Makhanda with SID PENNEY festival city
The city is renowned for its educational institutions, for being the national seat of the judiciary and for its cultural events
KINGSWOOD GOES SOLAR
Kingswood College has launched a landmark solar project at its campus to reduce reliance on the national grid, decrease electricity costs and minimise the school’s carbon footprint.
The R12m project, already underway, will see more than 730 solar panels of 555 watts each, plus two large-scale lithium batteries (480kWh) with an inverter system installed on campus this year.
The ultimate goal is to reduce reliance on the national grid by 70% and provide a stable source of electricity to the campus.
The ‘hybrid’ system means that Kingswood will be able to switch between energy sources — solar, battery, generator and municipality — depending on price, energy production and energy usage, making the system all that more effective.
Kingswood College head, Leon Grové, said: “As we reflect on our 130year history this year, it is critical that we also look to the future of Kingswood as a leading school in Africa.
“Energy and water sustainability are a major part of our college’s strategy with our vision of ‘educating for life’ underpinning all decisions that we make.
“We hope to teach our pupils that sustainable energy will contribute to a far brighter future of our school, our country and our world.”
Many Old Kingswoodians will have fond memories of their time in the “Jagger Nets”, the site of the new solar array, but one can rest assured that the benefits to Kingswood’s future will be worthy of this sacrifice.
The reason for choosing this site is that the requirements of the project necessitate a ground-based solution that will allow the school to maximise efficiencies with the panels installed.
This includes, but is not limited to, making sure they are all north-facing, and that a system of this size and complexity can be easily maintained and run in future.
Funding for the project has been secured through an interest-bearing loan from the Kingswood College Centenary Trust to ensure no further delays in getting it underway.
The role of the Centenary Trust is to ensure the future security of Kingswood ’ s historic campus. It is the legacy of all Kingswoodians — past, present and future — and will ensure that at times such as these, Kingswood will always be able to adapt and thrive.
WEEKEND OF JUNIOR SPORT
Twenty-six years ago, PJ Olivier High School teacher Manie Cronje came up with the idea of the school staging an U13 rugby tournament on its hilltop campus.
The idea became reality and not too long thereafter it became known as the Frans Erasmus Tournament and also incorporated U13 netball.
Cronje not only organised the first
two-day tournament, he went on to organise and co-ordinate a total of 20 Frans Erasmus U13 rugby and netball festivals before he was appointed principal of Good Shepherd Primary School in Makhanda.
Cronje and his wife Alice have, in the meantime, retired to an idyllic town along the Western Cape coast, and at this time of the year both remember the hugelypopular sporting festival with much fondness.
The Frans Erasmus U13 rugby and netball festival has grown to such an extent that the 2024 event, to be held tomorrow (Friday) and on Saturday, will feature 21 primary schools from across the Eastern Cape.
Schools will be headed to the PJ Olivier campus from KwaMaqoma (Fort Beaufort), Nxuba (Cradock), Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), Kariega (Uitenhage), Despatch, Kenton-on-Sea, Port Alfred, Qonce (King William’s Town), Alexandria and Komani (Queenstown).
In addition, seven Makhanda schools have entered teams in the two-day festival of junior sport — Victoria Primary, Oatlands Prep, St Mary’s RC Primary, Good Shepherd Primary, Kingswood Junior, Ntaba Maria Primary and hosts PJ Olivier.
Organisers of the 2024 festival of junior sport are staff members Stefan Gerber, L’May Butler and Elzaan van Wyk.
Friday’s matches begin at 1pm and the action will continue until 6pm.
Saturday’s games get underway at 8am and the festival ends about 3.30pm.
PJ Olivier principal Joubert Retief said
the aim of the Frans Erasmus sports festival is to bring together, so early in the season, sports teams from across the Eastern Cape.
He added that schools are given the opportunity to play against opponents they would not normally meet during the season.
RED ALERT TO DONORS
Blood stocks are very low at the moment, remarked SA National Blood Service (SANBS) donor relations practitioner Tando Maseti, when she revealed last week that 57 units of blood had been donated at the NG Kerk hall in Hill Street during the month of February.
In past years, the mobile unit of the Gqeberha-based SANBS visited the Hill Street blood collection venue every Tuesday, but these visits have now dwindled to twice-monthly.
The mobile unit visited the venue on Tuesday this week, and will be back on March 19 between 12 noon and 6pm. Maseti called on Makhanda donors to visit the hall on that date and help alleviate the current low blood stock situation.
She added that the SANBS was looking forward to its visit to Makhanda on Wednesday March 13, when it will hold a blood drive at Eden Grove on the Rhodes University campus from 10am to 5pm.
TO THE RESCUE
A Frances Street resident has commended Kingswood College’s maintenance division for coming to the rescue to a long-standing problem that existed offcampus.
The resident writes: “Kingswood has fixed a long-running significant leak in Frances Street that had been reported to the municipality countless times over the past three or four years.
“Kingswood’s maintenance team
arrived to investigate the problem on the Friday and ordered the parts, and by the following Thursday the repair was completed, with a fire hydrant installed too. Residents in the area are grateful and full of praise for the school.”
ON GARDEN PATHWAYS
Another good turnout greeted the event director and volunteers at Saturday’s parkrun in Makana botanical gardens before the real heat of the day struck, with 116 runners and walkers tackling the undulating course.
First ‘speedster’ to finish was Simamnkele Tyuthu, second was Cee-Jay Porthen, third Achuma Gxekwa and fourth Joe Orsmond.
First in the ladies’ division was Courtney Bunge, Liezel Coetzee was second, Anna Bloom third and Nicol Gowar fourth.
Saturday’s parkrun proved special for Orrin Snelgar and Natash Musururwa when they both completed their 100th parkruns.
Parkruns are held at 8am each Saturday from the entrance to the botanical gardens in Lucas Avenue.
SMILE FOR THE CAMERA
Residents may have noticed a rather strange-looking green and white hatchback sedan driving around neighbourhoods Monday last week. On its roof was a periscope-type fixture, and on the very top were cameras, recording properties, houses and buildings.
Relax, people, it wasn’t ‘Big Brother’ on a mission, but a Google Street View vehicle which has technology that provides “interactive panoramas from positions along many streets in the world”.
ON THEIR DOORSTEP
Makana Municipality councillors meet there, and council officials work there; yet, the area surrounding City Hall on
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Church Square is looking a little tatty and grubby. Surely councillors and employees would have noticed by now the pavements and gutters littered with weeds, especially on the corner of High and Bathurst Street, as well as in front of Commemoration Methodist Church.
Then there’s the once-red post box that has, over the years, had numerous posters and leaflets pasted on it.
Futile attempts to remove them have resulted in a mess.
A metre or two from the post box is a rather large and deep pothole, apparently ignored when the intersection was retarred.
Here’s a message to councillors and officials from an annoyed resident. “Please clean up Church Square.
“After all, it’s right there next to your workplace, and it’s the centrepiece of Makhanda.”
BOOKS FOR CATS
A reminder to residents that Grahamstown Feral Cat Project’s bookshop is open between 9am and 12 noon each Saturday in the CES building at 65 African Street.
Books are sold on a cash-only basis.
RAISING FUNDS THE BOWLS WAY
The Child Welfare fund-raising bowls day at Albany Bowling Club from 8am on Saturday, March 9 will be contested by teams comprising three players each (two bowls each).
The entry fee is R750 per team and includes meals and snacks.
To enter or for more info, contact Sean at 072-730-6469.
MOVING
PalCare’s (formerly Grahamstown Hospice) charity shop is in the process of moving from 67 Bathurst Street to 15 Milner Street, and their trading hours are 9am to 4.30pm (Mondays to Fridays) and 9am to 12 noon (Saturdays). Their phone number is 046-622-9661.
ON HOME TURF
St Andrew’s College’s rugby teams are at home to Nico Malan High School from Humansdorp on Saturday March 9.
BUSY BOWLERS
Grahamstown Bowling Club (GBC) has successfully hosted yet another intercompany night bowls league on its floodlit greens.
For the umpteenth time, the event has been sponsored by Pepper Grove Pick n Pay, and they also entered a team that made it through to the playoff stages.
Organisation of the popular socialcum-competitive bowls event is in the hands of the GBC committee and club members.
Two members, in particular, were present on each evening’s play. June McDougall was event co-ordinator, results recorder, league-table compiler and problem solver.
Besides ensuring that matters ran smoothly each evening, Phil McDougall was busy in the kitchen, preparing burgers and chips to feed competing players and vociferous supporters.
Besides her many night bowls tasks, June McDougall is also the current club president, a position she also held from 2013 to 2015.
IN TARTAN AT BELMONT
“Be seen in tartan” is the theme for St Andrew’s Prep’s golf day at Belmont Golf Club on Friday March 22, to be played as a four-ball alliance (two to count).
Cost is R2,000 per four-ball and entries can be directed to Megan Delport at 046-603-2400 by March 18.
GOLF FOR CRICKET TOUR
St Andrew’s College has been invited back to the UK for two weeks of cricket matches, culminating in the Silk Trophy in Buckingham, from June 18 to July 5.
As a fundraiser, St Andrew’s will host a ‘UK Cricket Tour’ golf day at Belmont Golf Club on Sunday, March 17 (10am shotgun start).
The format of play is four-ball alliance and entry fee is R2 500 per four-ball.
This includes halfway refreshments and after-play platter.
For more info, contact Monica Strydom on 083-593-6117.
CAPTAINS AT VG
Victoria Girls’ High School’s sports captains for 2024 are Kelsey Frazer (athletics), Kaylin Cassels (squash), Ethandwa Mzaidume (tennis) and Michaela Kretzmann (swimming).