On Tuesday 2 August, RGHS will compete in the first round at Groote Schuur against: Herzlia, King David, The Settlers, St Cyprian’s, Herschel, Groote Schuur and Wynberg Girls. All supporters must be seated by 19h15.

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General notices GRADE 12 DRIVERS

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Would all Grade 12’s who drive to School please note the following: A certified copy of your Driver’s Licence must be handed to Mrs Cowan in the Office to go on file The area designated for Grade 12 parking is the grass area next to the Recycling containers – this is the only area where Matrics may park.

Thank you.

We would like to wish all our Muslim learners well over the upcoming month of Ramadaan.

May it be a deeply spiritual period for you and your family.

Ramadaan Kareem.

Bell ringers for Term Three The bell ringers for the third term are Courtney Wallace and Kim Petersen.

Many thanks to Kelly Schlemmer and Dacia Hassan for their help during the second term.

Communication in the 21st Century The way people communicate is changing – email usage has peaked and is being replaced by Social Media Messaging, BBM and Twitter.

Rustenburg now offers you two new ways to keep up with what is happening at school: Like our Facebook page - http://tiny.cc/rghsfacebook Follow us on Twitter - http://twitter.com/RustenburgGirls

Bon Appetit: thank you to the Grade 12 Bon Appetit Team of 2010 and 2011 The Grade 12 Bon Appetit learners have just finished a very busy but wonderful and successful term. They have worked extremely hard, catering for at least 17 functions during their term and finishing every job with enthusiasm and care. Their positive attitude and friendly faces made sure that our “customers” were happy and satisfied after every Bon Appetit experience.

As people, these young ladies have grown and developed into well-organised and efficient caterers with skills that will stand them in good stead for the rest of their lives.

Four girls in this group received a Master Member Five Star apron as a special thankyou. Thoroughly dependable and always present to do what was required, they gave more than what was required of them.

Thank you to Stephanie Bartnicke, Nenha Singh, Aneeqah Fredericks and Yusra Adams: you will be missed.

Mrs A Marshall

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Music Department News Concert Review by Rosemary Davis The Annual Choral concert by the combined choirs, concert band and orchestras of RGHS, RBHS and SACS at the City Hall on Wednesday 27 July was a unique and outstanding evening of music.

The concert opened with the concert band performing Vaughan Williams’ delightful English Folksong Suite, one of the great classics for band which was originally written for the Band of the Royal Military School, Kneller Hall.

This fine, polished performance by a wellbalanced band was all the more poignant given the fact that Vaughan Williams had experienced the full horror of the First World War as a stretcher bearer.

Yohan Chun was the soloist for the Mozart Piano Concerto No. 21 in C, K467. The second movement was opened serenely by the orchestra and this mood was continued by the soloist who played with a beautiful tone throughout.

With careful pedalling, the right hand “sang” the melody and this movement was highly successful despite some uncertain entries by the woodwind. The third movement was flawless with crisp fingerwork and the left hand octaves well co-ordinated in their interaction with the orchestra. This was a highly successful debut by a gifted musician.

After interval the choral masterpiece The Armed Man received its Cape Town debut for a combined chorus and orchestra of primarily high school pupils (in April 2007, a combined choir consisting of the Salisbury Community Choir, Pro Cantu, Voices of Cape Town and the UCT Choir with the CPO presented a performance of the work in the City Hall).

The first movement was given a stirring and rhythmically precise rendition by trumpet and percussion. It was gratifying to see Rustenburg girls holding their own in the brass and percussion sections of the orchestra, traditionally a

The Armed Man

male preserve. The two following movements reflected the Muslim and Christian call to prayer and Kyrie. The fact that this work was written before 9/11 shows how visionary Jenkins has been about healing the vast divisions in the modern world.

The Kyrie opened with Daniel Poulter’s fine solo followed by the choir singing a rich blend of styles moving the focus from the cathedral to the world at large. ‘Lord have mercy’ was smoothly homophonic, followed by clear entries in the contrapuntal ‘Christ, have mercy’ and a sinister reprise of ‘Lord have mercy’ with the addition of a Latin American rhythm.

The unaccompanied male chorus sang the plainchant in Save me from bloody men in a smooth and authentic ecclesiastical style.

The Sanctus which followed was strangely menacing and unexpectedly earth bound, showing the awesome strength of violence.

This was made tangible by the confident singing.

The Hymn before Action built up to the cacophony of Charge! with its high sopranos and drums. Despite their very high tessitura the sopranos sang with a controlled tone and avoided screeching.

In Angry Flames the soloists were able to provide descriptions of Hiroshima with heartrending interjections by the choir and trumpet.

Torches was a lament for the ageless violence of humankind and here the clear diction of the choir impressed.

Agnus Dei was a moving plea to God for freedom from the violent impasse into which our world has fallen.

The strings which accompanied the soprano in Now the guns have stopped sounded like a very good professional orchestra with perfectly shaped phrases and excellent intonation as they re-established the slow and difficult return

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Music Department News Concert Review by Rosemary Davis (continued) The whole evening set a new benchmark for school music performances in Cape Town and the performers, teachers and conductor are to be congratulated on the superlative standard they achieved. This performance can certainly hold its own with the others to be held in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and it was all the more poignant in the aftermath of the hate-filled ranting and horrific killings in Norway in the week of the performances.

The performance on Friday 29 July was completely sold out and we had to turn away many disappointed audience members as there were simply no seats left!

Congratulations to our superb chorus and orchestra of members from RGHS, RBHS, SACS and Beau Soleil as well as some players from a variety of Southern Suburbs’ schools and some ad hoc players, many of whom were Old Girls or Old Boys of the schools or current parents, including our very own Natalie Lawrenson on the French Horn.

This was a huge team effort with the music staff of RGHS, RBHS & SACS heavily involved in the training of the choirs, orchestra and the concert band, i.e.: Terrence Scarr (concert band & orchestra), Nico Smit (choir) and Veranza Joubert (choir) of RBHS, Greta Graham (choir) and Jan Thorne (choir) of SACS and Elizabeth Sole (choir), Judith Dernier (rehearsal pianist & teacher of Yohan Chun), Olivia Gordon (orchestra), Maileen Jamey (choir & music society), Robyn Miller (concert band), Maria Raynham (leader of the orchestra) and David West (percussion).

RGHS was the host of the event this year, and we were responsible for all the arrangements concerning the administration and organisation.

Huge thanks go to Mesdames Hanger & Cowan (bookings), Weston (VIP invitations), and

Hoffmann (assistant to the Music Department) for the huge amount of work done in so many administrative areas, including the compilation and printing of the programme, t-shirts, hire of scores, communicating with the soloists, with the City Hall management, and in every other conceivable and inconceivable way.

We were also very blessed to have a Music Fundraising committee of dedicated parents who gave so much of their free time to selling tuck and organising the selling of the refreshments at the City Hall.

Special thanks to Gill Monteverdi for overseeing it all, with untiring and enthusiastic support from Pat Arendse, Jennifer Bridgens, Laura Holzberg, Vicky Lambert, Sarah Moloto, Renee Mould, Jeanne Pienaar and Martina Smith.

Our choir, orchestra, string ensemble, wind band and music society leaders were in full attendance and gave of their absolute best.

Thank you to Hannah MacMillan, Tatum McGregor, Amy Walton, Camagu Mayosi, Ingrid Pienaar, Sara Lambert, Karen Schuster, Carolyn Ryder and Helen Dunnell.

Thank you to our sponsors, Ward, Ward & Pienaar for the superb programme covers, and to Emeritus Professor Shirley Gie for sponsoring the outstanding poster, co-ordinated by Lauren Davis.

Our soloists Janelle Visagie, Monique Weich, Willem Bester, Barend van der Westhuizen, muezzin Yaseen Sedick and treble Daniel Poulter added a touch of excellence and the inspired conducting by RBHS Old Boy, Alexander Fokkens, moulded all our hard work into nothing short of a triumph.

CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU TO ALL INVOLVED

8 Rustenburg Times

Music Department News The Standard Bank National Youth Jazz Festival, Grahamstown, 2011

On Tuesday 28 June, Megan Hand (piano), Carolyn Ryder (trumpet), Amy Walton (voice), Alexa Bessinger (trumpet), Yohan Chun (piano) and Gladys Kisela (saxophone), accompanied

by Ms Miller, departed on the SACS bus with Mr Walton and his students from SACS to attend the Standard Bank National Youth Jazz Festival in Grahamstown.

We stayed overnight in Knysna, and on arriving in Grahamstown we were transported to the beautiful Diocesan School for Girls’ campus, which was to be our home for the duration of the Standard Bank National Youth Jazz Festival.

The next five days were filled to the brim with good jazz, played by inspiring professionals, workshops led by knowledgeable artists and rehearsals led by conductors with heaps of local and international experience.

The concerts began at 12:00 and continued until 22:00 with a jam session every evening at 23:30. Rehearsals began promptly at 09:00 the next morning.

Although our sleeping hours were minimal, the energy and the vibe of Grahamstown kept us excited and enthusiastic throughout the Festival.

At the concerts, we experienced all styles of jazz, some of which were new to us. Our favourite artists included Soweto Kinch, Buddy Wells, Dan Shout and the Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year, Bokani Dyer.

Improvisation and technique were the two areas in which we grew tremendously, as the professionals running the workshops gave us small tips that made a world of difference to our playing. The most encouraging part was that they were approachable and willing to help us to improve.

Amidst all the hard work of rehearsals, we had a grand time meeting new people from across the country as well as attending art exhibitions, external concerts and large flea markets to view their nicely priced vintage clothing and perfect gifts for our families.

We left DSG on Wednesday 8 July with jazz pouring out of our ears, a heart filled with the intention to practise, and many new friends to add on Facebook. – Gladys Kisela Many rehearsals and performances were presented by famous South African, American and European jazz musicians. This was an excellent opportunity to be exposed to the world of Jazz and network with fellow school and university musicians whom one might meet in the music industry in the future. The Grahamstown Jazz Festival was very enriching and I would love to go again next year! - Alexa Bessinger My first Grahamstown experience was mindblowing. Even though we had very little sleep, all the workshops, lectures and the concerts that we attended were definitely worth it. My favourite concert was by Soweto Kinch an MC and saxophonist from UK. For any jazz musicians, this is a ‘must’ arts’ festival to attend as one meets professional musicians and gets the opportunity to perform in front of an audience. – Yohan Chun And Ms Miller writes: The girls were placed in Bands of mixed abilities with others from throughout South Africa. Gladys Kisela auditioned and was selected for the National Schools’ Big Band (she was one of only three girls to have been selected), which performed in the Main Hall on the last evening and was directed by the international trumpeter, Frank Brodahl.

There were workshops and master classes every day, presented by international and local musicians who then performed in the evenings.

Every night there were at least five different performances that could be attended. It was amazing to be able to connect and to learn from these experts in the Jazz field, and then to hear them performing on stage in the evening. It was such an enriching experience for all who attended.

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Habitat for Humanity The Habitat for Humanity committee of Rustenburg and BRIC would really like to thank all the girls who took part in the build last term. An especially huge thank you goes out to the parents of the girls who lifted them to Mfuleni and picked them up again in the afternoon. We’re very grateful because if it wasn’t for your willingness to do so, two families couldn’t have been housed that week.

Last term’s Spur Evenings were successful and 10% of Spur’s profits for the evening were donated to BRIC. Thank you to the RGHS families who came and supported us and to the following girls who waitressed: ♦ Habitat for Humanity Core Committee members ♦ SACS BRIC Committee members ♦ Westerford BRIC Committee members ♦ Melissa Wood ♦ Rebecca Furlong ♦ Olivia Benetton ♦ Kate Meeser

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Lucille Wilcox Robyn Paterson Afeefa Emeran Yusra Modak Farah Khalfe Aneeqah Nazier

Lastly, a huge thank you to the families that have already responded to our 100s and 1000s Campaign letter that went out in the reports last term: Dr Alan Davidson Mr Ken Andrew Your contributions are greatly appreciated and make a very big difference. Also, it is never too late for families who would like to still be a part of our 100s and 100s Campaign to participate in it. Information can be found on the proposal following this or you can email Gladys Kisela on gmkisela@gmail.com for more information about how you can help.

Cyclathon 2011

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Habitat for Humanity

Dear Parents Rustenburg Girls’ High School, Bishops Diocesan College and Westerford High School welcome SACS to the Habitat for Humanity fundraising team, BRIC. Habitat for Humanity is a worldwide, non-profit, non-governmental organisation that is aimed at eliminating substandard housing in South Africa. The BRIC committee aims to raise funds for this organisation as well as highlight the need for social awareness amongst young people. Habitat for Humanity does not give houses away but requires that the community participate in the process both financially and physically.

Rustenburg, Bishops, Westerford and SACS pupils are involved in helping build the houses. One house costs R 91 000 to build. This joint venture needs the support of the schools and businesses in the community as well as the City of Cape Town.

The main fund-raiser is a 25-hour Cyclathon at the V&A Waterfront in February every year. We have already held six successful Cyclathons, the last one in February 2011 raising a total of R60 000.00. There are seven stationary bicycles on the stage of the amphitheatre. Cyclists will come from all four high schools as well as a variety of other schools in the area, the public, various celebrities and representatives from the businesses that sponsor the event. We sell ‘BRICS’ or raffle tickets every hour, and at the end of each hour we have a raffle draw for three BRICS to win one of three prizes per hour.

We are running a campaign called 100s and 1000s where we are approaching 1000 families for a small donation of R100, which we hope will lead to R100 000, covering the cost of a home for one family. Any contributions more, or less, than R100 will still be greatly appreciated as every cent counts.

Thank you for your kind consideration of this proposal. We hope that we will be able to join in a lasting partnership with you as we grow to become a powerful force in the movement of change in our community by reaching 100s & 1000s to raise 100s & 1000s, to help 100s & 1000s.

Yours sincerely, Magenta Graziani Gugu Hlophe Gladys Kisela (c) 071 896 9745 (c) 082 213 2910 (c) 079 348 8724 (h) 021 447 2393 (h) 021 531 8227 (h) 021 531 9415 (e) molly13@mweb.co.za (e) gugu.hlophe@yahoo.com (e) gmkisela@gmail.com Bank Details: First National Bank, Mowbray Branch Account Name: Habitat for Humanity Account Number: 62010926379 Branch Code: 200309 Reference: B.R.I.C & personal reference

11 Rustenburg Times

Life Orientation News Congratulations ...

First Aid

to Nicola Cathcart in D1, who received a Level 3 Certificate f or her on-going voluntary work at the Waterfront Aquarium.

The Grade 10s who attended the Level 1 First Aid Course earlier in this year, have received their certificates which are valid for three years.

They will have the opportunity to do a refresher course during matric in order to validate the certificates for a further three years.

to Anastasia Stergiou in C2, who achieved her Level 3 First Aid Certificate with 93%.

UCT Philosophy Course The following girls successfully completed this course and were awarded with certificates: Ameerah.Allie, Tiffany Antunes, Chelsea Kelly, Helen Dunnell, Ayanda.Josie-Perez, Sapna Mesthrie and Haseena Solwa

ANGER MANAGEMENT for Adolescents and Children Workshop for parents and care-givers 17 August, 2011 @ 18.30 International School, Primrose Avenue, Upper Wynberg.

Phone 021 6711204 to book.

ESKOM BURSARY: B.Sc. Electrical Engineering (Heavy Currents) and Business Science( Economics).

Collect application form from Mrs Dowdall.

Parent Support Group for Mothers of Adolescents Course facilitator Jacqui Russon will hold weekly group meetings on a Tuesday or Thursday evening at a cost of R150.00 per session.

Please contact her on 082 4100105 or jacquirusson@gmail.com for further information

12 Rustenburg Times

July Sports News WESTERN PROVINCE SHORT COURSE SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS Rustenburg boasts three medalists from these championships: CAITLIN GARDINER (age 16 and over) GOLD: 100m backstroke / 200m backstroke and 100m freestyle SILVER: 200m freestyle REBECCA HAINES (age 14) GOLD: 200m / 400m / 800m freestyle CHELSEA VAN RENSBURG (age 13) SILVER: 100m and 200m breastroke BRONZE: 200m Individual Medley

CROSS COUNTRY RESULTS Wednesday 20 July, hosted by South Peninsula U14: Shannon Sissons 16th 22.37 U16: Kristi Lanser 3rd 16.29 U17: Nicky de Villiers 2nd 18.37

NETBALL RESULTS Thursday 21 July vs South Peninsula U19A won 21 – 11 U19B won 23 – 12 U16A drew 7 – 7 U16B won 11 – 6 U14A won 19 – 11 U14B won 15 - 2

HOCKEY RESULTS: Tuesday 19 July The RGHS u16A hockey team played against a touring team, Colstons School, from Bristol, UK. The match was played on astro at Oude Molen and was drawn 1 – 1. These visiting girls were hosted over two consecutive nights by 6 Rustenburg families. A huge thank you to the host families, viz: Jaime Maher, Shannon Hochfelden, Sarah Ekron, Laura Hartman, Olivia Benetton and Nicole Sorour, for making their stay an exceptional experience for all. The hosts had a wonderful time interacting with our girls at a post-match pizza function.

BROTHERS HOCKEY TOURNAMENT The RGHS 1st hockey team participated in the Brothers tournament from 19 – 24 July. This was hosted at Hartleyvale, with our girls also playing at the Bellville, Old Mutual and UCT astro turfs.

24 girls and 24 boys hockey teams were involved, varying from schools teams to provincial teams from NSW and a national team from the Netherlands.

Our girls played 5 pool matches and 2 play-off matches, finishing 17th overall. This hockey tournament played on home soil with an international flavour was a wonderful opportunity for our First Team to experience girls’ hockey at its best. Thank you to Coach Colleen for her incredible ongoing commitment to this team.

NICOLA BARRETT Nicola has been selected to represent South Africa as a member of the South African Junior Women’s Waterpolo team. She will participate in the 9th FINA World Junior Women’s Waterpolo Championships which takes place in Trieste, Italy from 11 – 17 September 2011. We wish Nicola and her team all the very best. We are immensely proud of you, Nicola.

GRETCHIN DAVIDS Gretchin was a member of the Western Province U16A hockey team which won the Inter-provincial hockey tournament which was contested during the July holidays. Gretchin was selected as a member of a 30-strong South African u16 hockey squad which was announced after the tournament. Well done Gretchin.

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More Sports News INTER HOUSE CROSS COUNTRY REPORT 2011 The inter-house cross country event took place on a cool winters morning on Thursday 21 July. A new route was designed which was measured at exactly 3000m.

This new route took the girls off campus, taking in the school grounds and running through the Rygersdal sports complex before returning again to finish on the lower hockey field.

The marshalling on campus was taken care of

by Mr and Mrs Mallon and the Rustenburg teaching staff. Marshalling on the Rygersdal

campus was overseen by Mr Siebrits and our grounds staff.

The timekeeping and recording was ably handled by our teaching staff. All girls completing the course scored one point for their house, with the top 10 runners in each grade scoring additional points.

We had 670 girls who successfully completed the 3km race distance. A huge thank-you to the grounds staff for the laying out of the race route and the professionally laid-out finish area.

INTER-HOUSE RESULTS

HIGHEST CLASS PARTICIPATION

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

Marchand 268pts Cambridge 226pts Innes 209pts Michel Vos 180pts Bleby 176pts

OVERALL INDIVIDUAL RESULTS TOP 10 1st

Kristy Lanser (Grade10) 12m45s 2nd Charlotte Roseveare (Grade11) 13m50s 3rd Nicky de Villiers (Grade 11) 14m03s 4th Samantha McCrindle (Grade 8) 14m35s 5th Robyn Moore (Grade 11) 15m05s 6th Sarah Donde (Grade 9) 15m22s 7th Kelly Hart-Davies (Grade 12) 15m30s 8th tied - Kate Meeser and Amy Scott 15m56s (Grade 11) 10th Elina Chen (Grade 10) 15m57s

100% Grade A3 (Ms Blackshaw) 96.96% Grade A4 (Ms Rees) 96.77% Grade E4 (Ms Botha) 96.42% Grade D4 (Mrs Wallace)

HIGHEST POINTS SCORED 80 points C5 (Ms Rabeh) 5 runners in the top 10 73 points A3 (Ms Blackshaw) 5 runners in the top 10 71 points E5 (Ms Black) 4 runners in the top 10 64 points B2 (Mr Marneweck) 60 points D4 (Mrs Wallace)

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From the Library: a review of Divergent by Veronica Roth Summary In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue — Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent).

On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series — dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

Review To say that this book blew me away would be a severe understatement. This book is by far the best book that I have read this entire year and I could not put it down, not for one second (not even at the dinner table). As far as dystopian books go, my expectations aren’t fairly high (The Hunger Games disappointed me, greatly) but Divergent is completely incredible (I raved about it to everyone for days).

Now to the actual plot: The main protagonist, Beatrice Prior has reached the age (sixteen) where she is tested and placed in a faction that complements her intuition and character. As the story progresses and she chooses her path, it’s suddenly clear that she doesn’t quite fit in just one faction and that proves threatening for those controlling this perfect society because as a Divergent, she can’t easily be manipulated.

What comes next is a continuous revelation of hidden agendas and power plays.

Divergent is basically a teenage action story, but luckily for all the romance suckers (excuse the vampire pun), there are definitely a couple of steamy moments too (but PG-13, sorry.)

I loved to see how Beatrice evolved in the story. In the beginning, we get hints of her courage and intuition, and as she goes through her initiations her feisty personality really explodes!

There’s nothing I love more than female characters that can take on the opposition! She was awesome.

Now I’m going to be honest: the book starts off slowly. By slowly I mean that the “real” action (plot) only really begins around page 400 (out of 500) and essentially the whole book is just background information on Beatrice, her initiation and what’s wrong with the society she’s living in. But it IS worth it, completely.

The book is still packed with enough action and awesomeness to keep you from putting it down.

The final quarter of the book goes into high gear and the adrenaline rush is loaded with high octane power. This book did it right and I just can’t wait for the next release: Insurgent (out in 2012) Star Rating: Reviewer: Alice Lee

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sh ‌ a l F Ar t de 10 Gra ages oll C t Ar Doyeou Ku, C4

Jesse Jason, C2

Courtney Ravell, C3

Kiana Neethling, C5

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Forthcoming Events

AUGUST 2011 Grade 12 Oral Moderation commences

Monday 01

Ramadan starts

Tuesday 02 Wednesday 03 Thursday 04

Assembly: Women’s Day presentation (Grade 12 History) All Grade 9 Subject Choice forms due to form teachers

Friday 05

Boarders weekend out Boarders weekend out

Saturday 06 Sunday 07

Boarders weekend out SCHOOL HOLIDAY

Monday 08

Boarders weekend out PUBLIC HOLIDAY: Women’s Day

Tuesday 09 Wednesday 10

Boarders weekend out Hostel Committee Meeting (Media Centre) 16:30 – 18:00

Thursday 11

Grade 12 Preliminary Music Recitals (KH) 19:00

Friday 12

Blood Donor Clinic: 29 August, 2011, from 12.30 until 2.30.

Thomson Hall.

Heads up: Learners must please note that Wednesday 10 August 2011 will be a Day 6.

Scenes from the recent Inter-House Cross Country Competition

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Scenes from the recent annual Choral Celebration, in conjunction with Rondebosch Boys High School and SACS Photographs courtesy of Sion Stanton Photography