All parents/guardians are cordially invited to attend the first Parent Evening of 2012, to be held in the school hall on Tuesday, 17 April, starting at 18:00. You can meet with your child's educators and discuss the first term's marks and/or any other problems. Educators will be available till 20:00.

We are happy to welcome three new educators to Dundee High School:
 
Mr J Oosthuizen (ENGHL ; ENGFAL), who came over from South Korea, where he has been teaching English.
 
Mr E Maririmba (MATH ; MLIT), who has been in the country for only three years.
 
Mr D Chiriga (PHSC ; MATH), who has been busy in an advisory capacity in the sciences at the Dundee Environmental Centre.
 
We hope that you are going to be very happy at our school and that we will have many fruitful years together.
 
Mrs H Arndt had an unfortunate fall and she had to undergo an operation on her ankle. She is booked off for 6 weeks and we all wish her a speedy recovery. Our sincere thanks go to Mrs M Nel, who is standing in very capably for Mrs Arndt.
 
Miss C van Rensburg, an old scholar, is doing her practical teaching with us for 2 weeks. We wish you well and hope that you have a great time at school in a different way to what you were used to.

Our first Netball, first Boys' Hockey, first Rugby and first and second Girls' Hockey and Bowls teams all had very enjoyable and successful tours in the Easter holidays.
 
First Boys' Hockey: The team went down to Kearsney College to attend a coaching clinic there. The days were beautiful and the Kearsney campus was something to behold. The boys were extremely good ambassadors for their school: they showed great spirit, their behaviour was to be recommended and then they also won all of their matches: 1 – 0 against Middelburg, 3 – 2 and 2 – 1 against SACS (Cape Town) and 3 – 0 against Crawford College (JHB). Thank you to Miss J Robinson for coaching the boys. We wish you everything of the best for the coming season.
 
First Girls' Hockey: The team attended a coaching clinic TUT in Pretoria. The tour was very successful and many new skills were learned and lifelong friendships formed. Of the 8 games played, 5 were won, 2 lost and 1 drawn.
 
First Netball: The team attended a clinic at Camp Discovery, 60km outside Pretoria. Of the 7 matches played, 6 were won and 1 lost by only one goal. The experience was enjoyed by all: our sincere thanks go to Mrs Helen Steenkamp for accompanying Mrs Meintjes and the girls.
 
Bowls: Congratulations to Fanele Ndebele,Mbali and Lungisani Xaba who all received certificates for their participation in the bowls tournament in Bloemfontein.
 
Athletics: Louise Currie took part in the SA (ASA) Athletics Meeting in Germiston. She obtained a seventh place in the 5 000m Walk with an excellent time of 29 minutes, an improvement of 3 minutes on her previous time. Well done, Louise!

We hosted Vryheid Landbou on Wednesday at our school and the results were as follows:
 

RUGBY:			NETBALL:			GIRLS' HOCKEY:
U/14:	won 33 – 5		U/14A:	won 25 – 2		Seconds:	won 3 – 1
U/15:	lost 17 – 19		U/15A:	won 17 – 2
Seconds:	won 24 – 14		U/15B:	won 4 – 1
Firsts:	won 55 – 10		U/16A:	lost 3 – 13
			Firsts:	won 28 – 4

Mrs Carter and 17 of her energetic and brave athletes will be travelling to Richmond this coming weekend: they are all going to camp at the site and take part in the last Mudman of the season. We wish them strong legs and perseverance.

Sunelle von Molendorff won the ladies B Division over 36 holes. Her inclusion in the Dundee League team is seen as a great achievement. Well done, Sunelle!

May we take this opportunity to remind all parents/guardians that only you are permitted to sign your child out. If you want your child to be signed out by anybody other than yourself, you must give written permission. No learner will be allowed to leave the school grounds with anybody other than their parents/guardians.

1. You shall respect family time and meals – don’t let the cell phone steal your quality time. The world will not end if you ignore your phone.
2. You shall take others into consideration – don’t yell or disturb others while you are having a conversation on your phone.
3. You shall not phone or text while driving – you don’t want to be responsible for an accident.
4. You shall not be loud – other people don’t want to know about your private life.
5. You shall respect other cell phone users – let your number be known and don’t answer if you don’t want to talk to me.
6. You shall not look for shortcuts – it makes you illiterate 2 wrt s if u r dm!
7. You shall use the “silent” button (or even better, the “off” button) – it is rude to let your phone be heard during meetings or formal occasions.
8. You shall not have strange ringing tones – people might take it the wrong way.
9. You shall not waste people’s time – stop talking if people are waiting for you.
10. You shall respect your cell phone – buy it a jacket for protection.

Saturday	14 April 2012	Sport against Pongola (Away)
Sunday	15 April 2012	Mudman (Richmond)
Tuesday	17 April 2012	Parent Evening (18:00)
Wednesday	18 April 2012	Sport against Utrecht (Home)
Saturday	21 April 2012	Sport against Amajuba (Home)
Monday	23 April 2012	Gr 12 Language Exam
Friday	27 April 2012	Freedom Day - Holoday / Umzinyathi Boys' Hockey, Durban
Monday	30 April 2012	School Holiday
Tuesday	1 May 2012	Workers' Day - Holiday

We congratulate the following girls and boys, who were chosen to represent the Umzinyathi region in hockey in Pietermaritzburg and Durban, respectively, in April:
 

U/16 GIRLS		U/19 GIRLS		U/19 BOYS
VANESSE BURNS		THOBEKA MADIDE		ZANRICH VAN RENSBURG
ERIKA PRINSLOO		NONTUTHUKO PHUNGULA		WISEMAN NGEMA
LOUISE CURRIE		LENIE ZONDO		WANDILE NGOBESE
MELISSA VAN ASWEGEN		SIYETHEMBA KHUMALO		KURT ESTRICE
KARLA MÜLLER		SIMONÉ GROENEWALD		LANGA MADELA
NOKUPHILA DLAMINI		LIANCA CONGDON		BONGUMUSA MBATHA
LISA MTSHALI		REBEKAH LEWIS		WANELE ZULU
LAURIKA PANSEGROUW		BUHLE SHABANGU		WERNER VAN STADEN
SIMONE MILLAR		CHRIZELLE STANDER
		ANÉL RAUBENHEIMER
		SURINA GREGORY

Our sincere congratulations go to Simoné Groenewald, who , together with her father, completed the 2012 Cape Argus on her bicycle.

Well done to Ruben Kenchenten, who took part in a fishing competition in Newcastle and came back with a trophy for catching the heaviest bag of fish.

We don't only have good hockey players; congratulations to the following girls, doing us proud by being chosen for the mentioned Umzinyathi Netball Teams:
 

U/14		U/16		U/17		U/18
SAZI KHUMALO		NOMHLE SIBIYA		NOTHILE GUMEDE		FUNDI KUNENE
NOKWANDA BUTHELEZI		MINENHLE SANGWENI		GRACE MUKENDI		SIMPHIWE NTULI
LONDEKA NYATHI		LUSIWE NKOMONDE		CHANTÉ PRETORIUS		SINDI DLAMINI
		LIHLE KHUZWAYO				MINNIE MPONGOSE
U/15		MINENHLE XABA				NOKWANDA ZULU
NOKWANDA SITHOLE		JOYLINE MUDZINGWA				CHANNEL SMALE
DE-ANITHA THOMPSON		AYANDA SHOBA				SETHU ZIKALALA
SINETHEMBA SIBISI		SISANDA ZULU
ZANDILE HLONGWANE		SIPHOKAZI MTSHALI

The girls played against Voortrekker in their first match, which they drew  1 - 1. The second match was played against Durban Academy, which the girls won with an impressive  5 - 0  , and the third match ended in a 1 - 1  draw with Sarel Cilliers. Due to these results, the team ended first in their pool and progressed to the semi-finals where they played against Empangeni. It was a very tough match, ending in a 0 - 0  draw, and resulting in penalty strokes to determine the winner, which was Empangeni.

FIRST TEAM NETBALL:

The netball girls played their hearts out during this festival. They won their first match against Wartburg, 15 - 4  , defeated Durban Academy 14 - 4  in their second match and went on to win their third match against Voortrekker 12 - 7 . The girls progressed to the quarter final where their winning streak unfortunately came to an unlucky end, losing 5 - 6  against Richardsbay. Congratulations on your achievements, girls!

FIRST TEAM RUGBY:

The DHS rugby teams' results were as follows:
U/14: Lost 5 - 36 against Sarel Cilliers U/15: Lost 0 - 27  against St. Charles U/16: Won 6 - 5 against Empangeni
 
The first team played a very tough match against Weston and despite their determined fight to win, they unfortunately lost in the last movement of the game,  13 - 15 . Well done to the boys who, despite the loss, showed true guts and courage and did not sit back and give up on the fight. The first team would also like to thank their sponsors: Forbes Coal, Nems, Mpati Apteek and Moll's.
 
We wish all our teams all of the best for the upcoming season - practise hard and never give up.

The DHS Multisport Team left Dundee at 05:00 on Sunday 18 March to take part in the Mudman Event, held at the Midmar Dam. The Cordwalles Mudman, the third and biggest in the series, was once again great fun and our athletes did very well, all bettering their times and many even opted to do the whole event individually, instead of as part of a team. Well done to all of you.
 

INDIVIDUAL HALF DISTANCE			TEAM HALF DISTANCE		FULL INDIVIDUAL
MORGAN GREGORY	TERRY-LEE HONIBALL		SIMONE MILLAR		ROBERT SCOTT
STEPHEN FERREIRA	LAURIKA PANSEGROUW		VANESSE BURNS		ROWAN VAN DER MERWE
KOBUS MÜLLER	LOUISE CURRIE		KEAGAN DONALDSON
JUAN-PIERRE ROETS	MRS CARTER				TEAM FULL DISTANCE
KEAGAN DONALDSON	GABBY CARTER				DAVID GRACE
AIDAN CARTER					COENIE SONNEKUS
MR CARTER					MICHAEL SCOTT

We are looking forward to the last Mudman on 15 April, as the whole team is planning on camping out at the venue. Keep training, boys and girls!

This year the annual Expo will be on 3 August in Ladysmith. Learners are invited to get involved in practical scientific investigations in a wide variety of new categories. Young scientists must identify a problem, analyze information, find solutions and communicate the findings. We want to encourage as many learners as possible to participate - this year 2 of our learners (Nadia van Zyl and Carla Pretorius) are travelling to New York to participate in the International Expo!
 
Learners in Gr 11 and 12 who receive gold medals at the National Expo in October, can receive bursaries from Eskom and have their university fess reduced considerably. The closing date for the entries is 14 June 2012, and the entry fee is R20 per learner. Please see Mrs Haschke for more information.

The DHS Helping Hands voluntary charity group visited the Davelsvlakte school on Tuesday to hand out toiletries and other goodies. Thank you to Mrs Meintjes and Mrs Fraser for their motivation and for organising this group. The group also held a Fun Day on Wednesday, in conjunction with the school Newspaper, on the school sports' fields: lots of fun, games and eats were had by all. The money raised will be going towards helping an old scholar, Darnell de Jager, get a very urgent hip operation. Thank you to the public for the support and to our sponsors: P'nP ; Mr Johann du Plessis ; Chatz Cellular ; Mrs Shannon Slater ; Orange Grove ; North City ; Mr and Mrs E Williams and all others who donated something.

Our appreciation goes to the following learners, who sacrifice their time and offer their talent, that of singing, to entertain at the high profile meetings of the Department of Education:
 

BOYS	GIRLS
BONGA HADEBE	MINNIE MPUNGOSE
NKULULEKO NGOBESE	MINENHLE MATELA
TEVIN ANDREWS	FEZILE SITHOLE
SIMA SIKHAKHANE	SAMUKELISIWE KHULU
SIZWE NDLOVU	LUNGILE MFEKA
SIPHELELE BUTHELEZI	THOBEKA MADIDE
MINENHLE QALI
SIBONGA QALI

The following tours are taking place in the coming holidays:
 

SPORT		VENUE		DATE		EDUCATOR(S)
FIRST GIRLS' HOCKEY		TUT - PRETORIA		03/04 - 06/04		MISS BAKER
SECOND GIRLS' HOCKEY		CAMP DISCOVERY - PRETORIA		02/04 - 05/04		MRS BOSHOFF
FIRST TEAM NETBALL		CAMP DISCOVERY - PRETORIA		30/03 - 02/04		MRS MEINTJES
FIRST BOYS' HOCKEY		KEARSNEY COLLEGE - DURBAN		24/03 - 28/03		MRS RAFFENBERG
FIRST TEAM RUGBY		DURBAN NORTH COLLEGE		30/03 - 04/04		MR SMIT & MR KELBRICK
U/19 SA BOWLS		BLOEMFONTEIN		30/03 - 04/04		MRS ARNDT

Lindi and Sunelle von Molendorff both qualified for the SA Athletics Championships in Germiston from 29 - 31 March. We wish all these teams everything of the best: we hope the learners and the educators have a good and fruitful time of learning about, improving and developing  their respective games.

Friday	23 March 2012	School closes for First Term
Saturday	24 March 2012	First Boys' Hockey Tour starts (leaving at ± 9:30)
Monday	26 March 2012	U/19 SA Bowls (Bloemfontein) starts
Wednesday	28 March 2012	SA Athletics - Germiston
Friday	30 March 2012	First Netball & First Rugby Tours start
Monday	02 April 2012	Second Team Girls' Hockey Tour starts
Tuesday	03 April 2012	First Team Girls' Hockey Tour starts
Friday	06 April 2012	Good Friday
Monday	09 April 2012	Family Day - Holiday
Tuesday	10 April 2012	School Opens for Second Term (Day 1)
Wednesday	11 April 2012	Sport against Vryheid Landbou (Home)
Saturday	14 April 2012	Sport against Pongola (Away)

Just a reminder of this very important meeting that every parent should attend: make yourself heard and make your vote count. There must be a quorum (15% of our parents) for the elections to go ahead. The meeting will start at 18:00 on the 15th of March and will take place in the school hall.

The English Home Language Olympiad was written on the 6 March. 19 Candidates entered. They enjoyed writing the three hour paper because it is believed that their creativity and imagination are put to the test. Candidates receive certificates and medals for their participation. Learners are encouraged to enter the Olympiad as it also helps in their critical thinking.

Please take note that the front-office secretaries will not be will not be available during the following times:

Mrs Wessels:	Tea:	09:30 - 09:45
	Lunch:	12:00 - 12:30
Mrs Ackerman:	Tea:	10:00 - 10:15
	Lunch:	12:30 - 13:00

On Tuesday, 28 February, the grade 12 English Home Language learners had the wonderful privilege of seeing their Matric setwork, “Othello”, live on stage. The learners were silenced and inspired by the power of Othello's voice, charmed by the gentle words of Cassio, touched by the love of Desdemona and captivated and repulsed by the lies and evil of Iago. It was encouraging to see teenagers of today still able to respond readily to the thrilling action, yet gripping realism of Shakespeare. It must be mentioned that our Matric learners behaved in a respectful manner and made the effort to thank the actors and actresses (autographs and photos were just a bonus) for their performance. Thank you to all, especially the Playhouse Company, for making this possible.

Serushan Govender (Gr 8) has won 2 medals at the Northern Natal Championships, that took place in Newcastle: one gold for Kumitay (fighting) and one silver for Kata. Dynamite really comes in small packages.

The first round of the Rotary Team Competition was hosted by DHS on Wednesday evening. Two DHS teams participated (1. Tevin Andrews, Nonnie Ndlovu and Nothando Maphanga 2. Catherine Willis-Smith, Fanele Ndebele and Mlondi Shoba) along with two Inkamana High teams (Vryheid) and one team from Sarel Cilliers. Each team had to choose a topic that covered a problem and then find a solution. Every team delivered outstanding speeches, and impressed the audience with excellent research, well formulated arguments and passionate deliveries. It was a tough competition and a team from Inkamana claimed victory by a single deserving point. Congratulations to every learner which participated - our DHS teams truly made us proud! A special thank you to Mr Davison, Mrs E Fraser and Mrs H Stevens for having the tough task of judging.

Our Multisport athletes had a wonderful day full of fun at the second Mudman event held at the Albert Falls Dam on Sunday 26 February. We had 19 athletes taking part: Well done to Robert Scott, Rowan van der Merwe and Louise Currie, who completed the full event successfully. Congratulations to the “Crash Test Dummies” who won the Full Team event! (Coenie Sonnekus, Natasha Schroeder and David Grace)

The Multisport training camp took place the weekend of the 3rd of March at Mrs Carter's farm. We had our first night race (with a Gorilla appearing from nowhere!) on the Friday night and lots of tips, help, good laughs and fun for the Full Farm Triathlon, that took place on the Saturday morning. All because Dundee High is “Mad About Multi”!

The next Multisport event will take place on the 18th of March at Cordwalles.

Congratulations to the following girls, who were chosen for the Endumeni district:

U / 14:	U / 15:	U / 16:	U / 17:	U / 18:
Londeka Nyathi	Lethiwe Mbatha	Lusiwe Nkomonde	Grace Mukendi	Fundi Kunene
Sibusisiwe Sokhela	Zandile Hlongwane	Siphokazi Mtshali	Chanté Pretorius	Sindi Dlamini
Saziso Khumalo	Dé-Anita Thompson	Lihle Khuzwayo	Nothile Gumede	Minnie Mpongose
Nokwanda Buthelezi	Langa Nxumalo	Sisanda Zulu		Channel Smale
	Sinethemba Sibisi	Minenhle Xaba		Sethu Zikalala
	Nokwanda Sithole	Minenhle Sangweni
		Jayline Mudzingwa

Vier van ons leerders het op 8 Maart aan die kompetisie te Empangeni deelgeneem en daar word in spanning gewag op die uitslae, wat volgende week bekend gemaak sal word.

Junior Span: Franci-Mari Gregory ; Chanel McDonald
Senior Span: Carla Pretorius ; Nadia van Zyl

Our First Netball, First Girls' Hockey, U /14 - 15 - 16 Rugby and First Rugby Teams are all travelling to Pietermaritzburg during the weekend of the 17th of March to be a part of the Voortrekker Sport Festival. The netball and hockey will round robin all day.

The times for the rugby games are as follows:

U/14	Sarel Cilliers	09:00
U/15	St. Charles College	11:00
U/16	Empangeni	14:00
Firsts	Weston Agricultural School	12:00

Ten of our athletes have left early this morning for Durban to take part in the KZN-schools athletics championships, taking place today and tomorrow. Mrs Boshoff and Mrs Sewmangal have accompanied them and we appreciate the sacrifice that she is making. We also appreciate each parent's support.

The learners are: Morgan Gregory ; Sunelle von Molendorff ; Louise Currie ; Leeman Dune ; Christopher Reinders ; Sicelo Kunene Aidan Cloete ; Kobus Müller ; Franci-Mari Gregory and Lindi von Molendorff.

The First Girls's Hockey Team would like to thank Danie and Annatjie Von Molendorff of LRA and Amabutho Warrior Lodge, for their beautiful jackets and peak caps: We appreciate your continued support of DHS sport.

A reminder of another of our school rules, with which we often have problems: cell phones at school. Please be reminded that, should a learner decide to bring his/her cell phone to school, it has to be switched off and put away, the moment he/she comes into the school yard. If a learner has a cell phone at school and it gets stolen, it is completely the responsibility of the learner. We take no responsibility for stolen phones - we would prefer if learners left their phones (or any other electronic devices) at home. Should a learner's cell phone be seen or heard at school, it will be confiscated, kept in the school safe for 2 weeks and the learner may collect it after the designated time at a cost of R50.

Friday	9 March 2012	ASA Athletics - Durban
Saturday	10 March 2012	Sarel Cilliers Rugby Day - DHS First Team playing against Vrede at 13:10 on the Sarel Cilliers fields
Thursday	15 March 2012	AGM & SGB Elections (18:00, School Hall)
Saturday	17 March 2012	Voortrekker Sport Festival
Sunday	18 March 2012	Multisport - Cordwalles
Wednesday	21 March 2012	Human Rights' Day - Holiday
Friday	23 March 2012	School Closes for the First Term

Feel free to contact our financial secretary, Mrs H Wichmann, at school should you have any queries.

Congratulations to the following learners, who all completed the biggest Open Water Swimming Event in the world:
 
GIRLS: NADIA VAN ZYL; NICOLETTE VENTER; VANESSE BURNS; LOUISE CURRIE; REBEKAH LEWIS; JESSICA SHANAHAN; NATASHA SCHROEDER and JEHAN EBRAHIM.
 
BOYS: ROWAN VAN DER MERWE; JAN-ALBERT VILJOEN; ROBERT HASCHKE; MICHAEL SCOTT; ROBERT SCOTT; HERMAN LAUWRENS; DAWID JACOBS.
 
Mrs Venter, Mrs Carter and Mrs Haschke were equally brave and also completed the Mile. Congratulations to all these learners and educators.

The First Girls' Hockey Team is attending the SPAR / SHIELD Teens' Hockey Tournament in Pongola this weekend. They will be leaving at 14h00 on Friday and returning on Saturday. We wish them well and hope that they return with lots of new experience.

The Epworth Mudman will be taking place this Sunday, the 26th of February. The race will start at 9h00 at the Albert Falls Dam. Dundee High has 19 learners taking part in the Open Water Swim, Mountain Bike Ride and Technical Trail Run. We hope you have a great and successful day.

Just a reminder: Learners are still supposed to be wearing summer uniform. That means a short sleeved shirt and tie for the boys . Please check that your son's top button is in place and that he can in fact fasten it. Boys must wear a plain black or grey belt to ensure their pants sit neatly. Girls should be wearing an open necked short sleeved shirt with a skirt, its length being no shorter than 8cm above the knee. Remember that our girls climb a lot of stairs. Please check the length of your daughter's skirt. Should any learner decide to wear winter's uniform in this time, please be reminded that this means a blazer and a tie. Especially girls overstep the line, wearing summer shirts with ties.
 
We really appreciate your co-operation in keeping our learners smartly dressed.

Sunday	26 February 2012	Epworth Mudman
Tuesday	28 February 2012	Othello Play (Gr 12; R45 to be paid at the office)
Thursday	1 March 2012	Gr 12 Physical Science Olympiad
Tuesday	6 March 2012	English Home Language Olympiad
Thursday	15 March 2012	AGM & Election of new SGB

Parents are reminded that they will qualify for a R270 discount on their school fees, if they pay the full amount (R7 260 - R270 =  R6 990) before or on 29 February 2012.

Parents and/or guardians, who qualify for a full or partial concession on school fees, must complete the necessary application forms and return it to the school no later than 29 February 2012. No late applications will be accepted. Application forms are available from the financial secretary, Mrs H Wichmann.

On Friday 3 February, 12 of our boys went to Vryheid to participate in the Atlantic Sevens Tournament held at Pionier. They played in the opening game against Pionier and unfortunately the boys lost the match. On Saturday, DHS played against Greytown, Pongola and Eshowe to get into the semi-final of the Bowl, only to lose the game to Voortrekker (PMB). Well done to all the boys for showing a lot of heart and character: we wish you all the best for the upcoming season, as well as for the training seasons. Thank you to Mr Kelbrick and Mr Smit for accompanying the boys and offering much needed moral support.

We had our annual swimming gala on Thursday, 2 February. It was a pleasantly cool evening and the learners enjoyed themselves both inside and outside of the water. Congratulations and thank you to all the learners who participated: without you the gala would not have been possible. Thank you also to all the staff members and parents who helped and to the parents who arrived to support their children at the event. The following learners were awarded various school trophies for their swimming achievements:
 
BOYS: Robert Haschke (100m breaststroke) ; Fergus Donaldson (100m backstroke) ; Herman Lauwrens (100m freestyle) ; Rowan van der Merwe (fastest 50m freestyle).
 
GIRLS: Nicolette Venter  (100m breaststroke , 100m backstroke , 100m freestyle , fastest 50m freestyle).
 
Congratulations to the following: Laurika Pansegrouw, who was awarded the Junior Victrix Ludorum and Fergus Donaldson the Junior Victor Ludorum ; Nicolette Venter, who received the Senior Victrix Ludorum and Rowan van der Merwe the Senior Victor Ludorum. The winning house, the Dolphins, was also awarded a trophy and finally Nicolette Venter received the Best Performance of the Day Trophy for her excellent performance. We are very proud of all our swimmers.

The Dundee High Multi-Sport season kicked off the year with the Hermannsburg Mudman triathlon series. The race started at 14h00 in the heat of the day. Fortunately the temperature decreased gradually and the athletes could enjoy their race. The triathlon was tough and very technical. Rowan van der Merwe and Jaclyn Cox performed well and completed the full distance. Dundee High School received a R1 000 cash prize for being the school with the most participants. Once again, we have to congratulate these brave athletes and thank Mrs Carter for her motivation and dedication. The next meeting will be held at the Albert Falls Dam on the 26th of February.

The Northern Natal Tennis trials were held on the 3rd and 4th of February and the results were as follows: Congratulations to these learners on their achievements.	U/15 GIRLS	Surina Gregory	Reserve	A - Team
		Franci-mari Gregory	Reserve	A - Team
	U/19 GIRLS	Ingrid Meyer	Number One	B - Team
	U/19 BOYS	Dewald Wait	Reserve	B - Team

What an exciting meeting! Approximately 35 of our fastest athletes took part in this annual event. Our learners had a truly enjoyable evening and they took part with pride. There were 4 ' 80m and 4 ' 100m relays, in which the U/17 boys and girls obtained second places and the U/19 boys a third place in their heat. Longer relays namely 4 ' 200m  and  4 ' 400m were also offered.
 
Twenty two of our athletes are leaving for Volksrust today to take part in this annual athletics meeting. Ten athletes will be going to Durban on the 11th and 18th of February to take part in ASA meetings.

Fourteen eager learners congregated at the Donald McHardy Dam for their angling Competition: the first lines went in at 6h00 and all lines were out at 15h00. Congratulations to Dewald Wait, who came first and to Rameez Rajah, who came second. Our sincere thanks go to Mr and Mrs Bugden for all their help and to our angling parents who supported the learners.

The following learners placed in the top ten academically, representing their respective grades for the fourth term of 2011:
 

GRADE 8 (all above 84%)			GRADE 9: (all above 85%)
1.	Atiyyah Ameen		1.	Nibha Ramkelawan
2.	Mfolozi Dlamini		2.	Nandi Khumalo
3.	Jehan Ebrahim		3.	Luleka Mashazi
4.	Sadiyah Malek		4.	Erika Prinsloo
5.	Zithobe Gumede		5.	Gerald Bunge
6.	Nabeela Khan		6.	Anele Buthelezi
7.	Surina Gregory and Wandile Khumalo		7.	Siyabonga Lukhele
8.	Aishwarya Nair		8.	Minenhle Sangweni
9.	Bianca van der Merwe		9.	Nokuphila Dlamini
10.	Anja Thom		10.	Nqaba Mngomezulu
GRADE 10:			GRADE 11: (all above 87%)
1.	Catherine Willis-Smith		1.	Jan-Albert Viljoen
2.	Mlondi Shoba		2.	Zanrich van Rensburg
3.	Natasha Schroeder		3.	Senta Bunge
4.	Tanya van der Westhuizen		4.	Louis van Heerden
5.	Fanele Ndebele		5.	Waseem Joosub
6.	Aamina Hoosain and Nothile Gumede		6.	Nadia van Zyl
7.	Buhle Madlala		7.	Nicolette Venter
8.	Rebekah Lewis and Nicole Slater		8.	Donovan Balgobind
9.	Lianca Cingdon		9.	Tamlin Honiball
10.	Sonja Niemand		10.	Anchén Potgieter
				Karla van Eeden

Our congratulations go to these achievers. We encourage all our learners to always do their best.

The Afrikaans Youth Group meet every Tuesday during second break in Mrs Davie's class. Last year (2011) they visited the local Old Age Home and the Adult Centre: the residents were spoilt with tea and eats. This coming weekend, a few of the members will be accompanying Mrs Davie on a camp to Thangami Spa: the aim of the camp is to spend some quiet time and learn to live closer to Jesus.

Our U/14 netball girls are in urgent need of a coach: they practise on Mondays and Wednesdays from 14h30 to 16h00. If you are able to umpire on a Saturday, this will be an advantage and there is a small payment involved. Should you be available, or know about someone who can assist us in this matter, please contact the school and leave a message for Mrs Schroeder (Netball Manager).

We are celebrating Valentine's Day (14 February) by giving our learners the opportunity to wear casual clothes as well as by having a Valentine's Dance the evening in the school hall. Valentine's goodies will also be distributed by the Gr 11's on this day. Should your child want to wear civvies on Tuesday, he/she must pay R5 with his/her register teacher before or on Tuesday. (A note concerning the dress code for girls on civvie days, is attached to this newsletter ; boys are reminded that no jewellery is allowed). The money raised will be going towards the funds for the 2012 Matric Farewell. The Valentine's Dance starts at 18h00 until strictly at 22h00. Only Gr 10 to Gr 12 learners are permitted to attend: the cost is R15 and tickets are on sale in Mrs Schroeder's class at school.

Friday	10 February 2012	Volksrust Athletics Meeting
Sunday	12 February 2012	Midmar Mile
Tuesday	14 February 2012	Valentine's Day (Civvies R5), Valentine's Dance - Gr 10-12 (R15)
Wednesday	28 February 2012	Othello Play (Gr 12: R45 to be paid at the office)

Here is the list of the Representative Council of Learners (RCL), voted for by their register classes:

12AF: PETRO JONKER 12EF: LUNGILE MFEKA 12ES: WASEEM JOOSUB 12EB: NOTHANDO MAPHANGA	11AA: SIMONÉ GROENEWALD 11ES: LUANDA MYENI 11EC: MLONDI SHOBA 11EK: EBRAHIM AMOD 11EB: MALWANDLE MNGADI	10AB: ERIKA PRINSLOO 10EC: NQABA MNGOMEZULU 10ED: GRACE MUKENDI 10EL: MINENHLE SANGWENI 10EN: VANESSE BURNS
9AD: ZANELE NDLOVU 9EH: ANJA THOM 9ES: WARDAH ABDULLAH 9EN: AYANDA DUZE 9EM: S'BULELO ZULU	Congratulations to all these learners: we trust that you will all be trustworthy, loyal and productive representatives. The Grade 8 learners will choose their RCL members in the second term when they know each other better.

Dundee High has done it again and we just have to add a correction on our previous news letter:  the swimmers have brought home the trophy for the highest number of participants for the NINTH consecutive year! Our congratulations go to the following learners who completed the  1 000m  swim:

GIRLS:  Nicolette Venter (first DHS girl out of the water as well as third in her age group); Laurika Pansegrouw; Vanesse Burns; Anél Raubenheimer; Jaclyn Cox; Louise Currie; Nadia van Zyl; Erika Prinsloo; Jahnthé Smuts; Rebekka Lewis; Kerstin Schütte; Natasha Schroeder; Ingrid Meyer; Jessica Shanahan and Jehan Ebrahim.

BOYS: Rowan van der Merwe (first DHS boy out of the water as well as 13th in the men's section); Herman Lauwrens; Fergus Donaldson; Dawid Jacobs; Robert Scott; Robert Haschke; Jan-Albert Viljoen; Carl Donaldson; Dewald Wait and Zanrich van Rensburg.

We really appreciate Mrs Venter's motivation and support of our swimmers (she even sacrificed her birthday!).

We also have some heroes amongst our learners: 130 units of blood were donated by these brave ones of which 26 were first time donators. Well done to all these boys and girls - you do us proud! To all learners, who are still contemplating whether they should donate or not: you have till the 7th of May when the Blood Bank will visit our school again.

A great day was had by all: our fields look wonderful, the weather was beautiful and our learners took part in their masses. The highlight of the day was the relay between the educators, the old-scholars and the learners.

The following records were broken: Sithembele Mathe (1200m Walk, B/17); Jonathan Benjamin (1200m Walk, B/15); Louise Currie (1200m Walk, G/17); Sunelle von Molendorff (Discus and Shot put, G/17); Simoné Groenewald (100m Hurdles, G/17).

A big thank you to every parent, educator and old-scholar for your support: you helped in making this a successful event at Dundee High.

DHS ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIP: TROPHY WINNERS
NO	NAME OF TROPHY	WINNER
1.	J van Rooyen Hurdles Trophy (Style)	Simoné Groenewald
2.	J Vermaak Trophy High Jump B/19	Leeman Dune
3.	S Jones Trophy Best Performance 1500m Girls	Sinethemba Vilakazi
4.	J Hastie Cup 1500m B/19	Zanrich van Rensburg
5.	D Joubert Trophy 100m B/19	Fanele Gumede
6.	Tokkie Peters Trophy 800m B/19	Zanrich van Rensburg
7.	Danie Joubert Trophy 200m B/19	Mnqobi Dladla
8.	J Joubert Trophy Field Victrix Ludorum	Sunelle von Molendorff
9.	Wynand Solms Trophy Junior Victrix Ludorum	Laurika Pansegrouw
10.	Newcastle Senior Victrix Ludorum	Nonthuthuko Phungula
11.	S C Mengel Cup Junior Victor Ludorum	Jonathan Benjamin
12.	Jess Nash Cup Senior Victor Ludorum	Jan-Albert Viljoen
13.	Joe Gradidge Cup (Best field athlete)	Werner van Staden
14.	Best performance of the day (girl)	Sunelle von Molendorff
15.	Best performance of the day (boy)	Liam Robson
16.	Willie Mengel Trophy 100m B/17	Aidan Cloete
17.	J M Boshoff Trophy 100m G/17	Simoné Groenewald
18.	Dundee Inst Cup Championship Trophy	Sharks:	Nonthuthuko Phungula
			Jan-Albert Viljoen
19.	Graham Trophy Interhouse Jumps	Dolphins:	Simoné Groenewald
			Zanrich van Rensburg

A group of our fastest runners will be taking part in the Vryheid Relay Meeting on the 8th of February and a small group of promising athletes will be going to Volksrust on the 10th of February.

On Saturday the 21st of January  the 21km run/walk from Isandlwana to Rorke's Drift took place.  Jonathan Benjamin came first and Rikesh Thakur came second in the 5km run. Mrs Carter ran the 21km and Mrs Venter walked it - no small feat for both of them. Congratulations to Mr Boggs who cycled the 21km - what an inspiration you are to all of us!

An Information Evening for parents of Grade 8 and new learners will be held on  Monday 30 January 2012 in the school hall at 18h00. During this evening you will receive more information about the school and its activities. You will also have the opportunity to meet the staff on an informal basis. A parent evening is scheduled for later in the year to discuss the academic progress of your child. We hope to meet all the parents of our new learners during the course of this Information Evening. Learners who wish to attend the function must wear full school uniform. The Information Evening will last to approximately 18h30.

We will be having our school swimming gala on the 2nd of February 2012 at 16h00. All swimmers are encouraged to take part so that we can once again have a successful gala. Swimming practises take place every afternoon in the swimming pool and learners interested in joining the swimming club must see Mrs Venter.

Our under 19 Rugby Boys are taking part in a rugby tournament at Pionier in Vryheid on the 3rd and 4th of February 2012. We wish them well and we hope they learn a lot of new rugby skills to help them to success in the upcoming season.

Approximately 15 of our learners will be joining Mrs Carter to take part in the first Mudman competition (in Hermannsburg) on the 4th of February this year. May you all have a fun time and may you all improve on previous successes.

Please permit us to put in a reminder in every news letter of our school rules: All boys must come to school cleanly shaven and all girls' must wear their skirts not higher than 5 fingers (8cm) above their knees. Parents, please help us in these respects and encourage your child(ren) to be law-abiding scholars of DHS (and effectively of the country).

Monday	30 January 2012	Gr 8 and new learners information evening
Thursday	2 February 2012	Swimming Gala
Friday	3 February 2012	@lantic 7's - Vryheid
Saturday	4 February 2012	Mudman - Hermannsburg
Wednesday	8 February 2012	Vryheid Relay Athletics
Friday	10 February 2012	Volksrust Athletics

A request from the RCL (2011) was that we come out later from Mondays to Thursdays in order for the school to close earlier on a Friday. Therefore the new school times will be implemented from the 16th of January 2012 and will be as follows:

Monday:	7h25 - 14h15
Tuesday - Thursday:	7h30 - 14h15
Friday:	7h25 - 12h40

Please make arrangements to drop off and pick up your child(ren) at the correct times. The educators will be having staff meetings every second Friday after the learners have left.

All learners will be writing control tests (or have some form of assessment) in the first lesson on certain Tuesdays and Thursdays this year. A time table will be issued on Monday to all learners for your perusal as well as for your child's planning. These assessments will be one hour long and will set a controlled standard. A doctor's certificate will be required from a learner who is absent on the set dates for the control tests.

At Dundee High School we would like to encourage all learners to have a healthy lifestyle: at our school athletics meeting (taking place on the 20th of January) they must all take part in at least three events of their choice. Learners will receive marks for their participation which will count for Life Orientation. Because of the upcoming athletics meeting there will be athletics practises every afternoon after school (14h20 - 15h30) from Monday to Thursday on the sports fields. Educators will be on hand every day to assist learners. All learners must wear decent shorts and T-shirts in our school colours (black / red / white). The official athletics uniform can be purchased from Mrs Venter at school.

Mrs Venter will be leaving on Saturday with ±20 learners to once again take part in the first open water swimming event of the year. Dundee High has had the highest number of participants for the past 7 years and we hope our learners can bring back the relevant trophy again for 2012.

We will be having our school swimming gala on the 2nd of February at 16h00. All swimmers are encouraged to take part so that we can once again have a successful gala. Swimming practises take place every afternoon in the swimming pool. Should your child want to join the swimming club, he/she must see Mrs Venter.

The annual Midmar Mile will take place on the 12th of February 2012. Learners who want to enter must collect entry forms from Mrs Venter.

Official practises for all winter sports will start in February. Junior teams (u/14, u/15) usually practise on Mondays and Wednesdays. Senior teams (u/16, 1st - 3rd ) usually practise on Tuesdays and Thursdays. These days may change in the case of outside coaches being involved. The sport co-ordinator in each sporting code will inform the players of their practice times and days. It is imperative that players start getting fit now and attend all scheduled practices.

The following sport uniforms are available from Mrs Venter in her classroom
(Prices may vary according to size)

• Girls' hockey / netball outfit:Shirt R110 Skirt R85 Hot pants R55
  NB: The shirt may also be used by the girls for athletics.
• School tracksuits (allow ± 2 weeks for delivery after payment as each tracksuit is custom made, no stock on hand): Pants R155 - R175 Top R385 - R415
• Hockey stick bag: R250
• Hockey socks: R45
• Supporters' pants: R50
• Supporters' boys shirt: R95

Learners who take part in the various sporting codes should purchase the correct match uniform as soon as possible.

An Information Evening for parents of Grade 8 and new learners will be held on in the school hall at 18h00. During this evening you will receive more information about the school and its activities. You will also have the opportunity to meet the staff on an informal basis. A parent evening is scheduled for later in the year to discuss the academic progress of your child. We hope to meet all the parents of our new learners during the course of this Information Evening. Learners who wish to attend the function must wear full school uniform. The Information Evening will last to approximately 19h00.

Mrs Raffenberg is taking 13 learners on Saturday to attempt the very popular Chain Ladder Hike in the Drakensberg. They will be leaving at 6 o'clock and will be back at school at approximately 18h30. We wish them a fun filled day, full of beautiful scenery and camaraderie.

Our congratulations go to Nadia van Zyl and Carla Pretorius: they went through to the next round of the International Eskom Expo for Young Scientists. They will be leaving for Oswego, New York, in the July holidays to represent South Africa at the Genius Olympiad! We are very proud of them and know that they will keep our school's name high.

A preliminary first term planner is attached. The dates are subject to change.

Saturday	14 January 2012	Chelmsford challenge / Chain Ladder Hike
Monday	16 January 2012	New school times start / Control tests timetable to be issued

The KZN Midlands Youth Choir will perform in our school hall tonight, 29 July 2011, at 19:00. Tickets are available at the door at R20 p.p. During the interval the tuck shop will be open and a light meal of soup and bread will be available at R10 p.p.

The annual regional Eskom Expo takes place in Ladysmith on Friday, 12 August 2011. Participating learners are reminded to work hard to round off their Expo projects.

Good luck to our WESSA A-team who will participate in the National WESSA Quiz in Pietermaritzburg tonight. Last year the team came first and we hope that they will achieve top placing again this year. Once again, good luck.

Please take note that, due to the Gr. 11 Art Tour and the Eskom Expo, Photo Day has been postponed to Friday, 2 September 2011.

Due to the extreme weather conditions, the Gr. 9 Subject Choices Information Evening and Parent Evening was postponed to Tuesday, 2 August 2011, at 18:00. The results of the Gr. 9 aptitude testing done by HPM will be made available at the function. HPM (Human Progress Management) consultants will be availbale to explain the results and to make (free) appointments for consultations with the parents. Furthermore you will receive information and information booklets to ensure that your child, in conjunction with you, makes the correct subject choices for 2012. Please note that the staff will be present and that this evening will also be regarded as the Parent Evening for Gr. 9 learners.

The Gr. 11 learners will receive the results of the HPM career interest questionnaires on Wednesday, 3 August 2011.

The Parent Evening for Gr. 8, 10 and 11 takes place in the school hall on Wednesday, 3 August 2011, from 17:00 to 19:30. Please make use of this opportunity to discuss your child's academic progress and behaviour with the various educators involved.

Congratulations to Sunelle von Molendorff and Simoné Groenewald who were selected to represent KZN in the South African Athletics Championships, which will be held from 5 - 7 October 2011. Sunelle will take part in shot put and Simoné in the 100m hurdles event. They will attend a training camp from 5 - 7 August to prepare for this event.

The Matric Farewell took place on 21 July 2011 in the school hall. During the weeks prior to the event, even through the school holiday, the Gr. 11 Staff, parents and learners were hard at work producing the decor which made the hall spectacular. We would like to thank the following for their contributions to a successful evening:

• The Gr. 11 Staff (Mrs Swart, Mr and Mrs Fraser, Miss Baker), as well as Mr Nortje who volunteered his help, for all the fund raising, planning and hard work. Thank you also to Mrs Jones, who kept an eye over the finances and Mrs Wessels in the office who received the payments.
• The Gr. 11 learners for building the decor, for willing hands, cleaning up afterwards and all their enthusiasm.
• The Gr. 11 parents, in particular Mrs Meyer, Mrs Donaldson, Mrs Potgieter, Mrs Van Heerden, Mrs Maree, Mrs Northey, Mrs Strydom, Mrs Schütte, Mrs Kotze and Mrs Bunge, for all the hours spent at the school to transform the hall. Thank you also to Mrs Carter, for her contributions.
• Gr. 11 parents (who are also members of staff), Mrs Venter and Mrs Haschke, for arranging the cocktail for the Gr. 12 parents.
• Mr Haschke, Mr Devereux and Mrs Smuts for their speeches.
• Endumeni Municipality for the spot lights in front of the school.
• The Traffic Department for closing off Tatham street and regulating traffic.
• Robert Haschke and Nadia van Zyl, the Master and Mistress of Ceremony.
• Mrs Wait, for the delicious three course meal.
• Mr Mulhatton (jnr) for the music.
• Mrs Anderson for wrapping the matriculants gifts.

It was a beautiful night with precious memories. Matriculants, we hope it was an evening that you will never forget!

Welcome to our new exchange students, Carlotta Schütte (Gr. 11) and Luzia Eicher (Gr. 9), both from Germany, who have joined us this term. We trust that you will soon feel at home and that you will enjoy the time spent at Dundee High School.

Morgan Gregory (Gr. 9) has just returned from Germany where he represented South Africa in a similar exchange program. Welcome home, Morgan!

Swimming

Swimming Club Season 2010-2011 (coach: Mr Jaap Nortjé):
The following options are available for learners who want to join the Swimming Club:

Training for open water events, school galas and NKZN gala in February 2011:

• Join swimming club (registration fee R200) as well as Mr Jaap Nortjé's monthly coaching fee

Training for open water events, school galas and NKZN gala, age group galas, short course, long course,

Level 1, 2 etc.:

• Join swimming club (registration fee R200).
• NKZN affiliation fee (R280)
• Mr Jaap Nortjé's monthly coaching fee

Interested swimmers must collect the necessary forms from Mrs H Venter.

SMS System

An SMS is sent out to parents when a learner receives a misdemeanour at school for any transgression of the school rules. We hope that this will improve communication between the school and parents, and that parents will support the school in the disciplinary measures taken.

Gr. 11 Tour

The Gr. 11 tour will take place from 8 - 10 October 2010. Learners have already received letters in this regard. The venue for the tour will be Thangami Safari Spa. Payment for the tour must be made at the secretaries' office, at the latest on Monday, 4 October 2010. The receipt, together with the indemnity form, must be given to Mr C Stone.

ICDL

A message from Ms S de Lange, to all ICDL learners: "Good luck, and all the best to every ICDL learner. Remember, the future depends on what we do in the present. Diego Marchi said: Many say I am just one to try. I say, I am one less to quit."
Next ICDL dates:

ICDL Diagnostic: 7 October 2010
ICDL Exam: 14 October 2010
TAKE NOTE:

• A R50,00 penalty fee is charged for learners who register for the diagnostic or exams, but do not arrive for their testing. This penalty is payable before the learner is allowed to write the diagnostic or exam again.
• An ICDL diagnostic or exam can be cancelled 2 days before the date with a written note from the parent.
• Learners that fail the exam must pay a penalty fee of R150,00 before they can re-write that module.

DRAMA CLUB

Drama Club has begun, where learners are taught the facets of theatrical performance. The club meets on Fridays from 14:15 to 15:00, under guidance of Ms Bingham. All learners are welcome. We look forward to their first performance on the 23rd October 2010!

ATHLETICS RESULTS

Congratulations to our junior athletes who participated in the ASA Athletics meeting, held in Newcastle on 11 September 2010. The star of the day was Morgan Gregory, with 3 gold medals and 1 silver medal. Other achievements include:
Simoné Groenewald: 2 silver
Senéa Coetzer: 2 gold, 1 silver
Louise Currie: 1 gold, 1 silver
Bongani Mtshali: 1 silver
Aidan Cloete: 1 gold, 2 silver
Wian de Bruyn: 2 silver, 1 bronze
Snish Mpontshane: 2 gold
Janca Nortjé: 1 silver
Nqaba Mngomenzulu: 2 silver

• A R50,00 penalty fee is charged for learners who register for the diagnostic or exams, but do not arrive for their testing. This penalty is payable before the learner is allowed to write the diagnostic or exam again.
• An ICDL diagnostic or exam can be cancelled 2 days before the date with a written note from the parent.
• Learners that fail the exam must pay a penalty fee of R150,00 before they can re-write that module.