GREENSIDE HIGH SCHOOL Newsletter VOLUME 6: October 2015 Dear Parents, Students and Staff We wish you – especially our Matrics – some rest in the upcoming week off, following a busy, bumper Term Three. With just three full teaching weeks before year-end exams kick off, Term Four will not offer much when it comes to R&R! Enjoy catching up on our news here. Above, the post-match staff vs student rugby match photo. Please note: staff won, despite the – er – slightly boosted number of players representing the learners! Dates to Diarise (Times TBD, unless stated) Monday, 12 October start of Term Four Wednesday, 14 October Cultural Awards Thursday, 15 October Valedictory Assembly Friday, 16 October Term Three Sports Assembly Blood Drive Monday, 19 October Matric final examinations begin: GOOD LUCK! Wednesday, 21 October 08h00-16h00 Term Three reports available Annual General Meeting Thursday, 22 October 08h00-16h00 Term Three reports available Friday, 30 October English Cycle Test (forming part of year-end exams) Monday, 2 November Grades 8-11 final examinations begin Monday-Wednesday, 08h00-16h00 Re-registration for 2016 2-5 November Thursday, 12 November Diwali Friday, 9 December Term ends for students P A G E 2 Staff News With very heavy hearts, we bid Ms N Piotkowski farewell as she jetted off to the Middle East at the end of August. Ms P did her teaching practical at GHS in 2005. It was a long stint of eight weeks, and it was evident from day one that she was in a league of her own: • a born teacher • a multi –tasker • a strong personality • highly capable and someone who was going to rise quickly and go far in the profession. Management was wise when they offered Ms P a post, and she joined our staff in 2006. All the promise evident on teaching practical came to fruition, and in 2009 –only three years into her career – Ms P was appointed to the position of Grade Head. She saw her first grade through from their Grade 8 year in 2009 to their Matriculation in 2013. In the role of Grade Head, Ms P set the bar high, with a combination of deep knowledge of, and love for, her learners; meticulous administration; and effective discipline. She set her mark on every function, be it the Grade 8 orientation, Grade 9 subject choice, Pro Optimus, Valediction, sports awards … you name it, Ms P’s product would become the blueprint for those who followed. It is said that the difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra and Ms P is never shy of doing the extra. Such is her proficiency in the area of sport, that in 2011 she was asked to take on the portfolio of sports director. Ms P is a perfectionist and self-critical, so she tends to downplay just what she achieved in her tenure as sports director: while ably assisted by a core of dedicated teachers and coaches, it was Ms P who took up the slack and led from the front making sure that Greenside could hold its head up high in a number of sporting disciplines and offer an enviable range of activities all year round. In addition to co-ordinating the sports programme, Ms P remained fully immersed in her areas of passion: Touch Rugby, Netball and Athletics. She kept a firm eye over soccer. And we have little doubt that she could take on the management of her beloved Chelsea – such is her will and determination. Like many people who master things quickly, Ms P needs new outlets – hence the general knowledge quiz (at which no-one could ever beat her) and the FIFA initiative, into which the learners bought with great enthusiasm. And what would photo day be without Ms P? There are not many people who can marshall and co-ordinate an entire school and just get the job done in the way that she can. PAGE 3 Staff News As a History teacher and Head of History, Ms P has been phenomenal. Year after year, she produced fantastic results. The weakest of learners performed way beyond expectation in her subject, and this gift that she has for bringing out the best in her learners and equipping them with skills as well as knowledge, is rare. I think the secret to Ms P’s success in her subject is her love of it and her determination to maximise performance: failure is never to be entertained. There are three kinds of people in this world: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened. Schools need the first kind: those who make things happen. This for me epitomises Ms P and is why her departure leaves a void. I pray that Ms P will find your way back to Greenside and, God willing, will find us forging along, seemingly indestructible, but always in need of people like her, who have had a unique role in bringing us to where we are, and who have the wherewithall to take us further. by Ms N Whyte We also extend congratulations to Mr C Strauss for his appointment to the post of Grade Head. PAGE 4 World Robotics Olympiad This year – for the first time – Philip Ginster and Stevens Ndawonde, both in Grade 9, entered the World Robot Olympiad after being donated a Lego robot by Hands on Technology, a German-based NGO committed to inspiring young people with regards to science and technology. Derek Albert of Robotic Handling Systems in Cape Town also generously donated a robot. The World Robot Olympiad (WRO) is an international robotics competition comprising 50 member countries, including South Africa, with over 20,000 teams competing to be selected for the WRO international final, hosted in a different country each November. Each team of two to three students, assisted by a coach, develops creative and problem-solving skills through robotics challenges, the tools consisting mainly of Lego components. Philip and Stevens competed in the Open category in the Junior High age group at the regional competition, held at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) on 1 August 2015. As the theme for this year’s competition was “Robot Explorers” the team designed a robot that can search and sample for extremophile micro-organisms in caves and mines. As part of the competition, they also had to set up a booth, give a presentation, and make a video explaining how their robot worked. Having excelled at the regional level, they went through to the national competition, also at TUT, on 5 September. Excelling again, they came out tops in their age group and were selected to represent South Africa at the international WRO event that will take place from 6 to 8 November in Doha, Qatar. Thank you to Mrs Anne Ginster for her commitment and enthusiasm as the team’s coach. And congratulations, Philip and Stevens! We wish you the VERY best as you jet off to Doha in November. You’ve already done GHS more than proud. PAGE 4 Sporting Achievements Congratulations to the U14 boys for winning their league! Pictured here in the Saturday Star’s School Sport supplement, 19 September 2015 Congratulations also to all of our athletes for a dedicated season, but most especially to Sibusiso Ndaba who won THREE medals at Prestige. Others who won medals at Prestige are Odirile Sebe, Kamohelo Hoala, Nabeel Mahomed, and Frikkie Thys, pictured with Mr T Brand Remember, Prestige is for the best of the best from all of Gauteng’s co-ed schools. A very impressive achievement! PAGE 6 UN Debaters Win Big at SAAIA Inter-provincial Model UN Conference There were fifty-eight schools from six provinces represented at the South African Institute of International Affairs’ Model UN Conference on Saturday, 19 September, with delegates participating in five committees: Committee 1: AFRICAN UNION PEACE AND SECURITY COUNCIL (AUPSC) Committee 2: UNITED NATIONS CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE COP 21 Committee 3: UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY (UNGA) Committee 4: WORLD HUMANITARIAN SUMMIT Committee 5: UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL (UNSC) I am enormously proud of our UN debaters who have achieved superbly at this inter-provincial competition. UN debaters are the young leaders of the country and the world – they show the ability to learn, to research, to grow their knowledge; they have the ability to communicate effectively; and they have the skills to negotiate and take the initiative showing others the way forward. Each of Greenside’s three delegations was recognised by the adjudicators. Our delegates representing Nigeria in the UNSC (Taariq Hassim, Mahdiyyah Areff and Mahir Ambelal) were given the ‘Honourable Mention’ certificate in their committee. Seeking to reach a global agreement on climate change, Greenside was given the honour of representing France, the nation that will be hosting COP 21, the United Nations Climate Change Conference which will take place in Paris from 30 November-11 December this year. Our delegation did not let us down when they were given such a responsibility. Tania Pogue, Saieshan Dadi, and Pratish Natverlal, ambassadors for France, met the challenge offered by twenty-seven other schools, and won the Silver Award for the second best delegation. Finally, in the World Humanitarian Summit, we were the delegation for the USA (Austin le Roux, Kutlwano Legwale and Jesuferanmi Olorundare). In that committee, Austin le Roux was declared the best speaker out of eighty speakers. He received a trophy and a pen sponsored by The Department of International Relations and Co-operation. by Ms J Unterslak Congratulations to all of you – especially Austin for his particularly remarkable achievement! PAGE 6 UN Debaters Win Big at the Inter- provincial Model UN Conference cont.