A note from the director and writer of ‘Turbulence’ by Thina Ntsaluba to the cast

This is my first one; I can’t promise that there ever will be another one. This play has taken, what seems like forever to write. If I can say I’ve learnt anything about play writing, it’s that……it doesn’t come easy. When an idea hits you, the first challenge you encounter almost immediately is the fear of whether or not the idea is good enough to put on paper. I’ve given up on this script so many times. I’ve had moments while in the midst of writing this script, where all I wanted to do was just delete the whole document. That is what a script can do yo you. I gather, however that there is always this indescribable and overwhelming force that always pulls you back to the script. ‘TURBULENT’ wasn’t written for me; rather its my gift to everyone, both friend and foe who have made a contribution to my growth as an individual. I hope you, as the cast, can interpret the play the way you see it, while keeping reference to what I was trying to put out there. In that way this play becomes more relevant to our audience. Being on stage means nothing, it’s about singing, dancing or acting and making people feel your presence. You, as the chosen cast owe it to God, this script, your audience, your talent and most importantly yourselves, to leave everything on that stage. By no means am I saying this to put unnecessary pressure on you all. I am saying this because in a few weeks time “TURBULENT” will be but a distant memory, a lost golden moment with amazing people. No play was meant to last forever. Looking at that sad truism, the best we can do with the time we have together is to create and develop a play worth remembering and one that ranks amongst the best. It is your job to bring this script to life. Just let the words carry you through this journey, feel the emotions and everyone else will believe you. I present to you ‘TURBULENT”. Nurture, cultivate and trust the script and I promise you … we will come out on top.

During the June 2016 school holidays, 1944 Head Girl Jean Micklem (nee Shuttleworth) visited Girls’ High School.  Unfortunately the school was closed, but her daughter Glenda Saxby sent these lovely photos of her  mother when they drove through Queenstown on their way from Morgan Bay.  Jean lived on the same property in Harare Zimbabwe for the past 60 years.

This year Girls’ High School sent 4 sporting codes and 7 cultural codes to participate in the All Girls’ School Festival. This festival was hosted by Durban Girls’ High School. The fact that they managed so well while competing against city schools many of which are far larger than Girls’ High School can ascribe to the spirit and of the girls effort and the expertise and dedication of the staff who coached them. A special mention of the 4 Squash girls who won the Gold Medal! It was a remarkable achievement for a ‘small’ school from a ‘small’ town and once again Girls’ High has shown that it is up there with the best. Sincere thanks go to the staff and pupils who represented the school and the parent body who made it financially possible to participate in this prestigeous event.

ART – non competitive

Kelly-Ann Adonis and Sinazo Vanqa had an amazing experience at the All Girls’ Festival. The Art girls were given the theme “Durban … where East, West and Africa meet”, along with the freedom to experiment with any techniques, varying from printing of fabric, making clay medallions, screen printing, sun dying and beadwork. The aim was not to have one finished artwork, but to experiment and appreciate the process towards a finished piece. There was an exhibition of all the pieces on the last day of the festival. Kelly and Sinazo learnt a lot, while having great fun.

CAMERA CLUB – non competitive

Amey Groenewald and Kirsty Benecke went along with the team to capture memories on film. They then did a power-point presentation to the school showcasing some excellent photographs.

CHESS

Iviwe Malotana, Joyce Ejumu, Soumya Simon, Dhrishya Thomas and Sarah Jacob represented Girls’ High School and they were placed 12 overall. They won their matches against Northlands, Rhenish, Burban GHS, drew against Affies but lost against Collegiate, Eunice and Jeppe.

• Motion vs St Michael’s : The Solution to S A Energy Crisis is in Nuclear Energy which they opposed and won
• Motion vs Collegiate : Classical Fairytales Should be Written with the Aim of Correcting Gender Stereotypes which they proposed and won
• Motion vs Shadow Team : Government Officials Should Not be Allowed to Send their Children to Private Schools which they opposed and won
• Motion vs Danville Park : Hacking is a Suitable Form of Protest Against Large Corporations which they proposed and lost
• Motion vs Westville : Private Hospitals should be Forced to Give some of their Profits to Public Hospitals which they opposed and won – the girls then advanced to the semi-finals where :
• Motion vs Clarendon : We should Institute a Beauty Tax on Individuals Whose Physical Appearance is Conventionally Appealing which they opposed and won – the girls then advanced to the final where :
• Motion vs La Rochelle : Grant Women an Extra Vote in the National Election which they opposed and narrowly lost.

DEBATING

Kristin Arends, Lindelwe Hoho, Mandisa Mtola and Mbasa Gosa competed competed against 20 schools. They were placed 5th overall with Lindelwe Hoho (placed 5th) and Kristin Arends (placed 10th) won Best Speaker Awards. Their results were as follows :

• Motion vs Rustenburg : South Africa Should Leave the International Criminal Court which they proposed and lost
• Motion vs Ridgepark : Companies Should Perform Social Media Background Checks on Candidates Seeking Employment which they proposed and won
• Motion vs Potchefstroom : Punish Sports Clubs for the Behavior of Their Fans which they proposed and won
• Motion vs Pretoria : The Rise of # Must Fall Movements which they proposed and lost
• Motion vs Affies : The State Construction of False Historical Narratives in An Attempt to Promote Social Cohesion which they opposed and won

DRAMA – non competitive

The Drama Group consisting of Thina Ntsaluba, Stelchia Hughes, Yamkelani Velaphi, Yanga Malotana, Amahle Ciliwe and Aliziwe Ntoto. The girls competed against 13 schools with 78 participants. All the girls who competed were given a vote to commend 8 Best Actresses in the various Drama Productions, and Thina and Yanga were chosen for 2 of these awards.

PUBLIC SPEAKING

Sazikazi Mbalo, a Grade 10 pupil, represented Public Speaking. In Round 1 the girls had to read pieces they have chosen and state why they chose the specific piece. In Round 2 they made unprepared speeches based on any given subject. After that there were forum discussions and Sazi’s group won ‘Best Forum Group’. Sazi qualified for the finals and was eventually ranked in the Top 5 of the All Girls’ Public Speakers.

VOCAL ENSEMBLE

Mrs Carlien Buss and the 14-strong Vocal Ensemble group did GHS proud. After 3 vocal and movement workshops, the girls had a repertoire sharing section. All 10 participating schools had the opportunity to share a 10-minute repertoire. After all the groups had sung, each person in attendance was given one vote to decide on the Most Entertaining (and proficient) Ensemble – Girls’ High School won!

HOCKEY

The 1st Hockey team ended 15th at the All Girls’ Festival. The girls recorded the following results : lost vs Eunice (0 – 3), vs Wynberg (1 – 2), vs La rochelle (0 – 1); drew vs Potch (0 – 0) and won vs Danville (1 – 0) and St Michaels (2 – 0).

NETBALL

The 1st Netball team ended 17th overall at the All Girls’ Festival. The girls beat Westville and St Michael’s. They lost to Paarl, Potch, La Rochelle, Rhenish, Affies, Danville, Clarendon and Durban. Special mention must be made of Zimvozetho Ncinitwa and Khanyisile Ngozi who won Best Defending Players and Siphokuhle Mpela and Sesethu Jonga who won Best Attacking Players during the festival.

SQUASH

Well done to Girls’ High Squash who once again won the Gold Medal! Inge Coetzee, Teagan Roux, Mikayla Boy and Monique da Cruz represented squash at the All Girls’ Festival. They beat Clarendon 4 – 0, Rhenish 4 – 0, Pretoria GHS 4 – 0, La Rochelle 4 – 0 and Westville 4 – 0, not giving away any games.

TENNIS

Hayley Lucas, Lauren Meyer, Jamie de Wet and Lindi-Lois de Wet represented tennis at the All Girls’ Festival. The team had some very tough matches and they were placed 13th overall.

Isiphile Banisi passed away on Friday, 11 March 2016. She was an intelligent, soft-spoken and exceptionally brave young girl who fought cancer for many years. Isiphile leaves a tangible memory and will remain an example for all of us at Girls’ High. She never complained about her illness. She never used her illness as an excuse to do anything less than what was expected of her as a learner. She worked diligently at all times, and even when she missed classes due to her many treatments and hospital stays, she remained focused on her school work. Isiphile will remain in our hearts forever. Her brave fight and determination are characteristics we will remember, always. We are very sad to say goodbye, but we are at peace knowing that Isiphile has been released from her pain and now lives with our Heavenly Father. Rest in peace, Isiphile. We love you, always.

Queenstown Girls’ High School officially bade farewell to retiring Deputy Principal Miss Carol Millington at two special functions held in her honour.  She received a fitting valediction at a farewell assembly in St George’s Hall where she was paid tributes by Saskia Neethling (head girl of 2016), Mr Richard Edkins (past GHS principal) and Mrs Annelise Pieterse (Acting Principal).  In addition to this, she was awarded the prestigious Wilkinson Award by the Queenstown Education Foundation for her outstanding contribution to education.  Thereafter, the OQA hosted a Farewell Tea in the Erika Danckwerts Hall where friends, colleagues and old girls of the school gathered to wish Miss Millington well for her retirement.

The Old Girls’ Association of Queenstown Girls’ High School hosted a Ladies Morning Tea in St George’s Hall recently. The main speaker, Elizabeth Robinson-Campbell, came all the way from Cape Town and also entertained the school girls on the Friday during assembly. She wrote a book called ‘The Choice’, and spoke about her life experiences and what God had done in her life. She is also a renowned artist. Marlene Vlok spoke on table settings and gave tips on how to decorate when entertaining. Sam Breetzke, a rose grower in the Queenstown district, gave valuable information regarding the growing of roses in our area. At the end of the morning, two delicious Black Forest cakes were auctioned by Miss Carol Millington, to the delight of the ladies at the tea. The decor and flowers were beautiful and the eats absolutely delicious.