1

Spreading Xela-Spirit Since 1967NEBD- Your Future

What is the North End Beach Development? This concept was put forward to the municipality some time ago,but nothing has actually been done about it. So Alexander RoadHigh hosted a symposium in the Percy Walker Hall to publicize thisproject.

The North End Coastline is mainly dominated by dollosse, railwaylines and a freeway. The proponents of this project are saying thatthe North End Beach can be urbanized, but what most people don’tknow is that that area was once a beach and Hobie Beach was thenjust a rocky shore. Hobie Beach has a huge tourism clientele today,which has made the property very valuable. It is believed that thiscan also be done at North End Beach.

What or who would fund something of this magnitude? Possiblythe Government, you say? Wrong. This initiative is not a municipalinitiative, but is supported by private investors (e.g. from CapeTown). At the symposium there were a number of speakers, namelyCharlton Tobias, the radio presenter from Algoa FM, who hostedthe event; Mr Ndaba, an expert on socio-economics; Mr Miles, thetourism guide for the afternoon, followed by Mr DerekZimmerworth, who talked about the development of the areasurrounding it, basically the logistics of the project.. Arepresentative was also sent from the Mayor’s office

A number of schools, namely Pearson, Westering, Collegiate, Cilléand of course, Alex were represented. The students were giventime to ask questions.

This is what Mr Ndaba had to say about the NEBD Project: “Thelegacy of the Apartheid city is found amongst our different racegroups. You will find that there are poor people who live very farfrom this area. If large communities are found there that would bea good thing because people would become an integrated society.We also cannot look at the commercial aspects, but rather at socio-economic aspects. Government would have to play a huge role firstof all because of all the legalities, as well as authorisation papersand to make sure that no human rights were or are violated.” Healso said that the people of P.E would benefit immensely becausethis would provide a lifetime of employment to the locals.

Mr Miles, the tourism expert, said this would generate hugeamounts for the tourism industry. We are one of the 5 Biome citiesbecause of our rich abundance in marine bio-diversity. He said that98% of America’s tourism comes from their coastlines. This wouldthen mean that we have to make sure that no pollution takes placeotherwise it will be a problem. Another problem would be space;this would entail a specific industry. So, the project would have tobe well monitored, because shipping could affect the whales andtheir movement. A concern that he raised was how this wouldaffect education. This project will need a lot of educators who areclued up about this development.

Derek Zimmerworth said that this project could help with theurban rejuvenation of the surrounding cities. He said that most ofthe surrounding towns are effectively ghost towns and nowthrough this, that could be changed. He was asked a questionregarding the actual amount of money this would cost. The

ALEXPRESS

continued on pg 2

2

In that moment I realized the luxury weAlexans live in. We complain of theexcessive amount of homework we get-but it’s because our teachers wish for usto succeed. We get annoyed while waitingbehind the school gates after school- butit’s for our own safety. We have a securityguard patrolling the school during schoolhours in case of an emergency. We do notlive in fear of abduction or violence whileat school because we are privileged.

Our thoughts and prayers are with thegirls and their families.

I hope that the cruel, unfortunate eventexperienced by those Nigerian girls hasopened your eyes and made you realizewhat a blessing being an Alexan really is.

Have a safe and happy holiday, Alexans.

FROM THE EDITING DESK… estimated price after long gruelling hourswould be 1.25 billion rands. Employmentwould also be needed for this project; theywould need an estimated 113 710employees. This will be beneficial to bothskilled and unskilled persons. He revealedto us why it hasn’t taken place so far andthis is because we have been going througha global recession.

The representative from the Mayor’s officetold us that people tend to put a face to aproject and that this was Port Elizabeth’sidea in the first place. People now need tothink about unique characteristics and tocapitalize on them. People would need tothink of long term projects because PortElizabeth is losing out to other cities and weneed these projects to better our city. .Itneeds to be an interlinked or hybrid industryto make it bigger and better than it is now.The Metro is now willing to help!

In closing, the NEBD is not for the oldpeople, but for the youth of Port Elizabethand even maybe South Africa, because asthe experts said, it is a long-term projectthat will definitely last a lifetime or two, soit’s up to us to capitalize on that and makethe best of it.

For more information you can go onYouTube and search for their video or justpop into Mr Oosthuizen or Mr McEwan ifyou have any queries about this.

Lukhanyiso Skosana

continued from pg. 1

On the 14th of April 2014 I returned home from a long day at school, exhausted fromthe mountains of maths homework I received and on the brink of wallowing inprocrastination, thinking of how unfair the amount of homework we get every day is, theinconvenience of having to stand behind the school gate after 3pm whilst waiting for ourparents to pick us up and other trivial matters, when I heard the news of nearly 300 girlsbeing abducted from their school in Nigeria by a group of armed Boko Haram militants.Those 300 girls were relaxing in their dorms when out of nowhere, terrorists shot theschool guards and kidnapped them. Those girls were at their school, a place where theyshould have felt safe and comfortable, where abduction and such radical violence shouldnever occur; but it did.

GRAHAMSTOWN ENGLISH

FESTIVAL OF ARTS

Mens Quality OutfittersBoys and Girls Schoolwear

Specialists

Branch at:Newton Park, Port Elizabeth –

Phone/Foon: 363-1360Fax: 363-2580

E-mail: birchspe@telkomsa.net

EST. 1860Reg. No. 1901/000357/07

T BIRCH & CO (PTY) LIMITED

97 - 2nd AvenueNewton Park

P.O. Box/Posbus 6Port Elizabeth

6000

A large group ofenthusiastic Grade 11sfrom all around theEastern Cape attendedthe South AfricanSchools Festival of Artsand Creativity inGrahams-town on the8th and 9th of May2014.The two day workshopbrought excitement,inspiration and creativity to all learners and was especiallyenriching to us as it gave us an insight into the creative field ofdrama and the arts in general.The different workshops were an opportunity to enter a world ofself-discovery and endless possibilities. The workshops allowedus to meet other Grade 11 learners from different schools anddifferent walks of life, as well as to learn more and open ourminds to positive influences.

We urge anyoneinterested in thecreative arts toconsider going to thenext festival whenpresented with theopportunity.Lebo and Isipho Molefe

3

Music SpectacularAs the busy second term started, the music department was onceagain full steam ahead to produce a jam-packed programme forthe Music Spectacular, which took place on 17May.

Once again the music department produced a show-stoppingprogramme worth the standing ovations that it got. The bands,orchestra and choir all performed their and the audience’sfavourite pieces which got both the performers and the audienceexcited.

Parents, friends, and family of the performers all gathered in thehall, which was organised in an indoor picnic table format. Thisallowed for the audience to bring their own supper and drinks asthey watched the talented musicians perform.

Because of Music Spectacular’s less formal atmosphere, theperformers were allowed to dress up just to make the eveningthat much more interesting. It is tradition that each section ofevery band is dressed in a different theme, for example theconcert band’s percussion section chose the interesting theme ofRastafarian pirates. The audience and performers all had a goodlaugh at some of the weird and wonderful costumes that wereparaded on and off of the stage. One thing was certain: there wasnever a dull moment and everyone was having fun.

One of the most important aims of the Music Spectacular is toshow the parents of the students involved in the band and choirthe reward that results from all the time and effort put into earlymorning and late afternoon practices.

Many people do not realise that the pupils involved in theseactivities have to be at school as early as 6am and some only leaveas late as 8pm.

As happy as the show was, there was slight sadness in theatmosphere when Miss Coleman, the conductor of the ConcertBand, called out all the Matrics, most of whom have been in aband since Grade 8, and thanked them for their hard work anddedication as this would be their last big performance before theirmid-year exams.

The level of excellence in Alex’s music department is owed to thelevel of commitment, dedication and, of course,to the talentedstaff, who manage to make the early mornings and late eveningsmuch more bearable.

The next show being held by the Music department will be afarewell concert for Miss Doubell, who will be leaving Alex andflying across the border to teach overseas in Abu Dhabi. Thisconcert will be held on 25June. Make sure not to miss it!

Kristen van der Westhuizen

RUGBY, a popular sport in the bay, has many Alexansparticipating in it. The boys practice twice a week and areencouraged to exercise and eat healthily. There is said to be aunique feeling of ‘brotherhood’ between the first team Alex rugbyboys. Despite the stereotype that rugby players are ‘all brawn andno brain’ it appears that rugby is actually a very strategic gamethat combines both physical strength, good judgement andaccuracy.

NETBALL is a ball game that is also all about strategy and moreimportantly, team work. Under the strong leadership of MsLoubser, it’s not surprising that our first team girls’ netball side isas challenging as it is. The girls have practice twice a week andhave a successful win rate at matches and derby days. While thenetball girls follow a disciplined schedule of fitness, they areconstantly looking for ways to improve.

By Katherine Bertrand

A Day in the Life of...a Rugby Player and a Netball Player

4

By Nqabisa Faku

What time is it? French Exchange, it’s time for celebration! 27French Exchange students from Alex embarked on an altogetherexperience to England and France over a week and a half. Gina, astudent from Woodridge, also joined along with her mother MsNell. Ms Olander or rather Ms Olander van Aardt and Dr Emeryconducted the whole exchange programme. We flew from P.E. toJohannesburg from Johannesburg to Dubai from Dubai to London,our first destination. All in all we spent 18 hours in the air.

The last thing that anyone travelling needs is to lose their luggage,unfortunately Roslyn’s and Jessica’s was somehow not retrievedwith the rest but Dr Emery managed to find out where their luggagewas held and had their bags sent in the next day or so andeverything was fine. In London we stayed at a hotel called ClaphamSouth Hotel.

We went to The London Dungeon, one of my favourite places thatwe visited because One Direction also went there when they werein London, it is a theatrical showing that takes you back to the1800’s to the early 1900’s in England the actors gave the audiencea feel or rather an experience of what it was like at the time.Madame Tussauds is a building that has wax statues of celebritiesfrom across the globe which you could take a selfie with one of yourfavourite international celebrities. The London Eye is a spiralgondola whereby you have the whole view of London and it goesaround in a slowly so that you can take as many photographs as youwant. We visited one of the High Schools there and got to do a

presentation on our schooland South Africa. We sawa glimpse of theBuckingham Palace fromthe exterior and it lookedbeautiful.

The days went by so fastand we had to saygoodbye to London andsay hello Paris – the city ofLove. We took the Eurostar from England toFrance; too bad we had towrite our English paper onthe train. Our host familieswere anxiously waitingwith warm hugs andkisses. Every day we’d startthe day by going to ourhosts’ school called PetitVal which has all gradesfrom grade 0 to grade 12and is on the outskirts ofParis. While in Paris wewent to see The LouvreMuseum, the Eiffel Tower,

Euro Disney, Palace of Versailles and we also hit some of the largestmarkets in Paris too. The Louvre has a lot of iconic pieces but theone piece that I thought I’d never see was the Mona Lisa, when Igot to see it in real-life it exuded of good workmanship, stature andoriginality. Did you know that the Eifel Tower has close to sevenhundred steps? We climbed up and down those steps with sweatdripping from our faces but it was worth it as the view was breath-taking. I spent my seventeenth birthday at the Palace of Versailles.The interior was painted by artists that were commissioned byroyalty at the time and boy-o-boy does it look like a million dollars.We spent the whole day at Euro Disney which is the equivalent ofWalt Disney in America. The markets in Paris were slightly cheaperthan the markets in England; they were really big with over 50 stalls.What I liked was the discounts that they would get when you toldthem that you were a tourist from South Africa or when they wouldsee you eying something and they’d come up to you and say, ”Doyou like it? For you I’ll drop the price by 5 Euros.” and you knew youhad a great deal.

The most common misperception that foreigners have of Africansis that they don’t or can’t speak good English, they’re all black, wewear animal prints and smell like we haven’t had a shower in yearsbut you can’t help people’s ignorance.

I would like to encourage Alexans that they go on the FrenchExchange or the Euro tour because it is a once in a lifetimeexperience. It made me realise how good I have it here back athome and I missed my family (that’s a given) and our diversecultures and languages - there’s really no place like home. The nextFrench Exchange will be in 2016, if you have any questions you cango to Dr Emery (GM01) and Ms Olander van Aardt (across the roadat the art centre).

Alexans Visit Frenchies in France

5

6

Winter Sports Day

CAPE TOWN HOCKEY TOUR

It’s (A)pathetic Story Senior House PlaysCelebrate Xela Talent

By Fathima Seedat

This year’s winter sports day, which took place on the 25 March, was a change from previous years in that it took place during schoolhours and not on a Saturday.

The general response to this change was positive. The comment of a grade 11 pupil, which most agreed with, was “What’s not to like?We get to miss an entire day of work! Not to mention having a maths-less day! Poor Dr Emery, she must have been devastated!”

This change also allowed the kids who are Seventh Day Adventists to attend the sports day for their first time.

When asked what the best part of the day was, the answers ranged from, “It was nice to just chill with my friends because there’snever really time for that anymore” to “Watching Ms Mtchake and Mrs Nefdt dance. That was classic! And something you don’t seeevery day!”

On the first day of April the boys and girls first hockey teams set off for Cape Town to compete in an inter-schools hockey competition.It was an amazing way to bond over five days. Our teams did great, we showed that we had determination and perseverance in eachand every game that we played, regardless of whether we won or lost. We literally fought to the end. The Alex girls also won thecheering trophy (there wasn’t one until the end of the tournament), because we showed the true Alex spirit, losing our voices in theend. The boys made it through to the finals but fell just short, placing second overall. We had achieved what we had set out to do, andmore. We are pleased with ourselves and believe we did the school proud. It was a great experience, and we look forward to nextyear’s tour.

Ashleigh Probert and Helder Fernandes

Wednesday the 7th of May marked South Africa’s 5th DemocraticElection, during which time all South African citizens who registeredto vote, practised their democratic right to do so. That’s all fine andwell, but what does this mean for us, as the next generation of SouthAfricans who will cast our vote in 2019?

The statistics tell us that the results from this year’s elections shouldconcern our generation more than ever before. To put it simply: TheANC got 62.15% of South Africa’s votes, with the DA in at 22.23%,and the EFF (who surprised us all) is in at 6.35%. Now, bearing inmind that these are our top 3 political parties in South Africa, thisshould give us a magical reflection of true democracy in our country.The statistics, however, state otherwise. Only 42% of those eligibleto vote (aged 18 and over), actually voted. Again, the question maybe asked “how does this apply to me?”. The answer to your questionwould lie in the next statistic: only 23% of South Africans aged 18and 19 actually registered to vote. What happened to the other 77%?

It is most likely that they were either a) too lazy to get out of bedthat day or b) not happy with the current levels of corruption andfailure of our government and so put every political party into thesame box and so feel that they are somehow taking some sort ofstand against it all by not casting your vote, which is still technicallycasting a vote in any case, as that vote then goes up into thin air andby default, to the party which will ultimately win the elections. So,what were you saying again about taking a stand against corruption?Hopefully these shocking statistics will show a huge turn-around bythe next Election Day when our time comes, and for the sake of ourdemocracy, I truly hope it will.

Aurora Dyssell

On Tuesday the 15 April, Alexans gathered in the hall to watchthe much anticipated Senior House Plays. The standard is alwayshigh; and hard work and dedication on the performers areobvious. Needless to say, the three judges had a tough timedeciding which house would take the title of “Best Senior HousePlay”. Everyone excelled and it was yet another successfulshowcase of Alex talent.

•Best Backstage Crew Member ................Norman Sruwig (Aloe)

•Top Poster Award ....................................Jordan Ungerer (Aloe)

•Best Newcomer ...................................Jessica Schroeder (Aloe)

•Most Promising Performer ......................Esihle Faltein (Protea)

•Best Supporting Performer......................Jay Mgoduka (Protea)

•Best Actor ...........................................Bulelani Ntengu (Protea)

•Best Actress.....................................................SiyaJavu (Protea)

•Best Directors............Sinazo Ntsangani and Buhle Lose (Heath)

•Best Play ..........................................................................Protea

Katie Bertrand

7

HOCKEY * RUGBY * SOCCER

“good price & good advice”

298 Cape Road * Newton ParkTel: (041) 363-5499 * Fax: (041) 363-5514

Ma BrongqoDear Ma BrongqoI’m in grade 11 and I desperately need your advice. My parents won’t get off myback about exams, university and my future. The usual. They keep asking me whatmy plans are but the truth is, I don’t know. They expect me to go into theengineering field but I don’t think that’s for me. What do I do? How do I tell them?Do I tell them? I just don’t want to disappoint them.Stressed and confused

Hello my baby,Johjohjoh life can be tough, and the challenges it throws at us candestroy everything that we hold dear.To solve this problem, you need to figure out what it is you want to dowith your life. Google careers, assess your interests and do not restuntil you feel a bit more guided.You then need to sit uMama and uTata down and tell them that yourfuture is your future, they cannot decide which path you should take!I hope this has helped you, my loveBest of luck and MaBrongqo loves you

We offer:• Electrical and

mechanical repairs andservices to Bikes, Quadbikes and Scootersat areasonable rate.

• Collection and deliveryservice at a reasonablefee and we also fit tyres.

Charles: 041 365 1011