Kingsmead Newsletter October 2023

Dear Kingsmead Community,

I do hope that you enjoyed your half-term break. What a wonderful night it was for our whole country on Saturday night.

There have been so many articles written since then about the Springbok win and how it unified the country and how Siya Kolisi’s leadership is something from which we can learn so many lessons.

“There’s so much going wrong in our country, we are the last line of defence,” explained Kolisi. “There’s so much division in the country, it is possible to work together as South Africans, not just on the rugby field, but in life in general. As soon as we work together, all is possible, no matter in what sphere – in the field, in offices, it shows what we can do. We can’t go away from that.”

A picture that resonated with me is the one of Joost van der Westhuizen and Schalk Burger acknowledging their two fans – Faf de Klerk and Siya Kolisi years ago. I was struck by how this interaction could have been the motivating factor for Faf and Siya to pursue their rugby careers. We have such a responsibility as role models to younger students and could make the difference in a young person’s life.

Thank you to each and every parent, staff member and student who supported our 90th birthday celebrations. The culmination of all the events was held on Saturday 21 October and it was just spectacular in every respect, from the décor to the food to the speeches. I would like to especially thank Angie Chapman, Ali Turck, Alex Bouche and Sandy Wood for their incredible hard work in making this the event of the decade.

I hope that you have been able to see our Custodian of Courage tree sculpture on the cricket pitch and that your daughters have explained the process to you of how it was created? We had a wonderful assembly on Monday 23 October to unveil the sculpture.

Staffing news:
We are delighted that Ms Philisiwe Malevu will be remaining as our Senior isiZulu teacher next year.

Ms Louisa Grobler will be taking over as our Grade 8 Co-ordinator for 2024. We held our Orientation last week and welcomed our 88 new students as the Class of 2028! We cannot wait for these wonderful students to join us on our high school journey.

I wish you all a wonderful remainder of the term. We think of all our students who are writing exams at this time.

Fond regards,
Lisa Palmer
Executive Head: Kingsmead College

Academics

Life Orientation
Positive Self-Talk
Marilyn Monroe once said, “Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.” Loving yourself is hard especially in this society. A way we can learn to love ourselves is through positive self-talk. We naturally talk to ourselves everyday.

In the Life Orientation component of the ‘This is Us’ module, we addressed the power of positive self-talk. Students were asked to write down a daily positive affirmation.
Positive self-talk is not about tricking yourself into viewing everything as wonderful. Instead, it helps you to see the whole truth.

It refers to the practice of consciously and intentionally replacing negative thoughts with positive and empowering affirmations. It encourages us to believe in our abilities, embrace our unique qualities, and face challenges with a positive mindset. Positive self-talk empowers us to overcome self-doubt and pursue our dreams fearlessly. Positive self-talk leads to you learning to love and accept yourself the way you are.

Loving yourself is one of the most important acts of kindness and care that you can offer to yourself. It is about embracing and accepting yourself unconditionally and recognising your worthiness. When you love yourself, you create a foundation of self-respect and self-compassion that allows you to navigate through life’s ups and downs. Loving yourself means being aware of your strengths, celebrating your accomplishments, and forgiving your flaws. When you love yourself, you attract positive energy, healthy relationships, and opportunities that make you your authentic self. Remember, you are deserving of love, and it all starts with loving yourself.

Zahreen Moosajee
Grade 8 Student

Arts & Music

St Peter’s Marimba Festival
Well done to our Grade 8-11 Marimba bands who participated in the St Peter’s Marimba Festival at the beginning of October. It is an absolute delight to see our marimba band members make music together. Thank you to Wian Joubert who so capably and passionately coaches our marimba bands, making sure that they don’t only play brilliantly but have fun while learning a range of music.

Want young people to work together? Put them in a music ensemble.
Want them to listen to each other? Put them in a music ensemble.
Want them to learn the importance of personal responsibility? Put them in a music ensemble.
Want them to connect? Put them in a music ensemble.
~ Vaughan Fleischfresser

Arts4Hearts Concert at the Joburg Theatre
Four of our students were invited to take part in the Arts4Hearts Variety Concert at the Joburg Theatre in support of the Teddy Bear Foundation. Well done to Leah Falcon who beautifully interpreted a poem, and Nubia Nelson, Thiya Naidoo and Mohale Mlobela who performed their own compositions. We are incredibly proud of their courageous performances at this special event. Congratulations to Mohale Mlobela and Thiya Naidoo who were presented with awards at the end of the event.

Jan Celliers Eisteddfod
During October, many of our students took part in the Jan Celliers Eisteddfod where they achieved excellent results. Enormous congratulations to Safiya Vally who was awarded Best Senior String Player at the Top Achievers concert.

Music Concert
Well done to all our musicians who performed at our termly music concert and those completing music examinations this week. It takes courage to perform in front of an audience and we commend you for sharing your music with the music community.

Public Speaking and Debating
Our public speakers and debaters participated in three events this term including the Best Speaker competition, Gauteng provincial trials and the Think Uhuru Public Speaking and Debating Festival.

Congratulations to the junior best speakers: Melokuhle Zungu who placed 1st, Zaara Banwa in 2nd place and Basha Mkhondo and Aleeza Nanabhay who tied for the 3rd position.
The senior best speakers were Qhayiya Klaas in 1st placed, Morgan Kohler in 2nd place and Oprah Orimoloye and Thando Sibanda tied in 3rd position.

Both the senior and junior debating teams participated in the Gauteng provincial trials where they narrowly missed out on the quarter finals, winning 3 out of their six debates.

Kingsmead entered 5 teams in the exciting Think Uhuru Public Speaking and Debating Festival which we host at Kingsmead, and our students achieved excellent results.

Well done to our enthusiastic debating and public speaking students and special thanks to Bella Mkhabela and Tumelo Bore who coach our debaters and Tumelo Bore for guiding and coaching our public speakers.

Grade 11 One Act plays
In the last week of October, the Grade 11 Drama students staged one act plays which is part of their practical work for the subject and serves as the foundation work for next year’s FEDA competition. The theme was ‘Disobedient Theatre’ and our drama students wrote their own plays around the concepts of social norms and the perceptions around diversity in our current society.

The Grade 11s were absolutely spectacular, tackling these challenging topics with honesty and confidence. They had the audience on the edge of their seats and by the end of the evening, there were very few dry eyes in the theatre.

Well done to our brave actors and directors, and sincere thanks to Ryan Dittman and Lesego Mnguni who guided our students to present fantastic work.

Festive Carol Service 2023
We are looking forward to our community Carol Service on Monday 4 December 18h00 – 19h00 at Rosebank Union Church. Don’t miss out on this special event.
Please note that this is a compulsory event for all students. More details will follow closer to the time.

Please diarise the rehearsals which all Choir and Orchestra members must attend:

Tuesday 28 November
13h00 – 14h00 Choir practice in Lange hall
13h00 – 14h30 Combined Junior & Senior Orchestras in the Rehearsal space

Wednesday 29 November
12h30-14h30 Combined Orchestras & Choirs Full Rehearsal of Carol service in Lange hall

Thursday 30 November
13h00 – 14h00 Choir practice in Lange hall
13h00 – 14h30 Combined Junior & Senior Orchestras in the Rehearsal space

Thank you for your continued support of the Kingsmead Arts & Music department this year

Sports

Parktown Sports Festival
Kingsmead participated in the Parktown Sports Festival and achieved good results. Once again this festival comes at the end of the season and allows for more growth within each sport. The Hockey entered 2 teams into the festival and they finished 4th and 10th out of 14 teams. Netball finished 5th out of 12 teams, Soccer team 6th out of 9 teams and polo finished 7th.

It was a great opportunity to get some good exposure across 4 sport codes for the students.

Equestrian
3 of our students (Sarah Florence, Hannah Cooke, Mila Hozack) were selected for the Gauteng team that took part at Nationals.

During the season, Hannah Cooke won the Victrix Ludorum for the most points, and the Kingsmead team won Category G by a massive margin over second place.

Inter-High School Athletics
The team have struggled with injuries during the season but at Inter High, the team pulled out all the stops to win the B section and be promoted to the A section for 2024. Well done to the team, coaches ( Ms Venter, Mrs van Lith, Ms Dibestwe, Mrs Koekemoer ) and Kingsmead students for their continuous support.

Water Polo
Our U15 and 1st team performed well throughout the league in the build up to the Roedean U14 Tournament and the St Stithian’s Invitational Tournament. Our U14 team, which included some of our Junior School players put up some great performances considering they were a young team who had a small amount of time together in the pool. Our 1st team pulled off some great results against some strong competition even though as the same as the junior team had a relatively small amount of time together as a team. Congratulations to all the players for their dedication and commitment to Kingsmead waterpolo this past season and year. This bodes well for Kingsmead waterpolo for next year. Special thank you to all the players who participated throughout the year as well and a extra-special thank you to our coaches Mr Van Rooyen and Ms Wilkins.

Tennis
From our A team to our D team, Kingsmead recorded some good results throughout the season against credible opponents which displayed the depth and talent we have in Kingsmead tennis. Our top Grade 8 and 9 players will be participating in the Junior Inter High and we wish them well for this. Thank you to Mrs Masetlwa, Ms Ngwenya who accompanied our teams to all their fixtures and coaches Ms Farina and Mr Kadzora for developing our skills throughout the year.

Service

The annual Goodwill Day is the highlight of our Service calendar. This year was especially poignant as Goodwill Day marked the beginning of our 90th year celebrations.

The sentiments of Goodwill act as an umbrella that encompass the ethos and values of our school. Purpose, responsibility, happiness, possibility, courage and service – giving without the expectation of reward.

DV Thompson established Goodwill Day – her vision, to see the young women of Kingsmead give back to other communities for the privilege Kingsmead gave to them, to foster the values and character of Kingsmead into all students. In 1948 Ms Thompson wrote, “I thought it might be well today to think together a bit about Goodwill. The idea is, of course, to work for the understanding and fellowship between all peoples. Goodwill is a quality of a strong man. Willing well, as against just wishing well, has an idea in it of doing something active for the welfare of another. Goodwill also means being willing to do everything in one’s power to bring good to other people, not only to those we love most and know best. Moreover, Goodwill also means a willingness to see good in another man’s point of view.”

75 years later and the essence of Goodwill Day as envisioned by DV Thompson was truly celebrated on the 7th October. The day began with the opening of the Gates of Welcome and Belonging – so that all that pass through the gates may truly feel included, accepted and cherished. The Walk for Courage saw 1400 Kingsmead community members take to the neighbourhood, raising money for the PTA’s bursary fund. Sixteen of our Service Partners set up on the Cricket Pitch, each of their stands working to engage with our community as we strive to do with and not just for. Some of the highlights included Fight with Insight’s box aerobix demonstrations and punching bag competition, Hotel Hope’s pop up shop, A Few Grey Hairs – with the assistance of our Grade 8s – taking snippets of hair to make up wigs for those afflicted by cancer, SANBS – a new Kingsmead blood donation was set with 68 donors, Lefika la Phodiso – tie dying of t-shirts and bags, Courage Child Protection – creating items for the sensory space at CMI, a visit by the Guide Dogs from SA Guide Dogs, and bunny petting at the Bunny Hop Haven. The Johannesburg Youth Orchestra delighted patrons at the PTA’s Champagne Garden and Gin Bar. Thanks to the generosity of Global Education, each of our Service partners were given a stipend to enable them to cover some of their participation costs.

The Grade 7s hosted a stand to raise funds to adopt a Rhino selling Kingsmead Rhino socks, and key rings. The Grade 8s volunteered throughout the day assisting our Service partners, the Grade 9s conceptualised the most fun games, and the Grade 10s hosted stalls offering nail painting, henna tattoos, bracelet making, hairspray and face glitter, ice cream and waffles.

For many the highlight was the inflatable park – loads of inflatables for all ages, water, sunshine and fun! Through the sale of the inflatable park access bands, we are able to raise money to make donations to Service partners. Thank you to Nedbank for not only sponsoring bottles and bags for the walk, but contributing towards our inflatable park.

Our VIPs for the day were the children from Hotel Hope, Rays of Hope and Fight with Insight. The 75 children had the best time on the inflatables, enjoying cold drinks and snacks and at 12h00 were invited to lunch hosted by our Grade 11s. Our Grade 11s transformed Mackenzie into a South African themed party zone. Beautifully decorated tables, party packs and favours, and a delicious lunch and dessert.

The Gillian Wilkinson Archive and Lisa Palmer Museum were opened on Goodwill Day. These magnificent spaces commemorating 90 years of educational excellence are a culmination of years of passion and dedication to preserving our history and legacy. Ms Wilkinson has been the custodian of all archive and museum artefacts, she has lovingly and painstakingly stored items for decades. In August Natalie da Silva – head of the Genealogical Society of Johannesburg, was appointed as Archivist and Museum Curator. Natalie is assisted by Jo Ohlsen de Fine. Kingsmead community members are invited to visit the Museum and Archive, an email can be sent to Natalie – archives@kingsmead.co.za

A day of this magnitude would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of the Kingsmead Teams – Grade Co Ordinators, Marketing, Maintenance, Gardens, Service staff, Security, Staff volunteers, Accounts, Medical Team, Kitchen Team, Executive and the PTA.

Thank you!

Transformation, Diversity & Inclusion

What a fortunate time to be part of the Kingsmead College community. Goodwill Day and the 90th Birthday celebration within a couple of weeks of each other. Both were successful days where the spirit of the school was on full display. It was great to see people happy in each other’s company and reminding one another of the importance of standing together.

It is great to know that in the TDI space I am never alone. In the senior school I have the formal support of three dedicated teachers: Wisani Nkosi, Rangoato Phogole and Camille Koukoutsis. In the junior school I am fortunate to be supported by: Celiwe Magubane, Roxy Harman-Leak and Nonhlanhla Latha.

In addition, in both schools, there are students representatives and parent representatives, all working together to support TDI initiatives. Perhaps what has been most encouraging is having students and staff come and ask how they may join and support. TDI is all our work. It is about being in service for others. This is the language of our community.

Peer Promoter
Given the goal of 60 donators the Peer Promoters team set out to paint the school red. Encouraging parents, teachers and visitors to come act in the true spirit of goodwill day and give back the community.

On the 7th of October the SANBS, South African National blood services, hosted their annual blood at Kingsmeads 90th birthday Goodwill Day!

The warm day was met with many happy faces and a spirit of service with many people lining up to donate donate. This momentous celebratory day resulted in 68 people donating a part of themselves to save other lives. Along celebration of a milestone of Kingsmeads 90th birthday. The SANBS and Kingsmead college reached a new record that rival the 57 people that donated last year, 40 in 2021 and 46 in 2020.

Thank you to the SANBS for all that they do and we cannot wait to see the number of lives saved increase by tenfold.

Andza Mbelengwa
Peer Promoter