RHENISH NEWS For parents & daughters

23/05/2014

Rhenish Girls’ High School aims to provide its learners with an education of the highest quality

and is committed to providing an environment that is conducive to effective teaching and

learning. All learners, regardless of their intellectual abilities, social backgrounds and academic

aspirations, are encouraged to develop their full potential, to strive for excellence in all they do,

and to become responsible, caring and productive citizens.

Important Announcements

1. The girls are please to refrain from entering the demarcated building zone AT ALL TIMES and to be extra cautious with

their personal belongings, cell phones and locker contents during this period.

2. Rhenish praying parents:

We would like to extend an invitation to Rhenish parents to come and pray for our daughters and our school on a weekly

basis, for half an hour.The usual time slot is Friday morning 7.30-8.00. Currently there are only 2 praying moms, and we

would so welcome a couple more to pray with us. Ideally we would like to have a minimum of 2 parents praying each

week, as sometimes neither of us can make it, which leaves no prayer covering for the school.If you are interested,

please contact Bridget 083 333 3064.

3. Girls should exercise caution when walking around Stellenbosch – safety in numbers and keep valuables concealed.

Matric Dance Fever

A girl’s Matric Dance is an event she starts planning in Grade 8. It

would not be a stretch to say that the matrics of 2014 have been

actively (sometimes frenetically) planning their matric dance

outfits / make-up / partners / pre-parties / photos since the start

of the year. All this while doing homework and assignments and

studying for mid-years which are only weeks away!

The fever surrounding the dance reached critical levels on

Thursday 22 May with the receipt of their invitations to the

dance. Ushered into the hall by register teachers to be greeted

by tables groaning with cupcakes and trees bedecked with

invitations, the matrics suddenly realised how very REAL all of

this was. If only it weren’t for that pesky little thing called exams!

They have been issued with their individual ‘passport to pleasure’

and the question on all their lips now is, how will this tie in to the

theme on the evening? What is the theme? The lips of Ms

Fourie and her dance committee are sealed. Know only that every effort will go into ensuring a magical evening for each

matriculant and her partner on 27 June.

Alex Butterfield

Educational Psychologist “Getting Ready for Exams” For guidance in study methods, specialised study skills, time management and study

timetables, goal setting and motivation, please contact Ms Butterfield to set up an appointment.

Practice No: 0487228 Address: Rhenish Girls’ High School

Medical Aid Rates

Career Assessment Career Guidance

Scholastic Assessment Psychotherapy

Practice hours: Week Days 2:30pm – 6:00pm Tel.: 074 669 3174

Saturdays by arrangement email: alex.edpsych@gmail.com

“Curiouser and Curiouser”

Did you know that an octopus is so intelligent that it needs puzzles in its tank to keep it busy?

Questions like this and other random ‘factoids’ had the Grade 11s enthralled during their visit to the Two Oceans Aquarium

in Cape Town on 15 May 2014.

Many of us have visited the Aquarium with our parents as youngsters or with school groups in primary school, but when

the visit is tied into the work that we are studying in Life Sciences, suddenly it is WAY more interesting, it is more relevant

and we are able to use our knowledge to unlock some of the mysteries of the seas, and in particular, of our coastline.

Great tourists in our own city, Rhenishers

arrived by the busload having braved the

morning traffic rush, excited, eager and brimful

of enthusiasm. After an interesting lesson

presented by the Aquarium Staff, we went off

to explore the wonders of the Aquarium with

an educational worksheet to guide us.

Our journey began in the Indian Ocean Gallery

where warm water inhabitants with their bright

colours played among corals and giant moray eels watched as we passed by. We were

quite excited to find Nemo and Dory swimming amongst other beautifully coloured fish.

We then travelled to the Atlantic Ocean where starfish, anemones, jellyfish, seahorses and giant spider crabs swim, float

and crawl along their exhibits with ease and grace.

“Life under the sea is better than anything they got up there...” –The Little Mermaid, Sebastian

I guess Sebastian was right, because this ‘under water’ experience was very memorable and extremely exciting. Huge

thanks to Mrs Bellstedt and Mrs Kruger who gave us this opportunity to explore “life under the sea” and we would also like

to thank the mums who accompanied us.

Jessi Africa, 11D

Photos of last term’s very successful “Dad and Daughter Dance” can be viewed at

www.fokus.co.za. Orders can be placed electronically through this website.

Leadership Conference

Representatives of Rhenish’s Learner Council attended the annual La Rochelle Leadership

Conference on Friday 9 May 2014.

Yuanfei (Head Girl), Kirsten (Deputy Head Girl), Suzaan and Ash (Grade 11

representatives) set off with Mrs Liebenberg prepared to be ignited and inspired by the

presentations they were to experience and the interaction with young leaders from other

schools.

They were not disappointed. The conference is professionally run by La Rochelle and

sponsored by the University of the Free State. Keynote speakers and discussions were

relevant and interesting and had great application for Fei-fei and Kirsten – for the

remainder of their term as leaders of our school and for life beyond Rhenish – and for

Suzaan and Ash who have both been part of the learner leadership from Grade 8.

We listened to passionate speakers who had a great deal to share with us about being

leaders and about our responsibility as the youth, not only in our country but as citizens

of the world. A very notable speaker opened our eyes to the reality of social media and she showed us how it impacts on

every aspect of our lives.

Mrs Lombard, Fei-fei, Kirsten and Mrs Liebenberg

With the University of the Free State as the sponsor, the

event was also quite career driven and we were

encouraged to question our place in the world, our

responsibilities and the nature of leadership.

Yuanfei XukanOver the past few months, a name has

cropped up in this section on more than one occasion.

She is clearly a young athlete on the way to achieving

great things. Kaitlyn Sparks has delivered yet another

amazing performance in pole vault. Last weekend, she

flew to Potchefstroom to participate in the SA Open

Championship. Kaitlyn won the gold with another great

height of 3.80m. We are incredibly proud of her and we

are confident that she is an athlete we will be hearing a

lot more about, both locally and internationally.

Matric 2013 Certificates

The Matric Certificates of candidates who

successfully completed the examination are

now available at the school from Dr Bennie.

This does not include candidates who applied

for remarks.

To collect, candidates must come in person

with their ID book. If they cannot collect the

certificate themselves, they can give

permission to someone to collect it on their

behalf. In this case, the appointed person

must provide a letter from the candidate

giving them permission to collect the certificate and the appointed person must present his/her

own ID book.

Music Department Delivers the Goods

The talented young ladies who are privileged to study under the guidance of our vibrant music department, continue to delight audiences wherever they go. On Thursday 22 May 2014, a group of these musicians and singers performed at the musical evening at the La Clemence Retirement Village. Lusi Sesanti, Tess de Waal and Celeste Opperman wowed the audience with the crystal clarity of their voices, the range of their talent and the passion they bring to their performances. Many a moist eye was discreetly wiped as guests were transported back in time by the songs and by the youthful performers.

Emily Smith (saxophone), Sharon Mathole (recorder) and Alessia Lederer (violin) further entertained the guests with their beautifully executed pieces. Talent and practice and the guidance of incredibly gifted teachers have resulted in very accomplished performers. But the music was only a part of the joy that our girls gave guests at La Clemence. Their spontaneity and child-like enthusiasm for what they do earned them high praise from the chairperson of the Cultural Committee at La Clemence who said, “this ‘child-like enthusiasm’ is too often missing nowadays in high school learners so eager to engage in the adult world.” Thank you to each of these performers for being such wonderful ambassadors for Rhenish and for making the time to share

your gift within our community. Thanks too to the Music Department who nurture these girls, always delivering polished

young performers with confidence and a real ‘joie de vivre’.

Interact – Making It Count

Towards the end of last year, the Interact Society was initiated at Rhenish. The Interact

society forms part of the youth division of the International Rotary Club. Our main aim is

identifying needs in the community and helping where we can.

We started with a committee of seven learners. We have since grown and now have a

society of over twenty learners.

We have helped out at many community outreaches, namely One-on-One (an event held

in the Good Hope centre where one abled bodied person befriends a disabled person for

the day), the Rotary Medallion Cycle Race (where we helped with the registration of the

cyclists) and a safe house in Kuilsriver (where we painted

the jungle jim outside and the rooms of the house).

This year we have brought it a little closer to home as

there is a great need in the community of Stellenbosch.

We have identified the safe house in Kayamandi as one

of these great needs.

The safe house in Kayamandi is a safe house for abused

women and children and a rape crisis centre. After

visiting the safe house at the beginning of the year we

realised that there is so much we can do to help these

women in their time of need.

On Wednesday we had a cake sale where we raised

funds to buy compost and vegetables which the safe

house can plant in their vegetable garden. We also

collected clothes and food for the safe house.

We delivered these items yesterday (Thursday). The ladies at the safehouse were so

grateful for the items of clothing and food. The learners who have visited have all

enjoyed going to the safehouse and interacting with the children and adults staying

there.

From the Maths Department – Communication to Parents of Raw Marks

Mathematics is a crucial subject in the Progression Process. As we are unable to send tests and assignments home with the learners after assessment (these need to be kept in the learner’s portfolio) the Mathematics Department has designed a Mark Reflection Sheet that will be sent home after each assessment. The Mark Reflection Sheet will reflect the raw marks the learner has received for each test and SBA task and needs to be signed by parents as confirmation of knowledge of the mark received by the learner for the test or SBA task. The Mark Reflection Sheet will then be filed in the learner’s portfolio. As educators we are aware that parents would like to be made aware of their daughter’s progress so that, if necessary, timeous interventions can be put in place. The Mark Reflection Sheet will ensure that parents are always aware of the latest results. We would appreciate your co-operation with this – please sign that you have seen the test/SBA task at the appropriate place and return to your daughter’s mathematics teacher. Concerns/queries can also be addressed (in writing or in an email) once you have returned the Mark Reflection Sheet.

Rhenishers Out in the World

Dance

Amy Lamprecht

(Grade 11) has been

chosen for the Cape

Town Dance Team

(modern and hip

hop) that will

represent South

Africa at the World

Dance Movement

competition which

will be held in Italy

during the June holidays.

The team will compete against 15 other countries.

They will also have the opportunity for a short

cultural tour to Rome, Florence and Sorrento.

During the last week of their tour, they will stay in

Castellena Grotto and do various workshops that

will be presented by international choreographers.

The competition will take place at the end of the

final week. The dancers had to audition for a spot

in the team and Amy was one of twenty-two

selected. Amy and her team have been hard at

work since January, practising every Saturday for

the competition.

Cross Country

Congratulations to Suzaan Hobson who came third in in the 1st Boland Cross Country trials – Girls U17 4km - in a time of

16:38.

Sports Results

Friday 16th May

Squash

1st team vs Parel Vallei : Rhenish won 125 – 111

2nd team vs La Rochelle: Rhenish lost 0 - 14

Saturday 17 May

Hockey vs Herschel (H)

1st Lost 3-1 2nd Lost 6-1 U16A Won 6-0 U16B Won 3-1 U16C Won 1-0 U14A Lost 2-1

U14B Won 4-0 U14C Won 3-0 U16A Report The annual derby against Herschel is always very competitive. On yet another beautiful Stellenbosch autumn morning, the

match started with Rhenish immediately being placed under pressure. As the initial nervousness subsided, we created

some opportunities but did, unfortunately, not convert. The Herschel team exerted continuous pressure and we had to rely

on strong defence for the half-time score to be 0-0. After the break, we again had to defend many short-corners with Moya

having her busiest game of the season. We eventually managed to break through and take the lead. With Herschel having

to attack more, we were able to take advantage again with a break-away goal to increase our lead to 2-0. Moya’s goal-

keeping, an excellent performance by Jess and a spirited team effort were the highlights of our performance. Well done!

Thank you again to Coach Andrew and our supporters.

Monique Bartsch, Captain

U16B Report

The U16Bs played against Herschel Girls’ High and won 3 – 1. Our goal scorers were Ashleigh Wyatt and Oriole Viljoen.

This was one of our best games this season. Communication on the field was much better and will continue to work at this.

Herschel has a strong team and they made us work hard for our goals. We look forward to our match against Parel Vallei.

Ashleigh Wyatt, Captain

Netball vs Herschel (H)

1st Drew 14-14 2nd Won 17-7 3rd Won 8-7 U16A Lost 18-5 U16B Lost 17-4 U16C Lost 16-3 U15A No opposition U15B No opposition U15C No opposition U14AWon 13-6 U14B Won 11-5 U14C Won 15-1 U14D No opposition

U14 A Report

We played Herschel on 17 May and won 13-6. In the first half we were sluggish on court but after half-time, we had clearly

“woken” up and we played an energised game that saw us taking the lead and scoring regularly. I am really proud of my

team mates.

Nicole Smithdorf, Captain

U14B Netball

I am really proud of our team as this was our fourth win in a row.