AROUND THE SCHOOL NEWS - MONDAY 6 FEBRUARY 2012

GRADE 11 ART EXCURSION TO ALICE

The Grade 11 art class paid the Resistance Art Gallery at the University of Fort Hare in Alice a visit. An interesting time was had as they were taken on a guided tour through the archives where they viewed paintings, objects and documents relating to the Apartheid years. The remainder of the day was spent at the Ecological Shrine in the Hogsback featuring Diana Graham's paintings and sculptures.

GRADE 8 PICNIC AT THE POOL

Mrs Anneliese Pieterse, Mr Michael Watson and an enthusiastic group of Grade 8 learners from Girls' High School met at the swimming pool to enjoy an afternoon of team-building activities. They drank cooldrink through their socks, untangled human knots and got to know each other's footwear a little better. This was a most successful afternoon and it is evident that the Grade 8 class of 2012 will indeed be a credit to the school.

ROYDON

The Girls' High School Grade 9's were filled with excitement for their annual Roydon excursion and set off in wet weather last week. Great fun was had by all and the girls learnt that through team work you can do anything - even overcome a very muddy obstacle course!

ROYDON REPORT

by Alulutho Xanywa
Grade 9 R

On Thursday 2 February 2012 our Grade 9 class went to Roydon on a cross-curricular excursion. Excitement filled us as we waited for the bus to come, even though the weather was miserable and wet.

On our arrival we were split into 8 groups. Each group was given a packet with 25 beans to start off with. Every time the group did something good they were rewarded with a extra bean, but when something went wrong beans were taken away from the group. This was the point system that ruled our lives for 2 days!

The activities started. We had to complete a muddy obstacle course, walk across VERY high ropes, create a fable and build creative houses from mud, sticks and whatever we could find from nature.

Finally, the first exhausting day came to an end with a lovely supper, even though 'eating like a lady' was no fun at all. The day could not end without some drama. Some Grade 9's were adamant to make a noise at bedtime, not a good idea! They had to exercise outside for 2 hours in the middle of the night in order to prepare properly for bedtime!

On Friday our day began with Oom Lou from Roydon sharing Roydon's history and their plans for the future with us. We then wrote an essay for Geography and performed our 'war cries'. Home time came too soon and we were back on the bus. We would like to thank all the teachers who took us there - we enjoyed the journey!

SQUASH

Girls' High was well represented in the 1st round of Border Squash rankings. The results were as follows :

JUDO CHAMPION

as by Shanleigh Sinclair
Grade 9 R

I had the privilege to be selected to represent South Africa at the Commonwealth Judo Championships in Wales. We spent a week in Cardiff, where the games were held in the Opera House.

I fought in the under-57kg weight category and had two fights. Unfortunately I lost both but as this was my first international competition, I thought I did fairly well. After the competition there was a two-day training camp with Australia and Wales. It was a wonderful experience and I feel that I have learnt a lot.