Dear Parents
At the start of the third term, we celebrate the joy of Spring. The gardens begin to blossom, the mornings are a little lighter; a little warmer. It is at this time that I am reminded of a beautiful quote by Albert Camus, “In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer”. Spring and then Summer are glorious because these seasons exist alongside a cold, dry Winter.
This is, in many ways, similar to what we attempt to teach our girls: to find success, to reach for excellence, it is often necessary to struggle. To move through the ‘seasonal changes’, transformation and growth is needed. This applies to academic development, as well as physical, emotional and social development. Learning can sometimes be difficult. To truly enjoy the Spring, the lighter, warmer, brighter days, we must also embrace our Winter.
The most challenging aspect of this learning, is often as to how we as parents, support our girls through the struggle. It is important to encourage and praise success. As parents we cannot do the work for our girls, we cannot fight their battles or rescue them during their toughest times; their winter. We can authentically praise them when growth is evident, we can listen. It is important to empower our girls from a young age to problem-solve, to fail and then try again… all with our support. It is vital that we work together to develop a sense of self-efficacy in our girls. By doing this, they in turn develop an internal locus of control and a healthy self-esteem.
I have provided a link here to the latest blog from ‘Knowing Girls’ which assists us as parents and teachers in grappling with this journey: Building Self-esteem That Won’t Crack Under Pressure.
My hope for us this term is to celebrate the beautiful growth in our girls as individuals in our school.
Term 3 Welcome
We welcome back Cindy Dalling and Maryanne Clegg who enjoyed a restful long leave in the second term. We also welcome Lisa O’ Donavan back from her long leave at the end of the last term. Margaret Gibb is still on medical leave for approximately 2-3 weeks. We look forward to her return to Grade 3. Sue van Staden is no stranger to our team- and so we are delighted to welcome Sue for the first few weeks of term in Margaret ‘s place. Teresa Scorgie is on Long leave for the start of this term, and we thank Lorna Rait who will be joining our Grade 0 team for the first few weeks of term. We are also pleased to welcome back Claire Hedding from her medical leave of absence last term.
We welcome four new families to the Kingsmead community this term. I have no doubt that you will feel happy and fulfilled as you begin your journey with us at Kingsmead:
- Ava Booth – Grade 0
- Phindu Ralushai – Grade 2
- Risha Hari – Grade 3
- Victoria Ferguson – Grade 7
Thank you to Cyril Mitchley and his very efficient team for preparing our school this holiday. Our school underwent a further upgrade on our electrical systems, the gardens have been prepared for the new term and the classes have been spring-cleaned.
We are very excited with the outcome of the renovation of the Science Lab in the Junior School. Thank you to Tarryn Mclaren who has co-ordinated this process for the past 6 months. We will share some thoughts and pictures relating to our new Lab in the next few weeks.
I wish you all an excellent start to the third term, and ultimately and successful ending to 2018.
Kim Lowman – Head of Junior School
WEEK AHEAD
Tuesday, 4 September
- Start of Term 3
Thursday, 6 September
- 13:45 Tennis Challenge
Friday, 7 September
- Civvies day – Recycling week and Arbor month
Saturday, 8 September
- 14:00 – 16:00 Buddy reading
*** For all sports fixtures please see Sports News below
SPORTS NEWS
SPRING HAS SPRUNG!
A warm welcome back to all our sport enthusiasts. I trust that you are all feeling rejuvenated and ready for the fresh new term. This term, like all others, promises to be busy but fun. I hope that all our students maximise the opportunities afforded to them in the co-curricular programme.
CO-CURRICULAR
Please note that co-curricular begins on Tuesday 4th September. Swimming will only start next on Monday 10 September 2018.
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENTS
We would like to congratulate Soultana Tzitzivacos who won a gold medal in Kumite in her category and Silver in Kata for South Africa in the African cup. This is an extraordinary achievement indeed.
WEEK AHEAD
| Date | Sport | Teams | Venue | Time | Transport |
| 6 Sept | Tennis | Team Tennis | School Courts | 14h30 | N/A |
| 11 Sept | Sport Photos | School Gym | All day | N/A | |
| 13 Sept | Tennis | School team | Tbc | 14h30 | N/A |
| 14 Sept | Fun Sports Morning | Grade 1-3 | School | 11h00 | N/A |
| Junior School Photo Schedule: Tuesday 11 September – Gym | ||
| TIME | Mins | Clothing |
| 07h30 | Whole school Exec Snr Exec & Jnr Exec Marketing Team |
|
| 07h40 | Hockey 6A 6B | Uniform |
| 07h50 | Netball 6A, 6B | Uniform |
| 08h00 | Netball 6C, 6D | Uniform |
| 08h10 | Grade 6 – 7 Choir | Uniform |
| 08h20 | Glee | Uniform |
| 08h30 | Orchestra | Uniform |
| 08h40 | Senior Flute ensemble & Senior String ensemble (Grade 4-7) | Uniform |
| 08h50 | 3 Marimba ensembles – separate photos please | Uniform |
| 09h00 | Equestrian and Diving | Uniform |
| 09h10 | Tennis ABCD | Uniform |
| 09h20 | Swimming A B C | Uniform |
| 09h50 | Grade 2 & 3 Choir | Uniform |
| 10h15 | Sports Staff | |
| 10h40 | Netball 3A, 3B | Uniform |
| 10h50 | Grade 4 – 5 Choir | Uniform |
| 11h00 | Hockey 4A, 4B | Uniform |
| 11h10 | Hockey 4C, 4D | Uniform |
| 11h20 | Netball 4A, 4B | Uniform |
| 11h30 | Netball 4C, 4D | Uniform |
| 11h40 | Hockey 5A, 5B 5C | Uniform |
| 11h50 | Netball 5A, 5B | Uniform |
| 12h00 | Netball 5C, 5D | Uniform |
| 12h10 | Junior Flute ensemble | Uniform |
| 12h20 | Junior String ensemble (Grade 1-2) and (Grade 3) | Uniform |
| 12h30 | Music Captains/ Sport/ House Captains | Uniform |
| 12h40 | Hockey 7A, 7B | Uniform |
| 12h50 | Netball 7A, 7B | Uniform |
| 13h00 | Netball 7C, 7D | Uniform |
| 13h10 | Music Staff | |
Sheillah Denenga – Head of Junior School Sport sdenenga@kingsmead.co.za
ARTS AND MUSIC NEWS
Arts & Music News
Upcoming event in September:
Thursday 13 September: Combined Music Concert with The Ridge and St Katharine’s: 18h00 – 19h00 at Kingsmead in the Lange hall. More details regarding the event will be communicated in the next few days.
- Please keep an eye on the app for details regarding the term dates and more details.
- The Extra-curricular schedule is available on the app under Extra-curricular. All activities start on the 1st day of school.
- Music lessons resume as before; please confirm lesson times with your daughter’s teacher(s).
Staff news:
We welcome Dineo Matsepe to our Music Department as another violin teacher. She has joined us in Dorota Swart’s place. An email was sent to parents regarding lesson scheduling; please contact me should you not have received the email or have any queries or questions regarding the process.
We also welcome Esté Meerkotter as our locum flute teacher while Marli Coetzer is on maternity leave. Please check your email with details regarding lesson scheduling.
DRAMA Club
Please note that the extra-curricular Drama Club teacher unexpectedly relocated and will therefore not be teaching at Kingsmead anymore. An update as to our new Drama Club teacher will be communicated as soon as the details have been finalized.
Elsabé Fourie – Director of Arts & Music
