Three days, two nights, one spectacular waterfall, 8.9 km of paddling, glamping tents, questionable steering and a bus playlist capable of producing both hype AND tears — **Grade 7 Camp 2026 had it all!**

The adventure began before we even reached Waterval, Tulbagh. With the girls’ singing repertoire limited to the school song, national anthem and a firm favourite… *“The Wheels on the Bus”*… DJ Petersen took control of the playlist on Bus 1. Requests arrived thick and fast on tiny orange Post-its, hyping up the happy “soon-2-B” campers, who sang their hearts out en route to camp.

At Waterval, the girls spent two glorious days surrounded by breathtaking countryside. Morning manoeuvres saw latecomers sprinting through sunlit fields, while the days brought plenty of adventure. The girls hiked to the spectacular waterfall, splashed in the pools at the top and were kept entertained, challenged and very well-fed by Blessing, Eddy and their wonderful crews. Team-building activities tested new skills, friendships and possibly a little patience, while the glamping tents provided the perfect home away from home.

Then came the entertainment! **RGJS GRADE 7s HAVE TALENT** brought singing, duologues and hilarious skits — including an unforgettable **green lumo-skinned creature**. “Where They Think They Will Be in the World in 2032” proved that these girls certainly have BIG plans for their futures — that is, if the roommates who missed the “brief” and became *inmates*, are released in time!

Day three took us to Worcester and an **8.9 km paddle down the Breede River**. Head-on winds made the flat stretches “interesting”, but once the current arrived, some suddenly became Olympic-level paddlers — with remarkably little paddling involved!

Several girls passed their CROC “learner’s licences” with flying colours. Others discovered that LEFT and RIGHT become surprisingly difficult concepts when a river forks and chose instead the path less paddled — ending up “stranded” on an *island in the stream*.

After ‘wolfing down’ lunch on the riverbank past Onder Brandvlei came a few “flecks” of white water, accompanied by enough screaming to alert most of Worcester and Villiersdorp! Eventually, everyone made it downstream to **Moord Kuil**, our take-out point — although some girls may forever owe Mrs Petersen and their guides for certain towing services!

One final stop allowed everyone to finally spend whatever money they had before our battle with rush-hour traffic began.

This was when our DJ’s skills once again came to the fore, somehow achieving the impossible: sending almost the entire bus to sleep. Peace reigned… briefly.

An enthusiastic and decidedly off-key rendition of *“Sweet Caroline”* from the back seats soon woke most of the sleepers. **BA BA BAAA!** Requests flooded in, and the mood took an unexpectedly emotional turn. By the time Bruno Mars’ *“Count on Me”* played, we had gone from karaoke to full-scale tear-jerker.

Who knew Bus 1 had so many feelings?

Tired? **Absolutely.**

Hoarse? **Probably.**

Proud? **Incredibly.**

Finally, after three unforgettable days, it was back into the waiting arms of parents — with muddy shoes, tired bodies, questionable singing voices and enough memories to last well beyond Grade 7.

**Waterval 2026: we paddled, we laughed, we screamed, we sang… and somehow, we all made it home!**

Mrs Barrish-Liddle

Team 7

GRADE 7 CAMP PHOTOGRAPHS HERE 

Celebrating Our  Achievers!

Well done to all the Grade 4 to 7 learners who took part in the 2nd Round of the South African Mathematics Challenge. Congratulations to those who will be receiving their certificates in assembly. 

Bronze Awards

Logan Davids 4C,  Azraa Jamdar 4C, Ayesha January 4C,  Alunamda Peter 4C, Zainab Brey 4A, Hibah Long 4A, Zaria Naidoo 4B, Zandile Sindo 4B, Amarah Thomson 4B, Pono Sebuelo 5A, 

Robyn Elshove 5A,  Raina Adams 5A, Emma Wilson 5A, Elianna Cook, 5A, 

Josephine Kempthorne 5C, Motirayo Arogundade 5C, Aasiya Razzak 5B, Sarah Wingham 5B, 

 Hafsa Ackers 6A, Rachel Frankish 6A, Zahra Kajie 6A, Isobelle Dewar 6B, Eva MacGregor 6B, Sumayyah Tayob 6B, Anna Buckley 6C, Aditi Paul 6C, Lexi Winter 6C, Rebecca Wiseman 6C, 

Aida Mkuzi 7A, Amelia Abdullah 7B,  Kayla Naidoo 7C

Silver Awards

Sailor Bouwer 4C, Qaaniah Davids 4C, Maya Joseph 4C, Riley Gilfillan-McEvoy 5B, 

Victoria Uren 5B, Charlotte Kriedemann 6A, Nabiha January 6B, Maya Nair 6B, Ava Rood 6C, Madeline de Voux 6C,  Maya Villet 6C, Chloè Robertson 7C

Gold Award

Sylvie Daniel 6C

Qaaniah Davids (4C), Victoria Uren (5B) and Sylvie Daniel (6C) were invited to participate in the final round, which took place at Belvue Primary on 10 September.

 
When asked to describe their experience of this Mathematics Challenge, they summed it up as “Hard, fun and amazing!”
Each of them can be extremely proud, as they were among the top 400 achievers nationally!

Our much-loved Rustenburg Girls’ Junior School Rustybug Plush Toys are now available to order on Karri as part of an RGJS fundraiser.

Take home your very own cuddly Rustybug while supporting our fundraising efforts.

Price: R350 each

Once payment has been made via Karri, the Rustybug Plush Toy will be distributed directly to your daughter at school.

A special RGJS keepsake to cuddle, treasure and enjoy!

Thank you for supporting RGJS and this fundraiser.

We are incredibly proud of Kutlwano Kumalo (7a), who continues to achieve outstanding success in gymnastics. 

After winning gold All-Round at the District Trials on 31 July 2026, Kutlwano competed at the Western Cape Championships in Saldanha Bay, where she won gold on all apparatus and was crowned the overall winner in the Level 9, ages 7–13 category.
Today, 17 September, Kutlwano begins competing at the Pharaohs Cup Intercontinental Competition in Cairo, Egypt, which runs from 17–20 September 2026.
She has been selected to represent South Africa in the Youth Category, and we wish her all the very best as she takes to the international stage! 

Well done to Stella Williams (6c) on her selection for the 2026 WP U13C Water Polo Team!  

What a fantastic achievement and a wonderful way to end the year. 

We are incredibly proud of Stella and wish her all the very best for this exciting opportunity.

Gentle Reminder: No wheelie bags are allowed at school.

Learners from Grade 1 - Grade 7 are allowed to wear black buckle school shoes OR black lace-up school shoes (on condition that they can tie their own shoelaces😉).