Dear Parents

It has been a whirlwind start to the third term.  Thank you to all the parents who came to meet me and who took the opportunity to raise their concerns at the parents’ evenings or via e-mail.  I can assure you that I will look into every concern.  It was a pleasure to meet so many of you and I look forward to a collaborative working relationship.  Collegiate is most fortunate to have such involved and caring parents.  
The Charity Bazaar was very well organised and I commend the girls on theirinitiative and enthusiasm.  The support that the Bazaar received from family members and friends of the girls all contributed to a successful afternoon.  Thank you for spending the time with us.  The girls exceeded all expectations raising a total of R37 000 for Christmas Cheer.  Well done to all!The sporting day at Woodridge was also well supported by the parents of the girls who were playing netball and hockey. Thank you for braving the weather to come and watch the matches. Collegiate Junior and Senior teams had a most enjoyable morning.
The Interact Dinner was a splendid evening and a very generous donation of R15 000 was handed to the Igazi Foundation which raises funds to treat leukaemia patients.
I am also very proud of the Grade Nine EMS girls who, under the leadership of Ms Kerrigan, raised well over R10 000 (which represents 20% of their profit) and also donated this money to the Igazi Foundation.
The trip to Bloemfontein and the Derby Day with Meisieskool Oranje was highly successful.  For many girls this was their first road trip out of PE, their first contact with snow and the first time that they had seen a dam wall.  It was a wonderful experience for all the girls that do not get to compete at a high level of their chosen discipline.  These trips are remembered long after the classroom lessons are forgotten.  Thank you to all the teachers who accompanied the girls, those who drove the mini-buses and especially to Mrs West who co-ordinated the whole trip.
We look forward to welcoming Clarendon from East London for our Derby Day on 12 and 13 August.  Both the Junior and Senior Schools will be participating.  We will be hosting the girls on Friday evening and we ask that all girls who receive letters from the school host two girls from Clarendon.  If any parents can assist with hosting, even if your daughter is not involved in the day, please contact Mrs West at the school and give her your details.  We would really appreciate your hospitality.  I also want to encourage you to join us on Friday afternoon and on Saturday to support all the games, as well as the chess and the debating.  Please bring your daughter along or, if you cannot attend, drop her off at school for the morning to support her friends.
We would like to congratulate all the girls who have received provincial and national recognition in their particular discipline.  Lastly, but most importantly, we wish the matrics everything of the best as they prepare for the trial examinations.

MRS M BAGSHAW
PRINCIPAL

The Grade Nine learners were once again challenged to start their own business and run it successfully on their own for ten days.  The task was simple: using R100 as seed capital, the learners had to run a business for ten days and show a profit.  Failure to make a profit meant failing the project. The girls had to repay the R100 loan according to their signed loan agreement, which  they had with their parents . They also had to pay a portion of the profit they made to Miss Kerrigan, as their “tax”.  The tax money raised is donated to local charities.In total the Grade Nine learners raised a sum of R12 100.00 in “tax” and Bianca Moodaley deserves special mention for her “tax” contribution of well over R1 600.00. Added to the R12 100.00 was the  kind donation from Steam Cleaning Services in memory of Mr Kevin Kerrigan who started the business in 1978 and who struggled with cancer.  This allowed us to hand over a sum of R15 100.00 to the IGAZI FOUNDATION as part of our ongoing involvement in community development in Port Elizabeth.Igazi is isiXhosa for "Blood"and the foundation is lobbying for our own haematology centre at the Provincial Hospital.

Seen handing over the cheque are from left to right:Rev Nicolette Leonard (Igazi); Mr Cole Cameron (Igazi); Mrs N Fyvie (Collegiate teacher and leukaemia survivor); Bianca Moodaley; Miss M Kerrigan (Gr 9 EMS teacher); Dr Neil Littleton (Igazi) and Mrs M Bagshaw (Principal). 

Next Issue: 26th August 2011

From left to right:  Jessica de Bruyn-Smith; Ashleigh Schepers;  Shannon Scholtz and Toni Marks

We are proud of the following girls who have been selected for South African teams:Jessica de Bruyn-Smith(U17 Hockey); Ashleigh Schepers (U16 Squash); Shannon Scholtz (U15 Biathle) and Toni Marks (U18 Hockey).Shannon Scholtz will be going to the World Championships in Bulgaria in September this year. Congratulations to all  four girls.

The annual De Beers English Olympiad was held in March this year and nineteen of our senior girls wrote this Olympiad, centred around the theme “Morals and Ethics”. The anthology of extracts proved to be a challenging study, but our girls rose to the challenge producing some superb results. The following girls, in particular, are to be congratulated on their achievements:Bronze award:Donna de Jongh; Silver award:  Danya Roelofse;Julie Pugh-Parry; Minke Egling; Gold award: Lauren Dixon-Paver; So-Mang Kim; Bronté Morton.
Bronté has the added distinction of being placed 56 out of about 6000 candidates nation-wide.

Above: Bronté Morton 

Last term, thirteen of our girls wrote the Senior Afrikaans Olimpiade and we are very proud of all of them: Kristin Jansen; Lize van Staden; Lise-Marie Goosen; Adria van der Merwe; Hildegard du Plessis; Danielle Botha; Lara Bernhardt; Robin Malgas; Nicole Erasmus; Joanna Taylor; Trudi van Olm; Frances le Roux and Anna Griebenow. Compared to the national average of 65%, our Collegiate girls did exceptionally well with their average of 83%.  Of the Top 20 candidates in the Eastern Cape, eight are from Collegiate!  We are particularly proud of Anna Griebenow, who obtained  the 5th position nationally. 

Above: Anna Griebenow

As long as there are no functions or meetings in the Ivy Leaf it will be available to the girls in the afternoon as a place for them to do their homework.  The library, however, is open every afternoon for them to do their work while waiting for parents/lifts. 

It was only last year that newly crowned The Herald Spec-Savers Miss Port Elizabeth Nandipa Mnuna was sitting in the E5 class room in her blue and white uniform.  Now she is an ambassadorress for our city in her role as Miss PE.  Nandi responded to the question on who her role model is by saying: “My mom. Because she raised me to  believe in God and she gave me the most powerful gift which is education”. We are also proud of Nandi for choosing the Masinyusane Development Organisation, a group which empowers through education and entrepreneurship, as her personal charity for the year. 

The sun had yet to rise and the rain was falling, but the Collegiate car park was alive with activity early on Friday morning. Girls boarded the busses, teachers made sure all were there and Mrs Bagshaw wished us well and waved goodbye as she huddled under her brolly. Yes, 200 plus girls, eight teachers and 10 coaches were “marching to (not Pretoria but) Bloemfontein”. Stops to build snow-girls, dodging of pot-holes, a tyre blow-out, a visit to the Gariep Dam and blackberry GPS navigation later, we eventually arrived at Meisieskool Oranje. Some dashed straight to the fields, the courts and the chess boards for Friday afternoon clashes, while the rest met their hosts and went with them  for a dose of genuine Vrystaat-Afrikaner hospitality.That evening the staff and coaches also enjoyed a taste of the “Vrystaat” as they savoured a gastronomical delight of traditional “boere-kos” and mingled with the full staff of Meisieskool Oranje.Saturday morning brought the crisp winter air and the wonder-land of white frost-covered pavements and fields. Perhaps the frost-bite and the altitude became too much for our girls who seemed to battle to rise to the challenge posed by the Oranje-Meisies. In the end we produced a mixed bag of results – won some, lost some (see the table of results on the website). The real winners, though, were all the girls who availed themselves of the opportunity to travel to Bloemfontein as a team, to be hosted and so experience a different culture, to make new friends, and to learn the value of being part of a team.  We, the teachers who accompanied the girls (Mrs West, Mrs Vincent, Mrs Shaw, Miss Wakeford, Miss Coetzee, Mrs Nel, Miss van der Merwe, Mrs Collier and Mrs Erasmus) were indeed proud of our Collegiate girls, of their spirit, manners and sportsmanship.

The girls who built their very own snow girl.

We appeal to all parents to exercise EXTREME caution when entering the front car park to drop-off or fetch your daughters. It has been reported that a number of cars speed into the car park which is dangerous considering cars in the car park could be reversing out of parkings, girls could be walking to waiting cars and other cars could be stopping to pick up girls.  Let us be patient and courteous at all times.