20250113 161604 Kingsmead College

Kingsmead Newsletter January 2025

TshidiSenior School Leave a Comment

Dear Kingsmead Community,

I am grateful for being given the opportunity to act as Head of the Senior school. What a wonderful opportunity to view the school holistically rather than focusing on a few small areas. It is pertinent that we all have an eye on all the amazing achievements in the month of January already, and that we can celebrate Kingsmead as a school of belonging and happiness and that we are able to achieve a good balance compared to so many other schools, whilst still achieving outstanding matric results.

Our 2024 cohort of matrics have produced stellar results, for which we commend them. The results were released for the first time ever during the day and we managed to have a spectacular celebration on the music lawns immediately. Our parents can attest to the remarkable work achieved by staff and students and the many success stories from Grade 8 to matric. Please see the attached flyer for further information.

Beautiful weather greeted our Senior swimming and water polo teams, and divers at Summer Splash this last weekend. Despite the tiredness of the Grade 8-10s, having returned from camp the Friday before the Aquatics Festival, they glided to commendable results. This shows dedication and commitment. We are so proud of all the students who participated.
I understand that there is huge coverage in social media about schools banning of cellphones. As a school, we are monitoring this closely with strict use of cell phones during the day and will continue to assist students to self–regulate and learn to detach digitally.

I am particularly impressed by our 2025 Leaders this year and their assembly message for the student body, which was of community and sisterhood. I echo their message: STRONGER TOGETHER. It takes a village to raise a child, as Neo Mamathuba said so eloquently at our parent cocktails.

Parent Information Evening for the Senior School was extremely well supported. I echo the words of Nerine Khan, Chair of Council where she reiterated that the school is in a good space and we are looking healthy and bursting at the seams in terms of capacity. We are grateful to our admission staff for ensuring that the school is in a good fiscal position. Lisa Palmer also mentioned that we should say something positive about the school on a daily basis, this builds a strong community and fosters spirit. Thank you for showing your support to your daughters and their school. We also officially welcomed our Grade 8 families into the school and wished them well for the 5-year journey on which they are about to embark.

We look forward to our Open day on the 4th of February and it is at these events that we get to have a sneak preview of the standard and calibre of work the staff produce so that our students are fully immersed in the classroom. I encourage you to all be ambassadors of the school and to share this exhibition date with others.

I wish you all a wonderful year ahead.

Courage Always.
Sharekha Banwa.

Academics

Grade 12 Business Studies students explore the Micro and Market Environments at Rosebank Mall

On Wednesday, January 22, our Grade 12 Business Studies students embarked on an exciting real-world learning experience at Rosebank Mall, applying classroom concepts to observe and analyse various aspects of the micro- and macro market environments in action.

As part of their studies on how businesses operate, the students closely examined factors such as customer engagement, competition, supplier relations, and industry trends, which are key components of the market environment. They visited a range of clothing retailers and observed the strategies employed to engage customers and respond to their market conditions.

The students focused on key areas such as advertisements, sales promotions, and the use of social media to boost customer interaction. They also evaluated store layouts, signage, and the overall shopping experience to determine how these elements contribute to attracting and retaining customers. Additionally, students kept a sharp eye out for emerging trends in apparel and accessories, and took note of any direct competitors within the mall, comparing their offerings and identifying any partnerships or brand affiliations.

This hands-on activity provided the students with valuable insights into the practical application of business concepts. By evaluating the different elements that influence a business’s success in a competitive market, the students gained a deeper understanding of how theory translates into practice.
We look forward to seeing how these experiences will enrich their understanding of business operations as they continue their studies throughout the year.

Beyond The Classroom

Arts & Music

Well done to the students who completed their Rockschool Voice Examinations at the end of last year. We are proud of the outstanding results these students achieved!

ROCKSCHOOL VOCAL EXAMINATIONS:
Grade 1: Chloe Pon
Grade 2: Riley Vance and Elizabeth Levin
Grade 3: Malaika Sibanda, Lisakanya Tsabalala and Alexandra Kennedy
Grade 4: Uma Banchetti and Basha Mkhondo
Grade 5: Ariana Boyd, Uzukhanye Olawale and Meagan Stewart
Grade 6: Sophia Pearse, Caitlin Pon, Elena Rovelli, Melokuhle Zungu
Grade 7: Morgan Bunkell

“Making music with others is one of the closest things we have to a superpower. It fills us with a unique energy. It heals us of pain. It fills us with confidence. It helps us create beauty. It connects us with others who can enhance these things further. Making music is special.”
~ Vaughan Fleischfresser

🎶Meet your Music Teachers Week: 3 – 7 February & Music Coffee morning🎶
In our experience as music teachers, teachers and parents partnering to support students in their music studies ensures success. We want to get to know our music parents, so please pop in for a coffee on Thursday, 6 February, from 07h15 to 08h00 at the Music Lawns to hear about our exciting offering and meet the music teachers.

Throughout the week of the 3rd to the 7th of February, parents are invited to visit their daughter’s individual music lesson or a group rehearsal to see what we do. We are eager to connect with all our Kingsmead music families!🎶

If you have any more questions about Arts & Music at Kingsmead, please get in touch.

Elsabé Fourie
Director of Arts & Music
efourie@kingsmead.co.za

Kingsmead Arts & Music

Sports

Water Polo
In December 2024, we were very proud that many of our students represented Gauteng at the Annual Inter-Provincial Tournaments in East London.

The following students and staff were part of the teams that achieved medals:

Lucy Davis – u19A team won GOLD, Lucy was voted goalkeeper of the tournament and was selected for the South African school’s team.

Mr Padayachy – Managed the u16A boys team that won GOLD.

Our school Head coach, Masibonge Namba, and her u16A girls team won GOLD.

Diving
Congratulations to Maya Rono and Grace Hefer for being selected into the Gauteng Diving team that competed at Nationals in December 2024.

Summer Splash Aquatics
At the recent St Mary’s Summer Splash, our teams achieved the following results. The swimming and diving teams were combined Junior and Senior school events.

Swimming: 6th out of 10 schools
Diving: 4th overall
Water Polo: 3rd and they were an u15 team playing in an u16 event.

2025 Inter-House Aquatics

Inter-House Gala
Day one of Twenty Twenty Thrive started with a bang… or rather a splash! Fear of consistently gloomy weather in the days leading up to the start of school was ever present. However, on the day, the weather was a perfect reflection of the Inter-House event. Clear, sunny skies accurately represented the excitement and happy disposition of our students and this fresh start to the school year: from the tiniest Grade 8 to the tallest Matric. The enthusiastic Staff showed up and role-modelled their House pride and rallied to see the student bodies showcase their athleticism and spirit. The students were decked out in their House pride and friendly competition was everywhere. War cries backing our brave swimmers shook the stands and could be heard all round. Athletes raced their hearts out for the love of their Houses, which was visible in tight results up until the final races. Overall, Wednesday was a memorable day which brightened Kingsmead College’s joy for the new year.

Emma de Kock
Head of Timlin and Swimming

Inter-House Diving and Water polo
The Inter-house Diving and Water polo at Kingsmead College between Baker, Timlin, and Kruger was an exhilarating event filled with energy and excitement. The diving showcased incredible talent and precision, with each participant putting on an amazing display of skill and determination. The water polo matches were fast-paced and filled with lots of laughter and fun. The students supported and cheered for their peers which created an electric atmosphere!
It was a day of friendly rivalry and school pride, leaving everyone inspired and united.❤️💛💙

Sophia Yiallouris (Head of Baker and Diving)
Morgan Bunkell (Head of Kruger and Choir)

Rob Pullen
Head of Senior School Sport
rpullen@kingsmead.co.za

14172 KM Sports Logo RGB 02 HS 20220919 01 Kingsmead College

Service

Service @ School
This term, we will have three Service @ School activations for students to get involved in. On the 28th of January – Understanding A Typical People, in collaboration with The Sensory Space, helps our students to understand people on the spectrum. Through making and creating various sensory items for people to punch and express their anger and then to love and move forward positively. All items we created will be used in The Sensory Space at The Children’s Memorial Institute.

28 February: Make a Mac and Cheese – we will be joined by Sue Daly from Kids Haven. Sue will discuss food security and insecurity. We will learn how to make a Mac and Cheese and the food will be donated to Kids Haven.

3 April: All the ‘Share What You Can’ items are collected and we pack these for the organisations that we have identified. In addition, all Bunnies that are made throughout the term have a ribbon tied around their necks with an Easter Egg and Somebunny Loves You – these are distributed to children’s hospitals and organisations in service to children.

Inter-School Volunteering is an initiative that Kingsmead started that has gone from strength to strength. This term this wonderful endeavour will include visiting a reusable sanitary pad factory to learn and participate in the making of sanitary pads, and Bread and Spread at De La Salle Holy Cross. Inter-School Volunteering has attracted the interest of parents, educators and siblings. This will be an Inter-School Volunteering Community – parents, siblings and educators will be invited to attend.

Service @ Home
We will continue to offer Service @ Home activities, these will include Stationery Packs, Activity Packs, Knitting, Bunny Making, Toiletry, Party Packs and Meal in a Bag.

Volunteering Opportunities
Students are encouraged to volunteer outside of what Kingsmead offers. There are 20 volunteering opportunities featured on the Service App. Students are encouraged to volunteer within their communities, for their faith-based organisations, or for registered non-profit organisations that resonate with them.

The whole school can get involved in service events including the SANBS Blood Drive and Footloose Friday and an Outfit of Hope on the 14th of February.

An Outfit of Hope is in partnership with Childline’s Sunlight Safe House. We will be collecting an entire outfit of clothing, gently worn, for the children who are taken to the Sunlight Safe House after being removed from the care of their parents. Share What You Can Easter Collection will take place 17 March – 1 April.

We look forward to a busy and engaging term of Service.

KC service mac n cheese min Kingsmead College

Karen Landi
Head of Service
klandi@kingsmead.co.za

Service icon Kingsmead College

Spirit and Ethos Connect

The recent Ethos and Spirit Connect session at Kingsmead College was a dynamic and engaging experience, bringing together students from Grades 8 to 12 to explore the school’s core values in meaningful ways. Each grade was assigned a different school value and participated in activities designed to deepen their understanding of its significance. Through interactive discussions, students were able to reflect on how these values could be implemented in their daily lives, fostering a culture of integrity, kindness, and leadership.

Collaboration was at the heart of the session, with each form class working together to unpack their assigned value. The energy and enthusiasm were evident as students shared ideas, listened to diverse perspectives, and encouraged one another. The session not only strengthened their connection to Kingsmead’s ethos but also reinforced the importance of living out these values beyond the classroom. It was an inspiring display of teamwork, respect, and shared commitment to personal growth.

A very big “thank you” to Mrs da Silva in the School Archives and Mrs Wilkinson for contributing to the development and richness of this initiative.

Robyn Dixon
Head of Spirit
AND
Nozipho Magondo
Head of Ethos

Courage Icon Kingsmead College
Values poster Kingsmead College

Alumnae

The Kingsmead College Alumnae are so excited to announce their first fundraising event of the year. If you are in Johannesburg and would like to support the KCA bursary fund, please join us on Thursday 13th February at 18h00 for THE MESSENGER, a talk by Michael Charton.

THE MESSENGER is the story of Bobby Kennedy’s forgotten tour of South Africa in 1966. A story exploring the curious parallels between the United States and South Africa in the 1960s, while extracting lessons from those fractured times for application today. The talk features information about Kingsmead College alumna, Margaret Marshall.

This YouTube preview will provide a better understanding of what the talk entails:
https://youtu.be/jnx9VIJ1rGk

Please see the invitation below and attached for more details. The talk will take place at the Mkwanazi Theatre, Kingsmead College.

Tickets can be purchased using the following link. https://www.quicket.co.za/events/290305-the-messenger/

Tickets cost R260 per person which includes wine and snacks.

Alumni Event Invite scaled Kingsmead College

Lara Bugarin
Advancement Officer

13506 KM Alumnae Rollout logo CMYK FC Kingsmead College

William Mitcheson Timlin and his connection to Kingsmead

What is the story behind a 48-page fantasy book, complemented by 48 pages of illustrations, written over two years by renowned architect William Mitcheson Timlin?

This treasured, blue linen-covered book, The Ship that Sailed to Mars, is housed in the Kingsmead Archives and Museum. The story, described by Alan Horne in the Dictionary of 20th Century British Book Illustrators as “the most original and beautiful of children’s books” of the 1920s, follows an old man and his fairy companions who build a fantastical ship to journey to Mars, encountering strange worlds and creatures along the way.

Born in Ashington, Northumberland, on 11th April 1892, Timlin moved to South Africa with his family in 1907. He completed his art and architecture training in Kimberley. In 1928, he married Marjorie Alice Salonika, and they had a son, William, in 1929.

Timlin designed several buildings in Kimberley, with Kimberley Boys’ High School being among the most notable. In addition to his architectural work, he was an artist, composer, and illustrator, contributing to local authors’ works, such as Hedley Chilvers’ Out of the Crucible.

Timlin sent The Ship that Sailed to Mars to George Harrap publishers, who decided to print it without typesetting. Today, copies are rare.

The Kingsmead Timlin House, named after him, has historical significance. In 1934, foundation pupil *Molly Brooke’s design for the Kingsmead school badge, featuring three yellow kingcups, was influenced by Timlin’s work. The original sketch now resides at Kingsmead House, and a sepia photograph of it appears in The Ship that Sailed to Mars.

*Figure 83 Foundation member Mary Dorothea Herries Brooke Kingsmead, Kingsmead Heritage Bryant, Margot. Published by Kingsmead (1982).

Bibliography:

Internet sources:
https://www.Straussart.co.za
https://www.Kimberley.org.za
https://www.Familysearch.org

Dictionary of 20th Century British Book Illustrators by Peppin, Brigid; Micklethwait, Lucy Published (London) (1983) John Murray
Out of the Crucible by Chilvers, Hedley, A. Published (1929) by Cassell & Company London, Toronto (Kingsmead Library 968.2)
Kingsmead Heritage Bryant, Margot Published by Kingsmead Foundation (1982) ISBN No. 0 620 06394 7

Nat da Silva
Archives & Museum

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