The Settlers High School
Term 1 Newsletter 2020
MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Dear Settlers Family
The term has come to a sudden halt in the midst of fear and the unknown. Despite our heightened concern, we need to stay positive and give hope, be responsible citizens and temper this with the facts to alleviate fear and panic.
The Settlers is a very special school and a typical example of this was the weekend of 13 – 14 March. In just one weekend we celebrated and revelled in the many school activities all happening simultaneously. We received recognition from UWC as their number one feeder school, the RCL and Class Reps were away at camp honing their leadership skills, the grade 9 drama performance group were acting at the Baxter Theatre, hockey participated in three different hockey tournaments, where the teams and individual learners were applauded for their skills with no less than two man of the match awards, TSHS hosted the Top Schools Basketball Tournament of 40+ matches with our 1st team girls walking away with a gold medal, Riefqah Diedericks (Gr 12) participated in the Nedbank Essay competition and won a R60 000 bursary for her 2021 university studies and the 1st team cricket challenged The Settlers old boys team and beat them convincingly.
That is Settlers in a nutshell, and then comes Monday 16 March, and we had to deal with the effect of Covid-19 and the huge impact it will have on schooling in SA. We have put in place an Academic Maintenance Plan for the extended holiday. Please ensure that your child completes the work set so that there is no backlog when we start up school again on 14 April. We have a Plan B on the burner should it be necessary if the closure of schools extends beyond this date.
The Term 1 report should be in your possession and it reflects your child’s current academic standing. Hard work is evident as the results across the grades are good in general, but it is important to identify subjects that need remedial work during this holiday. Matrics must not let this opportunity of TIME pass them by, and we recommend that they start revising their grade 11 work in preparation for the June examination.
We received many awards this term celebrating our academic results. Recognition by the universities as a ‘Top Feeder School’ is an important accolade cementing the ethos of The Settlers of a balanced education focussing on all the pillars of the school, not just academics. Other notable academic awards include NSC Awards for 75%+ Bachelors Pass, 90-99% Pass Rate and Top Ten Public Schools in MNED. We excelled at the systemic awards both at provincial and district level.
For the Systemic Awards we received recognition for Excellence in Languages, English HL, coming 2nd in the province (Wynberg Girls HS 1st, TSHS 2nd and Wynberg Boys HS 3rd) and Excellence in Languages and Mathematics (90-99%) as well as another award for Top Ten Public Schools in MNED. (1. Fairmont, 2. TSHS, 3. DF Malan, 4. Milnerton, 5. Stellenberg, 6. Fairbairn, 7. Tableview, 8. Durbanville, 9. Edgemead and 10. Melkbos). In addition we also received an award for our Excellence in Mathematics and English. Congratulations to the teachers and learners for making these awards possible.
D R I V E The Settlers D N A Term 1 Newsletter | 2020 | Page 2
Thank you must be extended to the dedicated team of people (teaching staff, administrative staff and amenities staff) who make all of what our school is about possible.
This holiday will reflect in history as one where we as South Africans either restrict the spread of Covid-19 or speed it up. It is time for all of us to rise as a nation and respond responsibly to the call for self-isolation and social distancing. Stay safe and to those celebrating Easter and Pesach, may it be blessed and spiritual time.
“Now is the time to be kind, be an active citizen and remember your humanity.” –Mandy Wiener Shereen Gallie Principal
SCHOOL GOVERNING BODY EXECUTIVE FOR 2020
The Settlers High School congratulates the following SGB members on being elected as the Executive for 2020. We look forward to their leadership and guidance during this year.
1. Chair Mr M Wardle 2. Vice-Chair Mrs A Cassim 3. Treasurer Mr R Ahmed 4. Secretary Mr H Smuts
AWARD RECEIVED FROM THE WESTERN CAPE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
Award for 2nd best results for Grade 9 English HL Systemic results in the province for 2019 Ms Schäfer (Minister of Education WCED), Mrs De Kock, Mrs Gallie and Mr Schreuder (Head of Department WCED)
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ACADEMIC (Mrs De Kock)
We congratulate the TOP 10 LEARNERS in each grade on their hard work and excellent achievements in the Term 1 Test Series. Well done to all the learners who obtained an A Aggregate (names in bold).
GRADE 8 PASS RATE 74% 10 A AGGREGATES
1. Ashley Fortuin 2. Nala Best 3. Gabrielle Jones 4. Ethan Pillay 5. Nuhaa Hendricks
6. Justine Theys 7. Kristin 8. Kelly Petersen 9. Ramla Kalule 10. Caitlin Smeda Macquena
GRADE 9 PASS RATE 72% 10 A AGGREGATES
1. Nothando 2. Kaylin Harris 3. Mumo Kioko 4. Martine 5. Tehreem Kader Mkhize Kabongo
6. Ethan Moses 7. Sara Cassiem 8. Zainab 9. Sameera Nana 10. Caitlin Smeda Mohamed
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GRADE 10 PASS RATE 95% 11 A AGGREGATES
1. Marsha Manuel 2. Nasiphi Mbilana 3. Nadia Ryklief 4. Noel Best 5. Lee Hendricks
6. Hudaa Jacobs 7. Jayden Ockhuis 8. Hamidah Rabiu 9. Goodness 10. Zameera Fatoba Sanglay
GRADE 11 PASS RATE 96% 18 A AGGREGATES
1. Shane Voges 2. Pumulo 3. Moin-Ali Bagus 4. Mercy Fatoba 5. Kauthar Ryland Mambwe
6. Nika Davids 7. Taryn 8. Alyssa Damonse 9. Skylar Martin 10. Thithina Vooi Henriques
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GRADE 12 PASS RATE 98% 32 A AGGREGATES
1. Avaniya Pillay 2. Alex Frantz 3. Fagan Lenting 4. Imaan 5. Riefqah Schroeder Diedericks
6. Kanyarusoke 7. Daniélle 8. Bukhulu 9. Joy Schoor 10. Robyn Khan Katwimuke Carolus Nopote
VARIOUS AWARDS RECEIVED FROM THE WESTERN CAPE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
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HOW CAN I IMPROVE MY CHILD’S ACADEMIC RESULTS?
In order to assist learners and parents, a Programme of Assessment that outlines all tasks and tests for the year has been posted on our website and school communicator:
Please use these documents to help your child with time management. Teach them to prioritise their work so that all tasks are handed in on time. This way learners can ensure that there is ample opportunity to prepare for tests and exams.
ACADEMIC ASSISTANCE OFFERED BY THE SCHOOL SUBJECT GRADE EDUCATOR TOPIC DAY TIME VENUE General MATHEMATICS Grd 8 - 12 MR NICHOLLS Monday - Thursday 15:00 - 16:00 C4 Assistance General MATHEMATICS Grd 8 & 9 MRS HURLING Assistance and Monday - Thursday 15:00 - 16:00 M3 Various Topics ROOM MATHEMATICS Grd 11 & 12 MRS DUMSE Various Topics Monday - Thursday 15:00 - 16:30 113 Wednesday 15:00 - 16:00 LAB 1 PHYSICAL Grd 12 MR MUSERERE Various Topics Thursday 15:00 - 16:00 LAB 1 SCIENCE Thursday 16:15 - 17:15 LAB 1 PHYSICAL Grd 11 MR MUSERERE Various Topics Tuesday & Friday 15:00 -16:00 LAB 1 SCIENCE MS Educators will arrange PHYSICAL Grd 10 VERMUELEN & Various Topics extra lessons based on T.B.C. T.B.C SCIENCE MR SAULS interest and availability. Saturday - Please note that this class will only take place every alternate ROOM ACCOUNTING Grd 12 MRS HEINZ Various Topics T.B.C. Saturday if more than 5 108 learners sign up with HZ beforehand 15:30 - ROOM ACCOUNTING Grd 11 MRS HEINZ Various Topics Monday 16:30 108 15:00 - ROOM ACCOUNTING Grd 10 MRS HEINZ Various Topics Wednesday 16:00/16:30 108 ENGLISH Monday 14:30-16:30 ROOM 5 Computer AFRIKAANS MRS M DE Based SCIENCE/ Grd 8 - 12 15:00 - KOCK Programme/ Tuesday - Thursday ROOM 5 NAT SCIENCE 16:00 Timed Activities MATHEMATICS
Peer Tutoring The peer tutoring system is available for grades 8 - 11. A learner makes an appointment with a peer tutor who then helps them with the work.
GRADE 12’s: GUIDELINE TO TEACHING TIME FOR MATRICS
±65TEACHING DAYS UNTIL FINAL EXAMS
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PASTORAL REPORT (Mrs Hall)
We started this year with the launch of the theme DRIVE, The Settlers DNA for 2020, by Mr Smuts, and each learner received a DNA strand to wear on their name badge.
D - DETERMINATION R - RESPECT I - INTEGRITY V - VISION E - EXCELLENCE
The leadership shown by the prefects of 2020 in setting the ball rolling for the planning of this theme is inspiring.
Excellent discipline and teamwork was displayed during the Inter-house Gala, Inter-house Athletics and Interschools Athletics. The learners displayed exemplary behaviour, a positive spirit and pride in our school at all these events. This was also underpinned with us winning the Cheer Leaders and the Spirit Cup at the Interschools athletics. It was however very disappointing that we could not take the 2020 grade 8 learners to the Interschools event.
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All the grades had parent evenings this term where Grade Heads and class teachers had the opportunity to meet parents and to set the boundaries for the year. These meetings are always invaluable in connecting parents and teachers and we wish to thank parents for their interest and support in this partnership.
On Friday 7 February we had our first ever leadership training seminar for all learners in leadership positions in the school. This group included RCL, prefects, class representatives, culture chairpersons, sport captains and 171 learners who attended. The purpose of this training was to workshop the DRIVE values with the school leaders to ensure that all leaders speak with one voice and are empowered to lead the group that they are responsible for.
Tuesday 18 February 2018 was the formal induction ceremony for the Representative Council of Learners (RCL). The RCL for 2020 is:
Grade 8 Craig Bantam, Nala Best, Caleb Engelbrecht Grade 9 Khanya Bangani, Caleb Brooks, Nothando Mkhize Grade 10 Noel Best, Jayden Ockhuis, Amy Vermaak Grade 11 Lizalise Mkhetho (Vice Chairperson), Jason Bruintjies, Mercy Fatoba Grade 12 Mafuza-Fulele Mvunelo (Chairperson), Bukhulu Nopote, Euler Kanyarusoke Katwimuke
School Council which consists of RCL and prefects (45 learner leaders) as well as the School Executive committee and Management committees (30 teachers) met on Monday 24 February 2020. The role the learners play in Council is impressive and invaluable and the confidence with which matters are debated is commendable. As there were no proposals received timeously we workshopped gender neutral appearance rules as well as defining the Settlers Culture.
The Class representatives for all the grades are also now fully functional.
Grade 8 Ashleigh Elders, Bethany Sayers, Chinque Johannes, Tasneem van Rooy, Razeena Arendse, Kira Nalt, Amaarrah Cadar, Ramla Kalule and Ubaid America
Grade 9 Hannah Chrystie, Nicole Marsh, Jessica Kruger, Cassidy Ongansie, Jaydon Williams, Mpho Mathe, Kaylin Harris, Renaldo Croy and Zoe van der Westhuizen
Grade 10 Amber Davids, Nadia Ryklief, Ghianna Manuel, Alethea Nourse, Brooklyn Hansby, Hannah Fortuin, Elandre Jeftha, Joshua Latsky, Fawaaz Cupido, and Chante Meyer
Grade 11 Chloe Saayman, Jessica Burch, Alyssa Damonse, Cleo Anthony, Shonell van Schalkwyk, Jamie Fortuin, Lauren Lukas, Dominic Golliath, Kimberley Swartbooi, Carlin Clarke
Grade 12 Aidan Davids, Logan Jansen, Alexis Kerchoff, Sinako Hlanganisa, Leandra Francis, Keesha Petersen, Aaliah Sonday, Kabeerah Livingstone, Casey Faulman and Alridge Levendal
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The Leadership training camp for Class Representatives and RCL members was held at Ihlati Bushcamp on the last weekend of term. This camp creates an opportunity for the leadership in the different grades to bond and get to know each other as well as develop some leadership skills. The purpose of the camp is to develop a strong base of leaders from Grade 8 upwards.
We have 10 new trained peer counsellors this year. These learners are available for peer counselling as it may be required.
Avaniya Pillay, Aiden Van Wyk, Courtney Adams, Chante Van Wyk, Eden Meyer, Kelly-Ann Manuel, Raven Williams, Tonicia Hendricks, Victoria Mvududu, Zandile Matunzi.
The safety of the learners early in the mornings and after school in the afternoons is a concern and all learners must wait inside the school perimeter after 15:00. No learners may sit at the Fairfield gate near the Astro at any time as we have had learners being robbed there. No learner should walk to or be alone at the station or in the streets at the back of the school in Oostersee. Please talk to your children regarding the use of their cellphones on the way home as this invites opportunistic thieves and could have dire consequences.
The official change over to winter uniform will be 4 May 2020. Please use the holidays to check that your child’s winter uniform still fits and that the dresses are not too short. The holiday is also a good time to ensure that all articles that are brought to school are clearly labelled as lost property remains a perpetual problem.
Kelly Frieslaar, a qualified social worker, does not teach and is full time, available to see the children for counselling regarding problems, but also to give guidance regarding studying as well as career guidance. Please encourage your children to make use of this service.
FROM THE COUNSELLOR’S DESK (Ms Kelly)
Welcome to this new section. I will discuss relevant issues that teens go through and constructive ways to help alleviate the problems.
Acceptance is something that every teen struggles with, “Am I fitting in okay?” “Do my peers like me?” “If I was absent, would anyone miss me?” Acceptance of friends is a very big deal because starting out, you want people to like you. As time goes on, you will realise that you need to accept yourself first BEFORE anyone else can accept you.
Ways to do this: Figure out who you are (spend some time getting to know your likes and dislikes) Find out who your friends are (if you leave their company and you feel happier, that’s a good indication) For parents: Stay in touch with the likes and dislikes of your child and ask them about it sometimes, they might pretend as though they don’t need your acceptance, but it does matter to them.
That’s it from the counsellor’s desk. Remember that if you ever have a problem…lay it all out on the table. Feel free to contact me on [email protected]
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SPORT (Mrs Basheer)
ATHLETICS Athletics at The Settlers High School is improving. This is a good sign for the future. Both the Interhouse and Interschools events were well contested this year.
Two athletes were responsible for new records this year. These include Nala Best in the 90m hurdles and long jump for girls U14, and Kyle Zinn in the 100m and 200m for boys U17. Shaw House was crowned the eventual winners by nine points. The respective Victor and Victrix Ludorum for each age group were:
Isaac Koert and Nala Best for U14 Liberty Nyashanu and Henrietta Matumona for U15 Kyle Zinn and Kaitlyn Voegt for U17 Brent Abrahams and Jody Pienaar for U19
Interschools was contested by four schools this year with Brackenfell High joining us for the first time. The Settlers High athletes gave a good account of themselves. The following won individual awards for best performances on the day.
Nala Best Victrix U14 Girls Kyle Zinn Victor Ludorum as well as Best Field athlete U17 Boys as well as Best according to the Absa table Track athlete according to the Absa table.
A visit from one of our past pupils Gardeo Isaacs and hopeful Olympian for Japan 2020 is always welcome. We wish you well on your journey of success.
The Settlers in true spirit won both the Cheerleaders and Spirit trophies and the cheering continued until the last bus left the stadium at about 19:30.
As usual, we had good representation in the Northern Zone team with 11 athletes being represented across 16 events.
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Five of these athletes are going through to the next round as they made the Western Province team to compete at the Western Cape championships that took place at the Dal Josaphat stadium in Paarl on 13 and 14 March. These athletes were:
Lisa Gabriels 6th High Jump Isaac Koert 9th Long Jump Muamir Lekay 3rd High Jump obtaining a bronze medal Menyam Ticha 5th Shotput Nala Best 3rd Long Jump and 100m obtaining bronze medals for both events
Brent Abrahams and Kyle Zinn competed in the WP Club Championships where they won medals in their respective events. Brent received a bronze medal in 100m and Kyle two gold medals for both 100 and 200m.
Kyle Zinn Brent Abrahams
We look forward to the upward trend in our athletics continuing in the new season.
The few athletes we had participating in walking have been passionate and committed, putting in the extra effort. They have displayed the true spirit of sportsmanship, not giving up. Even though their results were satisfactory, they remained motivated and determined to reach their goals. They participated in the Park Run this term and will in the future be participating in a minimum of two Park Runs and two Road Races per term. The future of Walking looks promising under the guidance of the new coach, Mr Christopher Meyer.
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BASKETBALL This year The Settlers High School, under the guidance of Ms Dyck, hosted a successful Top Schools event that took place on 13 and 14 March. Our A teams gained much valuable experience at this event.
BOYS U14A reached the semi-finals but failed to show up on the Saturday and unfortunately had to forfeit. U16A made it to the final against Camps Bay High, who was the better team on the day. The 1st Team lost to Pinelands High School in the semi-finals, who went on to win the tournament.
GIRLS The 1st Team won the tournament with a fantastic performance in the semi-finals winning after two extra periods and went on to beat Camps Bay in the finals. Jody Pienaar was awarded the Most Valuable Player in the girls U18 division by the coaches of the tournament. We thank all the service learners for offering up their time as well as their excellent work during the tournament.
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TENNIS We had three teams entered in the leagues: Boys 1st, Boys 2nd and Girls 1st. A mixed bag of results was achieved with the Boys 1st team being the most successful.
A group of enthusiastic Grade 8s joined the Beginners’ Squad at the beginning of 2020. Many new talented players have been identified from this squad and we look forward to them competing in the leagues during the next season.
CRICKET As every other year we had some great cricket at The Settlers. Due to the early start to our Interhouse and Interschool program all teams only played four matches, but this did not stop the boys from producing great scores and excellent bowling figures.
U14: Connor Johnson scored a brilliant 137 runs against Fairmont. U15: Nathier Abas took 5 wickets for 15 runs vs Tygerberg HS. 1st Team: Cedwyn Lambert and Tristan Theys both scored a century vs JG Meiring.
As usual we finished the term with the Interhouse event. Pringle House finished in 1st place, with Shaw in 2nd place and Bain in 3rd place.
A huge thank you to our managers and coaches for your hard work and dedication. We look forward to your continued support. A huge thank you to Mr Vergotine and his team for keeping our fields in tip top condition and to our scoring team for their services rendered.
Our past pupils had a blast when they played the 1st Cricket team and showed them what they were made of. Well done to them.
SOFTBALL The softball season kicked off with two clinics for the juniors and seniors held in October at The Settlers High School. These clinics prepared the players for the upcoming trials as the two coaches focused on fitness, basic match rules, batting and fielding skills.
After the trials our first and second teams were selected and entered into the C league of the Western Cape Softball. Our beginners’ team is still learning the basic rules of the game and we are pleased that quite a few grade 8 learners joined the sport in the beginning of the year.
On 2 December the Interhouse softball matches were played. Shaw House won both their matches and also the trophy for softball.
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We are privileged to have welcomed a new coach for the first and second team this year. Maureen Croza is an experienced coach and umpire who has been coaching at Fairmont High School as well as Edgemead High School for a couple of years.
This season we played matches against Malibu, Melkbosstrand High School, Curro and Fairbairn College. Although we are not satisfied with our standard of play on the field in such a short season, we are positive to improve on our results in the years to come.
SUMMER LEAGUE HOCKEY
GIRLS The girls summer league hockey started at the end of term 4 2019. After a successful round of trials, coaches were able to make up three full teams. The focus for the first part of the season was to work on physical conditioning, basics both technically and tactically in preparation for the winter season. The U14’s was a refreshing addition to the summer hockey program during term 1 2020.
Most of the summer hockey girls were very dedicated to the sport as they endured and persevered through hot weather and remained eager and keen to improve and learn. This has been the largest group of girls participating in this code thus far.
Special mention must be made of Roche’ De Wet and Casey Faulmann who were invited to participate in the Western Province High Performance program. We are very proud of them. We have also sent a number of players to Western Province trials this term and await their results with keen interest.
The hockey girls have been very busy and participating in a number of tournaments. The U14A girls participated in the DF Malan U14 Hockey Tournament on the 7 and 8 March 2020. We are very proud of them as they showed courage even though they were in a very difficult pool.
The U16A girls participated in the Aslan U16 Hockey tournament on the 7 March 2020 where they placed 3rd at the tournament.
The U16A girls also participated in the Spar U16 Hockey Tournament on 15 March 2020 where they won 3 games and drew 1 game. Kaylynne Malloy (Captain) received an award at this tournament for being the most coachable player and Mareldia Saul received an award for the most promising player. The team received an award for being the Most Improved Team at the tournament.
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The 1st Team girls also participated in the Milnerton Hockey Tournament 13 - 15 March 2020. After a tough start the girls were able to bounce back and really came together as a team. They managed one loss, a draw and two wins. Roche’ De Wet (Captain), Casey Faulmann and Siya Mbelani won players of the match in three matches respectively.
The 1st Team Hockey girls were also preparing for their tour to Graaf-Reinet (20 - 23 March 2020) in preparation for the winter season, however, due the state of emergency with regard to Covid-19 the tour has been postponed.
We are very proud of our players this past season, a huge thank you goes out to all the coaches and staff involved.
BOYS The boys summer league hockey team have been hard at work this year preparing for pre-season tournaments and the upcoming league.
Our results have been positive with our 1st team going unbeaten in their Milnerton tournament. They won two matches and drew two, with no goals conceded. The standout results have been our back to back wins against rivals Stellenberg, in which the boys showed great character to grind out two wins.
We look forward to a fruitful winter hockey season.
U14 BOYS HOCKEY TOURNAMENT - D F MALAN Played 7 games: won 2, drew 2 and lost 3. The U14 team showed great potential and was awarded the prize for the most coachable team.
Most valuable player award: Josh Booysen (scored 3 goals) Most coachable player award: Valdez Blennies
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SWIMMING Our annual Gala was highly contested this year and the final results were as follows:
1st Pringle 644 points, 2nd Bain 477 points and 3rd Shaw 415 points. The most sought after Spirit Stick went to Bain.
The following records were not just broken but slashed. New record holders are:
Tyla Amos B19 50m Breaststroke Peter-John Joseph B19 50m Freestyle Megan Bulose Girls OPEN 50m Butterfly Peter-John Joseph Boys OPEN 50m Butterfly
Congratulations to the following swimmers who competed in the Level 3 champs 15 – 16 February:
Tyla Amos: 1st 100 breast stroke, 2nd 200m breast stroke, 3 50m breast stroke, 4th 200IM Mikaeel Omar: 1st 50 m freestyle, 2nd 50m butterfly, 3rd 100 freestyle Morgan Philander: 1st 50m breast stroke, 3rd 100m breast stroke, 3rd 200m breast stroke Megan Bulose: 1st 50m backstroke, 1st 100 backstroke, 3rd 200m backstroke, 4th 30m freestyle
The swimming team has had a very good season where fitness has improved and as a result most swimmers have improved times. We participated in 4 galas this term and fared well in all. Our boys U19 squad consisting of PJ Joseph, Dean Joseph, Mikaeel Omar, Tyla Amos and Alex Frantz have had the most 1st places in individual events and relays - some swimming PB’s. Ronaldo Croy and Morgan Philander (both U16) have also been placed in the top 3 in a number of races. We are also impressed with our new U14 group.
Megan Bulose was selected to represent SA in the CANA swimming championships in Nairobi Kenya in November 2020. She won 2 gold medals, 1 bronze and 4 silvers for relays.
Well wishes to the following learners: SSA level 3 age group champs in Oudtshoorn from 16 - 19 March: Tyla Amos, Megan Bulose and Ronaldo Croy SSA level 2 age group champs in Malmesbury from 27 March: Mikaeel Omar and Morgan Philander
Special mention must go to Captains Jordan Valentine and Alex Frantz who led the team superbly. A big thank you to coaches Leigh and Jody Frantz for their time and expertise. The captains presented the coaches with their own personalized towels to show their appreciation for all the early mornings.
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YOGA Yoga 2020 was off to a late start due to the many beginning of the year activities, such as swimming gala in the first week, Interhouse athletics in the second week and practicing for the Interschools athletics, etc. However, we are now fully operational with 48 learners participating on a Tuesday and a Thursday from 15:15 – 16:30. The learners are enthusiastic and find yoga to be something which they really enjoy and look forward to each week. Our instructor, Gabriella-Shay Strüwig, is extremely happy and grateful to be back with the learners. We are very lucky to have her as many instructors are incredibly expensive, expecting to receive remuneration per learner, while others do not have the time as they own their own studios which are always busy or some instructors work in the corporate world.
The practice of yoga co-ordinates the functions of the bones, muscles, blood, brain, etc, which help to improve health, trains the mind to build proper attitudes, behaviours and values, and can establish peace of mind.
1. Teaching learners to manage stress through movement and meditation is a life-long lesson to helping them through all areas of their lives. 2. Helping our learners develop body-mind awareness may help them to make healthier choices throughout their lives. 3. Increased focus means better learning. 4. Yoga increases self-esteem as it encourages learners to not only love themselves and embrace the things that make them unique, but to see those qualities in others as well. 5. Research has found that yoga improved learners' behavior, physical health and academic performance, as well as attitudes toward themselves. This greatly lessens discipline problems. 6. Prevention for back pain due to either carrying heavy school bags or bad posture. 7. With increased physical and mental awareness there is an increase in creativity which provides an opportunity for discovery and fun which improves learning. 8. Improves motor development on both sides of the body.
CYCLING On 9 March 2020 Jason Bruintjies and his team below (Kinetic pro cycling team) took part in the Cape Town cycle covering a distance of 109 km on a warm and windy day in a time of 02:41:05. Well done Jason we are proud of you.
CHESS Abdul-Hamid Rabiu in Grade 8 competed at the Western Province Chess tournament and won second place in the U16 category. Well done Abdul-Hamid.
SOCCER Tristan Lyners was selected to be part of Ikapa United team that will travel to Texas USA to participate in the Dr Pepper Dallas Cup. We wish him and his team well.
FIGURE SKATING Both Danielle Lodewyk and Jaida Ng were part of the Western Province team that took part in the Inter- Provincial Figure skating Championship in Gauteng on 16 and 17 February this year. Well done to both of them.
SOUTH AFRICAN NAVY SEA CADET Venisha Dietrich was promoted from seaman to Leading Seaman, two ranks higher. Well done Venisha, we are super proud of your achievement.
For now, as per requirements by government, all sporting events have been placed on hold. Sports Manco wish all our sportsmen and women well for the upcoming winter season.
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CULTURE (Mr H Smuts)
As a result of the much earlier Interschools’ Athletics competition, the 2020 cultural season could only officially start from Monday, 10 February. Despite this much shorter season, our learners still managed to ensure a very successful cultural start to the year.
ONE ACT PLAY FESTIVAL The term started with the annual One Act Play festival. Besides selecting and directing a play, Grade 12 directors had to create a poster for online publication, create a movie trailer to be shown during assembly and all house members were encouraged to use social media platforms (Facebook and Instagram) to show support for their houses.
The Grade 12 directors were:
BAIN: Jared Moorgas, Daniëlle Carolus and Mohammed Haneef Parker (Play title: “Are You Afraid of the Dark?”) PRINGLE: Asanda Madwayi, Jordan Hartzenberg and Sisanda Madwayi (Play title: “Paper or Plastic?”) SHAW: Imaan Schroeder, Aalia Sonday and Siyahluma Manengene (Play title: “Torn in Two”)
All three houses staged entertaining and well-rehearsed productions. Congratulations to all the learners involved in this successful event. The results were:
Best Actress Sinelizwi Mbatha (Pringle) Best Supporting Actress Willecia Bennett (Shaw) Best Actor Kyle Truter (Pringle) Best Supporting Actor Jenino Linde (Pringle) Best Backstage Crew Bain Social Media Shaw Best Direction Shaw Best Production Pringle
SOCIETY HOUR This year, The Settlers learners can choose from a variety of 33 different cultural activities. All these activities were launched during the Cultural assembly at the start of the year and learners signed up enthusiastically to participate in these activities.
Cultural Mondays ensure that all learners have the opportunity to participate in the cultural activity of preference. Mondays are divided into three cultural slots in order to accommodate all the general societies as well as large performance groups. Should there be any clashes with sport, culture will take preference on a Monday.
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TYGERBERG INTERNATIONAL EISTEDDFOD Learners had the opportunity to enter for the Tygerberg International Eisteddfod. These individual learners as well as our Choir, Orchestra, Jazz Band, Drama Group and Dance Performance Group are hard at work to present their items at this prestigious competition during the second and third term.
PRESS CLUB & PHOTOGRAPHY SOCIETY Our Press Club and Photography Society has proved to be a very committed and enthusiastic group of learners. These learners have been on duty at school events and it is their mission to keep the Settlers family and the general public informed of all events, activities and results. “Like” the school’s Instagram and Facebook pages (The Settlers High School) to stay up to date with the vibrant Settlers life.
MUSICAL & DRAMA PERFORMANCE GROUPS Rehearsals for the Musical and Drama groups were in full swing, but all rehearsals – including holiday rehearsals – were suspended from 18 March as a result of the COVID-19 protocol.
The Drama Performance Group members are preparing to compete at the Artscape and ATKV competitions.
Pending the status of the COVID-19 protocol, the Musical production will run from 18 to 24 July and ticket sales will start at the end of next term. The various performances of this production consisting of our Settlers vocalists, dancers and musicians will be:
Saturday, 18 July – “Granny” Show (Final dress rehearsal) Monday, 20 July – Gala Evening @ R140 per ticket, including snacks. Adults and invited guests only. Tuesday, 21 July – Student Night @ R60 per ticket. This show will only be for current Settlers students. Thursday, 23 July – Show Night @ R80 per ticket. Friday, 24 July – Show Night @ R80 per ticket.
INTERACT ♥ The heart of our school – the Interact Society – is running various community drives. This ensures that we can continue to be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud.
Interact arranged a visit by the founder of Sarmie Mommie’s, Cheryl Wilson. This NGO not only supply sandwiches to various schools, but they also assist an animal shelter, Grace Children’s Home, Tygerberg Children’s Hospital and various shelters. Interact has launched a sandwich drive to assist Sarmie Mommies.
Each grade has been assigned a month of the year in which they will supply weekly extra lunch items. As part of the Easter Egg Drive, Interact is currently collecting easer eggs that will be delivered to Karl Bremer Hospital on 6 April. The Interact committee members were involved in the Rotaract Valentine’s Day outreach where the learners played bingo at the Sarepta Old Age Home in Kuilsriver.
A big thanks goes to the grade 8 and interact society who collected lunch to distribute to those less fortunate than us.
Determination Respect Integrity Vision Excellence
Term 1 Newsletter | 2020 | Page 20
RECYCLING Someone said: "We did not inherit this planet from our parents. We are borrowing it from our children." We need to recycle more. For this reason, we are still recycling paper, cardboard and pet1 (clear and blue) cooldrink and water bottles, as well as bread tags and bottle caps. However, this year we also started collecting cans/tins, 1 litre yoghurt tubs (with their lids) and used toothbrushes.
The yogurt tubs are given to Sarmie Mommiez for the transportation of soup in winter to the different institutions they feed. The toothbrushes are for SANCCOB to clean oil stained sea birds. They need the used toothbrushes' soft bristles to clean around the eyes.
We are also still a drop off point for the community with regards to ecoBricks. We often have parents ask about how to make ecoBricks. Filling an ecoBrick is really easy. Just put every bit of plastic that is non-recyclable into it. Here are some examples of things to put in your brick(s).
Plastic Straws Plastic Wrap Chip Packets Plastic from Earbuds Old Toothbrushes Cellophane Old Balloons Plastic Cutlery Polystyrene (cut it smaller before attempting to stuff the bottle)
Your Eco-Brick needs to weigh more than 500g and all the bits stuffed inside need to be cleaned and dry before being placed in the bottle.
How to stuff your eco-brick
1. Identify materials that are not compostable or recyclable by your local recycling facility. 2. Clean any dirty items by using leftover dishwashing water and leave to dry. 3. Stuff your clean and dry materials into any size or shape plastic bottle. 4. Compress it as tightly as you can with a stick – NB, this is very important! 5. Keep doing this until you’ve got a bottle that is as hard as a brick – we will be squeezing your eco-brick to make sure it’s properly packed! If we can squeeze it, we can’t accept it. 6. Set yourself goals to phase out these items until you don’t need to use the eco-brick anymore!
Determination Respect Integrity Vision Excellence
Term 1 Newsletter | 2020 | Page 21
CONTACT (Ms Magson) WELCOME We welcomed a large group of new teachers this year. Ms De Villiers (Afrikaans), Ms Williams (English), Ms Ndzenze (Geography/Mathematical Literacy), Ms Barendse (Life Orientation), Mr Cader (Technology), Ms Cunningham (English), Ms Botha (Afrikaans), Mrs Williams (Accounting) and Mr Peters (History). We wish them all a long and happy time at The Settlers and look forward to their contribution. After breakfast with the Governing Body, School Executive, senior staff and learner leaders they had a full day of orientation to familiarise themselves with The Settlers. Thank you Mrs Adams for running a successful mentoring day. Mr Whayde Stubbs joined us as a Teacher Learnership student.
STAFF PREPARATION The staff had two very successful days of preparation before school started. Mrs Gallie addressed the staff with her expectations for 2020.
Mr Smuts also launched the theme for the year Each staff member and learner received a plaited string representing a DNA strand which can be worn throughout the year as a reminder of the core values we are focussing on this year.
STAFF BRAAI The staff braai is one of the social occasions when the whole family is invited so that staff can get to know each other’s family and children. One of the jobs the new staff have to do is to assist the first staff get together which is a braai. Mr Cader (with a full set of braai equipment) and Mr Peters gave an excellent account of themselves - despite having to fight the gale force wind! The new ladies on the staff made all the salads and assisted in setting up the venue. A lovely evening was had my all.
Determination Respect Integrity Vision Excellence
Term 1 Newsletter | 2020 | Page 22
VALENTINES DAY The staff celebrated Valentine’s Day by dressing up in pink and red and were treated to waffles, berries and ice cream, in keeping with the colour theme for the day. The staffroom was decked out in hearts to celebrate Valentines’ Day.
PRINCIPALS TEA Mrs Gallie hosted a special tea for all the ‘A’ candidates from 2019. The Culinary Society and Waitrons Unlimited Society managed the setting up and serving at the event.
BLOOD DONATION CLINIC The blood donor clinic had a successful clinic where the school showed their love to help others. Every donation can save up to 3 lives. 129 donors signed up, and we ended up with 81 donations (target 85). A big thank you to all who donated blood. The blood peer promoters managed the clinic very well. Six new blood peer promoters went the WCBS headquarters in Pinelands for training on 26 February. After a short talk they were taken on a tour of the various departments to see how the blood is separated into platelets, plasma and red blood cells before being distributed. The new and old blood peer promoters sharing the love carrying the Valentines theme of the clinic.
HONOURING THE SETTLERS The Settlers High school was once again recognised by the University of the Western Cape as being the Number 1 Top Feeder School. Ms Frieslaar represented Mrs Gallie at a function where she was presented with a certificate.
TINOTENDA MUSURERE It seemed that one of our top students would be unable to study this year as, being an immigrant, he was unable to obtain any funding. Courtney Africa, a past pupil and photo journalist at a prominent newspaper, passed the story on to a colleague who interviewed Tino and his father. Within hours of his story being published there were calls both locally and from abroad pledging assistance. A couple of local benefactors, who have assisted Settlers students in the past, also came forward. By the time the second article was published Tino had sufficient funds to start at Stellenbosch University with the other 1st years. Thank you to all those people far and wide who have assisted Tino in making his dream of becoming an Actuary a reality.
Determination Respect Integrity Vision Excellence
Term 1 Newsletter | 2020 | Page 23
TEACHER LEARNERSHIPS Mrs Gallie, Mrs Dumse, Mrs de Kock and our three teacher learnerships, Ms Jonck, Mrs Acker and Mr Stubbs attended a Teacher Learnership Conference in Johannesburg hosted by Epoch Optima Trust.
STAFF CONGRATULATIONS
Miss Newton, one of our Teacher Learnership students, Mrs Peacock and her husband welcomed baby Samuel earlier got married over the holidays and is now Mrs Acker. We this year. May Samuel bring them both much happiness. wish her and her husband much happiness for the future.
Mrs de Vries has been selected as a member of the WP Masters Hockey team and had recently been selected to manage the WP u21 Ladies Team.
Determination Respect Integrity Vision Excellence
Term 1 Newsletter | 2020 | Page 24
Mrs Davids turned 70 this week and the staff presented her with a cake and sang to both her and Mr Nieuwoudt who shares a birthday with her. The staff had an impromptu birthday party for her at the end of the day. We wish Mrs Davids many more years of good health and happiness.
Mrs Johannes and Mrs Minnie are to be congratulated on obtaining their PGCE and Miss Walker, Miss Cogill and Mrs Hendricks in completing their BEd Honours degrees. We are very proud of our staff who continue with lifelong learning despite such a heavy schedule.
FAREWELL Both Mrs Williams (Accounting /EMS) and Ms Paulus (Afrikaans) have been filling temporary contract posts at The Settlers. We thank them for their contribution to the school whilst they were here and wish them well as they take up new positions elsewhere.
THANK YOU To the parents, thank you for your continued support at our functions and sports matches and for transporting your children to and from activities. Both the learners and teachers appreciate the interest you show. We wish you a safe break at this time - may you enjoy some good family time together.
Determination Respect Integrity Vision Excellence