Dear Kingsmead Community,
Welcome to the second term of the year, and what an amazing few weeks we have already had. I believe that last week was probably the busiest week of the year thus far; one that culminated in our signature school event – The Kingsmead Book Fair. What a magnificent day it was and the line-up of authors and speakers was quite outstanding.
I have had several “proudly Kingsmead” moments in the past weeks. From outstanding sports’ results; to the most superb Music performances and a breath-taking performance of “The V-Day Campaign” – which is probably the best Drama performance I have seen in my 12 years at Kingsmead. You can all be very proud of your efforts during this busy, but very successful time.
I started the term with an assembly about making good, responsible choices and I have urged the girls to think about how and why they make certain decisions. I asked them to ask themselves the following questions:
• What would a perfect decision achieve?
• What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?
• What one thing, if you were to take action on it, would produce the greatest difference in your life?
• What are the likely consequences of your decision?
• If this decision turns out to be a mistake, can you live with it?
• What would be worse: failing or not trying?
• Are you able to look at the situation objectively?
• Can you eliminate some options?
• Is your mind already made up?
• If not now, when?
The following are listed as decision making “don’ts”:
• Don’t rush into making an important decision.
• Don’t let anyone give you a false deadline to make a decision.
• Don’t make decisions when you’re feeling tired or emotional.
• Don’t make lose/lose decisions.
• Don’t make decisions based on fear.
• Don’t make decisions based on what other people want you to do.
• Don’t let other people make decisions for you.
• Don’t make decisions you are likely to regret.
• Be careful about making decisions from which there is no turning back.
Staffing:
• Welcome to Mrs Chantal van Rooyen – who is the locum this term for Mrs Masetlwa while she is on maternity leave. Mama P and her husband welcomed their baby boy – Letlotlo on 7 May and we wish them much happiness with their new son.
• Mrs Karien Lay has been appointed to replace Ms Louise du Pisanie in the Accounting and EMS Department. We wish Ms du Pisanie every happiness as she relocates to the Cape at the end of July.
Ms Lay is currently teaching Accounting at Pecanwood School and is an experienced Accounting teacher. She will start at Kingsmead in the third term and we wish her a long association with the school.
• Mrs Bianca Barnett will be on maternity leave from the end of July and she will be replaced by Mrs Jenny Scalla who is an experienced Maths teacher from Redhill.
• We are currently interviewing for a History locum to take Mrs Delport’s place and will let you know as soon as we have made this appointment.
• Our Senior School psychologist – Mrs Lucia Harding – will take maternity leave from the end of this term and Ms Moira Severin from the Junior School will be assisting us while Mrs Harding is away.
I wish you all a healthy, happy term ahead!
Fond regards
Lisa Kaplan
Head: Kingsmead College
Kingsmead Book Fair 2019
Read and Rise at Kingsmead Book Fair
The annual Kingsmead Book Fair was held on 25 May 2019. The rich and diverse programme included more than 140 authors participating in over 50 sessions throughout the day in an adult, young adult and children’s programme. The theme for this year was ‘Read and Rise’, a fitting theme for an event that coincided with Africa Day.
The event would not have been possible without the support of our incredible sponsors, namely 702, Porcupine Ridge, Timberland, and Standard Bank Wealth and Investment, we are hugely grateful for their commitment to the Book Fair.
One of the aims of the Kingsmead Book Fair’s Outreach programme is to offer entrance and session tickets to various organisations and reading groups that otherwise might not have had the means to attend. Some of the beneficiaries of the programme this year included St Vincent’s School for the Deaf, Bukho Bami, the Sizanani Mentorship Programme, Rays of Hope and the Alexandra Education Committee.
In addition to literary appetites being satiated there was lots on offer in terms of food and drink stalls as well as the Exclusive Books pop-up store where you were able to buy all the visiting authors’ books and have them signed. The feedback received has been overwhelmingly positive, making it clear that the day was a resounding success.
Visit our website for some interviews with visitors and a video with the highlights of the day.
http://kingsmead.co.za/bookfair/our-favourite-things-2019/
http://kingsmead.co.za/bookfair/gallery-2/kingsmead-book-fair-2019/
Alex Bouche
Director of Marketing
Arts News
DRAMA
On Saturday, 11 May, Kingsmead performed for the 6th time in the annual inter-schools’ one-act play festival FEDA. Our girls performed The V-Day Campaign: an updated and localised reimagining of The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler. The performance was outstanding and well-received by the audience who gave the girls a standing ovation. The adjudicators, Craig Morris and Nat Ramabulana, raved about the play, touching on the brilliance of the direction and casting, applauding the girls for their courage to present this work, and making mention of how much they enjoyed the South African context and inclusion of South African languages. While the play was written in 1996, the issues dealt with are still relevant.
The V-Day Campaign was nominated for 6 awards:
– Best All-rounder: Rachel McKay – Won
– Best Singing/Original music
– Most Inspirational production
– Best Actress – Rachel McKay
– Best Director – Rachel McKay
– Prolific Contribution of Quality
The festival ended on 25 May and included over 58 plays, involving 1000 students. We are exceedingly proud of our students and look forward to next year’s competition.
KINGSMEAD THEATRE
The plans for the Kingsmead Theatre have been completed and look absolutely fantastic. On Wednesday, 22 May, the Drama Department held the first fundraiser towards making this dream a reality. The evening included performances by Pamela Power, Rosie Motene, (both participants in the Book Fair) and Tapuwa Moore. The spectacular performances by these inspiring women, set the atmosphere for the evening. Our girls then presented the most outstanding, thoughtful and courageous performance of the FEDA play The V-Day Campaign. The depth, authenticity and presence displayed by our young actors left the audience in awe. Enormous congratulations to the cast, crew and teachers in involved in this incredible undertaking.
(L2R: Tapuwa Moore, Pamela Power, Rosie Motene, Rango Phogole, Rachel McKay, Frances Wilmot)
MUSIC
St David’s & Kingsmead Music Evenings 21 & 22 May
Congratulations to our Senior School Choir, Glee Group, String Ensemble, Orchestra and 1st Team Marimba band who performed brilliantly at the Senior School’s Music evening with St David’s on Tuesday, 21 May. The next evening, the Junior School Choirs had their turn, and our Grade 2-7 girls certainly did us proud with their enthusiastic performances. Well done to all our young musicians and thank you to our parents for your support.
SAHETI Music & Mezedes 23 May
Well done to our Glee Group, accompanied by the String Ensemble and Jazz Band, for their fantastic performances at the annual SAHETI Music evening. Their confident performances were most impressive.
15th Annual Orchestra & Ensemble Festival Monday 27 – Wednesday 29 May
This week, Kingsmead hosted the 15th annual Senior School Orchestra & Ensemble Festival at the Rosebank Union Church. 17 schools/ Music Centres were involved and performed a wide range of styles of music. Our Orchestra, Jazz band and Marimba bands were absolutely brilliant and as always, did Kingsmead proud.
Save the date
More information will be posted to the Live Calendar and in the Arts & Music section of the app:
- Wednesday 5 June Kingsmead Senior Schools Interschools’ Dance Festival: 18h30 Lange Hall
- Saturday 8 June Kingsmead Music Eisteddfod: Junior & Senior School Individual Musicians: 9h00 – 12h00 @ Kingsmead Music Department
- Tuesday 11 June Kingsmead Music Celebration : (All Junior & Senior Music groups, Orchestra & Choirs)
- Wednesday 19 June St Stithians Senior Schools Choir Festival: Time TBA @ St Stithians
- Tuesday 25 June Senior School Music Concert: 18h00 Joel Hall
DANCE
At the beginning of the term the traditional dance girls performed their new seTswana routine at the Junior School Africa Day assembly. The performance was energetic and the girls looked bright in their new dance attire.
This term will see the launch of a new initiative: our Interschools’ Dance Festival happening on 5 June 18h30 to 20h30. No tickets are required for this event and light refreshments will be served at 18h00. We look forward to showcasing our dancers alongside dancers from a number of neighbouring schools.
PHOTOGRAPHY
On Friday 17 May, the Photography Club enjoyed an introductory workshop on how to set up a camera to achieve a desired effect. The girls found the workshop enlightening and are excited to practice their new found knowledge as they capture many beautiful photographs throughout the year.
DEBATING
The excellent debating results from the 1st term, allowed one senior and one junior debating team to participate in the next round of the SACEE Debating Championships.
On the 11th of May, the senior debating team which included Sabeeha Banwa, Ammaarah Wadee, Raeesah Jadwat, Adiya Pillay and Ranyah Patel, participated in the first three rounds and won two out of their three debates.
The junior team, which included Atiya Gaffar, Lamia Mahomed, Chloe Collins, Hanan Mastenbroek and Mwamini Bukanga, participated in their first three rounds on the 18th of May and we are still waiting for the results.
ART
The Grade 11 and 12 Visual Culture Studies Artwork is currently on exhibition in the Arts & Music Department foyer and in the Learning Centre. The theme for the Grade 11 work is ‘Down the Rabbit Hole’ and for the Grade 12s, ‘Outside the Centre’. Their interpretation of these themes is diverse and varied and each girl has researched extensively to arrive at the end product. Pop in to see the wonderful work on display and read the girls’ thoughtful rationales to gain insight into their work.
Elsabé Fourie
Director of Arts & Music
Sports News
DIVING
Olivia van Vollenhoven competed in Dresden and achieved the following positions.
1m – 22nd
3m – 15th
Open 1m – 17th
Open 3m – 7th
Open Synchro – 1st
Sarah Benning competed at Nationals and achieved the following results:
1m – 4th
3m – 4th
Platform – 3rd
Synchro – 2nd
Women’s 1m – 6th
In Amsterdam Sarah achieved the following results:
1m – 8th
3m – 10th
Synchro – 2nd
Women’s 1m – 10th
EQUESTRIAN
The girls have competed in the 3rd Qualifier this month.
Olivia Hinde:
3rd In-Hand Utility
Sarah Warren:
1st In-Hand Utility Level 1
3rd Equitation Level 2
4th Performance Riding Level 3
6th & 8th Prix Caprilli Level 3
Hannah Buttifant-Sewel:
2nd & 2nd Dressage
3rd Performance Riding
6th Equitation
Mia Byrne:
7th Show Jumping
Leeya Morata:
1st In-Hand Utility
2nd Performance Riding
2nd Working Riding
Ella Hunt:
6th Novice Dressage
2nd Eventing 80cm
Paula Prinsloo:
1st Handy Hunter
3rd Equitation
6th Working Hunter
7th Show Jumping
KARATE
Soultana Tzitzivacos has been selected for SA JKA Gauteng Karate team to compete at Nationals later in May 2019.
HOCKEY & NETBALL
At the recent St Andrews netball festival, our 1st team finished 6th out of 32 schools, an amazing achievement. The 1st hockey team ended 27th out of 32 school at the St Marys hockey festival.
Nina Stockenstrom was knocked out in the last stage of trials, Sarah Minnie was sick and could not attend final trials.
In hockey, the following girls made Provincial teams.
Naledi Mbokane – SG u18A
Gabriella Staples – SG u16A
Mia Spiers – SG u14D
Both sports have just started with their league matches.
The ISSF ( Independent Schools Sports Festival ) will be held at St Anne’s in June for 1st teams of Hockey, Netball, Tennis and Squash.
Robert Pullen
Director of Sport
Academic News
FRENCH
Our Grade 10 French students spent a day attending lessons at Lycée Jules Verne in Morningside.
Being able to follow a trigonometry lesson in French is no small achievement at a Grade 10 level, but this is exactly what our students did. Teachers from the Lycée Jules Verne – where 1200 students from over 70 nationalities attend school – opened the doors of their classrooms to 20 slightly apprehensive yet eager Kingsmead learners. This experience was not only a fantastic boost to our students’ confidence in their proficiency, but was also a wonderfully enriching cultural experience. Our students made many new friends in the francophone sphere of Johannesburg, but also impressed the Lycée Français’ teachers with their spirit, excellent manners and inquisitive mind. We will be welcoming 21 students from Lycée Jules Verne in September and we can’t wait to show them what a cutting-edge school Kingsmead is.
Joëlle Harding
Senior School French Teacher
GRADE 9 GROWTH CURRICULUM – ADRENALIN RUSH
On Friday, 24th May, the Grade 9 students went on an exciting outing to Gold Reef City as part of the Adrenaline Rush Module. The students conducted an experiment which investigated the effect that adrenaline has on heart rate. They took their resting heart rate before going on a ride and again thereafter. Everyone arrived at the same thrilling conclusion: An adrenaline rush results in a seriously elevated heart rate! A structural analysis of the rides was conducted as well as a SWOT analysis.
After this thrilling adventure, the Grade 9s have sufficient information to assist them with their own miniature prototype-build of a theme park and for the bank proposal presentation (Shark Tank style).
Verlin Govender
Physical Science Teacher
GRADE 9 GROWTH CURRICULUM – FOODOLOGY
For the Foodology Module in Term 1, the Grade 9s had to plan, design and prepare a 3-course picnic for a specific dietary requirement, eg. gluten-free or diabetic. The girls worked in their collaboration groups and had to research their dietary requirement before deciding on a suitable menu with a starter, main and dessert within a specific budget. The food was prepared at home, was presented with a theme that matched their dietary requirement as a picnic on the Music Lawns and enjoyed by girls and staff. The girls were very proud of their culinary skills and their final products.
VIETNAM TOUR
On 14 April, 28 girls and 3 staff members left for an Enrichment Tour of Vietnam. Upon arrival in Hanoi, we were eagerly met by our wonderful Tour Manager, Ngoc, who was our helpline and mentor for the whole trip.
The girls had to quickly learn the art of crossing a road as many of the millions of scooters do not always obey the traffic rules. Highlights of our 2-night stay in Hanoi included: walking the streets of the Old Quarter, a visit to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Tran Quoc Pagoda, a rickshaw bike ride through the streets of Hanoi and a water puppet show, where the music had narcoleptic effects on the girls.
Next stop was the serene and majestic Halong Bay where we spent a night on a Junk Boat, climbing up one of the rock structures (karts) to get a full panoramic view and squid fishing from the boat.
From there we flew down to Da Nang for our 2-night stay in Hoi An. Here we visited the My Lai Massacre Site where hundreds of innocent Vietnamese civilians were killed by American soldiers during the Vietnam War, we walked the quaint streets of the Old Quarter, made our own Vietnamese lanterns. We also learnt how to make tasty Vietnamese food at a cooking NGO, called Streets, that help to get homeless children off the streets by training them in the food industry.
En route to our next stop, Hue, we drove via the beautiful Hai Van Pass and stopped at an orphanage to interact with the children. The next day we visited the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) which included a tour of Khe Sanh combat base, the Vinh Moc Tunnels (where Vietnamese people lived up to 20 meters below the ground) and the famous Hien Luong Bridge which was once the border between North and South Vietnam. Our last morning in Hue was spent visiting the Imperial Citadel and a cruise on the Perfume River.
Our final stop was a 3-night stay in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). We spent the first morning learning about the enormous underground network, of about 250km, that makes up the Cu Chi Tunnels, which the Viet Cong used to avoid the American forces. In the afternoon we spent time perusing through the exhibits in the War Remnants Museum, which very clearly shows the lasting effects of the war, particularly the damage that Agent Orange and Napalm had, and still have, on human health and the environment.
Our last day was spent visiting the Mekong Delta where we took a boat ride on the Mekong River, visited a coconut candy-making factory and a bicycle ride through the rice fields and tropical gardens.
This was an incredibly enriching tour and a once-in-a-lifetime experience for everyone who went. Special thanks to the staff who accompanied the girls on tour, and to the girls for their excellent conduct, energy and fun.
Angela Norman-Smith
Head of Science
SANGO GEOGRAPHY OLYMPIAD
On Tuesday the 21st of May, the Senior School Geography students participated in the 2019 South African Geography Olympiad which consisted of 46 multiple choice questions that challenged their geographical knowledge as well as their knowledge on various current affairs. Participating in the Olympiad encourages the students to be mindful of our ever-changing planet and stimulates their awareness of geographic and environmental matters from a global perspective. We look forward to their results later this term.
Oriana Patel
Geography and Mathematics Teacher
GRADE 12 GEOGRAPHY URBAN EXCURSION
The Grade 12 Geography Group were given the opportunity to explore the richness and diversity of Johannesburg on an Urban Excursion, by their teacher, Miss Rademacher, on Friday, 24 May.
The excursion had five main stops: Munro Drive Viewpoint, Victoria Yards, SAB World of Beer, Carlton Center and finally Rosebank.
The day started with a view of the northern suburbs from Munro Drive Viewpoint. Thereafter, we headed to Lorentzville where the girls were privileged to spend the morning learning about the latest urban renewal project in Lorentzville, Victoria Yards, from Brian Green. Brian Green, is the property developer behind another well-known Johannesburg landmark, 44 Stanley. Victoria Yards is his latest venture. He works closely with the Nando’s Group on this project using it as a platform for community upliftment and physical upgrading of the area and the Jukskei Spruit. A place filled with inspiring projects, initiatives and artisans and well worth a visit on the last Sunday of every month!
Our next stop was The SAB World of Beer, to see how hops, wheat and barley play a role in producing beer. Thereafter, we headed to Carlton Center to get a better aerial view of the city. Our final stop, was in Rosebank to learn about the Rosebank Fire station as an example of Facadism and the greening of Rosebank, by Standard Bank.
Grade 12 Geography Group at Victoria Yards, Lorentzville
Bianca Rademacher
HOD Geography, History and Accounting
Service News
SENIOR SCHOOL DANCE MARATHON
Congratulations to the Senior School students who raised R103 500 for A21 and Dignity Dreams. The Senior School students showed that they are true advocates and campaigners for gender equality by supporting A21 (who actively work to abolish modern day slavery and human trafficking) and Dignity Dreams (who bring dignity to girls by providing them with washable and reusable sanitary products).
R42500 was raised for A21 and R61 000 was raised for Dignity Dreams.
SHARE WHAT YOU CAN
Thank you for supporting the Share What You Can drive. 9942 Easter eggs were donated to ASHA crèches in Soweto and 578 tins of food were donated to Pediatric Care Africa for their Mozambique Relief Project.
GREEN TEAM
The Green Team invites everyone to start making Eco Bricks with your non-recyclable waste and 2 liter bottles.
Please see below on how to make an Eco Brick. It is important that you take note of what you can put inside – the contents must be non-recyclables and you need to compact the materials completely. Measure the mass of your Eco Brick it to ensure it is over 400g before submitting it, as we cannot accept any that don’t meet the requirements. Your finished products can be taken to Mrs Norman-Smith or Charlotte Stockenström.
Jenny Venter
Director of Service
FIRST AID – Tanya’s Ambulance Experience
As a First Aider great opportunity has surpassed me. Sister Monica arranged an opportunity through Medi Response to have First Aiders observe them and come along for a shift. It was a thrilling experience being able to assist on the ambulance, even if I only had one minor call that day. I was introduced to the equipment on the van and was given my own opportunity to play around with the gurney and roll it back onto the ambulance. When the time for an emergency came, I strapped on my students reflective vest and buckled up as we swerved through traffic and passed red robots. When we arrived at the emergency scene we quickly assessed the patient by asking about their medical history and what had happened and searched for any fatal wounds (with gloves on of course). After ensuring that the patient was stable, we loaded them in the ambulance and then set off to the hospital so they could run more tests. The day was quiet after that but it gave more time to build a friendship with the paramedics on board and to learn the ins and outs of their job.
As a first aider, this was a great experience to learn more about the emergency medical service field and to experience a day on board in a potential career.
Tanya Swartz
Grade 12 Student