Brackenfell High School Newsletter 1 - March 2017

From the Principal’s Office ... I cannot believe that the first term is over. How time flies!

I believe it feels this way, since the school has such a busy pro-gramme. Here at Brackenfell High School we consistently have a veritable hive of activi-ties.

If I have to highlight a few suc-cesses, I would definitely start with our Matric results. The class of 2016 did us proud with a 99,3% pass rate. Saskia Louw achieved 94,7%, which placed her among the Top 20 achievers of the Western Cape – undoubtedly an exceptional achievement.

Our athletes also excelled this season and were once again victorious at the Co-Ed meet-ing. Of our athletes, 45 took part in the WP Schools Athlet-ics Championships and 28 of those were included in the Western Province Athletics Team.

This is the highest number in the history of our school.

I would like to thank Mr Loock and all the learners who partici-pated in the singing competition at the Co-Ed. Thank you for your sacrifice and your time in the sun. It was, without a doubt, a beautiful show!

Our first cricket team won the Sammy Bloch trophy against Stellenberg in a nail-biting final. At the time of writing this news-letter, our first cricket team has also gone through to the Peter Buttner final. This, in itself, is an exceptional achievement.

We are also upgrading our physical facilities by revamping 2 cloakrooms and erecting a deck next to the pavilion for our Gr.12s and alumni. The SSC is building a pavilion at the net-ball courts and helping to fi-nance the deck at the A-rugby field.

Cameras have been installed in many of our classrooms and this helps to maintain discipline in the school.

I would also like to use this op-portunity to thank everyone in-volved in making my birthday celebrations so special. It was definitely a wonderful day and I am still eating away at all those chocolates. Undoubtedly a highlight in my diary!

The first term was certainly a busy one and we are most grateful to our Heavenly Father who has blessed us throughout.

Thank you so much to the SGB, parents, teachers and learners whose excellent co-operation ensured such a successful start to 2017. I am looking for-ward to an exciting year.

7 Brackies of 2013 achieved B.Acc degrees at the U.S. and were admit-

ted to B.Acc (Hons).

Photo f.l.t.r.: Strydom Botha, Carla le Roux, Leandri du Toit, Juandré Dempers, John Froude, Chris van Romburgh and William Froude.

Who will be the winners this year?

Geography camp

The Gr 10 Geography camp was held in the Rawsonville district. They camped, pre-pared their own food, visited

Brandvlei Prison, Stetteynskloof and

Brandvlei Dams. They did hiking trails and swam in

the mountain pool.

Cell phones:

The abuse of cell phones during class remains a big headache. Confiscat-ing of cell phones at a R100 penalty is no longer a sufficient punishment. We were forced to set new measures. From now on learners who use their cell phones without permission for the first time in class or while changing periods, will re-ceive a 2-hour Saturday detention. Repeated vio-lations will result in two Saturday detentions. We can also ban cell phones on the school grounds. We ask our parents’ co-operation in this regard.

Traffic Rules:

The safety of our learners and to make sure that they adhere to traffic rules is a priority for the school. Please encour-age your child to obey traffic rules at all times and in doing so they will reflect a positive image of our school. Please make your child aware that reckless behaviour can lead to fatalities.

Parents, please be con-siderate and do not park in front or in the drive-ways of the school’s neighbours. The owners have the right to the en-trances of their proper-ties.

African Leadership Academy Bursary

Photo: James Sloane

James Sloane, matric 2016 and RCL Deputy Chairman, received a scholarship from African Leadership Academy. The Academy prepares poten-tial leaders for Africa.

Appearance of Learners:

Brackenfell High school is proud of their neat learners. We rely on our parents’ co-operation to ensure that your child looks neat at all times and abides by the school rules at all times. Fashion trends and flashy hairstyles should rather be limited to weekends and school holidays. Your child’s immaculate appearance is an adver-

tisement for our school.

Late coming/Signing out:

We are aware that Brackenfell is a tar-get of traffic jams and flu epidemics. We urge our parents to get up early to ensure that our learners arrive on time — rather too early than too late. In future signing out will only be allowed by confirmation of a doctor’s appoint-ment. Your child’s academic progress is directly linked to the time he/she spends in class. The teachers are very considerate and will understand if your child feels sick and just quietly wants to lie on his/her arms.

Saturday detention:

The SGB together with the support of the WCED was able to move detention to a Sa-turday morning from 08:00 — 10:00. Several of our neighbouring schools are suc-

cessfully making use of Saturday detention. This detention is viewed in a serious light and learners will only be excused if they can produce a valid medical certificate. NO exceptions will be made for sport matches, weekend getaways or other events. The

evasion of a Saturday detention will lead to an immediate 3 day in school suspension. Please support the school in this matter and assure your child’s behaviour is

impeccable.

Soccer: Ashley Samuels (11E3) will take part in an international soccer

tournament in Texas, America in April this year!

Trisha Damas Miss Jnr Queen of the Cape

Sport Achievements: Baseball: Keenan Horn — U/18 WP Baseball Squad

Wrestling: Chris vd Merwe: Gold in U/15 Free Style and Silver in Cadette Greek Roman. Dewald van Rooyen: Silver in Cadette Free Style and Gold in Cadette Greek Roman.

Keegan Joubert: Took part in the SA Wrestling Championships in Secunda in February.

An involved Brakkie is a happy Brakkie!

HOCKEY ASTRO

An Astro Hockey field is being built for Brackenfell High

School! The preparation has begun next to the Ossie

Theron Centre.

The Brackies want to be com-petitive in all we do. Our own Astro will make a huge contribu-tion to our excellent facilities. Not only does it allow us to help shape quality hockey players, but also serve as a great mar-keting tool. If all goes according to plan, this project will be completed by the end of the second term. It is with great expectation that we look forward to using our own Astro. Now our Hockey coaches and players can strive far higher.

The u.19A-cricket team won the Sammy Bloch-trophy by beating Stellenberg in the final by 2 runs. Captain Wikus Strydom and Sean-Douglas van Binsbergen were both the

man-of-the-match. They also won the Peter Buttner-trophy when they beat Bellville in the final by 167 runs. Morné Pentz attained

100* and Sean-Douglas van Binsbergen 52*.

2017 RCL

Bursary winner

Kyle Obery won a R10 000 bursary from Concept Interactive Institute for

further studies at the 2017 Career Expo. Here he is with Daniel Wegner

from CII (Cape).

Clarissa Nel has been

chosen for the Westcliff Bulldogs Tug-of-war

team. She will participate in the WP Junior and the

SA Junior Tug-of-war championships in March.

Sean-Douglas van Binsber-gen, Wikus Strydom, JP Vor-ster, Ettiene Jewell, Timothy Miles and Francois Briel are

invited to the WP Cricket practices on a regular basis.

Sport Highlights Athletics: The year started on a high note for the 538 learners who participated in the 2017 Co-Ed. For Brackenfell High Co-Ed 2017 was a raving success with the Brakkies who annihilated all competition. A further 45 athletes were chosen for the Northern Zone Team. Our athletes obtained a handful of gold medals and 28 athletes were elected to represent WP at the Western Cape championships. Five of our athletes made the team to the SA Schools’ Championships.

Cricket: Once again Brackenfell High School triumphed and conquered the Sammy Bloch Trophy and thus gained access to the final round of the WPNS’s Peter Buttner competition. The U/19B team was also admitted to the WPNS B-

final of the Francor Bakery’s Competition. We are immensely proud of Dane Paterson, a former learner, who recently made his debut in the Proteas T20 team

against Sri-Lanka and New Zealand.

The school’s shots achieved great success in the local competition and the Drummies are making great pro-gress in the competitions that they participated in. Our winter sports are in full swing and we are looking forward

to the holidays where we will be participating in various rugby, netball and hockey tournaments.

The Tony Stoops Tournament, in which rugby and netball teams participate, has always been hosted by Tygerberg High School, but for the first time this event will take place at Brackenfell High school in 2017. This

Championship is the brainchild of our sport’s organiser, Mr Stokkies Truter. We heartily invite you to attend these

riveting matches from 1 April to 5 April.

Ex-pupil, Dane Paterson, Protea Cricket!

Co-Ed team leaders Dominique Fuchs

(left) and Jaen-Louis de Lange (right)

along with the three beautiful Brakkies

who handed out the medals - left is

Chloë Albutt and right are Danika

Pienaar and Kaylin Andries.

Karate:

Joshua-James Taljaard in Gr 8E2 is an accomplished

karate fighter. In 2016 he represented South Afica in Bulgaria in the U/60 Kg weight divi-

sion.

Drummies

Our drummies are proudly strutting their stuff. At the 2nd Small Drill competition our leader

achieved the 2nd position, the subbies third and the flags took the fourth position. Well done

Brakkies. We are proud of you!

Target Shooters The first 2 competitions have already taken place.

In competition 2, 25 target shooters won 31 medals. Nicky-Leeze de Wet and Stephan

Fourie were invited to the final trials for a SA Schools’ Team to the USA!

WP Athletics 2017

Mr and Miss Brackenfell 2017 Donovan Bouwer (right) and

Zahra Pather (left)