CBHS Past Pupils News
Dear Past Pupils
An update from your old school is long overdue. So here is some news and views from Camps Bay High School.
First of all, we want to reconnect with our past pupils and so are inviting you to send some updated news on what you are doing with your life. To manage this correspondence, we have asked Stacey Ford to take this on as her portfolio, so she will be engaging with you via e-mail and Facebook.
Back to the school. Let me start with an update on the actual physical structure of the school over the last 15 or so years. About 10 years ago, the original school pool started costing us a lot of money in general maintenance. The gunite was finished and needed to be replaced. At the same time, waterpolo had grown in popularity and we were struggling to host matches in our pool due to the ‘shallow end’ allowing players to stand. Anyway, the governors decided to replace the pool with a 2 metres-deep waterpolo pool. This was done and has breathed new life into our swimming and waterpolo codes. Currently waterpolo [girls and boys] is the most popular summer sports code. Last season we ended with our boys winning the co-ed league final at a tense match at Reddam High School in Tokai. We continue to value sport as part of our ‘Fit for Life’ approach to the physical well-being of our pupils. We also have maintained the wide range of sports on offer in summer and winter. Over and above the traditional codes you will remember from your time here, we have introduced some new sports clubs like hiking.
Still on Building and Grounds, you will also notice the Tuck Shop has been upgraded. Ardi Hagglund [of Ardis restaurants] has taken over the running of this facility and now offers restaurant quality food. So now you can order a cappuccino, he next time you are at school.
With the rise in popularity of Drama, it was decided to build a dedicated Drama venue. The School’s Governors did this a few years ago by using the old Matric Quad area. With this development we also gained two new classrooms and three offices at the end of the top corridor. Other developments have included two boreholes on the field to allow us to move away from Council water and the replacement of our windows, fascias and roof in the last three years.
We are very proud of our academic programme, offering the widest subject choice out of any school in the Peninsula. The most recent addition to our subject offering is Dance, which is taught by a past pupil (now teacher), Teva Scarborough [nee van Papendorp]. With Dance, we now offer all the Art subjects, namely Dance Studies, Dramatic Arts, Music and Visual Arts.
We have half of our staff who are Matric markers, which is quite an achievement and speaks of the calibre of teachers we have on our staff. We have had 100% Matric pass rate for the last three years, with 80% of our pupils qualifying to study at University level. This just proves how we are striving to maintaining our academic standards.
Just a quick note on some of the teachers you may remember: Mrs de Vries [Afrikaans], Mr Kruger [Music], Mr Baker [Geography] and Mr Tucker [History] have all retired in the last few years. Mr Roussopoulos [Music/Maths] also retired but has continued working here on a part time basis, teaching a couple of junior Maths classes. The long serving teachers that are still here are: Mr Mostert [Deputy Principal], Mr Cawood [HOD], Mr Jenneke [HOD], Mrs Cronje [HOD] and Mr Becker [Geography].
We really value our past pupils as role models and so we have created an ‘Achievers Wall’ in the foyer to showcase the achievements of our past pupils. In future newsletters, we will give you a list of all the pupils on the wall thus far and invite any additions. The list is also available on our website ( https://www.campsbayhigh.co.za/cbhs-achievers/ ) We believe that your life story will inspire our current pupils to dream big. Should you want to nominate anyone, please contact Vivienne Ashcroft (campsbayschools@gmail.com).
So what are our pupils like today? The school still has a nurturing and caring ethos that looks at each pupil as an individual and tries to find their spark and fan it into a flame. We are very proud of our diverse pupil population, with all shapes, sizes, colours and preferences present. We have adopted a saying ‘Strength in Diversity’. We believe that because we are all so different, we can be stronger when working together. In the last while we have had to review our hair rules and have now embraced a ‘gender-free’ hair rule, which means there is one rule which applies to everyone. It has taken the staff a little time to adjust to boys with longer hair, but we believe they still look neat and smart in their uniforms.
Going forward we would like to keep you informed of the life of your old school as well as provide a platform to catch up with what all your old school friends are doing now.
We would like to get our database as up to date as possible, so please assist us in doing so by ensuring you that your details are up to date and correct. The official Camps Bay High School Past Pupils Union Facebook page is in the process of being launched. Look out for the invite and once you receive it and accept it please pass the message on to your friends and get them to join the group.
Classes of 2007 (10 years), 1997 (20 years), 1987 (30 years) get ready for your reunions on 25 November 2017. Details of these to follow shortly.
Kind regards
David de Korte
Principal
Please email Mrs Stacey Ford on sford@campsbayhigh.co.za for all updates of database or should you require any information regarding the Past Pupil Union. Her details are as follows:
TEL: 021-438-1507 FAX: 021-438-5912 E-MAIL: sford@campsbayhigh.co.za
For details concerning the CBHS Achievers Wall, please e-mail Mrs Vivienne Ashcroft, the Campus Coordinator for Camps Bay Schools Marketing / PR, on campsbayschools@gmail.com for all updates.
WEBSITE: www.campsbayhigh.co.za
“More than a view”