[In Depth]
Grey College Secondary April 2019
Grey blows Midmar out of the water
“Ons mikpunt bly
wat hoogste is,
Famous Mile and Westville Gala are highlights of annual calendar
ons wagwoord
immers: STABILIS”
In every assembly, the last thing
done by staff and learners, is to sing
the school song: STABILIS. It is a
proud Grey tradition.
Written by Mr PH Langenhoven
and the tune created by Mr J Fourie,
the school song has truly been
cemented in Grey’s traditions.
Under Mr AK Volsteedt’s
leadership did Grey College hear
its first school song after 108
years, in 1962. Two country-wide
competitions were held to determine
the words and the tune of the school
song respectively, with the latter
having 32 entries.
The 32 entries were eventually
narrowed down to 3 tunes chosen by
Mr D De Villliers, Mr LT Shepstone,
Mrs M Rousseau and Ms F Jaekel
(singing teacher at the primary
school). It was then decided that the
school choir will sing to all 3 tunes
leaving the final decision to the staff
and Grey boys.
It was the tune submitted by
Mr J Fourie, singing master at the
high school at that time, that was
chosen. The words of the school song
were considered by the executive
committee of the staff at a staff
meeting held on the 2nd of February
1962, where the words submitted by
Mr PH Langehoven was adopted as
the official school song.
The school song was dubbed
“STABILIS”. The song was now
complete and Mr Volsteedt’s journal
records the following entry on 5th
September 1962: “Skoollied van Grey
Kollege vandag amptelik in ontvangs
geneem. Geskiedkundige en heuglike
dag, want vir die eerste keer in
108-jarige bestaan van Grey Kollege
het die skool nou n Skoollied.”
At the Prize-giving on the 11th
of October 1962, the school song was
officially sung for the first time.
- BENSON WU
20 000 swimmers compete in one of the world’s greatest swimming event.
The Midmar Mile is one of the
biggest swim events in the country
and it takes place at the Midmar
Dam and Nature Reserve. In 2009
it was recognized as the world’s
largest open water swim event by
the Guinness Book of World Records.
Since then it has attracted over
20,000 competitors each year.
The event gains its name
from the location where it takes
place, the Midmar Dam which is
located near Howick just north of
Pietermaritzburg. The swimmers
swim out in 5 groups at three-
minute intervals in 8 separate mile
races over two days. The group the
swimmer is placed in depends on the
qualifying time of the previous event
with the fastest group leaving first.
The first Midmar Mile was swum in
1973 and 153 people competed. In
1981 the event grew to over 3,000
competitors and it is still growing.
The most recent event held on the
9th & 10th of February had set a new
record of 21,647 entries.
There have been concerns about
the safety of the swimmers but the
dam is very safe for swimmers. The
dam is Bilharzia free and no boats
may be driven on the water during
Demokrasie is almal se verantwoordelikheid
Die jeug van Suid-Afrika het baie min
vertroue in die politieke partye en die
politieke leierskap van Suid-Afrika.
By navraag reken van die
Engelse Graad 12 seuns dat dit ‘n
mors van tyd is om te stem. Hulle
argument is dat hulle ouers lojaal is
teenoor sekere politieke partye en dus
weer sal stem, maar dat korrupsie,
staatskaping en swak leierskap hul
sal weerhou om vir ‘n hele paar van
die politieke partye op die kieserslys
te stem. Hoekom is dit belangrik vir
die jeug om betrokke te raak in die
Stem sodra jy oud genoeg is.
politieke landskap van Suid-Afrika?
Navorsing wys dat jong mense hoë
verwagtinge het van die politiek en
van demokrasie, maar hulle ervaar
politiek as verwarrend en vreemd.
Navorsing wat deur Ipsos
gedoen is aan die einde van 2018
toon dat 40% van Suid-Afrikaners
betwyfel die integriteit en die
funksionaliteit van die politieke
partye in Suid-Afrika. Teen 22
Januarie 2019 het slegs 16% van die
18 - 19 jariges wat in aanmerking
kom om te stem, geregistreer, en
Foto: Verskaf
slegs 54% van die 20 - 29 jariges.
Hierdie twee jaargroepe, wat as ‘die
jeug’ beskou word, is die helfte van
die Suid-Afrikaanse kiesers - 17.7
miljoen van die 36 miljoen Suid-
Afrikaners wat mag stem.
As jongmense stem kan hulle
hulle stempel afdruk op die politieke
landskap van Suid-Afrika. Deur te
registreer en deur te stem kan hulle
politieke partye verantwoordbaar
hou en kan hul verseker dat die
partye waarvoor hulle stem, woord
by daad hou.
Demokrasie is ‘n werkwoord.
Net soos enige iets anders, as jy nie
bereid is om te werk vir dit waarin
jy glo of dit wat jy wil hê nie, gaan
jy dit nie kry nie. As jy nie aktief
deel is van die verkiesing nie, kan jy
nie verwag dat die uitkoms van die
verkiesing vir jou na wense sal wees
nie. Demokrasie is, per definisie,
die verantwoordelikheid van elke
persoon wat kan stem.
Thomas Jefferson het gesê:
‘We do not have government by the
majority, we have government by
the majority who participate.’ Deur
te stem, bemagtig die jeug hulself
om die toekoms van Suid-Afrika te
bepaal en die rol wat hulle daarin
gaan speel.
- WALDO REINACH
7
Photo: Supplied
the event. Swimmers have always
enjoyed the outing and the Midmar
Mile can be seen as a fun and friendly
event.
Mr Machts - involved with
swimming at Grey - says the
following: “Grey has participated
in the Midmar Mile since the early
90s.” He recalls that Ryk Neethling,
old Grey and Olympic Gold medalist,
won the Midmar Mile two years
in a row and Louwrens Appelcryn
came second. On the weekend the
Grey swimmers participate in the
Midmar Mile, they also participate
in the Westville Boys’ High School
Invitational Gala on the Friday
evening. The Westville Gala is one
of the most prestigious annual relay
galas in South Africa. Grey usually
takes second place at this gala, and
they are beaten only by Westville
Boys’ High School, whose swimming
team is unbeaten across all galas it
has competed in since 2008.
The Grey College swim team’s
participation in both the Midmar
Mile and the Westville Boys’ High
School’s Invitational Gala has
become a steadfast tradition and the
highlight of the swim calendar.
- JOHN SHAW
Time constraints are always an issue
At Grey there is always the issue of
time. Time for culture, sport, break
and class is never enough. This issue
of class time becomes even more
prominent during a test week when
tests are written in the morning and
there is either a complete school day
or half the periods on one day and
the rest on another. So which would
be more effective: A full day with all
the periods made shorter, or two half
days with periods of usual length or
even longer?
The option of having a full day
with shorter periods is probably
simpler but it is less productive.
On such days, periods are shorter
than thirty minutes and the time
it takes to walk from class to class
leaves little opportunity for work to
be done. Teachers need at least forty
minutes to deliver quality teaching.
The alternative is to space one
day’s periods over two days. This
will result in the periods being even
longer than usual. In first world
countries like USA, Japan, Germany
and Canada classes are forty to sixty
five minutes in duration.
When questioned, Mr Alex
Els answered that the reason for
choosing the former - a full day of
shorter periods - is that teachers
prefer to see the learners daily,
instead of only a few times a week.
- ARON ALVAREZ ARANDA