Claudia North, CJ Bergs and Amy Hewat of St Anne's Diocesan College spent two months on exchange in Australia; this is what they had to say about the experience on their return:

"Hearing of the mass 'Australian emigration' from South Africa we set out to see what all the fuss was about. As hard as the Aussies tried we were relentlessness in standing firm as proud South African St Anne's girls. The green and gold did not turn into the gold and green and boeri on the braai did not become shrimp on the 'barbie'. However, we did unfortunately fail in making an argument for why Masterchef South Africa was better.

I think this is what exchange was all about for us. Emerging ourselves in another country's culture and broadening our mindsets through the experience. From getting lost while visiting Sydney, discovering the beautiful Gold and Sunshine Coasts, to experiencing the 'Outback', and forming unbreakable friendships with our St Margaret's family. Over the two, unforgettable months we had a taste of what Australia has to offer and from what we saw it definitely out-shone its expectations.

Being paired with someone across the world may have been daunting but time only proved us wrong. We bonded over our shared passion for rugby, a good steak and our common rivalry against the Kiwis. We are proud that we can now say that we have Australian sisters.

Thus we will not be immigrating to Australia but we can safely say that Australia will always hold a part of our hearts."

Read the latest Hilton Ratepayers Association news here. The association has been very busy and say 'We apologize for not sending out a newsletter for August 2014. This was because there were many issues pending which we preferred to combine into a single newsletter.

This newsletter will deal with four main topics as follows: Town planning (Greater Hilton area), Hilton hospital, Water supply problems and Densification of the Greater Hilton area.'

A total of 166.4kg of bread tags, which is the equivalent of approximately 505 000 bread tags (over half a million loaves of bread), has been collected by Laddsworth Primary School over the past two years to donate to the QuadPara Association of South Africa (QASA).

The Mack family were responsible for counting the bread tags and for donating prizes to the winning classes.

Pictured L-R Rowan Mack, Sipho Mdletshe of QASA who received the bread tag collection and Duncan Mack.

News supplied.

Hilltops Pre-School is expanding and the two new classrooms and toilet block are close to completion! It will house the 2015 Grade R class which is now open for registration. Also under construction is a brand new outdoor play space with obstacle course. The aftercare service will run until 17:30 in 2015.

The holiday club is running at the school until the 16th January 2015. Please contact Julie (072 207 0743) or Lauren (084 352 8908).

Hilltops has secured a fantastic Grade R teacher- Caitlin Hull.

Caitlin is a qualified teacher with a Bachelor of Arts and an Honours degree from the University of Kwazulu Natal, and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education in Foundation Phase and Early Childhood Development from the University of South Africa. She did her internship year at Cowan House and taught Grade RRR at Fleming Pre-Primary in Johannesburg for three years, Grade 2 at Northern Park Primary School and Grade RR and R at Merchiston Preparatory School.

She is married to Phil and has two little boys, Malachi and Levi. She has five years of teaching experience and loves working in the preschool environment, seeing children grow and learn through doing, playing, discovering and problem solving. She is looking forward to bringing her experience to Hilltops and starting the exciting journey of building a Grade R class, helping to grow the school and getting eager little learners ready for 'big school'.

The 2 ladies who started Hilltops - Debbie Coombes and Angie Muggleton, are both mothers and dedicated teachers whose passion and love for children shines through in the work they do. Hilltops is a warm, farm-style school nestled behind the Rotunda Centre in the beautiful Hilton and Midlands surrounds. They take children from 18 months through to Grade R and operate on the government school term and holiday dates. The school is open five days a week until 17:30. (The regular school day finishes at 12:15 but there is an aftercare service).

Please visit their website www.hilltopspreschool.co.za for much more information on the school, or "like" their Facebook page which is updated regularly with pictures of the children's artworks and activities, school information and interesting bits and pieces related to preschool children.

Contact Debbie or Angie on 076 124 8440 or email them on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For information on the aftercare service, please contact Julie (072 207 0743) or Lauren (084 352 8908).

Following six successful years at their current Practice, Umgeni Veterinary Clinic will be moving to new premises on 17 November 2014. Located at 4 Quarry Road, Hilton, veterinary services remain conveniently accessible for Customers.

The refurbished and modern premises will offer spacious consultation and visitor rooms, a recreational area for pets, an increased product range for animals and ample, secure parking.

"The decision to expand and invest further in our business was primarily driven by the growing and changing needs of the local market", said Dr Lee Pachonick, owner of the Practice.

'Our reputation for friendly professionalism, diversity of skills and unwavering compassion and care for our Customers and patients is of great importance to us. 'We are committed to adding value to all our pet care services', she added.

Dr Lee Pachonick and Dr Margie Roach are supported by two specialist veterinary nurses with extensive knowledge in primary animal health care; together with a team of efficient and welcoming front and back office staff.

The animal grooming parlour will continue to operate from the existing premises.

A series of pet promotions are planned leading up to Christmas. Consultation hours remain the same as do the office and emergency after hours contact details.

Umgeni Veterinary Clinic will be moving to their new premises at 4 Quarry Road, Hilton on Monday 17 November 2014. Contact details and consultation times remain unchanged. Tel : 033 343 4316 (o/h) or 033 343 4602 (emergency a/h). The new Practice is conveniently situated adjacent to their previous building and offers ample, secure parking and improved facilities.

Baobab Antiquity Trading have moved to the Build It Centre in Quarry Road. Take time to explore the bigger shop filled with desirable furniture and decor, do it before you make up your Christmas wish list!

Debbie Preston from Knight Security Solutions has shared the information below which was received from a client and says,"'Please be aware of another scam that targeted one of our clients over the past month."

"Hi Debbie, about 3 months ago we were contacted telephonically by a gentleman who said he was from Transnet, he asked if we wished to be added to the Transnet database. By being added to the database, we would be able to do quotations, work for Transnet and we would receive a vendor number.

He emailed us a Transnet supply chain document which we had to fill in and attach many of our business documents. We were very slow to respond and we received regular phone calls from him with regard to emailing these forms back. We eventually emailed the documents to him.

Yesterday (30 October 2014) we found out that this was a scam and our details were being used by someone in Johannesburg to obtain R300 000 worth of stock from a company in Johannesburg. The fraudster had used an email address which was very similar to ours and used the document that was supposedly for Transnet as a credit application at this company.

Please could you warn other businesses out there to be extremely cautious when responding to phone calls from anyone from Transnet. The fraudster even mentioned names of people listed on the Transnet website and changed the spelling of their names slightly. He was extremely clever, please be careful".

A record number of St Anne's girls attended the KZN Water Polo Capping Ceremony where Mark Andrews, ex SA Schools Water Polo and Springbok rugby player, gave an inspiring talk and presented each player with a Certificate of Achievement for being selected as KZN representatives. The players will take part in the inter-provincial tournament in Johannesburg from 12 – 16 December.

Back row: Isabella Bertossi (KZN U13), Megan Rebstein-Dovey (KZN U15), Sally Fowler (KZN U19 Captain), Camilla McCormack (KZN U19), Naomi Forrester-smith (KZN U16), Victoria Allan (KZN U16), Brady Wiseman KZN U15),
Front Row: Josie Tod (KZN U14), Emma Herbert (KZN U14), Katie Phillips (KZN U14)
Absent: Danielle Cullinan (KZN U14)

Photograph supplied.

St Anne's Diocesan College congratulates Matric Art students Jodi Hulley, Kirsten Wing, Caitlin Fleming, Julia Church and Julia Van der Riet for being selected to exhibit at the ANNUAL MATRIC ART KZN Schools EXHIBITION (2015 to be held at Hilton College). This is a real testimony to their dedication, hard work and talent.

Julia Van der Riet's Harmony of Logic is a pencil drawing of a lady transforming into DNA strands.

Julia Church's rationale for her piece Con Brio: "When I think of music, I think of it to be timeless, expressive, personal and most of all valuable. Its value is in terms of its emotional content, meaning and emotional release and not in terms of monetary value.

In this artwork, I have portrayed a barcode on the keys and this relates to the exploration of the way in which music has become, over the years, increasingly consumerist and money-driven. Music is more of a "business" than it ever used to be and I feel that the levels of fraud and corruption in the industry are what rob music of its essential purpose. The birds juxtapose this commercial notion in the sense that they are musical creatures and represent music in its most natural and simplest form. They are also portrayed in bright colors on actual wood in contrast to the cohesively structured black-and-white theme on the rest of the piano to express music's natural vibrancy and passion. "Con Brio" is a music term referring to music with vigor, spirit and color – the way in which I wanted my birds to appear. The title also plays on the word 'Con' which relates to the fraudulent aspects of the music industry such as piracy and copyright infringements."

Caitlin Fleming's, The shadow of strength: This work is made up of a series of 40 process drawings and reflects both the self and the other of anxiety as whole. In this work she explores the otherness of anxiety and how it shapes oneself into something unrecognisable, it shifts you into 'other'. The work displays a number of figures in various body positions, positions of defeat, shame, awkwardness, and discomfort. They display the emotions and turbulence of anxiety, the figure's face is usually covered, turned away or unrecognisable this is to highlight the fact that social anxiety does not choose its victims to a certain criteria but rather can randomly choose to torture and taunt anyone. The various techniques and materials are used to amplify the pain and the harshness of anxiety. For example, the vivid reds and the gauze represent the pain and frustration of anxiety. The use of the ink and glue technique emphasizes the uncontrollable nature anxiety as does the almost complete disappearance of some of the figures into the background of the paintings, underling the disappearance of oneself into other and how one is only left with a "shadow" of strength to fight it.

Hilton based horse-lover Belinda de la Mare has turned her equine passion into a business; we welcome to Hilton The Marvelous Horse Co. Filling a gap in the market for horse lovers looking for an assortment of essential as well as indulgent equestrian products including but not limited to riding gear, tack, clothing, gifts and horse themed decor items for your home.

Being a talented artist, Belinda has had fun drawing, designing and manufacturing an exclusive fabric range which has been made into cushions, lamp shades and even kitchen accessories. Her sketches are also available in block prints.

Backed by her husband Kevin's skills they have produced lovely horse shoe hooks and even a stylish towel rack for the bathroom. Even if you do not ride but love the Midlands lifestyle these useful hooks and rails will look great in your home!

The best part is that you will never again be at a loss for finding gifts for your horsey friends!

Visit The Marvelous Horse Co any weekday between 8.00am and 12.30pm, or in the afternoon by appointment.

You will also find The Marvelous Horse Co. at Hilton's POSH Market on Tuesday the 16th December 2014, from 9.00am until 3.00pm at Protea Hotel, Hilton.

Laddsworth Primary School hosted their annual Parent Appreciation Tea on the 12th November 2014, this event is held to thank our friends, parents and grandparents who go the extra mile.

If they stood side by side in a long line they would take up near on one kilometre in length, that says a lot about the support and commitment our Laddsworth parents show. We believe their care and generosity is a huge part of what makes Laddsworth the great school we believe it is.

Pictured L-R: Anushia Nzimande, Denisé Plaatjies, Trish Bullock and Dionne Bromley.

News supplied.

The Club extends its deepest sympathy to Pat Bennet on the death of her husband, Robin after a short illness.

The IF Trips competition had to be cancelled on Friday due to rain.

Both of our league teams played in Pietermaritzburg on Saturday. The second team came up against strong competition from Collegians. They held their own until the last ends on each rink when the opponents got the required shots and took the match. The third league team was on the back foot all afternoon against Alexander Park. Although we actually held the lead briefly on one rink, we came away with no points.

George Oldham, Fred Palmer and Chris Purchase played in the NIBA Men's Open Trips on Sunday. They had two good opening games, narrowly losing to last year's winners and a strong side from Collegians. Their last round robin match was against Howick and was of academic interest as both sides had already been eliminated. On Friday we will be hosting a new 2–4–2 pairs competition. Sponsors are Artisans Pizza Pasta.

The Jaxx Roll scheduled for Wednesday 19th will go ahead as planned and on Saturday 22nd we will hold the Surelink Trophy event. An entry form is on the notice board.

Bill's Christmas Bash takes place on 29 November, and promises to be the best one yet. Get your entry in early.

Duties: 16 – 22 Nov: OOD: Thelma Mylne. Tabs: Fred Palmer. Duty Team: Anton Leisegang. Teas on Sat. 22 Nov: Janice Shipway and George Oldham.

News supplied by Hilton Bowling Club.

Sharing herb lore and a meal, these herb club ladies enjoyed a get together with Diane Aldworth. For more information about Herb Club meetings in Hilton and her Herb Course call Di on 082 808 1519.

Find Di and The Green Herb Co products at Hilton's POSH Market, Protea Hotel, Hilton on the 16th December 2014.

Chocolate Sensations Hilton will be at the Notties Moonlight Market on 15 November at the SHERWOOD CENTRE near the Spar entrance. We would love our chocolate fans to come and see our wide range of affordable, handpainted belgian chocolates!

Laddsworth Primary School in Hilton recently hosted the seventh Phendulani Literary Quiz for under-resourced primary schools in Pietermaritzburg.

This year five local schools participated in the popular children's literature quiz, four from Pietermaritzburg and one from Howick. This event is designed to encourage pupils in under-resourced schools to develop literary knowledge and appreciation. Two teams from each school began preparing for the quiz in April by reading books donated to their library. The schools were Alston Primary, Berg Street Primary, Gateway Christian School, Thembelihle Primary and Woodlands Primary.

Teams answered questions in four categories based on themes in the books they read. Berg Street Primary 2 Team was the overall winner for the second consecutive year. Thembelihle Team 1 came second and Woodlands Team 1 came third. Prizes of books donated by The Times group were awarded to the winners.

The Phendulani competition takes place annually in Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria and Pietermaritzburg. It was founded by Marj Brown, a librarian and teacher at Roedean Girls Senior School in Johannesburg who also co-ordinates the South African leg of the international Kids' Lit competition.

News supplied by Laddsworth Primary School.

The bowling green was officially re-opened on Tuesday last week. Play started in good sunshine and we were surprised that more members had not turned out. However the clouds came up rapidly and play was abandoned after about 15 ends. Thursday followed a similar pattern. Competition was heightened by the fact that Richard Lister had provided hampers of roasted chickens and other tasty goodies as prizes for the winning team. Due to the mixture of forms of play, we decided that the team winning by the greatest margin would collect the prizes.

Despite a shower of rain at tea time we played on and managed a full 18 ends. Winners by about 24 shots were Chris Purchase, Taffy O'Neil-Williams and Anton Leisegang. (Their opponents chose to remain anonymous). The winner of a box of chocolates for the cut-throat was Brian Newton. Well done to all the winners, and sincere thanks to Richard for the prizes.

On Saturday we were forced to close the green again due to heavy rain overnight.

Weather permitting the IF Trips will be played on Friday 7th and both men's teams will have league matches at home on Saturday.

Duties: 9 – 15 Nov: OOD: Ron Buchel. Tabs: Mike Mylne. Duty Team: John Arnott. Teas on Sat. 15 Nov: Bernice and Taffy O'Neil-Williams.

News from Hilton Bowling Club.

Zandile Mgutshini has been announced as Head Girl at St Anne's next year and is supported by Deputy Head, Chiara Ferri.

Photograph supplied.