Kingsmead Newsletter October 2022

Dear Kingsmead Community,

We enjoyed a wonderful assembly last week which was taken by our 2023 student leaders. I have asked them to share these thoughts and have included them below. They really do understand the ethos and culture of Kingsmead and have been able to articulate it so well. We so look forward to working alongside them next year.

Keratile Maboka, Deputy Head Girl – opened by saying that the assembly would focus on having a greater appreciation for the school and its surrounding community. From the greenery that blesses us, to being involved in the various activities that our school provides, there are ample opportunities to love the school before our time comes to an end.

As an inclusive community, let’s learn to participate and connect with our school and its people. This includes greeting service staff and teachers as you make your way to class, wearing school uniform with pride on and off the premises, and treating others and yourself with respect.

The prayer was led by Head Girl for 2023, Megan Porter:
Dear Lord, we thank you for the picturesque grounds moulded under your guidance. A constant reminder of the beauty that lies in life’s simpler things. We ask that you allow us to make the most of every opportunity that we are presented with and that even during the time of exams that we are able to maintain a sense of gratitude for our friends, teachers and the environment that we are in. Thank you for the people, the ethos and spirit of our school and that we are given the chance to find our area of strength and enjoyment here. May you guide us through the next couple of weeks and help us to see the positive aspects in all that we do. Lord, let us keep the sense of joy that abounds beyond the gates ignited and let us feed into that sense of happiness with never- ending laughter and a sense of belonging.
We ask this in your name, Amen.

The Head of Ethos, Alexa Kohler:
Lessons and academics are important, but that is not all that makes up the happy environment that is our school. It’s important that we are well-rounded individuals and that we learn to find the balance that feeds into our sense of purpose.

Kingsmead creates an environment in which it is easy to embody a value because it can be taken on naturally. Our school has been described as a happy school, and I can confirm that this is the easiest value to embody here. I encourage you to think about the small things that keep you going every day. If each of us take it upon ourselves to live according to the ethos of our school which in essence is the Kingsmead values, being kindness, service, purpose, happiness, responsibility and possibility, a sense of fulfilment will follow.

Head of Spirit, Mwamini Bukanga:
Spirit isn’t just about jumping endlessly on a blazing hot day and shouting war cries no one knows the lyrics to, it’s more about the support and pride that we all show within our community. It’s a space where everyone feels pride and a deeper connection due to our shared community. It’s the passion that we show when participating in our various activities and the support we show our peers.

The Head of TDI, Sameeha Gangat:
It’s important to understand how much time we spend at school, and how vital it is to feel as though you belong and are safe in this community.

We can all play a role in making other people feel welcome, comfortable, and accepted into our space. Kindness and respect go a long way, and each one of us should be determined to make our environment a positive one. My dream for Kingsmead students is that we are so educated and aware of how the way we conduct ourselves affects others, that we always respect people’s boundaries and their value systems whilst still maintaining our own, especially in situations where these may differ.

We can be part of the change we want to see.

Head of Service, Scarlett Muirhead:
Engaging in community service lets one become involved and connected to a community or group of people. Being involved in internal school service is a great way to meet and make friends and build a sense of school pride. Additionally, getting involved in external service is a great way to extend yourself and experience new situations, which ultimately helps you to develop life skills and to build self-confidence.

Doing service is inherently rewarding. Having a sense of meaning and purpose are the greatest factors in finding happiness and value in one’s life and school environment.

Head of the Arts, Julia Aspoas:
Participation in arts activities gives us opportunities to connect with others and learn and grow from their experiences, and this is what art is about: sharing. We share the joy of creation, the exhaustion coming into a Friday afternoon choir practice and the excitement of a performance. But something particularly unique about arts is that we also share with the audience.
Trey Anastasio said: “Ideally, the point of music is community, not the player. Musicians are simply channels to link the audience to the music and to one another.”

Head of Sport, Emma Proudfoot:
Sport unifies us as a community. There’s a quote that says “Sport is a universal language. At its best it can bring people together, no matter what their origin, background, religious beliefs or economic status is.” No matter which sports you play, you will always be a part of a larger team. It teaches us to work with one another and even form strong bonds with people throughout all the grades. The friendships you make in your various sports are some of the friendships that you’ll value the most in your school career.

In closing, Deputy Head Girl Hannah Daniels asked the school the following questions:

Please raise your hand if…

• you have ever played a water sport
• you play a musical instrument
• you have gone on a Kingsmead hike
• you have been a first aider
• you have been involved in a major production
• you have been given a Panado by Sister
• you have played in a marimba band
• you have supported a friend playing a sport match at Kingsmead
• you have donated blood
• you have run at inter-house athletics
• you have enjoyed one of our tuckshop’s famous croissants

I hope you looked around and saw the collective experiences we all share because of school.
Ultimately lots of us spend more time at school than we do at home, and so it is up to us to make this a happy home. Each of us have it in our power to find the beauty and positivity of Kingsmead. We are the ones who can make school a place we love. We are the ones who can decide that school is something to look forward to everyday. How? Get involved. For lack of a better word, find your “thing”, your people, and your purpose at school.

Fond regards,
Lisa Palmer
Executive Head: Kingsmead College

Academics

Growth Curriculum

Grade 9 Kingfisher Module
Prior to the filming and editing of their advertisements for the ‘Kingfisher’ module, the Grade 9s received some tips and tricks from an Audio Engineer. Mr Brogan Muir delighted our students with his tales of his work experience on set for kykNET. With some interesting tricks like using the interior of a car to reduce noise while recording important audio. Brogan explained the importance of sound and the use of foley effects to enhance overall production value. Our Grade 9s have certainly taken this advice to heart as the production value of this year’s advertisements is top-notch! We look forward to celebrating all that our Grade 9s have achieved in the upcoming Kingfisher Awards ceremony to be held during the school day in early November.

Danielle Wepener
Kingfisher Module Leader

Grade 9 Elements of Existence Module
In the first week of October the Grade 9s did a lung dissection. Lung dissections are done to understand and explore the functions and wonders of the lungs. This is done by examining the internal and external structure as well as the connection and relationship from the lungs to the heart. We exist and can breathe because of our lungs; an element of our existence. The lung dissection was performed on a sheep’s lung.

Before the actual dissection. We were warned that the experiment that we were about to undertake may have a slight odour and may contain a bit of blood. Each student wore sterile gloves and lab coats. We made sure to be very careful when handling the apparatus and tools. For some of the students this would be their first and last dissection, so we were in high spirits. We had to answer questions but were given a mostly free reign over the dissection. Many of us were excited and wanted to the begin cutting immediately while others were more organised and methodical in how they went about the dissection. Each table consisting of 2-4 students was given a set of lungs to dissect, but first we needed to blow in them to see how our lungs worked. This was great fun seeing the lungs expand and contract. It was incredible to think this was how our lungs worked daily.

The exciting part was definitely when we each got a turn to cut, poke and prod around the lungs. When we cut a lung, it was soft and squishy and we got to see how certain parts looked while poking it. The lungs were surprisingly thick and rubbery, but it did make sense with what function it had to perform. We were surprised to see a dense and thick piece of the lobe float in water. Cutting the trachea was the worst part since we could hear the cartilage break with each cut to get it open. Some groups were lucky as they still had an oesophagus attached to the trachea, which was surprisingly small and floppy.

When we were finished with the questions we were allowed to dissect the lungs to our leisure but definitely a bad idea after seeing how mutilated the lungs were afterwards. Once we had our fun, it was time to clean up and finish up the actual work set out for us. Although all this was fascinating some of the oozing freaked us out. Nonetheless it was awesome.

All in all, we think this was a successful dissection.

Maleeha Moosa and Thiya Naidoo
Grade 9 Students

Grade 8 Good to Grow Module
The Grade 8 students participated in a Clothes To Good toy making workshop on Wednesday, 26 October. The facilitators loved the energy of the students. The Grade 8s made sensory-curtains and sensory-books which will stimulate babies and encourage brain development. Everyone valued the meaningful impact it will have on the Early Childhood Development Centres.

The Good to Grow Team

Grade 8 This Is Us Module
The Grade 8 Growth Curriculum includes the ‘This Is Us’ module. Natural Science, Art, and Life Orientation are the subjects covered in this module. The individual is the major subject of the module. The reproductive systems of both sexes were this term’s primary focus in Natural Science. Recently, in Natural Science, the Grade 8s were tasked with an experiment. The purpose of this experiment was to evaluate contraceptives.

The Grade 8s focused on the male contraceptives in this specific experiment. In this study, we evaluated three contraceptive brands, including: Durex—the top quality brand; Trust—the medium quality brand; and Choice—the government brand. While working in groups of 5, we had to investigate which of the 3 brands of condoms were the strongest based on the amount of water they were able to hold. We were challenged to hold open each condom over a bucket, ensuring we had a tight grip but being careful not to tear the condom. Then, filling a measuring jug with 500ml of water from the tap and pouring the water into the condom until it burst, whilst keeping track of the total amount of water poured into the condom.

During the experiment, we had to ensure that the condom wouldn’t touch the base of the bucket as well as keep an accurate measurement of the circumference of the base of the condom using a string and ruler. By the end of the experiment, our results proved that Durex was the most durable condom. This experiment was fascinating to many students.

The final size of the condom containing water was surprising to many students as well. It was educational and enjoyable. It taught most of the Grade 8s to be open-minded and aware of contraceptives since it usually isn’t a matter that is openly spoken about enough.
Reflecting on this experiment, the Grade 8s observed is never to trust Trust!

Zaara Banwa
Grade 8 Student

Geography and Commerce

Grade 11 Geography Lessons
The Grade 11 Group had an introduction to their Matric Syllabus and the Geomorphology of Rivers. They enjoyed some interactive, sugar-based activities to reinforce their understanding of stream orders and transportation processes of rivers on a Friday.

Bianca Rademacher
Geography Department

Grade 10 & 11 Geography Outing to Petra Diamond Mine, Cullinan
The Grade 10 and 11 Geography students visited the Petra Diamond Mines in Cullinan earlier this month to learn more about rock types and the processes of open cast and shaft mining.

After a short introductory video on diamonds and the mining process at Petra, we were treated to an extensive open vehicle tour of the Petra mines seeing examples of an open cast pit; shaft elevators; the processing facilities; the piles of residual tailings and a ten-storey deep slime dam.

The trip was rounded off with a delicious lunch at the Cullinan Station Diner.

I really enjoyed it. I found it interesting to learn about how the process of mining diamonds works. As well as seeing how the mine has adjusted to using less water and less electricity in our current times of having problems with load shedding and water shortages. I also enjoyed reading about the history of the mine and looking at the historical artifacts.
Saskia Osterlee

The trip was fun and interesting. The highlight for me was seeing the big hole and learning that there was once a volcano there which erupted and spread Kimberlite across the area. I also found the process in which the Kimberlite is moved from underground, along conveyor belts and broken up interesting. I would have liked to have been able to see some rough/uncut diamonds and seen a piece of Kimberlite with a diamond inside.
Chloe Wagner

Danielle Tillier and Bianca Rademacher
Geography Department

Grade 11 Business Studies visit the KMC Marketing Department
The Grade 11 Business Studies students had a hands-on marketing lesson with our own Kingsmead Marketing Department on Tuesday, 25 October. In the business class we learned that marketing can be described as all activities that have an impact on the image of the business and the customer’s decision either to buy or not to buy the product or service, based on different experiences relating to the business. Mrs Bouche, Ms Mazibuko and Mrs Mdluli related the textbook theory about the Marketing Function to Marketing at Kingsmead.

Rangoato Phogole and Liezel van Lith
Business Studies Department

Art & Music

Dance
Meera and Maia Luksmidas, who learn with Jozidance, have had the most incredible few months of dance experience and achievements behind them. They recently participated in the South African regional tour of the American Dance Awards in Pretoria where Meera was awarded gold medals (90%+) for her Contemporary Modern Solo, Lyrical Solo and Open Duets. Meera also performed in a senior lyrical large group and a small contemporary group earning Ultimate Gold and Gold medals respectively. Maia was awarded Ultimate Gold medals (95%+) for her Contemporary Modern, Lyrical and Acrobatic Dance Solos and a Gold medal for her lyrical duet. Both performed together in three large group dances, two of which were placed 1st and 2nd overall for all large group performances. Maia qualified as an Ultimate Challenge Regional Winner securing her an invitation to participate in the ADA nationals that will take place in Rhode Island in 2023. Congratulations Meera and Maia, we are so incredibly proud of you!

Drama – Grade 11s perform an adaptation of The Crucible
The Grade 11 Drama students – with a few friends from other grades – worked hard towards performing their own South African adaptation of Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’ as part of their practical examination for the term. Set at the fictional Salem Secondary Boarding School in the Eastern Cape, the play looked at informal justice systems found in schools and the power of a mob mentality. With the guidance of Kirsten Harris and Frances Wilmot, the students created a courageous and interesting rendition of this well-known classic. Keeping in mind that this particular class has studied Drama for a large part of their senior years online, their bold, expressive performance was a remarkable achievement.

Cast
Mary Warren: Keitumetse Makhanya
Parris: Tsentle Bosielo
Danforth: Hannah Daniels
Jane Procter: Hannah Jadwat
Abigail Williams: Sofi Sankar
Marshal: Leah Falcon
Gang: Mbali Ndhlovu, Mia Stuart, Liberty Bischoff, Tyla Kassen, Mohale Mlobela,
Summaya Forssman

Crew
Lighting and Sound: Mia Stuart, Kirsten Harris, Amber Aspoas
Props and Costumes: Lisa-Khanya Motha
Student Directors: Leah Falcon, Mbali Ndhlovu

Debating
The Debating Society has had an excellent year, performing admirably in the SACEE Regional Competitions. Six of our Grade 8 team members went on to participate in the provincial tournament where they gained valuable experience and insight and won two out of six debates. We are very excited to see where they go from here, as they competed against far more experienced debaters in these events. A big shout-out to all our debaters who worked hard this year at improving their skills in this exciting and competitive activity.

Music
On Wednesday, 5 October, our Marimba bands performed at the inaugural St Peter’s Marimba Festival where they wowed the audience with their confident performances, while getting the audience off their seats for all the other items, dancing and singing along to the other school’s lively items. It was an absolutely brilliant evening, one we will be sure not to miss in future. We were reminded of the power of music and togetherness, a definite highlight o the 3rd term musical calendar.

Also in October, our Grade 4-7 Choir performed at The Ridge Choir Festival at the Linder Auditorium, the Jazz Band entertained the alumnae at the annual KCA Lunch and the Junior School Orchestra performed at the annual St Mary’s Ensemble Festival. On Thursday, 27 October our Senior School music students had the opportunity to share their musical journey with an appreciative audience at the Senior School Music Concert.

Share with us!
Parents, guardians and students are encouraged to share our students’ achievements and endeavours in the Arts & Music sphere with us. It is wonderful to be able to acknowledge and celebrate our students’ love and interests in the Arts with the community. Email efourie@kingsmead.co.za with the details and some pictures.

We thank our parents, guardians, family and friends for their continued support of the Art & Music faculty; the artists and musicians for courageously taking the stage to share their learning with us, and our teachers for their passion, efforts and enthusiasm to make it all happen.

Sport

Water Polo
Congratulations to the following girls who have been included in the respective Gauteng Schools Water polo teams to participate in the Interprovincial Tournament in December in Durban:

U19:
Caitlin Stott
Non Travelling Reserve – Alison Gace

U16A:
Kate Chapman
U16B:
Olivia Cooke
Kagano Khoncha
Non Travelling Reserve – Emma De Kock

U15A:
Lucy Davis
U15B:
Francesca Druce
Holly Franks
Annabelle Smith

U14B:
Ariana Boyd
Charlee Davis
Clea Ellens
Lola-Rose Jooste
Elena Rovelli
Bethany Sinclaire

Our 1st team competed in the St Stithian’s Invitational “Stayers” Tournament and placed 15th out of 20 schools. A mixture of Grade 6,7 and 8s took part in the Roedean U14 Tournament and placed 9th out of 14 teams. The results of these tournaments and brand of water polo played by both teams bodes well for Kingsmead Water Polo for 2023.

Congratulations to the following girls who have been included in the respective Easterns Schools water polo teams to participate in the Interprovincial Tournament in December in Durban:
U16 – Emma Spronk
U15 – Kirsten Lamb

The 1st team water polo took part in the Prestige Cup on 15 October at Roedean School. Our 1st team managed to place 6th overall, it was a fantastic performance from our players.

Athletics
A big congratulations to all our athletes and supporters who took part and attended the Inter High Athletics meeting held at Germiston Stadium on Wednesday 19 October.

Kingsmead’s netball, hockey and soccer teams took part in the Parktown Sports Festival which took place at Parktown Girls High School on the 14 and 15 October. All of our teams performed well over the 2 days with a mixture of all age groups playing. The netball team placed 2nd overall out of 12 teams. The hockey team placed 7th out of 14 schools and finally our first ever soccer team placed 6th out of 10 teams.

We are proud to announce that the astro has finally been completed and is ready for use. We would like to thank the council members and school exec in making this venture possible.

Service

Goodwill Day

Thank you to the whole Kingsmead Community for your support of our Goodwill Day on 8 October. The day was a great success with large amounts of fun being had by all who attended. The day started with the largest number of walkers we have attracted yet to our Walk & Greet in Colour, the roads were filled with a kaleidoscope of colours and greetings in all official languages. Thank you to the wonderful marshals who ensured our safety while on the route.

The day was filled with games stalls, many giant inflatables, a great market and other activities involving our Service Partner Organisations. We were kept fed and watered at the Ciro coffee stall and many other delcious food vendors as well as the PTA champagne garden.

Our inaugural Pots of Hope competition had our teams cooking up a storm and we were very pleased that our Senior School Team comprising our Heads of Departments won the challenge!

We were thrilled to have this celebratory event back on campus and we thank all our students for their dedication and involvement in the various events on the day.