Issue 4, 11 March 2011

What a wonderful time was had by all at the COLLEGIATE-PICK ‘N PAY INTERNATIONAL FOOD FAIR  held in the Quad and Ivy Leaf last Friday. Although the wind was blustery, the rain held off (except for a few desperate droplets drizzling down) and people of all ages were able to select from a variety of dishes and then sit back, take in the beauty of the gardens in the Quad and be entertained while enjoying their meals. Mr Parker and his Concert Band roused the crowd with his energetic girls trumpeting away, the Indian girls of the Geetanjali Academy of Arts Dance School provided a beautiful spectacle with their mesmerising movements and the Girl Band of music girls provided some lyrical moments. Then, to round off the evening, Mr Rob Andrews from Grey Junior had several people dancing on the grass to his melodious singing.

The School and SGB has decided to re-establish the PTA in order to assist with fundraising and social activities. This will have the dual function of bringing in extra finances as well as generating more spirit and allegiance to Collegiate.

The meeting to re-establish a functioning PTA will be held on Monday evening at 18h00 in the Ivy Leaf. We do urge you to attend and to be part of the school life.

We congratulate Natalie Collier and Thalitha Tshangela on advancing to the second round of the U18 East Cape Netball trials. A special congratulations goes to Thalitha on advancing to the final round of selection. We wish her the best of luck for this trial.

Congratulations to the Collegiate girls who excelled and won medals at the EP CHAMPS AT NNMU STADIUM last weekend. The girls are: Alise Ferreira took the bronze medal in the 400m hurdles ; Candice Hobbs took silver in the U17 3000m and Aidan Battison took gold by winning the long Jump and the triple jump U19 events jumping distances that were further than the senior athletes in the province.
We wish Lauren Church, U15　100m and 200m, Candice Hobbs, U17 3000m, and Aidan Battison U19 long jump and triple jump every success as they compete in the East Cape Championships in East London this weekend.

The following Collegiate Girls will be travelling to Durban next week to compete in the Level 3 National Gala. This is the most prestigious age group gala in South Africa and we congratulate the swimmers on achieving this level of swimming: Michaela Barnes; Syanne Graham; Jessica Liss; Lara Odendaal; Megan van Wyk; Kirstyn Fourie; Kayleigh Graham; Genna Greevelink; Sarah Jorgensen and Tammy van Wyk.

Congratulations to the following girls who took part in National Squash tournaments recently: Ashleigh Schepers U16 – fifth place in the A-section of the Cape Classic and fifth place in the Bloemfontein Open; Michelle Ward U19 – first place in the B-section of the Bloemfontein Open; Hayley Ward U14 – fifteenth in the A-section of the Bloemfontein Open.

Our First and U15 Tennis teams travelled to Sun City recently having been invited to participate in the TOP SCHOOLS GIRLS’ TENNIS TOURNAMENT. Both the teams ended fifth – an excellent result indeed. Congratulations to these girls.

When will our girls ever learn! Despite appeals to the girls to mark all their possessions with their name, lost property continues to grow. Please collect the following items from the Lost Property store and remember to mark all your clothing and items: New tog bag; CGHS golf shirt (L); Warm-up Pullover (M); Tommy takkies (size 5); Jay-Jay’s packet containing swimming slip slops and size 13 – 14 tracksuit pants; Cooler bag lunchbox (on it is a slogan: "Protecting your Assets"); Adidas sport/ athletic sneakers (L); Black jersey left behind after the Food Fair.

Please remember to consult the Collegiate website (www.collegiatehigh.co.za) for the latest achievements of our girls in both school and outside sports and activities. The results of the East Cape Lifesaving Championships are posted in this section, as is the report on St Peter’s Waterpolo Tournament.

Next issue 25 March

Thank you, especially, to Mr Russell Booth of PICK ‘N PAY for organising a most generous sponsorship. Without the support of Pick ‘n Pay, we would not have made in excess of R15 000, money which will be used for the girls’ benefit. If you live in the area around Pick ‘n Pay, Walmer, and the Pick ‘n Pay Hypermarket, please make these your supermarkets of choice.
The Food Fair was also reliant on parents to provide the manpower: thank you to all those parents who responded to the call and convened stalls, assisted at stalls, provided sponsorship or cooked and baked prior to the time. This is the spirit of giving and involvement we like to see.

The League team debated against Muir last Thursday and won. Abigail Butcher was, once again, named Best Speaker of the Debate. The win helped ease the disappointment of having been beaten by our brother school, Grey, the previous week by one point! On Saturday nine debating girls participated in the annual Alex High Debate Festival. Although the festival is meant to be for fun and experience, it is very gratifying to note the following: of six debates, our teams won five against schools such as Queens College, Riebeek, Pearson, Victoria Park and Newton Technical High. Abigail Butcher gleaned two Best Speaker awards, while Sihle Nkatsha and Alex Ayerst won an award each. All these results clearly prove – DO NOT PICK AN ARGUMENT WITH A COLLEGIATE GIRL!

A by-election to fill two vacant positions on the School Governing Body (SGB) was held on Tuesday evening and Mr Anthony Kirsten and Mrs Wendy Nel will now serve on the SGB for the remaining term of office. Congratulations and may you serve the school with due diligence.

Our first draw last month was enjoyed by all who attended. The hospitality girls did us proud with the catering - this even included sushi! We look forward to meeting new members on 17 March. Please enter through the main gate in Kestell Street.