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Kingsmead Newsletter September 2023

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Dear Kingsmead Community,

Last week we celebrated Kingsmead and our Matrics of 2023 at our annual Speech Evening and it was a most moving event. Thank you to Faiza Garda for her inspiring talk as she took us with her on her journey through Kingsmead as the first student of colour admitted to the school. She gave us context to her family background; provided us with a history of the day and explained how she had used her “otherness” at the school as her superpower.

Megan – our Head Girl – gave insight into her past 5 years at Kingsmead and she shared some wonderful stories of her grade from Grade 8 up to now. She gave such a stirring and motivational speech peppered with humourous anecdotes from the grade. It was evident that she has put the Kingsmead values at the centre of her leadership and all the decisions she has made.

I could not have been prouder of our wonderful school on the evening and thank our whole community for their input and their support.

This week we bid farewell to the Class of 2023 and we wish them every success as they prepare for their Final Examinations.

Staffing news:
We said farewell to Sister Megan Cluff who has been our Medical Sister since August last year. She and her husband are immigrating, and we wish them every happiness in their new country. Megan sent the most beautiful letter and I quote from it with her permission:

“There is an enchantment that surrounds this place, an ethereal quality that sets Kingsmead apart from the ordinary. It is a sanctuary where dreams take flight, where knowledge is not just acquired but embraced with a passion that fuels the spirit. Kingsmead will forever hold a unique and sacred place within my heart.”

Welcome to Siter Yolanda Mpilo who has spent this month in a handover with Sister Megan. We are looking forward to working closely with Yolanda as the Medical Sister.

We are also delighted to welcome Wisani Nkosi (nee Maluleke) who is a Kingsmead alumna from the class of 2009 back to Kingsmead as a Mathematics teacher in the Senior School. Wisani says that “Courage Always” and “Franc ha Leal” have been ingrained in her and we are so excited that she is returning to Kingsmead.

With fond regards,
Lisa Palmer
Executive Head: Kingsmead College

Academics

Grade 8 Growth Curriculum Love Jozi Module
As part of the Growth Curriculum Love Jozi module the Grade 8s participated in a drama, voice, and improvisation workshop and Johannesburg Red Bus Tour. This module explores their heritage and culminates in their self-written and directed plays about Johannesburg. The following students shared their experiences of the day.

On 12 September, we were fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to explore our gorgeous city on the Red Bus Tour, as well as get to work with some amazing drama and voice professionals. The movement workshop was led by Martin, an amazing drama professional. It was such an informative and fun experience working with Martin. He taught us all about how to properly do impromptu plays and gave us loads of great acting tips. We also played a lot of super fun drama games that really challenged our acting and impromptu skills. Thank you, Kingsmead, for this amazing experience, I will never forget it!
By Katherine Papadopoulos.

The drama voice workshop was really enjoyable and went into a lot of technical detail about the voice and how it works. We learned to project our voice and to speak from the core of the stomach, using our diaphragms; instead of speaking from the throat. Overall it was a great learning experience, and the skills we learned will be helpful in drama and other subjects, and will give us confidence when speaking in public.
By Nina Simitopoulos

Johannesburg is a city that we all think we know like the back of our hands but, there are so many hidden gems. If you are looking for a trip through this wonderful city the red bus tour is a perfect way to do so. The Grade 8s went on one of the red bus tours and it was truly an experience. We found out just how incredible our city is. We drove through Houghton into the CBD. We saw Constitution Hill and the Constitutional Court. We saw the Military Museum and what it stood for. We also saw the Apartheid Museum. This trip was well worth the chattering teeth and the frozen fingers. I was amazed by just how little I knew about my city. This was an incredible learning experience, and I can’t wait to learn even more about Jozi.
By Inés Bregman

Grade 12 Accounting
At the start of the term the Grade 12 Accounting Group participated in a Banango Traders Accounting Simulation. Students were divided into teams in which they formed their own businesses and competed against each other to earn the most profit. In each round of the simulation game the teams were tasked to make important pricing, marketing and purchasing decisions. After each round decisions were fed into a computer programme that has been designed to recreate a “real life” market environment and produces instant results. Based on their results teams were able to make adjustments to their strategies for the next round. The winning team was the one that could out-strategise the competition over the four rounds played. This winning team consisted of Emma Proudfoot, Helen Cockeran, Leeya Motara and Sameeha Gangat. Their results, and the profit made on the day ranked 3rd amongst other participating South African private schools.

This simulation project covered various section in the Grade 12 Accounting syllabus. These included:

  • Ratio analysis and interpretation of financial indicators.
  • Financial statements
  • Auditing and reporting
  • Management and internal control procedures
  • Business planning overview.

This offered an opportunity to revise and consolidate Companies as the Grade 12s prepare for their final examinations in October.

Karien Lay
Senior Accounting Teacher

Grade 12 Business Studies
The Grade 12 Business Studies students were introduced to the dynamic world of Finance, Entrepreneurship, Business and Micro Economics by participating in a Banango Traders Entrepreneurs Simulation on Thursday 7 September.
The business simulation game was facilitated by Mr. Meiring, a Johannesburg School of Finance presenter and in each round the teams made important pricing, marketing and purchasing decisions. At the end of our day, we were awarded 1st, 2nd and 3rd place nationally. Congratulations Kingsmead!

1st Team: Ella Schonborn, Cayla Eckstein, Kristin Brown and Jodie Olitzki.
2nd Team: Helen Cockeran, Leeya Motara and Emma Proudfoot.
3rd Team: Megan Taylor, Serena Taylor Parkins, Jenna Olitzki and Mia Speirs.

Liezel van Lith
Senior Business Studies Teacher

Grade 8 Good to Grow:
The Grade 8s are studying the Clothes to Good charity as a case study in their ‘Good to Grow’ module in Term 3.
Clothes to Good is an organisation that recycles pre-loved clothing, shoes and retail apparel. Clothes to Good has partnered with H&M and finds great joy in using what others categorise as waste to create social impact. Clothes to Good empower community women through micro-business development, create jobs for people with disabilities and create educational resources for children in low-resourced early childhood development centres through the Clothes to Play programme. Furthermore, this programme creates awareness of the fashion industry being the second highest polluter globally and enables students of all ages to take a more active role in caring for the environment.

As part of Social Entrepreneurship in the Grade 8 Good to Grow curriculum, our Grade 8s are launching a marketing campaign ahead of Goodwill Day. There are four elements to the campaign – a video, a digital poster, a physical poster and the placement of barometers around the school at the following sites: the drop-off cages; Jabula Tuckshop and Senior School Learning Centre. Please do look out for the marketing and share the video and digital poster to raise awareness around this initiative ahead of Goodwill Day.

Liezel van Lith
Good to Grow Module Co-ordinator

Good to Grow Kingsmead College

Arts & Music

What a month we have had!
If the 2nd term felt busy, hold on to your seats, the weeks before exams start are jampacked! September has been a fantastic month for the Arts & Music department.

Our Grade 12 Music students performed one last time for family and friends and we celebrated their successful musical journey over their years at Kingsmead.

Grade 12 Final Recital 2 Kingsmead College

On Monday 18 September, the Senior School Choir performed at the annual ‘Choir is Alive’ festival at the Linder auditorium, where they did brilliantly. Our choir never fails to impress; whether performing a traditional composition with complex harmonies, requiring careful tonal balance and expression, a challenging polyphonic work with overlapping phrases and dynamic levels, an exuberant popular song, or a vibrant traditional song full of movement and storytelling. Well done to each choir member and to our parents, guardians, and supporters for cheering us on so enthusiastically!

Over the long weekend, a large group of Kingsmead students participated in the annual St Peter’s Sport & Cultural Festival.

On Friday the 22nd, eight public speakers represented Kingsmead at this event, of whom four progressed to the final round of the impromptu speaking category. Congratulations to Morgan Bunkell who came first in this competition being awarded 91% for her impromptu speech. Special mention to all our students who represented Kingsmead admirably including Elizabeth Hakizimana, Ntuthuko Masetlwa, Morgan Kohler, Oprah Orimoloye, Thando Sibanda, Qhayiya Klaas and Bibi-Fathima Peer.

The Contemporary dance group including Zanengcebo Dlamini, Taylor Simpson, Amari Africa, and Meera Luksmidas won their category on Friday, while Tshiamo Mphambela represented Kingsmead brilliantly on Saturday in the Street Dance category. Well done to all of the dancers.

On Saturday the 23rd, the Choir, Glee, Orchestra, Jazz band, Rock band, ‘The Other Six’, as well as the Grade 12 and 1st Team marimba bands performed in the Music category of the festival. We also entered a novice Junior Debating team including Zahreen Moosajee, Thato Makhalemele, Ariana Akoodie and Carla Fuhri who faced tough competition with great courage.

We are thrilled with the excellent results and performances of all our Kingsmead students. Thank you to everyone who came along to support us.

Gauteng Provincial Debating
Every year the Gauteng Schools Debating Board invites schools to participate in the regional trials. Over the past two weekends both the Kingsmead junior and senior teams took part in this highly competitive event that brings the best speakers from the province together to challenge for a position in the provincial team. The junior and senior teams each won three of their six debates but just did not make it to the quarter-finals this year. The following students are commended for representing Kingsmead with pride and tenacity: Mwamini Bukanga, Elizabeth Hakizimana, Sumayya Forssman, Sange Sibiya, Nubia Nelson, Hanaan Kana, Shihaam Bux, Liyana Patel and Grace Gilfillan.

Elizabeth Sange and Sumayya senior debating team Kingsmead College

On Friday, 29 September, our Rock band ‘The Other Six’ including Sumayya Forssman, Cara Nicholson, Aziza Carim, Rebecca Mills and Kirsten Botha, with the support of Mr Wian Joubert, participated in the St Mary’s ‘Battle of the Band’ where they had loads of fun!

Before we wrap up the year, we have a few more events ahead. Please keep an eye on the App and the various WhatsApp comms groups so you don’t miss anything. Diarise the events:

Wednesday 4 October 18:00-20:00 St Peter’s Marimba Festival

Grade 8-11 Marimbas bands

St Peter’s College
Wednesday 4 October 18:30-20:00 Arts4Hearts Concert Joburg Theatre
Monday 23 October 18:00-19:00 Senior School Music Concert Joel Hall

As our Grade 12 parents’ time with us comes to an end – Thank YOU for your years of support and dedication to the Arts & Music department. We will miss you, but you are always welcome to pop in at any of our events.

Elsabé Fourie
Director of Arts & Music

Arts and music 2 1 Kingsmead College

Sport

Inter-House Athletics
Kingsmead hosted the annual inter-house athletics on the last day of term 2 at Wanderers club and it was a highly enjoyable day out. Congratulations to Baker, who won the Spirit trophy, and Timlin who won the inter-house athletics for 2023.

Final Scores

  1. Timlin 289
  2. Kruger. 273
  3. Baker. 236

Aquatic Tour
We were very fortunate to take 31 students to tour Spain and Croatia. The tour was designed as a pre-season training camp. Students were exposed to Olympic international coaches who certainly put them through some challenging sessions.
Both the swimmers and polo players got to experience coaching and playing indoors, outdoors and matches in the sea.

The polo team got to play matches against local club teams as well as the USA Academy U16 squad.

Sun City Tennis
Kingsmead took part in the Sun City Tennis tournament over the holidays and our A and B team played against schools from all over South Africa and Zimbabwe. Our teams performed well and had a respectable mid-table finish for both the A and B teams.

Equestrian
Congratulations to Hannah Cooke, Sarah Florence and Mila Hozack who achieved good results at the High Schools Reginal Championships during the holidays. We now wait to see who has qualified to attend Nationals. A special mention to Hannah Cooke who won the Victrix Ludorum in her category.

Water Polo
Provincial squad selections – congratulations to the following players:
U14
Jenna Askew
Chloe Chapman
Hannah Cooke

U15
Charlee Davis
Clea Ellens
Robyn Herold
Lola-Rose Jooste

U16
Morgan Bands
Lucy Davis
Holly Franks

Collegiate
Our U15 team travelled down to Grey High School for the annual Collegiate Waterpolo tournament in Gqeberha. Our team faced some tough opposition from the Eastern and Western province schools but managed to compete against these schools and finished 12th out of 16 schools.

St Anne’s
Kingsmead 1st team water polo participated in the St Anne’s Tournament in Hilton and went up against some very strong competition but managed to pull off some fantastic results and finished 8th out of 20 schools which bodes well for the rest of the season. Well done to the 1st team, coach Keenan Van Rooyen and manager Tracey Minnie.

Soccer
Kingsmead Senior School hosted their first soccer fixture against Krugersdorp High School at Zoo Lake Sports Club. Even though the result did not go our way, our players conducted themselves well on and off the field. This is a very exciting start for Kingsmead College Soccer. In their second fixture against Parktown Girls High, both Junior and Senior teams won.

Polo pool Upgrade
We are very proud that the water polo pool upgrade has been completed and we look forward to our swimmers and polo players enjoying the new facility.

Polo Pool Kingsmead College

Netball
Congratulations to Emma Spronk who played for Ekurhuleni u19A netball team who came 1st at Gauteng Championships.

Emma Spronk Kingsmead College

Gymnastics
Congratulation to Grace Hefer for doing so well at the gymnastics nationals (LEVEL 9). She won:

  • Silver for Beam
  • Gold for Bar
  • Bronze overall
Gym 1 Kingsmead College

Robert Pullen
Director of Sports

14172 KM Sports Logo RGB 02 HS 20220919 01 Kingsmead College

Service

Term 3 Service kicked off with our highest number of volunteers, 65 volunteers volunteering at two events, on one day.

20 volunteers signed up for Buddy Ready. Our Junior School Service Team host Buddy Reading Saturdays for the children from Rays of Hope. The morning is spent with the children rotating between three different activities – a baking activity, art and reading. There is also time for play and a picnic. The Senior School volunteers make the sandwiches for the children and assist with setting up the juice station and activities. Our Senior School girls just love Buddy Reading and we see them returning time after time to volunteer and to engage with the children.

“I participated in Rays of Hope Buddy Reading at the school on Saturday. I had a great time playing with the kids, reading to them and baking with them. Helping kids with their learning and wellbeing gives me comfort. It was a lovely experience to spend the day with them and spread some cheer to them so they might have a better week. I participated in the Rays of Hope Buddy Reading last year, and this year I returned to share my service and shed some light once more. Serving these kids is like providing for something you never had to ask for when you were a child. I continue to feel privileged whenever I partake in these acts of service. Being reminded of the good there is in this world provides a sense of hope. Since this is our youth, I believe this experience to be very valuable and special. Giving back to my community will always be immensely significant to me, and I can’t wait to volunteer again soon.” Zaara Banwa ~ Grade 9

45 volunteers signed up for our third Inter School Volunteering event. This event was hosted by De La Salle Holy Cross (DLSHC) and was a Bread and Spread event. In total 156 volunteers gathered at DLSHC to make 800 loaves of sandwiches for St Vincent De Paul. Students from De La Salle Holy Cross extended a warm welcome to the students from Kingsmead, Roedean and St David’s Marist Inanda. Natalie from St Vincent de Paul explained the importance of the sandwiches to families and how each family would receive one loaf of sandwiches which would need to last them for one week, this was incredibly sobering. After getting the day off with lovely singing, accompanied by the Lasillian Youth Band, we rolled up our sleeves and got to work. Team work really is the dream work, 800 loaves of sandwiches were made with much love and packed for the families. After the bread and spread, students gathered and enjoyed a picnic lunch with one another.

“Today quite a lot of us went to enjoy doing service with 3 other schools at De La Salle. We collaborated with Roedean, De La Salle and St David’s. Once everyone had arrived we were introduced to the organisers and the initiative and were reminded of the reason why we were there, to serve our community with love while also working together with new people, and to make a small difference in the community, by making sandwiches. There were 800 loaves of bread which meant that we fed about 800 families. After the introductions we had a praise and worship session, in which all schools participated. I really enjoyed this and I was grateful that we could come together, as different schools, to ultimately make one group working together. We washed our hands and began making sandwiches! We distributed ourselves to different tables at which we were able to work with students from the other schools. There was jam, butter, butter-knives and a bunch of loaves in a crate at each table. We started spreading as exciting music blared through the speakers. Because there were about 152 students, we finished making the sandwiches quite quickly. Once we were done making the sandwiches we cleaned up. Working as a team, everything was much more efficient and quick, and hopefully we made quite the difference. We all sat down on the stands in the shade and ate afterwards, which gave us more of an opportunity to engage with the students from the other schools. I went over and shared my Smarties with some of the Roedean girls, who were very welcoming and kind. After a while we departed with smiles on our faces. I really enjoyed it and would absolutely love to do it again sometime!”
Hope Ngwenya ~ Grade 9.

This week we prepare for Goodwill Day and the official launch of our school’s 90th Birthday Celebrations. Please do watch our various channels as we count down to Goodwill Day for information and what you can expect on the day. Please do look out for the document detailing how you can engage and support our Service Partners via email and on the App.

Thank you to you all for being #CourageouslyKind

Kingsmead Goodwill Day A3 Poster 13092023 003 Kingsmead College

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

9026 KM Service Logo Kingsmead College

Scarlett Muirhea
Head of Service

Wits Integrated Experience
On 4 August, Fatima-Zahraa Asvat, Lyonê Marnewick, Emily Stoutjesdyk and I attended our second session at the WITS University, with Kate Chapman on Zoom, to exhibit our final presentation to a panel of judges and students from the other participating schools.

During the course of this day, we had the pleasure of viewing other presentations from the various groups as well as had the opportunity to share our own. This experience allowed us to expand beyond our own perspectives of the topic by exposing us to the various forms of creativity and solutions offered by each unique and different group of students, as no 2 presentations were alike despite all having the same topic. This not only expanded our knowledge on the topic itself but also allowed all of us to remain fully engaged and interested throughout each presentation which had its own new and creative way of thinking, problem solving and addressing the topic.

For our presentation, we decided to create a fun and appealing role play scenario, in which we adopted the role of master scientists who were just given the task to manage and plan for a meteor that was going to hit Deneysville in 2 months. With our lab coats on, pens ready and Kate on a Zoom call from “overseas”, we mapped out our entire management plan in an easy-to-follow and logical way. Once our presentation was concluded we then had the opportunity to address the various questions posed by the audience. This forced us to think critically on the spot in order to put together the most succinct yet thorough answers to alleviate any confusion from the judges and students. Despite this challenge, we all managed to triumphantly work together to answer questions and built on each others responses which taught us the important values of teamwork and effective contribution.

At the end of the day, despite our tired eyes and overwhelming excitement that our August holidays had finally began, we all left WITS having had the most amazing and enriching experience that will remain in our memories forever as one that allowed us grow and develop as young Kingsmead Students!

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Coronation feedback
The purpose of this event was to celebrate and empower women in the financial industry and inspire young minds to consider careers in economics and finance. We believe this presented the students with an unique opportunity to interact with accomplished professionals from Coronation, gain valuable insights and broaden their understanding of the economic landscape.

The speakers for the morning were Pallavi Ambekar, Portfolio Manager and Head of Absolute Return, and Marie Antelme, and Economist. Kirshni Totaram, Global Head of Institutional Business provided vital insight into financial career opportunities available to female students in an evolutionary environment.

The students had an opportunity to hear from the aforementioned speakers, engage in meaningful discussions, network with a vast number of professional women and learn from the experiences of successful women in finance. They also got an opportunity to connect with peers from other schools. The session gave the students a deeper understanding of investment strategies and finance management.

Banner Kingsmead College

It’s less than a month to go until our 90th Celebration on 21 October💚- an evening filled with delicious food, uplifting entertainment, the unveiling of our Custodian of Courage Sculpture (and a chance to win your own replica), and to be part of a really special moment in time. There will be a gorgeous surprise gift and all formalities will end by the time the first whistle blows of the rugby World Cup semi final which will be screened on the night. DJ Lloyd from Hot FM will take over the decks when delicious desserts are served. Please book your tickets and encourage your Kingsmead friends and community to do the same. Please note the 17h00 start time for welcome drinks.

RSVP VIA THIS LINK

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