WYNBERG GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL 2017
editorial vision statement Sjaene van Wyk Working on the annual school magazine has left me with an overwhelming sense of pride: in the teaching staff, always prepared to go the extra mile in the best interest of the girls; in the support staff for whom no request is ever too much; in the admin staff who do endless work behind the scenes; in the counsellors who listen with compassion to anyone who needs an ear and finally, the students. The pivotal point in our Wynberg Pride is the enthusiasm of our girls who embrace the countless opportunities that Wynberg provides, whether the field is academic, sport, service or cultural. I never cease to be impressed by the determination and grit shown by those who make maximum use of our wonderful facilities. With innovation and passion they practise, study or interact faithfully, either in teams or individually. The results of their hard work are celebrated on the pages of this magazine. I am grateful to be at a school where people are not intimidated by the prospect of innovation. They are prepared to accept the challenge of reimagining their school and themselves, even if it entails embracing the sometimes difficult process that precedes meaningful change. Daily we read about the current state of education in South Africa – the declining standards, the lack of discipline, and poor teaching. Our students, we are told, are inadequately prepared for a future in a global economy. Everything in this magazine contradicts this negativity. Wynberg continues to provide excellent teaching and facilities, highlighting us as a beacon of hope. This is a school with heart. These pages are testament to that. THANK YOU A very sincere thank you to the many people who contributed to this magazine. Whether you wrote a report, took a photograph, gave advice, did some proofreading, followed up on those who were supposed to submit their contribution, or merely, with grace, allowed me to edit your beautifully written report to a third of its length – I salute you. A special thank you to Ms Pat Orpen and the girls of the Photography Society for the many stunning photographs they took throughout the year; to Mr Andrew Hunter, Ms Lynne Martin and Ms Anya O’Hagan for all of their administrative support; to Mike (Mike Dallas Design) and Craig (Creda Communications (Pty) Ltd) for their patience and professionalism.
SGB & WOGU
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School Spirit Student Leaders
9 10-11
Awards 12-15
values INTEGRITY
We conduct ourselves in all areas of our lives with honesty, honour and trustworthiness.
We value ourselves and other people by recognising their rights and dignity. We value the environment. We take responsibility for our behaviour.
INCLUSIVITY
We accept and include people who are different from us and make an effort to create a school in which all feel that they belong.
EMPATHY
We try to put ourselves in the shoes of others, to understand people, and respond with compassion, kindness and consideration.
COURAGE
We strive to do the right thing and, through innovation and a pioneering spirit, challenge our boundaries and never give up.
We are responsible citizens and remain true to our commitments in all spheres of our lives.
Academic Pillar
16-25
Cultural Pillar
26-39
Service Pillar
40-49
Sports Pillar
50-61
Communications 62
RESPECT
ACCOUNTABILITY EDITORIAL TEAM
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Staff 4-8
Wynberg Girls’ High School is a value-based, eco and socially conscious learning environment encouraging the development of confident and unique women who strive for excellence.
painting : pop art by margareta bosch gr10 (portion)
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Principal’s Message
Grade News
63-69
Waterloo Hostel
70-71
Houses 72-76 Events 77 Creativity 78-81 What’s in a name? Introducing the Honours Quad!
No longer “the sacred grass”, the grass slopes and paths of “The Honours Quad” are for the use of the women of Wynberg. In a collaborative and democratic process of reimagining and redefining this space, the students, staff, past pupils and parents (represented by the parent governors) saw it as an inclusive place of bringing us together to build on the motto of “Honour before Honours.”
P Orpen, S van Wyk, A Hunter
WYNBERG GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL Aliwal Road, Wynberg, 7800 t: 021 764 2200 f: 021 764 2250 e: principal@wynghs.co.za w: www.wynghs.co.za
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principal’s message
SGB
MRS SHIRLEY HARDING School Principal
Wynberg Pride at Open Day
Mrs Harding with former pupil and guest speaker, Maxine
A year in the life of a school – it produces a kaleidoscope of images of learners, staff, parents, events, tours, results and it all adds up to the brand that is Wynberg Girls’ High School. What a privilege it is to write a message in the magazine of 2017 – we have an amazing school with amazing people. Construction has been a large part of our school this year with the new classrooms, hall renovation, the Honours Quad and water-saving projects. Although bricks and mortar are long-lasting, it is what is taught within the walls of our school which has the ability to build foundations for life for each young woman who passes through. Staff and learners were challenged at the beginning of this year to evaluate everything they said
or did against the maxim “Is it the right thing to do?”. We believe, unequivocally, that one of the right things to do was to continue the discussions on transformation – to centre our thoughts and actions on acknowledging and celebrating the rich diversity that is Wynberg, and taking steps to ensure that practices, rules, special events, etc. are inclusive and never create divisions in our community. We are privileged to be able to learn so much about our country by merely opening our lives and interacting daily with people different to ourselves, yet all Wynberg girls with a passion to live life to the full and be successful. We believe that education in the classroom must prepare our young women to take their place in a global society. Thanks are extended to the educators who push and extend our learners; to the support and admin staff who create much of the ordered and aesthetically pleasing environment in which to teach and offer many extra-mural activities – they are all special people. We are grateful to the School Governing Body who fully support the school team and encourage critical discussion before decisions affecting our school are taken. Unfortunately, this year we have to say farewell to quite a few staff, an unusual occurrence at Wynberg. Since we pride ourselves on encouraging our staff members to develop their skills, we cannot but be happy for them when they find their wings and fly! We know that they will take what they have learnt at Wynberg and use these skills as they enter different educational fields in the NPO sector, developing resources for teaching, traveling the world to broaden their educational knowledge or moving on promotion to another school. We wish them all well in their new journeys. Please read about each one’s personal journey elsewhere in the magazine. We are fortunate to have experienced a wonderful 2017 and look forward to 2018 with all the wonderful women (and a few men!) of Wynberg.
ABOVE: Newly installed tanks to supply water to the toilets LEFT: Wynberg’s wonderful maintenance team with the JoJo tanks
WYNBERG WORKS TO SAVE WATER
In May 2017, as water was becoming a precious resource, the maintenance team under Estate Manager, Bryan Wood, began the journey to make the school less reliant on municipal water. A start was made by harvesting water which runs under the hostel and storing it in two x 5000l JoJo tanks. The water was then plumbed to supply all the toilets in the hostel which halved our consumption of the municipal water in the hostel. With this project successfully completed, and realising the longterm implications of little rain, a borehole was drilled in October. Two x 10 000l JoJo tanks were installed to harvest the water from the borehole. The ever-resourceful maintenance team laid pipes throughout the campus to the overhead tanks which feed the toilets in the school. There was a slight delay in completing the first part of this project as the two storage tanks feeding the main school building were
asbestos and, after a request, were removed by the department of Public Works and replaced with suitable tanks. With this section of the school functioning efficiently, the next pipes were laid to the Cavan Road side of the school to supply the two toilet blocks at the far end of the school, near rooms 8 and 19. In November the school switched over from using municipal water to borehole water for these toilet blocks. By the end of the year, planning was in place to supply water to the hall toilets and also to look at the possibility, after the correct testing of the water, of supplying borehole water to the hostel showers. Wynberg will start the new school year with a fully operational new system, which will significantly reduce our dependency on municipal water – and at the same time, significantly reduce our water bills!
WOGU
NICKI STOCK
Governing Body Chairperson
SCHOOL GOVERNING BODY (SGB)
This time last year we were waiting with anticipation for the new classrooms to be finished! Seems hard to believe, as they have been in full use since the beginning of Term 2, as has the grass on top of them – the Honours Quad. This name was chosen by the school after a rigorous voting process. It’s a wonderful open space used for both formal and informal occasions! The same contractors who built our classrooms quickly got the hall floor done after it was found to be suffering from water damage to the support structure. A few slight changes mean that we have a room that is more versatile with more space for events like the matric art show. Other building changes this year include moving the two art rooms together, into the same part of the school, creating a music room that works well for smaller concerts and fitting doors into the geography classrooms that open onto their garden. The garden has a portion devoted to vegetables which are being harvested. The drought has also brought about changes to the school, with the maintenance team coming up with different ways to reduce our reliance on municipal water. The school now no longer uses municipal water to flush most of its toilets – both in the main buildings and in hostel. Thank you very much to the team involved. Throughout the year we have continued to work on the transformation process that was initiated during 2016. Working with the various committees that were set up to tackle different aspects was both interesting and rewarding. But the process takes time and it will be a while before all our policies are aligned to reflect the values that were workshopped and finalised in the last few weeks of the year. We have had a wonderful team of people on the SGB. We have had to say goodbye to 2 members: Lyzann Guthrie – our Vice Chairperson – moved to Durban with her family and Agape Thamar went to the UK. At the end of 2017 we said goodbye to 2 more parent SGB members as their daughters matriculated: thank you very much to Sonja Kotze for her time with us as our treasurer; and to Alan Makinson for all the liaising and guidance he gave us during his tenure on the SGB. Our new classrooms stand testament to his time with us! We also said goodbye to Alex Kourie as a teacher representative on the SGB as she is retiring, and trust she will enjoy this new era. To the rest of the team – thank you to you all for your care and insight during the year. To the school management team, and all the staff involved in the day to day running of our school – thank you. Nicki Stock chairperson Lyzann Guthrie vice chair Shirley Harding principal Hilary Mills secretary & finance committee Grant Alexander finance committee David Burrell finance committee Sonja Kotze treasurer Alan Lodewyk IT Michael Taberner marketing Work being Alan Makinson maintenance done on the Melissa McCarthy discipline committee hall floor Tania Grey discipline chair Thoko de la Hunt discipline committee Alex Kourie discipline committee Zainab Noor discipline committee Kayla Barnes learner representative Aqilah Regal learner representative Rabecca Rooy learner representative Agape Thamar learner representative
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DIEDRE SCHULTZ
Chairperson – Wynberg Old Girls Union
Wynberg Old Girls Union (W0GU)
Wynberg Girls’ High celebrated 133 years this year. From humble beginnings known as The School in the Bush, Wynberg has grown into a leading school for girls, producing many Women of Worth we are proud to call members of our Old Girls Union. We have a growing database of names of past pupils and continue to update this with details of career paths etc. Every year there are so many who achieve success in all walks of life – we salute you all in continuing the long tradition of integrity, commitment and above all Honour before Honours. The annual Careers Connect took place in June, where learners were invited to attend presentations and Q&A sessions with some of our past pupils who so generously gave of their time to inform the learners about their respective careers. Six years ago we started the service project called Wool for Wonders, which involves knitted items for babies and young children in need. The project is run all year – so the knitting need never be far from reach! The various organisations who received the more than 5000 items of jerseys, beanies, booties, blankets, scarves and knitted toys were over the moon. Founders’ Week with the reception function, flag raising ceremony, sports matches and special assembly, is a regular opportunity for our past pupils to reconnect. This year was a very busy time indeed – with the stunning new state of the art designed classrooms and the grassed amphitheatre above to view, our tour guides were kept in demand. As always we were thrilled to invite the reunion groups back to their alma mater, and we are constantly in awe of the youth and stamina of the groups celebrating 50 plus years out of school! The head girl of the class of 1967, Jenny Binedell, gave an inspiring address to the assembly of her classmates and the current girls and faculty. Ann Coltham, our Vice Chairperson, has kept us all fit and appreciative of the beauty of Cape Town with our seasonal walks – please check the Facebook page for updates. Finally I would like to take this opportunity to thank the ladies of the Old Girls committee for their fabulous support and dedication. Huge appreciation to Ann Coltham, Tracy Mills (our very efficient secretary), Hilary Mills, Meg Anderton, Jade Bailey, Ruth Chalmers, Nicole Comninellis, Bev Edwards, Carole Fallows, Lara Harris, Lois Herr, Rona le Roux, Amy-Jade le Roux, Deirdre Lindeque, Jamie Southgate, Sandy Smith, Tracy Stallard, Casey Valentine, Kerri Young and of course, Shirley Harding and Dee Cawcutt, Michelle Bell and Aneeqa Said. To the matriculants of 2017, we say congratulations and welcome to your new link to the school. We look forward to hosting you at one of our receptions in 2018!
Class of 1967s 50th reunion group
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FAREWELLS – RETIREES AFTER LONG SERVICE
EDUCATORS
Back row: Mr A Hunter, Mr D Machado, Mr P Bodenstein, Mrs A Kourie, Mrs J Stoop, Mrs B Patel, Mrs D Saporetti, Mr N Lewis, Ms J Kunze, Ms C Underhill,
Mr P Schutte, Mr J Roberts ROW 4: Ms E Hudson, Ms G Johannes, Mrs P du Plessis, Ms Y Marais, Mr J Saayman, Ms S Pienaar, Ms D Pearce, Ms M le Roux, Ms C Witthuhn, Mrs V Muller, Ms L Wills ROW 3: Mrs M Stapelberg, Ms K Powell, Ms L Damon, Ms B Franke, Mrs E Hill, Ms T Sewraj, Mrs T Godana, Mrs S van Bergen, Ms S Amien, Ms C Marneweck, Ms A Wilkinson ROW 2: Mrs J Badenhorst, Mrs N Singh, Mrs M van der Merwe, Mrs P McEwen, Mrs S Furstenburg, Ms N Faller, Mrs O Ahmed, Mrs N Moerat, Mrs J Nel, Ms S Ferguson-Brown Front row: Mrs J Paverd, Mrs D Hartmann, Mrs A Coetzee, Mrs A Smith, Ms M McCarthy, Mrs S Harding, Mr D Burrell, Ms M Lawrence, Mrs P Orpen, Ms B de Waal, Mrs I Adolph
Mrs N Mhlauli, our Laboratory Assistant
Mr Enver Hassim, the Campus of Schools’ Network Administrator
Ms Janice HudsonWindsor
ADMIN STAFF
Back ROW: Mrs H Mills, Mrs L Theunissen, Mrs B Williams,
Mr G Alexander, Mr W Simons Middle ROW: Mrs J Stokell, Mrs K Manners, Mrs J Aproskie, Mrs M Smith Front ROW: Ms C de Wet, Mrs S Harding, Mrs L de Wet, Ms A O’Hagan
SUPPORT STAFF (women)
Back ROW: Mrs M Roberts, Mrs M Glover, Mrs L Maart Front ROW: Mrs F Zondela, Mrs J Stokell, Mrs V Nonyongo, Mrs L Gcweka
SUPPORT STAFF (men)
Back ROW: Mr R Bonus, Mr B Moyikwa, Mr S Gqada, Mr T Damane Front ROW: Mr M Tyosi, Mr Clint Leak, Mr B Wood, Mr Craig Leak, Mr G Wentzel
Mrs Antoinette Coetzee
Mrs DALE HARTMANN
Mrs ALEXANDRA KOURIE
Mrs Coetzee joined the English department in 2005 and has been an integral member thereof ever since, teaching Grades 8 - 12 over the years. An experienced and committed teacher, she has always approached her lessons and her numerous other responsibilities with the greatest sense of professionalism. Mrs Coetzee has been known for her kind, gentle and caring spirit, a love for people and a selfless approach to friends, colleagues and learners. She has always been willing to go the extra mile – something she does cheerfully – adding to her own load if it meant making someone else’s load lighter. During her time at Wynberg Mrs Coetzee has also taught Afrikaans and in 2007 became Head of Copenhagen, a role in which her pastoral gifts and love for others shone. As both a teacher and House Coordinator, Mrs Coetzee has been the epitome of calm and discretion – the latter being one of the reasons she was entrusted with the task of relaying suggestions from the staff to management. Her own management and organisational skills, as well as her creative flair, were put to task when she headed up the Matric Dance committee – something which she accomplished in her usual graceful manner. It is with great sadness that we bid farewell to such a wonderful teacher, friend and colleague. Ms Jackie Kunze
In January 2000, Mrs Dale Hartmann joined the staff at Wynberg Girls’ High School, to teach what was then called Biology. Over the years, the name of the subject might have changed to Natural Sciences for Grades 8 and 9 and Life Sciences for Grades 10 - 12, but her passion for the subject and her incomparable teaching skills have never changed. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Wynberg girls have benefitted from her teaching methodologies, stories, insatiable appetite for knowledge and desire for academic rigour for all. As House Coordinator of Waterloo for many years, the girls in blue have been truly blessed to have this dedicated “mom” as their mentor. Mrs Hartmann’s commitment to her girls being the best people that they can be led her to initiate Academic Support, where peer tutors could help those who needed some assistance. Her other passion at school was Capstone, the Christian Union. She led an enthusiastic group of girls on annual camps, during break time meetings, and prayer sessions. Many of them matured in their faith with her guidance and wisdom. As Mrs Harding said in the end-of-term assembly, Mrs Hartmann’s departure will leave a very big hole which will be difficult to fill. However, we know that her heart belongs here and that she will be back to see us and help out wherever she can. Go well, Dale. You will be sorely missed. Mrs Alison Smith
If you were to compile video clips of Alex Kourie over the last 18 and a half years during which she has graced W.G.H.S. with her presence, you may see something like this: Mrs Kourie carrying a cordon bleu cake in her right hand (which she will present to a colleague on her birthday); Mrs Kourie holding a baby’s blanket (which she has spent hours crocheting for a newborn) in her left hand, and, somewhere in between, Mrs Kourie balancing a tin of hot chocolate which she has bought for her film club. If the camera were then to move to her classroom, you would see her love of literature, her expert teaching and her inimitable knowledge of her subject – English. You may even hear a couple of Shakespearean quotations from time to time! Throughout the years, Mrs Kourie has given selflessly of her time to Wynberg Girls’ High, her colleagues and her learners. You would never have believed that she was here only in a part-time capacity. Every day has seen her offer her services without promise of a reward: the helping hand, both in the classroom and the one extended to both learners and colleagues, is something we shall never forget to appreciate. If the camera had to pause, it would probably capture Mrs Kourie listening to someone’s troubles and offering a solution. Often a gentle touch and a quiet word of concern would be her way of helping you through a difficult day. Mrs Kourie, the English Department will miss your talent in teaching Shakespeare to the English AS levels learners; your time spent on the English Olympiads; your gems of wisdom and life’s lessons in the classroom and for being our friend. Thank you for being the shelter in the storm; thank you for your infinite kindness and thank you for being Alex Kourie. We shall miss you and all that you have given to WGHS; we shall miss your laughter, especially through the darkest days as we carry our piles of Paper 3 to our cars and, lastly, we shall miss your favourite words of comfort: “And all will be well”. Ms Miki Lawrence
COUNsELLING STAFF Ms J Petersen, Mrs A Eakin
SECURITY STAFF
left: Mr C Naku, right: Mr Z Nhose
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STAFF REPORT The images conjured up when thinking about 2017 are varied: teaching to the beat of jackhammers, surviving what felt like the longest school term in the history of mankind, courageously continuing to spearhead the transformation process, pushing boundaries and widening perceptions. Then there is also dealing with the worsening water-crisis, growing people, starting with ourselves, and aspiring to always do the right thing. The Wynberg Girls’ High School staff, like every other family, shared many experiences in 2017. The wisdom of the inimitable Dr Seuss is as good a place as any to find inspiration in attempting to relay just a peek into the lives of our staff members. You can steer yourself any direction you choose: we kicked off 2017 welcoming a number of new staff members who chose (so very wisely) to make WGHS their new home. Mrs Jackie Badenhorst was appointed as the Dance Studies subject head. Ms Cheslyn De Wet became the IT intern and Ms Megan Le Roux joined both the WGHS and Waterloo Hostel teams, the hostel being led by the new superintendent, Mrs Norma Karsten. Mrs Megan Stapelberg, new to the Afrikaans Department, used her counselling background to run study skills workshops for the junior grades. Ms Trenell Sewraj was the new face in the Geography Department. Their heads full of brains, with a Great Balancing Act: several of our staff members managed to further their studies while in a full-time job. Ms Amy Wilkinson obtained her PGCE (Cum Laude), and we were thrilled to keep her at her alma mater by changing her status from being an intern to a fullMegan le Roux and Ryno time teacher in the History, Geography announce their engagement and LO departments. Ms Lindsay Wills on social media received the Master’s Degree in Women’s Studies for which she qualified (Cum Laude) through York University in 2016. Mrs Paige du Plessis continued her Bachelor’s Degree in History and Art History, and Ms Ché Marneweck completed her Google Educator Certification. Ms Megan le Roux managed to move to a new province, new school, new home, and get engaged to her boyfriend Ryno, all while finishing her Honours degree in Mathematical Education. These ladies accomplished these feats without ever reneging on their teaching or extramural responsibilities and we are so proud of all Eric and Ingrid Adolph of them.
Kerry and Garth Hermans
There is fun to be done: our staff found many opportunities to oblige. Mrs Ingrid De Waal became the radiant Mrs Adolph when she married Eric. It was a true Wynberg affair, with the wedding reception held in the school hall, and many former and current students and staff involved in
the celebrations. K Z N ’s l o s s w a s certainly Wynberg Girls’ High’s gain when Ms Kerry Powell followed her boyfriend Garth to Cape Town. He popped the question with an array of cupcakes spelling out “Will you marry me?” and she became Mrs Hermans at Suikerbossie in December. Ms Gabrielle Johannes said ‘yes’ to Roscoe in June, and they celebrated their nuptials at the Moravian Chapel and Centre for the Book. Cape Town put its best foot forward for this occasion - except for the gusts of wind that almost saw the new Mrs Johannes-Swanson’s veil fly into the Atlantic Ocean! Ms Lindsay Wills married Claremont High School teacher Alex Wilson in Gansbaai on New Year’s Eve and she celebrated into 2018, a ravishing and ecstatic bride. Mrs Nazeeba Moerat’s children provided her with abundant cause for celebration in 2017: her daughter Nishaat got married, her son qualified as a medical doctor, and her youngest daughter, Saarah, was elected as head of the Academic Pillar at WGHS.
is expecting her first baby. Although she has left us to move to the family farm in Britstown with her husband, Stephan, we know Sollie will bring the little one to meet us. The circle of life is one that the WGHS staff cannot escape, and while we celebrated the joy of new life, we also shared in the heartache that comes with losing loved ones. Antoinette Coetzee’s brother Altus and father-in-law Gert both passed away; Mrs Kerry Hermans (Powell at the time) lost her granny Julienne; Mrs Brigitte Francke, Mrs Elke Hill and Ms Nazeeba Moerat all went through the agony of losing a parent.
Lindsay Wills and Alex Wilson
Jasper, Kirstie and Samantha
In the interest of taking up Saayman less than half the magazine with the staff report, the fur babies have unfortunately been omitted from the list. But many human babies were also welcomed to the WGHS family in 2017. Mr Jasper Saayman and his wife Kirstie’s little surprise package, Samantha, arrived in December 2016, and has her father totally wrapped around her little finger. Mrs Clair Barnard and her husband Neil welcomed their little miracle, Lilly Ryann, into the world in December. Clair, baby Lilly and Neil Barnard Clair’s stint as a part time teacher at WGHS came to an end before she went on maternity leave, and she will be a full time mom for a while. Mrs Dale Hartmann retired from teaching just in time to meet her new grandson in the UK. We know both Dale and Mrs Antoinette Coetzee, who retired at the end of 2017, will treasure the freedom to spend oodles of time with their grandbabies. Mrs Jeanette Stokell scored a double granny-whammy with the arrival of Scarlett and Findlay. Jeanette had a difficult year with regards to her health, and we are so happy that her life was filled with these wonderful blessings. Mrs Marie-Louise van der Merwe
Roscoe and Gabrielle JOHANNES-SWANSON
An emotional goodbye from the Waterloo girls to Dale Hartmann
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There are points to be scored and games to be won, and our winningest winners of all on the sports field are surely our first team Hockey coaches, Ms Janice Hudson-Windsor and Mr Ryan Pillay, who were once again appointed as coaches of Western Province teams. Janice is also the WP Girls’ Hockey Coordinator, and Ryan coached the Wineland Wings PHL team.
Our Jaloersbokkie, Ms Jawaahier Petersen, is as famous as famous can be, with the whole wide Other Bang-ups and Hangworld watching her win ups that the Wynberg staff a Ghoema Award on TV! encountered related to their The Jaloersbokkies with their Not only that, but this health. Mrs Alison Smith Ghoema Award amazing woman also (photo credit: Yolandi Jacobsz) came through a period of appeared on the Expresso severe ill health with her usual Breakfast Show to discuss human trafficking. Ms Dayna tenacity, and was back on the Pearce is no stranger to the bright places where the road and running as soon Boom Bands are playing. An accomplished musician, as the doctors cleared her. in 2017 she played saxophone in the Fugard Theatre’s Ms Melissa McCarthy had iconic production of King Kong. Mr Nathan Lewis was the to undergo a foot operation David Burrell in Scandinavia at the sighting of accompanist for the Stellenbosch University Orchestra the northern lights and painful healing process. and Canticum Novum Choir for their production of Mrs Dale Hartmann and Mrs Handel’s Messiah. Debby Saporetti were finally relieved of years of battling with a sore shoulder and hand, respectively, after successful operations. Ms Fundiswa Zonela went through a long period of ill health, and Mrs Suretha van Bergen had a debilitating back injury. Our friends on the staff are resilient, and though the weather be foul, on they will go.
At Wynberg, we encourage staff members to develop their skills and practise their leadership in various ways. We must then be pleased for them when they decide to use these skills to develop their careers in other areas of education. We said farewell to a few more friends, other than those mentioned before, and we know wherever they fly, they’ll be Brains in their heads, shoes on their best of the best. Wherever feet...the Wynberg staff members they go, they will top all are intrepid travellers, and oh, the rest. Mrs Alex Kourie the places they go! Road tripping decided it is time to retire through parts of South Africa, and will be living in Simon’s honeymooning in Bali, basking in Town for a bit for a change of the Greek sun, trekking through the scenery. The ever popular Mr jungles of India, teaching in Italy for David Machado accepted a the summer, doing eco-tourism in position at UCT, developing Zambia, visiting the Kruger Park (to curriculum material for get inspiration for the next animal underprivileged schools. Ms to use as our inspiration for 2018?), Jasper Saayman and David Machado at Moyo Erin Hudson wants to explore even braving it to Johannesburg Restaurant for the Achievers’ Dinner the NGO world, as well as to visit the children. Our staff her passion for permaculture members used these and many gardening. Our financial manager, Mr Grant Alexander, left to other available opportunities to return to the corporate sector. Ms Sara Muhl has been helping out explore. Mr David Burrell’s sighting in a part time capacity since the birth of the beautiful Grace and of the northern lights in Scandinavia we are sure she will continue to do so as the need arises. Mrs Joni supplied him with years’ Stoop secured a position Janice Hudson-Windsor worth of Facebook profile and Aaminah Domingo in their at Curro Century City, pictures. Mr Peter Schutte Western Province kit which is much closer to decided he needed to her home and will shorten resign to become a full time traveller for a while, and he is h e r daily c o m m u te off to Great Places, he is off and away! He will be studying tremendously. As sorry the use of technology in Maths while he is travelling. as we are to see Mrs 2017 saw several more staff members soar to high Thokozile Godana go, heights, and we celebrate their achievements with them. as thrilled are we for her Mrs Hartmann’s retirement led to Mr Andrew Hunter upon her appointment as being appointed as the House Coordinator for Waterloo Head of Department at The Ubuntu girls say goodbye to Thoko Godana House, and to Mrs Kerry Hermans leading the Natural Claremont High School. Sciences Department. Ms Sarah Ferguson-Brown took We share in the excitement of those who buy their first homes. We over the reins of Wellesley when Ms Bonita de Waal resigned to hold the hands of those whose hearts are pounding at seeing their follow her dream of setting up an online IT course for high school kids off to a new phase of life. We celebrate with those who have students. Her departure also means that Mr John Roberts will head ‘big’ birthdays or whose children make them proud. Our hearts up the Mathematics Department for the time being. Ms Noeline ache when our friends leave us. We rejoice with those who are Faller took over as House Coordinator of Copenhagen when Mrs happy, we shed a tear with those who are sad. We embrace those Coetzee retired. The three new House Coordinators thus also who are overwhelmed. became members of the Management team. Ms Shireen Amien’s position became permanent, and Ms Sakeena Williams was We do life with each other. Ms Sjaene van Wyk appointed in a full time, permanent position.
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school spirit
STAFF KALEIDOSCOPE
OUR SCHOOL SPIRIT The first crops from our veggie garden being appreciated by our staff
Staff members enjoying the Hostel Matric Farewell
Jola Nel celebrating a big birthday
ChĂŠ Marneweck and Jackie Kunze celebrate 12 years of teaching together
Jola Nel and Andrew Hunter, winners of the Staff vs Girls tennis tournament.
David Burrell photobombing the hostel matrics
Sara Muhl wearing her birthday present from her husband
Celebrating with our friend and former colleague, Louise (2nd from right), on her wedding day
The staff teams kept the girls on their toes at the Athena Games
All dolled up for the matric dance
The History Department before the Valedictory assembly
Anya O’Hagan and Miki Lawrence celebrating Wynberg at Open Day
Knitting (and learning to do so) for the Wool for Wonders campaign
Kerry Powell and Dayna Pearce at the Hostel Matric Farewell
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student leaders by
Jessica Stephens Head of School
It’s hard to believe that the time has come to reflect on all of the wonder this year has entailed. Each and every Wynberg girl has encountered change, growth and the discovery of a wealth of new information – both in the classroom and out. When I think back to my Grade 8 Orientation, the day my journey as a Wynberg Girl began, I am reminded how proud I am to have attended such a wonderful school – along with such wonderful people. We all started out as separate entities, from different backgrounds, in a crowd of unfamiliar faces. This certainly stands in contrast with the situation we find ourselves in today: young Wynberg women, united in our quest for Honour Before Honours. In Grade 9 my most treasured memory is the camp. Despite crawling through mud and the constant fear of spiders, events like these produce friendships that will last a lifetime. Grade 10 spelt the first little taste of independence at school. You get to focus on the subjects you really enjoy. Simple decisions like these represent the way in which our time at Wynberg shapes us
Outgoing leaders after the announcement of their successors
student leaders into the independent and incredibly enlightened young women we strive to be. Grade 11 is a year full of self-discovery, goal-setting and everything in between. This busy year at Wynberg taught me so many lessons that I will take with me wherever I go. And finally, matric. It has been the best year of my life so far. Our sleepover consisted of little sleep. Our matric dance was exquisite. 40 days was a blast. And all too soon it was over… The end of another year at Wynberg is always a time for celebration. But it’s also a time for appreciation. It’s a time to thank all the parents and guardians who give up countless hours to help us achieve all that we do. It’s a time to thank all of the teachers who impact lives in so many ways and never fail to show passion, commitment, and hard work. In all honesty, I’m not sad to be leaving school. I’m sad to be leaving all of the people that make it so special. The last ‘thank you’ is to all of my fellow students who make Wynberg such an incredibly vibrant place. Our school is made up of the most beautiful kaleidoscope of interesting and diverse individuals and it has been an absolute pleasure crossing paths with such special people. Wynberg will forever have a special place in my heart. Now all that’s left to say is “Sayonara 2017!” Thank you for yet another incredible year full of growth, happiness and success at Wynberg. May the year ahead hold infinite possibilities for us all!
Members of the 2017 Leadership group
by
ChloË Johnson RCL Chairperson
RCL Report
The RCL chose WOW! (Women of Wynberg) as our slogan for the year. We used this as a constant reminder of why we were serving our term and trying to improve our school. I’m thankful I had the opportunity to lead a group of girls who have shown dedication, will and honour. Our term in office coincided with the transformation process picking up speed. We have completed some significant tasks during our term of office, e.g. re-evaluating and changing the hair policy to provide clarity and greater inclusion. We also evaluated many other policies – a work in progress continued by the new committee. An important method of achieving our goal of focusing on more serious issues, was the
introduction of our email address suggestions@wynghs.co.za, which has allowed girls to send their suggestions to us. We hope that more girls will make use of this in the future. A special thank you should be said to Ms McCarthy, the teacher liaison of the RCL. Ms McCarthy puts enormous amounts of time, effort, love and compassion into the RCL and we couldn’t ask for a more supportive teacher. Also thanks to Ms Underhill, who sat in on some of our meetings and gave valuable insight which shaped many of our ideas. Thank you, too, to the School Governing Body for their constant input and support. And finally, to Mrs Harding, for the time she has put into the RCL. As the Chairperson of this RCL, I am proud of what we have achieved this year. I am proud of the way in which we have conducted ourselves and the example we have set. It has been a privilege to work with such an outstanding group of Wynberg women, who value themselves and our school. My best wishes to Jade de Villiers, Chairperson for 2018, and the rest of the RCL. Stay humble and committed!
Ashlyn and Juliet at the Achievers’ Dinner
RCL
BACK ROW:
S Barnes, A Bailey, M Grace, Ms. M McCarthy, N Noor, J de Villiers, E Harris FRONT ROW: K Barnes, A Anderton, S Goliath, C Johnson, H Nam, C Austin
RCL Voting
SCHOOL COUNCIL
BACK ROW: S Goliath, L Bredekamp, M Adams, S Dingeni, S Reilly MIDDLE ROW: C Johnson, P Maruping, R Johansson, H Nam, A Southern, K Nicholls FRONT ROW: P Naidoo, J Stromin, J Stephens, I Evans, A Arendse, K Garcia
HOSTEL LEADERS The candle-lighting ceremony at the Hostel matric farewell
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BACK ROW: B. Blackburn, L. Mde, M Gray FRONT ROW: P Maruping, L Wang, S Dingeni, A Mahlungulu
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awards
awards
ACADEMIC PILLAR COLOURS
CULTURAL PILLAR COLOURS
Protea Colours
Protea Colours
Protea Colours
Carin Donson
Amina Williams - Hockey
Nirvana De Villiers
Full Colours
Na-eela Coleman Parina Naidoo Katherine Nicholls Jessica Stephens
Full Colours
Full Colours CONTINUED
Amina Castineira Jenna Currie Erin Daries Aaliyah Haron
GRADE 12
Jasmine Kennedy
Amy Arendse
Lindsay Noland
Aqeelah Allie India Babb Yusra Booley Lesley Bredekamp Afroze Chicktay
Stephanie Newman Joanna Roodt Mu’minah Salie Naomi Simpson Inge Tripod
Michaela Jacobs
Maryam Adams - Water Polo
Full Colours
Aaliah Dollie - Hockey
Lesley Bredekamp - Drama Kezra Cairns - Music Lakiesh Daniels - Music Tyla Dickenson - Music Bella Draper - Drama, Music Amy Forster - Music
Amber Bailey - Hockey Aaminah Domingo - Hockey Joy Espach - Water Polo Isobel Evans - Squash Brittany Gutuza - Water Polo Mikaela Gray - Athletics,
Cross Country
Tyla Dickenson
Nicola van Tellingen
Isabelle Hayes - Music
Caleigh Hanekom - Water Polo
Jennifer-Claire Ely
Half Colours
Robyn Johansson - Dance
Lara Johnson - Athletics
Anelisa Mahlungulu - Music
Melissa Makinson - Water Polo
Emma Martin - Music
Samantha Martin - Diving
Hannah Muller - Music
Kayla Morgan - Hockey
Simone Neethling - Dance
Katherine NichoLls - Hockey
Isobel Evans Paige Farquhar Tayob Harrison Farah Isaacs Ammaarah Jacobs Robyn Johansson Tejal Kooverjee Jewel Ormond Sonja Stock Juliet Stromin Caitlin Wilsnagh GRADE 11
Saarah Abrahams Abby Anderton Jessica Austin Malikah Gaibi Caris Gertzen Isabelle Hayes Jamie Hull Jane Imrie Juliet Killick Sinazo Kwatsha Drew MacArthur Laila Manie Kiran Naicker
GRADE 12
Rebecca Bredekamp Paula Buchanan Lauren De Smidt Siphoesihle Gqaji Taylor Herbert Tamia Morgan Jordan Pitt Shannon Prentice
Half Colours
GRADE 11
ChÉYENNE Britten -
Bilqees Abrahams - Water Polo
Naima Bester Aniqah Brenner Jade de Keijzer Jade de Villiers Kelsey Lodewyk Khanya Lujabe Lilitha Njobe Maree Petersen Amarah Sadan Farahana Smailovic
Kayla Barnes Chéyenne Britten Mackenzie Chothia Mia du Plessis Nonelela Madubedube
Frances Barrow
Hannah Müller
Robyn Brown
Megan FaRQUHAR - Photography Joanna Roodt - Photography ZoË Sasman - Photography
SERVICE PILLAR COLOURS Full Colours Abby Anderton Yusra Booley Amarah Dawood Kayla Garcia Megan Noffke Andrea Pieterse Stephanie Scott
Pearl Gungu - Squash
Amina Williams
Jade Hartnick - Netball
TOP 3 POSITIONS GRADE 12
Kelly Johnson - Hockey
K Nicholls, R Johansson (1st), I Evans (2nd), P Naidoo (3rd)
Yusrah Khan - Hockey Skye Murray - Hockey Samantha Springorum -
Netball
Carin Donson
Kayla Garcia and Kendra Petersen
TOP 3 POSITIONS GRADE 11
TOP 3 POSITIONS GRADE 10
TOP 3 POSITIONS GRADE 9
TOP 3 POSITIONS GRADE 8
N Coleman (1st), S Abrahams (2nd), J Killick (3rd)
Allison robertson
N van Tellingen (1st), K Appleton (2nd), M Bosch (3rd)
Lesley Bredekamp
Lara Johnson
Indoor Hockey
Michelle Boshoff - Athletics Nishaat Davids - Swimming Sisipho Dingeni - Hockey,
Indoor Hockey
Isobel Evans - Tennis
J Irvine-Smith (1st), C Beaton (2nd), L Mills (3rd)
Jamie Southgate (Matric 2016) was selected to represent South Africa in the U21 SA Ladies Hockey Team
M Charitou (1st), J Ryklief (2nd), A Mingo (3rd)
Tyra-Leigh Findlay - Synchro Raniya Khan - Hockey
Brittany Gutuza
Tatum Leibrandt - Water Polo
Kayla Morgan
Aliya Lewis - Hockey Emma Martin - Diving Lelethu Mzaza - Athletics Katherine Nicholls - Tennis Jewel Ormond - Synchro Jessica Petersen - Athletics Haanim Samaai - Hockey
Kyra Ormond
Half Colours
Aasiyah Saffodien
Saarah Abrahams
Inge Tripod - Squash
Rachael Springorum
Ammaarah Jacobs Kendra Petersen
Laretia Espach - Hockey
Bilqees Benjamin - Water Polo
Caitlin Thomson
Saabirah Tofie
Jessica Cooke - Hockey
Amber-Rose Bailey -
Natasha Claassen - Netball
Bella Draper
Kaley Appleton
Margareta Bosch
Photography
Grace Cochrane - Hockey
Water Polo
Half Colours
Morgan Lottering
Ciara Birch
Olivia Walker - Hockey,
Paige Seale
GRADE 10
Lara Berry
Sonja Stock - Music
Jessica Stephens - Athletics
Chelsea van der Berg - Hockey
Caitlin Sasman
GRADE 10
Jesse Vosloo
Ashlyn Southern - Music
Skyla Barnes - Hockey
Ashlyn Southern - Squash
Zoey Van Reenen - Drama
Rebecca Prytz
Aneesa Rawat
Chelsea Van Heerden
Tamiya Safodien - Photography
JUNIOR CERTIFICATES GradeS 8 & 9
Jessica Petersen - Netball
Amina Williams - Indoor Hockey
Ishwarya Ramklass
Bianca Smit
Allison Robertson - Music
Juliet Stromin - Drama
Zoey van Reenen
Aqilah Regal
Jewel Ormond - Music
Top Academic Achievers
SPORTS PILLAR COLOURS
Hongju Nam
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Ashley Timms - Netball Chelsea van der Berg -
Indoor Hockey
Savannah Wiegand - Tennis
Jess Virgin was selected for the South African team to take part in the 2018 Karate World Champs
Caleigh Hanekom
Caitlin Thomson
ABOVE: Surika Snyman won gold for South Africa in the Badminton All Africa Games LEFT: Sabine Ellis represented South Africa at the Goju Kai Karate World Championships
14 |
awards
awards
SPECIAL AWARDS Maryam Adams
Trophy: Most Outstanding Water Polo Player Kaley Appleton Brey Trophy: Excellence in Mathematics Danielle Arendse Nanda Keerodhur Cup: Academic Progress over 3 years Micaela Arries Mozart Cup: Most Deserving Junior Music Pupil Juliette Austin Lindy Anderson Trophy: Outstanding Contribution to the Drama Department Amber-Rose Bailey Hester Baartman Trophy: Most Outstanding Senior Hockey Player Nkhensani Baloyi Gail Astwood Literary Award; Courtney Clarke Cup: Courtesy & Deportment Rebecca Beardwood Grey Trophy: Excellence in Cross Country (Grade 8-11) Camryn Beaton Book Prize: English Creative Writing - Grade 9 Ruby Behrens Trophy: Best Junior Netball Player Yusra Booley Sue Gow Floating Trophy: Service to the School; E B Lyon Prize Lesley Bredekamp De Villiers Shield: Inspirational work in Drama Jade Carlos Hind Trophy: Best u14 Swimmer Rachel Carstens Borrill Trophy: General Knowledge - Junior Jessica Carter Bluff Trophy: Highest Mark in the English Language Paper in Grade 8 Natasha Claasen Flint-Cresswell Trophy: Best Open Netball Player Na-eela Coleman Book Prize: English Creative Writing - Grade 11; Lotz Trophy: Excellence in the Sciences - Grade 10 & 11 Jessica Cooke McCue Floating Trophy: Most Improved Indoor Hockey Player Emma Curry Louw Cup: Good Fellowship - Grade 9 Qailah Daniels Gerald Lea Cup: Enthusiastic Participation in Extra-murals - Grade 9 Alexandra de Rose Book Prize: English Creative Writing - Grade 10 Sisipho Dingeni Cavalier Indoor Cup: Best Indoor Hockey Player; Mabel Fanana-Mpambo Trophy: Highest Mark in isiXhosa Literature in Grade 12; WGHS Xhosa Society Trophy: Promotion of Cultural Harmony Aaminah Domingo 1989 Auxiliaries Cup: Best U16 Hockey Player Carin Donson Sforzando Trophy: Overall Contribution & Participation in the Music Department Bella Draper Gilda Green Trophy: Sustained Excellence in the Drama Department; 1961 Matric Trophy: Service & Commitment in Cultural Activities - Grade 10 & 11 Summer Dreyden Book Prize: English Creative Writing - Grade 8 Joy Espach Hind Trophy: Most Outstanding Swimmer Isobel Evans Vos Prize: General Knowledge (Senior); Prize for Second position in Grade 12; Rupert Pfeiffer Bursary: Further Study Kayla Garcia Harewood Cup: Service; Wynberg Old Girls’ Union Prize: Service and Fellowship Stacey Goliath 1967 Std 10 Cup: Public Speaking; WGHS Cup: Debating; Phillip Peche Trophy: Achievement under Difficult Circumstances Beth Goode Johnson Trophy: Best Junior Track Athlete Mikayla Gray Wynberg Cup: Cross Country Brittany Gutuza Anderson Trophy: Most enthusiastic Water Polo player; Copenhagen Cup: Sportsmanship Caleigh Hanekom Alan Footman Trophy: Most Improved Water Polo Player Tayob Harrison Zandberg Cup: Most Improved Netball Player Jade Irvine-Smith Roux-Louw Cup: Excellence in the Sciences - Grade 8 & 9 Nawaal Jacobs Bryce Trophy: Service & Commitment to the School and Community - Grade 10 Emily Jenkins Victor & Katherine de Villiers Memorial Prize: Perseverance
Prizegiving
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VALEDICTORY
Robyn Johansson
McIntosh Trophy: Excellence in Dance; 2001 Matric Cup: Spirit and Enthusiasm in School Activities; John Richardson.com Cup: Best CAT project in Grade 12; Phillips Prize: First Position in Grade 12 - Dux Pupil; Past Pupils’ Bursary: Further Study Chloë Johnson Andrea Meyer Trophy: Most valuable contribution to the RCL Lara Johnson Johnson Trophy: Best Senior Track Athlete Yusrah Khan Trophy: Best Grade 8 Hockey Player Tejal Kooverjee 1987 Auxiliaries Trophy: Participation & Enthusiasm Nonelela Madubedube Book Prize: English Creative Writing - Grade 10 Anelisa Mahlungulu Suretha Bouwer Trophy: Most Promising Vocalist; Lander Prize: Perseverance Ivanka Marais Nelia Roux Trophy: Best Academic Progress from June Exams in Grade 8 to November Exams in Grade 9 Emma Martin Mingay Cup: Music Kayla Morgan The Constantia Trophy: Most Improved Hockey Player Lara Mills Trophy: Best All-Rounder in Grade 9 Parina Naidoo PricewaterhouseCoopers Book Prize: Highest Combined Mark in Mathematics & Accounting in Grade 12; Prize for Third position in Grade 12 Hongju Nam Irish Cup: Style in Piano; Trofeo Flautista: Excellence in Flute; Norris Cup: Music Performance Simone Neethling Carol Shapiro-Dodds Trophy: Outstanding Achievement in Dance Studies Katherine Nicholls Trophy: Tennis Player of the Year; Abdurahman Cup: Excellence in the Sciences in Grade 12; Margaretha van der Spuy Prize: Top position in Grade 12 in the September Examinations; Phillips Prize: First Position in Grade 12 - Dux Pupil; Annie Rees Bursary: Further Study Megan Noffke Shena Wells Prize: Service to the Library Anastasia Petersen Le Coctier: Grade 8 Learner who shows Promise and Ability in French SAL Maree Petersen Ellen & Sara Goldstone Cup: Achievement under Difficult Circumstances - Grade 8-11 Andrea Pieterse Picton Prize : Service to the School Shannon Prentice Caxton Books Prize Aqilah Regal Class of 1952 Honours Plate Ashleigh Rorich Trophy: Best U16 Netball Player Ashlyn Southern Thelland Trophy: Squash Player of the Year Samantha Springorum Zandberg Trophy: Most Improved Junior Netball Player Jessica Stephens Johnson Trophy: Best Senior Field Athlete; Rotary Good Fellowship Award; W.O.B.U. Centenary Trophy: All-Round Achievement Maria Stock 1961 Matric Junior Copenhagen Trophy: Sportsmanship - Grade 8 & 9 Sonja Stock Hind Trophy: Swimming - Under 19 Juliet Stromin Nan Melville Cup: Best Actress; Suttle Trophy: Service to the Cultural Pillar; Gladys Lazarus Memorial Prize: Careful Speech & Courteous Ways Caitlin Thompson Hartmann Trophy: Passionate Enthusiasm that makes a Difference Nicola van Tellingen Duffell-Canham Trophy: Highest Mark in the English Language Paper in Grade 10 Anja Volschenk R Adams Trophy: Most Original & Creative Art Work Grade 9 -11 Gina Walker Johnson Trophy: Best Junior Field Athlete Amina Williams Ryan Pillay Trophy: Hockey Player of the Year; Illse Davids Trophy: Most Outstanding Sportswoman Sarah Williams Wynberg Cup: Synchronised Swimming Jade Yardin Hind Trophy: Best u16 Swimmer; Trophy: Best All-Rounder in Grade 9
Grade 9 prizewinners celebrate their achievements with Mrs Harding and their friends
On Tuesday 28 November 2017, Wynberg hosted its premier academic events – our annual prize giving ceremonies. To accommodate the numbers of parents and girls in our hall, we needed to have two events: the Grades 8 & 9 ceremony in the morning, and the Grades 10 & 11 in the evening. On both occasions the hall was filled with excitement and pride as educators and parents celebrated the achievements of our learners in 2017. We congratulate all of those who excelled in the academic, culture, service or sport pillars and consequently received their welldeserved awards. Our guest speaker in the morning was Amy Campbell – a past pupil of Wynberg, who achieved great things as a professional jazz and musical vocal performer and teacher. One of her most recent achievements is winning the 2017 SA’s Got Talent competition as a member of the a cappella group AnecNote. In the evening our guest speaker was Dr Maxine Jones – or Dr Biltong as she has become widely known. As a visual symbol of her pride in the school, she wore her Matric blazer and spoke of the values and lessons learnt at Wynberg which had informed the decisions that she made after school.
Maree Petersen receives her trophy from ‘Dr Biltong’ (left) and Ms Faller (middle)
The matric girls sing the school song for the last time as Wynberg girls in their school uniforms
The final school day for our matriculants was a busy one. During Informal Valedictory the staff and learners shared moments of tears, laughter and smiles as they reflected on the high school career of this 2017 class. The songs by the Grade 11s and teachers, dedicated to the matrics, certainly tugged on heartstrings. At the formal Valedictory Service we celebrated the achievements of the matrics throughout their last year at Wynberg. Our guest speaker was Mrs Thandi Mpambo-Sibukwana, former member of staff and currently a member of the provincial legislature. Certificates were awarded for subject distinctions and awards were handed out to matrics who had done exceptionally well in academics, sport, service, culture and many other aspects of school life at Wynberg. The service concluded with the singing of the matric farewell song to the parents.
The winning house for 2017: Constantia
Aqilah Regal
Joy Espach
Danielle Arendse
Nkhensani Baloyi
Anja Volschenck
Nonelela Madubedube
hongju NAM and HER parents
STACEY GOLIATH
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academic pillar
academic pillar ACADEMIC PILLAR TROPHY WINNERS
MATRIC RESULTS
We are extremely proud to celebrate another set of excellent Matric results with the Class of 2017, which put us in 12th place on the Western Cape’s Schools of Excellence list. We also achieved our goal to increase our rate of Bachelors’ passes, and this went up to 97%! Only 4 learners did not achieve this top category of matric pass. Thirteen learners achieved more than 80% for every one of the 7 subjects they wrote, and Isobel Evans achieved 8 distinctions as she did Advanced Programme Mathematics as an additional subject. Four girls achieved an aggregate of more than 90% – a magnificent effort – and 53 learners achieved 4 or more subject distinctions! The quality of teaching at WGHS is also reflected in the subject results. There were 395 subject distinctions, and of the 16 subjects offered, 12 obtained an average above 70% and 3 above 80%. Visual Arts was top with an average of 85.2% (and 21 distinctions), followed by Dance Studies with an average of 84% and History with an average of 82.4%, 50 individual distinctions, and 74 out of 81 candidates achieving 70% or more! Music (79.7%), English Home Language (76.5%) and Life Orientation (75.3%) followed closely behind. Accounting, Afrikaans FAL, Geography, isiXhosa FAL, Life Sciences and Mathematical Literacy also had aggregates of over 70%. The top three candidates at Wynberg in the NSC final exams were Robyn Johansson (93,4%), Isobel Evans (92,6%) and Katherine Nicholls (92,1%). Congratulations to the class of 2017. You have made us proud, and we wish you well for the future.
by
Parina Naidoo
Academic Pillar 2017
From the get go, the Academic Pillar had many goals in mind. One of our most formidable goals was to not only acknowledge achievement but also to teach girls that standards and goals are unique to each individual – in short we wanted all learners to know that achievement is not only for those who claim the highest marks and bag the 80s and 90s. Everyone is capable of achieving their own goals, goals that are set at a standard that is unique to their capacity. 2017 began with our annual Achievers’ Breakfast where the top 12 academic achievers in each grade were awarded small prizes for their hard work and were able to enjoy an amazing breakfast. This was certainly a hard-earned achievement for many of these achievers and we congratulate all of them on their hard work. Pi Day, an annual event falling on 14 March 2017, was a little bit different this year – different in the best possible way. Instead of having to recite digits of Pi, each house formed a team of their own and went through a series of questions and rounds all related to Pi. The rounds included a range of activities from arranging a very complex puzzle of an actual piece of pie to a quiz all about Pi. It was a fun event and all those who participated thoroughly enjoyed the change. This year the Academic Committee organised a Summer School. The programme consisted of various activities and lessons during the Friday long break for three consecutive weeks. There was an amazing range of activities hosted by our very own talented Wynberg girls which included karate workshops, belly dancing and mythology. Our biggest academic event of the year was the Athena Games. The Athena Games is a joint event with the Academic Pillar of the Boys’ School and this year it took place at WBHS. Teams are made up of girls and boys and they compete with other teams as they go from one station to another. Each station has a game/quiz related
Isobel Evans
nicola von tellingen
Parina Naidoo
Yusra Booley
to a particular subject. The atmosphere was light-hearted and everyone who participated had a lot of fun. The theme for the night was book/movie characters and we had an incredible assortment of costumes and characters. Term 2 exams are always scary, especially for the grade 8s who have never experienced high school exams before. Because of this, the Academic Pillar decided to host a separate grade 8 assembly where we went through study tips and guidelines for exams, and answered any questions that they had – the grade 8s were extremely grateful and felt much calmer about exams afterwards. All in all, the 2016/2017 Academic year was incredible. Achievement was acknowledged at every opportunity and it was inspiring to see everyone reach their own unique potential wherever they could.
L-R: Yusrah, Katherine, Jessica, Stacey and Erin
Wynberg Girls’ High was awarded a Certificate for being placed 1st in the district out of 64 schools for the highest percentage of Bachelor Passes in the Final NSC matric exams. Stacey Goliath and Erin Kemper received certificates for their achievements under difficult circumstances. Placed in the top 20 in the district were Yusra Booley (13th), Jessica Stephens (10th), Isobel Evans (7th) and Katherine Nicholls (6th).
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8 SUBJECT DISTINCTIONS Evans, Isobel
7 SUBJECT DISTINCTIONS Allie, Aqeelah Babb, India Booley, Yusra Chiktay, Afroze Dickenson, Tyla Farquhar, Paige Isaacs, Farah Johansson, Robyn Naidoo, Parina Nicholls, Katherine Prentice, Shannon Stephens, Jessica Stock, Sonja
6 SUBJECT DISTINCTIONS Barham, Erin Bredekamp, Lesley Harrison, Tayob Jacobs, Ammaarah Schmid, Maxine Wilsnagh, Caitlin
5 SUBJECT DISTINCTIONS Arendse, Amy Baloyi, Nkhensani Bredekamp, Rebecca Buchanan, Paula Goliath, Stacey Kooverjee, Tejal McKinnon, Blaize Mia, Qadira Niekerk, Kristin Ormond, Jewel Pitt, Jordan
4 SUBJECT DISTINCTIONS Adams, Maryam
Cambridge AS Levels Results
Ally, Zahra Amardien, Zubaydah Austin, Juliette Benjamin, Jayaan Davids, Zahraa Dawood, Amarah Ely, Jennifer
WGHS’s scientists took top positions in the Royal Society National Essay Competition
Featherstone, Jenna Gqaji, Siphoesihle Harding, Megan Herbert, Taylor Kemper, Erin Makinson, Melissa Morgan, Tamia Sasman, Caitlin
BACK ROW: J Killick, L Manie, C Gertzen FRONT ROW: Z Esau, J Imrie, K Morgan
Academic Pillar COMMITTEE BACK ROW: C Wilsnagh, J Ormond, P Farquhar, A Chiktay FRONT ROW: T Kooverjee, P Naidoo, Mrs N Moerat, Y Booley
Matric learners listening intently at the Careers Evening hosted by WGHS
WGHS is privileged to offer Cambridge AS LEVELS courses in both English and History in the Grade 11 year. The top students this year were Laila Manie (85% for English), Jane Imrie (81% for English and 72% for
Some of the AS Levels History girls after their exam
History), Zayyaan Esau (80% for English), and Juliet Killick (80% for History). Other notable achievements were from Caris Gertzen and Kayla Morgan, who both achieved more than 70% for their History exams.
Sutria, Laaiqah Symmonds, Emily Wichman, Zara
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academic pillar
academic pillar AFRICAN DANCE WORKSHOP
The Grade 10 and 11 Dance Studies girls had a 90 minute class of focused and inspired teaching by the master of African Dance at UCT, Maxwell Xolani Rani. The teaching went beyond dance, beyond culture. It was personal, it was narrative, and it left all the girls breathless and inspired.
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ATHENA GAMES
The Athena Games is an annual competition, this year hosted by WBHS, where students from both schools team up and compete at various subject stations. This year the dress up theme was fictional characters from either books or movies, and the costumes ranged from “The Green Lantern” to “Winnie the Pooh”. Each station presented a new challenge, relatable to all those participating, and the competition was fierce. We even had a few educators’ teams participating this year!
MAXWELL XOLANI RANI (CENTRE BACK) WITH THE DANCE STUDIES GIRLS ABOVE & BELOW: ALL DRESSED UP FOR THE ATHENA GAMES
AFRIKAANS: MARITA VAN DER VYVER
MEMBERS OF THE AFRIKAANS DEPARTMENT WITH MARITA VAN DER VYVER (FRONT CENTRE)
We had occasion to listen to Marita van der Vyver when she visited our school and addressed our Grade 10s. She talked about her response to poetry as a young student, her response to her son’s love of Rap and Hip Hop, and how, in her conversations with him, she developed an expanded understanding of what poetry is and what it could be. Interwoven with this personal narrative, she interspersed readings from her latest novel. It was magical!
ATHENA society
BACK ROW: J Stephens, I Evans, J Austin, K Nicholls, A Haron, A Chiktay, Y Booley Row 3: I Babb, M Bosch, T Harrison, C Birch, S Prentice, S Stock, A Anderton, J Ormond, P Farquhar Row 2: S Abrahams, K Naicker, M Gaibi, N Bester, L Manie, J Killick, J Imrie, E Daries FRONT ROW: N van Tellingen, M Salie, N Coleman, Mrs N Moerat, P Naidoo, Mrs A Coetzee, R Johansson,
T Kooverjee, R Brown
Die Protea Pers
The Afrikaans Department proudly launched their own newspaper, Die Protea Pers.
BRIDGE BUILDING
ART CLASSES
BACK ROW: Mr P Bodenstein, Mrs N Moerat, Mr D Machado FRONT ROW: A Regal, K Nicholls, T Kooverjee
Tejal Kooverjee, Katherine Nicholls and Aashiqah Regal represented WGHS at the annual SAICE Bridge Building Competition at Canal Walk. Each team was provided with 25 wooden sticks, glue and a few other construction materials. After adding some black and yellow “Wynberg” ribbon, our bridge was ready for adjudication. Wynberg’s bridge took an amazing 65kgs before breaking. We placed 9th out of 31 teams, a truly remarkable accomplishment.
MATRIC ART EXHIBITION
ABOVE: Grade 10 Art girls sketching self portraits
LEFT: LEARNING TO DRAW FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
CAREERS EVENING
YUMNA AND AMARAH
The Careers Evening was once again hosted for our Grade 11 and 12 learners and their parents. Many tertiary institutions exhibited on the night, provided information and answered questions regarding the courses they offer. In addition, several guest speakers provided insight into their professions. RIGHT: ANJA BELOW: Dance class
L- R: Savannah, Maryam and Rebecca
On the evening of 18 October, WGHS celebrated the amazing artwork produced by the Matric art students. Special guests, learners and teachers all admired their broad creativity and the wonderful artworks on display. Huge congratulations to all the talented artists! Our guest speaker this year was Gcotyelwa Mashiqa, the AKO Foundation assistant Curator of Photography at Zeitz MOCAA. She talked of the importance of role models as young artists find their feet and more specifically female role models. Lively music, cocktail foods and moments of immense pride created the wonderful ambiance of an event to remember.
DANCE FINAL PRACS
BACK: Tamlyn and Regina; FRIONT: Simone and Robyn
Our Dance Studies Matrics performed their final Dance Practical in August, and they were beautiful and inspiring to watch, as always.
CONSUMERS PRACS
The Grade 11 Consumer Studies girls made scrumptious chocolate eclairs and cupcakes for the practical exam in June.
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academic pillar
academic pillar
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PHYSICAL SCIENCES EXPERIMENTS
DISCOVERY WEEK
Discovery Week was designed to allow Grade 8 learners opportunities to develop 21st Century Learning Skills that more and more educational specialists agree, define the future of learning. The initiative was designed with nine core objectives in mind: Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication, Functional Digital Skills, Curating Information, Cultural & Social Understanding, Learning Independence & E-Safety. The learners had two main tasks to complete: An Individual Endeavour – where they researched and learned about any interesting topic using modern learning tools – and a Group Endeavour – where they joined other learners with a common passion to create something of value. The product of the students’ labours was something fantastic to witness! The Grade 8s showed diversity, originality and a sense of ownership over their work.
The Grade 10 Physical Science girls explored the possibilities of the aerodynamics of planes, hot air balloons and rockets. They and their teacher had a great deal of fun.
ABOVE & BELOW: GRADE 8s DURING THE GROUP ENDEAVOUR
KATHERINE, REBECCA AND JESSICA
MINQUIZ
Three of our Grade 12 Science and Maths girls represented Wynberg at the Minquiz competition organised by UCT. Katherine Nicholls, Rebecca Bredekamp and Jessica Stephens did very well to get to the last round.
SPEED DATING
Ms Wilkinson’s Grade 9 History girls provided feedback on their oral history projects through speed-dating. The learners pretended to be their interviewee and told the stories they had researched to their classmates.
LIFE SCIENCES & NATURAL SCIENCES
JasminE, Alive, Esethu and Gcina meet Mr Rees
LAURENCE REES
A group of History learners met Laurence Rees, former head of BBC TV History, during his lecture on meeting both survivors and perpetrators of the Holocaust.
The Grade 9s enjoyed building respiratory models in their Natural Sciences classes. This gave them a visual and functional understanding of how the lungs work. The Grade 10 Life Sciences girls tried their hands at decorating Cell Cakes to reinforce what they had learnt about the structure of the cell. They also dissected hearts, a much anticipated practical component of their syllabus.
TOP & ABOVE: GRADE 10s MAKING CELL CAKES
GRADE 9 RESPIRATORY MODELS: FAITH, HANNAH and ROBYN
PLAYING MANCALA AND BUILDING AN AFRICA PUZZLE
MANCALA DAY
Mancala Day was a vibrant and exciting way to tackle and introduce the topic of Southern African history. Growth, understanding, fun and a multi-perspective view was the common goal. One of the activities was playing the ancient African game of Mancala. The fun and interactive games and activities made the Grade 10s realize how little they knew about our own long past.
Michaela, Dana and Su-ad WITH THEIR HISTORY MODEL
HISTORY MODELS
The Grade 8 students had to research and build a model of any topic that they study in History over the year. This could be anything from the Mineral Revolution in South Africa to World War 1. Some fantastic models were produced, into which the girls clearly put a lot of effort.
ERIN AND REBECCA
ZAAKIRAH, MICAELA AND NURA
Cailyn, Okuhle, Jessica and Tanweer doing a dissection
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Afrikaans Olympiad ACCOUNTING OLYMPIAD C Wilsnagh, I Babb, A Chiktay
back row: J Vine-Soanes, A Haron, J de Keijzer, J Kennedy, C Beaton, J Espach Row 3: M Salie, M Charitou, L Mills, Z Khan, N Fakir, S Tofie, M Arries, C Gonsalves Row 2: C Britten, J Swartz, H Moses, F April, A Nicholson, K Appleton, C Africa, N Parker front row: M Bosch, S Wiegand, J Ely, Mrs I Adolph, M Schmid, A Chiktay, L Sutria
PEER TUTORS
TOP ROW: K Roodman, A Pather, J Hull, B Kalan, H Vermeulen, T Harrison, T Herbert, S Williams, A Chiktay MIDDLE ROW: C Wilsnagh, Z Esau, M Gaibi, F Smailović, Y Booley, S Goliath, I Babb, C Gertzen FRONT ROW: S Abrahams, R Johansson, P Naidoo, Mrs D Hartmann, T Morgan, Ms N Faller, H Armadien,
N Smith, S Gqaji
The peer tutors provide curriculum-related assistance to learners from all grades: whether someone is struggling after missing school, or battling with a tricky concept, these girls are always willing to help.
OUTINGS
LIFE SCIENCES OUTINGS
The Grade 11 Life Sciences girls visited the Two Oceans Aquarium for an interactive experience with the creatures they were studying in their syllabus. It was more than just a way to bring to life the content of the textbooks; it was a memorable experience and a chance to interact with the subaquatic world that exists parallel to our own.
English Olympiad
BACK ROW: A Rawat, K Naicker, J Kennedy, K Jacobs, M Schilder FRONT ROW: T Morgan, K Everett, K Appleton, M Noffke
Robotics
BACK ROW: C Gertzen, K Cairns, N Parker FRONT ROW: I Parker, A Mingo, Ms. C Marneweck, A Regal, J Krantz
Maths Olympiad
BACK ROW: C Parker, L Mills, S Tofie, K Appleton MIDDLE ROW: S Newman, Z Gamiet, I Cupido, J Irvine-Smith, D Goliath, N van Tellingen FRONT ROW: E Martin, S Solomon, C Britten, M Lottering, A Horne, Y Booley
The Division of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, UCT Forensic Pathology Service, hosted its 5th annual Forensic Day, and those Grade 11 girls who attended had good exposure to what different fields of Forensics are offered in the Western Cape. The fields of Forensic Anthropology, Pathology, Toxicology, DNA, Fingerprints, Ballistics and Biology were presented in the form of “stations”, whereby the learners were allowed to interact for a hands on experience.
TOP & ABOVE: grADE 11 outing to the waterfront’s TWO OCEANS aquarium
MATHS LITERACY OLYMPIAD
Back row: Z Benson, S Williams Middle row: L Gutteridge, P Barth, C Parker Front row: L Zouheir, L van Tonder, T Manda, L van der Spuy, B Smit
forensic day
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HISTORY OUTINGS
GRADE 12
The Grade 12 History classes visited Robben Island for an unforgettable outing. We were fortunate enough to be led on our tour of the prison by a former political prisoner who shared his personal experiences, allowing us to gain much insight and a new perspective into the Apartheid section of our syllabus.
GRADE 11
THE ART GIRLS WITH GABRIELLA (FRONT CENTRE)
ART OUTINGs
The art society and a few other art students went on an outing to town to visit the Smith gallery and to study the works of Gabrielle Graaff. Gabrielle spoke about her choice of medium (ink and watercolour) and her subject matter, the legacy of Apartheid and its effects on nature in local areas such as the Alphen Green Belt. We also visited the AVA gallery and ended at the 99 on Loop Gallery. The outing was very informative and inspirational and provided new insights. The Gr10 - 12 Art students visited the National Gallery and viewed an exhibition by South African female artists focusing on textiles and fibres.
Immersion in the horrors of the Holocaust and the courage of survivors at the Holocaust Museum led to a sobering experience for the Grade 11 History learners. We were taken around the exhibition, where guides explained the tragedy of the Holocaust. We then watched a film on the moving testimony of a Holocaust survivor, Henia, after which she came to the museum for a visit, allowing us the unbelievable opportunity to meet with and interview her as part of a documentary being filmed.
With Holocaust Survivor HENIA BRYER
GRADE 11 history outing to the holocaust MUSEUM GRADE 12 OUTING TO ROBBEN ISLAND
GRADE 10 The Grade 10 History girls visited the Slave Lodge as well as the Castle on their outing. Sitting cramped in a ‘ship’, to try and empathize with the slaves on their journey was just one of the thought-provoking experiences of the day.
VISITING THE NATIONAL GALLERY
SOCIAL SCIENCES OUTINGS
GRADE 10 HISTORY OUTING to the castle of good hope
SITTING IN A CRAMPED ‘SHIP’
GRADE 9
The Grade 9 Social Sciences outing was an extremely thought-provoking and profoundly moving day. It started at the District Six Museum where we listened to stories from people who were forcibly removed from District Six. The experience moves beyond any static display and is aimed at generating empathetic understanding. The activities designed for this purpose promoted an even deeper understanding of what it must have been like for this community. We then went to the Castle to look around and learn some more facts about the role of the developing world in World War II.
Distortions
GRADE 9s VISITING THE DISTRICT SIX MUSEUM GRADE 9 VISIT TO the castle of good hope
GRADE 8
PHYSICAL SCIENCES OUTING
The Grade 8s went on a Social Sciences outing to Simon’s Town to visit both the Simon’s Town museum and the SA Naval Museum, where we talked to some of the naval officers about the history of the South African Navy. We also spent time in Jubilee Square for lunch, to enjoy a break in the sunshine with Just Nuisance.
The Grade 12 Physical Sciences girls visited the Cape Town Science Centre in Observatory. It was a fun-filled outing and an opportunity to apply the theoretical knowledge gained in the physics and chemistry classroom. Regina
GRADE 8 OUTING TO SIMON’S TOWN
Drowning in an old diving suit
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cultural pillar CULTURAL PILLAR TROPHY WINNERS
by
Juliet Stromin
Drama
Cultural Pillar 2017
The Cultural Pillar saw a myriad of successes in 2017 which introduced innovative ideas and a spirit of ubuntu. One of these successes was the explosive “Hangouts” hosted by our Capstone Committee, The Christian Union, who welcomed a number of speakers to Wynberg as well as provided frequent opportunities for students of all grades to come together and bond. Likewise, the Muslim Students’ Association has been at hard work, initiating new community projects and attracting new members. The Cultural Pillar hosted a number of events open to the school and the greater community. March 2017 saw the opening of the highlyanticipated major production, “The Crucible”, written by Arthur Miller, directed by Ms L. Wills. It was an outstanding and thoughtprovoking production. Later in the year Ms P Glover directed “The Unravelling” by Fin Kennedy. Through this enthralling tale about the importance of storytelling and family, director and cast provided audiences with another thought-provoking and moving production. 2017 was also a big year for the Wynberg Girls’ Jazz Band. Under Ms Pearce’s direction the band participated in a number of events. Of noteworthy success, the band made it to the finals in the annual Band Slam Competition held at the Waterfront. They performed with gusto and energy, giving the other finalists a run for their money. WGHS was awarded the Spirit Prize. The Jazz Band was invited to perform at the Baxter Theatre along with a number of other top schools and the UCT Big Band. The purpose of this festival was to raise funds in support of the development of musical talent in disadvantaged communities. In the third term the band participated in the High School Jam competition, held at GrandWest. On this professional stage, the band’s set list of stripped down love ballads, punchy pop numbers and foot tapping seventies classics was very well received. Once again, WGHS participated in the FACETS competition held at Sans Souci. Participating groups included the vocal ensemble, both our marimba bands and the flute ensemble which was placed 2nd. Public speaker Siphoesihle Gqaji won “best prepared speech” for her original angle on the topic “We should strive for a paperless society”.
bella draper
Bianca Bassett
carin donson
simone neethling
Our debaters also made names for themselves. The senior debating team under student head, Stacey Goliath, was undefeated in the Rotary Debating League preliminary rounds and received high scores for their debates. The team qualified for the Western Cape Provincial Debating competition that took place in August at UCT. Whilst Wynberg celebrated victories, the cultural pillar also welcomed new societies where girls were able to shine and stand out in new genres of expression. One such society is Dance Sport, which proved to be greatly successful in its debut year. Gita Urion, Jamie Fisher, Amarachi Vazidlule and Adrianne Fisher were selected for the national team at the National Dance Sport Tournament in Durban. Another first was that all dance disciplines offered at the school – our Dance Sport, Dance Society and Dance Studies performers – came together to provide delighted audiences with an outstanding showcase of dance, Raising the Barre. All in all, 2017 was a year of exponential growth in the cultural pillar – a reflection of both students’ and teachers’ hard work.
THE CRUCIBLE
CULTURAL PILLAR COMMITTEE
BACK ROW: A Arendse, A Regal, S Goliath, I Babb, M Noffke, S Wiegand, S Neethling, R Johansson, C Wilsnagh MIDDLE ROW: T Safodien, T Morgan, J Ely, A Robertson, S Dingeni, M Jacobs, J Dick, J Ormond, M Schmid, C Donson FRONT ROW: N Baloyi, R Bredekamp, T Dickenson, H Nam J Stromin, E Martin, S Hendricks, J Austin
ENSEMBLE CONCERT
RAISING THE BARRE
MARIMBAS
‘THE CRUCIBLE’
DRAMA
The WGHS Drama department, together with Wynberg Boys’ High School, put on 2017’s Major Production – ‘The Crucible’ written by Arthur Miller, in March. It was directed by our very own Ms L. Wills. Later on in the year, Ms P. Glover directed ‘The Unravelling’, a whimsical story about the importance of family and storytelling. This minor production gave girls in all grades a chance to shine on stage. In May our young thespians from Boys’ and Girls’ High participated in the annual Shakespeare Schools’ Festival at the Baxter Theatre, where they performed their version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In late October, 10 of our Drama girls completed their Trinity College of London Drama exams. BELOW: ‘THE UNRAVELLING’
DRAMA SOCIETY
BACK ROW: A Magxiva, K Burge, N Mtila, B Draper, K Hove, Z van Reenen, A Cozett, N Engelbrecht MIDDLE ROW: S Raine, S Meyer, C Birch, A Tanguy, J Roodt, A Rorich, G Grebe FRONT ROW: D Marsh, J Stromin, L Bredekamp, J Austin, J Burgess, S Neethling, A Abrahams
ABOVE: ‘A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM’
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Dance Sport
DANCE SOCIETY
Wynberg girls placed in the top at every fixture
Tsholofelo Mangadi LEFT: The Dance Sport girls perform at Raising the Barre
The new year spelled new beginnings, and we were thrilled to welcome Mrs Jackie Badenhorst to WGHS as our new dance teacher. This is also the first year that African Fusion was introduced as a genre, alongside contemporary, jazz, belly dancing and hip-hop. Dance Society is for people who share a love of dance, and want to showcase it. Our dancers range from trained dancers, to freestylers, to anyone who wants to just dance. Our annual Dance Showcase was held in the third term, and this year we extended the invitation to participate to all dancers in the school, which included the girls in Dance Sport, Dance Studies as well as the Dance Society. Raising the Barre was a roaring success, and undoubtedly the highlight of our year. From ballet to ballroom to streetwise and sassy hip hop we journeyed through the worlds created in the fusion of colour, music and movement. The pity of it was that there was only one performance! Uncompromising in excellence, showing the strength and femininity of our young women, counterbalancing a range of dance styles which highlighted their value, this show allowed us into a very exciting world. Our goals for next year are having more pieces in the showcase and expanding our repertoire to include more of the genres we have learnt.
Dance Sport
BACK ROW: A Turner, J Fisher, A Arends, J Hull, T Mangadi, G Ndubela, E Kantu, G Urion MIDDLE ROW: T van Niekerk, C Heldsinger, J Petersen, M Louw, A Fisher, O Stofile, T Liddle, O Schmidt FRONT ROW: R Maluleka, D Jacobs, R Johansson, Ms E Hudson, S Neethling, A Green, A Dicks
There was much excitement when WGHS introduced Dance Sport as a new extracurricular activity at the beginning of the year. The Dance Sport School League (DSSL), new to the Western Cape in 2017, allows learners to excel in various forms of street dance and allows them to achieve at a provincial and national level. Our coaches for 2017, matric students Robyn Jo hanss on, L el et hu M twa n a a n d S i m o n e Neethling, passed their training course with flying colours. The energy and enthusiasm of the squad of dancers was palpable as Wynberg made history and hosted the first ever Dance Sport fixture in the Western Cape in February. The squad participated in various fixtures after this as they practiced and prepared for the much anticipated inter-schools competition in March, and were elated when they won the trophy, making WGHS the top high school in the Western Cape in the field of Dance Sport. At the provincial trials 16 Wynberg girls were selected to represent Western Province. 14 of these dancers flew to Durban in the July holidays to compete in the Inter-Provincial Tournament. They had an absolute ball as they danced against stiff competition from Natal and Gauteng. Jamie Fisher, Gita Urion, Amarachi Vazidlule and Adrianne Fisher did especially well and were chosen to be a part of the national team! This year has been a special one for the Dance Sport girls as they ventured into the unknown of a new sport and made close friends along the way.
RIGHT: The Dance Sport Squad
DANCE COMMITTEE BACK ROW: Mrs J Badenhorst FRONT ROW: K Cairns, T Mangadi, J Hull
Amarachi Vazidlule & Gugulethu Ndubela
Dance Society Jamie Hull
born frees
BACK ROW: L Marais, B Basset, N Bester, K Basset FRONT ROW: I Truebody, O Watson, R Carstens
Chloë Scholtz
Born Free – Artscape
ABOVE: Raising the Barre – What a show!, BELOW: Born Free – Artscape
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Music GUITAR ENSEMBLE
STRING EnSEMBLE
BACK ROW: H Dunlop, I Sasman, M Arries, J Lee MIDDLE ROW: P Andrews, Y Yengopal, H Malander, A Arends, S Morgenrood,
Z Cook
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: JULIET; THE BEST SUPPORTERS; ALLISON; MEMBERS OF THE JAZZ BAND
BAND SLAM
Sheer talent, an excellent performance and enthusiastic support from our WGHS crowd resulted in the Jazz Band being selected to the finals for the V&A Waterfront Annual Band Slam.
FRONT ROW:
A Mingo, S Stock, N de Villiers, Mr J Saayman, R Bredekamp, H Müller, H Lakey This year we welcomed quite a few new members and even a new instrument with the introduction of a double bass player. We performed in the Wynberg Campus of Schools Concert, which was a really fun experience that taught a lot of the girls how to handle playing in such a big ensemble. Our goal for the future is to have a balanced range of instruments in order to be able to compete in an Eisteddfod.
BACK ROW: R du Plessis, B Toohey, S Connolly, D Goliath, L Fouten FRONT ROW: J Stromin, A Regal, C Perrins
One thing that an outsider would probably mention about the Guitar Ensemble, if ever she were to visit for the first time, is how fun they are and how great they work together as a team. This year, the guitar girls played exceptionally ‘catchy’ and some relatively modern songs, such as 7 years by Lukas Graham, One Call Away by Charlie Puth, El Condor Pasa by Simon and Garfunkel, Killing Me Softly by Fugees and Say Something by Christina Aguilera.
FLUTE EnSEMBLE
Back row: C Britten, J Yardin, N Simpson, Ms B Franke, H Daniels, L Mills, A Abrahams Front row: L Daniels, K Welsh, A Forster, A Haron, H Nam, J Ormond
Clarinet Ensemble BACK ROW: A Horne, C Bailey, M Swart FRONT ROW: I Hayes, Ms D Pearce, H Müller
CHOIR
BACK ROW: F Windvogel, N Boland, J Mbay, A Reyneke, A Bailey, E Barodien, A de Kock, A de Wet, K Cairns, M Parker, M Voges, R Makoetlane, K Mnyanda Row 3: T Safodien, H Bovill, A Tasten, B Nqubelani, S Springorum, L Berry, M Lewis, A Arendse, B Smit, S Morgenrood, F Smailović, B Draper, H Wentzel Row 2: S Seef, H Armadien, E Harris, E Mangesana, S Westwood, S Dreyden, Z Ellis, N Smith, F April, J Solomon, H Lakey, D van Wyk FRONT ROW: K Boer, L Daniels, T Damast, E Martin, A Mahlungulu, Mrs S van Bergen, T Morgan, Ms Y Marais, L Daniels, T Phohlela, R McIntyre, K Le Grange, C Steenveld
Highlights this year have been our performances in May at the Cape Town Eisteddfod where we were awarded a diploma and 2nd place, and the the Wynberg Campus Festival of Choirs. Other performances at school included Founders’ Day, the Spring Concert as well as the Support Staff Concert.
VOCAL ENSEMBLE
BACK ROW: J Solomon, S Seef, E Harris, F April MIDDLE ROW: R Makoetlane, B Draper, T Safodien, F Smailović, K Cairns FRONT Row: L Daniels, T Phohlela, E Martin, Mrs S van Bergen, A Mahlungulu, K Mnyanda
ENSEMBLE CONCERT
The ensemble concert in 2017 showcased all of WGHS’s various ensembles. It was decided to host a concert where each performing ensemble performed one or two of their best works. This resulted in a memorable evening leaving the audience wanting more.
Baroque Ensemble Mikaela Meyer
Isabelle Hayes
Michaela Arries
BACK ROW: M Arries, H Daniels, N de Villers, M Stock FRONT ROW: S Stock, Mr J. Saayman, H Müller
It has been an incredible year for the Vocal Ensemble, one in which we successfully maintained our high standard of performance and added to our list of achievements and participation. We participated in events such as the Campus Choir Festival at WBJS, Open Day and the Spring Concert. More technical pieces were added to our repertoire for FACETS, where we achieved third place with 88%. All in all the Vocal Ensemble, consisting of talented girls and an exceptional teacher, did extremely well through determination and a never-give-up attitude.
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HIGH SCHOOL JAM
Over the past year there has been a great deal of improvement seen in both the quality of playing among the girls and the bond formed between them. The girls have played in many prestigious events at the school and showed potential newcomers what the music department has to offer at our open days.
HIGH SCHOOL JAM
BACK ROW: C Britten, A Abrahams, K Welsh, I Salie, M Swart, H Lakey Row 3: C Austin, C Johnson, J Lee, E Bredekamp, M Stock, A Dhaya, S Stanford, P Andrews Row 2: M Arries, S Morgenrood, I Hayes, E Schrick, A Forster, H Müller, A Malander, T Safodien FRONT ROW: L Daniels, A Southern, C Donson, Mr J Saayman, J Ormond, S Hendricks, R Bredekamp
CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: OUR VOCALISTS AT GRAND WEST; SIMONE; SISIPHO
Ten high schools came together in August to compete in the annual, explosive musical competition High School Jam at Grand West. The combined Wynberg Girls’ and Wynberg Boys’ Jazz Band delivered a varied set list of stripped down love ballads, punchy pop numbers and foot tapping seventies classics, providing entertainment for audiences of all ages. Joining the band on stage, the Wynberg Girls’ dancers delivered energetic routines, adding to the overall slick nature and high production value of the performance. Whilst Wynberg was not awarded the winning school prize, they performed extremely well, and Gita Urion won the “Female – Outstanding Dancer” award.
Jazz Band
SPRING CONCERT
The Jazz band performed at the Band Slam presented at the V&A Waterfront in which they reached the final round and won the spirit award. The band impressed at the Baxter Big Band Jazz Festival and performed admirably at the Grand Arena in the High School Jam competition. To end the year, the band was asked to perform at the Artscape Band Extravaganza which was exceptionally entertaining and extremely insightful.
SPRING CONCERT
BACK ROW: K Cairns, H Nam, J Stromin, T Safodien, C Ryklief, D Hendricks, R Daniels, S Newman Row 3: K Arendse, I Hayes, F Collopy, S Dingeni, S Connolly, H Müller, T Dickenson Row 2: C Donson, A Abrahams, S Mboyana, C Bailey, E Walters, N Peters, C de Reuck, Z Petersen FRONT ROW: C Johnson, S Pereira, A Roode, A Robertson, Ms D Pearce, M Jacobs, A Southern, R Makoetlane, A Johnson
This year, in keeping with the 2018 school council’s aim to generate Spirit, Unity and Pride, all members of the school council were involved in the Spring Concert. It was a wonderful afternoon and our guests were delighted by the performances from the Marimba Band, Orchestra, Choir, Vocal Ensemble, dancers, vocalists and the Ubuntu choir, so much so that many got up to dance to the very rousing finale from our Marimba Band.
Abby Anderton leads one of our guests onto the dance floor
JAZZ BAND MEMBERS
Marimbas
2017 has been a remarkable year for the Marimba Society as for the first time it has expanded from only having a mere two bands to now having one per grade. The Junior and Senior bands walked away with high distinctions at the FACETS Eisteddfod.
Saarah, Emma and Tyla
Matric Music Concert
BACK ROW: C van Heerden, S Reilly, B Draper, T Morgan, A Soeker, N Bester, C Africa, C Scholtz FRONT ROW: C Bock, K Satardien, A Arendse, J Austin, L Daniels, S Pereira
In the wintery, wet and windy darkness our Matric Music students donned their Matric dance dresses to create a magical evening for a select audience in the new (and partially) refurbished Music Room. The temptation on evenings like this for some may be to stay at home, but what an opportunity would have been missed!
Michaela, Jewel and Kristin
Amongst the group of musicians are stellar performers, and the variety and choice of music were enough to lift the spirits of the most disheartened of us. There were many inspired performances, and it proved a delightful evening for all. The concert was preparation for the girls’ final Matric practicals and, despite the nervousness some may have felt, we hope that it was as enjoyable for them as it was for their audience.
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Art
EisteddfodS
ART COMMITTEE
BACK ROW: T Ngandu, A Solomon, Q Mia, E Kemper, A Pather, L Noland, A Ramjee FRONT ROW: Z Sedick, J Austin, T Kooverjee, Mrs D Saporetti, S Wiegand, A Chiktay
GRACE CROSS VISITS THE ART SOCIETY
Grace Cross, a young practising artist, visited the Art Society. She took the group on an intriguing path on which they tracked the development of her work, talking about how important and acceptable it is to make mistakes and fail, as it only stimulates a need to try again. For the hour that she spoke, answered questions and showed many images of her artworks, students were inspired, challenged and informed.
WGHS once again excelled at the various Eisteddfods being held at the Cape Town, Stellenbosch and Tygerberg International Eisteddfods. To highlight just a few of the memorable performances: Olivia Watson won the 2017 TDA Award for the “Most Outstanding Senior Tapper”; Sonja Stock was awarded a Silver Medal in the Kaapse Afrikaanse Eisteddfod for Senior Piano 17 years and older; and our Choir ended their section in the Cape Town Eisteddfod on a very high note by receiving a Diploma for their performance. Our marimba bands took part in the first Marimba Jam Eisteddfod, where Wynberg’s “The Dynamics” won the Intermediate division. Many vocalists achieved over 90%. Kezra Cairns, Emma Martin, Bella Draper, Faith April, Jessi Solomon, Sage Seef, Hannah Daniels, Danielle van Wyk and Bernadetta KabouBlock all achieved this feat for various performances. The Vocal Ensemble received an astonishing 97% for their entry. Anelisa Mahlungulu and Allison Robertson, who are members of the South African Youth Choir (which has been crowned Best Youth Choir at the prestigious ATKV Animato International Choral Competition for three years running) achieved a gold plus for their performance. Wynberg did extremely well in the Cape Town Photography Eisteddfod. Tamiya Safodien placed 2nd in the senior category while Joanna Roodt (a newcomer to the society) placed 1st in the junior category. BELOW: Our very talented choir
“Warhead” by Margareta Bosch
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“Parenting” by Ciara Birch
The guitar Ensemble
ABOVE: Olivia Watson ABOVE RIGHT: Anelisa and Allison RIGHT: Jessi Solomon FAR RIGHT: Marimba Jam
PRINTMAKING
BACK ROW: S Liebenberg, I Soni, B Maneveldt, C Birch, C Jacobs, C Gassert FRONT ROW: S Boughwan, L Noland, N Baloyi, Ms S Ferguson-Brown, A Ramjee, M Salie
kalk bay caves
ABOVE: NATURE’S VALLEY HIKING TOUR
Kezra, Bella and Emma
LEFT & ABOVE: TABLE MOUNTAIN, LEFT FACE B
Mountain Club
The mountain club undertook four very different outings this year. There were plenty of big pools in which to cool off on the Palmiet River hike near Kleinmond. A member of the Speleological Society gave us a wonderful introduction to caving during our hike to the Kalk Bay caves. The climb up the left-face B route on Table Mountain was certainly not for the faint-hearted, with sheer rock faces, narrow ledges and breathtaking views. An absolute highlight of the year was our trip to the Southern Cape in the April holidays. Based at Nature’s Valley, we hiked to Salt River mouth, spent half a day exploring the Grootrivier lagoon on canoes and hiked the spectacular Robberg peninsula at Plettenberg Bay. We encourage all Wynberg girls to come along on one of the walks in 2018. Sacrifice a day in the malls or watching TV and join us with a group of your friends on the high peaks. You’ll be surprised at how exhilarating the experience can be!
CHESS Club BACK ROW:
C Klein, J Venter, N van Tellingen, D Goliath, A Regal, N Marlie FRONT ROW: A Lefson, I Babb, Mrs N Moerat, M Salie, R Springorum INTRODUCING CHESS TO GRADE 8s
Craft Club BACK ROW:
L Mills
T Simanga, E Curry, R Beardwood, S Meyer, I Cupido, H Scott-Gaertner,
FRONT ROW: J Yardin, C Jacobs, Mrs J Nel, H Moses, K Bock In Craft Club this year we decided to have a theme for each term: everything and anything Disney, boho chic and minimalistic. Throughout the year we made things such as nail polish flower crowns, wrapping paper and washi tape palette coasters. In the future we plan to gain even more members and produce crafts which are relatable to current trends.
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Capstone Christian Union
CAPSTONE GIRLS WITH THEIR MESSAGE
BACK ROW: D Arendse, N Baloyi, E Daries, M Bosch, A Roode, A Thamar, K Barnes FRONT ROW: L Dawson, Mrs D Hartmann, K Roussouw, Ms M le Roux, S Prentice
2017 has been a great year for the Christian Union. Many of our events were a collaboration with the Hillsong Youth team, including the “Shine” course presented during Hangout Fridays and the annual EXO Day event (which saw over 150 girls attending). Five other schools joined us for our annual CU Camp at Rocklands, where we enjoyed great worship, input and fellowship as we grew in our relationship with God, and made new connections with Christians from other schools. We hosted termly social and outreach events with WBHS, including a pool party, games evening and pancake evening. We also launched our first ever Matric Evening, which aimed to assist matrics from all walks of life with the transition to life after school. Unfortunately this year we had to say goodbye and thank you to our dear Mrs Hartmann, who has been our rock in Capstone for so many years. Another heartfelt thank you to the youth leaders, Ms le Roux, members of the committee and learners who made 2017 the fantastic year it has been. Most importantly our praises go to God for impacting our school in such a profound way and raising up our next generation of leaders.
L Rasdien, A Soeker, A Domingo, N Parker, A Regal, H Armadien MIDDLE ROW: Y Booley, A Haron, L Hashim, Z Kathrada, B Davids, A Hendricks, L Martin, R Green, Z Esau FRONT ROW: A Safodien, A Chiktay, S Hendricks, Mrs N Moerat, M Sambo, Z Ally, A Solomon MSA girls in hijab
The bridge club honing their skills
FILM APPRECIATION CLUB
BACK ROW: H Bleekers, M Isaacs, L Schuller, K le Grange MIDDLE ROW: M Chothia, A Duncan, S Raine, R Heath, M Parker, E White, L Joshua FRONT ROW: E Barham, Z Davids, J Dick, Mrs A Kourie, T Schmidt, C Letellier,
M Schmid
muslim students’ association (MSA)
BACK ROW:
bridge club
Wynberg Girls’ Muslim Students’ Association is a society where Muslim students as well as any other students can come together, grow and learn more about Islam. We aim to create awareness about Islam by setting an example to others. In 2017, MSA focused on creating awareness throughout the school. MSA hosted three talks in which topical issues such as breast cancer as well as women’s role in Islam and society were discussed. The girls also held a hijab tutorial in which new scarf styles were taught. Posters regarding Ramadan were put up around the school to create an awareness about what Ramadan is. The girls in MSA successfully organised a food sale. The money raised was graciously distributed to various causes that were in need of assistance. In the fourth term the new committee worked diligently at creating an organised, fun and interactive programme that sees events such as a welcome party for the grade 8s, the annual iftaar, fundraisers, community service and more!
CULINARY ARTS
BACK ROW: L Tasriet, G Urion, N Safodien, A Stevens, J Lindup, L Mills FRONT ROW: J Mouton, M Noffke, Ms C Witthuhn, E McTavish, T Collair,
T Abrahams The Culinary Arts Society continues to tempt the taste-buds with its wide range of foods the girls passionately make each week. It teaches and encourages girls to cook and bake. We were once again invited to make and present a dish on Hectic Nine-9 which some of the girls enjoyed as it was different, and exciting. If you enjoy food then this might be the society for you!
BACK ROW: N Parker, J Krantz, R Espin, I Marais, A Cozett, M Lottering FRONT ROW: L Bredekamp, J Stromin, Ms L Wills, J Ely, M Salie
Femme Soc has tackled a wide variety of topics this year. We looked at representations of gender in pop culture, gender issues in global politics, and harmful social norms and expectations. We also explored the role of gender and sexuality with regards to physical and mental well-being. Issues relating to social justice and the welfare of women and children in South Africa, such as genderbased violence, access to healthcare and women’s participation in politics were also important topics of discussion. In 2018 we will be launching monthly Fri-DIY sessions, such as changing a tyre, applying for scholarships, and similar practical life skills.
PHOTOGRAPHY SOCIETY
BACK ROW: M Salie, C Ryklief, M Bosch, E Forster, J Roodt, A de Rose, Ms P Orpen FRONT row: M Farquhar, S Pereira, T Safodien, C Britten, Z Sasman, L Manie
DEBATING
2017 has certainly been a successful year for the Debating Society. Both the senior and junior teams worked incredibly hard preparing for the Rotary League debates. The Junior team managed to win one of their preliminary round debates, a massive achievement as this was a team primarily made up of girls that hadn’t debated before. The senior team managed to reach the octo-finals of the league, were undefeated in the preliminary rounds and were invited to the Western Province Provincial Debating Competition.
The girls started the year off learning the basics of the camera in a workshop led by professional photographer, Valentina Nicol. We focused on new themes, including food and fashion, and offered some practical lessons affording the girls the opportunity to play around with their cameras and try out new things. We are very proud of our society and look forward to next year to see what imagery our girls can find in the world.
LEFT: Tamiya Safodien
BACK ROW: A Vazidlule, N Basson, A Tanguy, L Lima FRONT ROW: R Gaibie, M Schilder, Mrs N Singh, S Goliath, Ms L Wills, M Parker, C Reinecke
FEMME SOC
RIGHT: Joanna Roodt
MOOT COURT
Moot Court is a competition where two learners argue as lawyers from a hypothetical case that is given. The first stage requires the writing of an essay in which arguments are outlined, from which Wynberg Girls’ High School was chosen as one of the 12 schools to take part in the provincial speaking rounds. Zoey van Reenen and Aqilah Regal were advocates for the day. After two rounds of gruelling questions and arguments, the girls were placed first and were chosen as one of 4 schools to advance to Nationals in Pretoria, where they made it through to the Quarter Final round.
Aqilah and Zoey
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HERITAGE DAY CELEBRATIONS
BACK ROW:
K Mbiza, P Barth, O Banisi, L Njobe, J de Villiers, A Vazidlule, H Walter, N Lehoke, Z Kwaza Row 4: S Zimba, S Mwezo, A Anderton, B Molekwa, B Nqubelani, S Khumalo, N Madubedube, L Mosala, S Stofile Row 3: W Mazibuko, A Magxiva, L Mema, L Njobe, A Mahlungulu, T Rhoode, S Khundayi, S Mboyana, A Somaguda, M Mzamane Row 2: A Mayatula, S Msila, Z Ndlanzi, S Dingeni, Mrs T Godana, P Maruping, L Mde, S Gqaji FRONT ROW: K Lujabe, D Marsh, E Mangesana, K Mnyanda, R Makoetlane, K Matu
UBUNTU SOCIETY
Conscious of the fact that we had enjoyed a public holiday celebrating Heritage Day, the learners at Wynberg took to the Honours Quad to celebrate and share their pride in their heritage. In Africa, the rain is a blessing, and there was no doubt that our students were feeling this as the rain fell on them while they they danced and sang to local South African hits in our new gathering space –– The Honours Quad. We were entertained by a lively performance from our Dance Sport dancers, and waited eagerly in line to buy some of the delicious traditional South African foods prepared by the heads of houses. In keeping with the break-time celebration, girls came to school dressed in clothing to reveal and share a little of their heritage pride with the rest of the school.
A group of our Hindu girls told us more about their customs, particularly Divali (the Festival of Lights), and entertained the assembly with beautiful dances.
Celebrating their heritage
Our society is one that aims to promote humanity in sharing cultural poetry, dance and music. It is open to everyone and has definitely gained recognition and fulfilled its achievements. This year, our Ubuntu society performed at the Rock of Ages, the Variety Show and cultural evenings hosted by other schools. Our annual Cultural Evening was a night filled with African songs, praise poetry, traditional dancing, spoken words, hip-hop, songs sung by choirs, ensembles and soloists, food, and more. The theme was “Amaqhawekazi” which means “Female Heroes”, indicating that she is power. It was inspired by all the horrific things such as rape and murder perpetrated against females in today’s
A SHARING OF HINDU CUSTOMS
Nadia
society. The opening act aimed to show how we as women can stand together, that we will rise and not allow ourselves to be oppressed. The song sung by the choir spread a message saying that “Even if you take her, she’s still with us and always will be in our hearts”. A special moment was the performance by our matrics – their last as “Wynberg Girls”. Overall, the performances were passionate and inspiring, the traditional costumes were stunning, and the audience was left inspired and touched. We thank Mrs Godana and the Grade 11 Ubuntu Society girls for organising this special event. Next year we aim to grow together as a society, sharing our backgrounds and common interests.
CURRENT AFFAIRS SOCIETY (CAS) BACK ROW:
K Hove
CULTURAL EVENING PUBLIC SPEAKING
BACK ROW: S Pereira, A Regal, B Kalan, N Basson, A Regal FRONT ROW: Z van Reenen, S Goliath, Ms J Kunze, P Maruping, K Adriaan
M Salie, J Krantz, I Marais, K Jacobs, S Raine, R Espin, D Goliath,
MIDDLE ROW: K Boer, K Adriaan, E McTavish, N Pahad, C Gonsalves, T Ngandu, Z Achmat, N Parker FRONT ROW: S Wiegand, T Morgan, P Maruping, Ms L Wills, M Schmid, I Land, C Coetzee The Women’s March against Trump, terrorist attacks in almost every corner of the globe, #MenAreTrash, a Vote of No Confidence in Zuma, Bell Pottinger and #WhiteMonopolyCapital, violence against women and children, racism, corruption, the growth of the Alt Right, and so much more… these are countless topics that have intrigued or plagued our society in the recent past. It has certainly been a very interesting year at Current Affairs, with informative sessions and hot debates being the order of the day. AT KIRSTENBOSCH
Okwethu as iNkosazana
Gugulethu AND samkelesiswe
The matrics with Mrs Godana
AT HOUT BAY HARBOUR
INTERNATIONAL STUDIES PROGRAMME (ISP) BACK ROW: A Johnson, L Njobe, R Issa, S Scott, L Sutria, L Noland, Y Yengopal MIDDLE ROW: C Britten, M Schilder, C Jacobs, Z Cook, A Cozett, K Barnes FRONT ROW: C Gertzen, I Choonara, Ms S van Wyk, J Ormond, C Johnson
Juliette and Tejal
INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL DIVERSITY DAY
The choir entertaining the lunch-time crowd
As the official International Cultural Diversity Day fell on a Sunday, we marked the occasion with a little celebration of our own – albeit a little early!
The ISP programme involves an exchange of ideas and cultures between our girls and students from Minnetonka High School in the USA. It is enriching, a new way to make long term friends and find out new things about American lifestyles that are surprisingly very far from what is produced and shown on television. You build relationships with your partner and those within the programme at your own school, you learn to communicate effectively, and you find out a range of things about yourself. You begin to highlight what’s important in your own world by listening to other people, even when half a world separates you.
AT KIRSTENBOSCH
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service pillar SERVICE PILLAR TROPHY WINNERS
Academic Outreach BACK ROW:
S Deary
M Grace, L Njobe, J Austin, N Bester,
FRONT ROW:
by
Kayla Garcia
Service Pillar 2017
As we come to the end of a successful year, it is with great pride that I write this report highlighting some of our achievements. Through hard work and perseverance from the girls we were able to make a difference in our community and grow as a pillar. We have hosted many successful events and drives of which I mention but a few: the “Rock of Ages” concert hosted in conjunction with the cultural pillar, pet bed making as a new initiative along with our pet food drive, and ending with the annual FemKit drive to aid the girls of Zimasa Secondary School. A new society called the Textbook Team was also introduced which assists with the intake and distribution of textbooks. Our Enviro Club has been actively involved with making Wynberg Girls’ High an environmentally sustainable school. A few of their projects included starting our own Fynbos garden to provide a space where girls can go and relax and appreciate its natural beauty, introducing Ecobricks and promoting the recycling of paper and plastic to reduce the amount of waste produced by the school, and aiming to make WGHS a plastic bag free zone by introducing environmentally friendly reusable bags. Our most successful drive for the year was, arguably, the weekly sandwich drive in which all houses take part. This year we brought in approximately 2000 sandwiches each week – these sandwiches were then distributed to the children of Capricorn Primary School. It has been an amazing year to be part of the service pillar and we hope that those involved in the pillar will continue to do their best to make a difference, both in our school and in the wider community.
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abby anderton
Caitlin Thomson
Kendra Petersen
saarah abrahams
K Petersen, Mrs I Adolph, A Anderton, K Barnes Our Academic Outreach girls tutor around 50 girls from Langa’s Zimasa Community School on a weekly basis. This partnership has been in place for the past 8 years. Our school provides the transportation to allow the Zimasa girls to attend their English and Mathematics lessons on a weekly basis. The commitment from our girls is admirable. Some, from as early as Grade 10, tutor full classes, and although the Zimasa teachers occasionally sit in on lessons, the tutoring is entirely student-driven. This programme truly embodies the slogan – IT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO!
ENVIRO CLUB ACHIEVEMENT
At the start of 2017 the Wynberg Girls’ High Enviro Club registered with the Wildlife and Environment Society’s (WESSA) EcoSchools programme. The programme is aimed at creating awareness and action around environmental sustainability in schools and their surrounding communities as well as supporting Education for Sustainable Development in the national curriculum. We are delighted to announce that the school was awarded a bronze medal in recognition of our efforts.
BLOOD DONOR COMMITTEE
BLOOD DONOR CLINIC – MAKING A DIFFERENCE
K Arendse, A Chiktay, A Arendse, L Sutria
BLOOD DONOR CLINIC
Once a term blood donor clinics are held at our school. We have a large group of dedicated learners who regularly donate. In the last clinic we successfully were able to exceed our target with 47 full units. There were 60 girls who attended the clinic and we had 25 new donors! Thanks for all your hard work, Wynberg. We look forward to seeing you donate in 2018.
CAPRICORN PRIMARY
SERVICE Pillar COMMITTEE
BACK ROW: S Abrahams, Y Booley, M Noffke, A Anderton, C Thomson, M Schmid, A Arendse, Y Soeker FRONT ROW: A Dawood, K Garcia, Mrs J Paverd, A Pieterse, R Johansson
Every Thursday morning all the houses make sandwiches and collect fruit for Capricorn Primary School. This is a major initiative and we generally provide more than 2000 sandwiches per week. The Capricorn children were also the recipients of our Easter Egg drive collection.
A well-organised WGHS sandwicH-making operation
EASTER EGG DRIVE HAPPINESS
BUDDIES TO THE BLIND
In association with League of the Friends of the Blind, and in support of their efforts to promote awareness of blindness and its impact, Wynberg participated in their “BLIND BUDDY DAY™ – a day in which people are invited to wear sunglasses and an official LOFOB BLIND BUDDY™ sticker in support of blind people.
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service pillar COMPUTER MONITORS
COMMUNITY SERVICE BY HOUSES
BACK ROW:
C Coetzee, R Gribble, H Vermeulen, P Seale, L Mzaza, C Letellier, A Pather, Z Kathrada MIDDLE ROW: J Imrie, C Sasman, J Benjamin, B Blackburn, Z Davids, J Crowie, Q Mia, A Chiktay FRONT ROW: Y Soeker, K Lodewyk, N Coleman, J Dick, Ms C Marneweck, S Mboyana, R Johansson, S Williams, A Pieterse The computer monitors do duty in the Computer Labs, operating as a helpdesk for their peers.
All of our Houses participate in community service projects throughout the year. Some of these projects for 2017 included Apsley’s partnership with Read to Rise, Kirsten’s beach cleanup, Cavanagh’s visit to Maitland Children’s Hospital and Silverlea’s Random Acts of Kindness campaign. The girls experience the joy that comes from giving, with the added bonus of bonding with their house sisters. apsley – read to rise
ENVIRO CLUB
ABOVE: sustainability project
BACK ROW: S Solomon, A de Kock, L Tasriet, N Pahad MIDDLE ROW: L Bailey, G Cochrane, G Johns, L Mzaza, L Berry, A Bennett,
TOP & ABOVE: CAVANAGH – Maitland CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
KIRSTEN – BEACH CLEANUP
TOP & ABOVE: silverlea – random acts of kindness
S Armadien, A Roode FRONT ROW: Z Esau, P Andrews, C Thomson, Ms C Underhill, B Kalan, L Zouheir, H Armadien This year the Enviro Club has been a driven and dedicated society. The vision that has kept us driven is obtaining our first medal of recognition from the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa. To achieve this we had to submit a portfolio of the projects we are running to demonstrate how we are improving the sustainability of our school. Our ‘re-think the bag’ project saw many creative and talented girls submit beautiful designs for our environmentally conscious, reusable bags and the school voted for their favorites. The bags will be launched in 2018 and, as a school, we plan to sign a pledge to become a plastic bag-free zone. Creating a permaculture garden was our second big project, and it took lots of research and collaboration. We have already harvested vegetables such as beetroot, lettuce, spinach, and beans! Our other projects have been enabling paper recycling, collecting eco-bricks and organising events such as documentary screenings and beach cleanups. The highlight of our year was a fun filled weekend in Betty’s Bay where we could bond with one another, reflect on the past year and talk about our goals for greening the school. Our society has grown and we are proud of all that we have achieved in the space of one year.
ECO BRICKS AND RECYCLING
ENVIRO COMPETITION
RETHINK THE BAG
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INTERACT
BACK Row: S Petersen, A Anderton FRONT Row: K Petersen, K Garcia, Ms A Wilkinson, A Dawood, Y Soeker
TUCKSHOP TEAM
Back Row: J de Keijzer, H Armadien, N Smith, K Arendse, J Grey Middle row: Mrs E Southgate, Ms C Ndadani, Mrs C Muller, Mrs G Adams,
Mrs N Jennette Front Row: B Kalan, T Safodien, Z van Reenan The tuckshop monitors are on duty during every break. They ensure that everyone is served as quickly and efficiently as possible so that break is not wasted standing in long queues.
2017 has been an eventful year for the Interact Society. We have organised and assisted many exciting events that have helped better both our school and community. We participated in Sisanda Fundaytion, One-2-One, Rotary Family Health Day and many more events. Interact has continued having weekly sessions on Mondays in order to prepare for our big events and small projects such as making cards for the children at Victoria Hospital and the elderly at Murambi House. We also hosted the first Interact socials with our fellow Interact clubs in our district, where we made sleeping bags for the homeless. The WGHS Interacters have striven to make a difference in society, whether it be big or small.
LIBRARY
Not many schools are privileged to have a library like ours which has a comprehensive collection of books for leisure reading as well as for research purposes. Thanks to the dedicated team of Library Monitors who give up their time to ensure that the Library is run efficiently.
First Aid Team
BACK ROW: H Ingabire, C Hayes, S Hashim, C Gertzen, L Zouheir, C van Heerden, M Schmid, K Cairns, A Regal, R Kendon, K Everett, M Salie, K Naicker MIDDLE ROW: B Draper, A Regal, M Bosch, J Ormond, A Allie, A Forster, C Dyck, S Petersen, K Jacobs, M Grace, S Elkington FRONT ROW: C Wilsnagh, C Matthews, C Britten, M Noffke, Mrs K Manners, A Pieterse, J Hogan, L Schuller, N Marlie
INTERACT GIRLS VOLUNTEERING AT THE ZIP ZAP CIRCUS SCHOOL
BACK ROW: K Petersen, E Curry, G von Alten-Reuss, L Berry, T Abrahams FRONT ROW: N Parker, T Kooverjee, Y Booley, Ms. K Powell, A Forster, S Gqaji
2017 was a productive year for the first aid team. We had many new, enthusiastic girls joining the team after they had completed their Level 1 course in term one, and some who even completed the Level 3 course in term 2. Revision sessions were held every second or third week where the team revised work that was covered during their courses. As usual, the team worked hard and efficiently at sports matches in both the summer and winter terms, often sitting for long hours alongside the pool or astroturf. The school is very grateful for the immense contribution by the team. This was shown in a lovely ceremony during a sports assembly, where the First Aiders were celebrated.
INTERACTERS AT THE ROTARY FAMILY HEALTH DAY breast cancer awareness cake sale
THE NEW WGHS AND WBHS INTERACT COMMITTEES AT THEIR INTRODUCTION
OCCASIONS TEAM
THE SPORTS TEAMS FORMED A GUARD OF HONOUR TO THANK THE FIRST AID TEAM FOR THEIR SELFLESS SERVICE
interact at constantia primary fun day
Sisanda Fundaytion
The Occasions Team provides invaluable behind-the-scenes assistance at all important school events and functions.
BACK ROW: A Soeker, J Vosloo, J de Villiers, J Ormond, N Bester ROW 4: C Johnson, D Daniels, Z van Reenen, L Manie, L Njobe, T Morgan, C Sasman, N Engelbrecht Row 3: L Johnson, B McKinnon, A Pather, H Vermeulen, B Kalan, J Grey, C Letellier, A Allie, Z Davids Row 2: A Arendse, I Israel, P Maruping, A Johnson, M Schilder, M Gierdien, S Mboyana, K Lodewyk FRONT ROW: A Pieterse, S Abrahams, N Upadey, M Schmid, Mrs P du Plessis, K Petersen, Y Soeker, K Satardien, K Arendse
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CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: DARG collecting our donations; KAYLA AND THE COLLECTED PET FOOD; CELEBRATING A SUCCESSFUL INITIATIVE MAKING PET BLANKETS
PEER GUIDES
big sister/ little sister
2017 was a year of both transition and growth as we introduced various initiatives. February saw the launch of our website, where we post monthly blogs about relatable teenage issues, and our email address (peerguides@wynghs. co.za) where girls can arrange sessions with us if they are too shy to do so in person. In our peer guide assembly in March we tackled the theme of masks that people tend to wear in different social situations, and we encouraged girls to open up to a peer guide so that they might share and lessen this burden. In August our gratitude week campaign saw staff and students sharing the things they are grateful for on the timeline outside the staff room. In our annual big sister/ little sister mentorship and group therapy program that we run with Wynberg Girls’ Junior School we focused on selfesteem, bullying, and bonding.
PET FOOD DRIVE AND FUR FRENZY
The Service Pillar arranged a collection of pet food to donate to our furry friends, and made dog beds in the Fur Frenzy drive.
Technical Team
BACK ROW: G Young, E Natus, N Jacobs MIDDLE ROW: L Manie, Q Daniels, G Lang,
H Veysey, M Meyer, P de Wet FRONT ROW: C Thomson, S Scott, K Garcia, Mr P Bodenstein, M Noffke, I Ramklass The technical team is involved in almost all school events, including sports tournaments, cultural evenings, guest speakers, prize giving, leadership induction and our weekly assemblies. The girls provide an essential service to the school community, but they see their involvement as a privilege and a wonderful learning experience. The tech crew has become like a family. The technical skills are passed down to the young members, while the older girls have the opportunity to develop their leadership skills, often in a stressful and challenging environment. What a wonderful group of dedicated people these techies are!
PEER GUIDES
Back row: R Issa, P Naidoo, S Pereira, A Brenner, B Kalan Middle row: A Regal, P Seale, T Morgan, Y Booley, A Arendse, K Petersen Front row: A Cozett, J Stephens, Z van Reenen, A Anderton
Network Operating Crew (NOC) FRONT ROW:
BACK ROW:
K Lodewyk, R Gribble, K Garcia P Farquhar, Ms C Marneweck, R Johansson
TEXTBOOK TEAM
The Textbook team perform multiple tasks such as maintaining and improving the condition of the textbooks as well as the collecting, sorting and issuing of textbooks. As the Textbook Team, it is our responsibility to ensure all the books have been collected, sorted out and issued for the following year. During this process, we also sort out the books so only books in a decent condition are issued. Those that are beyond repair are disposed of (recycled), while others are fixed as well as possible. All textbooks need to be reinforced with cardboard, covered with contact paper to keep the cover together and covered with plastic to protect the book. If any of the books do not have these things, we make sure they do, to the best of our ability and time available.
This is why we knit!
WOOL FOR WONDERS
Back row: C Meyer, M Boshoff, Y Mdaka, J Grey, K Welsh, M Simpson, J Hall Middle row: A Cozett, M Petersen, S Abrahams, T Abrahams, K Petersen Front row: N van Tellingen, A Louw, Z Khan, E Harris, A Ramjee
Textbook Team friends
The Wynberg Old Girls’ Union, together with the junior and high schools, ran their sixth Wool for Wonders campaign this year. More than 5000 items were collected and distributed to places such as Little Angels community centre for children and youth in the township of Hangberg in Cape Town. This campaign is truly a project that involves our whole community, with the girls, family members and friends contributing by donating wool, knitting items or sewing together blankets.
Using tutor group time for a good cause
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ZAMBIA GREENPOP FESTIVAL OF ACTION
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WORLD CHALLENGE EXPEDITION TO INDIA
AVOVE & TOP: ENJOYING BEACH TIME DURING THE R&R PHASE
VISITING A HINDU TEMPLE
ALL ABOVE: EXPERIENCING THE VICTORIA FALLS
CHINESE FISHING NETS IN FORT KOCHI
On an evening walk to an ancient baobab tree
HIKING IN THE WESTERN GHATS
OUR GREENPOP FESTIVAL TEAM WITH ONE OF THE ECO-EDUCATION SCHOOLS near LIVINGSTONE
Zambia Festival of Action: an opportunity not to be missed! If you have not already heard about Greenpop or the Zambia Festival of Action, it is highly recommended you go and do some research as soon as possible. How much of an amazing opportunity it was to be able to be a part of this incredible programme with such an inspiring team. Whether you are interested in becoming environmentally active, or you wish to take a step out of your comfort zone, Zambia is the perfect place to do this. Working alongside so many like-minded people to serve a common purpose is certainly an empowering thing. Several Wynberg girls attended this year’s festival and it is safe to say that it had a great impact on all of us, whether it helped sculpt or cement our decisions to become more environmentally conscious, enriched our perspectives, or simply boosted our confidence. All of us had our fair share of soil underneath our fingernails after the amazing plant days at local farms around Livingstone, where we were able to work with the local farmers, despite the language barrier, to achieve the common goal of planting hundreds of trees. It was a beautiful thing to witness and of which to be a part.
Planting an orange orchard at the Sons of Thunder community farm in Livingstone
Another wonderful experience was going to schools around Livingstone and engaging in a project called ‘Eco Education’ in which we worked with kids to plant trees, create eco-bricks, start up micro-nurseries and have conversations about the importance of caring for our environment. It was inspiring to work with children who are so enthusiastic about being environmentally active. All of us learnt so much from them. Many of us also built rocket stoves in communities, learned about simple and sustainable living, took part in permaculture workshops, learned how to meditate, and listened to inspiring talks. Some of us even got involved in the beautiful mural in the centre of Livingstone which was inspired by the importance of bees and trees in our everyday lives. Every aspect of this programme was a highlight, whether it was engaging in important conversations, learning about the local culture, taking part in the daily activities, or simply enjoying the incredible vegetarian food that was prepared for us. Take a leap; it is an experience of a lifetime. For more information visit: http://greenpop.org/events/zambia-festival-of-action/
OUR COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECT WAS AT AROOR LOWER PRIMARY SCHOOL
World Challenge was a trip like no other and we were all so lucky to be part of it. Orientation took place in Fort Kochi before we travelled to Munnar to begin our 4-day trek through the Western Ghats of Kerala. Our guides educated us on the different plants, spices and animals that surrounded us on our hike. We were challenged physically and mentally to push ourselves, but the trek also allowed us to see life in the more rural areas, and we stopped at various village tea shops that we happened to pass. One evening we cooked the staff a proudly South African dish of bunny chow and pancakes. During our project phase at Aroor Lower Primary School in Haripad, we spent our days levelling the floors, mixing, laying and carrying cement and playing and interacting with the local school children. We also managed to buy the school a laptop, memory stick, speakers, stationery, posters, and tiles for their newly laid floor, the funding for which was raised by us as a group before our trip.
KAYAKING ON THE BACKWATERS OF INDIA
I know all our hearts were filled with joy and pride when we realised the positive impact it would have on the community. The rest and relaxation part of our tour took place in Alleppey, where we went kayaking through the Kerala Backwaters, relaxed on a 6-hour trip on a houseboat, found our Zen in a yoga class and swam in the warm pool at our resort. We spent our last day shopping in the markets. In a short period of time we learnt so much about ourselves, each other and the people of the South of India. Our expedition leaders, Alex Bergin (from the UK) and Ms Van Wyk gave us the power to make our own decisions and were the support we needed to properly put our plans into action. They were also just incredibly funny and insightful and made our trip that much better. This was a life changing journey spent with the most amazing people.
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SPORTS PILLAR TROPHY WINNERS by
Katherine Nicholls Head of Sport 2017
Sports Pillar 2017
S P O R T
S is for spirit! Our 2017 Sports Committee launched the inaugural WGHS Fitness Challenge in term 3 of 2017. Each tutor group was allowed one participant and in the 4th and final round, 8 learners and 8 teachers competed in a planking challenge! Great house spirit was demonstrated and it was wonderful to see such encouragement amongst learners. P is for participation! Our Inter House sports days were well supported and it was clear that the girls who played had a fun and memorable time. All our summer and winter sports teams took part in various local competitions throughout the year. Our PGSGU Inter-schools events were once again highly anticipated, and many of our teams improved their results and played with Wynberg pride. O is for orientation! Our Sports Committee introduced the grade 8s to the Sports Pillar during orientation week. We started with a 20 minute marathon challenge, where each house tried to complete as many laps around the astro as possible in 20 minutes. Thereafter we played a video, showcasing all of Wynberg’s sports and our captains held a communal sign-up for our summer and winter sports. R is for recognition! The Sports Pillar introduced the MVP (Most Valued Player) Award. A special WGHS peak cap was awarded to deserving sportswomen in each sport. The aim of this award is to congratulate girls who consistently try hard and give of their best regardless of their team or level of play. We also held an assembly where we recognised all the first-aiders who attend to our sportswomen so dutifully. T is for times up! It has undoubtedly been a very busy year and it is now time to hand over the reins to our 2018 Sports Committee. I am very pleased with our achievements over the past year. I believe we improved the image of the Sports Pillar and created an environment where hard-working sportswomen could achieve and be recognised. We wish our new leaders great success as they continue to develop our Pillar.
Amina Williams
Jessica Ward
Lara taking part in the WP Athletics trials at Vygieskraal
Lara Johnson
Sonja Stock
Athletics
BACK ROW: K Gameeldien, L Johnson, S Springorum, M Boshoff, P Barth MIDDLE ROW: M Blows, N Hendricks, M Edwards, P Andrews, D Jacobs, R du Plessis FRONT ROW: J Petersen, S Petersen, J Stephens, Mrs S Williams, M Gray, B Goode, S Deary
The WGHS athletics season started out with a bang with our first ever All Girls’ Athletics triangular against Rhenish and St Cyprians. The next major event took the form of the annual A-section interschools athletics where we competed alongside our brother school. We were placed second overall, the best result our school has ever achieved in this section!
Teachers doing the Fitness Challenge
JESSICA
What a privilege to play against SA team mates Candice (2nd) and Illse (4th) at the Old Girls’ Game. Aaliah (left) and Kayla (3rd) are pictured with them.
Congratulations were in order as 17 of our athletes made it through to the next round. By the end of the season, 4 of our athletes, Lara Johnson, Beth Goode, Jessica Petersen and Gina Walker had made the Western Province team. A huge well done to all of our athletes who showed incredible commitment and hard work throughout the season!
Cross Country
It has been an enjoyable year for our cross country team, with all the regular faces back and with new grade 8 runners joining our team. Our runs through Newlands Forest and Groot Constantia and above Kirstenbosch Gardens made for scenic practices. Rain or shine, our runners were always ready on race days, and a number of our runners were invited to WP trials. The season ended with the well-organised PGSGU Inter-schools event held at Rustenburg, where we improved on our position from last year. Well done to all the runners, especially for the positive spirit in which they participated in all their races this season! BEACH RUN
Cross Country BACK ROW:
S Deary, M Grace, M Roëbert, E Bristow-Bovey, K Lodewyk MIDDLE ROW: C Gumunyu, K Roodman, G Hoskins, Q Daniels, S Petersen, B Goode FRONT ROW: A Forster, Ms C Underhill, M Gray, Mr P Bodenstein, L Mzaza
sPORTS Pillar COMMITTEE
BACK ROW: N Claassen, E Williams, T Findlay, J Stephens, B Gutuza, A Bailey, S Martin FRONT ROW: A Southern, D Daniels, Mr D Machado, K Nicholls, Ms J Hudson-Windsor, M Gray, A Williams
Gemma, Yusrah, Melissa, Jamie and Rebecca
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HOCKEY
Hockey remains one of the most popular sports in our school, with 11 teams registered in the Western Province Girls’ Hockey League. Thanks to the high standards of hockey coached and played at our school, there has been a fantastic number of provincial and also national representatives selected this year. A special congratulations to Grace Cochrane, Aaminah Domingo and Amina
sports pillar Williams on their selection to the South African national squads in their age groups. The U14, U16 and U19 Inter-Schools events were also fun-filled and exciting. Special mention to the U16A team who finished tied first in their tournament but lost out to Rustenburg on goal difference.
EMMA
HOCKEY UNDER 14A TEAM
Back ROW: K Hofmeyr, Y Khan, Z Abader, L Philander, M Swart Middle ROW: G Walker, S Murray, E Harris Front ROW: S Barnes, N Abbas, M Blows, K Johnson, D Da Mata, A Ceres
CHELSEA AND AMINA
HOCKEY FIRST TEAM BACK ROW:
C van der Berg, S Dingeni, J Grey, O Walker, K Nicholls ROW 3: M Petersen, A Dollie, A Domingo, R Khan ROW 2: Mr R Pillay, H Samaai, K Walsh, H Lockhat, A Lewis, L Sidzumo FRONT ROW: A Bailey, Ms J HudsonWindsor, A Williams, Ms S van Wyk
DEFENDING OUR GOAL
INTER-SCHOOLS HOCKEY
THE U16 TEAM AFTER A SUCCESSFUL Inter-schools TOURNAMENT AMBER RABECCA (right front)
HOCKEY UNDER 16A TEAM BACK ROW:
Z Gertson, R Rooy, K Rogerson, J Vine-Soanes, L Adams, B Abrahams, R du Plessis, J Yardin FRONT ROW: I Vermaak, N Noor, Mrs N Singh, M Boshoff, G Cochrane AALIAH (AND LUTHO ON LEFT)
FAR LEFT: CELEBRATING ANOTHER GOAL LEFT: HANNAH
MAREE
AAMINAH
LUTHO
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FIRST TEAM HOCKEY TOUR TO THE NETHERLANDS AND BELGIUM
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ROAD RUNNING BACK ROW:
S van der Merwe, A Castineira, A Haron, B Nqubelani, G von Alten-Reuss, J Richards FRONT ROW:
On the Dom Toren in beautiful Utrecht
With Joelle Ketting after our coaching clinic
Belgian chocolate!
I Majiet, E Harris, Mrs S Furstenberg, K Hove, Ms C Underhill, S Watkins, K Barnes
SQUASH
The WGHS Squash teams participated in the boys’ league, but despite this tough task our first team showed the boys what we were made of and ended in third place! When we narrowly missed our chance to go to Top Schools, our girls gave their best when competing in Inter-schools against our three rivals: Springfield, Herschel and Rustenburg. All of our players played with enthusiasm and dedication and Wynberg ended in 2nd position, only a few points behind Herschel. With all four of our first team girls representing Western Province in their respective age groups, they did Wynberg proud.
Bonding at the laundromat
Celebrating one of 3 birthdays on tour, this time with Hajira (centre)
Posing with Joelle (front) after watching her play in a First Division match
The girls meet English national player Sophie Bray (centre)
The highlight for the First Team was our much-anticipated overseas tour to the Netherlands and Belgium at the end of September. Many memories were made, great hockey was played and new friendships formed with our Dutch counterparts. A special thanks to Ms HudsonWindsor, Ms van Wyk and Mr Pillay for their commitment and dedication to the First Team and the tour, and to our parents and supporters who fundraised for over a year and a half to be able to send us to Holland.
INDOOR HOCKEY
Our Indoor Hockey teams did well against many of the top schools and their resilience and enthusiasm made us very proud. The Inter-schools event was exciting and very competitive. Well done to Skye Murray, Maree Peterson and Amaal Ceres for receiving MVP awards for being outstanding Indoor Hockey players during the season.
INDOOR HOCKEY FIRST TEAM
BACK ROW: A. Domingo, J. Cooke, S. Dingeni, C. van der Berg, R. Khan FRONT ROW: Ms J Hudson-Windsor, A. Bailey, M. Petersen, A. Dollie, A. Williams, Mr R Pillay
Amina (centre) WITH Amber and Raniya on the left
The First Indoor Hockey Team
Goal!
Squash Inter-schools Team l-r:
S Scott, Mrs S Furstenburg, A Southern, I Evans, I Tripod, P Gungu Wynberg vs Reddam
Amy, MargaretA, Sam and Jade
DIVING
From the start of the diving season to its end, the diving team as a whole had some significant achievements. Wynberg consistently managed to maintain a top position. Honorable mention goes to a number of our team members who managed to place at each respective diving competition. Well done to Jade Irvine-Smith, Trinity Demast, Qaylah Conrad, Sam Watkins and Margareta Bosch who each contributed to the team’s success.
BACK ROW: J Lee, A Muller, M Bosch, K Welsh, J Irvine-Smith, J Venter FRONT ROW: T Damast, Q Conrad, S Martin, Ms A Wilkinson, E Martin, K Hofmeyr, M Isaacs
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NETBALL
Netball 2017 was a roller coaster ride. One highlight was our participation at the All Girls’ Sport & Cultural Festival in Pretoria in April. Fundraising initiatives for this tour included the Talent Evening, truly a night to remember. The tour promoted interaction between the age groups and many new friends were made. Another highlight of the netball season was the PGSGU Inter- Schools Netball, where the u14A and u15A teams brought home
the trophies for winning their respective age groups. The u15s also scored the most goals in their tournament. The u16s and the u19s placed a well-fought third in their age groups. We are proud of all the girls who made various Western Province teams and especially Jessica Petersen who was selected for the U15 Western C ape team.
Netball Under 19 Interschools Team BACK ROW:
R Ngaka, J de Villiers, J Irvine-Smith, O Banisi, J Petersen FRONT ROW: A Timms, N Claassen, Mrs A Smith, S Chambers, A Haron
RUBY in defence
Netball Under 15 Inter-schools Team BACK ROW:
A Verster
K Fritz, M Boshoff,
FRONT ROW:
J Louis, H Thompson, Mrs S Williams, R Behrens, B Goode
Ashleigh
Melissa (with Michaela on the left)
NETBALL UNDER 16 Inter-schools Team
Netball Under 14 Inter-schools Team
BACK ROW:
O Ndwandwa, K Theunis, J Carlos, L Marais, T Page MIDDLE ROW: L Fouten, A Nicholson FRONT ROW: J Plaatjes, Mrs E Hill, A Rorich
Defence!
BACK ROW:
N Hendricks, K McHelm, S Springorum, M Baatjes, M Edwards FRONT ROW: K Pearse, J Garnett, Mrs S Williams, M Hull, C Joshua
Hannah
The u19s played against Grammar School Leeds
Interschools winners!
Hannah
Gina
Buyisile
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WATER POLO
The 2016/17 Water Polo season was a record breaking one! A refreshing start was made by the First Team placing fourth in the Stayers Tournament hosted by Somerset College. Our u14As achieved great results within their two competitions the Walla and Dave Pitcairn Cups. There were many outstanding performances by all our teams during the spirit-filled matches on Friday afternoons.
sports pillar History was also made with more than 10 of our stars being selected for Provincial representation. The girls truly worked hard to create a special brand of WGHS Water Polo. The U19B Team participated in the Oakhill Tournament in Knysna and the First Team travelled to Johannesburg for the annual Old Petrian’s Polo Tournament at St Peter’s College.
The u14As at the David Pitcairn Cup
Joy
WATER POLO FIRST TEAM
BACK ROW: O Walker, M de Beer, C Dallas, T Leibrandt, K Roodman FRONT ROW: B Abrahams, S Stock, B Gutuza, Ms N Faller, M Adams, M Makinson, C Hanekom
WATERPOLO UNDER 14 TEAM
BACK ROW: S Murray, M Frost, G Walker, K Pearse, C Joshua FRONT ROW: J Biddlecombe, S Barnes, A Bailey, Mrs M van der Merwe, K Basset, K van Reenen, J Ward
WATER POLO UNDER 16 TEAM
BACK ROW: M Simpson, B Benjamin, C Beaton, M Stock, J Mentoor FRONT ROW: J Yardin, L Mills, J Hall, Ms J Hudson-Windsor, L Adams, A Figaji, C Ducroq
The First Team at the Reddam Tournament
The u19B Team at the Oakhill Tournament
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sports pillar
sports pillar TENNIS
SWIMMING
Brittany
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Emma with SA Swimmers Cameron van deR BUrgh and Chad le Clos
SWIMMING FIRST TEAM
WGHS entered 3 league teams, with our first and second teams playing in the top two leagues respectively. Although our girls did not always manage a win, they really did play against some tough opponents and they always exhibited great match spirit and sportsmanship. The PGSGU Inter-schools tennis tournament marked the end of the competitive tennis season. Our girls are to be commended for their stellar efforts, and their tenacity was indescribable. Wynberg placed 5th in both the junior and senior sections. The following week, six of our tennis team girls had the opportunity to visit the Anthony Harris Tennis Academy in Bantry Bay. This was a truly eye-opening experience as the girls observed some of the best junior tennis players in the country in action.
Kristin
The first gala of the 2017 swimming season took place at Rondebosch Boys’ High School. Thereafter, the girls took part in various galas in the southern suburbs every Thursday after-noon. It was most inspiring to see such determination and tenacity each and every week. Well done to Nishaat Davids who was elected to represent WP. At the Inter-schools swimming gala, Wynberg placed 5th. One of the highlights of the season was the final swimming event of the term, the Rondebosch Gala (formerly the Newlands Gala) on 1 March 2017. Many schools in and around Cape Town participated and, with such amazing support and energy, our girls truly swam their hearts out. Some of our girls even met SA swimming stars Cameron van der Burgh and Chad le Clos.
TENNIS FIRST TEAM
BACK ROW: I Tripod, I Evans FRONT ROW: S Wiegand,
Mr A Hunter, K Nicholls
TENNIS TRAINING
PROVINCIAL AND NATIONAL COLOURS
BACK ROW: J Ward, T Leibrandt, M Frost, S Williams, T February, G Walker, K Basset, S Murray MIDDLE ROW: K Johnson, B Goode, K van Reenen, E Curry, C Hanekom, M Stock, J Yardin, B Abrahams FRONT ROW: B Gutuza, S Stock, E Williams, Ms K Powell, M Makinson, M Adams, J Carlos
U14 swimmers waiting for the start of their race
SYNCHRONISED SWIMMING
This year both the social and team synchro girls gave their all in practices and pushed themselves to reach their goals. Sarah Williams was selected for the SSA talent squad that traveled to Hungary. She also did exceptionally well in the Western Province Champs and the SSA Level 3 Championships, and we are very proud of her. Erin Natus and Tyra-Leigh Findlay both excelled in the Level 1 competition held at Wynberg. Emma Manners-Wood, our coach and a Wynberg past pupil, represented South Africa at the World Championships in Budapest with her partner. Our team is very proud to have Emma as a coach.
PROVINCIAL AND NATIONAL COLOURS
SYNChRO SWIMMING TEAM BACK ROW: Mrs E Hill FRONT ROW: S Williams, T Findlay, J Ormond, E Natus
Wynberg Girls’ High is proud to recognise and honour the sports achievements of our coaches, staff and learners, all of whom have excelled in their various sporting codes and been selected to represent their province and, some, their country.
BACK ROW:
L Mtwana (WP Dance Sport), A Arends (WP Dance Sport), J Virgin (South Africa Karate), I Evans (WP Squash), O Walker (WP Water Polo and Hockey), L Johnson (WP Athletics), S Springorum (WP Netball), I Tripod (WP Squash), C van der Berg (WP Hockey), A Vazidlule (WP and South Africa Dance Sport) ROW 3: R Khan (WP Hockey), A Southern (WP Squash), T Mangadi (WP Dance Sport), K Floris (WP Dance Sport), A Turner (WP Dance Sport), C Hanekom (WP Water Polo), J Fisher (WP and South Africa Dance Sport), J Espach (WP Water Polo), B Goode (WP Athletics), G Ndubela (WP Dance Sport) ROW 2: M Louw (WP Dance Sport), S Smith (WP Cricket), A Fisher (WP and South Africa Dance Sport), J Petersen (WP Athletics and Western Cape Netball), J Cooke (WP Hockey), A Dollie (WP Hockey), A Domingo (WP and South Africa Hockey), A Lewis (WP Hockey), G Urion (WP and South Africa Dance Sport), T Abrahams (WP Touch Rugby), S Ellis ( South Africa Karate) FRONT ROW: Mr R Pillay (South Africa U16 Hockey Coach, WP Hockey Coach), A Williams (WP and South Africa Hockey), J Koopman (WP Dance Sport), A Dicks (WP Dance Sport), P Gungu (WP Squash), H Samaai (WP Hockey), A Green (WP Dance Sport), Ms J Hudson-Windsor (WP Hockey Coach)
communications
Robyn Johansson
Head of Communications 2017
Communications 2017
2017 was a year that brought many changes and improvements to the Communications Portfolio. We strove to give the school a new face on social media and a whole new outlook on the importance of communication. The most significant addition to the Communications portfolio this year was the creation of the school Instagram account. This enabled us to communicate directly with our learners about school events, achievements and daily occurrences. In addition, with Instagram as a societal measure of popularity, Wynberg Girls’ High School has gained a lot of recognition online as a prestigious allgirls’ school. The start of this account also sparked the creation of a series of other school-affiliated Instagram accounts run by the different school clubs and societies. Our Facebook pages were updated regularly with the happenings at the school - keeping parents, past pupils and current pupils informed. The school’s constant activity on Facebook gave the account a whole new face: more involved, interesting and
committed to the recognition of our girls. Another important part of the Communications portfolio is our weekly Podcasts. The Communications Committee have done an impressive job delivering interesting and current podcasts to the Wynberg community. It showcased the public speaking talents and keen minds of our girls, and kept people informed on important topics of discussion. Communication is key to building an informed society based on trust and openness – and it is essential within the transformation process we are undergoing. Being able to contribute to the revamping and boosting of our social media platforms has been an absolute honour. As the Head of Communications for 2017, I am proud of the role played by the committee in the creation and improvement of open communication and honest marketing of the school. My best wishes go out to the new Communications Committee for 2018.
WEB COMMITTEE BACK ROW:
S Goliath, L Bredekamp, M Adams, S Dingeni, S Reilly MIDDLE ROW: J Stephens, C Johnson, P Maruping, R Johansson, H Nam, A Southern, K Nicholls FRONT ROW: P Naidoo, J Stromin, Ms P Orpen, I Evans, A Arendse, K Garcia
Wynpress
Working with Wynpress this year has been enjoyable: we have all grown in 2017, whether it be in our writing skills, time management or skills working as a group deciding on topics and formats democratically. A big effort was made to encourage learners who are not on the committee to submit pieces of writing. A podcast for the communications committee was also made. Being part of something like Wynpress is an amazing opportunity for anyone passionate about writing.
BACK ROW: S Goliath, I Choonara, C Gertzen, N Engelbrecht MIDDLE ROW: M Salie, T Morgan, C Birch, J de Keijzer, R Brown, N Madubedube, T Safodien, Z Esau FRONT ROW: J Stromin, Z Wichman, Ms M Lawrence, J Ormond (Editor), J Austin
Back ROW: P Buchanan, S Enous, B McKinnon, A Allie, R Gribble, J Pitt, T Herbert, A Khan, Z Pascoe, P Farquhar, J Ormond Row 8: L Hashim, E Springveldt, L Dawson, R Schrögendorfer, T Damstra, D Johnston, Z Kathrada, T Phohlela, Z Ndlanzi, L Abrahams, L Wang, R Prytz, S Africa, C Thomson, T Schmidt, J Dick, J Featherstone, F Isaacs Row 7: E Williams, Y Booley, L Hendricks, S Hendricks, J Crowie, Z Davids, A Solomons, C Perrins, D van der Veen, S Underwood, E Kemper, M Jacobs, M Noffke, Z Sedick, Z Wichman, T Dickenson, L Sutria, A Chiktay, J Benjamin,
by
M Harding, E Barham Row 6: M Bourne, C Sasman, T Morgan, S Elkington, Q Mia, A Mahlungulu, L Mde, H Adams, J Burgess, B Blackburn, J Gentz, M Schmid, C Coetzee, C van der Berg, M Brougham-Cook, B Jacobs, L Njobe, S Msila, I Babb, A Dawood, B Gutuza Row 5: C Jackson, A Ku Md Salleh, K Tsoaeli, M Gray, S Khundayi, S Martin, S Neethling, T Rhoode, K Everett, S Wiegand, D Arendse, A Bailey, D Daniels, J van Niekerk, L de Smidt, M Sambo, A Jacobs, N Marlie, L Daniels, A Dingwall Row 4: Z Buggas, T Harrison, M Makinson, C Williams, A Robertson, L Mzaza, S Scott, S Prentice, S Ackland, A Forster, J Ely, O Lusaseni, S Timms, N Claassen, C Letellier, P Seale, S Stock, K Engel, L Kotze Row 3: A Mayatula, C Scholtz, S Gqaji, K Niekerk, N Heynes, Y Soeker, K Satardien, Z Masizana, J Austin, J Hagan, C Donson, C Bock, B Le Roux, B Pyaneeandee, Z Davids, Z Amardien, H Mohedeen, L Sidzumo Row 2: A Pieterse, S Dingeni, I Evans, H Nam, S Goliath, P Naidoo, K Nicholls, R Johansson, J Stephens, Mr D Burrell, C Johnson, K Garcia, J Stromin, A Southern, S Reilly, A Arendse, M Adams, P Maruping, L Bredekamp FRONT ROW: Z Ally, A Williams, S Smith, N Upadey, M Gierdien, T Stober, K Roussouw, R Bredekamp, T Swain, N Baloyi, T Kooverjee, E Symmonds, C Wilsnagh, E Martin
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MATRIC 2017
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grade 12 news
grade 12 news
Matric Dance
GRADE 12 – The Goodbye Year
The Grade 12 year is a landmark one for all high school students. Their last year of school is packed chock full of exciting and memorable events. The first important celebration for the year was the Matric Sleepover. This year was the first without the ‘sacred grass’, and so the matrics swapped pitching tents for laying out mattresses on the floor of the main hall. Grade 12s braaied, watched a movie on the big screen, and danced the night away on the stage. The next event – arguably the most anticipated of the year – was the Matric Dance. Every year the staff is amazed at the beauty and class demonstrated by the matrics at this event, and 2017 was no exception. Kelvin Grove sparkled with hundreds of elegant ladies and their dates. This continued at the Matric Fashion Show, where the Grade 12s got to show off their beautiful dresses to the rest of the school. Soon enough the year was drawing to a close as the 40 Days countdown to final exams was celebrated with food, fun and colourful costumes in the new Honours Quad. The matrics dressed up again for their Informal Valedictory assembly, where, as is tradition, the Grade 11s and the teachers sang farewell songs to the matrics and the matrics responded with their own. After a trip down memory lane with a slideshow featuring photographs and videos of the Grade 12s spanning their past five years of school, formal Valedictory and Grade 12 Prize Giving was held. A few weeks later, after their last exam, the Grade 12s exited the school gates for the last time, shoeless, after having donated their school shoes to those in need in a tradition started by the 2012 matrics. We are exceptionally proud of our 2017 matrics and all they have achieved. We wish them all the best for the years to come. Onward and upward, matrics! “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
Matric Fashion Show Committee Matric Sleepover Committee
BACK ROW: N Mlumbi, T Stober FRONT ROW: Mrs J Badenhorst, S Neethling, Ms S Amien, M Gierdien, Mrs M Stapelberg
BACK ROW: S Smith, C Bock, K Satardien FRONT ROW: N de Villiers, Mrs B Patel, T Findlay
Our elegant girls and their dates
Matric Memories Committee
BACK ROW: J Ely FRONT ROW: S Hendricks, Y Soeker, Ms C Marneweck, J Benjamin, P Buchanan
THE SLEEPOVER
LAST DAY SHOE DONATION
ZAHRAH
MATRIC CLOTHING COMMITTEE
BACK ROW: H Nam, R Schrögendorfer, A Forster, S Ackland, J Crowie, A Chiktay FRONT ROW: Mrs D Hartmann, T Kooverjee, Ms K Powell
Goodie bags from WOGU: MAXINE AND CHLOË
ROBBEN ISLAND OUTING
Beautiful Wynberg Girls celebrating their matric year
JENNA AND LAUREN Enjoying the evening with their friends
Matric 40 Days Committee
BACK ROW: E Jenkins FRONT ROW: C Scholtz, S Msila, Ms J Kunze, R Ngaka, C Coetzee
Valedictory: CAITLIN AND YUSRAH RECEIVE THEIR TROPHIES
AMY AND NIRVANA
Sam and Lelethu
Melissa, Chloë and their dates
Michaela and Jewel
Mr Machado and his Maths class
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grade 11 news
grade 10 news GRADE 11
LEADERS’ INDUCTION
YUMNA, MAREE AND KAYLA
LEADERS’ ANNOUNCEMENT
ALIVE, SESETHU, STACEY, SINAZO AND WINILE
AQILAH AFTER BEING ANNOUNCED AS HEAD OF SCHOOL
It has been a whirlwind of a year for the Grade 11s, with the pressure of needing to perform well for university applications, undergoing the leadership process and taking part in a myriad of extra-mural activities. There was, however, still plenty of time for fun. The Grade 11 camp focused on team building activities as well as improving personal skills such as communication and conflict management. There was also a very energetic nighttime scavenger hunt, which had the girls competing against each other! The History learners enjoyed an outing to the Holocaust Centre, where some of them were lucky enough to meet and learn from a 90-year-old survivor. For these girls, it was a deeply enriching experience. The Grade 11 Art, Geography and Life Sciences learners also went on different outings, including visits to a wind farm and the Two Oceans Aquarium. Overall, it has been a successful, happy year, and I am incredibly proud of the progress of the Grade 11s – there has been much growth within the grade, and many happy memories have been made.
GRADE 10
2017 was a year marked by challenges, victories and moments of growth for this year’s Grade 10s. It is the first time in their high school career that the girls are able to take a full set of subjects of their own choice, which has given many the opportunity to excel in their academics. Our Grade 10s were active participants in many of the Transformation Talks that took place over the course of the year. Some girls have also stepped into leadership positions in a number of societies and sports teams. This will stand them in good stead for the leadership development process in Grade 11. Good luck for 2018, Grade 10s!
NADIA, ALEX AND AASIYAH
MACKENZIE AND LAYLAH
AALIYAH AND AAMINAH
GRADE 11 CAMP
BIANCA AND CAITLIN
JAMIE-LEE, KAYLA, AREEJ AND ASHLEIGH
ESETHU
HONOURS QUAD
TEAM BUILDING ON CAMP CELL CAKES
MANCALA DAY
KAYLA AND AALIYAH
JOY, JESS AND SI
CIARA
KEIGHTLEY, MEGAN AND CALEIGH
Matric Dance Committee TYLA AND OLIVIA
BACK ROW: A Soeker, N Pahad, Z Sasman, J Yotikul, C Meyer MIDDLE ROW: I Meyer, H Vermeulen, J de Keijzer, T Hogan, L Johnson, L Bailey, F Smailovic FRONT ROW: A Regal, Ms K Powell, S Abrahams, Mrs A Coetzee, M Schilder, Ms S Amien, K Boer
HAANIM AND HANNAH
KATELIN
JESS
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grade 9 news
grade 8 news GRADE 9
The Grade 9s this year showed tremendous spirit and care in working with each other and helping others in need. Term 2 started off with a wonderful and enriching camp where the learners developed skills in problem solving, team building and communication. They developed new skills in communication and were able to interact and bond with others in the grade with whom they previously had little contact. The ‘gees’ and teamwork that were witnessed on camp was admirable. The learners had a fantastic experience during their Fundraising Project this year. They did exceptionally well raising money for various charities including Reach for a Dream and Procare. They were inventive and tireless in their fundraising attempts. The learners were enthusiastic and inspired by careers evening and it helped them when making their subject choices. At the subject choice evening Mrs Stapelberg addressed the learners on the new and ever changing job market and how they can prepare themselves for futures in different fields. Good luck to all the grade 9s as they go into the FET phase of their education. I am sure they will meet each new challenge with the same passion and enthusiasm they displayed in 2017.
JADE AND HANNAH
EMMA
GRADE 8
Wynberg Girls’ High School welcomed the biggest Grade 8 class ever at the start of 2017. On Tuesday, 10 January, 227 girls arrived with big eyes to join in the fun at the annual pool party hosted by the student council. All fears were soon forgotten and the girls had an unforgettable time making friends and getting to know the leaders of the school. Orientation week was run smoothly by Jessica Stephens and her team. The biggest challenge was getting used to a Grade 8H class – a first for Wynberg. At the end of a successful 2017 it is difficult to imagine that these faces were ever not part of the Wynberg family!
PLEDGE CEREMONY
SARAH
MIA AND HER TEAM ON THE GRADE 9 CAMP
LOGAN
INTRODUCING GRADE 8s TO SOCIETIES TEAM BUILDING ON TOP OF JULIA
TOP, MIDDLE & ABOVE: ORIENTATION
BRAINSTORMING ON THE GRADE 9 CAMP
MICHAELA’S MAKE-UP WAS DONE BY A LITTLE GIRL AT MAITLAND CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
WELCOME DAY GRADE 9s AT THE CASTLE ON THEIR SOCIAL SCIENCES OUTING
GR 9s ON THEIR OUTING TO THE DISTRICT SIX MUSEUM
SANDWICHES
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waterloo hostel
waterloo hostel hostel matric farewell
by
Sisipho Dingeni Head of Hostel 2017
WATERLOO HOSTEL 2017
When I think of hostel I think of a place where I have grown as a person. It is a place that grooms one and prepares one for the big world in terms of being an independent young woman who is fearless and ambitious. This year, along with welcoming several new staff members, some reshuffling and introduction of new ideas took place, all in order to make our hostel a home away from home. I am proud of the progress we have made. Waterloo House continues to be a family, active and filled with an infectious vibe, a place where one can feel safe knowing that a sister is there to back
you in troubling times. Our hostel staff, from the kitchen to the office, also played a role in ensuring our stay in hostel was a pleasant one and they filled that void of missing home. My term of office was not always an easy one, but the respect my sisters had for me and their trust in my decision-making enabled me to lead them to the best of my ability. A special thank you to my fellow matriculant hostel sisters who started and ended this journey with me. Your support meant the world to me.
MS PEARCE AND HEAD OF HOSTEL, SISIPHO
SISIPHO, ANELISA AND LUTHO LOOKING LOVELY WITH THEIR FLOWER CROWNS
THE NEW SUPERINTENDENT, MRS NORMA KARSTEN, WITH THE GRADE 9s
DOMINIQUE AND SIS BABALWA
THE WATERLOO HOSTEL FAMILY
BACK ROW: A Monashe, E Bristow-Bovey, K Cotani, S Kennedy, R Francklin, M Frost, R Sampson, C Dyck, S Snyman, L Mosala, G Ndubela, S Feyder, S Heald, L Mgca Row 4: M Dyck, M Charitou, A Magxiva, S Mboyana, R Makoetlane, F Windvogel, J Baumann, G Cochrane, H Walter, K Lujabe, G Pienaar, K Mbiza, L Xhego Row 3: N Madubedube, S Kwatsha, N Basson, S Mwezo, A Dallas, A Tanguy, M du Plessis, T Gumede, P Seale, O Lusaseni, D van der Veen, Z Mdlanzi, S Ngcayisa Row 2: S Tibini, D Marsh, N Mutsekwa, M Mzamane, C Britten, S Mtegha, E Mahlumba, F April, P Gungu, W Mazibuko, N Mathayi, L Mema, H Shoko, A Somaguda FRONT ROW: T Rhoode, L Sidzumo, A Mayatula, B Blackburn, P Maruping, L Wang, Mrs K Dywili (Hostel Acting Superintendent), S Dingeni, Ms F Cull (Senior House Mother),
A Mahlungulu, S Khundayi, L Mde, M Gray, A Pieterse, S Gqaji
GRADE 8 TALENT SHOW
LUTHO AND ESETHU AT THE HOSTEL CHRISTMAS FUNCTION
On the 11th of October the hostel held its annual Matric Farewell Dinner. The Grade 11s chose “Tropical” as their theme. The hall was filled with beautiful decorations and hostel boarders delighted all as, inspired by the theme, they dressed for the occasion. Each matric received a flower crown and was seated at the main table with her partner for the evening (a staff member of her choice who had been particularly important in her life) and Mrs Harding. The evening’s formalities included a symbolic candle ceremony, a video and slide show of memorable moments of our matrics, a magnificent performance by Anelisa, and a number of heartfelt speeches.
MRS NEL WAS BRITTNEY’S INVITED GUEST
HOSTEL STAFF
L-r: Ms F Cull, Mrs M Levine, Mrs F Jacobs, Ms N Ntsham, Ms A Pienaar, Mrs N Karsten, Mrs S Dustay, Ms T Horn
CLOCKWISE FROM top: MATRICS ENJOYING THE TALENT SHOW; SADIE AND SWANDLE; MEGAN
OLWETHU, SIS NOMONDE, ZIZI, SISIPHO AND LUTHO HAVING FUN IN THE PHOTO CORNER
PALESA AND HER ‘DATE’, MRS MOERAT
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houses
houses
Apsley
Constantia
ABBY, AQILAH, SIBONGILE AND CHELSEA
cheering for apsley at the inter HOUSE SPORTS DAY
BACK ROW: C Wilsnagh, Z Wichman FRONT ROW: P Maruping, Mrs I Adolph, P Farquhar
This was a year filled with great achievements and memorable moments for Apsley House. We won the term cup in terms 1 and 2 in 2017! The Apsley challenge was a Sensory Olympics where girls were required to identify a number of items by using the five senses. It was quite funny! In the annual Singing Challenge, we decided to remix Beatenberg’s
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INTER HOUSE SINGING COMPETITION
Pluto, Stop, wag, bly nog ‘n bietjie by Brendan Pyper and Nguwe Lo by Kelly Khumalo. Although we did not win the challenge, great fun was had by everyone. Apsley supported an organization called READ to RISE for the second year running. The aims of the organization are to inspire reading and to make good quality books available to young learners at primary schools. Our Apsley girls cover these books after school as part of their community service.
BACK ROW: M Makinson, Z Buggas FRONT ROW: M Adams, Mr J Saayman, J Scholtz
LARETIA AND KAYLA
APSLEY LEADERS
JADE
By giving selflessly of their time, our girls are encouraged to give back to the less privileged and to render service to society without expecting payment. This really is the right thing to do!
2017 has been a spectacular year for Constantia as we welcomed our new Grade 8 Tiggers and Mr Saayman’s baby girl, Samantha. We kept with the true spirit of Constantia and worked hard whilst having fun throughout the year, which paid off at the end as we won the Inter House trophy for the year 2016/2017. Constantia showed enthusiasm and zest for life in all house challenges and showed true ”gees” in the annual singing challenge, performing Down South by
GITA AND CHELSEA
CONSTANTIA LEADERS
Jeremy Loops. In the new extra-curricular Dance Sport, Constantia was the house with the most girls selected for the Western Province Dance Sport team. Many of these girls did extremely well in their competitions. Unfortunately, Constantia will be saying goodbye to Ms Faller (NF). She is not leaving the Wynberg family, but she will be the new House Coordinator for Copenhagen. We know that her blood will always have an orange tinge to it. She
Rebecca
is and has been a special member of the Constantia family and she will be missed dearly. Finally, it was one of the hardest things for our matric Tiggers to say goodbye to a place and a Constantia family that we called home for the last 5 years. Our final wish for all Constantia girls is to follow Tigger’s advice: “You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching, love like you’ll never be hurt, sing like there’s nobody listening, and live like it’s heaven on Earth.”
Copenhagen
Cavanagh
ERIN AND SHREYA
BACK ROW: L Mzaza, Z. Ally, L Sutria, S Prentice FRONT ROW: A Southern, Ms S van Wyk
Cavanagh’s aim for 2017 was to make sure that our young ladies were happy, supportive of others and participating in as many activities as possible. 2017 really has been a good year for Cavanagh. Not only did we participate in and dominate in many house and sport challenges (like winning the Fitness Challenge and Amazing Race) but our Cavanagh girls really showed how to be a caring family of young ladies. There was so much support for each other, the
PROUD CAVANAGH SUPPORTERS
foundation of which is the ‘family’ or ‘support’ groups we have within each tutor group, headed by the matrics as the ‘Big Sisters’. Cavanagh’s house challenge this year was a Recycling Fashion Show. It was a beautiful display of talent and imagination. In the Singing Competition Cavanagh’s enthusiasm paid off and we achieved a well-deserved 2nd place. Our new leaders started their term off with a bang, by winning (with Kirsten) the House Plays
BACK ROW: C Donson FRONT ROW: E Martin, Mrs A Coetzee, S Martin CAVANAGH LEADERS
TIERO AND COURTNEY
challenge on the last day of term 3. The hard work put into these two challenges, as well as our regular top 3 position in the Sandwich Competition, led to Cavanagh achieving third spot overall at the end of term 3. The Cavanagh leaders are proud of how far our House has come this past year, and truly honoured to have led this house for 2017. Pink isn’t just a colour; it’s an attitude!
This has been another fun-filled year for Copie. We worked hard and had success: we came first in academics and sandwichmaking at the beginning of the year. The girls really bonded and showed great camaraderie in the Inter House singing competition and the Inter House sports days. All the girls came together to deliver an amazing performance and show fantastic sportsmanship. Copenhagen showed commitment to
SINGING CHALLENGE
service and knitted a large number of jerseys, beanies and blankets for the Wool for Wonders campaign. The special thing about Copenhagen girls is that they don’t need to win to feel as if they have succeeded, they just want to try their best and have fun while doing it. I am extremely proud of Copenhagen as it is a house built with strong tutor groups, amazing teachers and very passionate and talented young girls.
MARGARETA AND CIARA
COPENHAGEN LEADERS
AASIYAH
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houses
houses
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Waterloo SUPPORTING KIRSTEN AT INTER HOUSE HOCKEY
BACK ROW: J Featherstone, J Ormond FRONT ROW: L Bredekamp, Mrs A Smith, L de Smidt
2K17 was definitely Kirsten’s year! Our goal was for our girls to be keener than ever to participate, to bring the “gees” and for individuals to find their purpose and use their strengths to work for the girls in their house. Our year started with an unexpected bang – KIRSTEN had won the 2016 term 4 house cup for the first time in years! 2017 began with an amazing new group of Grade 8s with excellent war cry skills, a beach clean-
Silverlea
BACK ROW: B Plaatjies, Q Mia, L Sidzumo, Z Ndlanzi FRONT ROW: S Dingeni, Ms M Lawrence
Silverlea began the year with the motto “It’s the purple aura”, determined to make sure that Silverlea leaves a mark in every pillar of the school. The leaders started off by going on a trip to Murambi House on Spring Day, to brighten up the elderly’s day with cards, flowers and some small treats. Our new Grade 8s won various challenges during orientation week, allowing us to see the strengths of each individual who would later contribute to the success of
KIRSTEN LEADERS
up, and house bonding at Muizenberg. We were thrilled to finish second in Term 2 and Term 3. Kirsten also snatched victories in the Inter House Play Competition for the fourth year in a row (this time partnered with Cavanagh), and in being the house with the highest academic points in Term 3 – who says we can’t do it all? The greatest, most amazing moment, after weeks of break-consuming practices, was definitely winning the Inter House Singing
SUMMER AND PHOEBE
PALESA AND SWEVA
KELLY, ASHLEE AND SARAH
Competition with “We’re All In This Together”. It saw the entire house coming together, singing, playing instruments and breaking it down to some insane choreography that received cheers from our very large audience. I must take this opportunity to applaud the four Kirsten matric leaders who seldom get the recognition they deserve, but were the driving force behind our house. It was the best year ever!
The Waterloo leaders started off the new term of office by visiting Capricorn Primary School to hand out sandwiches. Meeting some of the children and staff really helped us to realise the importance of the weekly sandwich making: it is a lot more than just house points. The many house challenges throughout the year allowed many girls to get involved and ignited house spirit. Waterloo obtained several good results in the challenges throughout the year, such as having the best
Wellesley
PROUD SILVERLEANS
BACK ROW: A Pieterse, A Dawood FRONT ROW: Z Amardien, Ms B de Waal, A Arendse
CHEERING FOR THEIR HOUSE
our house. The many house challenges in which we took part led to the growth of the house. We understood each other and what we are good at, while also understanding each other’s weaknesses and learning to work around that. We tried to be as inclusive as possible so no one would feel left out - we are, after all, a family at school. Our house challenge for 2017 was a Talent Show focused on singing or dancing. Silverlea was placed third.
BACK ROW: M Sambo, K Everett FRONT ROW: I Evans, Mrs D Hartmann, C Thomson
GO SILVERLEA!
STACEY
The Inter House singing challenge was where the real energetic Silverlea came out. The girls enthusiastically participated without complaint, and they sang their hearts out. The “purple aura” mark remains, paving a path to greatness for the Purple House. Leading Silverlea was, indeed, an honour.
The year 2017 has been a successful one for the house of Wellesley. Our goal for this year was to further recognize the achievements of Wellesley girls as well as to make each girl feel a special individual within the house. We achieved this by establishing a Wellesley Birthday Team who would ensure every Wellesley Girl received a yellow card, balloon and a lovely smile on her special day. Wellesley also focused on volunteer work which included making playdough, baking
SINGING COMPETITION
outfit in the Cavanagh Recycled Fashion Show. The girls excelled academically, with Waterloo always obtaining lots of academic house points. This year was also the last for our beloved house coordinator, Mrs Hartmann. She has done so much for our house and the Waterloo girls over the years, and will always be a very special part of the Waterloo family. It has been an absolute privilege leading such an amazing group of girls and being a part of this wonderful blue house.
WATERLOO LEADERS
DANIELLE
TWO THUMBS UP FOR WELLESLEY!
WELLESLEY LEADERS
biscuits, designing colouring-in books and visiting old age homes. We increased the number of sandwiches brought in weekly, often ranking us first or amongst the top three houses. Volunteer work allowed the girls to bond with those inside their house and interact with those in other tutor groups while doing good deeds and giving back. Wellesley performed extremely well in this year’s house challenges, coming first in two out of the eight challenges and
ASANELE
ZETA, JADE AND DEMI
placing in the top ranks in the remaining six challenges. I am extremely proud of all the House’s achievements in 2017. It has been a pleasure to lead Wellesley this year and to have called it my home at Wynberg for the past five years. A house is nothing without the girls in it and those who lead it – and what a fantastic house Wellesley has come to be.
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houses
events
INTER HOUSE CHALLENGES
The House system forms an integral part of our familial relationships nurtured at Wynberg Girls’ HighSchool. The various challenges are opportunities for the girls to build house spirit, have fun, explore their (sometimes hidden) talents and spend some quality downtime together.
DISNEY CHALLENGE
FITNESS CHALLENGE
Achievers’ Dinner
Valentine’s Day
ISOBEL, MELISSA, MAXINE, PARINA AND JEWEL
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!
The annual Wynberg Girls’ High School Achievers’ Dinner took place at Moyo Restaurant in Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens at the end of term 3. This event served as a tribute to the top achievers across the four pillars – Academic, Culture, Service and Sport – in the student body of our school. Although there are only four trophies to be won, on this evening the school gives recognition not only to a few, but to all Grade 11s and 12s who have excelled within any aspect of the school. Fashion blogger Aqeelah Harron was the guest speaker. After the main course had been served, rather like the Oscars Awards, Mrs Harding drew from sealed envelopes the names of the winners of each Pillar trophy. The Academic Pillar Award went to Isobel Evans, Hongju Nam walked away with the Culture Pillar Award, the Service Pillar Award was awarded to Kayla Garcia, and Amina Williams received the Sport Pillar Award.
FASHION SHOW CHALLENGE
EMMA, COURTNEY AND SU’AD
MATRIC VALENTINE’S SPIRIT
Valentine’s Day 2017 – what a cause for excitement! This special day was jam packed with wonderful Wynberg spirit – the spirit of love. The students went all out and dressed in every shade of red, pink and white imaginable. The Matrics took it a step further and dressed up, adding Valentine’s-themed tutus, glitter and sequins to their outfits. Throughout the day, roses were exchanged between friends. The School Council organised the special assembly which included an exchange of roses with some of the surrounding schools as well as a hilarious video of a few of the teachers singing the lyrics to Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off” in a special version of Carpool Karaoke.
ABOVE: NAIMA, JESSE, JADE AND JESSICA RIGHT: TAMIA, ANELISA AND PALESA
CARPOOL KARAOKE
Open Day INTER HOUSE SPORT INTER HOUSE PLAYS SINGING COMPETITION CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT:
JEWEL, HONGJU, MICHAELA AND CARIN; LESLEY AND ISOBEL; AQILAH, AASHIQAH AND BHAVIKA;
Wynberg Girls’ High opened its doors to prospective learners and parents at our two Open Days, with a wonderful display of Wynberg Pride.
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ASHARA, KELSEY, MIKAYLA, ATHRAAH AND ALEX (FRONT)
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creativity | art
creativity
still life naseegha abbas gr8 blue andrea pieterse gr12
pa leila abrahams gr12
portrait of a stranger ashara pather gr11
who am i chĂŠyenne britten gr10 pop art margareta bosch gr10
portrait of a stranger drew macarthur gr11
skin emily symmonds gr12 natural beauty brooke jacobs gr12 sisters qadira mia gr12 still life laaiqah tasriet gr8
mechanical creature erin coetzee gr9 self portrait mu’minah salie gr10
self portrait gemma hoskins gr8
still life frances collopy gr9
still life imogen cupido gr9
agni I, II and III tejal kooverjee gr12
blue erin kemper gr12
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creativity | art
creativity | photography
blue rebecca prytz gr12 Joanna Roodt
Tamiya Safodien home tanja volschenk gr11
self portrait amina castineira gr10 ZoĂŤ Sasman
Alexandra de Rose
ChĂŠyenne Britten
self portrait leila abrahams gr12 self portrait juliette austin gr12
mythological creature robyn adams gr9
Mikaela Meyer
Laila Manie
self portrait laila manie grade 11
who am I mia du plessis grade 10
Hannah Davids portrait of a stranger mikayla schilder gr11
Megan Farquhar
Drew MacArthur
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