Flower Show
The flower show ranks with many of the highlights listed on the school calendar of Jeppe High School for Girls and has grown in popularity to such an extent that we now have to use not only the school hall, but also a room the size of 4 classrooms in order to exhibit all of the beautiful arrangements to their best advantage. We usually have in excess of 1000 arrangements on show.
Each girl in the school takes part in the flower show and is encouraged to unleash her creative and imaginative skills and put them in to this form of Art. They are not given any formal instruction in the Art of flower arranging but many girls find they have a natural talent. This often opens up other avenues of learning for these young minds, allowing them to qualify for opportunities at tertiary education level, which would otherwise never have happened had we not exposed them to this creativity.
All learners are encouraged to participate with at least one arrangement. Many learners submit several arrangements in different categories. House points are awarded for each entry. It is a day of fun, laughter, competition and house loyalty for the learners. Visitors to the show are treated to an abundance of colours, scents and creativity.
Each and every arrangement is judged and our judges are drawn from people who have been connected to the school and particularly to the flower show or people in the flower and garden business.
The school opens at 6.00am on Flower Show Day and from this time onward the girls are busy. As no arrangements may be done at home, they have to start from the beginning with each category at school in the allocated class rooms. Some girls enter a number of categories, which puts them under a lot of pressure time wise, but others arrange their flowers in a relaxed fashion at their own pace. The arrangements are moved to the halls for judging. A guest of honour (usually a Jeppe Old Girl) opens the flower show officially with a short inspirational speech for the girls and the house winners are announced.
It is truly a magnificent day, which is enjoyed by all who take part and all who visit.
2009 Report
The school celebrated its 81st Flower Show on 27 and 28 February and as usual it was a huge success. We also incorporated our Annual Open Day into the flower show, and prospective learners and their parents were able to see classrooms on display as well as the flower show.
The girls are encouraged to enter as many of the categories of the show as possible and there were a record 2000 arrangements submitted this year. Grades 8 and 9 could enter 2-3 home grown blooms or choose from categories-ranging from “What’s in a Name”, “Shades of Green”, “Pretty in Pink” and ”Under my Umbrella” to “Little Shop of Horrors” and “Magnificent Monsters” which are to be made out of fruit and vegetables. The categories for Grade 10 to 12 girls ranged from “Emotions in Colour”, “Shades of Green”, ”Yellow Summer”, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, “From Bolly to Holly”, ”Tropical Splendour” and ”Cultural Cauldron” to “Save the Rain Forests”.
The official opening of the flower show was conducted by our guest of honour, Mrs Tobias, the previous Headmistress.
Protea was the overall winner of the show with a total of 2161 points. Harveya were close behind with 2144. Third place was awarded to Disa with 2006 points. Nerine scored 1829, Crassula 1826 and Gerbera 1702.