Dear Parents, Guardians and Students,
I have been so fortunate to be able to travel during the month of June and I have a renewed sense of gratitude for being able to visit other countries.
The first trip was to represent SAHISA (South African Heads of Independent Schools Association) at the Conference of Heads of Private Schools in Botswana. This is a conference that has not taken place for the past 3 years and it was just lovely to meet with the delegates, to listen to speakers and to take in the beauty of the Chobe River.
Nikki Bush was the keynote speaker and her opening address was entitled: “Reframing Disruption to Flourish through Uncertainty.” Some key take-aways for me were:
- That life does not unfold in a straight line. Nikki uses her own life story to illustrate this so well. When this happens we need to be able to reframe where we find ourselves in life. Hasn’t this been true over the past few years?
- Nikki encouraged us to get comfortable with not knowing and asked if the disruptions to life would mean a comma in our lives or a full stop.
- She reiterated what I believe – that growth can only come from disruption or change and that in order to remain relevant, we have to change and reinvent ourselves.
The second trip was over half-term to Italy and I was surprised by how deep my gratitude was to be travelling “freely” again and I definitely had a new appreciation to be seeing such historical and magnificent sights.
I wish our students who are busy writing their exams everything of the best during this time and I look forward to seeing your reports at the end of the term.
Have a wonderful remainder of the term.
Fond regards,
Lisa Palmer
Executive Head: Kingsmead College
Academics
Grade 11 Life Sciences Outing to Maropeng & Sterkfontein Caves
On Thursday 23 June, the Grade 11 Life Sciences students had the opportunity to visit the Maropeng Museum and the Sterkfontein Caves. It was a very enriching outing as it gave the students valuable insight into the evolution section they were currently studying at the time. They were able to engage more thoroughly with the topic of evolution and understand the importance of this difficult process. At Maropeng the students were given a guided tour through the Tumulus building and underground museum. They viewed fossils and exhibits which explained the origin of Hominids and our evolutionary process. Highlights of the experience included the boat ride through an underground tunnel as well as the interactive displays which gave them an opportunity to engage visually with the information they were learning about. At the Sterkfontein Caves the students ventured down into a sixty-meter-deep cave and the tour guide pointed out the points of discovery of two iconic ancient human ancestral fossils, Mrs Ples and Little Foot. It was incredible to see the various rock formations and deep underground lakes. The tour was invaluable to their Life Sciences learning experience and this has certainly built on their true understanding of our origins and the importance of the Cradle of Humankind.
Arts & Music
Masicule Sonke Choir festivals
We were finally able to host our brand new Masicule Sonke Choir festival on campus for a live audience last month. It was the most wonderful celebration of choral singing, including a range of different choirs from all over Johannesburg, performing everything from pop, rock, rap and traditional music. What a delight to experience choir singing and seeing the enjoyment on the students’, teachers’ and parents’ faces! Thank you to the Kingsmead Community for your support and encouragement and well done to our Choir and Glee who did us proud.
Kingsmead & St David’s Combined Music evening
As is tradition, we hosted St David’s for our annual combined music evening in June. It is always such a pleasure to collaborate with St David’s and for our students to share their love for making music with each other. Fires and glühwein created a wonderful atmosphere on the freezing evening, while the lively performances put a smile on everyone’s faces!
Music Concerts
After two years of many online concerts, it was fantastic to see our students perform and witness their progress and growth as musicians. Well done to all the participants who showed courage to perform in front of an audience, you did yourselves proud.
The Senior School Choir and Glee look forward to our performance at the Choral Celebration Festival Series on Sunday 31 July at the Linder Auditorium. Parents are encouraged to purchase tickets as soon as possible as the event will sell out fast.

Thank you to all our Kingsmead families and friends for your continued support of the Kingsmead Arts & Music Department.

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

Squash
Well done to Rachel Shannon who has been selected to participate in the World Squash Federation Women’s World Junior Individual Championships from 11 to 16 August 2022. The Championships will take place in Nancy, France.

Water Polo
Congratulations to Caitlin Stott on being selected for the Junior Women’s u18 FINA Waterpolo team to attend World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia from 31 July to 8 August 2022.

Netball
Congratulations to our U15A netball team who qualified for playoffs and came third overall! What a brilliant season – well done to the coaches and team.
Equestrian
The Kingsmead Senior School Equestrian Team did particularly well this year. Based on their results, the team has qualified to represent the Johannesburg Central Team and will compete at Gauteng Regional Finals due to take place at Kyalami Equestrian Park on the 6th and 7th of August.
Congratulations to the riders:
Amy Falcon
A Team – Level 3 Show Jumping 1
A Team – Level 3 Show Jumping 2
A Team – Level 3 Handy Hunter
A Team – Level 3 Working Hunter
B Team – Level 1 Dressage B
Ella Hunt
A Team – Level 4 Show Jumping 1
A Team – Level 5 Working Riding
A Team – Level 7 Working Riding
B Team – Level 2 Dressage A
Mia Byrne
B Team – Level 6 Equitation
Rania Motara
A Team – Level 1 Equitation
A Team – Level 2 Dressage A
A Team – Level 2 Dressage B
A Team – Level 3 Working Riding
A Team – Level 5 Performance Riding
B Team – Level 2 Dressage A
Sarah Florence
A Team – Level 2 Dressage A
A Team – Level 2 Dressage B
A Team – Level 3 Prix Caprilli B
A Team – Level 3 Handy Hunter
A Team – Level 3 Working Hunter
A Team – Level 3 Working Riding
Sarah (Storm) Warren
A Team – Level 5 Working Hunter

Athletics/Biathle
Isabella placed third at the Gauteng Biathle championship (one continuous race – 1600m run / 200m swim / 1600m run) and was selected to represent Gauteng at the SA Champs held in Somerset West on the 28th of May.
She came 6th at the SA champs and has been selected to compete in the world Biathle championships in October in Madeira. It is unfortunately in the middle of her final exams so she will not be able to participate.
Service
Winter Warmer
The Kingsmead community generously donated warm items for the Winter Warmer collection. All items were sorted and packed during the Night on the Garth event and donated to Doorway to Dignity for distribution. Thank you for your support!



Night on the Garth
On Thursday 23 June, 20 Senior School students braved the cold and wet evening outside for our annual Night on the Garth. The purpose of the event is to raise awareness for homelessness. Students are involved in service activities upon arrival until midnight: they packed and sorted all the Winter Warmer collection items, packed and weighed more than 500kg of bottle tops and bread tops and made sandwiches from 100 loaves of bread! After a soup kitchen meal, students slept outside in the freezing cold (and rain!). In addition to getting a glimpse of what it might feel like to sleep outside on cardboard with only a sleeping bag, students also raised R6500 for Shelterbags.
A Shelterbag, which costs R750, is a portable, sheltered bed that rolls up into a bag. It is waterproof, lightweight, easy to handle and has an extra compartment for some personal items. It comes with a sleeping bag and a built-in pillow but also has room for an extra mattress or a blanket, making it adaptable for all seasons. A flexible tent pole is integrated into the hood to keep it upright, providing more space and better shelter from the rain. Shelterbags are locally made in Cape Town, by previously unskilled and unemployed people from the community.
Upcoming events for Mandela Day
Saturday 16 July
The Grace Factory packing event
9h30
Joel Hall
Please book to volunteer for this event by emailing service@kingsmead.co.za

Please donate newspaper for the Make and Donate a Sleeping Bag event on 18 July. Donations can be placed in the Service drawers in Music Reception. For more information, please contact Jenny Venter (jventer@kingsmead.co.za).
Jenny Venter
Director of Service